Infantry-based Units
Black Templars HQs
Tool up versus bare bones.
The age old temptation of the wargamer. I am my HQ, therefore he must be super-awesome because I am super-awesome. My identity is in the model, for the duration of the game at least.
What does an IC bring to the game? Fighting prowess, army and/or unit buffs, special weapons and equipment. All of this is concentrated into one (or two) transport slot. Highly concentrated power!
The problem is though that they can be killed with a single shot due to instant death. Even if you have Eternal Warrior, he only has (at best) three or four wounds.
A 170 pt Marshal has 3 wounds and 6 attacks on the charge. The equivalent Assault Terminators have 4 wounds and 16 attacks on the charge! But the Terminators cannot join a unit (which offsets the ICs lack of wounds), or fit in a Rhino. They remain at i4 if charged and should the Marshal (with adamantine mantle) suffer a Vindicator shot, at worst he will loose 1 wound. All Terminators could die. The Marshal can be used to catch krak missiles, because if he does fail his 2+ save, he’ll loose 1 w. You’ll lose a Terminator for doing that!
So it’s all swings and round-a-bouts. But at least you know the pros and cons for tooling up against bare bones.
+++
Power weapons versus Lightning claws.
I don’t like power weapons. Your IC has all this potential to carve through men and needs the safety that re-rolled wounds brings. For the price of an Initiate, you’ll be killing an extra Marine or two each turn. A good investment in my eyes. Combined with AAC and you will rip though MEQ with ease.
Thunder hammers and Power fists.
I don’t like them. They look cool and they hit hard. However, none of our ICs can pull off what Arjac or Lysander can with a 3++ save. That means striking last is terrible as you can’t reliably weather the storm. Also remember my point about IC bringing i5 to the assault? That has just been wasted and the kills that reduce the number of hits you squad takes is gone. Boo! If you want worthwhile s10 attacks (at i4!), bring a Dreadnought.
Terminator armour.
Why is it good value? 2+/5++ saves and Terminator honours for free.
Artificer armour, combat shield and Terminator honours (all the same stuff) is 20 more points and the only real benefit you get is being able to fit into a Rhino.
Editors Note: Remember, however, that taking excessive upgrades on our ICs only prevents us from taking other stuff elsewhere in the list. We really don't need to upgrade our armor on our ICs, especially if they are in a squad. If you're concerned about CC hits, take a Storm Shield.
+++
Some of the following are all tooled up. The eggs are in one basket, but due to joining a squad they won’t be so easy to break, and will offer much in the way of offsetting the damage the squad will suffer in cc, even to other i4 warriors. When you go tooled up, I recommend the Marshal over the Castellan. That one wound could keep him in the game for (at least) one more turn and you’ve already gone so far, you might as well take that last step
Marshal. The Biggest Boy. 170 pts
PoLC, Terminator armour (includes T honours free), Adamantine mantle.
*Terminator armour restricts him by not being able to Rhino into battle.
5 A, 2+ 5++, Eternal warrior
Marshal. The Big Boy. 170 pts
PoLC, Artificer armour, Iron halo, Terminator honours
5 A, 2+ 4++.
A slight variation that allows for Rhino/ Razorback transportation and lets you run people down in cc.
Marshal. The Dasher. 180 pts
PoLC, Bike, Iron halo, Terminator honours
Marshal. The Bounder. 170 pts
PoLC, Jump pack, Iron halo, Terminator honours.
Marshal. 135 pts
PoLC, Iron halo
A slight variation between the two, different kinds of mobility.
Castellan. 120 pts
PoLC, Iron halo
Castellan. 106 pts
Power weapon, Iron halo, Bolt pistol
Reclusiarch. 111 pts
Terminator honours. Bolt pistol
5 A, 3+ 4++
Reclusiarch. The Bargain. 96 pts
Bolt pistol.
4 A, 3+ 4++
Reclusiarch. 136 pts
Terminator honours, Boltpistol, Jump pack, Melta bombs
Reclusiarch. 171 pts
Terminator honours, Plasma pistol, Artificer armour, Jump pack, Melta bombs
Holy Orb of Antioch, Melta bombs and other garnishes all have their uses (and will serve you well) but these are on the periphery compared to what is the guts of the IC, imo.
Editor's Note: Do not tool up your ICs. Not only do they take points from the rest of your army, your enemy can prioritize their shooting and movement to marginalize this IC's effectiveness in game. If you want an IC besides the Emperor's Champion, keep them cheap without all those embellishments.
+++
Commander v Chaplain
These two IC both have strengths and weaknesses that contrast with each others.
The Commander:
Able to be custom build and tooled up with a far more optimal fit-out than the Chaplain. The Chaplain is stuck with a Power weapon (inferior to a Lightning claw) and the Rosarius (which makes Terminator armour ~ which is a good value combo pack, less of a good deal)
Rites of Battle
A quality army buff, especially useful for Foot, but still worthwhile in getting the best value out of Righteous Zeal.
Ld 8 = 26/36 or 72.2%
Ld 9 = 30/36 or 83.3%
Ld 10 = 33/36 or 91.6%
The more men you bring, the better RoB becomes. Naturally, the less you bring decreases RoB effect.
The Commander comes into his own in battles around 1500+ pts (say from >1000 pts)
The Chaplain:
Good value combo built in (even though not optimal)
A Castellan with power weapon and Iron Halo costs 10 more points for the same thing.
Unmatched Zeal
Adds Fearless to his unit and more control to his Righteous Zeal moves.
Litanies of Hate
Re-rolls in cc, works against things without WS, which is good for Assault squads with meltabombs, and on Neos
The Chaplain works well in < 1000 pt games as the 1st HQ because he is good value and you have less units (which means Rites of Battle is benefiting less units)
In games > 1000 pts, he loses effectiveness to the Commander (and his army wide buff) and becomes 2nd choice.
+++
Reclusiarch v Master of Sanctity
As I have hopefully shown, Chaplains are an excellent bang for buck IC when not built for cc, and a good portion of their value is buffing their unit’s to hit rolls
For this reason I believe the Master of Sanctity (with his extra wound and leadership ~ which is near useless for a fearless IC) is a less effective choice because the Chaplain’s main strength is being cheap and nasty.
However in some builds the MoS will work (such as in a low points cost game) but on the whole, the Reclusiarch is where it’s at.
Editor's Note: I agree. I cannot think of a good time where taking the MoS is a good idea, except in a "fun" game using the Black Tide. The 15 points for an extra wound and one more Ld is essentially useless, especially since your Fearless anyway. Cheap is the optimal word here.
+++
Marshal v Castellan
This one is much more of a horses for courses choice. You want the incredible hulk to burst out from your LRC? - well both of them a pretty much even. But what makes the Marshal the better choice for the extreme end is his extra wound. You’ve poured so many points into him anyway, so a bit more to keep him alive seems worthwhile. This is especially true when you’ve forked out for an Adamantine Mantle (which actually works well for catching crack missiles). Then you get his excellent 91% Leadership thrown in for RZ tests.
Now if you want a cheap vehicle for RoB, then the Castellan offers a strong 11% increase to leadership, whilst the Marshal only brings 8.5% on top of that.
The Castellan offers good bang for buck, especially when you don’t go overboard on the upgrade sauce. The Castellan is a good choice for those wanting best value for money.
.... but you could always show self restraint and not go crazy on the Marshal and have that extra point of Ld....
Editor's Note: It is my belief that the only reasons to take the Marshal is to gain A) Additional, cheap power weapon attacks at I5 and B) Provides Ld 10 to your entire army. If you're going to pay for this guy anyway, you might as well get the best utility you can for your army. This is contrary to the Chaplain who does not provide that precious Ld upgrade to the whole of your forces.
The age old temptation of the wargamer. I am my HQ, therefore he must be super-awesome because I am super-awesome. My identity is in the model, for the duration of the game at least.
What does an IC bring to the game? Fighting prowess, army and/or unit buffs, special weapons and equipment. All of this is concentrated into one (or two) transport slot. Highly concentrated power!
The problem is though that they can be killed with a single shot due to instant death. Even if you have Eternal Warrior, he only has (at best) three or four wounds.
A 170 pt Marshal has 3 wounds and 6 attacks on the charge. The equivalent Assault Terminators have 4 wounds and 16 attacks on the charge! But the Terminators cannot join a unit (which offsets the ICs lack of wounds), or fit in a Rhino. They remain at i4 if charged and should the Marshal (with adamantine mantle) suffer a Vindicator shot, at worst he will loose 1 wound. All Terminators could die. The Marshal can be used to catch krak missiles, because if he does fail his 2+ save, he’ll loose 1 w. You’ll lose a Terminator for doing that!
So it’s all swings and round-a-bouts. But at least you know the pros and cons for tooling up against bare bones.
+++
Power weapons versus Lightning claws.
I don’t like power weapons. Your IC has all this potential to carve through men and needs the safety that re-rolled wounds brings. For the price of an Initiate, you’ll be killing an extra Marine or two each turn. A good investment in my eyes. Combined with AAC and you will rip though MEQ with ease.
Thunder hammers and Power fists.
I don’t like them. They look cool and they hit hard. However, none of our ICs can pull off what Arjac or Lysander can with a 3++ save. That means striking last is terrible as you can’t reliably weather the storm. Also remember my point about IC bringing i5 to the assault? That has just been wasted and the kills that reduce the number of hits you squad takes is gone. Boo! If you want worthwhile s10 attacks (at i4!), bring a Dreadnought.
Terminator armour.
Why is it good value? 2+/5++ saves and Terminator honours for free.
Artificer armour, combat shield and Terminator honours (all the same stuff) is 20 more points and the only real benefit you get is being able to fit into a Rhino.
Editors Note: Remember, however, that taking excessive upgrades on our ICs only prevents us from taking other stuff elsewhere in the list. We really don't need to upgrade our armor on our ICs, especially if they are in a squad. If you're concerned about CC hits, take a Storm Shield.
+++
Some of the following are all tooled up. The eggs are in one basket, but due to joining a squad they won’t be so easy to break, and will offer much in the way of offsetting the damage the squad will suffer in cc, even to other i4 warriors. When you go tooled up, I recommend the Marshal over the Castellan. That one wound could keep him in the game for (at least) one more turn and you’ve already gone so far, you might as well take that last step
Marshal. The Biggest Boy. 170 pts
PoLC, Terminator armour (includes T honours free), Adamantine mantle.
*Terminator armour restricts him by not being able to Rhino into battle.
5 A, 2+ 5++, Eternal warrior
Marshal. The Big Boy. 170 pts
PoLC, Artificer armour, Iron halo, Terminator honours
5 A, 2+ 4++.
A slight variation that allows for Rhino/ Razorback transportation and lets you run people down in cc.
Marshal. The Dasher. 180 pts
PoLC, Bike, Iron halo, Terminator honours
Marshal. The Bounder. 170 pts
PoLC, Jump pack, Iron halo, Terminator honours.
Marshal. 135 pts
PoLC, Iron halo
A slight variation between the two, different kinds of mobility.
Castellan. 120 pts
PoLC, Iron halo
Castellan. 106 pts
Power weapon, Iron halo, Bolt pistol
Reclusiarch. 111 pts
Terminator honours. Bolt pistol
5 A, 3+ 4++
Reclusiarch. The Bargain. 96 pts
Bolt pistol.
4 A, 3+ 4++
Reclusiarch. 136 pts
Terminator honours, Boltpistol, Jump pack, Melta bombs
Reclusiarch. 171 pts
Terminator honours, Plasma pistol, Artificer armour, Jump pack, Melta bombs
Holy Orb of Antioch, Melta bombs and other garnishes all have their uses (and will serve you well) but these are on the periphery compared to what is the guts of the IC, imo.
