Editing Warhammer 40,000/9th Edition Tactics/Space Marines (section)

==Litanies of Battle==

Litanies happen in your Command Phase, going off on a 3+. Like psychic powers, each litany can only be cast once per turn, no matter how many Chaplains know it. Deep Striking and passenger Chaplains are a touch less useful on their first turn, as they arrive ''after'' their casting window. There is the 2CP Commanding Oratory stratagem that can be used to cast a litany in any phase ''if the Chaplain has not already cast one this turn'' (so a master of sanctity who's already on the table but wants to put a non-aura litany onto a unit that's going to deep strike has to give up his second litany).  If you don't want to deal with these issues, a biker chaplain is probably your best bet.

'''Litany of Hate (Aura):''' Default prayer, 6" aura of re-rolling all melee hit rolls (not just misses) for your {{W40Kkeyword|<chapter> core}} or {{W40Kkeyword|<chapter> Character}} units. Stronger now that the Chapter Master's Aura has been reined in.

#'''Litany of Faith (Aura):''' 6" Aura of ignoring mortal wounds on a 5+++ for friendly {{W40Kkeyword|<chapter> core}} or {{W40Kkeyword|<chapter> Character}} units. Not cumulative with other rules, as per usual.
#*Because Apothecaries do this mostly better (their aura is up from the start of the game without rolling), the primary use for this is protecting your librarians and plasma dreads from hurting themselves.  Honestly, you're usually better off sticking to apothecaries and venerable dreads and giving this a miss.
#'''Catechism of Fire:''' Select a friendly {{W40Kkeyword|<chapter> core}} or {{W40Kkeyword|<chapter> Character}} unit within 6" to gain +1 to the wound rolls when "resolving a shooting attack" against the ''closest'' enemy unit, meaning it affects Overwatch, too.
#* You're already accurate, so you'll get the most out of +1 to wound rolls from units that hit often but not hard, and do it up close anyway; Intercessors with auto bolt rifles, flamer/storm bolter Veterans, and Aggressors.  Since it doesn't help you penetrate saves, it can be particularly useful on grav-cannons, which have excellent ap base and will notice the +1 to wound against almost all targets.
#'''Exhortation of Rage:''' Select a friendly {{W40Kkeyword|<chapter> core}} or {{W40Kkeyword|<chapter> Character}} unit within 6". They get +1 to their melee wound rolls.  
#*Swap to this if the Chaplain has to worry about not being within 6" of the attacking unit when the Fight phase arrives - Litany requires him to stay close, but Exhortation stays on the target.  Exhortation of Rage + Canticle of Hate, in particular, lets you buff a nearby unit's charge move and melee output while only worrying about keeping up in the movement phase, so the Master of Sanctity/second Chaplain doesn't also have to keep up in the charge phase, unlike with Litany of Hate.
#*Swap to this over Litany of Hate against hard to wound targets when wielding accurate but weak weapons - e.g. you'll use this more on chainswords and power swords than on power fists and thunder hammers. The following comparison of Litany of Hate vs Exhortation of Rage is true with or without a Lieutenant, but full re-rolls to wound, like from a Lightning Claw, and another source of re-rolls of 1s to hit, like from a Captain, change the math radically.  Obviously, ''never'' bother putting Litany of Hate on anything that already has full re-rolls to hit, like from a Chapter Master.
##Wound on 2: Litany of Hate is always better.
##Wound on 3: Litany of Hate is better for hitting on 3 or worse, worse for hitting on 2.
##Wound on 4: Litany of Hate is better for hitting on 4 or worse, equal for hitting on 3, and worse for hitting on 2.
##Wound on 5: Litany of Hate is better for hitting on 5 or worse, equal for hitting on 4, and worse for hitting on 3 or better.
##Wound on 6: Litany of Hate is always worse.
#'''Mantra of Strength:''' The casting Chaplain gains +1S and +1A, and one melee weapon gains +1D. 
#*Smash Chaplain is a viable build. Combine it with the Benediction of Fury (WS2+ S7 AP-2 D4) or a power fist (WS3+ S9 AP-3 D3). Add Warlord Traits, stratagems, doctrines, and psychic powers as you can afford and be bothered with.
#'''Recitation of Focus:''' Select a friendly {{W40Kkeyword|<chapter> core}} or {{W40Kkeyword|<chapter> Character}} unit within 6" to gain +1 to their hit rolls when shooting. 
#*While +1 to hit is better on BS3+ or worse than a Captain's re-roll, this alone isn't a replacement for it (since it has a 1/3 chance to fail, affects only a single unit, and doesn't work in melee or when the chaplain doesn't start on the field). It's also worse than a Chapter Master's re-roll on anything other than BS6+ - other than that, you can think of this prayer as being a Chapter Master's ability, only worse.  Note that they won't stack the way you want, due to diminishing returns - in particular, if you pray this onto a BS3+ unit, then the Chapter Master ability will only grant re-rolling 1s to hit, which the CM's Captain aura already provides.  If you want to buff Dreads, switch to a Techmarine, who will do this better.
#**If this is a Master of Sanctity, this will usually be your second choice if your first was Catechism of Fire, assuming you're not focusing on flamers.
#'''Canticle of Hate:''' Non-cumulative 6" aura of +2" to charge distances and +3" to pile in and consolidation moves. In all cases, the friendly {{W40Kkeyword|<chapter> core}} or {{W40Kkeyword|<chapter> Character}} unit in question has to be within the aura by the time the move is made - the consolidate move especially will often not happen unless the Chaplain also made his charge. 
#* This increases your odds of a 9" charge to 58.33% (48.15% net if you have to pray on 3+ and 53.24% on a 2+, but if you care that much about a 9" charge, you're using the Commanding Oratory strat to let your Deep Striking Chaplain pray, which means the prayer auto-succeeds).  This is more effective, even on a 3+, than any of your psychic powers for granting a re-roll to charge, but of course psychic powers work natively with deep striking.
#** Combined with re-rolling charges, that's 71.04% on a 3+, 76.84% on a 2+, and 82.64% if you autosucceed (assuming the re-roll is always available).