Blood Angel ICs "show me your libbys"

A buddy of mine was asking about what his army needed, who he should use!? Since most places you get "take a Libby with shield and rage end of story" and not a break down.

Let's dive right in.

Librarian: in my opinion it’s the best HQ for BA. But there are allot of use you can get out of them. To make it easier I'll just talk about each psychic power.

Blood Boil - auto hit auto wound and it you roll really low you can allocate. This power is pretty situational compared with the better ones. This could be very effective against certain death stars. Either way the range is 12" so I think this one is a dud.

Fear the Darkness - 24" range morale check with -2 ld. This one is my personal favorite. While units with a ld 10 aren't as likely to be affected, they still could be! It will become your favorite when you scare some long fangs off the table or some nob bikers. This one is great against any big nasty with 9 or lower base ld. This one will always be worth taking unless you get hammered with immune units.

Might of Heroes - the Libby or any model in his unit gets an extra d3 attacks. Extra attacks are never bad! But for combat effectiveness Unleash Rage is far better.

Shackle Soul - forces a ld test to do anything for a turn. It works on units Fear doesn’t, but I feel Fear is still more useful.

Shield of Sanguinius - give the Libby and his unit a 5+ cover. This is a DOA MUST! When they deep strike in they end up sitting like ducks in a barrel... or something like that. this gives them a better chance to make it through. Not as useful if the unit is in a transport. This is one that will never be useless (unless your opponent doesn’t have any ap3 guns).

Smite - meh. str4 ap2 assault 4. nice against termies but at 12" range you are to close, and you still have to roll to hit.
Blood Lance - this has some utility, nice anti-tank and anti-infantry. down side has to be the random range. 4-24" so it will always be a gamble. If it fits your play style go with it.

Sanguine Sword - makes the lib str 10, nice but I rather go with something else. I would pick rage or lance over this.

Unleash Rage - this is a biggie. give preferred enemy to the lib and his unit. for an army that is all about toe to toe, this is a gem.

Wings of Sanguinius - gives a jump pack. I say buy a jump pack and save this slot!

The good:
Shield is a must for nearly every build IMO. gives you insurance after you deep strike in, or after you clear out a combat. Basically helps your dudes stay alive.
Fear is a real powerhouse. it won’t always win the day, but when it does you will know you picked good. I like this one with my DOA to help against any nastiness that is hard to kill.
Rage obviously handy. The name of the game now seems to be more about number of wounds put out rather then str of each wound. rage helps more attacks hit home.
These 3 are not the only ones that have use, but I would say always look at these 3 before you make a final choice. I do feel the others have less utility and are more situational. Lance would be the only other that could offer some versatility.
I hope this gets the gears turning. I will cover the other HQs and elite slot ICs eventually.

Intro

Two main points to this blog:
1. Maybe my experience could help, entertain, or even inspire you to greater Hobby acts.
2. One day my suggestions to our favorite gaming company might be heard.

So I invite you to join me on my wargamming path.
My goal is to post once a week. First real post to come soon.