Editor's Note: Do not tool up your ICs. Not only do they take points from the rest of your army, your enemy can prioritize their shooting and movement to marginalize this IC's effectiveness in game. If you want an IC besides the Emperor's Champion, keep them cheap without all those embellishments.
+++
Commander v Chaplain
These two IC both have strengths and weaknesses that contrast with each others.
The Commander:
Able to be custom build and tooled up with a far more optimal fit-out than the Chaplain. The Chaplain is stuck with a Power weapon (inferior to a Lightning claw) and the Rosarius (which makes Terminator armour ~ which is a good value combo pack, less of a good deal)
Rites of Battle
A quality army buff, especially useful for Foot, but still worthwhile in getting the best value out of Righteous Zeal.
Ld 8 = 26/36 or 72.2%
Ld 9 = 30/36 or 83.3%
Ld 10 = 33/36 or 91.6%
The more men you bring, the better RoB becomes. Naturally, the less you bring decreases RoB effect.
The Commander comes into his own in battles around 1500+ pts (say from >1000 pts)
The Chaplain:
Good value combo built in (even though not optimal)
A Castellan with power weapon and Iron Halo costs 10 more points for the same thing.
Unmatched Zeal
Adds Fearless to his unit and more control to his Righteous Zeal moves.
Litanies of Hate
Re-rolls in cc, works against things without WS, which is good for Assault squads with meltabombs, and on Neos
The Chaplain works well in < 1000 pt games as the 1st HQ because he is good value and you have less units (which means Rites of Battle is benefiting less units)
In games > 1000 pts, he loses effectiveness to the Commander (and his army wide buff) and becomes 2nd choice.
+++
Reclusiarch v Master of Sanctity
As I have hopefully shown, Chaplains are an excellent bang for buck IC when not built for cc, and a good portion of their value is buffing their unit’s to hit rolls
For this reason I believe the Master of Sanctity (with his extra wound and leadership ~ which is near useless for a fearless IC) is a less effective choice because the Chaplain’s main strength is being cheap and nasty.
However in some builds the MoS will work (such as in a low points cost game) but on the whole, the Reclusiarch is where it’s at.
Editor's Note: I agree. I cannot think of a good time where taking the MoS is a good idea, except in a "fun" game using the Black Tide. The 15 points for an extra wound and one more Ld is essentially useless, especially since your Fearless anyway. Cheap is the optimal word here.
+++
Marshal v Castellan
This one is much more of a horses for courses choice. You want the incredible hulk to burst out from your LRC? - well both of them a pretty much even. But what makes the Marshal the better choice for the extreme end is his extra wound. You’ve poured so many points into him anyway, so a bit more to keep him alive seems worthwhile. This is especially true when you’ve forked out for an Adamantine Mantle (which actually works well for catching crack missiles). Then you get his excellent 91% Leadership thrown in for RZ tests.
Now if you want a cheap vehicle for RoB, then the Castellan offers a strong 11% increase to leadership, whilst the Marshal only brings 8.5% on top of that.
The Castellan offers good bang for buck, especially when you don’t go overboard on the upgrade sauce. The Castellan is a good choice for those wanting best value for money.
.... but you could always show self restraint and not go crazy on the Marshal and have that extra point of Ld....
Editor's Note: It is my belief that the only reasons to take the Marshal is to gain A) Additional, cheap power weapon attacks at I5 and B) Provides Ld 10 to your entire army. If you're going to pay for this guy anyway, you might as well get the best utility you can for your army. This is contrary to the Chaplain who does not provide that precious Ld upgrade to the whole of your forces.
Sword Brethren and Command Squads in Power Armor
What are they?
Elite infantry, unable to take objectives and so their main task is to destroy the enemy.
The two squads really are very alike in unit composition, role and uses.
I don’t like either very much. They are more expensive than Crusaders, die just as easily, aren’t scoring and don’t hit that much harder if they cannot charge.
They are outclassed by Wolf Guard in nearly every way.
However, they do hit harder than Crusaders and can be put into Rhinos and Razorbacks, unlike Terminators.
+++
Sword Brethren;
Being able to take Terminator honours for select warriors and then give them better mêlée weapons is a good way of increasing effectiveness. Along with Furious Charge, you get a good amount of effective attacks that will take down MEq (because of the PoLC and PW) which will strike them first.
This is something that Crusaders cannot manage to do, even with a Flamer and PW. Furious Charge and the PoLC separates the two.
Scenario One.
Sword Brethren versus Grey Hunters.
250 pts
8 BP+CS & PW + PoLC (these two with Terminator Honours)
Sword Brethren Volley and Charge.
9 bp shots, 6 h, 3 w, 1 failed save.
24 regular attacks, 18 h, 12 w, 4 failed saves.
4 power weapon attacks, 3 h, 2 w and 2 dead.
4 lightning claw attacks, 3 h, 2.7 w and 3 dead.
=10 dead Grey Hunters.
Scenario Two.
Crusaders versus Grey Hunters
245 pts
8 BP+CS & PF + Mg & 6 Neophytes
Crusaders Volley and Charge
9 bs4 + 6 bs3 bp shots, 9 h, 4.5 w, 1.5 failed saves.
1 melta gun shot, 0.66 h, 0.55 w and dead.
2 dead from shooting.
26 AAC a + 18 ws3 a, 28.5 h, 14.25 w, 4.7 failed saves.
8 Grey Hunters counter attack successfully.
24 a, 12 h, 6 w, 2 failed saves.
2 Power fist a, 1.5 h, 1.25 w and dead.
8 dead Grey Hunters versus 2 dead Initiates.
It can be seen that a well-timed Furious charge can wipe out MEq, whilst even our decent Crusaders won’t do as well (which is also due to not having an optimised mêlée build). If you can husband your Sword brethren well, you have a squad that will inflict a solid amount of kills. Unless your foe is going around in 10+ squads, you can be confident of success on the charge.
I think it is already apparent that yes, the Sword Brethren are excellent on the Furious Charge compared to Crusaders. However, they will not suffer being shot at, or being charged (thus losing the key Furious Charge) as well. They also don’t have Neophytes to catch Krak missile (or even worse) shots.
They will all fit in a Rhino, which is something that amount of Crusaders cannot. Using Rhinos is a nice cheap way of getting across the table, especially when you have a lot of them.
They do have there uses, can be deadly on the charge, and a full squad with Rhino costs 308 points. That is 175 points less than 5 Assault Terminators and required LRC!
Veteran Skills;
Furious Charge is the only worthy option.
***
Heavy weapons;
They can’t bring more than scoring Crusaders can and SB cost more.
***
Storm shields and Combat shields;
They are very expensive and are completely outclassed by 5th ed. versions.
+++
Editor's Note: Lots of analysis when you could just say that Assault Terminators are better in almost every way. These guys were good in 4th Edition when everything was scoring, but now they lack the durability, kill power, and gear options to make them good. If you want something that is going to wreck stuff, there are better options in the Elite slot in the form of Terminators or Dreadnoughts.
Command Squads;
Being able to take two special weapons can be very nasty. Double Melta guns turns them into fairly dependable anti-Armour (which when combined with Furious charge and the IC means that enemy transports and passengers will be the prey of choice). Double Flamers works well against all Infantry but MEQ. Killing 5 Boyz per woosh is a nice return.
Taking the Company Champion and a Sergeant with Terminator honours and Power weapons will give bite against even MEQ (perhaps not against 3++)
Company Champion;
His purpose is to bring a power weapon to a squad missing out on them. Take him.
Standard Bearer;
He is expensive, is not table wide, and dies like any other Marine.
Ld 9 (Castellan) with re-roll.
30/36 + 16.67 x .83 = 97%
Ld 10 (Marshal)
33/36 = 91.7%
Ld 9 (Castellan)
30/36 = 83%
For the points of the Standard bearer you do get near automatic Leadership within his 12” radius, but then the rest of the table is at 83%. The Marshal gives solid leadership table wide, gets an extra wound and a Neophyte for the same cost.
The choice is yours, but I think the Marshal is the better deal if leadership tests are important to you.
Apothecary;
He does not grant Feel No Pain, but one failed save is ignored per turn. It doesn’t work in mêlée, which is where you want the squad to be. A better buy for larger squads. Not essential.
***
Veteran Skills;
Again, Furious charge is the only choice worth considering.
If they don’t take FC, they are a MEq unit that is not scoring. They are no killier than a Crusader squad and cannot score. If you are taking a Command squad, they really do need Furious Charge.
This nicely buffs your Independent Character!
On the charge, your Terminator Honours PoLC Commander has 6 attacks, re-rolls to hit, re-rolls to wound at s5, ignoring saves and striking at i6!
Marine Captains can be taken out without any chance of killing your Commander or Marines. Right there you have one the whole round of combat. Now your i5 Marines are free to swat the rest of his squad. Marvellous.
Independent Character;
If you want a Character to be accompanied by a squad that cannot score, you are obviously thinking about being extra killy in mêlée.
Chaplains cannot be optimised for mêlée, which means that the Commander is the choice to be supported by them.
Castellan 113 pts
Terminator honours, PoLC, Furious charge.
9 Initiates 236 pts
Furious charge; Sergeant, Terminator honours, Power sword; Company Champion; 2 Melta guns; 5 Bp+Cs
Rhino 58 pts
Extra armour, Smoke
All this is only 76 points cheaper than the Assault Terminators and LRC!
***
Heavy weapons;
Do to being attached to an IC, taking Heavy Weapons is counter productive.
+++
These units sit in between Crusaders and Assault Terminators, and closer to Crusaders in all honesty.
They will kill MEq better than Crusaders (when charging), don’t need a Land Raider and can be represented by Initiates. Which is cheaper in both points and financial terms. That makes them worth considering.
In friendly games, they are a fresh alternative to Crusader squads. In competitive games, they require too much husbandry and are not killy enough to match what our Assault Terminators can do.
Command squads are better than Sword Brethren but they need over a hundred points worth of Commander to make the most of buffing him with Furious charge.
If you are thinking about an Elite unit and want to include a Commander, then go with the Command squad. If you only use the Emperor’s Champion and want an Elite unit, then the Sword Brethren are the only choice, though they are a reasonable choice.
Editor's Note: I won't pooh pooh Command Squads as they are the only source of Dual-Melta we have (3x if you give your Commander a Combi-Melta). But they find themselves in limited army builds. Drop Pod armies come to mind here.
Elite infantry, unable to take objectives and so their main task is to destroy the enemy.
The two squads really are very alike in unit composition, role and uses.
I don’t like either very much. They are more expensive than Crusaders, die just as easily, aren’t scoring and don’t hit that much harder if they cannot charge.
They are outclassed by Wolf Guard in nearly every way.
However, they do hit harder than Crusaders and can be put into Rhinos and Razorbacks, unlike Terminators.
+++
Sword Brethren;
Being able to take Terminator honours for select warriors and then give them better mêlée weapons is a good way of increasing effectiveness. Along with Furious Charge, you get a good amount of effective attacks that will take down MEq (because of the PoLC and PW) which will strike them first.
This is something that Crusaders cannot manage to do, even with a Flamer and PW. Furious Charge and the PoLC separates the two.
Scenario One.
Sword Brethren versus Grey Hunters.
250 pts
8 BP+CS & PW + PoLC (these two with Terminator Honours)
Sword Brethren Volley and Charge.
9 bp shots, 6 h, 3 w, 1 failed save.
24 regular attacks, 18 h, 12 w, 4 failed saves.
4 power weapon attacks, 3 h, 2 w and 2 dead.
