Implausible Nature
  • Home
    • Links and Contact Page
    • Site Index
    • Site Primer >
      • Casual vs Competitive Players -- Healing the Divide
      • Laeroth's Take On Building Fluffy Armies
  • Laeroth's Blog
  • The Njesta Crusade
    • Black Templars Army Lists
    • Njesta Crusade Fluff >
      • Black Templars Background Literature
  • Black Templars 101
    • BT 101: Where to Start >
      • BT 101: Unit Analysis
      • BT 101: Building Low-Point BT Armies
      • BT 101: Commonly Used Abbreviations
    • BT 101: Building an 9th Edition List >
      • BT 101: Building A Competitive 9th Edition List
      • BT 101: Building Another Competitive 9th Edition List
    • BT 101: Assembling Your Crusade
    • BT 101: Playing With Your New Army >
      • BT 101: Tactics
      • BT 101: Duality
    • BT 101: The Conclusion
  • Painting and Modeling
    • Black Templars Gallery
    • How To Paint Black Templars

Vigilus Detachment

1/10/2019

1 Comment

 
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.
1) Warlord Trait
2) New Stratagems
3) Hand Grenade

Warlord Trait: The Warlord Trait does two things. It adds an additional attack to a model’s profile
and any unmodified hit of a 6 results in double hits. This will take 1CP-2CP depending if you
already have a Warlord. Let’s compare this to Slamganius. Now to be fair let’s use our premier
combat relics on each character.

Marshall Sigislash, 103 Points, 1-3 CP w/TeethOfTerra;Storm Shield, Pack
Captain Slamganius 124 Points, 1-2 CP w/ RelicHammer;Shield, Pack, Visions
Now Sigislash has 7 Attacks on average with less AP and strength but chance to get more.
Averaging atleast 1 6, assuming average results we are expecting about 8 hits (7.81 Hits to be
exact). Then wounding MeQ 5.2 times then killing (3.4) 3-4. And fighting a Knight you wound 2.6
wounding 1.8 or causing 4 damage.
Slamganius has 4 Attacks and 5 on charge. He hits 5 times (4.9 hits). Wounding MeQ 4.1 times
killing 3-4 Marines. Vs Knights they wound 3.2 times or causing on average 9 damage.

For reference a SlamMarshall would instead vs MeQ 5 hits (3.98 hits and generates 1 auto hit).
Wounding 4.2 times causing 3.5 unsaved wounds vs MeQ. And fighting a knight causing 6
damage.  Now both have a stratagem to cause additional attacks. Our is 2CP while Slam is 1CP. 
Suffer Stratagem with Sigislash adds 2-3 more Dead MeQ and increases damage vs Knights by
2.

Death Visions with SlamCaptain instead causes 1 more dead MeQ on average vs Knights
increases damage by 3.  Suffer w/ Marshall Slam adds 1-2 wounds vs MeQ and vs causing 3 more damage.
More on this stratagem later but essentially. Our Sigislash and Marshall Slam are very similar if
not the same to Slamganius. So at worst you are spending on averaging 2CP (similar CP to a
SlamGanius) for our own variation. But that alone makes our Formation worth it.
Stratagem: We have gotten two new Stratagems. Suffer Not and Uphold the Honor. Now before
I discuss these in greater detail. Let’s look at the the affected units of our formation.

1) Marshall
2) Company Veterans (including Bikers)
3) Company Champion (including Biker)
4) High Marshal Helbrecht
5) Emperor’s Champion

Now Marshall, Helbrecht and Emperor’s Champion are discussed in greater detail in the above
section. The warlord trait part is not relevant to Helbrecht or Champion the basic outline for how
Helbrecht would benefit from Suffer Not is covered. Champion does not benefit really given he
already rerolls wounds vs preferred target.

Veterans, got several benefits recently. In chapter approved several point reductions,
themselves, Storm Shields, And Power Fist (also Special Weapons). Now I will take a moment
to pause here and explain something about Veterans and Crusader Squads.
On the Internet you see folks bemoaning the death of Tactical Marines And Equivalents due to
points reduction. The biggest thing is that you aren’t taking Naked Veterans. So you are playing
more like 18-20 points compared to a Crusaders ‘12’. Second in regard to raw strength 4 of
naked Vang v Crusaders. Vanguard are only 12.5% or an 8th more efficient as Vangaurd have
4 strength 4 AP - Attacks at 14 points and paying 3.5 points per an attack. While Crusaders pay
24 points for 6 Attacks or paying 4 points per an attack.

Once we get into the issue of Packs. You are looking at 17 point Vanguard. In which case it’s
4.25 points per an attack compared to a Crusaders 4 points per an attack. So that means in the
larger sense, contrary to the Internet Wisdom, Crusaders are not invalidated by Vanguard. And
if you are taking Naked Vanguard it’s still better to accept a minor inefficient for the addition of
+4 CP.

