Who Shall Lead? Part Two: Chaplains

From the advent of the third edition of Warhammer 40,000 in 1998, the field leader of choice for Space Marine armies has been the Chaplain: standard-equipped with both an armour-negating power weapon (in his Crozius Arcanum) and invulnerable save (in his Rosarius)—the first purchases other HQ choice Characters regularly made from the Armoury—a Chaplain rarely required more than the investment of another point for a bolt pistol and he was ready to lead on the tabletop...and lead from the front!

40K V5 adds some extra considerations and caveats to that general principle—not least of which, the 'powering down' of the basic stat line suffered by both Chaplains and Librarians in this new edition—but Chaplains remain an excellent HQ choice nevertheless, especially for beginning players or players looking to keep their Character/HQ expenditures to a minimum, in favor of other unit choices.

CHAPLAIN CASSIUS

The new Codex: Space Marines provides only one Special Character Chaplain template—but it is a good one: for only ten points more than the cost of the closest similarly-equipped generic Chaplain build, the Cassius template gives a player the Infernus wargear (a mastercrafted combi-flamer loaded with special Hellfire rounds), plus the excellent Feel No Pain universal special rule and—perhaps most significantly—a superhuman (even for Space Marines!) Toughness of 6. These latter represent in the specific Ultramarine Character Cassius the extensive bionic rebuilding he underwent, and players looking to build their own Chaplain on the Cassius template should consider how (via their background or choice of model) to explain their Character boasting such similar incredible statistics. Cassius nevertheless represents *such* a significant upgrade over the generic Chaplain for the points that I expect to see a great many hobbyists undertaking that effort.

All Chaplains lead best from the front, Cassius even more so...though it should not escape mention that his artifact combi-flamer Infernus makes him far 'shootier' than most, as well. An almost ideal deployment for Cassius would be in company of a unit of Sternguard, perhaps deployed against a high-value target via Drop Pod. Adding a Cassius-templated Chaplain to the kind of elite, Sternguard-dominated army led by a Kantor-templated Chapter Master (as discussed in Part One) would be all kinds of nasty...

A Space Marine player looking to get as close to the same kind of 'oomph' with a Chaplain HQ choice as he is used to, from prior editions, should examine the Cassius template thoroughly. The Infernus' mastercrafting will even compensate for the loss of Ballistic Skill. Whether as a supporting second HQ choice, or a good-value-for-the-cost single one (the Chaplain's traditional role), Cassius delivers.

CHAPLAIN

The virtue of choosing to equip a custom Chapter's Chaplain from the generic HQ entry is, of course, that the creating player is not locked into Cassius' weapon choices, nor limited by what he eschews. The Infernus is good—but does not provide the additional Attack in assault a bolt pistol does. And Cassius has neither a jump pack nor bike nor terminator armour...all of which can serve to either streamline or emphasize what a Chaplain should be doing, to take best advantage of his special rules: charging into close combat. Jump packing Chaplains leading Assault Marines are practically staples of many Chapters. And 25 points is still 25 points—especially relevant since, as noted, basic Chaplains tend to be the HQ preference of players wishing to invest maximum points in other parts of their army.

Finally, the generic Chaplain requires no thinking or modeling to justify Toughness and Feel No Pain—he has just ordinary superhuman Toughness, rather than extraordinary—all of which make the option a good one, still (though any consideration of taking a plasma pistol with the V5 Chaplain's reduced Ballistic Skill and loss of access to mastercrafting becomes the preserve of the true gambler).
+++

Who Shall Lead? Part One: Chapter Masters

The Fifth Edition Codex: Space Marines dramatically alters the way a 40K player constructs his army, particularly how he chooses the heroic characters who will lead it: gone are the previous editions' multi-level Independent Character options and near-limitless choices of Wargear from the Armoury, allowing for maximum customization and personalization; instead, the new Codex presents an unprecedented number and variety of pre-constructed Special Characters—then encourages players to pick the one whose gear or abilities most suits that player's preferences, and use it as a 'template,' over which the player can lay his own Chapter's names, colours, history and background. In effect, Marneus Calgar is no longer just a choice for Ultramarine Chapter players, as in previous iterations of the Codex (and one only available for use with opponent's permission, at that)—he is a sort of 'preassembled generic super commander' set of statistics available to any player whose Space Marines would benefit from such an HQ choice. The name/uniform/background changes...but the rules remain the same.

