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Hey all, my first post on this forum (though I've been bopping around a few other 40k forums before now)...

I'm a new player, and a poor one to boot. I have only the bitz and models that are in my immediate possession to work with, can't really obtain new bitz, packs, ect, so the primary limits to my army list are the physical parts I have at my disposal. I got my hands on the Black Reach set to start with, and was able to flesh out my Ork and Space Marines a bit through cheap e-bay auctions and a generous friend in Britain, but have only recently gotten around to painting/assembling/converting marines, and find myself thrust into this heavily conflicted debate of what good Space Marine HQ choices are.

Some people seem to say that only special characters are worth it, others say none of the special characters are worth it. Some say it's a joke to take anything other than a librarian or chaplain, while others say it's totally fine to use the basic Captain as long as you give him a relic blade and storm shield... while yet still more people say the Captain is worthless without being on a bike! The same issue seems to come up with the discussion of the Chapter Master's orbital strike, where I've found equal discussion of it being an awesome godsend, or expensive trash.

All this has lead me here, to you folks, to try and get some advice!

--Current army list (minus the HQ)--
1 tac squad
--flamer
--missile launcher
--sergeant power weapon

1 tac squad
--plasma gun
--missile launcher
--sergeant plasma pistol? (will depend on points available)

Vanilla Black Reach Terminators

Vanilla Dreadnought

2 rhinos (possibly with 1 dozer blade)

--Parts I have to work with for HQ choice--
Black Reach Captain
Chaos Terminator Lightning Claw
Chaos Terminator Chain Fist
Spare plasma pistol, melta (dreadnought and infantry), and flamer (dreadnought and infantry).
Spare bolt pistols
Gobs of bolters
Dreadnought storm bolter
Gobs of green stuff.
Stacks of sprue
(IE: No terminator armor, no bikes, at most 1 power fist by converting the lightning claw)


Whatever comes out the other end of this conversion will be my only available HQ choice for these marines for a very long while! So I need to make sure that whatever it is, its a good'n. Any help ye tactical masters of Dakka Dakka can provide?

Librarians are probably the best choice, because they're cheap and they buff your force. Some of the special characters are good as well for the same reasons (Vulkan, Shrike, Calgar, Lysander).

Mid-level HQs are Chaplains, Captains, Master of the Forge and the Captain-level special characters I haven't mentioned yet. Chaplains are good if you want an assault force with Vanilla Marines, but on the whole they don't do it so well and all the options are expensive. Master of the Forge is ok, but suffers from the same problems as Techmarines. Captains are decent, but get expensive quick and aren't as flexible as Librarians. If you want a bike army however, then a Captain on a Bike is a must.

Low-level HQs are Chapter Masters sadly. They're +25pts on a Captain for the exact same stats and options, with the only difference being a one-shot orbital bombardment and the option to take Honour Guard. Not worth it outside of fluffy reasons.

I'm starting to lean towards Librarian. The special characters all seem geared towards specific army compositions which I can't really do at the moment (unless my current army fits with one of those specials).

Master of the Forge has to be tossed in the bin regardless; I don't have the bitz to make tech arms and only got one dread and 2 rhinos vehicle wise.

I'll avoid the Chapter Master, unless someone gives me a really glowing recommendation and I've got some crazy point excess (and had decided to go with Captain). Sadly I can't do the bike army, as I don't have a bike to shove the Captain model onto (or any bikes soldiers to go with it).

I would figure out a concept for an army and find the special character that ganks that concept. I run Vulkan for example. He makes my Salamander flamer/melta list amazing. My buddy runs a Captain on a Bike and has an incredible bike list. It's all up to you and your skill at converting

Well obviously while I can make a different theme, the above army list that I gave is all I do and ever will have for a rather long time (I can't afford new bitz or models). I'm not experienced enough yet to know precisely if the army I have would fit with any of the given special characters or not. Theoretically, I could convert the Captain into anything I need him to be (but as I said NOT bikes OR a Terminator armor Captain, as I have neither a bike, nor extra termie armor). Most just seem to be a lot of points for tactics that I don't have the models to pull off.

Special Characters I DO have the parts to attempt conversion for:
Pedro
Tigurius
Cassius
Sicarius
Vulcan (Big maybe)
Khan (though I have no bikes, so kind of pointless)

What makes the Librarian so popular is the ability to take Null Zone which forces your opponent to re-roll successfull invulnerable saves in 24" bubble around him. That power makes him extremely useful against just about any army (the only exception I can think of would be IG). Combined with a cheap starting cost makes him very cost effective and almost a "must-take" in tourneys.
This does not mean the other HQ choices are worthless, but the Librarian is a very flexible choice.