4 lightning claw attacks, 3 h, 2.7 w and 3 dead.
=10 dead Grey Hunters.
Scenario Two.
Crusaders versus Grey Hunters
245 pts
8 BP+CS & PF + Mg & 6 Neophytes
Crusaders Volley and Charge
9 bs4 + 6 bs3 bp shots, 9 h, 4.5 w, 1.5 failed saves.
1 melta gun shot, 0.66 h, 0.55 w and dead.
2 dead from shooting.
26 AAC a + 18 ws3 a, 28.5 h, 14.25 w, 4.7 failed saves.
8 Grey Hunters counter attack successfully.
24 a, 12 h, 6 w, 2 failed saves.
2 Power fist a, 1.5 h, 1.25 w and dead.
8 dead Grey Hunters versus 2 dead Initiates.
It can be seen that a well-timed Furious charge can wipe out MEq, whilst even our decent Crusaders won’t do as well (which is also due to not having an optimised mêlée build). If you can husband your Sword brethren well, you have a squad that will inflict a solid amount of kills. Unless your foe is going around in 10+ squads, you can be confident of success on the charge.
I think it is already apparent that yes, the Sword Brethren are excellent on the Furious Charge compared to Crusaders. However, they will not suffer being shot at, or being charged (thus losing the key Furious Charge) as well. They also don’t have Neophytes to catch Krak missile (or even worse) shots.
They will all fit in a Rhino, which is something that amount of Crusaders cannot. Using Rhinos is a nice cheap way of getting across the table, especially when you have a lot of them.
They do have there uses, can be deadly on the charge, and a full squad with Rhino costs 308 points. That is 175 points less than 5 Assault Terminators and required LRC!
Veteran Skills;
Furious Charge is the only worthy option.
***
Heavy weapons;
They can’t bring more than scoring Crusaders can and SB cost more.
***
Storm shields and Combat shields;
They are very expensive and are completely outclassed by 5th ed. versions.
+++
Editor's Note: Lots of analysis when you could just say that Assault Terminators are better in almost every way. These guys were good in 4th Edition when everything was scoring, but now they lack the durability, kill power, and gear options to make them good. If you want something that is going to wreck stuff, there are better options in the Elite slot in the form of Terminators or Dreadnoughts.
Command Squads;
Being able to take two special weapons can be very nasty. Double Melta guns turns them into fairly dependable anti-Armour (which when combined with Furious charge and the IC means that enemy transports and passengers will be the prey of choice). Double Flamers works well against all Infantry but MEQ. Killing 5 Boyz per woosh is a nice return.
Taking the Company Champion and a Sergeant with Terminator honours and Power weapons will give bite against even MEQ (perhaps not against 3++)
Company Champion;
His purpose is to bring a power weapon to a squad missing out on them. Take him.
Standard Bearer;
He is expensive, is not table wide, and dies like any other Marine.
Ld 9 (Castellan) with re-roll.
30/36 + 16.67 x .83 = 97%
Ld 10 (Marshal)
33/36 = 91.7%
Ld 9 (Castellan)
30/36 = 83%
For the points of the Standard bearer you do get near automatic Leadership within his 12” radius, but then the rest of the table is at 83%. The Marshal gives solid leadership table wide, gets an extra wound and a Neophyte for the same cost.
The choice is yours, but I think the Marshal is the better deal if leadership tests are important to you.
Apothecary;
He does not grant Feel No Pain, but one failed save is ignored per turn. It doesn’t work in mêlée, which is where you want the squad to be. A better buy for larger squads. Not essential.
***
Veteran Skills;
Again, Furious charge is the only choice worth considering.
If they don’t take FC, they are a MEq unit that is not scoring. They are no killier than a Crusader squad and cannot score. If you are taking a Command squad, they really do need Furious Charge.
This nicely buffs your Independent Character!
On the charge, your Terminator Honours PoLC Commander has 6 attacks, re-rolls to hit, re-rolls to wound at s5, ignoring saves and striking at i6!
Marine Captains can be taken out without any chance of killing your Commander or Marines. Right there you have one the whole round of combat. Now your i5 Marines are free to swat the rest of his squad. Marvellous.
Independent Character;
If you want a Character to be accompanied by a squad that cannot score, you are obviously thinking about being extra killy in mêlée.
Chaplains cannot be optimised for mêlée, which means that the Commander is the choice to be supported by them.
Castellan 113 pts
Terminator honours, PoLC, Furious charge.
9 Initiates 236 pts
Furious charge; Sergeant, Terminator honours, Power sword; Company Champion; 2 Melta guns; 5 Bp+Cs
Rhino 58 pts
Extra armour, Smoke
All this is only 76 points cheaper than the Assault Terminators and LRC!
***
Heavy weapons;
Do to being attached to an IC, taking Heavy Weapons is counter productive.
+++
These units sit in between Crusaders and Assault Terminators, and closer to Crusaders in all honesty.
They will kill MEq better than Crusaders (when charging), don’t need a Land Raider and can be represented by Initiates. Which is cheaper in both points and financial terms. That makes them worth considering.
In friendly games, they are a fresh alternative to Crusader squads. In competitive games, they require too much husbandry and are not killy enough to match what our Assault Terminators can do.
Command squads are better than Sword Brethren but they need over a hundred points worth of Commander to make the most of buffing him with Furious charge.
If you are thinking about an Elite unit and want to include a Commander, then go with the Command squad. If you only use the Emperor’s Champion and want an Elite unit, then the Sword Brethren are the only choice, though they are a reasonable choice.
Editor's Note: I won't pooh pooh Command Squads as they are the only source of Dual-Melta we have (3x if you give your Commander a Combi-Melta). But they find themselves in limited army builds. Drop Pod armies come to mind here.
Black Templars Terminators
What are they?
ELITE infantry, unable to take objectives and so their main task is to destroy the enemy. Due to a number of Codex specific quirks, they do so better than their Ultramarine brothers.
We have three squad types; Command, Tactical and Assault. With Veteran skills upgrading them from “plain” Terminators, they can hit hard against your target of choice.
+++
Tough?
Ummm, not really. They are better than a regular Marine, for sure, but then they cost 269% of an Initiate and are not 2.7 times more survivable. Against a volume of shots, they will go down. Lascannons, Meltas, Plasmas, Demolisher cannons and other AP 1-2 wickedness will reduce you to rolling against a meager 5++ save. Not bad, but at 40 odd points, that is not exactly reassuring.
Bummer.
What is going to keep them alive is not getting shot at? This is done through a transport, not being an apparent target or being in mêlée.
+++
Assault Terminators ~ Hitty?
Oh yes. Sword Brethren Terminator Assault Squads are the premiere Assault Terminators. Better than Hammernators (UM 3++ storm shields and thunder hammers) other Terminator Assault Squads, and even Grey Knight Terminators.
The reason is because of three things. First, re-rolls to hit via AAC vow. It is just ridiculous and in effect, increases the amount of attacks you have. Second, (although not strictly BT unique) the re-rolls that Lightning claws gives to wound. That those re-rolls ‘to wound’ are already increased by those re-rolls ‘to hit’ is where your interest gets compounded. Third, is Furious Charge.
+1s means that your super-hittyness has just become even bigger and allows for t8 and AV 10 targets to come onto the menu.
+1i means that you will be able to deplete the return attacks your Terminators will suffer, which increases survivability.
Scenario One.
5 BT Terminators with PoLC + Furious Charge against 5 UM Hammernators. (near as equal points)
20 A. 15 h, 13.35 w. 4.5 failed saves & dead.
Any unit that can, on average, eradicate another equal points unit in one assault, is seriously powerful.
Scenario Two.
5 BT Terminators with PoLC + Furious Charge against a Wraith Lord.
20 A. 15 h, 4.5 w. 1 dead Wraith Lord.
*This is an ‘unbalanced’ scenario. The WL costs circa 150 pts and the BT cost 215 pts. We also know that if the BT fail to get the charge, they will be unable to hit the WL and be steadily smeared across the table. It does show that even the fearsome WL can be toppled, comfortably, by a well-timed furious charge.
What you do need to know is that Assault Terminators have kill-quality rather than kill quantity. An equivalent sized (points wise) Crusader squad will kill more Ork boyz with their volley and assault. The Crusaders will not enjoy the same success against MEQ units, whilst the Assault Terminators are just as effective AND are getting more points per wounding hit.
BT Assault Terminators are like pit-bulls. They see the pack, spy out the Alpha male, and take him out. They are specifically bred killing machines (which makes their availability as pets disturbing). The BT Terminators are in the same vein. Don’t “waste” them on unworthy targets *he says, looking down his nose at those ‘plebian’ Tactical Marines * Spy out the pack leader and attack.
*A word of caution, as there is always an exception; if you attack something deadly and with high initiative, you will cry. Although furious charging Assault Terminators will nearly, on average, kill a Blood Thirster, it will have mangled your squad. Then next turn, it strikes before you beloved Terminators and polishes them all off. For lunch. D’oh!
Thunder hammers and Storm shields;
One downside to being a 4th ed. Codex is our SS are smaller than others. Half the point of a Hammernator is gone. The TH will allow the squad to fend of those bully Killa Kanz, sort of, and means that vehicles are likely to suffer if within assault range. They add flexibility to the unit, which is a good thing.
I would suggest 3-5 PoLC/1-2 TH SS. Ideally they are unleashed a LRC and smash a squad, but battles do suffer from things not following your plan. Ours are not great but they are helpful.
Editor's Note: 3 PoLC Terminators will kill 8 MEQ on the charge (on average). That is plenty of killiness. You need the remaining two Terminators to take the TH/SS in the event they get charged by a Dreadnought or T8 opponent. You will loathe the day you get charged by something you cannot kill when you've taken only PoLC Terminators. Plus this gives the squad a reasonable chance to kill vehicles. The SS may only be 4++, but I'll take that over 5++ any day. The goal is to keep the squad as efficient as possible, for the least amount of points. Anything above a 5-man squad is overkill, as you'll be killing most (if not all) of your opponent's squad with the 5 anyway. Adding more for durability is a flawed idea, as it only presents a larger target (points wise) for your opponent to shoot at.
+++
Command and Tactical Terminators ~ Shooty?
Yeah, sort of. Due to the option of having two Assault cannons per squad (which can be as small as 4 or 5) you can crank out a solid volume of firepower.
6 Storm bolter shots and 8 Assault cannon shots will kill 4.5 MEQ or 5.7 Medium Infantry (t3 sv4+) per volley. Nothing impressive there, but okay. What they can do is hit vehicles. This is aided by Tank Hunters.
AV 10 becomes penetrable to the Storm bolters (which means Dark Eldar Raiders and Ork Trukks can get destroyed on 4s) and they can glance AV 11 ~ becoming frustrating for Razorbacks and Rhinos.
What else is AV 10? The rear armour of nearly all things. Land Raiders, Leman Russ Demolishers and Monoliths are the only things better than 10....Can anyone see possibilities here?
However, the Storm bolters are the backup singers to the Assault cannons.
Effective s7 and rending means that AV 14 gets penetrated 7.4% of the time with each of it’s 4 shots.
4 shots penetrate 29.6% of the time.
4 shots will ‘destroy’ 9.9% of the time.
AC + Tank hunter versus AV 10
4/6 hit, 3/6 penetrate, 2/6 destroy. 24/216 or 11.1% x 4 shots = 44.4%
Leman Russ Battle Tanks attacked against the rear armour, will be destroyed, reliably, by 5 Tank Hunting Terminators. Nice.
For the cost of a Neophyte, in a Command Squad, the Sergeant can bring a Combi-melta. Combined with Tank Hunter, that is an excellent one shot chance to take.
