To start this off, we need to discuss what in the Black Templar codex is good in 5th Edition.  To do that, a pro and con examination is needed to get a better idea of what's in store for a BT player once they decide to start the army.  There are several things to consider:  special rules, units in the codex, points cost of units, and how the codex interacts with 5th Edition.  All of these play a part in the strength of a codex.  I'm not going to sit here and preach how great our 4th Edition codex is, because overall, it is underpowered.  But that doesn't mean it cannot perform up to the standards of the newer 5th Edition codices.  In fact, under the guidance of a skilled general, it can do quite well.  There are several things in the codex that are good, and a few things that are not so good. 


We'll start with notable good things about the Black Templars:

• First and foremost, we are the only codex that uses Vows.  These essentially are what make the BT what they are.  There are four vows and one has to be taken in armies of at least 750 points, as the Emperor's Champion becomes a required selection at this level.  However, you can use vows in smaller points games provided you pay for the Emperor's Champion.  Each vow has a variable points cost, which increases the cost of the Emperor's Champion (henceforth "EC").  The most common vow is "Accept Any Challenge, No Matter The Odds", but it is also the most expensive.  This vow provides the Preferred Enemy USR to every BT unit in close combat, excluding Neophytes.  That means re-rolls to hit in the assault phase and that is huge.
• The Black Templar codex retains the old rules for Drop Pod Assault.  That means we do not have to deploy half of our Drop Pods on the first turn, which would be a clear disadvantage for the army.  Instead, we keep everything in reserve and they become available as normal.  This allows you to control the tempo of the game and helps you manipulate the board to your whims.
  
• For a required HQ choice, the Emperor's Champion is a beast in close combat.  Packing four attacks on the charge with a Str 6 power weapon (at WS 6 and I 5), add in Preferred Enemy from the Vow, and he'll cleave whole swathes through your enemy's units.  He also comes with a 2+ save and a 4+ invulnerable in close combat.  Not bad. 
  
• Our Sword Brethren squads (including Terminators), Command Squads, and Venerable Dreadnoughts retain the ability to gain one of a few USRs for a minimal points cost.  Namely, this is Furious Charge and Tank Hunters.  This is what makes our terminators so good.
  
• Our Terminators retain the ability to wield two heavy weapons per unit.  This means you can take two Assault Cannons, two Cyclone Missile Launchers (CML), or a mix of the two.  However, after the FAQ revamp, its hard to argue with the power of dual-CML Terminator squads with Tank-Hunters.  These guys will punch holes in your opponent's armor easily.
  
• We are able to take 20-man Crusader squads.  They are fielded with 10 initiates and 10 neophytes.  Unfortunately, this means they are forced to walk as the biggest transport we have (Land Raider Crusader), only holds 15 models.  While fun, this isn't the most competitive option to use due to lack of protection from incoming fire.  It is also somewhat slow to cross the board.
• While most of our options are semi-expensive in comparison to the newer codices, we do have Land Speeder Typhoons for the ridiculously low price of 70 points.  For what Typhoons do, that points cost makes it a near auto-include in almost every BT list.
  
• Neophytes!  While it would be nice to have the ability to field them separately as well, Neophytes provide our Crusader squads with ablative wounds with only a slight reduction in power.  Very important when wound allocation time rolls around.
  
• The Black Templars are able to field 1 heavy weapon and 1 special weapon in a 5-man Crusader squad.  That allows us to min-max our squads to whatever we need.
• Our Commanders retain their "Rites of Battle" special rules.  This means they can pass their leadership on to the other units in your army.  In some cases, this is extremely important.

Now that we've gotten a glimpse of the good, we need to take a look at the things that are not beneficial to us.  Fortunately, this list isn't too long, but you need to be aware of it regardless.  No use getting surprised and subsequently angry because you overlooked these negatives.

• All of our units are Fearless in close combat.  This can be both a boon, and a bane in differing circumstances.  It means we won't leave combat when we lose, which provides numerous tactical advantages.  However, it also means we cannot leave combat against things such as Dreadnoughts, which are near to impossible for us to kill without a Power Fist or Melta bombs.  It also means that we might be subject to the 'No Retreat' rule, which might cause us to lose more models.  No "Combat Tactics" for us.  It wouldn't be so bad if we were fearless against everything, but alas, that would make us too good.
  
• We use a special rule called Righteous Zeal.  This rule forces us to take a moral test every time one of our units take a casualty from enemy shooting.  If passed, we make a consolidate move to the nearest enemy unit.  Because its a consolidation move, you are not required to move the full distance so keep that in mind when doing your 'Zeal' tests.  However, it also means we are no longer able to "charge" into a new combat like we were able to in 4th Edition so we are still susceptible to enemy fire.  If failed, we fall back as normal.  This could perhaps force you to fall back at inconvenient times.
• Even with the "Accept Any Challenge, No Matter the Odds" vow, our Crusader squads are only slightly better than average in close combat.  And certainly sub-par against most of the other MEQ troops out there.  We simply do not have the ability to field enough power weapon attacks to win combats outright.
  
