Have you seen this unit? Part 9

Ortan Cassius is the Ultramarine Chaplain. At 400 years old, (wha?) he is one of the, if not the, oldest Ultramarine still outside of a Dreadnought. He has the leadership and oratory skills to make his men achieve battlefield greatness. He is a master warrior and fighting Tyranids is a personal hobby of his. His horrible scars and robot/ bare skull face are proof of that.

He comes to the tabletop with the standard Marine army rules and of course he is an independent character. He also has Feel No Pain like so much of the 40K universe.  His stats are a almost typical Chaplain; WS 5, BS 4, strength 4, toughness 6, 2 wounds and attacks, WAIT TOUGHNESS  6!,initiative 4, leadership 10 and a 3+/4++ save. That toughness 6 is great! A straight toughness 6 as well, looks like Cassius can shrug off the best wounds. He also has the Liturgies of Hate and Honor the Chapter rules. He rocks power armor, a crozius Arcanum, Infernus, frag and krak, bolt pistol and a rosaries (4++ save). All this for 25 points more than a standard Chaplain.

Liturgies of Hate- he and any squad he joins are fearless

Honor the Chapter- on the charge he and squad re-roll failed to hit rolls

Infernus- is a master crafted bolter/combi-flamer, with hellfire rounds (wounds on 2+)

At toughness 6, Feel No Pain, and all the Chaplain silliness, why is Cassius a bench warmer? Well let’s look at his main gun; it is a rapid fire weapon on a character you kind of want in assault. Hellfire rounds are great, but shooting keeps him out of combat where he and his squad will want to be (especially if they get the charge). The combi-flamer is a good touch and can help thin herds pre-charge. Just why let the coolness of Infernus be spoiled by rapid fire? Re-rolling a miss is good as are hellfire rounds, but rapid fire is just a poor choice for Cassius. Sure there are times when he’ll want to shoot instead of charging. I just think an assault option or allowing (only Cassius to) charge after rapid firing, would make Infernus that much better and Cassius more attractive.

The toughness 6 is great, but in a squad Cassius is just a regular Marine. Oh, the downside of majority toughness. When in close combat he is a rock, but when being shot he falls like any other Marine.

He competes with Vulkan, who is popular with melta and hammer Marine lists. He also fights for table time with Librarians who have the cool powers and psychic hood that is becoming ever more important. After those two HQ choices, is he really that useless? Does he bring less to the table than Shrike, Khan, or the nameless HQ you can build?

I guess players just don’t take Chaplains much anymore; maybe that is why Cassius is passed over. I think him in an Assault Terminator squad would be stellar. He could add Infernus’s hellfire rounds to a Sternguard squad (and they are no slouches in hand-to-hand either). A shame really for his stats, Chaplain shenanigans, the ever popular Feel No Pain, and his budget HQ point cost;  that Cassius is looked over by so many players.