+++
Editor's Note: I will admit, taking Terminator Command squads and Tactical Terminator squads with dual Assault Cannons with Tank Hunters is humorous. Makes for a fun list to play, but it isn't all that competitive.
Tactical and Command squads in mêlée;
Ummm. Here’s the deal. They are slow. Which means you will suffer the enemies full compliment of attacks, lose men and then be less effective. Boo.
Being slow and less attacks than the PoLC Terminators means that against a good sized mob of Ork boyz, you will get tar-pitted whilst that Nob powa-klaws your squad in short order.
Against anything with ‘hidden’ power weapons/fists and a good sized squad, you will cry. However, things that are terrible in mêlée, such as a Tactical squad (or smaller squads of Lootas, etc.) will do so little damage to you that you’ll smash them and get a good return points wise.
Still, it can be better in an indecisive assault and blocking TLOS for the rest of your army, than being shot at by all of his army!
The Sergeant and the attached IC will help offset the amount of incoming attacks.
Against Armour;
Haha, that is a different story. It is always easier to attack something that won’t hit back.
s9 hits against rear armour will definitely result in vehicles being destroyed.
So even after the foe has repositioned his Armour to not be showing you his rear armour, you can still have an effective attack against it. 15 s9 attacks will make even the Machine Spirit of Land Raiders squirm.
If your foe chooses to zoom 12” away to get out of reach/make for 6s ‘to hit’, you have not lost much. He is on the run and cannot shoot your beloved Terminators. Hopefully you can still skake/stun spam his tanks.
Chainfists;
Ridiculously powerful. Made redundant by attacking rear armour with s9. However, against Land Raiders, Bastions, and Dreadnoughts, the extra dice turns something that is a struggle (even for s9) into a breeze. If your local game includes these things, for so little points you are making life easy for your Terminators.
*Don’t charge Dreadnoughts with DCCW, unless you can’t get away or will be shot by half his army next turn.
+++
To battle!
I hope I have shown that Terminators are deadly, against their specific prey. I hope I have also shown they are fairly flimsy too.
This means they need to be delivered in the fracas in a transport. The LRC is the no-brainer for the Assault Terminators. It zooms 12” deploy 2.99” assault 6” = 20.99” of effective range. That makes T2 assaults plausible against the unwary.
The Shooty Terminators don’t benefit as much from the LRCs potential. They just aren’t really that good in mêlée, so the LRC is wasted on them.
That leaves Drop Pods.
Deep striking for Terminators is a bad idea. You land with less accuracy and more potential disaster. Then you either run, so you don’t get Ordnance templated, or shoot, which is the whole point of the unit.
That is a bad choice to be given.
Drop Pods;
These are accurate, safe and cheap. If you buy the Deathwind launcher, you provide an effective means of thinning tar-pit units of Ork boyz (with hidden Nob and powa-klaw) and can pulp that nasty squad of Heavy weapons guard threatening to smoke your expensive Terminators. The Deathwind is not essential, but with courageous Pod positioning, you can turn the transport into something frustrating. With good deployment you can reduce the amount of incoming fire and then whilst he concentrates on the Terminators, you are lobbing low strength Ordnance on his gunline. Nice.
The Pod also solves the run or shoot dilemma. They are already spread and so provide a dispersed target to aim at. This leaves you free to shoot, which will reduce the amount of incoming fire they will suffer.
The Pod brings four benefits;
Accurate landing, Safe landing, Dispersed landing, freedom to Shoot.
+++
Character escort;
Assault Terminators do not need an IC in any way shape or form. Your tooled up Marshal will help your more modest Crusaders far more than he would the Assault Terminators.
In fact Assault Terminators outperform a tooled up Marshal, point for point.
Editor's Note: I cannot reiterate this point enough. Putting an IC with this already insanely killy unit is a waste of points. Not only that, your opponent will paint a huge target on the side of that LRC until its dead. Then your 600+ points worth of uber, combat monsters are sitting ducks to incoming fire. Good game.
Tactical Terminators;
If you are thinking of using an IC with them, you should use the Command squad instead.
Command Terminators;
Well, you have too!
So what is the best fit for them? The unit is already screaming for a Demolisher cannon shot, so whoever joins them is better off cheaper.
The Shooty Terminators are not really any good in mêlée. So you can offset that weakness with a PoLC Commander, bringing 5 lightning claw attacks. Or you can continue in the vein the Terminators are already in ~ anti-Mech.
A Reclusiarch with a Combi-melta will add a boost in shooting prowess, help somewhat in offsetting slowness in mêlée and gives the Terminators re-rolls to hit against non-ws units, ie Tanks.
+++
Terminators are killers, no doubt about it. The two types, Shooty and Choppy, have a very specific prey. For you to get the most from them, you will need to be deliberate in getting them into the action against that specific target. Otherwise, they are not giving a good return on your investment and once free of their transport, will die quickly because they will receive masses of attention. Used well, they will aid your Crusader squads with things they are not so good with ~ Armour and enemy Elite mêlée specialists.
ELITE infantry, unable to take objectives and so their main task is to destroy the enemy. Due to a number of Codex specific quirks, they do so better than their Ultramarine brothers.
We have three squad types; Command, Tactical and Assault. With Veteran skills upgrading them from “plain” Terminators, they can hit hard against your target of choice.
+++
Tough?
Ummm, not really. They are better than a regular Marine, for sure, but then they cost 269% of an Initiate and are not 2.7 times more survivable. Against a volume of shots, they will go down. Lascannons, Meltas, Plasmas, Demolisher cannons and other AP 1-2 wickedness will reduce you to rolling against a meager 5++ save. Not bad, but at 40 odd points, that is not exactly reassuring.
Bummer.
What is going to keep them alive is not getting shot at? This is done through a transport, not being an apparent target or being in mêlée.
+++
Assault Terminators ~ Hitty?
Oh yes. Sword Brethren Terminator Assault Squads are the premiere Assault Terminators. Better than Hammernators (UM 3++ storm shields and thunder hammers) other Terminator Assault Squads, and even Grey Knight Terminators.
The reason is because of three things. First, re-rolls to hit via AAC vow. It is just ridiculous and in effect, increases the amount of attacks you have. Second, (although not strictly BT unique) the re-rolls that Lightning claws gives to wound. That those re-rolls ‘to wound’ are already increased by those re-rolls ‘to hit’ is where your interest gets compounded. Third, is Furious Charge.
+1s means that your super-hittyness has just become even bigger and allows for t8 and AV 10 targets to come onto the menu.
+1i means that you will be able to deplete the return attacks your Terminators will suffer, which increases survivability.
Scenario One.
5 BT Terminators with PoLC + Furious Charge against 5 UM Hammernators. (near as equal points)
20 A. 15 h, 13.35 w. 4.5 failed saves & dead.
Any unit that can, on average, eradicate another equal points unit in one assault, is seriously powerful.
Scenario Two.
5 BT Terminators with PoLC + Furious Charge against a Wraith Lord.
20 A. 15 h, 4.5 w. 1 dead Wraith Lord.
*This is an ‘unbalanced’ scenario. The WL costs circa 150 pts and the BT cost 215 pts. We also know that if the BT fail to get the charge, they will be unable to hit the WL and be steadily smeared across the table. It does show that even the fearsome WL can be toppled, comfortably, by a well-timed furious charge.
What you do need to know is that Assault Terminators have kill-quality rather than kill quantity. An equivalent sized (points wise) Crusader squad will kill more Ork boyz with their volley and assault. The Crusaders will not enjoy the same success against MEQ units, whilst the Assault Terminators are just as effective AND are getting more points per wounding hit.
BT Assault Terminators are like pit-bulls. They see the pack, spy out the Alpha male, and take him out. They are specifically bred killing machines (which makes their availability as pets disturbing). The BT Terminators are in the same vein. Don’t “waste” them on unworthy targets *he says, looking down his nose at those ‘plebian’ Tactical Marines * Spy out the pack leader and attack.
*A word of caution, as there is always an exception; if you attack something deadly and with high initiative, you will cry. Although furious charging Assault Terminators will nearly, on average, kill a Blood Thirster, it will have mangled your squad. Then next turn, it strikes before you beloved Terminators and polishes them all off. For lunch. D’oh!
Thunder hammers and Storm shields;
One downside to being a 4th ed. Codex is our SS are smaller than others. Half the point of a Hammernator is gone. The TH will allow the squad to fend of those bully Killa Kanz, sort of, and means that vehicles are likely to suffer if within assault range. They add flexibility to the unit, which is a good thing.
I would suggest 3-5 PoLC/1-2 TH SS. Ideally they are unleashed a LRC and smash a squad, but battles do suffer from things not following your plan. Ours are not great but they are helpful.
Editor's Note: 3 PoLC Terminators will kill 8 MEQ on the charge (on average). That is plenty of killiness. You need the remaining two Terminators to take the TH/SS in the event they get charged by a Dreadnought or T8 opponent. You will loathe the day you get charged by something you cannot kill when you've taken only PoLC Terminators. Plus this gives the squad a reasonable chance to kill vehicles. The SS may only be 4++, but I'll take that over 5++ any day. The goal is to keep the squad as efficient as possible, for the least amount of points. Anything above a 5-man squad is overkill, as you'll be killing most (if not all) of your opponent's squad with the 5 anyway. Adding more for durability is a flawed idea, as it only presents a larger target (points wise) for your opponent to shoot at.
+++
Command and Tactical Terminators ~ Shooty?
Yeah, sort of. Due to the option of having two Assault cannons per squad (which can be as small as 4 or 5) you can crank out a solid volume of firepower.
6 Storm bolter shots and 8 Assault cannon shots will kill 4.5 MEQ or 5.7 Medium Infantry (t3 sv4+) per volley. Nothing impressive there, but okay. What they can do is hit vehicles. This is aided by Tank Hunters.
AV 10 becomes penetrable to the Storm bolters (which means Dark Eldar Raiders and Ork Trukks can get destroyed on 4s) and they can glance AV 11 ~ becoming frustrating for Razorbacks and Rhinos.
What else is AV 10? The rear armour of nearly all things. Land Raiders, Leman Russ Demolishers and Monoliths are the only things better than 10....Can anyone see possibilities here?
However, the Storm bolters are the backup singers to the Assault cannons.
Effective s7 and rending means that AV 14 gets penetrated 7.4% of the time with each of it’s 4 shots.
4 shots penetrate 29.6% of the time.
4 shots will ‘destroy’ 9.9% of the time.
AC + Tank hunter versus AV 10
4/6 hit, 3/6 penetrate, 2/6 destroy. 24/216 or 11.1% x 4 shots = 44.4%
Leman Russ Battle Tanks attacked against the rear armour, will be destroyed, reliably, by 5 Tank Hunting Terminators. Nice.
For the cost of a Neophyte, in a Command Squad, the Sergeant can bring a Combi-melta. Combined with Tank Hunter, that is an excellent one shot chance to take.
+++
Editor's Note: I will admit, taking Terminator Command squads and Tactical Terminator squads with dual Assault Cannons with Tank Hunters is humorous. Makes for a fun list to play, but it isn't all that competitive.
Tactical and Command squads in mêlée;
Ummm. Here’s the deal. They are slow. Which means you will suffer the enemies full compliment of attacks, lose men and then be less effective. Boo.
Being slow and less attacks than the PoLC Terminators means that against a good sized mob of Ork boyz, you will get tar-pitted whilst that Nob powa-klaws your squad in short order.
Against anything with ‘hidden’ power weapons/fists and a good sized squad, you will cry. However, things that are terrible in mêlée, such as a Tactical squad (or smaller squads of Lootas, etc.) will do so little damage to you that you’ll smash them and get a good return points wise.