• With some a single exception, we do not have the ability to field units with dual-meltaguns.  The only exception is in the Command Squad, but it is an unit that is already expensive.
  
• The Black Templars also suffer from another rule called 'Kill Them All'.  This rule makes all BT units fire at the closest enemy unit.  If you wish to shoot something else, we have to take a 4th Edition target priority test.  This is basically a normal leadership test, but with a -1 modifier to your leadership.  If you pass the test, you can shoot at the target unit further away.  If the test is failed, however, you are forced to target the closest unit.  Fortunately, this does not affect our vehicles.
• We don't have any of the new Space Marine units.  That means no Thunderfire Cannons, Land Raider Redeemers, Land Speeder Storms, or anything else fun and exciting like that.  In most cases, this is okay.  But Sternguard Veterans would be nice to have.  :)
  
• We have no Devastators and generally lack the fire support weapon options our other Space Marine brethren have (i.e. Rifleman dreadnoughts).
  
• Generally speaking, our vehicles are more expensive than the newer Space Marine codices, most notably our transports.
  
• No "Combat Squad"!  That means we can only ever have 6 scoring units at one time, unlike our newer Space Marine brethren.

Now that you have a list of note-worthy things in our codex, we have to put it all together.  Knowing what is good, and what is NOT good is important.  There are a few important things to address in this first section.  Namely the things regarding 5th Edition and its effect on your game play.

It is my strong opinion, and others will certainly disagree with me, that mechanization is essential for the BT's success 5th Edition.  With the new rules for vehicle damage, vehicles are much more survivable.  As with all vehicles, transports are more durable because glancing shots are not normally able to kill vehicles.  This provides an extra layer of protection for your troops inside each transport.  Vehicles allow you to be much more mobile and pro-active to the changing flow of battle, with a reasonable amount of durability.

A footslogging force has to play a more reactive role on the field of battle.  They will be much slower to maneuver around the board, not as quick to objectives, and are vulnerable to enemy shooting.  For example, a squad on the ground walking can be blasted by ordnance fire.  Often, that will result in a badly mauled unit.  Whereas, if they were in a Rhino, the enemy would have to get into the transport first.  Most ordnance fire will do little or no damage to vehicles because of the scatter rules.  Which might be a problem for your enemy.  In addition, enemy forces who lack anti-tank weaponry will have a difficult time getting to you, providing incredible protection during battle.  A footslogging force will remain in enemy fire lanes for much longer periods, eating enemy fire during that time.  Once in range, your opponent's CC-oriented units will be able to assault your foot-based units whenever they desire, sometimes to the extreme detriment to your game.However, a transport will be able to maneuver out of range or behind cover rather quickly.

With the advent of "True Line-of-Sight" (LOS), long-range shooting has become a very effective way of dealing with your opponent's army.  There are very few times where your opponent will be able to hide the entirety of their unit from your guns, allowing you to at least get some shots off on them.  This is important, as the increased durability of transports forces you to field at least a basic contingent of fire support to destroy your opponent's armor if you want to be able to get at the infantry inside.  In addition, long-range weaponry has the ability to reach across the board on turn one and effectively neutralize your opponent's mobility, firepower, and/or their army.  Close combat doesn't give you this ability.  Shooting is something your opponent always has to worry about and takes a concentrated effort to neutralize, especially when facing redundant units.  It is very unlikely, no matter where your opponent is on the board in relation to you, that they will be able to hide from long-range shooting.  Due to this and our shooting "bonuses" (i.e. dual CML terminators with tank hunters, cheap Typhoons, 5-man heavy/special weapon units, etc.), Black Templars gunline armies are extremely effective.  The ability to field so many long-range weapons against your opponent is devastating.  Because you're still mechanized, you still retain all of your mobility and protection from incoming fire should you need it.

Drop podding is an option for the Black Templars.  We don't suffer from the 1st turn Drop Pod Assault in like the other Space Marine chapters do, so your opponent cannot predict what you're going to do until you actually come onto the board full force.  The Black Templars have the ability to stay in reserve until at least the 2nd turn.  While not mobile by itself, it allows you to place your units wherever you want in a battle, giving you the advantage of deployment.  This means you can castle up on an objective, drop down in your enemy's deployment zone, have several drop pods capture an objective each, or whatever the situation requires.  However, it must be said that you should feed your army to your opponent piecemeal.  That is asking for you to lose.

