Originally, I was going to make a blog post about why I play the Black Templars and it was going strong.  Unfortunately, I accidentally hit the "back" button on the browser so the post got eaten.  I'm not particularly in the mood to go back and rewrite it at the moment.  lol!

I do want to talk about something else though.  Something that perhaps some of you might be able to assist me with.  I'm not a low points BT player.  Usually when I have played at these points levels, its because no one wants to play a larger game or only have a limited amount of time to do it.  The tournaments here are played at 2000 points, as are most of the ones around the United States.  So that is what I generally play.

Because of this, I'm forced to play-test smaller point army lists.  Its a task that is relatively interesting and fun to me.  As you all know, I want to do an article on how I'd build an escalation league Black Templars army.  But I'm at a loss to where to start.  I know eventually I'd want to have my gunline army at 2000 points.  However, I'm thinking that some CC units would be good at the lower end of the spectrum.  I play-tested a hybrid CC/gunline list this past Monday, but it performed to sub-par standards, as I suspected it might.

So I want to do two things.  First, I want to develop a functioning and competitive escalation league list starting at 500 points, that will eventually develop into my gunline list with minimal extra purchases (theoretical, since I already own everything I would need).  The second, I want to create both a 500 point list, 750, and a 1000 point list that is also competitive in the event that it is needed.  Then I can actually discuss why it works at that points level and what makes it good.  The type of list could take any form, from CC-oriented, Drop Pods, gunline, or maybe even Black Tide if the army is balanced enough. 

This is where you guys/gals come in.  If you feel confident in your 500, 750, or 1000 point list, send them my way and I might feature them here on IN if I like the list.  Who knows, I might even adopt it for my personal use.  Remember, I'll keep your emails anonymous unless you say that you don't mind me using names.  :)

By the way, on a side note:  I'm growing frustrated at my Emperor's Champion ~25% wound rate.  lol!  It seems when I get 3 hits and only need 2's to wound, I always roll two 1's.  Guaranteed.  Haha.  I think my luck needs to improve a bit with Lysanthir.  :D

Email: 

"Your assessment (referencing the BT 101 guide) seems to imply Mech is the only real way to go. I still haven't figured out a list or models, but why so many Speeders vs A LR full of Cru Squads?

I'm not done reading by any means. I'll probably have comments again soon. Just asking while it's on my mind."

Reply (continue by clicking "Read More"):

So you're sitting there, looking at the bookshelf in front of you.  You've been here before, leafing through the information found here.  But you're torn.  The codices found on this shelf all represent a significant monetary investment.  And money doesn't grow on trees.

You've been paging through the Black Templars codex for several days, utterly enthralled by the fluff and models, but your friends tell you that they aren't very good.  "If you want to play Space Marines," they say.  "Play the Space Wolves or Blood Angels.  They are better."  But you don't like the look and feel of that army.  You want knights.

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Well, I'm here to tell you that all is not lost.  There are several players recently that have come from long breaks from the game and have had great success in their local.  Even more have been new to the game and the Black Templars codex, but still finding good fortunes with the army.

One such story can be found here on B&C.  It shows you everything that I've been preaching for well over a year now:  The Black Templars are extremely good in competent hands.  A little finesse, some cunning, and tactical acumen are all you need to make our outdated codex powerful.  Congrats on your success Dark Haven.  :)

I love seeing these success stories, as it only further strengthens our overall community.  Shows that when we break out our army on the battlefield, we'll not just roll over and die.  As the only chapter to continue the Emperor's wishes, there is a certain amount of respect that is required.  The last few years, its been waning.  Time to show everyone that the Black Templars are not pushovers, that they are in fact an army that deserves respect.  Have pride in your army.  The Emperor demands no less!

The article is finished.  For those of you who are B&C users, you'll be familiar with most of the article, as it is essentially a copy and paste.  I do plan on going back soon to expand on some of it, but when I was going through it tonight, I realized that I covered most of my bases pretty well.

Nevertheless, I invite you all to give me a critique of the information presented and let me know if you think something is missing from it.  There is a nagging feeling in the back of mind that I'm forgetting to include something important in the article.  That it came as a result of the B&C and YTTH discussions.  Perhaps it'll come to me, but feel free to leave me comments in the meantime.  I appreciate all of them.  :D

For your convenience, if you couldn't be troubled to click the link above (the permanent home for the article), you can find the tactica after the "Read More" button below.

Weebly is kind enough to provide me with some detailed information in regards to who visits my website.  One of these includes showing me the search terms used to find my website.

There is one in particular that is getting quite common and its distressing to me:  "Black templars why play".  Its only been a couple days into the new month, but I've already had that come up several times. 

This is a problem.  Not only is it a problem for our community, it might cause Games Workshop to trash our Chapter.  And THAT would be a very poor decision indeed.  Its not only in search engines where people's frustrations are coming out, it is on the forums as well.

In light of this, I think that I will be publishing an article on why the Black Templars are my army of choice.  Wouldn't trade them for any other codex out there.  I want to show my passion for the only chapter who is continuing the Emperor's wishes for a unified galaxy.  Perhaps this will show others why they are worth spending the time and energy on.

Every update that has been sitting idle without being finished, emails that needed answering, and other miscellaneous items have been completed.  Feels good.  :D

The other updates can be expected to be posted within a day or so.