Heres all the new Stratagem and relic rules for Black Templars as we go over their Psychic Awakening: Faith & Fury 40k update!
We knew that Black Templars were getting support across the board, but this is a cool new way to update them!
Coming from Glacial Geek on Youtube, we’ve got a closer look at the Space Marine rules from Psychic Awakening: Faith & Fury. Don’t miss what they’re getting and let us know of any crazy combos you see.
Lore & Table of Contents
Starting off with more clues to the lore advancement, a heretic named Thaneus (who was executed) gave some unpopular opinions about the human race. He then mentions Daemons coming out of the Cicatrix Maledictum in untold numbers that will essentially devour everything in existence. To sum it all up, these were the words that got him killed with the Ordo Hereticus stamp of approval on the bottom of the page.
We had also heard rumors that a Chaos Daemon 2.0 codex was on the horizon now as well, which may make sense in the near future from this missive…
It’s always nice to see the lore move forward. But it looks like things haven’t gotten any better since we saw the Aeldari chime in with the first Psychic Awakening book.
Moving to the Table of Contents, it looks like Black Templar support is on its way to some models datasheets, abilities, warlord traits. stratagems. and relics. We heard rumors about upgrades coming to these battlefield roles earlier (above) as well.
Zealous Crusaders
First things first, If your entire army is Black Templars you gain access to these rules and restrictions
Knights of Sigismund is gonna be their assault doctrine. This makes unmodified 6s to hit in melee automatically hit and wound.
However, you do have two restrictions. Those being you cant take librarians, and you cant use the new chapter champion stratagem found in this book.
Units
First up is the Chapter Master of the Black Templars himself, High Marshal Helbrecht. He’s got the standard Chapter Master ability to re-roll all hits for Black templars within 6″, which is always welcome. He does get a 4+ Invulnerable and Crusade of Wrath, Add 1 to the strength of Black Templars within 6″. Considering the melee focus of this army, that buff is sometimes a huge deal.
The Emperor’s Champion is the character hunter for the Black Templars. He gets a bunch of bonuses when fighting characters and is also hard to hurt in return, with a -1 to hit in melee and a 4+ Invulnerable.
Chaplain Grimaldus also has decent stats but, has some unique abilities. He gives Templars within 6″ his leadership, can deny one psychic power, has a 4+ Invulnerable, and Black Templars within 6″ get an extra hit on unmodified 6s to hit. Not to mention the 6s to hit will also be auto wounds thanks to the assault doctrine!
Onto the chaff of the army, we get a look at the Cenobyte Servitors. Nothing special about their stat lines however, they do become quite a bit better when they are with their buddy Chaplain Grimaldus.
Finally, our bread and butter marine squad. Other than specific wargear for each subtype, if you take at least as many Initiates as Neophytes then Neophytes can re-roll melee hit rolls of 1. A nice bonus to have for the beginning of fights.
All of the point values seem fair, Champion at 75 is going to be awesome considering how much hurt he can throw down.
Black Templar Chaplain Litanies
Due to the Balck Templars Religious nature, they get their own Litanies for the chapters chaplains! Divine Protection and Remorseless Persecution are both great options as 5+ feel no pain is always welcome and there isn’t any other innate re-roll 1 to wound auras.
Warlord Traits
Onto the Warlord Traits, all of them seem pretty good for what the Black Templars are trying to accomplish. However, Master of Arms, although selfish, is quite good. ALways fighting first in a melee-centric army is an extremely good ability. Sometimes getting to them is hard enough, you don’t want them to get a chance to hit you in melee too!
It’s important to note that Helbrecht takes Front-line Commander, Grimaldus takes Epitome of Piety, and Emperor’s Champion takes Oathkeeper.
Stratagems
Black templars also get some unique stratagems. One of the most important being Abhor the Witch, not only is a 50-50 deny just good, but the fact that Black Templars don’t have other ways to deny besides the warlord trait and Grimaldus makes this 1CP strat even more important. Shock and Awe is also pretty great at 1cp after the unit gets out of a land raider they cant be overwatched that turn, allowing them to get in with more units to the almighty Fight Phase!
Relics
Lastly, we got the relics that Black Templars can take. Witchseeker Bolts is interesting as it essentially lets you shoot one round at an enemy psyker for d3 mortal wounds, even if they aren’t the closest. In a way replacing smite, for a snipe that gets psykers! The Aurillian Shroud is also very good as once per battle you can give all units within 3″ a 4+ invulnerable until the end of that battle round, statistically doubling the hits they can all take and give them a better chance to get into the enemies faces!
Do you think Black Templars have a chance to be strong in the current meta?
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About the Author: Andrew Schrank
Andrew Schrank
Job Title: Miniatures & Warhammer Hobby Staff Writer
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About Andrew Schrank: Over the past 15 years, Andrew has played all the games, including tabletop and video games, and immersed himself in the associated lore. Andrew joined the Spikey Bits team in 2018 and covers the Warhammer hobby and tournament scene, along with the latest in tabletop miniatures, each week.
Aspiring diplomat, Lord of Fluff, and Master of Ice Hammer, He loves Star Wars, Chaos Undivided, and Gundam. During his free time, he hunts Platinum trophies on PS5 and reads international news. On weekends, Andrew plays commander and cEDH games, often with unique strategies that push the limits.
He believes each day presents a new opportunity to grow and be challenged.
