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So this one's simple - can Chapter Masters take command squads?

The codex says no, but I've seen quite a few CM lists with biker command squads... How?

Cheers in advance,
BP

currently no permission for a chapter master to take a command squad, although a captain is identical to a chapter master excluding the type of command squad he opens (honour guard in the case of a chapter master) and lacks the orbital bombardment.

keep in mind taking either on a bike makes bike units troops so the lists your seeing could just be people attaching chapter masters to bike squads.

if you seeing chapter masters with command squads and no captain in the list then they have an illegal list, in friendlies most people probably wont care all that much as it is a little odd that chapter master cannot take a command squad (should really have the option to take either a command or honour but meh) but in a tournament setting it invalidates the list.

Remember that Captains, Librarians, and Chaplains all unlock command squads and that special characters who are captains in the fluff do as well.

So someone could easily have any of those other options in their lists to unlock the command squad.

nutty_nutter wrote:currently no permission for a chapter master to take a command squad, although a captain is identical to a chapter master excluding the type of command squad he opens (honour guard in the case of a chapter master) and lacks the orbital bombardment.

Plus the extra attack and wound...

Eihnlazer wrote:Remember that Captains, Librarians, and Chaplains all unlock command squads and that special characters who are captains in the fluff do as well.

So someone could easily have any of those other options in their lists to unlock the command squad.

That's a fair point.

The most common place I've seen it is with the standard auto-include biker master w biker command squad inc apothecary. But then like you said, those lists probably have a Psyker in too

 nutty_nutter wrote:
... it is a little odd that chapter master cannot take a command squad (should really have the option to take either a command or honour but meh) ....

Its not that odd actually. Think of the chapter master like your legs and the captain as a pair of pants. You only have one set of legs, but you might have several pairs of pants and those pants might serve many different functions much like the different companies in a chapter. The command squad is there to support the captain as they are his right hands so they are like your belt. A command squad with out a captain is like a belt with out pants.

 DJGietzen wrote:

 nutty_nutter wrote:
... it is a little odd that chapter master cannot take a command squad (should really have the option to take either a command or honour but meh) ....

Its not that odd actually. Think of the chapter master like your legs and the captain as a pair of pants. You only have one set of legs, but you might have several pairs of pants and those pants might serve many different functions much like the different companies in a chapter. The command squad is there to support the captain as they are his right hands so they are like your belt. A command squad with out a captain is like a belt with out pants.

That is by far the most unexpected analogy. But yeah it does make sense, why would a chapter master be commanding a squad on a company level when he's got his own honor guard?