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So, I am putting some more work into my homebrew Space Marine army using Black Templar tactics. As one final twist to my personal tastes, I have decided to try out an army without any models in terminator armor.

So guys, what would be some good options for the following:

Shooty Chapter Master on Foot & Mounted
Melee Chapter Master on Foot & Mounted
Shooty Captain on Foot & Mounted
Melee Captain on Foot & Mounted
Shooty Command Squad
Melee Chaplain on Foot & Jump Pack
Shooty Master of the Forge

Also, on a side tangent, I would love to hear someones absurdity that uses 2 Storm Bolters and would be insanely entertaining to model. Here is something that I personally enjoyed imagining;

Captain - 140pts
2x Storm Bolters
Artificer Armor
Space Marine Bike

For melee captains with black templar tactics the first thing you should remember is that you get rending whenever you are in challenges so it opens up a lot more options than most other captains are going to go for. Most other armies are going to go with just the options that are AP2 but since you're gonna get that sometimes anyway for a foot melee captain I had some really good luck with the loadout of artificer armor, a powerfist and a lightning claw. two specialist weapons means you get the extra attack and in challenges if you decide to use the claw you get to reroll to hits AND to wounds, and you still have the option of hitting with the first if you need to crack open a tank or MC, for shooting just chuck his crack grenade. I have also just made, but not tested running a jumpack captain with a relic blade and melta bombs and him joining a unit of vanguard vets all with meltabombs and the sargent with a relic blade as well. seems like it can handle any large threats as well as mulch through hordes pretty quickly. Lastly for your modelling idea, just call the two strombolters your version of the primarch's wrath relic. As long as he is on a bike he is relentless so he gets 5 shots at better AP with the relic rather than 4 with two stormbolters and he can still take another weapon.

Power Armor....hmmm....

There's always the handy librarian! Oh wait....Sucks to be black templar!

 Renesco P. Blue wrote:
For melee captains with black templar tactics the first thing you should remember is that you get rending whenever you are in challenges so it opens up a lot more options than most other captains are going to go for. Most other armies are going to go with just the options that are AP2 but since you're gonna get that sometimes anyway for a foot melee captain I had some really good luck with the loadout of artificer armor, a powerfist and a lightning claw. two specialist weapons means you get the extra attack and in challenges if you decide to use the claw you get to reroll to hits AND to wounds, and you still have the option of hitting with the first if you need to crack open a tank or MC, for shooting just chuck his crack grenade. I have also just made, but not tested running a jumpack captain with a relic blade and melta bombs and him joining a unit of vanguard vets all with meltabombs and the sargent with a relic blade as well. seems like it can handle any large threats as well as mulch through hordes pretty quickly. Lastly for your modelling idea, just call the two strombolters your version of the primarch's wrath relic. As long as he is on a bike he is relentless so he gets 5 shots at better AP with the relic rather than 4 with two stormbolters and he can still take another weapon.

The thing you have to remember is that a Storm Bolter is not a pistol. You cannot shoot 2 via gunslinger. He has 2 Storm Bolters plus a twin-linked boltgun, but he can only fire one of them in a turn. That is why I called it an absurdity.

First off: Magnetize.

Even for “shooty” HQs, buy at least a basic power weapon. You are paying too many points for their statline to pass on utilizing it. This mostly applies to captain/CMs because the others come with one for free.

If you want to go more shooty, grab a combi weapon and a specialist/two handed melee weapon. Stormbolters are not worth the points these days. I like the imagery of the CM on the bike with a pair of them, and as was mentioned, counts-as Primarch’s Wrath is probably the way to go for that. As for what weapon to take, basic should be a lightning claw -> relic blade -> Teeth of Terra, depending on points. Or, take a 'fist or TH if you don’t mind striking last.

For melee guys, I like the paired weapons, one for full initiative, one for S and AP. Your budget choice is sword/axe, deluxe is LC/TH. If you want to go more defensive, grab a SS/SE and a big stick to beat things with.

Chaplains are fine out of the box, IMHO. No need to tool them up father then a JP and possibly a melta bomb.

What to give a shooty command squad depends a lot on what your list needs and how you plan on deploying them. Also how you feel about the rules debate on the apothecary and his options. Bikes are a steal for their points, and if you go that way, grav guns. Otherwise melta or plasma, depeding. I’d run 4 specials, and then a basic medic.

They also get the exclusive Emperors Champion with Ap 2 power sword!

Yeah, I guess you are right about the stormbolters. My apologies for trying to think of a way to make that model viable.

The marine codex is funny. The whole codex screams "get into range and shoot", but all the HQ builds are best when choppy.

Messing around with Captan ideas has been a great way for me to pass the time and make use of those extra bits. But as far as specific BT leaders?

Well the Chaplain is a total badass, in any list at any time, with any tactics. No arguing that. He is a bad choice for a warlord thanks to only 2 wounds, but this is literally the only downside. You might find that he isn't a great challenge caddy, and to this I say why are you challenging with an IC? With pretty much any assault unit that you put him with there will be a sarge who can duel, so kit him out accordingly. Honour Guard are the absolute best for this. The Chapter Champ can take a T Hammer and a melee weapon. Think about this. With BT CT you are rerolling hits with a freakin T Hammer, plus when you need to use his melee weapon, that gets rending. I see no downside here!

So unless your list revolves around HQ units taking challenges, then you don't need to kit them up to be duellists. Pretty much any combo is viable, but I would suggest looking to your squad leaders for challenges more so than your HQs. Why waste all those tasty HQ attacks on one measly sarge?

darkcloak wrote:
The marine codex is funny. The whole codex screams "get into range and shoot", but all the HQ builds are best when choppy.

Messing around with Captan ideas has been a great way for me to pass the time and make use of those extra bits. But as far as specific BT leaders?

Well the Chaplain is a total badass, in any list at any time, with any tactics. No arguing that. He is a bad choice for a warlord thanks to only 2 wounds, but this is literally the only downside. You might find that he isn't a great challenge caddy, and to this I say why are you challenging with an IC? With pretty much any assault unit that you put him with there will be a sarge who can duel, so kit him out accordingly. Honour Guard are the absolute best for this. The Chapter Champ can take a T Hammer and a melee weapon. Think about this. With BT CT you are rerolling hits with a freakin T Hammer, plus when you need to use his melee weapon, that gets rending. I see no downside here!

So unless your list revolves around HQ units taking challenges, then you don't need to kit them up to be duellists. Pretty much any combo is viable, but I would suggest looking to your squad leaders for challenges more so than your HQs. Why waste all those tasty HQ attacks on one measly sarge?

I take the opposite approach. The HQ is there for the challenges, and the sarge is there to mulch troops. I just can’t justify paying the points to give the 1W sarge all the nice toys. Particularly when you are talking fists and hammers. How much do you want to spend on one wound that’s striking last?

Sorry for the long delay in reply. Finals week for college, and god how I hate it. Anyhow, I have been working on a decently tooled up Chaplain idea. Tell me what you guys think of this.

Chaplain - 250pts
Jump Pack
Teeth of Terra
Shield Eternal
Armor Indominatus

Looking at it, hiding it in a group of Vanguard Veterans should be fairly entertaining.