Black Templars in 7th.
Can we really call it 7th? We should call it - 6.Templar. Seriously. Loss of area terrain is a horrible thing for our sneaky opponents. Between the bump in scoring vehicles, Objective Secured to troops, and MCs losing their ability to easily deal with our transports, Black Templars are looking mighty good. COnsidering a very reliable blogger now has access to the book, he's confirmed a lot of things. Let's see what we have:
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HQ
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I feel the Chapter Master on a bike is gone. A terminator Chapter Master is cheaper, and a much better defensive beast. It's not about offense here. With access to Obective Secured Land Raider Crusaders, our opponents will need to come to us to stop our victory. Protect your assets, and no one will do that better than a terminator Chapter Master. True, the bike Chapter Master is still mobile, but you can't snapfire a blast and bikers have lost a lot of their appeal. Grav guns are still top notch, but bikes are not with the change to jink.
Helbrecht still feels like a net loss as well. Proper placement and slowly grinding out foes is the way to go. I've been playing like this with my list (Typically a LRC, an Imperial Knight, an TFC, and a Void Shield Generator stop people from affecting me). Helbrechts claim to fame is getting lots of assaults going at once, but that's still not what the game is about. I can see Grimaldus being something, though. He should extend him Zealot gift from outside a Land Raider/Rhino, and if the bubblewrap of Rhinos or LRCs around his transport go down you should have Zealot when necessary. Emperor's Champion doesn't exist to me, as I play to go big or go home - and the Chapter Master is just better for the points (One Chapter Master is still better than 2 Emperor's Champions). A Chaplain with a Powerfist can do pretty much the same work while also giving a huge Crusader squad Zealot - what's the appeal to this guy? (Personally, I say my Imperial Knight is the honorary "armor of the Emperor's Champion")
Troops
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Oh, my! Land Raider Crusaders that score and have Objective Secured? Drop Pods? Rhinos? All scoring? This is some very nice development for us indeed. I was playing successfully against good opponents with stellar armies before I could score with my Land Raiders. I expect 1 in every list now, but probably going with 2 from this point onwards. Drop Pods are extremely powerful, given that you can place them on/near an objective reliably and immediately force your opponent to have to deal with them. Crusader squads remain unchanged, and since LRCs score and have Objective Secured I am more than happy to trade Librarians for them (since we have easy access to allies/Inquisition if we really want Psykers, and we can get even cheaper Land Raiders from Inquisitorial Henchment - this is before considering Coteaz can join the Chapter Master in a rhino, or an Inquisitor can tag along with a pre-game leadership test for scout with the librum.
Elite
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Thundernators, Sternguard, Assault Centurions, and even Dreadnoughts are all solid choices. While they were okay before, now that they score it really changes the battlefield. We aren't obligated to take 4 troop choices to win the game. I'm not sure how often this'll happen, though, because LRCs seem like the best troop idea (Wave Serpents? Have fun trying to crack my Land Raider). But, I do imagine a good assault unit in a Land Raider when I feel like only bringing 1 to play in my troop selection. This may be more strategically sound, however, as having to choose between an Imperial Knight, a Land Raider hauling Thundernators, or the extremely durable LRC with Objective Secured needs to occur early before it's too late. This creates a decision that your opponent is probably not comfortable making. 2 LRCs in the troop slot creates a situation where your opponent will select the one most exposed or that "makes the most sense" in the long run. Proper elite selection depending on your army will pose a serious dilema for your soon to be victim.
Fast Attack
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I'd say not much change here. Jump Packs are broken, as bikes still gain the option to jink if necessary - even if they lost some power (they are still relentless). Stormtalons feel like the strongest bet, as they were before as well. They can hover, so they can score. Slowly rumbling acrossed the battlefield or tactically deploying and forcing opponents to make hard choices is what Templars can do better than most armies now - having access to super fast scoring with Strafing Run is beyond potent when used correctly. A unit of Attack Bikes /w Multi-meltas feels really cheap given how AP is now going to be extremely important for popping vehicles. Being able to move flat out, score, jink if they need (at a base 4+), and have great firepower - get those painted if you have them because I suspect you won't be disappointed.
Heavy Support
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Everything is better, here. Centurions are a bit hurt, due to not being able to take missile launchers solely for extending threat ranges on grav cannons, but now they also score. Stormravens don't feel better than Stormtalons, because one is cheaper, scores, and brings something that an Objective Secured land raider doesn't - while the other is a downplayed LR, really. I won't knock it's ability to get troops places, but why move? Sit on objectives and fire away. TFCs are the new amazing, though. Still incredibly cheap and still the most effective way at dealing with troop choices - given the power increase to troops, this should not be taken lightly. TFCs are simply the most potent way to pound down on our enemy. While they've lost the ability to get lucky and blow up vehicles with side armor, they will deal with exposed troops (Especially since area terrain no longer exists). And now that they score, they are easily better than sniper scouts. Hands down.
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Life just got easier. I'll post an my official re-review after I've personally read through the book and start tossing out list ideas.
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