Black Templars 101: Assembling Your Crusade

* To be updated for Space Marines codex 8.5 and Psychic Awakening 2 *

For simplicity sake, here is our 8th Edition list:

Chaplain: Bolt Pistol and The Crusader’s Helm — 72
Chaplain: Bolt Pistol — 72
Reivers (10 Primaris): 10 Heavy Bolt Pistols and Grav Chutes — 200
Ven Dreadnought: 2 twin autocannons — 156
Ven Dreadnought: 2 twin autocannons — 156
Crusader Squad (1 Sword Brother; 4 initiates; 4 neophytes): 1 plasmagun, 1 power axe, and 1 power sword — 131
Crusader Squad (1 Sword Brother; 4 initiates; 4 neophytes): 1 plasmagun, 1 power axe, and 1 power sword — 131
Crusader Squad (1 Sword Brother; 6 initiates; 3 neophytes): 1 plasmagun, 1 power axe, and 1 power sword — 146
Inceptor Squad (3 Primaris): 3 pairs of Assault Bolters — 135
Inceptor Squad (3 Primaris): 3 pairs of Assault Bolters — 135
Predator w/ Autocannon and Heavy Bolter sponsons — 150
Predator w/ Autocannon and Heavy Bolter sponsons — 150
Predator w/ Autocannon and Heavy Bolter sponsons — 150
Rhino w/ Storm Bolter — 72
Rhino w/ Storm Bolter — 72
Rhino w/ Storm Bolter — 72

Total — 2000 points

The First 500 Points

As I mentioned elsewhere on this site, the Black Templars do not scale well until after the 1000 point mark and start coming into their own at about 1500 points.  I just want to point it out now, especially if you only plan to design small-sized armies with the Black Templars.  If that is what you’re going for, I would suggest preparing yourself for losses using any type of Space Marine army.  You just can’t field enough on the board to be successful against other non-MEQ armies at low points levels.  Our stuff is too expensive and specialized for these games.  As a result, you might find yourself losing more than you win until you build to those higher points games.  But I implore you, this is normal and hopefully you trudge on through to building your army to larger sizes.  Do not despair.

We really don’t get much to work with, but one thing is for sure, we need one HQ and troop unit, to fulfill the minimum requirements for the Patrol Detachment.  This is the core of your army, and you’ll be working up from this detachment in the future.  So to start, you obviously need a Chaplain to lead your new army.  They are both the same, so there is no decision-making there.  You obviously take The Crusader’s Helm on the only HQ unit you have.  This is how I would build the first 500 points and after, I’ll discuss why:

Chaplain: Bolt Pistol and The Crusader’s Helm — 72
Reivers (5 Primaris): 5 Heavy Bolt Pistols and Grav Chutes — 100
Crusader Squad (1 Sword Brother; 4 initiates; 3 neophytes): 1 plasmagun, 1 power axe, and 1 power sword — 120
Inceptor Squad (3 Primaris): 3 pairs of Assault Bolters — 135
Rhino w/ Storm Bolter — 72
Total: 499

The reason I opted for this section of the list, is that you have the Chaplain in the list, so you need units who can utilize his auras effectively.  He gives you a significant bonus in close combat, and at 500 points, will be difficult to deal with.  Then you also have your required troop squad in the form of a 8-man crusader squad in a rhino.  At this low a points level, you won’t get the maximum killy-ness possible from these guys, but you simply don’t have the points to upgrade them further.  But remember, your opponent is also playing within the bounds of 500 points and will have similar problems.  This list has everything it needs to win a game:  mobility via the rhino, close combat ability from the Crusader squads, Reivers, and Chaplain, and firepower in the Inceptors.

The other reason I chose this list is based on cost.  I didn’t choose any units that I wouldn’t immediately use.  For a new player, that is incredibly important.  The barrier to entry is high enough without adding to the cost needlessly.  For this, you will need a Chaplain, one box of Scouts, one Tactical squad box, a Rhino, a Reiver box, and some Inceptors.  If you can get yourself some Inceptors cheap from the Dark Millenium starter box, awesome.  It’ll be about $140-150 to start this.  Now go and paint yourself a crusade!

