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  Also keep in mind that this analysis might get outdated with the rumors of a summer-time release of some new rules for us (heavily salt this).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!

Hello out there!  A little bit a change of pace from my normal content; I thought I'd do something a little different and this is going to be a series dedicated to building and painting a Black Templars force pretty much from the ground up.  Since I am afflicted with slow painter syndrome and I always buy models before I finish painting everything, I am going to put a solid go at it. 

Why, do you ask?  Well, I have a little marine on the way...so I have had to become very choosy where I spend my income and when/where I travel.  That means for this year, at least, I am forced to keep my tournaments within a three state radius.  That means that a local Grand Forks, ND tournament ran by the Warhogs is perfect for me.  No travel and I will be able to play against highly competitive players.  Thus, on July 20th, 2019, Slaughterhouse GT will feel the presence of the Black Templars once again.

So what are the rules of this series?  Well, considering my army has to fully painted (3-color minimums) and based to be eligible to play, those are the rules.  Haha.  So...in 85 days I need my 2000 point list to be completed.  I have a little bit of a head start, as I have some of my forces painted.  But not many, as I have traditionally played mechanized lists (which are painted) and that is not what I am bringing to SHGT.  And most tournaments that I play at have not required fully painted armies.  The only other stipulation I will most likely have is my self-enforced pure Black Templars list, due to the changes to ITC rules on who can win Best General with a specific faction.  Believe me, taking an Imperial Knight or some guardsmen would allow my list to be much more balanced and able to deal with differing threats.  So I am pretty sure I am going to go pure...but I might change my mind before tomorrow.  We'll see.  Haha.


I will post some pictures tomorrow of the forces that I currently have, as well as the list for painting.  Some of the units I will have in my list I do not yet own, so I will have to purchase those.  I am also waiting on my airbrush and compressor so that I can paint the vehicles that will be in my list.  I will post at least once a week on my progress, with notes on what I was able to accomplish each day.  This experiment is also somewhat of a motivational tool for me to ensure that I don't procrastinate like I tend to do and lose sight of my goal...SHGT!

I hope that this series will be enjoyable for you, especially for those that a looking for a change of pace.  I still have a couple articles that I have planned that are tactica related, so fear not.  We're starting to get into our tournament cycle and lots of stuff to review!

Have a great night all!

~Marshal Laeroth~

Its that time of the year!  Games Workshop Community Team has released the 2019 Big Survey.  Last year's survey resulted in a ton of positive changes for the game, including the release of the new Sisters of Battle codex.  So guess what that means?  Ya'll need to do your part and request that we get our own codex.  Of course, you'll want to be specific about your requests and you can find guidance on that on the B&C forum.

In any event, this survey is a great way for us to let GW know that the Black Templars have huge numbers.  That we can be the goose that lays golden eggs for them.  So go do your part!

Thanks and have a great night!  :)

In this article I will be talking about the new Vigilus Detachment and lesser extent Chapter
Approved changes to our chapter. I have a gotten a few games under my belt with the
detachment now. So let’s talk about this detachment. It has three aspects it adds to our army.

Hello everyone!  I hope you all have been enjoying the last week of musing over all of the leaks and the subsequent release of the Chapter Approved and Vigilus rulebooks.  What we got was a slew of point reductions, new rules, and general playability increases for some of our “old guard” units.  I am going to spend some time on only a few of the units applicable in that list today, but they are big players in the update – the unit that makes the biggest impact on our new lists going forward and why this is important.

So if you find yourself in a radioactive fallout shelter and don’t know what unit I’m referring to, it’s the Company Veterans.  These are the main players in the Vigilus Sword Brethren Detachment that is specific to the Black Templars.  You can see the rules on my previous post, so I am not going to relist them verbatim.  In essence, this unit choice, among others, are subject to a big upgrade in close combat and durability.  Couple those strategems with a 2 point reduction and a point reduction in some key wargear choices (I am looking at you Storm Shields), you have a near must-take for all of our lists.