For longtime players, this takes some getting used to—not just the new way of treating Special Characters (that actually began with Codex: Dark Angels, some time back), but the notion of such radically diminished personal choices in Character construction, as well. It can be a bit counter-intuitive for players new to the game also, however: having to choose from wholly-assembled rules-and-gear packages can require a fuller grasp of the game than taking a basic generic character and adding a piece of wargear at a time once did.

With that in mind, a review of the characters in the V5 Codex is in order, briefly summarizing what their specialties are, and what sorts of army builds they will lend themselves to—a primer of sorts for players new and veteran, to lead them toward the Special Character template who (properly renamed and painted/customized to the player's own Chapter) will help their army play the way they want.

The review begins at the top—with the most powerful HQ Characters available to players of Space Marines in V5: the Chapter Masters...

MARNEUS CALGAR

Calgar is the template of choice for players who prefer assault-oriented Chapters, with a sledgehammer leader fighting from the front. He is expensive—but for approximately 80 points more than the nearest equivalent generic Chapter Master kit out, Marneus adds an extra Wound, an extra Attack (actually two since dual-wielding power fists gives him the extra close combat weapon Attack otherwise denied fist-users in V5), plus the Gauntlets of Ultramar unique wargear, three additional special rules (including the critically-important Eternal Warrior) and the right to take three Honour Guard squads instead of one. He can also take to the field in Terminator armour for an extremely cost-friendly extra 15 points (and the stunning current-production Calgar-in-tactical-dreadnought-armour model is all the reason anyone would need for exercising that option). Marneus' only real drawback is his total cost; players who plan a ranged-combat or mobility-oriented army will likely not get his points worth, and anyone taking him at 1500 points or fewer will be challenged to support him properly, after the chunk he eats up. But that's as it should be: he is a Chapter Master—skirmishes are no place for him!

PEDRO KANTOR

The player looking to build a shooting-oriented army would do well to consider as a template for his Chapter Master the lord of the Crimson Fists, Pedro Kantor. He also lends to leading a small army comprised of veteran, Elite units...unsurprising, given his Chapter's checkered back story.

For less than 25 points more than the closest-equipped generic Chapter Master build, Kantor adds the 'Dorn's Arrow' super storm bolter gear, exchanges Combat Tactics for Stubborn for all affected units in his army, and adds two special rules which make Sternguard scoring units and give units within 12" of him +1 Attack. That is amazing value—particularly for the player who wants those expensive, Elite Sternguard in numbers, obviously—but also for players who intend to emphasize ranged combat: Stubborn will keep them in the fight firing as long as possible (with Kantor's super gun adding to the firepower), and when they have to hit back, they will do so with increased effectiveness.

Kantor still best fits in larger games, as befits a Master of the Chapter...but an elite, Sternguard-heavy veteran army built around him could prove a nasty, compact little surprise on the tabletop.

CHAPTER MASTER

A final word should be said about constructing a Chapter Master from the generic listing, here: while veteran players will find the options for doing so somewhat limited as compared to previous editions, and the value the two Special Character templates present are hard to ignore...at the end of the day, this option is the *only* way to get certain gear combinations onto a table (Masters with lightning claws, plasma pistols and non-dual-fist wielding terminator armour come to mind) and is also the only way to get the Master's special rules (particularly his Orbital Bombardment and Honour Guard) at less than 175 points. If your favorite HQ model from previous-edition games is geared a certain way and you don't want to field him as a Captain, the option of building him as a Chapter Master from the generic listing in the current Codex is just as viable as it always was.

Next, 'Who Shall Lead?' will examine the other HQ-option Special Characters in the V5 Codex as template-types: Chaplains, Librarians, Techmarines, and the most important—and most varied—sort, the Space Marine Captains...
+++