Still, it can be better in an indecisive assault and blocking TLOS for the rest of your army, than being shot at by all of his army!
The Sergeant and the attached IC will help offset the amount of incoming attacks.
Against Armour;
Haha, that is a different story. It is always easier to attack something that won’t hit back.
s9 hits against rear armour will definitely result in vehicles being destroyed.
So even after the foe has repositioned his Armour to not be showing you his rear armour, you can still have an effective attack against it. 15 s9 attacks will make even the Machine Spirit of Land Raiders squirm.
If your foe chooses to zoom 12” away to get out of reach/make for 6s ‘to hit’, you have not lost much. He is on the run and cannot shoot your beloved Terminators. Hopefully you can still skake/stun spam his tanks.
Chainfists;
Ridiculously powerful. Made redundant by attacking rear armour with s9. However, against Land Raiders, Bastions, and Dreadnoughts, the extra dice turns something that is a struggle (even for s9) into a breeze. If your local game includes these things, for so little points you are making life easy for your Terminators.
*Don’t charge Dreadnoughts with DCCW, unless you can’t get away or will be shot by half his army next turn.
+++
To battle!
I hope I have shown that Terminators are deadly, against their specific prey. I hope I have also shown they are fairly flimsy too.
This means they need to be delivered in the fracas in a transport. The LRC is the no-brainer for the Assault Terminators. It zooms 12” deploy 2.99” assault 6” = 20.99” of effective range. That makes T2 assaults plausible against the unwary.
The Shooty Terminators don’t benefit as much from the LRCs potential. They just aren’t really that good in mêlée, so the LRC is wasted on them.
That leaves Drop Pods.
Deep striking for Terminators is a bad idea. You land with less accuracy and more potential disaster. Then you either run, so you don’t get Ordnance templated, or shoot, which is the whole point of the unit.
That is a bad choice to be given.
Drop Pods;
These are accurate, safe and cheap. If you buy the Deathwind launcher, you provide an effective means of thinning tar-pit units of Ork boyz (with hidden Nob and powa-klaw) and can pulp that nasty squad of Heavy weapons guard threatening to smoke your expensive Terminators. The Deathwind is not essential, but with courageous Pod positioning, you can turn the transport into something frustrating. With good deployment you can reduce the amount of incoming fire and then whilst he concentrates on the Terminators, you are lobbing low strength Ordnance on his gunline. Nice.
The Pod also solves the run or shoot dilemma. They are already spread and so provide a dispersed target to aim at. This leaves you free to shoot, which will reduce the amount of incoming fire they will suffer.
The Pod brings four benefits;
Accurate landing, Safe landing, Dispersed landing, freedom to Shoot.
+++
Character escort;
Assault Terminators do not need an IC in any way shape or form. Your tooled up Marshal will help your more modest Crusaders far more than he would the Assault Terminators.
In fact Assault Terminators outperform a tooled up Marshal, point for point.
Editor's Note: I cannot reiterate this point enough. Putting an IC with this already insanely killy unit is a waste of points. Not only that, your opponent will paint a huge target on the side of that LRC until its dead. Then your 600+ points worth of uber, combat monsters are sitting ducks to incoming fire. Good game.
Tactical Terminators;
If you are thinking of using an IC with them, you should use the Command squad instead.
Command Terminators;
Well, you have too!
So what is the best fit for them? The unit is already screaming for a Demolisher cannon shot, so whoever joins them is better off cheaper.
The Shooty Terminators are not really any good in mêlée. So you can offset that weakness with a PoLC Commander, bringing 5 lightning claw attacks. Or you can continue in the vein the Terminators are already in ~ anti-Mech.
A Reclusiarch with a Combi-melta will add a boost in shooting prowess, help somewhat in offsetting slowness in mêlée and gives the Terminators re-rolls to hit against non-ws units, ie Tanks.
+++
Terminators are killers, no doubt about it. The two types, Shooty and Choppy, have a very specific prey. For you to get the most from them, you will need to be deliberate in getting them into the action against that specific target. Otherwise, they are not giving a good return on your investment and once free of their transport, will die quickly because they will receive masses of attention. Used well, they will aid your Crusader squads with things they are not so good with ~ Armour and enemy Elite mêlée specialists.
Black Templars Troops
I believe we have the equal best TROOPS of all the Marines, Grey Hunters and Salamander Tacticals being the others. Considering the need of 5th ed. that is a good thing indeed.
We are blessed by a few things as Templar players. We have the flexibility of the 4th ed min/max squads. 2 options in as few as 5 Marines. This opens up the option for the fabled Las/Plas squads that can give a degree of shootiness that will surprise as we are a renowned close combat army. Guilliman would be frustrated and envious simultaneously.
Another strength is that our troops are actually superior to Assault Marines in a melee, and due to a Rhino being a superior method of locomotion than the Jump pack, means we loose nothing on mobility either. Whilst bringing a Melta gun....
The guts of what really separates them is there devotion to The Emperor. Accept any challenge is a delightfully over powered addition for them. Re-rolls to hit upgrades them from hitting at 50% (versus equal ws) to 75%. That is simply huge.
Neophytes mean we can have big fat squads, whilst making the most of wound allocation. On the down side, we don't have frag grenades, Initiates cost 16 + the Vow/ number of 'users', and those with Bolters don't have bolt pistols making a volley and charge impossible ~ either you rapid fire or you charge. But I am happy even with those short comings. These things mean we have a great basis for an army.
Other points that make choosing Crusader squad is that some of our units, due to 4th ed. pricing for the most part, are as good as, or better than, some of our other chooses. Sword Brethren in power armour are not much killier, cost more and die as easily as Crusaders and are not TROOPS.
Assault squads are very expensive in a bang for buck comparo (though if you look at their section you will see why they are still worth considering) and jump packs are a second class way of manoeuvrability compared to the Rhino.
Bikes are also very expensive for what they bring.
+++
Neophytes versus Initiates.
Why include fresh faced recruits who don’t even get the AAC buff?
Bang for buck comparo.
Neophytes v Initiates with AAC. Pitched against Ork boyz.
Shooting Scenario.
10 Initiates: 10 bp shots / 6.6 hit / 3.3 wounds
16 Neophytes: 16 bp shots / 8 hit / 4 wounds.
Initiates only score 82.5% = that is a big drop!
Charging Scenario.
10 Initiates: 30 A / 22.5 hit / 11.25 wounds
16 Neophytes: 48 A / 24 hit / 12 wounds.
Initiates score 93.75% = significant drop.
Being shot Scenario.
18 Shoota boyz; 36 shots / 12 h / 6 w = 2 dead I (32 pts) or 3 dead (30 pts)
Initiates score 106.67% = significant drop.
Being charged (lets assume BT have already struck)
18 Shoota boyz v Initiates; 48 A / 24 h / 12 w / 4 dead I (64 pts)
18 Shoota boyz v Neophites; 48 A / 31.68 h / 16 w / 8 dead N (80 pts)
N score 125% = They get absolutely belted.
*Numbers-wise 5% is a reasonable difference. I know it might look small but when you add this up a few times over six turns it in fact makes a good sized difference.
So Neos manage to surpass Initiates in quite a number of things, even with the fearsome AAC buff.
However, Neos really come apart in cc versus a superior ws foe.
“The difference is, the attacks are resolved against the majority WS, so as long as there are more initiates (there will be), all attacks will be resolved against WS4, not the neophyte WS3 so your calculations are flawed. You then assign wounds to the cheaper neophytes...and the neophytes cause more wounds per points.
I didn't want to give the actual results of Neophytes being in the minority for using WS (BBB: pg 37) to give the worst case scenario, so people are not surprised. As Brother Loring correctly said, "the Neos will get the protection of being in the minority and give the benefit of being able to dish out slightly more damage and take the nasty hits. As I said previously, and is consistent with Brother Loring's keen eye, it is worth swapping a few Neos in.”
So where you have the room it is worth trading 2 I for 3 N. Then when Rokkits and armour ignoring hits come in your foe is really not getting his moneys worth from hit big hits.
+++
Neophytes, what to arm them with?
Shot gun versus Bolt pistol and sword
10 Neos v 10 Neos against Shoota boyz.
Shotguns; 20 shots, 10 hit, 3.3 w. 2 dead.
Boltpistols; 10 shots, 5 hits, 2.5 dead.
Charging shotguns. 20 A. 10 h. 5 w
Charging BP&S. 30 A. 15 h. 7.5 w.
Bolt Pistol & Sword does more shooting damage and more cc damage.
*Don't take shotguns, even if they look cool. At s3 they are not good enough. **Also, even if shotguns had s4, you don't really want to do massive amounts of shooting damage. This gives your foe a chance to fail morale and flee from being charged, which was what you really wanted to do in the first place.
There will always be those foes so good in cc that shooting them would be a good idea, such as Howling Banshees and Genestealers. After the powerful volley, you will still have to go through the close combat phase and kill them all. (Remembering that charging a unit of Banshees is better than being charged by them). As soon as the cc lasts beyond that first round, the loss of that extra attack will mount up....
+++
Power fist versus Power weapon.
Why do I mostly take Power fists in preference to power weapons?
PF charging.
2 A. 75% hit. 83% wound. 1.245 wounds
PW charging.
3 A. 75% hit. 50% wound. 1.125 wounds
PF subsequently.
1 A. 75% hit. 83% wound. 0.6225 wounds
PW subsequently.
2 A. 75% hit. 50% wound. 0.75 wounds
You can see that against MEq, the two are nearly the same in effect. The PW gets the benefit of striking at i4 (meaning that you’ll nearly always get a chance to swing with it, especially when your squad starts shrinking) whilst the PF strikes last.
What I have noticed is, anything worth the attention of these two special cc weapons, usually needs the s8 insta-kill potential that the PF brings. Nobs, Tyranid warriors and those sorts of nasty things. The PW will kill Terminators well though, due to them only having 1 wound.
So it’s pretty much even then?
No. What the PF allows is the chance to hurt vehicles, crucial considering you can get tar-pitted by a lonesome Killa Kan. It also gives the Melta gun a back up if you have fluffed your dice rolls. Even with the Mg’s amazing penetration and damage rolls, still one third of them will miss. Being able to have another attempt (well, two if you’re charging) is the trademark of Redundancy
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Special weapons.
Flamer, good versus infantry and will even garner kills against MEQ with canny template placing. Useful against flimsy things like Eldar, and doubly useful against horrid things that strike first, such as Howling Banshees. Generally though, the flamer is taking the bread from the table of your regular guys ~ Crusaders can only kill men and not tanks, so why help them kill men when there are tanks to be destroyed?
Editor's Note: In shooty units, they are worthwhile as a horde-control device if needed.
Plasma gun, the hero of yesteryear, but has been supplanted by the Melta gun as the gamers special weapon of choice. It still has it’s uses, though mainly in shooty squads because of not being able to assault after rapid firing. It can sizzle a Terminator (which is a good return for your money) and has a solid chance against AV 10.
Editor's Note: As previously mentioned, the Lascannon/Plasmagun combo works wonders in an AT-dedicated shooty crusader squad. It gives you two shots AT shots at 24" and 3 within 12". Not bad. It also gives you the option of frying MEQ at range if their is no armor to target.
Melta gun, today’s hero. Whilst it doesn’t have the rate of fire a rapid firing Plasma gun does, due to being s8 it can still do as much damage to multi-wound nasties like Nobs, Tyranid warriors, Thunder Wolf Cavalry and those sorts of things.
Plus it is an assault weapon, and compliments the ethos of your Crusaders ~ charge!
