Really like this. Blood Angels were my first army ever (SM2 box set) and i still have a lot of love for them. I will see if i can get some plays in with them (and finally get my assault marines out of their box! Yay!)
My only concern is the Red Thirst rule. Generally rules which penalize the player make for un-fun in game design. Loosing a game because your Preditors decide they want to to ram a Lord of Battles rather than sustain on it would be serious un-fun. As Dave says :
Dave wrote:
On the Red Thirst, ideally you want a rule to reward a player for playing it fluffy, rather than one which mechanically forces them to do something.
I get that the thirst is always described in the fluff as a "flaw" but it needn't be in the game. To place a different emphasis on Mrdiealot's quote : "In battle Blood Angels can
harness these visions to evoke a ferocity that gives the Blood Angels Chapter its reputation for
unparalleled brutal assaults." Only "sometimes" they go bat-poop crazy, and isn't that basically wrapped up in the compulsory death Co?
I would go for one of the bonuses (either extra +1 to resolution, or inspiring) if fighting in CC. My own suggestion would be to flip your current rule - ie. +1 activation (ie. auto even with BMs) if engaging in to B2B. Gets across the eagerness to get up close but requires you to place units in harms way if you want to make the most of it (and thereby further encourages choosing assault marines with their better threat range to get the most out of it).
Otherwise i can see a canny opponent using it to "anti-clipping" assault - draw out assault marines by placing one unit from a solid formation 29.5cm away and watching the BA player agonizing about either assaulting into a doomed FF with a monster formation or facing a 3+ activation (with a BM). Fluffy but un-fun imho.