Black Templar Terminator Command Squad List

I promised a list after writing my article about the usefulness of Terminator Command Squads in a Black Templar army. Below are my thoughts on it.

Warning! Warning!  I don't think that this list is particularly competitive.  It certainly has many threats and will pose some serious problems for many armies, but I don't think it has the saturation levels to make it super scary.  It is a rock army.  Luckily, it has two significant rocks, so I can spread the threats. However, that said, I think it is an extremely fun list and will definitely present some strengths on the tabletop.  Here we go:

Emperor's Champion- Accept any Challenge vow- 140pt.
Castellan- terminator armor, chainfist, storm shield- 405pt.
      Terminator Command Squad- tank hunters, 2x cyclone launchers, sarge with chainfist, storm shield
Castellan- terminator armor, chainfist, storm shield- 405pt.
      Terminator Command Squad- tank hunters, 2x cyclone launchers, sarge with chainfist, storm shield

Crusader Squad- 5 initiates, 1 neophyte, multi-melta, meltagun, in rhino with smoke- 163pt.
Crusader Squad- 5 initiates, 1 neophyte, multi-melta, meltagun, in rhino with smoke- 163pt.
Crusader Squad- 5 initiates, missile launcher, flamer, in rhino with smoke- 149pt.
Crusader Squad- 5 initiates, missile launcher, flamer, in rhino with smoke- 149pt.

2 Landspeeders- 2x typhoon missiles launchers, 2x heavy bolter- 140pt.
2 Landspeeders- 2x typhoon missiles launchers, 2x heavy bolter- 140pt.
2 Landspeeders- 2x typhoon missiles launchers, 2x heavy bolter- 140pt.

1994 pt.

So, here's what it has.
22 missile launcher shots across 7 units, 8 of which are S9 when firing at vehicles, two melta bunkers
We have 10 vehicles all of which are pretty vulnerable to return fire, so hitting first and hitting hard is the way to go. 

Optimally, the two TCS can deploy with the melta bunkers and use the rhinos to generate cover (which I suppose they don't need with 2+/5++ and 2+/3++) while firing out with relentless cyclone launchers.  This is the forward element.  The missile launcher rhinos are objective campers and the speeders will bob in weave in my backfield to get off as many shots as possible.  Hopefully, we will be able to get all of the terminators across the field and box in enemy units until they can assault and mop them up.  All the while, templates will be dropped once vehicles are eliminated.  The EC will join a command squad to add some extra combat ability. 

Here are the weakness
1) 22 scoring bodies in AV11 boxes.  This should be relatively easy to neutralize with concentrated firepower.  This is why hitting hard from the start is a must. 
2) Foot terminators are slow.  If I can't demech units, I won't catch them.  I have to make sure I can get units outside of their vehicles and then spread out to limit their movements options.  The terminators will be the shepherds and the clean up crews.  They are the obvious threats though, so they will take a beating on the walk across the table. 
3) Low AV.  Having only AV10-11 will hurt.  Being smart with positioning, especially of the speeders will be crucial.  If I get turn 2, it is essential to hide them well, possibly even reserving them, though this will severely cripple my anti-mech ability. 

So, there are some obvious problems with the list, but it does have some sweet abilities as well.  It will take some especially heinous combat units to deal with the TCS and only a few armies have the ability to negate my armor or torrent enough wounds to deal with them. 

What are your thoughts?  Does this work on the tabletop?  What armies will cause it trouble?  What armies will it dominate or are there any?

Thanks for reading.

Other Black Templar articles I have written include:
Codex Review: Black Templar HQs
Codex Review: Black Templar Heavy Selections
Codex Review: Black Templar lists Part 2
____________________________________________________________
Did you find this article useful? Subscribe to Gone to Ground for more great updates.

The Random Element and Black Templar Strengths and Weaknesses

It's no mystery that games of chance rely on randomness to provide challenge and loss-reward relationships.  If there were no randomness, casinos across the world would be out of business.  Games like 40k, Warmahordes, and even Monopoly all rely on the use of the random element to provide an additional layer to their gaming experience.  However, from a competitive perspective, strength lies in consistency.  You don't want unexpected scenarios to arise.  You want your army to operate reliably, have redundancy, and to cancel out ill effects that can be placed on it. The best way to do this is to build armies with redundancy in them and to also play units and models that rely less on the dice.  This can be done by working in rules that forgo the use of dice or provide rerolls.

