Black Templar Vows Part 4

*Picture used w/o permission, glad to take it down if the artist wishes.

Alright. According to the internets we are are saving the best for last. And in many ways I am inclined to agree. Today's vow is:

Accept Any Challenge, No Matter the Odds

This is the most expensive vow at 50 points. It gives all your Templar USR Preferred Enemy. The vow affects dreadnoughts but not Neophytes. The second part of this vow is that if a unit is in range of an assault of an enemy unit it must assault them.

This vow actually took awhile for me to appreciate. The having to assault in conjunction with Kill Them All (A Black Templar rule that requires units to make a Ld test at -1 to shoot at anything other than the closest unit.)made me feel like at times I was not in control of my army. I had some canny opponents who would get an Ironclad or Wraithlord to where my squads had to assault it. The that Templar squad would be tied up all game, or until they were killed. I had even been victim to a very clever use of a Rhino pulling my guys off of an objective late game. And I didn't even get the Rhino since Preferred Enemy doesn't work on vehicles!

However, once you get your target priority worked out, and see some of the tricks coming, this vow becomes pretty nasty for a control type player. What assault army wouldn't love the chance to premeasure their assaults? This vow never states that you have to charge the closest squad, just that if a squad is within assault range you have to charge. It can easily be inferred from that rule that you measure to see what all your squad can charge. This knowledge can be used in a lot of ways to keep you out of undesirable assaults. Be it charging the best target, or declaring an assault you will probably fail, like one 6" away through difficult terrain.

And of course, the obvious, once you do get into assault you get to reroll all of your "to hit" rolls. Which normally makes it so that you crush whatever you are assaulting. This can be a problem, in that you often want to wipe out your opponent during their assault phase so your squad can't be shot at. But that is a different matter entirely.

One thing to note with this vow is that, if you think you are in a position where you will be able to pick your favorite assault, be sure not to shoot. Also, even though it is expensive for Templar, buying Krak grenades can help you out if you get drawn into an assault with something AV 11 or 12. Also, because neophytes don't benefit from this vow, it might not hurt, in lower point games, to leave them at home.

An army I might run under this vow would be small and rely on spending the game locked in close combat. At 1,500 points would look something like this:

1500 Pts - Black Templars Roster



: Emperor's Champion (1#, 140 pts)

   1 Emperor's Champion @ 140 pts (Bolt Pistol; Crusader Seals; Frag Grenades; The Black Sword; Accept Any Challenge, No Matter The Odds)

      1 Armor of Faith

      1 The Black Sword



HQ: Commander (1#, 155 pts)

   1 Commander @ 155 pts (Marshal)

      1 Marshal (Crusader Seals; Power Weapon x1; Combi-Meltagun; Accept Any Challenge, No Matter The Odds)

         1 Adamantine Mantle

         1 Combat Shield



Troops: Crusader Squad (11#, 505 pts)

   10 Crusader Squad @ 505 pts (Bolt Pistol x9; Close Combat Weapon x8; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Meltagun; Power Weapon; Accept Any Challenge, No Matter The Odds)

      1 Land Raider Crusader (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Transport Capacity: 15 models; Access Points: 3; Extra Armor; Frag Assault Launchers; Multi-Melta; Dozer Blade; Twin Linked Assault Cannon; 2x Hurricane Bolters; Accept Any Challenge, No Matter The Odds; Assault Vehicle; Power of the Machine Spirit)

         1 Blessed Hull



Troops: Crusader Squad (11#, 505 pts)

   10 Crusader Squad @ 505 pts (Bolt Pistol x9; Close Combat Weapon x8; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Meltagun; Power Weapon; Accept Any Challenge, No Matter The Odds)

      1 Land Raider Crusader (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Transport Capacity: 15 models; Access Points: 3; Extra Armor; Frag Assault Launchers; Multi-Melta; Dozer Blade; Twin Linked Assault Cannon; 2x Hurricane Bolters; Accept Any Challenge, No Matter The Odds; Assault Vehicle; Power of the Machine Spirit)

         1 Blessed Hull



Fast Attack: Attack Bike Squadron (2#, 130 pts)

   2 Attack Bike Squadron @ 130 pts (Frag Grenades; Multi-Melta x2; Accept Any Challenge, No Matter The Odds)

      1 Space Marine Bike (Twin Linked Bolter)



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

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



Total Roster Cost: 1500