Warlord
Group: Warriors Of Chaos
Posts: 215
Member No.: 11
Joined: 4-August 07
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I wrote this a while ago (For Black Templar), its not quite in a useful form (Spelling errors, not quite complete) but if you want i can finish this off for use in an issue of yous. Its up to you, but here is the article currenty :-
"This article is built to help all of those budding Black Templar Crusaders out there! It is based on my knowledge of the BT army and all of my gaming experience, and i hope that it is helpful! It details Tactical Analysis on 7 BT specific units, and defines some of their uses. Enjoy!
Cheers,
Lord_Tyrion & Silver
1.1 - Commander
As perhaps the main HQ for an army, it is vital how you equip this commander. I always take one thanks to the Righteous Zeal Rule, it helps them move toward the enemy much faster when using Ld 9 or 10 as opposed to 8. A good way to equip him would be Terminator Armour, a Power Sword, and an Energyfist. You will now have a hard to kill Commander that can take out any enemy Character through insta-kill, has +1 attack due to having 2 Close Combat Weapons and even take out tanks and monsters. Attach him to a Sword Brethren Terminator Assault Squad and off you go, a nigh Invincible unit that can take on anything from Daemon Princes to the Night Bringer. I always take a Marshal as opposed to a Castellan as the improved stats and Ld are well worth the 15pt difference. Remember however that a Commander will only make his points back close up - at ranged he will either need a beefed up Command Squad to protect him or lots of Terrain (Not hard on a CoD mission). One thing is sure - unless you are using him solely to keep all your squads having LD10 for the rest of the game (useful if you field lots of infantry) the Commander will otherwise do you no good in ranged combat if you keep him back.
1.2 - Emperor's Champion
Any army over 750pts MUST take an Emperor's Champion, so using him well is recommended! He is very inflexible equipment wise, however he can dominate the Battlefield when it gets all close and bloody. But his incredible stats and weapons are not the most important thing about an Emperor's Champion. Oh no. The greatest choice by far is the choice of the VOW. One - and only one - must be taken, and my personal favourite has to be the "Accept the Challenge - no matter the Odds" where your entire army hits in Close Combat on a 3+ (this vow works well if you give every BT squad 1 Powerfist instead of the Powersword. Charging into a Dreadnought is otherwise not fun, since your Black Templars are fearless in Close Combat and will get mutilated!) Against Necrons, Orks and Tau, the "Suffer not the Unclean to Live" vow, where you trade 1 Initiative for +1 Strength in simply invaluable. So now (If you've been sticking to the Tactics) you will have a very hard-to-kill force that has a Ld of 10!! Not bad, eh? Alternatively you can take Abhor the Witch, Destroy the Witch which is deadly against enemy Psykers (Eldar, Chaos and Inquisition players beware!).
1.3 - Black Templars Chaplain
Similar to the Commander, however they lack the Rites of Battle which is a shame. But they make up for this with both the Litanies of Hate and Unmatched Zeal, when combined make a very, very dangerous character that has the potential to lay down the smakin' on any Aspiring Champion or budding Necron Lord for that matter. Use his access to the Armoury to its full potential, sticking a Jump Pack on him makes him incredibly fast or giving him a Chain Fist/Thunder Hammer makes him a natural born tank killer (3 Str:8 attacks that roll 2d6 for armour penetration?!?) Another tip on how best to use Chaplains is to give him a Jetpack, Terminator Honours, Powersword, Powerfist and stick him into a 10 man Assault Marine Squad with 2 Plasmaguns. IOne of the best infantry squads you can get in Warhammer 40000! The Chaplain now has a total of 3 basic + 1 for 2 CCWs + 1 for Termie Honors + 1 for charge = a total of 6 attacks, which are all either S4 or S8 depending on whether you choose to use the powerfist or not. The Holy Orb insta-glances all tanks (good against Monolith!) or owns anything with a 3+save or worse, for that matter.
1.4 - Sword Brethren Terminator Squad
When things start to get difficult, or there is a particularly dangerous mission that must be accomplished, the Sword Brethren Terminator squad is a perfect choice to lead a brutal and bloody assault. They can be equipped to tear through Infantry (Massed Storm Bolter fire) Heavy Infantry (Assault Cannon) and Tanks [Tank Hunters and Cyclone Launchers (2 S9 shots)] basically, take them if you want a tactically flexible unit that is incredibly hard to kill. Terminators are the perfect choice. They can deal with nearly any unit type and can teleport straight into the battle (or drop-pod them for safety), making their assault weapons all the more deadly (especially if they land behind an enemy tank). I recommend the normal Terminators 9 times out of 10 due to the ranged weaponry they can take, but for particularly nasty beasts (C'Tan, Carnifexs, Daemon Princes, Greater Daemons) and heavy tanks (Land Raiders, Monolith) Assault Terminators can excel. All Terminators also excel as bodyguards, albeit expensive ones.
