Back in Black!

Well, it certainly does sound as though the Black Templars have come out of the new Codex quite well.

Chatter over at the Bolter and Chainsword points to a whole lot of excitement around some units that hadn't been that widely used in the previous codex simply because there were other more effective options, and which I happen to own but didn't use before! (always a nice bonus to realize you have a model to put on the table!)

But now...

The Emperor's Champion really is a Champion!

My Emperor's Champion

Now with x3 attacks at Strength 6, AP2, instant death on a 6 AND re-rolls in a challenge? Sounds pretty good!  The EC has always been an interesting part of the fluff - gifted with a vision and a big sword - now he might just actually perform as a Champion on the table, as well as in print.

See "The Emperor's Champion is a Big Winner in the new 'Dex"

Grimaldus, now new and improved...

Methinks you will be joining my next crusade...

Not only has his points cost become a bit more reasonable (150) but he (his servitors) now grant Feel No Pain to UNITS within a 6 inch bubble. I think previously that rule only granted FNP to Models within 6 inches, so this significantly ups the game for units around him. (Stick him a Landraider Crusader and units around the Crusader will be affected?)

See "Grim just got cheap enough to be worth runnin"

Kids these days...
...actually can shoot fight worth a damn. 

Black Templar Neophytes (Templars in training) being Space Marine Scouts, have had their Weapon Skill and Ballistic Skill improved back to WS4 and BS4, the same as a regular marine. I guess they will be more expensive then previously, but from a BT game point of view (where they could make up around half of a Crusader Squad to bulk up the squad to a large size and act as meat shields) this is interesting...

...but not without controversy from a fluff/ game point of view.

"If they are a Space Marine in training, then they shouldn't have the same stats as Space Marines"
or
"In game terms, making more and more units WS4, BS4 is getting ridiculous!"

See "How do you feel about WS 4 BS 4 Space Marine Scouts"

Looking forward to learning more as the new Codex gets devoured and tested by more experience players than I.

++++++++++

In other news, I will be naming a squad in honour of Christopher Lee, who sadly passed away last week...

...RIP to a man who played Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, Mycroft Holmes, Count Dooku, Frankenstein, Saruman, Scaramanga, and many more...
...and who also happened to be (probably), a secret agent, and (definitely) an actor who out-Bacons Kevin Bacon in any game of "6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon" 
...and an award winning Heavy Metal artist.

If you think you are man enough (and can handle the feeling that you are by comparison a pathetic loser), read more about Sir Lee here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Lee 

(TL;DR: "22 Incredible Facts about the Life and Career of Sir Christopher Lee".)

Metal for the Metal God!

Black Templars Chaplains!

*Squeek*

My Black Templars army has been slowly expanding through my eagle-eye focus on eBay, but I have moved into a phase of picking up single models to boost the army, rather than larger units.

In addition to Marshal Helbrecht (recently completed, see here) recent crop of purchases just arrived over the last day or two, and I had the chance to look at them today. 

Reclusiarch Grimaldus and Servitors.

I like the Grimaldus model, and I was happy to see when the model showed up that it looked much better in reality than in the photos on eBay! I don't think Grimaldus himself really needs any highlighting or additional painting at all if I don't get around to it. 

The servitors might need a little bit of work, (maybe the bases and some highlighting) but they are fine for now and very much ready for the gaming table.

Impact on the game? In truth, Grimaldus is probably overpriced, but could be a lot of fun in a foot list or in a Land Raider crusader (where his buffs still work on units around the vehicle) AND as I am reading the Helsreach novel, he has the added attraction of just...being...awesome from a fluff point of view.

Chaplain with Jump Pack

This guy needs some work, but again, he is in a pretty good state! Some washes and highlighting on his purity seals and the various bits of cloth should do the trick (again, along with being properly based.)

Gaming wise, the (an) opinion seems to be that Chaplains in general are OK in small games. I thought he might be useful in a unit of 8 assault marines that I have. Perceived internet wisdom though is that Chaplains of any kind (especially the highly-priced Grimaldus) fail to compare to a generic Chapter Master as a good HQ choice.

As usual though, I don't play competitively, so can't wait to try them out!
:-)

Cheers!