Warhammer 40k Army Overview

Black Templars

Now there are no less than four separate codices for Space Marines besides
the main book, but in my opinion it’s the Black Templars who differ most
from standard Space Marine armies.

Anyone familiar with Space Marines will recognize the image of the warrior
monk that is implicit in all the talk of brotherhood and selfless devotion, but
this is carried much further with the Black Templars. Imagine one of the
medieval crusading orders such as the Knights Templar or the Hospitallers
transposed into the 41st Millennium and wrought on a much larger scale,
and you have the Black Templars. Clad in crusading paraphernalia, these
mighty warriors tear through space as part of giant crusades, purging the
galaxy of anyone they deem to be impure, unclean, or heretical, which as
you might have guessed is pretty much anyone they come across.

In terms of what you can actually get your hands, the Black Templars offer a
great range of conversion opportunities, with sets allowing you to create an
army that looks much more at home in the confusion of close combat
(Sword Brethren for instance can be assembled with tabards), than engaging
the enemy from range as do standard Space Marines. Indeed this is an army
for anyone who savors the assault above everything else, and the Templars
have been geared in such a way as to encourage this, with larger squads,
heavily armored transports, and none of those boring gun-line units.

While they don’t come with anything like Questing or Grail Knights such as
those found in the Warhammer Bretonnian army, there is that distinct sense
that the quest for the holy grail plays a part in the inspiration behind the
Templars. While I do not collect any of the Space Marine armies (Chaos
Space Marines being a different ball game), I’ll admit that the Black
Templars have piqued my interest, as they are an army with great character,
and if your looking for a army of heroes fighting ceaselessly for a cause,
then the Black Templars would be a good choice.