1.5 - Sword Brethren
The Black Templar equivalent of Veteran Squads, versatile and fairly stubborn I recommend giving them Infiltrate (if you fight against Tau to tie up broadsides etc. early on) or Furious Charge for that extra punch when facing massed Infantry. Crusader Seals are good choices if you want to get to your enemy fast, however not recommended when facing CC heavy armies. Don't get them bogged down in Assault, but they are incredible if they get the charge. Relatively cheap I recommend units of 8 with a Twin Lightning Claw armed model. Bit the infiltrators strategy works wel, and in that case, give them Powerfist and Melta combo. So they can fry tanks on turn 1!
1.6 - Crusader Squads
Forming the bulk of any decent Black Templar force, these are your best friends. The key to a decent Crusader squad is finding the right balance between Initiates and Neophytes. I include 2x 9 Initiates + 2 Neophytes and then 3x 5 man Initiates squads for maximum firepower. You only want a few Neophytes, as that 4+ save is really a downside. Have faith in the versatility of your troops and the armour and using them to their maximum effect should not be a problem. Another common question is "Bolters or CC Weapon & Bolt Pistol?" My answer is = Both. For your large (11 - 20) man squads i would recommend the CC & BP whereas for small squads (5 - 10) i would recommend Bolters + Special Weapon + Heavy Weapon for maximum firepower. Fluff wise it is better to go for a CC & BP, and who can really resist the satisfying buzz of a Chainsword? Take as many Initiates as you can by the way, you can never have enough 3+ saves!!
1.7 - Land Raider Crusader
Well here comes the Lord of tanks, the LRC. All round armour 14, built in Frag Assault Launchers, Power of the Machine Spirit, Extra Armour and the ability to transport 15 Marines or 8 Terminators. For Black Templar players this is a dream, it even comes with a wide range of kick-ass weaponry! I basically just shove my Initiates in, attach an Emperor's Champion and let her go (teleport the terminators to save space)! Tearing up the battlefield at full speed while pumping out covering fire with my Hurricane Bolters, the bane of all Infantry. Once I'm there I disembark, and then I pump them full of lead and drown them in their own blood! I take Allied Grey Knight Terminators as opposed to Sword Brethren as Str:6 I:4 Power Weapons are much better than say Str:8 I:1 Power Fists, and they come with a page of special rules and the option of taking the Holocaust, devastating Infantry and Heavy Infantry alike! On a good day this can even take on a Monolith, you just need to stick on a Hunter-Killer Missile Launcher and aim that Multi-Melta steady. But if you are going up against enemy Heavy Tanks your best bet is to stick Assault Terminators with Thunder Hammers in and drive like tomorrow you die!
1.8 - Building an army
Right. Enough theory and on into practice! Building an effective Black Templar army takes a lot of thought and foreplanning. I'll go for the all-comers list for now. Okay. So let's start with the Troops choice. Here we have only one: Initiates. Take two squads (mandatory). Size: 7 - 10 Initiates. Give them Melta and Powerfist to be a threat to infantry, tanks and monsters. Stick them into a Rhino with extra armor and smokelaunchers. Rinse and repeat for the second squad - just don't give them also a Rhino. Now for HQ, take a Chaplain (Reclusiarch) and give him the Holy Orb, Jumppack, Termie Honors, Powerfist and Power Sword and stick him into a 10 Man Assault Marine Squad with 2 Plasmapistols, 1 Powerfist. Now the Elite section will be the following: 5 normal Terminators with tank-hunters trait + 2 Assaultcannons + Droppod (for safety so that they don't scatter off board and die). Add a tank-hunter venerable Dreadnought with 1 Missile Launcher and 1 Lascannon for a Railgun-equivalent punch to your ranged arsenal. Then add 10 Infiltrating Swordbrethren with Melta and Powerfist to pose a distraction + early threat to enemy tanks. Fast Attack: Take Landspeeders. With Multimeltas. Make him fear for his tanks!!! Heavy Support: 2 Predator Annihilators and 1 Land Raider Crusader w. smokelaunchers (where you load up your 2nd Initiate Squad + Emperor's Champ)
1.9 - Overview
Now you should be able to see that the Black Templar force must be function effectively as a single unit for it to be an effective army. It is a force built to reward those that strike the enemy hard and fast, and punish those that charge blindly.
I hope this has been useful to you!"
Thats it currently, but i can refine it if you want it used.
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The Phalanx, Needs chaos writers
