Hello out there!  I wanted to share a list that I have been tweaking since the codex has dropped.  I have always been drawn to fast, mobile, and/or in your face "tricksie" lists that force reactions from my opponents.  Often its a move they don't want to make or know how to deal with.  So anytime you can alter your opponent's game plan or force decisions, you're in a good place.  So that is the idea behind the list below.  Take a look!

Howdy all!  Its been a little while now since the new codex has been released and I wanted to give everyone a little bit of time to digest just what happened in our little world of the Black Templars.  Lurking around the B&C forums, it seems that there has been some early successes with our book that I'd love to explore.  This codex has obviously been a little bit of a paradigm shift for our lists, as things have been buffed or nerfed (via lack of buffs).  GW has released some hold-us-over PDF's containing our BT specific units with the Angels of Death special rule, as well as releasing a FAQ adjusting all of the Imperial Armour: Forces of the Adeptus Astartes units with AoD.  Nevertheless, it feels like GW is pushing us in the direction of primarius marines and in some cases, I am okay with that.  Let's take a look at some of the highlights (new or changed stuff) that I enjoy for our new codex.

Hello again!  Sorry about the late post, when all of the new previews are getting put out and all that good stuff.  But as of last night, my little Neophyte as joined the ranks of the Imperium!  :D  Anyway, let's take a look at a couple things that have been leaked with the review videos of the new Space Marine codex.

Hello everyone!  As you've almost certainly have seen, Games Workshop has been releasing snippet previews from the new Space Marine book that goes on pre-release soon.  All of which are extremely exciting, especially the release of all of the new Chapter Tactics.  They have also released a bunch of tidbits on the new primaris units that they are going to have with the codex, but for now, I am not going to concern with those since we are only looking at some basics of each unit.  Not enough is known about them yet.  A couple of caviets here:  First, this is a Black Templars website so I am not going to do comparisons between the new Chapter Tactics.  For the short-term analysis...the IF and CF chapter tactics got buffed, as did the Black Templars.  The others seem weaker than they were before, but not so weak as to not be viable.  All the tactics seem to DO something now.  Anyway, the second caviat is that the BT 101 guide is obviously about to become obsolete, especially the unit analysis page.  So expect this to disappear for a while after the new codex gets released so that I can update it.  With that out of the way, let's take a look shall we?

“I just found your website today. My mind is blown! It was great finding a singular,detailed resource on the chapter I have chosen. I chose Black Templars because,I have always been fascinated with the real life Knights Templar. I love the color scheme and lore of the 40k chapter. I have done display painting for the past couple of years,and decided to try playing 40k with my son(he is 30 years old). I bought the First Strike and Know No Fear boxes to start. We haven't begun to play yet(due to real life getting in the way). I have been assembling miniatures when I can find time. I have also been scouring the web for any information on lore,how to play,etc. There is a lot of misinformation out there,not to mention bias. A lot of the info is scattered also. I found it a great joy to find your website! I am only on part two of,Building a 8th Edition Army List at the moment. It will take a while to soak it all in. I am looking forward to playing in due time. Thanks again for providing such a detailed resource!  --  Morgan”

Hello!  I am happy you arrived in one piece from the Warp.  Tough times, they are.  Haha.  In all seriousness, great to see that the BT 101 guide has helped you.  A lot of the traits of the Black Templars lore you mentioned drew you to the army are similar for me.  Its why I signed up with them in 2001 and I have not abandoned them since.  While our best lists do not entirely play to the “vision” of the Black Templars lore, I always make an effort to keep the theme alive whenever possible.  There is a ton of information out there on how to play the game, especially in a competitive sense…but I focus my efforts around the Black Templars and what they can do in such a style.  The game is always evolving, and much like yourself, sometimes life gets in the way of a proper update to the website.  I’ve tried to keep it as current as I can throughout the years and I am glad that there is still readers out there that get use out of it!  The BT 101 guide is not wholly complete though.  I am still missing the BT 101: How to build a competitive 8th Edition list page, as well as finishing the unit analysis.  With that being said, not all of my army lists are competitive.  Sometimes I build stuff just for fun to see how it would work. 

Your first purchases are a great place to start, though admittedly, the starter boxes lack the customizable options of the squad box sets.  But Games Workshop has done a pretty good job of arming their starter set minis with decently useful weaponry.  The best advice I can give you on that front is to simply chip away at them a little bit a day.  Even if its only one mini.  Once you get to the painting stage, do the same thing.  If you steadily make progress over time, you’re less likely to burn out looking at the sea of gray.  Let me tell you: seeing your painted army on the battlefield is an amazing feeling.  Unfortunately, it will make you want to spend more money.  Haha.
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Thanks again for reading!

