Making Dante work

Dante is one of my favorite characters in all of 40K lore.  He's one of the oldest living Space Marines and he has fought against the enemies of the emperor for over a thousand years.  In the latest codex, he's a little overshadowed by big bad Mephiston, but he can certainly hold his own still.  It didn't take me long to make a list based on this honorable and respected Chapter Master.

Before we move onto the actual list, let's talk about Dante himself for a sec.  He has Death Mask of Sanguinius which is basically a Death Mask plus an added curse.  Before forces are deployed, the mask curses an enemy independent character and nerfs him by -1 WS, W, I and A.  This makes any combat character think twice before engaging in combat and makes every psyker (for the most part) die in 1 perils.

Dante also has the Axe Mortalis which is simply a humble MC Power Weapon, an Infernus Pistol, 2+/4++ save with 4 wounds and I6, but no Eternal Warrior.  Having come with a Jump Pack, he has the Decent of Angels special rule, as well as Tactical Precision and Surgical Strike.  Tactical Precision makes it so any squad that Dante joins do not scatter the turn they come in and Surgical Strike gives them Hit and Run.  This can make Dante's squad exceptionally dangerous when deep striking next to vehicles or refreshing combat with Furious Charge.  Dante also allows Sanguinary Guard to be taken as Troops.. which is a small plus.


With Dante at the head of my army, I chose to go with this list:

1730
9 kp

HQ:
Dante = 225
Librarian (JP) = 125
5x Honor Guard (JP, 4x Meltaguns) = 205

TROOP:
10x ASM (PF/Infernus, 2x Meltaguns) = 250
10x ASM (PF/Infernus, 2x Meltaguns) = 250
5x Sanguinary Guard (PF, Chaper Banner) = 240

FA:
Baal Predator (TLAC/HB) = 145
Baal Predator (TLAC/HB) = 145
Baal Predator (TLAC/HB) = 145

The way I see it is that every list these days needs anti-psychic abilities. There's no way you can let your troops get ravished by Lash or Murderous Hurricane when you need them to preform. With only 25 scoring bodies on the field, I find it hard to afford a Librarian with a JP.. but that's just something I have to deal with. He comes packing with Sanguine Sword and Unleash Rage most likely.

In terms of troops, you have 2 squads of 10x ASM with Melta weapons. Combine this with the Honor Guard's dedicated 4x Meltaguns and you have pretty formidable anti-tank firepower. The only problem is that you need to get close to have significant effect. The Baal Predators are there to form mobile cover and offer suppressing fire, but the true killers in the army will be my troops. Since Dante allows Sanguinary Guard to be taken as troops, I figured why not. It's fluffy and they look amazing! They come with a Chapter Banner for that lovely +1 attack and a Power Fist.

The idea behind the army is that one squad of ASM goes in reserve with Dante and wait for units of opportunity while the rest of the army pushes up. The Baals will push in front with the ASM squad behind, followed by the Honor Guard and the Sanguinary Guard. The Librarian will join the ASM squad on the ground and assist them with psychic abilities. Since Dante's squad can come down anywhere they want, they can unleash 2 meltagun shots and 2 infernus pistol shots on their metallic target and hopefully take it down; exposing their insides to the rest of your army. This is pretty much the theme of the army; pop open their transports and assault them with your CC units or shoot them to death with your Baal Preds. The only obvious downside is that I only have one FC/FNP bubble when I really want two. Even though the SP in the HG unit can't be picked out, I don't think one bubble is enough for this type of army.

So what do you guys think? I can replace the Sanguinary Guard with another squad of 10x ASM, but the army doesn't look as awesome on the field. Maybe somewhere during my adjustments, I'll be able to find points for another Priest. Only time will tell..