Building to 1000 Points

So you’ve played a few games, painted up your forces, and like what you see.  Good.  I’m glad you’re on your way to becoming one of the elite in the Eternal Crusade.  However, that’s all well and dandy, but it doesn’t tell you what you need to know:  What to buy next.

There are two options here, and you can do either with reasonable success.  You can opt to build your army into a more focused close combat force that features more crusader squads and Reivers.  Or you can build a more balanced army so that you’re able to take all comers.  At this low a points level, either is a valid option.  There are deficiencies in each list.  The close combat “rock” army has the advantage of your opponent likely not having the firepower to deal with that amount of focused close combat potential.  However, if your opponent is able to handle them (Tau, Imperial Guard), then you’ll have a wasted 500 points here.  The balanced list is able to take on everything thrown at you, but unfortunately, lacks a concentrated close combat threat you would like at this points level.  This will end up hurting you against some armies that you cannot reliably blast off the board.

So which route did I chose?  The threat of losing the my close combat elements early game is too much of a problem for me, however unlikely it is.  So I went with the balanced army.  It is much more able to deal a wide variety of opponents, and provide you with a bigger array of battle plans.  If one fails, you also have the resources available to provide a backup option.

Unfortunately, this is where you start having to spend some money.  If you have an option for a discounted price either from Ebay, a local store’s loyalty discount, online sources, etc, use them.  You will be purchasing a few vehicles in this part, and they tend to be on the higher end of price.

Chaplain: Bolt Pistol and The Crusader’s Helm — 72
Reivers (5 Primaris): 5 Heavy Bolt Pistols and Grav Chutes — 100
Crusader Squad (1 Sword Brother; 4 initiates; 4 neophytes): 1 plasmagun, 1 power axe, and 1 power sword — 131
Crusader Squad (1 Sword Brother; 4 initiates; 4 neophytes): 1 plasmagun, 1 power axe, and 1 power sword — 131
Inceptor Squad (3 Primaris): 3 pairs of Assault Bolters — 135
Inceptor Squad (3 Primaris): 3 pairs of Assault Bolters — 135
Predator w/ Autocannon and Heavy Bolter sponsons — 150
Rhino w/ Storm Bolter — 72
Rhino w/ Storm Bolter — 72
Total: 998

This will require a purchase of another scout squad, bits to outfit your remaining marines from the tactical squad, a rhino box, another inceptor box, and one predator.  Remember to ALWAYS magnetize your vehicles if they have alternate weapons options.  Check YouTube for instructional videos on how to do this.  The main one you’ll be worrying about is the predators.

Adding these units will give you a good chunk of the future fire support in your army right away.  You have a decent amount of anti-tank firepower in this list, with the addition of the fire support elements.  If your opponent is fielding more infantry than tanks, you have the heavy bolters/assault bolters to play around with.  This is especially important against Orcs and Tyranids.  Once again, be sure to paint up your forces before continuing your buying spree.

Almost There:  1500 Points

Once again, you have a big decision to make here regarding the route of your army.  Do you take the plunge and finish off your close combat focus?  Or do you take more fire support to support what you do have?  There is also the option to take a mixture of the two. 

Here is the problem.  The close combat can be very good at this point, as you have lots of fire support to back them up and perhaps destroy your opponent’s AT firepower, allowing you a clear shot into their army.  However, you are very low on troops if you go this route.  Two squads of troops is very risky, and the chances are that your opponent now has the weaponry to deal with them.  Or at the very least, minimize their use in the game (i.e. preventing you from using them to capture objectives).  Its not a sure thing, as you still have them protected in our rhinos and will likely end up in close combat, but its still a possibility you must consider.  But, if you add additional troops and fire support, you’ll still be lacking a clear close combat element in your forces.  You’ll getting to the point where close combat will make or break a game.  So its a delicate balance, and an important decision for you to make.

