List Building: 1,000 Point Black Templar Army

Jumping back to the Space Marine List builds with the new Codex, I wanted to give Black Templars a try. They hold a special place for me because of their inclusion in the Armageddon book. I never actually collected them, but they were the first time Space Marines really tempted me. I also picked up the Emperor's Champion model (though not the Limited Edition one holding the sword in both hands) because it was awesome.

Because of their personal significance, I wanted to do them justice, but at the same time, I'm not sure how. When they were first unveiled they were a force to be reckoned with, in part because close combat was king in 3rd Edition and these guys were good at it. Also, they got a new, expanded Land Raider and introduced the Hurricane Bolters, not to mention the Emperor's Champion, who was pretty impressive.

But in 6th, combat is not nearly as decisive - shooting is king, so I'm not sure how to make a viable Crusader Squad based list that can still be effective in shooting-heavy 6th edition. It also doesn't help that their Chapter Tactics are less than exemplary. I would love to bring some Land Raider Crusaders, to stay fluffy, but at 1k, that's a quarter of my points.

To start, I feel obligated to get the Emperor's Champion as my HQ choice, though with only 2W and 2A, he's a bit steeply priced.

Next up are two Crusader Squads. I'll bump them up to 10 Initiates and give them each a Powerfist, Meltagun, and Swordbrother with Powerfist. This makes them pretty pricey at 210 points. I feel obligated to give one squad a Land Raider Crusader, which won't help me save points, but will let the Emperor's Champion join the squad and roll up to the front lines in style.

That really limits my remaining options, and in the end I think I'll go with a drop pod for the second Crusader Squad and then a Storm Talon just to get a little bit of mobile fire support in the army.

Emperor's Champion (140pts)
10 Initiates: Power Fist, Meltagun, Swordbrother w/Power Fist, Land Raider Crusader w/Multi-melta and Storm Bolter (475pts)
10 Initiates: Power Fist, Meltagun, Swordbrother w/Power Fist, Drop Pod (245pts)
Stormtalon: TL Lascannon

This army will live and die by its ability to hit targets it will take two rounds of combat to kill. If the crusader squads can stay in combat, they'll generally be alright. That's easier said than done though, and this army definitely falls more on the themed side than the competitive side, in my estimation. I think this list suffers from an "Oooh, Shiny!" approach, that limits numbers and relies too much on special equipment. But what do you think? Did the Black Templars get the worst Chapter Tactics?