Why, you may ask?  Because of their versatility, especially when “led” by High Marshal Helbrecht and his aura abilities.  The two units feed off of each other immeasurably well and turn what was a middling unit into a close combat powerhouse.  Helbrecht gives the Vets +1 Str and rerolls in to hit.  The Vets "eat" wounds for Helbrecht (or any other character).  Add your strategems and you turn the unit into a durable meat grinder.  Likewise, you can equip them with longer range weaponry like storm bolters to put out stupid amounts of firepower for next to nothing.  Give them storm shields and they also act as great bubblewrap units for you.  Or even chump assault units against opponent's heavier units.  Those units will grind to a halt for at least a turn while they are trying to push through our 90-point unit with 3++ and FNP.

So the Company Veterans are good.  How do I arm them?  I am of the opinion that there is two really competitive options, but others might come up over time.  The first one, and I would guess will be the most popular, is the 5-man Power Sword and Storm Shield setup.  This wargear alignment depends on you having Helbrecht within aura range, as it brings our power swords to strength 5, which gives us a 3+ to wound against most models.  In addition, it has superior AP than its counter-parts, allowing us to take down more elite units.  The storm shields should be obvious here...for 2 points, you don't have to worry about not getting our armor saves.  Out of the box, this gives you 11 power sword attacks at str 5, with rerolls to hit.  That means, against MEQ, you'll generate 5.4 unsaved wounds a turn.  Not too shabby, especially when you add in Helbrecht's wounds.  If you pop our new 2CP strategem, you'll do 10.5 unsaved wounds against MEQ.  That is some ridiculous efficiency for a 100 point unit.  These guys need a good delivery option and only two come to mind as being reliable.  Drop Pod (preference) and Stormraven.  The pod will drop in when you want it to and get your units to that sweet spot of 9" from your enemy.  The Stormraven is dramatically more expensive and will see more incoming fire prior to dropping its precious cargo.  But you get more weaponry to go with that.  I prefer the reliability of the drop pod, especially since its only 65 points now after CA 2018 dropped.

The other wargear option?  Storm Bolters and Storm Shields.  For 90 points, you get a durable unit that is putting out 20 Str 4 shots at 12".  Hell yeah I'll take that all day.  Another benefit is that you still have reasonable close combat ability and with your storm shield, and as mentioned earlier in the article you can hold up enemy units there for at least a turn.  This allows you to utilize these squads on foot to protect valuable units in your list or in the middle of the board to create a "speed-bump" of sorts.  Obviously, there are only 5 wounds in the unit, but those wounds come with a package cost of 90 points.  That makes the unit a perfect throwaway unit for your opponent's rock units.  These guys are perfectly okay walking, but you can also combine them with Laser-back transportation for duality.

For additional funsies, add in Company Ancients to your close combat oriented Vets.  Since you will likely take wounds in some fashion to the Vets, whether by your opponent or eating wounds from your characters, he will allow that model to make an additional attack.  He is no slouch in close combat either.

Its been a long time, but we finally have units that are extremely competitive and fulfill our every desire in close combat.  Let me tell you, it has been entirely overdue.  So let's see some Vets hit the table and let me know how they are working for you!

~Marshal Laeroth~

Well, its that time of the year Brothers and Sisters!  And what a great time of year it is!  The Emperor has seen our efforts across the galaxy this past year and focused his thoughts in our direction.  In the first time in quite a while, we get Black Templars rules!  Feast your eyes on some of the goodies coming out of Vigilus Defiant and the new Chapter Approved 2018 book.

Hello everyone.  Today, I have a topic of a somewhat controversial nature: Black Templars and their competitiveness in today's current meta.  Frankly, its a topic of much discussion over the past year plus since the Space Marine codex was released in 8th Edition.  I've seen it discussed on the B&C forum, but the discussion really starts to fizzle out when the meat comes out due to people getting defensive.  There has been various Youtube channels that have explored the thought of making BT competitive, as well as some other blogs out there.  I am going to combine those thoughts with mine, to paint a picture of what the Black Templar reality truly is.