In the same way that the Power Weapon puts up a good show against the Power Fist for most of the comparos, in the anti-tank scenario, the Melta gun eclipses all others. Averaging 15 for penetration rolls within MELTA range, it is no wonder the Melta gun is such a beauty. Then with +1 to damage rolls, the chance of destroying Armour goes from 33.3% to 50%. Wow!
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Heavy weapons.
These compete with the Power Weapon and Power Fist for that one slot in a Crusader squads options. Choosing cc or heavy radically alters the units function.
Heavy bolter, the bane of medium infantry typically found in Eldar and Tau armies. Nice medium range. But it kills men, it needs to kill Armour. There are better ways of bringing them to the table top.
Missile launcher, the swiss army knife. Able to target men, multi-wound things and tanks. Long range. Sort of kills men and sort of kills Armour. Doesn’t do either particularly well in my opinion and should be avoided, though it’s versatility is it’s saving feature. Of course there is always an exception and against Eldar it will kill their holo-fielded tanks as well as a Las Cannon and kill their puny men well.
Multi melta. Arguably the AT weapon of all time that an infantryman can carry. Unfortunately it’s short range, 12” for real effect, is exacerbated by it being a heavy weapon ~ move or shoot. Best carried by Armour. Not of real use in an infantry squad.
Las cannon. Old faithful. It has been poking holes in Armour since 1st ed, though it is outshone by the ferocity of Armour mounted Multi-meltas and Melta guns. What it does offer is reach. You don’t have to chase speedy Eldar around when you have 48” range. Being able to stop Armour (though more usually lighter armoured transports) within their deployment zone, from yours, is never to be underestimated. The reach of the Las cannon is a good ‘incentive’ to compel your foe to close with you close combat focused army.
Not only does it penetrate armour better than the Missile launcher but also can take out the fairly common 2+ save. You can kill Broadsides, Terminators, Mega Nobz, Artificer armour and the like, with regards to saving throws, 100% of the time, whilst the Missile launcher will only do it on 16.7% of the time....
Plasma cannon. The Terminator killer. This is custom made for taking a few Terminators out per shot (thus also MEQ) which makes it the premiere heavy infantry killer. It does struggle against anything that does have a proper AV though. It is somewhat like an inverse Missile launcher, being great against men and suspect against Armour. Better than the Missile launcher but considering it’s range is shorter, it costs double and will kill the operator 2/36 (5.5%) each shot, it does lose some of it’s shine....
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Frag grenades
Too expensive.
Editor's Note: I agree that they are too expensive for most lists, but if your list relies on CC-oriented Crusader squads for its killing power, then they need to suck it up and purchase the frags. Otherwise your opponent will just sit in cover and laugh at you when you charge them.
Crusader seals
Too expensive, if you are going Foot and want the increased speed, you’ll get it from the IC you will doubtlessly be running them with.
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Unit kit out.
The Whopper. 10 Initiates & 10 Neophytes. 285 pts
Melta gun, Power fist.
This is an archetypal steam-roller that Templars became renowned for back when Foot was a solid choice. Add a Chaplain, to buff the Neophytes with to hit re-rolls, and to steer the unit to the best effect via Unmatched zeal. The Chaplain’s Cenobyte servitors add distance to the Righteous zeal move, 1” per servitor, as well as the Chaplain’s unit wide Crusader seals re-roll.
At this size the only thing to fear is being tar-pitted by something horrid like a Dreadnought.
The Cavalry. 10 Initiates & 5 Neophytes *(trade Neophytes for Initiates as appropriate). 235 pts
Melta gun, Power fist.
carried by a Land Raider Crusader.
These guys pack out the Crusaders 15 men capacity, which thus makes best use of it.
Swap in an IC for extra i5 power weapon attacks.
The Classic. 10 Initiates *(trade Neophytes as appropriate). 185 pts
Melta gun, Power fist.
Crusaders kill enemy men well. What they need is anti-armour for their upgrades. This squad will be able to take most opponents, being able to hurt men and Armour.
Editor's Note: The optimal squad size is 8 Initiates and 2 Neophytes in a Rhino. If an IC is joined, drop the Initiate count to 7 and stay with 2 Neophytes.
Plas-Plas. 5 Initiates. 106 pts
Plasma cannon, Plasma gun
Of good use for adding anti-TEq firepower for a cc army.
Las-Plas. 5 Initiates. 101 pts
Las cannon, Plasma gun
A long time favourite for changing Crusaders into a somewhat shooty option. Often used as an Objective camper squad or in a Razorback. Can do damage against AV 11 reasonably well.
Homeguard. 5 Initiates. 101 pts
Las cannon, Flamer
One of my hobby horses that I try, try and try again to convince others of their worth . The sit on your home objective (you know, what wins you games most of the times? besides tabling your foe....) The Las cannon pokes away at Armour, usually along with a 3-las or Combi Predator. Then when the baddies close in, the flamer gives it a sting that it lacks due to it’s small size.
Why I like the Flamer over a Plasma gun? Usually the Plasma gun will not be of use against real Armour. If a battle wagon full of Green is coming your way, the Plasma is useless. I would rather have one woosh of flame (which you can follow up with a charge) than two Plasma shots. The Plasma will just not get to fire enough times to get real value from it.
Editor's Note: I second this if this is the role you're using them for. However, if using them as dedicated AT, you might be better off with the Las/Plas setup.
We are blessed by a few things as Templar players. We have the flexibility of the 4th ed min/max squads. 2 options in as few as 5 Marines. This opens up the option for the fabled Las/Plas squads that can give a degree of shootiness that will surprise as we are a renowned close combat army. Guilliman would be frustrated and envious simultaneously.
Another strength is that our troops are actually superior to Assault Marines in a melee, and due to a Rhino being a superior method of locomotion than the Jump pack, means we loose nothing on mobility either. Whilst bringing a Melta gun....
The guts of what really separates them is there devotion to The Emperor. Accept any challenge is a delightfully over powered addition for them. Re-rolls to hit upgrades them from hitting at 50% (versus equal ws) to 75%. That is simply huge.
Neophytes mean we can have big fat squads, whilst making the most of wound allocation. On the down side, we don't have frag grenades, Initiates cost 16 + the Vow/ number of 'users', and those with Bolters don't have bolt pistols making a volley and charge impossible ~ either you rapid fire or you charge. But I am happy even with those short comings. These things mean we have a great basis for an army.
Other points that make choosing Crusader squad is that some of our units, due to 4th ed. pricing for the most part, are as good as, or better than, some of our other chooses. Sword Brethren in power armour are not much killier, cost more and die as easily as Crusaders and are not TROOPS.
Assault squads are very expensive in a bang for buck comparo (though if you look at their section you will see why they are still worth considering) and jump packs are a second class way of manoeuvrability compared to the Rhino.
Bikes are also very expensive for what they bring.
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Neophytes versus Initiates.
Why include fresh faced recruits who don’t even get the AAC buff?
Bang for buck comparo.
Neophytes v Initiates with AAC. Pitched against Ork boyz.
Shooting Scenario.
10 Initiates: 10 bp shots / 6.6 hit / 3.3 wounds
16 Neophytes: 16 bp shots / 8 hit / 4 wounds.
Initiates only score 82.5% = that is a big drop!
Charging Scenario.
10 Initiates: 30 A / 22.5 hit / 11.25 wounds
16 Neophytes: 48 A / 24 hit / 12 wounds.
Initiates score 93.75% = significant drop.
Being shot Scenario.
18 Shoota boyz; 36 shots / 12 h / 6 w = 2 dead I (32 pts) or 3 dead (30 pts)
Initiates score 106.67% = significant drop.
Being charged (lets assume BT have already struck)
18 Shoota boyz v Initiates; 48 A / 24 h / 12 w / 4 dead I (64 pts)
18 Shoota boyz v Neophites; 48 A / 31.68 h / 16 w / 8 dead N (80 pts)
N score 125% = They get absolutely belted.
*Numbers-wise 5% is a reasonable difference. I know it might look small but when you add this up a few times over six turns it in fact makes a good sized difference.
So Neos manage to surpass Initiates in quite a number of things, even with the fearsome AAC buff.
However, Neos really come apart in cc versus a superior ws foe.
“The difference is, the attacks are resolved against the majority WS, so as long as there are more initiates (there will be), all attacks will be resolved against WS4, not the neophyte WS3 so your calculations are flawed. You then assign wounds to the cheaper neophytes...and the neophytes cause more wounds per points.
I didn't want to give the actual results of Neophytes being in the minority for using WS (BBB: pg 37) to give the worst case scenario, so people are not surprised. As Brother Loring correctly said, "the Neos will get the protection of being in the minority and give the benefit of being able to dish out slightly more damage and take the nasty hits. As I said previously, and is consistent with Brother Loring's keen eye, it is worth swapping a few Neos in.”
So where you have the room it is worth trading 2 I for 3 N. Then when Rokkits and armour ignoring hits come in your foe is really not getting his moneys worth from hit big hits.
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Neophytes, what to arm them with?
Shot gun versus Bolt pistol and sword
10 Neos v 10 Neos against Shoota boyz.
Shotguns; 20 shots, 10 hit, 3.3 w. 2 dead.
Boltpistols; 10 shots, 5 hits, 2.5 dead.
Charging shotguns. 20 A. 10 h. 5 w
Charging BP&S. 30 A. 15 h. 7.5 w.
Bolt Pistol & Sword does more shooting damage and more cc damage.
*Don't take shotguns, even if they look cool. At s3 they are not good enough. **Also, even if shotguns had s4, you don't really want to do massive amounts of shooting damage. This gives your foe a chance to fail morale and flee from being charged, which was what you really wanted to do in the first place.
There will always be those foes so good in cc that shooting them would be a good idea, such as Howling Banshees and Genestealers. After the powerful volley, you will still have to go through the close combat phase and kill them all. (Remembering that charging a unit of Banshees is better than being charged by them). As soon as the cc lasts beyond that first round, the loss of that extra attack will mount up....
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Power fist versus Power weapon.
Why do I mostly take Power fists in preference to power weapons?
PF charging.
2 A. 75% hit. 83% wound. 1.245 wounds
PW charging.
3 A. 75% hit. 50% wound. 1.125 wounds
PF subsequently.
1 A. 75% hit. 83% wound. 0.6225 wounds
PW subsequently.
2 A. 75% hit. 50% wound. 0.75 wounds
You can see that against MEq, the two are nearly the same in effect. The PW gets the benefit of striking at i4 (meaning that you’ll nearly always get a chance to swing with it, especially when your squad starts shrinking) whilst the PF strikes last.
What I have noticed is, anything worth the attention of these two special cc weapons, usually needs the s8 insta-kill potential that the PF brings. Nobs, Tyranid warriors and those sorts of nasty things. The PW will kill Terminators well though, due to them only having 1 wound.
So it’s pretty much even then?
No. What the PF allows is the chance to hurt vehicles, crucial considering you can get tar-pitted by a lonesome Killa Kan. It also gives the Melta gun a back up if you have fluffed your dice rolls. Even with the Mg’s amazing penetration and damage rolls, still one third of them will miss. Being able to have another attempt (well, two if you’re charging) is the trademark of Redundancy
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Special weapons.
Flamer, good versus infantry and will even garner kills against MEQ with canny template placing. Useful against flimsy things like Eldar, and doubly useful against horrid things that strike first, such as Howling Banshees. Generally though, the flamer is taking the bread from the table of your regular guys ~ Crusaders can only kill men and not tanks, so why help them kill men when there are tanks to be destroyed?
Editor's Note: In shooty units, they are worthwhile as a horde-control device if needed.
