✠ The Caldera Crusade ✠

[Marshal Bernhardt]

+++PRIORITY ALARM+++

+++DAEMONIC INCURSION DETECTED+++

+++INCURSION SITE: CALDERA+++

+++DESIGNATION: DEATH WORLD, HIVE WORLD+++

+++STRATEGIC VALUE: ABSOLUTE+++

 

http://i.imgur.com/GiCaPb0.png

 

 

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High Marshal Helbrecht has assigned Marshal Bernhardt to head the Crusade based around the Hive World of Caldera and its local system, following the alert of a Daemonic incursion, and a subsequent Chaos invasion. It is not yet known how the incursion began, but planetary defenses are falling rapidly, and the nearest Imperial Guard detachment, a Death Korps of Krieg Assault Brigade, is another two weeks out. Originally brought into compliance by Salamanders Primarch Vulkan, Caldera's landscape was scorched and purged by the Primarch, turning it into a Death World, where Hive Cities were subsequently constructed. Thus, no other nearby Guard regiments are as suitable. 

The Black Templars of the Caldera Crusade are tasked with halting the advance of Chaos forces, taking back or destroying key objectives, and beating daemon and heretic back at every opportunity until the arrival of the Death Korps, where the Black Templars shall assist in reclaiming the Hive World for the Emperor.

 

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Greetings, I am Marshal Bernhardt, and this is my Crusade. I usually go by the name of Dreganius, but this requires a fluffier touch. In this thread I'll be posting images of my Black Templars army as it goes along. As of now, the Crusade consists of an assembled 750pts list consisting of the fully painted Marshal Bernhardt (Helbrecht proxy), a kitbashed Emperor's Champion, 10 Initiates (4 painted), 4 Neophytes (2 painted) and an LRC. In the works are a Venerable Dreadnought, more Initiates and Neophytes, and a pair of Rhinos, should I need them. Otherwise, I'm really wondering where to go from there. I'm sitting on around 2,500+pts of Death Korps, more if you include my unbuilt Warhound, and am looking to reach at least 2,000pts of Black Templars. I'm open to suggestions on what must-have units I should grab and tips of how to play, although the idea of a very melee-centric army appeals to me greatly, especially with how Krieg doesn't do that.

 

Stay tuned, I'll likely start to post some images in a few days' time!

[SCOTT_FRANCIS]

Bernhardt, Emps Champ, Crusader Squad, LRC. A great start to what should become a great Crusade.

Personally I would go for 5 Hammernators to roll around in your LRC. FW shields if you have them please.

[Marshal Bernhardt]

Bernhardt, Emps Champ, Crusader Squad, LRC. A great start to what should become a great Crusade.

Personally I would go for 5 Hammernators to roll around in your LRC. FW shields if you have them please.

That's a pretty good idea; I think I'll grab the Dark Angels Terminator pack and turn them into some nice Sword Brethren with the FW Templar shields plus a second LRC.

I've recently received some tips from some of the 'Eavy Metal team about how to improve on Marshal Bernhardt, and will post another picture when I finally get around to putting those tips into practice. I'll be touching up the highlights and some of the details, and will remove the shoulderpad on the right of the image and replacing it with a new one, as that one was taken from an old Deathwatch model and painted over, with greenstuff (poorly) applied to make a Templar Cross. But for now, he's certainly tabletop ready!

http://i.imgur.com/x6OtXlC.png

http://i.imgur.com/Du8XVys.jpg

[SCOTT_FRANCIS]

I know it's nit picky but why did you arm him with a meltagun?

It's just me, but I don't like to see two handed weapons in one hand.

But he is a mighty fine Marshall.

[Marshal Mattias]

It's a combi-melta - still two-handed, but if you check the first post you'll notice the model is intended as a Helbrecht-proxy. I think it's a good one at that, as the pose suggests the Helbrecht figure despite being an obviously unique character. :)

[Marshal Bernhardt]

Spot on there, Marshal Mattias! I used parts from the Vanguard Veterans set for that exact pose and purpose, as well as the remaining legs for more of my Crusaders for added ZEAL!

Pictures of them to come, possibly this weekend. I've also used standard Tactical Marine heads for my Neophytes, with the vents shaved flat. Looks more ready for combat.

 

Edit: Found some pictures I took from a week ago, of the early few Neophytes. Sorry for the poor focus, didn't have the backdrop handy and it was to show to my cousin back in Australia, oddly enough from the same town as a certain moderator here in the BT section :P

 

http://i.imgur.com/BOVdfru.png

http://i.imgur.com/ZMqaZ7g.png

[Marshal Bernhardt]

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Before Bernhardt's ascension to the rank of Marshal, he served in Marshal Ornstein's household as a Sword Brother on numerous crusades. Marshal Ornstein's final crusade was a successful but costly endeavor, for in the final weeks of the crusade, thousands of Dark Eldar fled back into the webway in an ultimate offensive by the Templars and their many allies. However, at the final moment, the Dark Eldar made a lighting counter-attack, and Ornstein's household would take the brunt of it. The household lost the vast majority of their number that day, and Marshal Ornstein was amongst them.

 

 

When rebuilding his own Fighting Company, Bernhardt noted the distinct lack of Initiates. Most of those Initiates who survived the previous Crusade were given the honors of becoming Sword Brethren, and so it was for a time that the Neophyte squires were trained in combat not by Initiates, but Sword Brothers. During this time Bernhardt decreed the names of his deceased leader, and every great hero under his command, would never be forgotten. He urged his household to remember the heroic deeds of the Brothers they had lost, to remember their names, and to pass this history on to the next generation of Neophytes. Bernhardt himself refused to have Ornstein's personal Land Raider Crusader refitted with his own iconography or retired from use as a relic, and instead opted to continue his old leader's work, striving to transcend his deeds.

 

These new Neophytes became so inspired by their Marshal and the deeds of these heroes, they adopted the heraldry, last names, and icons of the household's fallen, vowing to carry on their names and aspiring to live up to their deeds, or even surpass them. They wrote tomes of lore, compiled annals of the new household, and as time passed these Neophytes became Initiates, some becoming Sword Brothers. This became a tradition among Bernhardt's household, and it is thus that new Neophytes are trained as scribes as well as squires, so that they may carry on the deeds of their Initiate, their adopted namesake, and their lineage. Because of this, most Neophytes share the same crest as their Initiate mentor (and their mentor before them, and so on). This somewhat recent tradition has strengthened the bond between the members of the household, and instilled further zeal in the newest recruits.

 

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The first Neophyte/Initiate combo! I'm not sure if I'll keep the crests on their legs. I think I might instead greenstuff small shield crests and stick them on the chest pieces, akin to the one seen on the Neophyte and the Initiate next to him in this artwork.

 

http://i.imgur.com/HWkOfwO.png

 

More photos to come in the coming weeks, I need to start packing up all my stuff. Going home to Australia on Monday and this weekend is going to be a busy one!