There are players online that will say the older codices are what we like to call "mono-build".  That means that there is only one type of army that you can build and do well with.  Often, this term is applied to the Black Templars.  Don't listen to everything you read.  They are ignorant and I'll show you why in this guide.  The BT have several viable builds available to them for competitive gaming, so ignore those that don't know what they are talking about.  ;)

When deciding where to go with your list, you first need to decide what type of army you wish to play.  I'll say it straight up:  Some archetypes are better than others. The weaker versions are not very viable in competitive play in the current edition.  Regardless, as a new player, you need to know what the codex can do and the possible archetypes associated with the Black Templars.

To begin, there are three main Black Templars army types:  Mechanized, Footslogging, and Drop Pod.  These three types can be further broken down into smaller sub-categories, depending on the preferred play-style of the player.  Several include the Black Tide, Rhino Rush, Heavy Mech, and assault-oriented Drop Pods.  I'll go into each version and how they affect how you play.

Mechanized:

• Armored Spearhead -- This army style uses the Rhino as the main means of transportation around the board.  However, our vehicles are a bit more expensive than our SM counterparts so that has to be considered.  Generally speaking, this army style uses Rhino transports and up to one Land Raider Crusader in its force.  You are able to build either an assault-oriented or shooty list with this archetype.  Most of the fire support is vehicular, as to be able to keep up with the rest of the army in maneuverability.  This style of army is slowly becoming out-dated and losing its competitiveness as new codices are being released.  Good for casual games, but for tournament play, its not a recommended archetype.
  
• Hybrid Mech -- This army style is a variation of the classic Rhino Rush, except that it does not make full use of vehicles.  The combination of infantry units and mechanization can be very balanced.  Normally the infantry is taken for CC-oriented roles, but not always (i.e. tactical terminators, MM Bunkers, etc).  Built right, this style of army can provide plenty of success.
  
• Heavy Mech -- Another variation of the classic Rhino Rush, but this one makes heavy use of the Land Raider Crusaders.  It is an assault-oriented list that is traditionally used in conjunction with Assault Terminators.  Most Heavy Mech armies provide at least 2 LRCs in 2000 point lists, and more at higher points levels.  Widely considered to be a "rock" army, it is not nearly balanced enough to win consistently against the different armies out there.  Imperial Guard and Tau eat this army for breakfast.
• Gunline -- The Gunline archetype makes use of the traditional firepower in mechanized lists such as Predators, long ranged Dreadnoughts, Terminators, and Land Speeders.  However, our Crusader squads are kitted out to be minimally-sized with Lascannons and Plasmaguns/Flamers.  Their transports are Razorbacks with twin-linked Lascannons, as to provide another layer of firepower.  Traditionally weaker in close combat ability, but all is not lost.  You've got quite a few options for firepower that will scare the hell out of just about any mechanized or foot-based MEQ army.  If you built the list correctly, this style of army is quite powerful and is probably our most competitive build.
  

Footslogging:

• Black Tide -- This form of army uses no transports of any kind.  Generally, there are two or three full sized crusader squads of 20 on the battlefield with an Independent Character (IC) leading them.  This is usually two Chaplains and the Emperor's Champion.  Then there is a mix of assault troops, bikes, and sword brethren (terminator or not) for the final touches.  Purists won't use vehicles, but the only way to glean sufficient fire support for the army is to field Land Speeders and Predators (Vindicator blast deviations is bad in a huge footslogger army like this).  If you get into close combat, you'll kill nearly anything you touch.  However, it takes quite a while to get where you need, even with Running and Righteous Zeal.  Maneuverable opponents will simply avoid your huge blocks of troops.  Generally not considered competitive nowadays because of the lack of mobility and protection from enemy fire.
  
• Fire Support -- This army type is used to give our units shooting ability.  Because of our Min-Max wargear options, we can give our units a special weapon and heavy weapon at 5-man squad sizes.  The goal of this army is to use MSU and spread fire to your enemy.  Unfortunately, we don't do this army nearly as well as Codex Space Marines so not a viable option competitively either.
  

Drop Pod:

• Assault -- Assault-oriented Drop Pods is the first of the two types of DP armies.  Both versions are competitive when built correctly, but unfortunately, cost quite a bit of money to build up (DPs aren't cheap $$).  This type makes extensive use of assault units in the codex (i.e. assault terminators, assault crusader squads) dropped into position via Pods.  It is used to get into battle as quickly as possible, wherever the enemy is on the board.  While you must weather a turn of fire, you are in excellent position to contest objectives, assault the enemy, or tie up important elements of their army in close combat early in the game.  While forcing your enemy to lose at least a turn of shooting.
  
• Defensive -- As with the assault-oriented drop pod list, the defensive drop pod army is extremely effective in a competent list builder's hands.  It makes heavy use of MSU principles to contest any and all objectives in the game, or to provide castled defensive positions to secure a win for yourself.  Generally contains more firepower than the assault-oriented lists, as your shooting is used to bait enemy units into kill zones or assault traps.  It is an army that relies on finesse, board manipulation, and cunning use of your forces to win.  This is our 2nd most competitive build, in my opinion, behind the gunline army.