Plasma gun, the hero of yesteryear, but has been supplanted by the Melta gun as the gamers special weapon of choice. It still has it’s uses, though mainly in shooty squads because of not being able to assault after rapid firing. It can sizzle a Terminator (which is a good return for your money) and has a solid chance against AV 10.
Editor's Note: As previously mentioned, the Lascannon/Plasmagun combo works wonders in an AT-dedicated shooty crusader squad. It gives you two shots AT shots at 24" and 3 within 12". Not bad. It also gives you the option of frying MEQ at range if their is no armor to target.
Melta gun, today’s hero. Whilst it doesn’t have the rate of fire a rapid firing Plasma gun does, due to being s8 it can still do as much damage to multi-wound nasties like Nobs, Tyranid warriors, Thunder Wolf Cavalry and those sorts of things.
Plus it is an assault weapon, and compliments the ethos of your Crusaders ~ charge!
In the same way that the Power Weapon puts up a good show against the Power Fist for most of the comparos, in the anti-tank scenario, the Melta gun eclipses all others. Averaging 15 for penetration rolls within MELTA range, it is no wonder the Melta gun is such a beauty. Then with +1 to damage rolls, the chance of destroying Armour goes from 33.3% to 50%. Wow!
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Heavy weapons.
These compete with the Power Weapon and Power Fist for that one slot in a Crusader squads options. Choosing cc or heavy radically alters the units function.
Heavy bolter, the bane of medium infantry typically found in Eldar and Tau armies. Nice medium range. But it kills men, it needs to kill Armour. There are better ways of bringing them to the table top.
Missile launcher, the swiss army knife. Able to target men, multi-wound things and tanks. Long range. Sort of kills men and sort of kills Armour. Doesn’t do either particularly well in my opinion and should be avoided, though it’s versatility is it’s saving feature. Of course there is always an exception and against Eldar it will kill their holo-fielded tanks as well as a Las Cannon and kill their puny men well.
Multi melta. Arguably the AT weapon of all time that an infantryman can carry. Unfortunately it’s short range, 12” for real effect, is exacerbated by it being a heavy weapon ~ move or shoot. Best carried by Armour. Not of real use in an infantry squad.
Las cannon. Old faithful. It has been poking holes in Armour since 1st ed, though it is outshone by the ferocity of Armour mounted Multi-meltas and Melta guns. What it does offer is reach. You don’t have to chase speedy Eldar around when you have 48” range. Being able to stop Armour (though more usually lighter armoured transports) within their deployment zone, from yours, is never to be underestimated. The reach of the Las cannon is a good ‘incentive’ to compel your foe to close with you close combat focused army.
Not only does it penetrate armour better than the Missile launcher but also can take out the fairly common 2+ save. You can kill Broadsides, Terminators, Mega Nobz, Artificer armour and the like, with regards to saving throws, 100% of the time, whilst the Missile launcher will only do it on 16.7% of the time....
Plasma cannon. The Terminator killer. This is custom made for taking a few Terminators out per shot (thus also MEQ) which makes it the premiere heavy infantry killer. It does struggle against anything that does have a proper AV though. It is somewhat like an inverse Missile launcher, being great against men and suspect against Armour. Better than the Missile launcher but considering it’s range is shorter, it costs double and will kill the operator 2/36 (5.5%) each shot, it does lose some of it’s shine....
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Frag grenades
Too expensive.
Editor's Note: I agree that they are too expensive for most lists, but if your list relies on CC-oriented Crusader squads for its killing power, then they need to suck it up and purchase the frags. Otherwise your opponent will just sit in cover and laugh at you when you charge them.
Crusader seals
Too expensive, if you are going Foot and want the increased speed, you’ll get it from the IC you will doubtlessly be running them with.
+++
Unit kit out.
The Whopper. 10 Initiates & 10 Neophytes. 285 pts
Melta gun, Power fist.
This is an archetypal steam-roller that Templars became renowned for back when Foot was a solid choice. Add a Chaplain, to buff the Neophytes with to hit re-rolls, and to steer the unit to the best effect via Unmatched zeal. The Chaplain’s Cenobyte servitors add distance to the Righteous zeal move, 1” per servitor, as well as the Chaplain’s unit wide Crusader seals re-roll.
At this size the only thing to fear is being tar-pitted by something horrid like a Dreadnought.
The Cavalry. 10 Initiates & 5 Neophytes *(trade Neophytes for Initiates as appropriate). 235 pts
Melta gun, Power fist.
carried by a Land Raider Crusader.
These guys pack out the Crusaders 15 men capacity, which thus makes best use of it.
Swap in an IC for extra i5 power weapon attacks.
The Classic. 10 Initiates *(trade Neophytes as appropriate). 185 pts
Melta gun, Power fist.
Crusaders kill enemy men well. What they need is anti-armour for their upgrades. This squad will be able to take most opponents, being able to hurt men and Armour.
Editor's Note: The optimal squad size is 8 Initiates and 2 Neophytes in a Rhino. If an IC is joined, drop the Initiate count to 7 and stay with 2 Neophytes.
Plas-Plas. 5 Initiates. 106 pts
Plasma cannon, Plasma gun
Of good use for adding anti-TEq firepower for a cc army.
Las-Plas. 5 Initiates. 101 pts
Las cannon, Plasma gun
A long time favourite for changing Crusaders into a somewhat shooty option. Often used as an Objective camper squad or in a Razorback. Can do damage against AV 11 reasonably well.
Homeguard. 5 Initiates. 101 pts
Las cannon, Flamer
One of my hobby horses that I try, try and try again to convince others of their worth . The sit on your home objective (you know, what wins you games most of the times? besides tabling your foe....) The Las cannon pokes away at Armour, usually along with a 3-las or Combi Predator. Then when the baddies close in, the flamer gives it a sting that it lacks due to it’s small size.
Why I like the Flamer over a Plasma gun? Usually the Plasma gun will not be of use against real Armour. If a battle wagon full of Green is coming your way, the Plasma is useless. I would rather have one woosh of flame (which you can follow up with a charge) than two Plasma shots. The Plasma will just not get to fire enough times to get real value from it.
Editor's Note: I second this if this is the role you're using them for. However, if using them as dedicated AT, you might be better off with the Las/Plas setup.
Black Templars Assault Squads
In an Ultramarine army, Assault Marines add extra oomph (bringing twice the number of attacks) and can leap over you squads (who will be to an extent be static because they are shooting) and lock up the enemy. This is not so for Templars and using them the way that they do will not bring much benefit to your army. They are not assault troops per se.
They are more like Mongols, striking hard and coming from a distance, harassing with shooting and causing havoc amongst tanks. But they are vulnerable and need good stewardship.
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Effectiveness.
Firstly, they are over priced by 4 points or 122%. You will never get the same amount of kills in close combat from them as you would from Crusaders.
See this scenario versus Ork Boyz.
9 Assault Marines. = 243 pts.
All with Melta bombs, 2 Flamers, Power fist.
7 bolt pistol shots. 4.62 h, 2.31 dead
2 flames. 12 h, 6 dead.
22 A. 16.5 h, 8.25 w, 6.85 dead
2 PF A. 1.5 h, 1.245 dead
16.4 dead Orks. (8.3 from shooting = 50%)
10 Initiates + 6 Neophytes = 245 pts.
Power fist, Melta gun.
9 bs4 + 6 bs 3 bolt pistol shots. 9 h, 4.5 dead
Melta. 0.66 h, 0.55 dead
27 AAC + 18 ws3 A. 29.25 h, 14.625 w, 12.14 dead
2 PF A. 1.5 h, 1.245 dead
18.435 dead Orks. (5.05 from shooting = 27.4%)
Hang on a minute! I had thought the Crusaders would have seriously out performed the Assault squad. But they didn't.... or did they?
The Assault squad scores 89% kills compared to the Crusaders. The two flamers actually go a long way in compensating for lack of numbers and the shooting phase is what keeps the Assault squad competitive. Which is kind of ironic....
I will say this though. Scoring 89% is a decent sized drop in effectiveness. If that happens over a few turns, you will really notice the difference. If the Assault squad can’t kill a squad in the turn it assaults (or even by the end of the enemies turn) they will not be able to bring the kills of the flamers into play.
But who plays Foot anyway?
10 Initiates + Rhino = 243 pts.
Power fist, Melta gun.
9 bolt pistol shots, 6 h, 3 dead.
Melta shot, 0.66 h, 0.55 dead.
27 A, 20.25 h, 10.125 w, 8.4 dead.
2 PF A. 1.5 h, 1.245 dead
13.2 dead Orks. (3.55 from shooting = 26.9%)
Now the Assault squad are scoring 124% of the Mech Crusaders!
That is interesting. With the flamers used, the Assault squad does a serious amount of killing on the charge. Without that, the would drop down to the same output as the Mech Crusaders.
This shows that Assault squads can be used effectively, it’s just that they need to crush small squads, or attack in combination with another squad, to make sure they can rip through it in one or two close combat phases.
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Survivability.
This is one very obvious flaw with them. Whilst Foot Crusaders have very large squads to absorb shooting and Mech Crusaders have AV 11 to get them out of harms reach of even Tau pulse rifles, Assault Marines have no such defence. Even using cover well can mean you lose effective progress of the table top. I am not saying don’t use cover. I am saying unless you have built a terrain bridge across the table for just that purpose, you’ll not likely be able to do that.
What Assault squads can do in follow in the wake of your Rhinos and Land Raiders. Cashing in on the Italian saying that “The best form of armour is to be out of sight” is the idea here. You don’t have to face your Rhinos straight at where you are going, you can pivot them at the end of the move so they are ‘wider’ and provide superior blocking of TLOS than had you not been so creative.
On the turn before the charge, bring the Assault squad more alongside the Rhino. This will give you more depth for effective 18” charge. This could mean you have exposed your squad to shooting, but you will have to gauge the Risk versus Reward of that yourself on the day of the game.
Once they have made it into close combat against smaller squads, they avoid being shot. It becomes important to pick a squad that will not hurt you badly, but at the same time last your assault phase so you end up killing them in their next assault phase. Then you are free to attack something else within 18”. This use of mêlée will reduce the amount of firepower suffered and also block up TLOS to other parts of your force.
If you do not micro-manage your Assault squad and keep them out of sight and/or overwhelm the foe with other more urgent options to shoot at, you will regret bringing them along.
They may kill as well as a larger squad, but they will die much quicker.
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Tank hunters.
This is really the main strength they bring to your army. Demolition.
8 Melta bombs and 2 PF attacks on the charge will likely end badly even for Walkers and cruising Tanks.
Multiple Melta bombs mean even Land Raiders must be wary. Against AV 14;
15/36 won’t damage.
6/36 will glance.
15/36 will penetrate.
AV 10;
1/36 will glance.
35/36 will penetrate.
That is ridiculous! If you can charge multiple Tanks with one assault (or charge a squadron) you will rack up damage very quickly.
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Who they compete with?
3 Land speeders with MM and HF = 225 pts.
These can deepstrike, shoot their MELTA weapons and still remain out of reach of much of the enemy force, whilst the Assault squad have only fired their bolt pistols and flamers (if they have landed close enough). The Speeders can also land just as close as the Assault squad and fire the more effective HF, something that will hammer Medium infantry with save 4+.
But the Speeders can’t stay out of TLOS behind a Rhino, can’t help out another squad that is already in cc (though they can HF a squad just before another squad charges ~ like the Assault squad can) and can be taken out with a single shot, although they are mostly impervious to bolter fire and can come in neat single choices, meaning you can spread those three Speeders across the board, too.
Assault Marines can lock up a Devastator squad in close combat (which means they get to kill in the shooting and assault phase, the Speeder only in shooting), or leap to the aid of another unit already in close combat. These can be turn-winning strengths in themselves.
