The Crusader Squad is the heart and mainstay of every Black Templars crusade, and in its ranks the Chapter's distinctive character is laid bare. Unlike the ordered formations of a Codex-compliant Chapter, a Crusader Squad brings together Initiates, the full battle-brothers of the crusade, and Neophytes, the aspirants still proving their worth, binding them into a single fighting unit that mirrors the ancient bond of knight and squire.
Where other Chapters hold their newest recruits apart in a separate Scout company, the Black Templars send their Neophytes straight into the fire at their mentors' sides. Each Neophyte serves as squire to an Initiate, learning the arts of war beneath his guidance amid the roar of battle itself. Beyond the field their duties are older still: they tend their master's wargear, wait upon him at the Chapter's solemn feasts, stand as his second in matters of honour, and keep silent vigil while he kneels in prayer.
Led by a Sword Brother, a Crusader Squad can be arrayed for any manner of war, its Initiates and Neophytes wielding bolt weapons at range or surging forward with blade and pistol to overwhelm the foe in the press of close combat. It is in this crucible that the champions of tomorrow are forged, for the Neophyte who survives and excels will one day be raised to an Initiate in his own right, and the eternal crusade will roll onward undiminished.
Order of battle