Now then to a more extended explanation on our Stratagems and Company Veteran. First
before chapter approved our army due to our rules heavily geared itself to playing Black Tide.
Cenobytes, Helm, CP hungry chapter strategem, and Crusader Squads. But one of our better
characters, High Marshal Helbrecht. Wanted to Buff a small highly elite force.
Our army simply didn’t have any units wanted to buff. Now this brings me to company veterans,
whom play into that very needed niche. Now unlike the BA equivalent stratagem, suffer not can
be used on our units.

Which means a unit of Fisty or Hammer Vets add depending on squad size 3-5 Attacks (And
adding on average 1/2 wounds when used on 4/5 man Squad). About the same or twice as a
good as when used on a Slam Marshall. Now unlike the Death Company (closest equivalent),
Company Vets don’t have an innate delivery mechanism.

The Drop Pod reduction means taking one maybe two is actually reasonable. And here is where
the Company Veteran small size is beneficial. As unlike most veteran units. You can include two
company veterans and a character in a pod.
More importantly you can include a 4 Man Company Veteran, a character and Faux Devi
Crusader Squad. I’m gonna hear folks “it’s no Death Company” or even how Vanguard should
benefit. The latter is a fluff question. And honestly? Sword Brethren are not Vanguard or
Sternguard, we don’t have those.

Our defining principles is our chapter is doesn’t abide by the rules and restrictions of the Codex
or even “Legion” of yore. We form squads based on brotherhood and Sword Brethren are more
like Wolf Guard than Vanguard or Sternguard veterans. There original rules were just vanilla
Marine Veterans minus a few things.

And in that sense Company Veterans are the best rule wise imitation of our Sword Brethren.
And with Death Company? Well as I always say, proper tool for the proper job. Death Company
are a fire and forget. These guys are not. We want to gear them up to make use of our
stratagem. Death Company want to keep cheap.

And the one thing we do have over them is the bodyguard rule. Which allows them to protect
our heavy hitters once combat is joined. And in combination with 5+ FNP, increases our
characters durability. While as general rule you want to use the FNP on our characters given
that what these guys will be fighting be high damage weapons. So taking 2 5+ FNP will still fail.
While character won’t die and are still effective up and till they last that final wound.
Biker Company Veterans are an exception to what I just mentioned. There main issue is the
Sergeant on RAW cannot take a Storm Shield. At 50-60 points a model assuming similar load
to our Foot Vets. You do want to use 5+ FNP as it make massive difference in melee. As with a
THammer for example as unlikely it might be, but passing 2 5+ is the difference between 1 and
2 Dead Biker. In general going foot w/Pod is better. The Pod variant regardless of loadout
averages to be to 40 points less. If you paying 10 points for an additional wound, it’s a better
payoff.

Also Company Champions are super meh, and shouldn’t use them. If for no other reason the
Emperor’s Champion fills an HQ slot and does that same role for only 25 points more but hits
like a Slam Captain. So the new stratagems and the affected units are massive boon to our
chapter now for this.

Relic: Holy Hand Grenade, massive flavor. It’s basically a one shot smite. That costs 1CP-2CP
depending what other relics you are taking. Named Characters cannot take it, our Marshall’s
likely taking Helm, Teeth or Eternal depending. Leaving it for Company Champions. Which run
into the issue of just taking the Emperor’s Champion.

Is it bad? I say yes. But ultimately something I touched on briefly above it’s a massive flavor
boon. And that this formation one of my favorite things is that it’s just that.
Our three of chapter stratagems if you didn’t notice now cover 3 of our 4 old vows. The Abhor
the Witch Vow became our deny named Abhor the Witch, the Suffer Not the Unclean, became
our attack buff named Suffer Not the Unclean, and finally Uphold the Honor became our FNP
stratagem named Uphold the Honor.

The only vow is now Accept Any Challenge, which makes me curious in the long term. Finally,
to recap while it’s not utterly broken, the detachment is solid. At worse we get our own
Slamganius, and at best it fills a vital niche in our army sorely lacking.

~~~Schlitzaf~~~~
1 Comment
Marshal Hortensius
2/27/2019 04:00:13 pm

Agreed and well written.

I don't know if I'm going to be buying anymore tiny marines though to make the appropriate company veteran squads. It's awesome. It's well done and balanced, but Primaris Indomitus crusade is good too...

... and I'm still running Vanguard Vets b/c they hit like an armor plated truck.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Laeroth's Blog

    This blog is devoted to the Black Templars chapter and the tactics, list building, and general musing associated with them.  Readers will see occasional posts from Marshal Laeroth.

    Check out the Implausible Nature YouTube Channel!

    Follow me on Twitter!

    Like what you see and want to help support Implausible Nature?  Click the link below and donate!

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    December 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    March 2016
    November 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    September 2014
    May 2014
    December 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009