So, as I wrote my previous post about Terminator Command Squads, I began to think of the strengths and weaknesses that Black Templars have in regards to randomness and reliability. They have both.  Suprisingly, for an old codex, there are some distinct advantages to the army that make it dangerous even in today's metagame.  At the same time, there are some glaring weaknesses to the army.  How they play out and how you handle them determines your success in a very real way.

Let's get started by presenting some strengths. 
1) The biggest strength this army has comes in the form of army-wide preferred enemy provide by the Emperor's Champion.  Templars hit most things on 3+ and being able to reroll fails (and sometimes successes) allows them to be devestatingly effective and reliable in combat.  Rerolling takes their to-hit rate from 66% to 88% successful.  This is a huge benefit, but also being able to reroll hits to turn them into misses does the same thing.  This effectively turns a BT model's successful to-hit rate from 66% to 44%.  Against armies like Tau, IG, and Eldar (both kinds) this can save a squad from a punishing round of ranged counterattacks. 

2) Fearless in combat is also a strength in my opinion.  Many don't like it because it means once a unit is in combat, it is committed, either to success or to death.  To me this means that I won't flee from combat.  How ugly is it in when you see a Draigo-wing paladin star gets beaten in combat and escorted off the board.  Being fearless in combat means that you will never have to worry about even outpacing your pursuers and getting escorted off the board.

3) Easy redundancy amongst units is possible as well.  BT are fairly unique now in that they can take min siz units of models and still get a full compliment of heavy, special, and combat weapons.  This makes min-maxing easier to accomplish and means that we can actually put a decent focus on ranged attack if we need do.  2 cyclones in a 5 man terminator squad or a missile launcher and plasma gun in a 5 man crusader squad yield good returns at range and allow more units to be fielded.  We do pay a heavy tax on our vehicles though as everything but typhoon speeders are more expensive than other marine varients.

Unfortunately though, there are weaknesses in the BT codex.  There are quite a few in fact, but they can be negated if planned for.

1) Righteous zeal can be a pain.  It was intended to get our marines across the table quickly, but unfortunately means that in many cases we could end up running away from a single casualty.  When it is good, it's good, but bad dice can ruin a game for you in regards to this. On top of that, when you RZ, you have to move towards the nearest unit to you, which means it is possible to be kited along if you aren't careful.  Luckily the wording of the rule states that it is done like a consolidation move, so you don't have to move the entire distance, just up to it as a max.  There are two obvious answers to how to solve this problem in my mind.  The first is to buy a commander.  His rites of battle rule means that his LD10 is spread across the table and will mean there is very little chance that a righteous zeal move will be failed.  He also has other uses which will be given later.  I think he is your best option.  The other would only fix a single unit. If you have that nasty rock unit that you don't want running away, put a chaplain with them.  He grants fearless so you will auto-pass RZ rolls, but even better, he allows you to RZ towards any enemy unit in sight which neutralizes his unit being kited in the wrong direction. You can even pick a unit across the board as long as you can see it. This is handy.  Of course, the final solution to RZ is to keep your units in transports for as long as possible so they don't have to take RZ moves.

2) Kill 'Em All is another rule that really causes issues.  Again, a quirky 4th ed. rule that remains valid in the current ruleset, so we have to live with it. Whenever a BT infantry unit wants to shoot, it has to take a LD test at -1 to be able to select its target, otherwise it shoots at the closest thing.  That means on average we are testing on 7s.  Solution: Enter the commander again, his Rites of Battle gives all BT an effective LD10 so they are taking tests on a 9.  Not geat, but much better than 7.  Of course, this test only has to be taken if you choose to shoot or if you are trying to shoot at something other than the unit/model closest to you.  If you are trying to melta a tank, if will more than likely be the closest thing to you and in many situations, the only guns you will shoot will be bolt pistols before you assault, so again, you are looking at the closest models. Ultimately, this is for a list like missile spam.  You want to make sure that you have that commander to offset the negatives for the rule. 

