Black Templar Vows Part 3

Alright. It's Friday, I hope you all are as stoked as I am. Today I am going to give a little run down on my favorite of the Black Templar vows:

Abhor the Witch, Destroy the Witch

This vow affects all units, including vehicles. Before the Scout move, if your opponent has a psyker, all of your units consolidate d6" towards the nearest visible enemy unit. Crusader Seals will let you reroll this consolidation. In addition, any psychic powers that affect one or more of your units are canceled on a 5+. The "down side" is that your units with Infiltrate must deploy with your army.

This vow costs you 20 points. And in quite a few games it won't do you any good. But at the same time it can't hurt you either. I think there is only one entry in the Black Templar's codex that can Infiltrate, and that is at the expense of Furious Charge. Don't get me wrong, I am not excited that I have to pay 20 points to not have to worry about a downside. But I will take it.

Where this vow really pays off, obviously, is when your opponent does have a psyker. If your opponent deploys at the edge of their deployment zone a roll of a 5 or 6 will let a unit in a land raider get into assault even if you have the first turn. It is gimmicky, and highly situational, but it is there if you need it.

Better than any of the potential shenanigans, and the reason I like it, is because this vow is the only form of psychic defense Templar have. Templar can not field librarians, so no hoods. Be it lash, Jaws, or whatever, at least with this vow I am only bent over by it 2/3 of the time. One thing to remember as well, is that in the case of obscured vehicles, you get this in addition to your cover save. So if a brain bug is blasting your tank in cover, you get a 5+ and then a 4+.

Having this vow doesn't hurt you, unless you are a proponent of infiltrating Sword Brethren. And though situational, when facing psykers, you are offered some protection, as well as afforded a few unique opportunities for repositioning or early assault.

The Black Templar list I have been running under this vow looks like this:

1500 Pts - Black Templars Roster



HQ: Black Templars Chaplain (4#, 182 pts)

   1 Black Templars Chaplain @ 182 pts (Master of Sanctity)

      1 Master of Sanctity (Crozius Arcanum; Crusader Seals; Rosarius; Frag Grenades; Melta Bombs; Bolt Pistol x1; Cenobyte Servitors; Abhor The Witch, Destroy The Witch)

         1 Rosarius

         1 Adamantine Mantle

         3 Cenobyte Servitors (Close Combat Weapon; Abhor The Witch, Destroy The Witch)



: Emperor's Champion (1#, 110 pts)

   1 Emperor's Champion @ 110 pts (Bolt Pistol; Crusader Seals; Frag Grenades; The Black Sword; Abhor The Witch, Destroy The Witch)

      1 Armor of Faith

      1 The Black Sword



Elite: Dreadnought (1#, 108 pts)

   1 Dreadnought @ 108 pts (Unit Type: Vehicle (Walker); Assault Cannon; Dreadnought CCW; Storm Bolter; Smoke Launchers; Abhor The Witch, Destroy The Witch)



Troops: Crusader Squad (6#, 184 pts)

   5 Crusader Squad @ 184 pts (Bolter x3; Flamer; Heavy Bolter; Abhor The Witch, Destroy The Witch; Razorback)

      1 Razorback (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Transport Capacity: 6 models; Access Points: 3; Smoke Launchers; Twin Linked Lascannon; Abhor The Witch, Destroy The Witch)



Troops: Crusader Squad (10#, 433 pts)

   9 Crusader Squad @ 433 pts (Bolter x7; Plasmagun; Multi-Melta; Abhor The Witch, Destroy The Witch)

      1 Land Raider Crusader (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Transport Capacity: 15 models; Access Points: 3; Extra Armor; Frag Assault Launchers; Multi-Melta; Dozer Blade; Smoke Launchers; Twin Linked Assault Cannon; 2x Hurricane Bolters; Abhor The Witch, Destroy The Witch; Assault Vehicle; Power of the Machine Spirit)



Troops: Crusader Squad (19#, 289 pts)

   10 Crusader Squad @ 289 pts (Bolt Pistol x9; Close Combat Weapon x8; Frag Grenades; Meltagun; Power Weapon; Neophytes; Abhor The Witch, Destroy The Witch)

      9 Neophytes (Bolt Pistol x9; Close Combat Weapon x9; Frag Grenades; Abhor The Witch, Destroy The Witch)



Fast Attack: Land Speeder Squadron (1#, 65 pts)

   1 Land Speeder Squadron @ 65 pts (Multi-Melta x1)



Heavy Support: Vindicator (1#, 128 pts)

   1 Vindicator @ 128 pts (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Smoke Launchers; Demolisher Cannon; Storm Bolter; Abhor The Witch, Destroy The Witch)



Total Roster Cost: 1499


The giant squad is accompanied by the Chaplain and his cenobite servitors. Their purpose is far more aesthetic than tactical, however the squad can be surprising from time to time.

Thanks for reading,
T