- Sword Brethren
- Assault Terminators
- Chaplain Grimaldus
- Master of Sanctity
- Heroes of the Chapter
- Templar Armor
Sword Brethren
With the new rules nerfing the once ubiquitous combo of power fist and bolt pistol, I decided to bring something different for close combat. Selecting furious charge as my default veteran rule, I included the lightning claws and power weapon for the special weapons. Lightning claws with preferred enemy would ensure that the marine would be able to reroll hits and wounds, and the power sword would help with any power armor foes.
Having used several of the metal sword brethren models in my ordinary crusader squads, I knew I had to bring something extra special for this squad. I started with the Marneus Calgar box set, pulling the ultramarine honor guard for the first four models. Three of the actual sword brethren models bought the squad up to seven, with some head swaps to make sure everyone was conforming to the helmet rule. The last three were actually HQ models by their original design: the space marine commander form the black reach box set, the new Cato Sicarius, and the High Marshal Helbrecht model. All three of these models also received head swaps. Though I was tempted to use Sicarius' helmet, I felt the Romanesque design didn't fit with the medieval theme of my army. Helbrecht's head jsut had to come off... rules about helmets notwithstanding, no one in my army is going into battle wearing a freaking tiara!
Assault Terminators
(NOTE: This article was written in September of 2010.)
As of today, the Black Templar are packing some of the worst terminators in the game. Why? Storm Shields. Plain and simple, having a 4+ invul in close combat is a pittance next to having a 3+ invul all the time. That being said, there are a couple redeeming factors for the Templar. First off is the aforementioned lightning claw/preferred enemy combo. These guys just shred squads, no contest. The other big advantage is that Templar terminators still get veteran skills, making both lightning claws and thunder hammers absolutely devastating.
The models themselves came together pretty quickly. There isn't much you can do to standing plastic terminators without really having to put in a ton of extra hours. I took advantage of the larger bases to add some extra rubble and detail to the urban setting of the armies' basing theme. I fleshed out the roster of the squad with the additional of the Darnath Lysander model and the Captain Culln model from forgeworld. I have painted the Lysander sculpt three times, and I gain new appreciation for the sculpt every time I come back to it. It really is one of the greatest space marine HQ models out there, and it's a cinch to convert it for any chapter. If you're thinking of using a storm shield / thunder hammer termy, you owe it to yourself to pick this model up.
Chaplain Grimaldus
Grimaldus is easily the more interesting of the two named HQ's in the Templar codex. While Helbrecht is very impressive from a statical standpoint, he doesn't have the flavor of the unstoppable Chaplain. Grimaldus also has the ability to confer his fearlessness to any squad with a single model within 6 inches, which makes him the cornerstone of any great footslogger build.
The model is equally impressive. He just looks like he's ready to lead the charge, not an easy feat for a still image. The servitors were equally cool to experiment with, offering a nice break from painting power armor all the time. I went for a blue, almost necrotic, flesh tone.
Master of Sanctity
I wasn't planning on making another chaplain, but Grimaldus was just too fun.
For the Chaplain himself, it was a simple conversion to swap out the powerfist that came with the model for a bolt pistol arm. I also had a brazier, I honestly don't remember where from, that I glued to his backpack. The servitors themselves came from a variety of sources. The servitor himself was from a techmarine servitor blister, and the other two were from the witch hunter with retinue box. It was an easy conversion from inquisition to Templar, letting the paint speak for itself.
Heroes of the Chapter
The rest of the HQ models came from here, there, everywhere. A mounted space marine from the empire master engineer blister, a terminator from the black reach white dwarf special edition, a brand new emperor's champion kitbash, Marneus Calgar, Commander Dante, you name it.
With the HQ completed, I only had a couple pieces of armor to paint up, shown below. And that was it for the knights of the Emperor. I played this army for the last three years, building and loving every minute of it. Last year, the army took 3rd place in a grand tournament, and second place in painting. It has won tournaments and painting competitions in many local events, and was one of my favorite armies to paint. But, as always, it was only one of many.
Templar Armor
