So I’ve been hearing more and more demands for a CC-oriented army list from me. While I do have several on the website, I’d not consider either of them “ultra-competitive”. My mechanized all-comers list is a well balanced list that is built to beat the majority of the armies that it comes across. But it does have some glaring flaws that keeps it from being a tournament list. The other list is my version of the BT heavy mech list. It features two terminator squads in dedicated LRCs, with three crusader squads supporting them. In addition, the list contains three Typhoons to provide long ranged fire support. It’s a rock list that will stomp armies not prepared to deal with the onslaught of CC-oriented units bearing down on them. Unfortunately, most balanced tournaments CAN deal with this list. And as such, its effectiveness decreases significantly, especially with the change to our smoke launchers.
** Beware, this is a long one. ;) **
** Beware, this is a long one. ;) **
As you can imagine, this won’t do. Because those two lists are casual at best, I don’t have a single CC-oriented list that is optimized for tournaments play. Or even what I would consider “good” in a competitive sense. This has to be corrected.
There are four main archetypes that the Black Templars can play right now: Mechanized Gunlines, Mechanized Close Combat, Drop Pod, or “Black Tide”. You can divide that down into further sub-sections, but for the purpose of discussion, that is irrelevant. Since shortly after 5th Edition was launched, I’ve strongly asserted that the archetype strength was as follows: Mechanized Gunlines, Drop Pods, Mechanized CC, and “Black Tide.” The latter is completely uncompetitive and I’m not going to go into why here. So that means the mech CC list is our next least powerful army type. There are various reasons for this, but it primarily boils down to getting to your opponent in one piece and then doing enough damage to hurt them. The question is: Can we build a list that gives us this? We’ll see.
Initially, I had to think about what has worked for me in the past and what has now become a liability in our lists. Unfortunately, as powerful as Assault Terminators are, they don’t have a place in our lists. They are simply too expensive and easy to neutralize. Additionally, I got to thinking about why I use gunline lists in the first place. One of the reasons gunlines are so good is the fact that they can blast an opponent to bits before they can do anything. If you take away an opponent’s mobility and firepower, they are sitting ducks for your shooting/assaults. It also allows you to control the board, which gives you a huge advantage in objective games. So why cannot I use this trait in a CC army list? Perhaps we can!
Our primary concern is arriving at our destination intact. Obviously, this means we’ll need transports of some kind. That means we can be brought there by rhinos, razorbacks, or LRCs. Traditionally, the humble rhino is the means of getting from point A to point B. Perhaps this is the problem with all of our lists? The LRC provides us with a durable vehicle that can shrug off all but the most powerful long ranged weaponry. Melta and movement blocking become a problem once you get to the middle of the board, but by that point you’re probably close enough to charge. We would need to make use of our large capacity, or it’d simply be wasting the LRC’s points. But what do we get? For a 500 points, we get a troops unit that is less killy than our assault terminators, but we’ve got significantly more wounds. Unfortunately, the lack of power weapons in a squad this size makes it a huge turn off. Even AAC doesn’t do much to improve the power of their charge. That doesn’t leave us with much to work with.
Or does it? I know it’s been talked about before, but perhaps PotMS will assist us? We are the only codex that can purchase this upgrade for all of our vehicles. With the update to the rules in the latest FAQ, we have a source of semi-durable vehicles at our disposable. Traditionally, PotMS has been delegated to Vindicators to allow them to reach their destination and fire for as long a duration as possible. In this role, it has done reasonably well. But do we have to be so close-minded? Stelek was the first notable person that I saw that made use of the new rules, creating a list that took advantage of several upgrades in the FAQ.
Wait what? Razorbacks with PotMS? Doesn’t that make an AV11 vehicle 120 points each? You better believe it. But let’s look at what those 120 points give us. First off, mobility for the troops unit that is embarked. With PotMS, we have the ability to travel 12” and still fire our TL-Lascannon. This allows us to punch it full speed across the board, without affecting our firepower. That is essential for a CC army, as the more time it takes to cross the board, the longer your opponent has to kill you. You sacrifice none of your shooting for moving so fast, so you’re able to still blast open your opponent’s vehicles.
Those are some amazing traits. However, as with everything in the Warhammer 40k universe, no unit is without its flaws. As I alluded to, the vehicle has AV 11. Even with PotMS, even mid-power weaponry will be able to penetrate your armor. There are ways to alleviate this problem, so we’ll explore them in a minute. In addition, the Razorback only has a transport capability of 6. This leaves much to be desired, as an optimal CC crusader squad numbers 10 models. But where we lack numbers, we gain MSU! Finally, the Razorback doesn’t have a fire point. This means we’ll not be able to shoot from the safety of our vehicles. We’ll have to get out and risk return fire/charges. But since we’re moving 12” anyway, it’s not such a big deal.
