The Knight Commander orders the Templar Marshal to bring reinforcements to aid Malta in it’s time of need.  The Marshal will answer and send foward the lords justice.

The new Templar Crusade box brings a large array of new heroes to include in your Vatican gangs or even build up a themed Hospitaller gang of the Templar order. In this tactical we will go through each character, breaking down their profiles and look at how they excel in the world of Carnevale.

Characters

The new Templar First Class box brings new a group of holy warriors for the Vatican. This includes three new heroes, one new henchman and an alt sculpt to a current henchman. All these fighters will bring their zeal to bear in the name of their lord.

Templar Marshal

The Templar Marshal is a good all rounder to the Vatican, especially the Hospitaller. Combining the crossbow and sword with Expert Offence and Expert Marksman can deliver huge amounts of damage at ranged and up close. He can also take a hit, with a slightly above average Protection and Dexterity as well as Universal Shielding 3 that stops the affects of high Penetration attacks. The addition of high Will can further increase both these aspects of the Marshal.

Once you are locked in combat with the Marshal there’s no running. The Engage rule means he can tie down the most nimble of character and if they do make a break for it then they’ll get struck by the Marshal’s sword. Another appealing aspect of the Marshal is its low points cost, meaning this hero can be fit in most gang builds.

The Marshal is a definite threat to watch out for but not the easiest to deal with. The idea is to catch him on his own and outnumber him, piling on the weight of attacks to make the universal shielding redundant.

Venator of Devotion

Nothing screams holy like a Vatican knight with a giant sword and no-one does that better than the Venator of Devotion. Wielding the Zweihander, this mighty great sword gives +3 to the damage as well as possessing a 2 inch range. Being hit by this blade will fell the largest of beasts. This damage potential is further amplified with Expert Offence and the hunter rule, which takes the Venators penetration to -3.

The Knockback rule on the Zweihander can move enemy fighters out of position or even of the edge of buildings or the canals of Venice.  The Killing Blow rule also means if the Venator causes an enemy to lose more Life than they have left, this character replenishes all of its Will Points.

The Vatican are renowned for their heavily armoured knights and the Venator is no exception, an exceedingly high Protection of 6 further enhanced by Universal shielding 4 means that the strongest of blows cannot fell this holy warrior.

Water is the way that this Venator will have their devotion extinguished. Full Plate means once the character is in water they receive a stun counter and this stun will only go once they have left the water. The longer in water the Venator is, the more damage they will take; it will be a slog to escape the murky depths due to her low Movement and Dexterity.

Conventual Chaplain

The Conventual Chaplain poses a solid stat line that means he can hold up with the rif-raf of Venice: the sword gives +1 Damage meaning there is quite a bit of fight in this holy man. The main strength of this character comes from their support capabilities.

A prevalent support stat of the Chaplain is his large Command stat of 4. This is higher than some of the Vatican leaders and gives the templars a much needed increase in their command capability.

The Chaplain support role is further amplified by the Psychic Communion rule, this rule allows for this character and any other character that has line of site to the Conventual Chaplain to ignore line of sight when using Order or Counter Commands. This can bring real strength to the command abilities of the Vatican and reduces the restrictions of positioning as long as the Chaplain is visible.

A strong piece in the Vatican arsenal, the Conventual Chaplain is something an opponent will want to deal with early, this (unfortunately for the Vatican player) is not difficult,  due to average Dexterity and low Defence. One or two swift strikes from a competent combatant will deal with this priest.

Reliquary Page

The Reliquary Page is the first henchman in this new box and brings a smaller but still important support role to the Vatican.

The lower overall statline of the Page can give off at first look, the idea of a bad investment. However there is a large amount of value in there high Dexterity. Being nimble and agile gives the Vatican good free-running and objective grabbers. Having the rule Slippery further emphasises the speed and agility of this character, allowing them to leave combat without the threat of their opponent getting a swing in.

The supporting aspect of the Reliquary Page comes from their Relics of Malta rule. This allows (once per turn) for a single re-roll on a character within 6 inches and line of sight. This special rule combined with the Knight Commander’s Destined for Victory ability, can make an extremely consistent and reliable Hospitaller gang that can deal incredible amounts of damage.

Maltese Squire

A familiar face from the Vatican, the Maltese Squire has returned with a new sculpt. Now you can run variants of these crossbow wielding zealots.

These Squires bring another fast moving, agile fighter to the Vatican. Their ability to climb buildings in combination with their crossbow, creates a great ranged threat from above that must be dealt with.

Companion with Leader means they can more freely use their Will points, increasing their overall effectiveness in all fields. Do be careful of leaving them too exposed, their low defence can make them susceptible to heavy attacks.

Like the look of these holy warriors ?. If you think they will fit your gang, take a look over on our website.