Warhammer 40K: The Black Templar Character And The Primaris Protocol
This one sure does feel like a missed opportunity. Let’s take a look at the Black Templar Characters and what could have been.
When the Warhammer 40,000 3rd edition box set came out, the Black Templar Space Marine Chapter was put on the map. They were the literal posterboys for that edition because they were on the front cover. They had a new batch of models and a unique set of rules (Vows) that make them stand out from the rest of the Space Marines at the time. Plus they were super easy to paint!
The Black Templars were also heavily featured in the Third War for Armageddon and were part of that codex supplement. They were a pretty big part of the game for that edition – and then some. Heck, they introduced the world to the Hurricane Bolter and the Land Raider Crusader – so what happened?
After there time in the spotlight, they have slowly faded away. At this point, their rules have been pushed over to what is basically a “free” White Dwarf update without all the lore. For a chapter that once held the coveted position of Posterboy/Box Art Marine, they sure have fallen quite a bit.
While we may never know the full details but I suspect that it was probably a sales related issue. As with most things surrounding the hobby of 40k, it’s still a business and at the end of the day one of the top reasons armies stop getting supported is because of a strong financial incentive to *not* spend money on them. That said, I still think that it wouldn’t take too much to breathe some life back into these old Black Templars.
Maybe they just need an injection of Primaris.
The Characters
The Black Templars do have a stable of characters that could easily make the jump to Primaris. They even have a “Generic” one that actually makes the most sense – but more on that later. Let’s start at the top…
High Marshall Helbrecht
The Chapter Master of the Black Templars seems like a good starting point to me. Lead by example and take the plunge! If nothing else, it would give GW a chance to retire that finecast model.
A Primaris version of him would basically be the Space Marine Captain kit with a Combi-Melta. And a Lantern. Build your own using a Captain kit and some Stormcast Eternals bits!
Chaplain Grimaldus
Here’s another optional character that could use a facelift. Grimaldus has even gotten his own novel so there has to be a few fans of this famous Chaplain out there. His kit was always a little weird to me because it did come with these Cenobyte Servitors. Inspirational? I guess…But also kind of dead weight.
In my mind, I picture Grimaldus as a good candidate for becoming a Dreadnought. But not a Chaplain Dreadnought – as those just got the Legends treatment. No, let’s make Grimaldus the first Primaris Chaplain Redemptor Dreadnought!
Maybe take that chunk of broken relic and stick it on his back! Combine his old rules and inspiration with the power of a Redemptor Dread…now that would be cool.
The Emperor’s Champion
Okay – this is the most generic option possible and I’ve made the case before. All GW would have to do for this is take one of the 35* different Space Marine Lieutenants and swap out their power weapon with the Black Sword. Sure, they’d have to retool some of the bits but it shouldn’t be that intensive.
Hey, if the Dark Angels, Blood Angels, Ultramarines, and pretty much every other chapter that got a supplement can get thrown a special character, why can’t the Black Templar’s get a new Primaris Emperor’s Champ?
*Okay, it’s not 35, but seriously GW can’t spare one of them to be the Emperor’s Champ?
What do you think? Should GW spend the resources on making a single Primaris Marine Character for the Black Templars or should they be the home of the Classic Marines?