It’s decided. We’re going to make use of these PotMS Razorbacks. But we need to give them something to transport. In Stelek's list, he took 6 redundant crusader squads with bare minimum weaponry. To really work, I don't think that'd fly. We'll go part of the way there and take 4 troops units. Based on my experience, this is the sweet spot for the number of troops. We'll create make them 6-man units (5 initiates, 1 neophyte) except for one, which the EC will ride with. In addition, I believe they need some gear to make them effective. Obviously, meltaguns are going to be used. The next question is going to be Powerfists or Power Weapons?
Powerfists give the unit insurance. It allows them to tackle high toughness characters, as well as vehicles (e.g. dreadnoughts). But you can generally avoid such units normally. These also give you a very high kill chance on whatever you're attacking, possibly even inflicting instant death wounds. However, they strike at initiative 1, so you might not survive to get the attacks off. Power weapons will not hurt T8 units, nor will they scratch the paint on a dreadnought. But what they do give us is I4 attacks. The potential kill tally is higher and it almost always ensures that these armor ignoring attacks are made (unless facing a high initiative opponent). Because we're using smaller, more mobile troops, I believe that it is more beneficial to use the power weapons. The loss of a single squad to an unkillable enemy unit is a small price to pay due to their relative low cost. With that being said, I'm going to give the EC's unit a power fist, because he definitely doesn't want to get stuck in combat with a dreadnought. So that gives us something like this:
HQ:
* Emperor's Champion w/ Black Sword, Bolt Pistol, Armor of Faith, and the Vow: "Accept Any Challenge, No Matter The Odds." [140]
Troops:
* Crusader Squad: 5 Initiates w/ 3 CCWs and BPs, 1 Meltagun & 1 Power Fist. Mounted in a Razorback w/ Twin-Linked Lascannons and Power of the Machine Spirit. [225]
* Crusader Squad: 5 Initiates w/ 3 CCWs and BPs, 1 Meltagun & 1 Power Weapon; 1 Neophyte w/ CCW and BP. Mounted in a Razorback w/ Twin-Linked Lascannons and Power of the Machine Spirit. [230]
* Crusader Squad: 5 Initiates w/ 3 CCWs and BPs, 1 Meltagun & 1 Power Weapon; 1 Neophyte w/ CCW and BP. Mounted in a Razorback w/ Twin-Linked Lascannons and Power of the Machine Spirit. [230]
* Crusader Squad: 5 Initiates w/ 3 CCWs and BPs, 1 Meltagun & 1 Power Weapon; 1 Neophyte w/ CCW and BP. Mounted in a Razorback w/ Twin-Linked Lascannons and Power of the Machine Spirit. [230]
A good start, me thinks. But what we need now is some fire support. Sure the Razorbacks will be doing their part to crack armor, but they aren't enough by themselves. Fortunately, we have an amazing option for this in the Fast Attack slot, courtesy of the latest BT FAQ. That unit is the Typhoon Land Speeder. For a mere 70 points, we get an extremely versatile vehicle. It is simply amazing and should be a stable in EVERY BT list. These are going to be where we're getting the bulk of our fire support. I think 3x2 is sufficient. This will give me cover shenanigans, as well as a reasonable percent chance at killing whatever vehicle I shoot at (41% chance against AV 11 at range). For insurance, one of the two Typhoons will be taking a MM upgrade. This gives me an option against heavy armor should I need it and greatly improves my kill potential against all targets once the MM is in range. A total of 7 melta weapons should be enough for all of my needs.
HQ:
* Emperor's Champion w/ Black Sword, Bolt Pistol, Armor of Faith, and the Vow: "Accept Any Challenge, No Matter The Odds." [140]
Troops:
* Crusader Squad: 5 Initiates w/ 3 CCWs and BPs, 1 Meltagun & 1 Power Fist. Mounted in a Razorback w/ Twin-Linked Lascannons and Power of the Machine Spirit. [225]
* Crusader Squad: 5 Initiates w/ 3 CCWs and BPs, 1 Meltagun & 1 Power Weapon; 1 Neophyte w/ CCW and BP. Mounted in a Razorback w/ Twin-Linked Lascannons and Power of the Machine Spirit. [230]
* Crusader Squad: 5 Initiates w/ 3 CCWs and BPs, 1 Meltagun & 1 Power Weapon; 1 Neophyte w/ CCW and BP. Mounted in a Razorback w/ Twin-Linked Lascannons and Power of the Machine Spirit. [230]
* Crusader Squad: 5 Initiates w/ 3 CCWs and BPs, 1 Meltagun & 1 Power Weapon; 1 Neophyte w/ CCW and BP. Mounted in a Razorback w/ Twin-Linked Lascannons and Power of the Machine Spirit. [230]
Fast Attack:
* Land Speeder Squadron: 2 Land Speeders w/ 1 Heavy Bolter, 1 Multi-Melta, and 2 Typhoon Missile Launchers. [155]
* Land Speeder Squadron: 2 Land Speeders w/ 1 Heavy Bolter, 1 Multi-Melta, and 2 Typhoon Missile Launchers. [155]
* Land Speeder Squadron: 2 Land Speeders w/ 1 Heavy Bolter, 1 Multi-Melta, and 2 Typhoon Missile Launchers. [155]
1520. That leaves us with 25% of our points to play around with. We can go two ways with this. Either we take stuff from the Elites section or it comes from the Heavy Support. To stick with the extreme mobility theme, I think we need to take something that is mechanized. Because we're relatively fragile at the moment and we need some armor saturation. A few units that cause decent threat is important too.