Hello all!  I am back from my local tournament this past weekend.  It ended up being 28 players in ITC format, so we just barely pulled off GT qualifications.  5 games over the course of 2 days.  Here is the list that I ended up bringing:

~ Sword Brethren Battalion Detachment (Black Templars) ~

HQ:
​* Marshal (Captain) w/ Teeth of Terra, Bolt Pistol, and Jump Pack. [93] *Field Commander -- Master Swordsman*
* High Marshal Helbrecht.  [150]

ELITES:
* Sword Brethren (1x Veteran Sergeant and 4x Veterans) w/ 5x Power Swords and 5x Storm Shields. [100]
* Terminator Assault Squad (1x Sergeant and 7x Terminators) w/ 8x Thunder Hammer & Storm Shields.  [328]
* Vanguard Veteran Squad (1x Sergeant and 9x Veterans) w/ 4x Thunder Hammers, 7x Storm Shields, 3x Chainswords, and 3x Dual Chainswords. [248]

TROOPS:
* Neophyte Squad (1x Sergeant and 4x Scouts) w/ 5x Bolt Pistols/Close Combat Weapons. [55]
* Neophyte Squad (1x Sergeant and 4x Scouts) w/ 5x Bolt Pistols/Close Combat Weapons. [55]
* Neophyte Squad (1x Sergeant and 4x Scouts) w/ 5x Bolt Pistols/Close Combat Weapons. [55]

HEAVY SUPPORT:
* Eliminator Squad (1x Sergeant and 2x Eliminators) w/ 3x Bolt Sniper Rifles and 3x Camo Cloaks. [72]
* Relic Leviathan Dreadnought w/ 2x Storm Cannon Array, 3x Hunter-killer Missiles, and 2x Heavy Flamer.  [321]

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS:
* Drop Pod w/ Storm Bolter. [65]

~ Spearhead Detachment (Black Templars) ~

HQ:
* Marshal (Captain) on Bike w/ Storm Bolter, Storm Shield, and The Crusader's Helm. *Warlord -- Storm of Fire*  [102]

ELITES:
* Sword Brethren on Bikes (1x Veteran Sergeant and 2x Veterans) w/ 3x Storm Bolters and 2x Storm Shields. [118]
* Sword Brethren on Bikes (1x Veteran Sergeant and 2x Veterans) w/ 3x Storm Bolters and 2x Storm Shields. [118]
* Sword Brethren on Bikes (1x Veteran Sergeant and 2x Veterans) w/ 3x Storm Bolters and 2x Storm Shields. [118]

TOTAL POINTS/CP: [1998]/[6 CP]

As you can see, I have a healthy mix of both shooting and close combat units.  My game plan going into the weekend was to use the Sword Brethren on Bikes to do the heavy lifting for the list, eliminating squads wholesale and then rush off to the next squad.  I would use the terminators for any enemy beatstick that came along, as 8 TEQ models with TH/SS are not easy to displace and pack a huge punch.  The Helbrecht-led Sword Brethren would drop down and tackle specific targets and wipe them off the board.  The same with the Vanguard-Vets;  albeit they would have more mobility after their initial assault or failed charges.  Packing a bunch of TH/SS, these guys are nothing to sniff at either, but lack the durability of the terminators.  I had enough kill power to manage killing an unit a turn, as well as holding objectives.  I also was well placed for many secondary mission objectives, such as "Behind Enemy Lines".

Oh my gosh, this is quite the undertaking!  You never would believe how many differing units that are available for the Black Templars, until you have them all listed out on a page.  Yikes!  With that being said, I am utilizing a placeholder analysis from 1D4chan until I can finish all of the units.  Realistically, while I don't like the language use, the analysis is pretty good and a decent tide-me-over until I am done.  So, yes, I am borrowing someone else's analysis for the time being.  However, if you jump over to the BT 101: Unit Analysis page, you will note that there is little (ML)s next to a bunch of the units.  This means I have done my own review of the unit from the lens of a competitive BT player.  You will also notice an orange disclaimer message crediting 1D4chan for the material.  When that message disappears, then its all my analysis.

So apologies that this is not done, but there is tons that goes into this thing and to do it correctly.  I figured this would be a reasonable compromise in the interim.  Thanks everyone!

​~Marshal Laeroth~

So things continue to progress in painting my army.  Several list changes have occurred over that time, primarily due to the shear number of models I've had to paint.  Nevertheless, I am going to put a competitive list on the board and have fun playing it.  But that is not what this quick post is about.

Over the past year, I have had numerous emails and seen several comments on B&C about when I am going to finish the unit analysis page of the BT 101 guide.  Well, I've heard ya.  Over the next week or so, I am going to start putting this together for you all.  To start, it will not include Forge World units.  Also keep in mind that this analysis might get outdated with the rumors of a summer-time release of some new rules for us (heavily salt this).  So...yeah!  We'll be looking at getting the guide finished up here shortly.  Then I can also put in the "Competitive lists" section of the guide.

As always, thanks for reading and see you all soon!

As an aside, I would love to hear if any of your tournament experiences with the Black Templars here.  Good or bad!

Hello Brethren!  As you may have seen over here, I am committing to a GT in Grand Forks, ND.  This is my stomping grounds, and its filled with insanely competitive players who are part of the gaming club Warhogs.  I was able to be a part of the founding of this group when it was still in its infancy and has grown up beyond my wildest dreams.  Unfortunately, I was not able to actively be a part of the club due to my lack of time, but its good to play them when I can get to it.  Anyway, they are hosting the Slaughter House GT so I know that I'll have a good competitive field against them.  We're hoping that other players from the Frozen North gaming group will show up, as there are quite a few other players who are very good in there too.  I might have a warm-up tournament June 15th as well, but that one we shall see on.  But what this brings me to is...I have been painting models and brainstorming lists for weeks now.

Hello everyone!  Sorry about the delay...I was wavering back and forth for several days on the last little bits of the list, but now that the Spring Big FAQ 2019 has dropped, it essentially made up my mind for me.  Lots of changes, but I'll talk about the ones that I care about in a few moments.  So without further adieu, here it is!