Randomness occurs.  You can't get totally away from it in 40k.  It's just not possible.  If you don't want randomness, play chess or checkers.  Whenever there are dice, there will be the random element.  However, you can easily negate a lot of these things if you plan out your lists well and if you add elements to your army that bolster your strengths. 

Some Battle Reports:
Space Wolf Razorspam vs. Horde Orks- a Vassal Report
Sanguinary v. Grey Knights
Vulkan Ain't No Joke
____________________________________________________________
Did you find this article useful? Subscribe to Gone to Ground for more great updates.

Are Black Templar Terminator Command Squads a More Viable Option?

It's been awhile since I last posted about 40k.  I have to say that Warmahordes has really captured my interest.  That said, I sold my Blood Angels DoA army because I just wasn't going to get it painted with all of my commission work and Menoth army to work on.  In its absence, I am left with a Black Templar army, a Space Wolf army, and models to pull off a vanilla Marine list.

That got me thinking about my old school love, the Templars. I started 40k because of them and drifted towards more competitive armies after a while, but they are still my favorite army.  I have even done an entire codex review on the army.  Scroll down to see it.  That said, awhile back now, GW released an FAQ that updated some of the rules for outdated wargear for BT.  This gave us, overall, a significant bump.  Combining some old rules with new wargear game Black Templar some interesting options.  The missile spam list became viable using terminators since we can get 2 cyclones in a 5-man squad. This gave our ranged output a significant boost.

However, I wanted to spend a bit of time focusing on some synergies that make me think of how Terminator Command Squads can be used to provide some serious threats. 

Command Squads as they appear in the Black Templar codex are an outdated animal.  The idea of having a unit attached to an HQ as a retinue providing certain benefits just doesn't exist anymore.  That said, with the inclusion of the FAQ, I feel like Terminator Command Squads become a great toolbox for Black Templars.

First of all, we need to discuss what you need. The prime ingredient is an HQ.  Unfortunately, you can't assign a command squad to the Emperor's Champion, that would rock.  You have to pick an additional HQ choice in the form of a Commander/Castellan or Chaplain/Reclusiarch.  Unfortunately, from a points budget standpoint, our HQs are not cheap.  However, they provide quite a bit of combat power. To accomplish our goal, the HQ has to wear terminator armor.  For our purposes, let's go with a Castellan.  He is the cheapest HQ.  We then want to consider his role in the unit.  To do this, we probably need to know what the unit will look like.  A terminator command squad comes with 4 models, 3 grunts and a sargeant.  They have to be tactical terminators, so will come equipped with storm bolters and powerfists.  The sarge can be outfitted with a plethora of terminator weapon options. 

Above we mentioned that our tactical terminators have gotten a huge buff in the form of updated cyclone rules.  Thus, we want to take our two cyclones in this unit.  Then, we want to consider a few things for the sargeant.  What is his role?  He can't provide additional dakka except in the form of a storm bolter, which while nice, if he is in a unit with two cyclones, he probably won't be shooting at infantry until late game.  So, let's look at allowing him some surivivability options and combat options. Since his gun won't even scratch a vehicle, I think he would be a good wound soak.  Giving him a stormshield and a chainfist will mean that most tanks will get chopped up and he provides the unit with a 2+/3++ buffer before we have to put a wound on cyclones.  Add to the unit the tank hunter veteran skill and you are shooting S9 missiles and have S9 powerfists when hitting vehicles. 

Along the same lines, if we give the Castellan a storm shield and chainfist, we add redundancy in combat and a multi-wound model with a solid invul save. 

Thus, I propose the following squad. 

Castellan-terminator armor, chainfist, storm shield
Terminator Command Squad- tank hunters, 2x cyclones, sarge with storm shield and chainfist

This comes in at a hefty price tag, but provides us with a unit that can confidently walk up the table popping armor and then throwing templates into units until it reaches their lines.  At that point, it can get into combat and hold its own with 2+ saves and 5++/3++ invul saves and can punish units with multiple S8 attacks per model.  The diversity of saves also means that power weapon wounds can be effectively dealt with.  These units become very similar to DA deathwing units. 