I thought about throwing some in Predator Annihilators with PotMS. While remaining stationary, it'll provide some real nice tank busting firepower. Or fire at two separate targets. Additionally, it can still move a full 12" and fire its TL-Lascannon. Which is pretty nice. However, those things pack a ridiculous price of 175 points. I think we can do better.
In one of my Nova Open list exercises, I examined the possibility of using Vindicators in my list. The primary reason was because it provides a very large distraction to my opponent, as well as proving to be a dangerous unit in all respects. It presents an AV 13 to my opponent while I advance, which helps screen my more fragile razorbacks, giving them essentially cover saves. But more than that, I gain a weapon that can possibly fire on turn one. With all of my vehicles being fast or upgraded with PotMS, I can hopefully run rings around my opponent. Even moving to full effect, I'll lose almost no fire capacity. As you probably saw, Stelek came to the same conclusion.
It is important to stress that Razorbacks can fire over the top of the Vindicator due to the placement of their turrets. This is critical, as it allows your Vindicators to present their front armor to your opponent, while you hide your Razorbacks safely behind while you advance on them. Between this and PotMS, you should be able to get where you need to with reasonable success. That finishes our list.
HQ:
* Emperor's Champion w/ Black Sword, Bolt Pistol, Armor of Faith, and the Vow: "Accept Any Challenge, No Matter The Odds." [140]
Troops:
* Crusader Squad: 5 Initiates w/ 3 CCWs and BPs, 1 Meltagun & 1 Power Fist. Mounted in a Razorback w/ Twin-Linked Lascannons and Power of the Machine Spirit. [225]
* Crusader Squad: 5 Initiates w/ 3 CCWs and BPs, 1 Meltagun & 1 Power Weapon; 1 Neophyte w/ CCW and BP. Mounted in a Razorback w/ Twin-Linked Lascannons and Power of the Machine Spirit. [230]
* Crusader Squad: 5 Initiates w/ 3 CCWs and BPs, 1 Meltagun & 1 Power Weapon; 1 Neophyte w/ CCW and BP. Mounted in a Razorback w/ Twin-Linked Lascannons and Power of the Machine Spirit. [230]
* Crusader Squad: 5 Initiates w/ 3 CCWs and BPs, 1 Meltagun & 1 Power Weapon; 1 Neophyte w/ CCW and BP. Mounted in a Razorback w/ Twin-Linked Lascannons and Power of the Machine Spirit. [230]
Fast Attack:
* Land Speeder Squadron: 2 Land Speeders w/ 1 Heavy Bolter, 1 Multi-Melta, and 2 Typhoon Missile Launchers. [155]
* Land Speeder Squadron: 2 Land Speeders w/ 1 Heavy Bolter, 1 Multi-Melta, and 2 Typhoon Missile Launchers. [155]
* Land Speeder Squadron: 2 Land Speeders w/ 1 Heavy Bolter, 1 Multi-Melta, and 2 Typhoon Missile Launchers. [155]
Heavy Support:
* Vindicator w/ Demolisher Cannon, Storm Bolter, Power of the Machine Spirit, and Extra Armor. [160]
* Vindicator w/ Demolisher Cannon, Storm Bolter, Power of the Machine Spirit, and Extra Armor. [160]
* Vindicator w/ Demolisher Cannon, Storm Bolter, Power of the Machine Spirit, and Extra Armor. [160]
Total: [2000]
Okay, so we've got the list but what does it give us? Stelek's list looked very similar, but I've added equipment to my Troops units for added efficiency and also added a Typhoon to each of my squadrons. This will give me more firepower in the list, while giving my crusader squads a good opportunity to win their fights. As he equipped them, they only had MEQ CC abilities going for them. Our version is vastly superior in the assault realm. However, it is important to note that because these units are smallish, you need to pick and choose where to charge. They'll wreck non-dedicated CC units, but if you're getting risky, its best to charge with two units. Those enemy CC units will be receiving the attentions of the Typhoons/Vindicators.
We also don't have many Troops units to spread around the board, but I believe that we'll be just fine in that respect. We have relatively low numbers (24 infantry), but we should be fine from most shooting. There is enough to claim objectives with our extreme mobility, however. This list is all about shock and awe. Move as quickly as you can towards your opponent, blast them with everything we have, and continue to move forward until in charge range. Then the fun begins.
So what are your thoughts? I think the list has possibilities and makes some improvements over Stelek's list, though it wasn't my intention to create such a similar list as him. The list has 4 TL-Lascannons, 12 Missile Launchers, 3 Demolisher Cannons, 3 Heavy Bolters, 3 Multi-Meltas, and 4 Meltaguns. It should have plenty of AI and AT for every opponent type. Let me know what you think. :)
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