If you are playing competitively, Speeders win. If you are playing something less cut throat, Assault squads can do well and if you can overcome their flaws, you will probably enjoy using them.
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Squad load outs.
10 Assault Marines = 267 pts
2 Flamers, Power fist. Melta bombs.
These are a nice big squad that can absorb some fire and still be effective. Being bigger does mean they'll be easier to TLOS and that scattering Ordnance is likelier to hit. They will kill their target unit with greater impunity.
5 Assault Marines = 122 pts
2 Flamers.
5 Assault Marines = 120 pts
Melta bombs.
These smaller squads are more specialised. When combined with small size and manoeuvrability, they compliment (and need) other squads effectiveness.
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Independent Characters?
Even the dreaded Templar Initiates need a helping hand in mêlée, and the less hard hitting Assault Marines even more so. It turns out we have just the character for the job.
The Reclusiarch.
4 i5 power weapon attacks, re-rolling all to hit rolls (not just versus ws, which is what AAC brings) is just the extra power they need.
Boltpistol, Frag grenades, Jump pack and Melta bombs ups his cost to 122 pts.
1] Terminator honours ~ more attacks
2] Plasma pistol and Artificer armour (need to stop him hurting himself as much as anything else) ~ for a useful s7 ap2 shot, always handy against rear armour and TEq.
3] Powerfist/Thunder hammer (perhaps swapped for melta bombs) ~ 4 s8 attacks on the charge (of more use than 1 melta bomb attack against AV10-12)
The cheaper you can keep him the better. Sometimes you’ll have spare points that cannot be spent elsewhere and so these are the better options.
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Plasma pistols and Storm shields.
I don’t like either of these choices for Assault Marines. Plasma pistols seem reasonable for these anti-Mech warriors. However, when you’ve spent so many points on one, is the Risk versus Reward worth it? I don’t think so. A s7 shot is not a game winner nor that likely to open a transport up for you to assault the passengers but losing an Assault Marine will make you sad.
When compared with Flamers they compete with (the weapons that actually do a lot of the infantry killing that keeps them somewhat competitive) they seem counter productive.
Storm shields cannot be used to keep them alive against shooting (their biggest weakness) and in order to get the reasonable 4++ save in mêlée, you’ll be killing less ~ which in turn means you’ll be taking more hits. Anything that reduces the kills and increases the cost of an already marginal choice seems unwise to me.
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Deep striking?
No. Most of the time they will not cause enough shooting damage, even with flamers, to reduce incoming fire. They are then in a neat huddle for an Ordnance shot. A safer bet is to scurry across the board behind Rhinos. The lack of Pod accuracy means they are just being hopeful in trying to bring the flamers to bear.
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Assault Marines are not “competitive”, nor are they Assaulty. However, with some care you can get something worthwhile from them.
I think of them as somewhat like Cuirassiers employing the Caracole tactic. Not heavy cavalry, but harassers who can plunge in at the right time and against the right foe.
Editor's Note: I do not condone the use of Assault Marine squads in competitive lists. They can be added to "Black Tide" lists for a reasonably effective anti-AT/MC unit, but those lists are more for fun in 5th Edition. So much analysis just to say that they are bad. ;)
They are more like Mongols, striking hard and coming from a distance, harassing with shooting and causing havoc amongst tanks. But they are vulnerable and need good stewardship.
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Effectiveness.
Firstly, they are over priced by 4 points or 122%. You will never get the same amount of kills in close combat from them as you would from Crusaders.
See this scenario versus Ork Boyz.
9 Assault Marines. = 243 pts.
All with Melta bombs, 2 Flamers, Power fist.
7 bolt pistol shots. 4.62 h, 2.31 dead
2 flames. 12 h, 6 dead.
22 A. 16.5 h, 8.25 w, 6.85 dead
2 PF A. 1.5 h, 1.245 dead
16.4 dead Orks. (8.3 from shooting = 50%)
10 Initiates + 6 Neophytes = 245 pts.
Power fist, Melta gun.
9 bs4 + 6 bs 3 bolt pistol shots. 9 h, 4.5 dead
Melta. 0.66 h, 0.55 dead
27 AAC + 18 ws3 A. 29.25 h, 14.625 w, 12.14 dead
2 PF A. 1.5 h, 1.245 dead
18.435 dead Orks. (5.05 from shooting = 27.4%)
Hang on a minute! I had thought the Crusaders would have seriously out performed the Assault squad. But they didn't.... or did they?
The Assault squad scores 89% kills compared to the Crusaders. The two flamers actually go a long way in compensating for lack of numbers and the shooting phase is what keeps the Assault squad competitive. Which is kind of ironic....
I will say this though. Scoring 89% is a decent sized drop in effectiveness. If that happens over a few turns, you will really notice the difference. If the Assault squad can’t kill a squad in the turn it assaults (or even by the end of the enemies turn) they will not be able to bring the kills of the flamers into play.
But who plays Foot anyway?
10 Initiates + Rhino = 243 pts.
Power fist, Melta gun.
9 bolt pistol shots, 6 h, 3 dead.
Melta shot, 0.66 h, 0.55 dead.
27 A, 20.25 h, 10.125 w, 8.4 dead.
2 PF A. 1.5 h, 1.245 dead
13.2 dead Orks. (3.55 from shooting = 26.9%)
Now the Assault squad are scoring 124% of the Mech Crusaders!
That is interesting. With the flamers used, the Assault squad does a serious amount of killing on the charge. Without that, the would drop down to the same output as the Mech Crusaders.
This shows that Assault squads can be used effectively, it’s just that they need to crush small squads, or attack in combination with another squad, to make sure they can rip through it in one or two close combat phases.
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Survivability.
This is one very obvious flaw with them. Whilst Foot Crusaders have very large squads to absorb shooting and Mech Crusaders have AV 11 to get them out of harms reach of even Tau pulse rifles, Assault Marines have no such defence. Even using cover well can mean you lose effective progress of the table top. I am not saying don’t use cover. I am saying unless you have built a terrain bridge across the table for just that purpose, you’ll not likely be able to do that.
What Assault squads can do in follow in the wake of your Rhinos and Land Raiders. Cashing in on the Italian saying that “The best form of armour is to be out of sight” is the idea here. You don’t have to face your Rhinos straight at where you are going, you can pivot them at the end of the move so they are ‘wider’ and provide superior blocking of TLOS than had you not been so creative.
On the turn before the charge, bring the Assault squad more alongside the Rhino. This will give you more depth for effective 18” charge. This could mean you have exposed your squad to shooting, but you will have to gauge the Risk versus Reward of that yourself on the day of the game.
Once they have made it into close combat against smaller squads, they avoid being shot. It becomes important to pick a squad that will not hurt you badly, but at the same time last your assault phase so you end up killing them in their next assault phase. Then you are free to attack something else within 18”. This use of mêlée will reduce the amount of firepower suffered and also block up TLOS to other parts of your force.
If you do not micro-manage your Assault squad and keep them out of sight and/or overwhelm the foe with other more urgent options to shoot at, you will regret bringing them along.
They may kill as well as a larger squad, but they will die much quicker.
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Tank hunters.
This is really the main strength they bring to your army. Demolition.
8 Melta bombs and 2 PF attacks on the charge will likely end badly even for Walkers and cruising Tanks.
Multiple Melta bombs mean even Land Raiders must be wary. Against AV 14;
15/36 won’t damage.
6/36 will glance.
15/36 will penetrate.
AV 10;
1/36 will glance.
35/36 will penetrate.
That is ridiculous! If you can charge multiple Tanks with one assault (or charge a squadron) you will rack up damage very quickly.
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Who they compete with?
3 Land speeders with MM and HF = 225 pts.
These can deepstrike, shoot their MELTA weapons and still remain out of reach of much of the enemy force, whilst the Assault squad have only fired their bolt pistols and flamers (if they have landed close enough). The Speeders can also land just as close as the Assault squad and fire the more effective HF, something that will hammer Medium infantry with save 4+.
But the Speeders can’t stay out of TLOS behind a Rhino, can’t help out another squad that is already in cc (though they can HF a squad just before another squad charges ~ like the Assault squad can) and can be taken out with a single shot, although they are mostly impervious to bolter fire and can come in neat single choices, meaning you can spread those three Speeders across the board, too.
Assault Marines can lock up a Devastator squad in close combat (which means they get to kill in the shooting and assault phase, the Speeder only in shooting), or leap to the aid of another unit already in close combat. These can be turn-winning strengths in themselves.
If you are playing competitively, Speeders win. If you are playing something less cut throat, Assault squads can do well and if you can overcome their flaws, you will probably enjoy using them.
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Squad load outs.
10 Assault Marines = 267 pts
2 Flamers, Power fist. Melta bombs.
These are a nice big squad that can absorb some fire and still be effective. Being bigger does mean they'll be easier to TLOS and that scattering Ordnance is likelier to hit. They will kill their target unit with greater impunity.
5 Assault Marines = 122 pts
2 Flamers.
5 Assault Marines = 120 pts
Melta bombs.
These smaller squads are more specialised. When combined with small size and manoeuvrability, they compliment (and need) other squads effectiveness.
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Independent Characters?
Even the dreaded Templar Initiates need a helping hand in mêlée, and the less hard hitting Assault Marines even more so. It turns out we have just the character for the job.
The Reclusiarch.
4 i5 power weapon attacks, re-rolling all to hit rolls (not just versus ws, which is what AAC brings) is just the extra power they need.
Boltpistol, Frag grenades, Jump pack and Melta bombs ups his cost to 122 pts.
1] Terminator honours ~ more attacks
2] Plasma pistol and Artificer armour (need to stop him hurting himself as much as anything else) ~ for a useful s7 ap2 shot, always handy against rear armour and TEq.
3] Powerfist/Thunder hammer (perhaps swapped for melta bombs) ~ 4 s8 attacks on the charge (of more use than 1 melta bomb attack against AV10-12)
The cheaper you can keep him the better. Sometimes you’ll have spare points that cannot be spent elsewhere and so these are the better options.
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Plasma pistols and Storm shields.
I don’t like either of these choices for Assault Marines. Plasma pistols seem reasonable for these anti-Mech warriors. However, when you’ve spent so many points on one, is the Risk versus Reward worth it? I don’t think so. A s7 shot is not a game winner nor that likely to open a transport up for you to assault the passengers but losing an Assault Marine will make you sad.
When compared with Flamers they compete with (the weapons that actually do a lot of the infantry killing that keeps them somewhat competitive) they seem counter productive.
Storm shields cannot be used to keep them alive against shooting (their biggest weakness) and in order to get the reasonable 4++ save in mêlée, you’ll be killing less ~ which in turn means you’ll be taking more hits. Anything that reduces the kills and increases the cost of an already marginal choice seems unwise to me.
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Deep striking?
No. Most of the time they will not cause enough shooting damage, even with flamers, to reduce incoming fire. They are then in a neat huddle for an Ordnance shot. A safer bet is to scurry across the board behind Rhinos. The lack of Pod accuracy means they are just being hopeful in trying to bring the flamers to bear.
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Assault Marines are not “competitive”, nor are they Assaulty. However, with some care you can get something worthwhile from them.
I think of them as somewhat like Cuirassiers employing the Caracole tactic. Not heavy cavalry, but harassers who can plunge in at the right time and against the right foe.
Editor's Note: I do not condone the use of Assault Marine squads in competitive lists. They can be added to "Black Tide" lists for a reasonably effective anti-AT/MC unit, but those lists are more for fun in 5th Edition. So much analysis just to say that they are bad. ;)