What's more, an army can have 2 HQs + the EC, so you can bring two such units.  This, with the EC will eat up half of your army, but can provide two brutal rock units.  Combined with min sized crusader squads and Elite tactical terminator squads, you can create a punishing missile spam army that is effective in the shooting phase against both vehicles and infantry and that can hit hard in combat. 

I will work out a 2,000pt list that utilizes at least one terminator command squad to illustrate how it fills out the army. 

What do you think?  Are TCSs too expensive for what they bring?  Are they really a viable combat option?  Let me know.

Other Black Templar articles I have written include:
Codex Review: Black Templar HQs
Codex Review: Black Templar Heavy Selections
Codex Review: Black Templar lists Part 2

____________________________________________________________
Did you find this article useful? Subscribe to Gone to Ground for more great updates.

New 40k FAQ...and Why I Care

Well, GW has done it again.  They have shocked the gaming world by putting out helpful(ish) much needed documents that help a little.  This time though, they did it in an interesting way.  Let's take a look. 

Item #1, across the board (almost) FAQs have appeared.  In reality, only the Necron codex "needs" any real rules clarification right now as it is the newest codex and thus hasn't had any FAQ/Errata documentation yet.  However, GW decided to work on everything, including things like Apoc and Cities of Death.  That's pretty expansive, though most of the FAQs don't add much.

Item #2, in reference to Item #1, all GW 40k books got an FAQ EXCEPT Black Templars and Tau.  This is interesting because Dark Angels being a similiarly aged book did get an FAQ.  Many sources are citing this as evidence for these two books being updated soon.  That makes total sense too since both are very old, need updating, and why bother FAQing something if it is about to come out anyway. 

Item #3, they answered some interesting and relevant questions, if you own the right codex.  This is where it really matters to me.  I essentially play any power armor army aside from Grey Knights.  Thus, all of my armies were affected in some way (with the exclusion, of course, of Black Templars).  Here are the three minute, but good, rules FAQs that helped my armies out.

1) Blood Angels- Blood Lance autohits.  This is a big deal as Blood Lance just went from hitting 60% (psychic test + to-hit) of the time to 92%(psychic test + autohit).  It is, again, much more reliable, and thus much scarier to those parking lot armies out there.

2) Blood Angels- You can combat squad units in reserve! I exclamate because this was obvious.  The earlier ruling was meant to keep playing from deploying one combat squad and reserving the other combat squad from the same unit.  That was obvious, though, stupid rule-lawyer monkeys loved to argue the point. 

Now combat squadding via deepstrike is a true and relevant threat again.  This, in my opinion, makes Blood Angels scarier again as they can spread out their melta/other special weaponry better. 

3) Space Wolves- Jaws of the World Wolf autohits as well!  Again, an obvious one being that it is essentially a template(straight line) that doesn't scatter. This again bumps it up quite a bit, though with a chooser of the slain, not as much as Blood Lance increased.

So, that's it.  I'm not really interested in Necron FAQ, though from reading blogs it appears that players got their wish in being able to attach multiple court models (from separate courts) to a single unit.  Necrons may just be the most competitive Xenos army out there soon. 

I would love hear other people's comments about what they thought about the FAQs.  Like 'em, hate 'em, don't care?  Let me know.

Other Interesting Articles:
You Be the Judge: BA Jumpers and Combat Squadding
Just thinking...
You Got Owned...Because You Didn't Know the Rules Part 1
____________________________________________________
Did you find this article useful?  Subscribe to Gone to Ground to get updates as new articles become available.

Painting Theory, Why Layering Works

I'm really trying to maintain momentum this year in regards to blogging.  I really love writing and I love wargaming, so what's not to like?  Well, coming up with daily or even bi-daily articles can be tough for one person.  I envy some of the larger blogs out there who manage to maintain a cadre of writers.  That would be awesome. 

So, if you like what I write about ( 40k, WFB, Warmachine, Painting and Modelling) and would like to try out an article, please feel free to go to my profile on the right and email me and let me know.  I would love to see some of the super cool ideas floating around out there just waiting to be published. 

Advertisement aside, I wanted to wrap up the week with a discussion (meaning I would love some feedback and comments) about painting and more specifically layering.