Once more, I opted to go the more balanced route here (starting to see a pattern here?).  While either option would have put you in an excellent position to win consistently, I felt that adding more troops would serve my purposes better.  The additional Reivers, Chaplain, and completed Crusader squads are still a risk I am unwilling to make at this point.

Chaplain: Bolt Pistol and The Crusader’s Helm — 72
Reivers (5 Primaris): 5 Heavy Bolt Pistols and Grav Chutes — 100
Ven Dreadnought: 2 twin autocannons — 156
Crusader Squad (1 Sword Brother; 4 initiates; 3 neophytes): 1 plasmagun, 1 power axe, and 1 power sword — 120
Crusader Squad (1 Sword Brother; 4 initiates; 4 neophytes): 1 plasmagun, 1 power axe, and 1 power sword — 131
Crusader Squad (1 Sword Brother; 5 initiates; 3 neophytes): 1 plasmagun, 1 power axe, and 1 power sword — 133
Inceptor Squad (3 Primaris): 3 pairs of Assault Bolters — 135
Inceptor Squad (3 Primaris): 3 pairs of Assault Bolters — 135
Predator w/ Autocannon and Heavy Bolter sponsons — 150
Predator w/ Autocannon and Heavy Bolter sponsons — 150
Rhino w/ Storm Bolter — 72
Rhino w/ Storm Bolter — 72
Rhino w/ Storm Bolter — 72
Total: 1498

At this point, we’ve filled out our elite and heavy support slots (in the Patrol detachment) with more AT to help neutralize vehicles.  The additional Predator and the addition of the Venerable Dreadnought will be a huge boon to your fire support.  We’ve also added our requisite troops squad, though we are going to continue to maneuver squad ratios around for extra points.  The additional troops squad is very important to the success to the army, as opponents will no longer be able to focus fire just those two squads.  This gives you much more time to neutralize their firepower.

This stage requires the purchase of yet another tactical squad equivalent and a rhino, one box of scouts, one predator (remember to magnetize!), and a dreadnought (and bits for the twin autocannons from your favorite source).  Not too bad in the way of cost, but you’re looking at about $125-150.  But look at it this way, your army is nearly done!  Now paint it.  😛

It All Comes Together:  2000 Points

Now the choices are limited.  But that is a good thing.  All you have to do is add in what is missing from the 2000 point list.  That amounts to 5 Reivers, a Ven Dread (plus arm bits), a Predator, a Chaplain, and a smattering of Neophytes/Initiates for your Crusader squads.  Then you’re done!  Of course, you also qualify for the Battalion detachment as well, so might as well take that to maximize your CP!

Chaplain: Bolt Pistol and The Crusader’s Helm — 72
Chaplain: Bolt Pistol — 72
Reivers (10 Primaris): 10 Heavy Bolt Pistols and Grav Chutes — 200
Ven Dreadnought: 2 twin autocannons — 156
Ven Dreadnought: 2 twin autocannons — 156
Crusader Squad (1 Sword Brother; 4 initiates; 4 neophytes): 1 plasmagun, 1 power axe, and 1 power sword — 131
Crusader Squad (1 Sword Brother; 4 initiates; 4 neophytes): 1 plasmagun, 1 power axe, and 1 power sword — 131
Crusader Squad (1 Sword Brother; 6 initiates; 3 neophytes): 1 plasmagun, 1 power axe, and 1 power sword — 146
Inceptor Squad (3 Primaris): 3 pairs of Assault Bolters — 135
Inceptor Squad (3 Primaris): 3 pairs of Assault Bolters — 135
Predator w/ Autocannon and Heavy Bolter sponsons — 150
Predator w/ Autocannon and Heavy Bolter sponsons — 150
Predator w/ Autocannon and Heavy Bolter sponsons — 150
Rhino w/ Storm Bolter — 72
Rhino w/ Storm Bolter — 72
Rhino w/ Storm Bolter — 72

Total — 2000 points

Now you have an army worthy of the Eternal Crusade!  Don’t forget to paint it!  😉

Next up, Part Four: Playing With Your New Army!