Impulsor (Black Templars)

 I built an Impulsor to ferry my Black Templars Bladeguard Veterans about. Yay?

Not sure what to say other than I magnetized it. So it can be equipped with both the shield dome and the Bellicatus missile array. Swapping them out just feels fun. Maybe I should gone with the Ironhail skytalon array for more dakka, but I like the missiles more. Packs more firepower.

And so my Black Templars stand ready. I think. Why am I building a Black Templars army, you may ask? I don't know. I was aware of them when I first got into the hobby. A squad of them was present in the Forge of Mars omnibus - one of the first few Warhammer 40,000 novels that I read, almost 7 years ago, when I first started (though Ciaphas Cain: Hero of the Imperium holds the distinct honor of being the first Warhammer 40,000 novel I have ever read - okay, it's more of an omnibus, but you know what I mean). I usually find Space Marines boring, with the exception of the Thousand Sons Legion. That's because I read A Thousand Sons, also written by Graham McNeill (the Forge of Mars omnibus was also written by him). I preferred the Knights of House Taranis in Mechanicusm, Ciaphas Cain and his Valhallans (and the Imperial Guard as a faction). I think the only other Space Marine Chapter I took an interest in was the Astral Knights. I did like the Grey Knights (having read Ben Counter's Grey Knights omnibus around the same time), but the Astral Knights' insane bravery against the World Engine took the cake for me.

Then about 2 years ago, I ended up reading about the Imperial Fists in the Beast Arises saga. Admittedly, I got attached to the Imperial Fists as a Legion, especially with the Last Wall protocol, and all the successor Chapters, which included the Black Templars, Fists Exemplar (sad what happened to them), Crimson Fists, Soul Drinkers (well...), the Excoriators and a few others. Maximus Thane was really amazing, and I even like Vangorvich, who actually turned out to be a swell guy before he went insane. Koorland was okay, but I like Maximus Thane more. Admittedly, there wasn't much Black Templars present in the Beast Arises, but that's when I really got more interested in the Imperial Fists as a Legion. Can't say I like their color scheme or siege playstyle, though (despite playing Imperial Guard, but I'm more of a treadhead, and the Imperial Fists aren't an armored legion, unlike the Iron Hands). I did try to read a few of the Iron Hands lore, but they were...boring. The whole "Flesh is weak" and more machine than man didn't strike me as interesting, especially since I already have the Skiarii and Adeptus Mechanicus for that. Simply put, if I wanted the whole cyborg, flesh is weak, more machine than man angle, I would just go read/play Skitarii and Adeptus Mechanicus instead of Iron Hands. They felt like a cheap copy of the Adeptus Mechanicus (no offense to Iron Hands fans). Plus when I tried playing them, they felt so...cheesy. And unfriendly (which makes sense, because they are pretty unfriendly in the lore).

So the Imperial Fists stuck in my mind, but I didn't like Lysander. I guess. I like Grimaldus after reading Helsreach, the way he delivered speeches and inspired the Armageddon Steel Legions to fight the orks. But...I actually like the Imperial Guardsmen and Armageddon Steel Legion (as well as the storm troopers) in Helsreach more than Grimaldus and the Black Templars themselves. I don't know why. The novel waas literally about Grimaldus and the Black Templars, but I found myself warming to Andrej, Ryken and Sarren more than Grimaldus and the Black Templars. Like...why? I have no idea why either.

All that changed when I read Black Legion, which was also by Aaron Dembski-Bowden. Honestly, the main draw for me in Black Legion was Iskandar Khayon, who was a former Thousand Sons sorcerer. But then I read about how the Black Templars stood against the Black Legion fleet when Abaddon launched the first Black Crusade. They had a vast fleet, including their flagship, the Eternal Crusader. I read the duel between Abaddon between Sigismund. I sort of like his attitude.

"You keep speaking, Ezekyle. Do I look as though I am listening?"

Cool. Then the epic duel, which was really cool. Following which, I heard the last bit of defiant dialogue from Sigismund.

"You will die as your weakling father died. Soulless. Honorless. Weeping. Ashamed."

Let's just say Sigismund was the most badass character I had ever read. He even outshone Ezekyle Abaddon for me. From then on, I ended up converting to the Black Templars faith. Thanks to being a fan of Sigismund, I went to look for a few Horus Heresy novels about the Imperial Fists, and I did take a liking to Rogal Dorn and the Fists, especially Sigismund as a character. His inner conflict, which was caused by Euphrati Keeler's advice. He's not a perfect person. While I like Sigismund because he was badass, I didn't like him because he was supposed to be invincible or the best swordsman or whatever (Abaddon basically bested him). What I liked was that despite his age, despite all odds, he refused to go down without a fight and literally survived for over a thousand years through hatred alone. That despite dying, he was defiant to the last. So even if he got his ass kicked in Siege of Terra, I don't really care. I like him as a character, not because he's some unbeatable Mary Sue who can't be bested in a sword duel (that's one of the reasons why I disliked Space Marines). It was his personality and determination that drew me to him.

Yeah, I ended up reading Black Legion last year because I had nothing better to do during the pandemic. And that's why I ended up being drawn to the Black Templars. Because Sigismund and their portrayal in Black Legion. So I bought whatever Black Templars stories I could find from Black Library (Amargeddon: The Omnibus and Crusaders of Dorn anthology), and I'm looking forward to reading them now.

Since I'm reading up on their lore, I thought I would create a small force of Black Templars...though I think they'll end up becoming a full army on their own right. I wonder how they'll fare against my Thousand Sons? Heh. I don't care about their Combat Doctrine (which is a little weak when compared to the other Chapters), but this gives me an excuse to field them alongside my Imperial Knights, Imperial Guard or Skitarii. Yay.