It occurred to me that in my previous article about painting a New Army in the New Year part of the reason some gamers don't get motivated to paint their armies is because they don't know how to make their army look "good".  There are tons of techniques out there, but I wanted to highlight the practice of layering today because of its ease of application.  Hopefully, this article will inspire some new or fearful hobbyists to try to develop their painting skills. 

But before I start talking about the actual practice of layering, I want you to do an experiment.  It requires a flat screen LCD TV and a second or two of your time.  If you don't have an LCD/LED/flat screen TV, why didn't you get one on Black Friday or Cyber Monday?!

Turn on the TV and move right in front of it, almost with your nose to the screen.  No, this isn't a prank.  What happens?  Chances are, your screen looks really pixel-y.  If you could zoom in super close, it looks something like this:

Now, step back 8-10 steps and take a look at it.  Notice the beautiful image on your screen.

Ahh!  Beautiful isn't it. 

So basically, these types of TVs work by containing LEDs that show either blue, red, or green (newer models are also showing white).  When each fires off correctly at a super small scale, they produce beautiful images.  The faster your TV screen refreshes these colors, the better the picture looks.

Well layering is a method of painting that achieves this type of effect though not nearly to the detail of a hi-res flat screen.

You see, your eye processes those separate colors and attempts to mesh them together to create smooth transitions the further you are from the source of the color.    This also explains why camoflauge works with both humans and animals.  That is also why you can go to a tournament and see a beautifully painted tournament army on the table top, but when you look at it up close, you can see obvious distinctions between layers of color.  Our brain seeks to meld like colors together in a seamless fashion. 

That is why layering works.

Now, there are multiple ways to layer, but I prefer one specific technique.  That is, to start with a shade color, work up to our base color, and finally adding a highlight color.  This takes on variation as many times I add intermediate steps, but it always follows this particular scheme. 

Some painters advocate starting with the base color then going back to add shading and finally a highlight.  I find it simpler to just start with the shade and work my way up. 

In most cases, this can be as easy as getting three different shades of the same color.  For instance, I like to do most of my blues with a dark blue like GW foundation mordian blue, followed by a medium blue like GW enchanted blue, and finally with a highlight like GW ice blue.  Again, you can add in intermediate steps by mixing these colors together or simply finding shades that go in between.

While using shades of a different color is convenient, you can also get really creative by adding different colors to the mix.  For instance, a great way to shade a blue hue is to start with a dark purple, then go to medium blue, followed by a lighter blue highlight.  This yields a very rich color in the end.  I often see this done with yellows as it is easier to start with a shade of red or orange and work up to yellow.  I also do this with white using various shades based on the overall effect I want to accomplish.  For instance, I like to use a shade of brown when I want a dirtier, worn white.  When I want a bright, clean white, I use a shade of blue first.  This yields some remarkable effects. 

Another useful tool for creating some great shading is the use of washing.  GW's washes are great, but you can make a wash out of any paint simply by watering it down until it's translucent. 

To apply the layering strategy, simply apply your first color.  After that, apply your next color, but leave a border of color from the last step visible.  I always apply lighter shades of paint where light would hit the surface in a more pronounced manner and in a progressively smaller area towards the direction of the light.  Repeat this until all layers of paint are complete.

When you are finished layer, what you get is a model that looks great on the tabletop and will appear to be seamlessly painted.

Here are a couple of examples taken from my efforts to paint my new Warmachine forces. 

Here I have my two warcasters High Exemplar Kreoss (pKreoss) and Grand Scrutator Severius (pSeverius).  Each is rife with layering.  Notice especially the reds and whites on the models.  The white was done starting with GW foundation Khemri brown, highlighting with Reaper Master Series Aged Bone, and finally Reaper Master Series Polished Bone.  The reds were done with Reaper Master Series Deep Red followed, I think, by GW Gore Red, and finally GW Blood Red.  In each case I applied a wash of GW Baal Red to the armor plating to further yield a smooth transition. 

That's it!  Layering, with practice, can make amazing looking models that will get you lots of positive attention on the tabletop. 

You might also find these articles of help:
Make Your Own GW Paints
Taking better pictures with cra...inexpensive equipment
Painting Halfway Decent Power Weapons
____________________________________________________________

Did you find this article useful? Subscribe to Gone to Ground for more great updates.