Who would you rather want leading your army?

A stuffy old, cerebral wearing, potential demon vessel psyker?

OR a Skeletor looking,  cudgel wielding, oratating badass?

The choice is obvious… right?

Well judging by many around the Internet  it seems that the book worms always have it over Turpin of the 40k universe. Librarians are one of those units that the 40k pundicracy have a special box for.  Who doesn’t want to take some roulette like odds at nullifying opponents powers within a restricted 24″ inch range anyway?

So what happens when you dare not check the box marked “psychic defense”? Well little do you know amazing things happen when you play vanilla Space Marines.

Warning: This article is not about burning the Librarian at the stake (they have their uses), but an article about giving those that inspire the hearts of Space Marines a second look.

Librarians are a useful tool for comparison because Chaplains and Libbies often compete for the same slot.

Let us start with a quick comparison between the two.

Chaplain and Librarian have the same basic stat line and pretty much the same set of wargear options and same starting point cost

The biggest difference is the Chaplain gets a 4+ invul save from the Rosarius. In contrast the Libby can get a storm shield and terminator armor for pretty penny of 40 for the shield and 25 for the armor. Most likely you have seen Librarians in just Terminator armor. Otherwise running a Libby bare always makes for a usually squishy treat.

That makes me think… When was the last time you seen a Libby with a Jump Pack or Bike? Where a Chaplain has more flexibility and can be equipped to fit any army with ease.

Chaplains don’t pack much hidden cost and provide great utility. Unlike Libbies which are more finesse: relying on subterfuge and being in the right place at the right time– a Chaplain instead is all about assault. This explains why perhaps you don’t see many fielded in Space Marines armies. The current meta says Marines are a bad assault army. That is debatable, but for argument’s sake let us assume they are an average assault army. So why not take a Chaplain because he only makes your average assault army that much better. The only problem is to re-roll missed hits on the charge requires one to start the fight first–  which many players fear to attempt.

Warning: The scope of this article is not about showing one how to get off assaults or manage target priority. (Hint: has something to with what Allan Iverson always hated)

I like to think about re-rolling hits in the terms of how I typically play 40k. When assaulting it is about overwhelming force: I want to break the math so bad that even if fate gives me crappy rolls it doesn’t matter. That is why having a Chaplain for me is always more potent than a Libby. What can a Libby do to break a unit I charge? A Libby powers are very situational to say the least and don’t always work, but a Chaplain when I initiate an assault always re-rolls those hits. It is that certainty that gives me solace when my Assault Terminators charge almost anything.

Everyone seems to love re-rolling is in the shooting phase, but many of use forget just how important it is in the assault phase. Especially when you consider this: how many units can re-roll misses in the shooting phase and at the same time have a low AP? Very few. Why do you think so many jumped right away on the Vulcan bandwagon?

What does that have to do with a Chaplain?

Think of all the assault units that can negate armor saves. It is quite a bit more than twin-linked low AP weapons. So why not take advantage of a Chaplain’s ability to twin-link any unit. What happens when a Chaplain gets stuck in an assault that goes on longer than one round? Well that where the overwhelming force comes in– make sure what you charge will not still be moving by the next phase. Don’t forget about other HQ units that can run with a Chaplain, consider the possibilities. (Calgar re-rolling both hits and wounds anyone?)

The other side of the Chaplain coin is Honor of the Chapter: this power gives fearless to any unit the Chaplain joins. Now the major flaw (taking no-retreat wounds) that many players point is pretty inconsequential with Space Marine Chaplains.Why? Start with the list of units you are probably going to put your Chaplain in.

  • Vanguard Vets
  • Terminators
  • Command Section
  • Honour Guard

All those units have a few things in common that should make you never consider fearless a liability.

  1. 2+ armor or re-roll-able saves when taking no-retreat wounds. (exception Vets)
  2. All are dedicated assault units so chances of losing a combat should be minimal.
  3. If lose an assault by a large number you probably didn’t make the right assault in the first place.

With low-risk of no-retreat causing your world to crumble– the whole never having to worry about falling back or being pinned becomes very Oscar worthy. I think it was that first time I lost a game because I failed a leadership check with Assault Termies and a Libby that made me consider the alternatives. Nothing  is worse than having your hammer unit lose a combat by one and being swept off the board, with a Chaplain that is never a concern. That is why I want to repeat the whole certainty thing you have with Chaplains.

Warning: I didn’t forget about Cassius he might need his own special article coming very soon.

From my experiences Libbies just never perform the way I always felt they should. Sure it is fun to Gate of Infinity all around, Avenger Grey Hunters, and who can forget about Null Zone– Fluger hasn’t…

Null Zone is Overrated

 

 

 

Then there are all the other powers that no one uses. So what does that leave you with when you decide to play a Libby? It seems to all hinge on that Psychic Hood. Which again (que broken record) is about certainty: Psychic Hoods are at best unreliability. You can expect Libbies in Space Marine armies to only increase with Grey Knights on the prowl. All I am asking is for Space Marines players to consider the Chaplain as a potent addition to any Space Marine force because taking reliability over the unknown is usually a good thing.

So what have you had more success with Libbies or Chaplains and why?