That should give you a basic idea of the type of army you wish to run.  It is my strong suggestion, that it be mechanized.  This style is the most adaptable, resilient, and provides the mobility you need to succeed in 5th Edition.  It will give you the balance your army needs to take on a wide variety of opponents and do well.  As you saw above, mechanized armies can take many forms and can easily be built to suit your needs.  The drop pod archetype is also effective, but it requires the hands of an experienced player.  These lists often use manipulation and finesse to do well, so a new player may not have these skills fully developed yet.  Not to mention, drop pods are very expensive.  Then there is the legitimate concern that the Black Templars will lose their favorable Drop Pod Assault rules when the codex is updated, which will result in all those drop pods being useless.  Only play this style to start off with if money is not a concern for you.  You can always come back to build a drop pod army later on.  :)

All right, now that you've decided on the archetype you're going to be using for your army (i.e. mechanized *wink wink*), I want to take a quick look at some of the units that you'll find useful in those armies.  This will only be a brief overview of the some of the strong units we can field, so should not be considered a comprehensive look.

First up, we have Land Speeders.  These are amazing in a mechanized armies.  Armed with Multi-Meltas and Heavy Flamers, you are able to take on vehicles and infantry with consummate ease.  In addition, we get ridiculously cheap Typhoon Land Speeders at 70 points each.  With the new FAQ, these are cheap long-range weapon platforms that will make an excellent fire support unit in nearly every army type.  Not only that, Land Speeders are fast skimmers.  They are able to move 24" a turn, while gaining a flat out save (4+ invulnerable save).  This is important because you are able to use them late game to contest objectives that your enemy holds.  I cannot stress how useful this ability is.  Many games were turned from draws to wins because of these flimsy vehicles.  Not only that, you can choose to Deep Strike them if you feel its necessary to do so.

Predators are provide necessary fire support in a mechanized army.  They are a bit more expensive than other Space Marine chapters, but they are nigh required.  Any configuration will do well in most lists, but I prefer the Dakka Predator (Autocannon and Heavy Bolters) and the Anti-Tank Hybrid Predator (Autocannon and Lascannon).  Many players use a combination of Predators and Vindicators.  However, I do not agree with this at all.  I'll discuss this in more detail later when I talk about redundancy.  Essentially, you are able to stay in one place the entire game and continue firing with Predators.  Armor Value 13 gives you a reasonable amount of protection from enemy fire.  Because you're at the back of your deployment zone, you will rarely give up your side armor to your opponent.  You can see a B&C discussion regarding which Predator setup is best here.  I also wrote an blog article about the subject a while ago and you can find that post by clicking this link.

We only have one type of troops unit and it has a very large range of possible setups.  This Crusader squad can be armed either for close combat, mid-field fire support (MM Bunkers), or long-range fire support (5-man Las/Plas squads).  All of these options rely heavily on either the Rhino or Razorback for both protection and mobility.  In addition, the ability to arm yourself with special and heavy weapons at the squad size minimum is essential in many of our army builds, as it allows us to minimize the point expenditures.  This gives us an unique advantage over our rival marine codices and is especially useful in gunline armies.  Unfortunately, we do not do close combat as well as one would like, even with our "Accept Any Challenge" vow, due to the lack of power weapons (or fists) available to the squad.  However, if combined with the Multiple Small Units (MSU) philosophy, effective close combat units can be created for a counter-assault role.

Finally, while they are technically footbased units, they do fit perfectly into many mechanized lists for their effective fire support capabilities.  The Tactical Terminators retain the ability to buy Veteran skills at the cost of 3 points each, though technically the Assault Terminators do too.  The important one we'll be looking at for the shooting Terminators is Tank Hunters.  This will add +1 to our penetration rolls against vehicles.  Combine that with the unit's ability to take either two Cyclone Missile Launchers (CML) or Assault Cannons (or a mix), and you have highly efficient anti-tank weaponry in a very durable unit.  I'd suggest arming them with two CMLs so you can keep your unit safely at range, but that doesn't mean you have to.  It also allows you to put out significant First Turn Firepower (FTF).  The CMLs also allow you to keep the Storm Bolters on the models you took them on, so your unit is also highly effective against mob infantry as well when you're also using Frag missiles.  Though expensive, this is an unit your opponent will have a very difficult time dislodging or neutralizing.

This is just a small list of great things that the Black Templars have, but is by no means a complete list.  If you'd like to see more, please feel free to take a look at the Black Templars Codex Review where I analyze each unit and grade their effectiveness.

Continue on to BT 101:  Building Low-Point BT Armies.

Or start the next step by reading Part Two: Building a 5th Edition List.