Black Templar is genuinely hard to match: no other brand has a same-finish equivalent close enough to swap, and the nearest color anywhere, Vallejo Black Wash at 82 percent, is a different finish. Black Templar sits in the grey family: mid-tone in tone, muted in saturation, neutral in cast. Within the Citadel range it ladders cleanly, Wyldwood for the shadows and Nighthaunt Gloom for the highlights. For a true match, stick with the original; cross-brand substitutes will read as a different color.
Black Templar equivalents in other ranges
Black Templar is awkward to replace. Treat the matches below as starting points for a mix rather than straight swaps.
Closest Vallejo equivalent: Vallejo Black Wash, a near match with visible drift up close (delta E 3.6).
Best Two Thin Coats option: Two Thin Coats Aztec Turquoise Wash, a usable stand-in rather than a twin (delta E 7.7).
From AK Interactive: AK Interactive Have Glass Grey Fs 36170, close enough that batch variation matters more (delta E 1.4), but it is an opaque acrylic so treat it as a color reference, not a swap.
Monument Pro Acryl's closest color: Monument Pro Acryl Silver, close, with a hint of drift side by side (delta E 2.8), but it is a metallic so treat it as a color reference, not a swap.
The drift here is spread thinly across hue, lightness and saturation rather than leaning one way, so the mismatch reads as a general haze at delta E 3.6 rather than an obvious shift.
How to read the score
90+Close
80sUsable
<70Mix
Vallejo
Two Thin Coats
AK Interactive
Monument Pro Acryl
Revell
Tamiya
Humbrol
Scale75
The Army Painter
Green Stuff World
P3 Paints
About this color
Color profile
Highlight and shade ladder
Match difficulty
Found in 0 other brands with a same-finish match.
Where painters use it
Frequently asked
What is the closest equivalent to Citadel Black Templar?
The closest same-finish match is Vallejo Black Wash at 82% color similarity.
Is Black Templar a one-coat paint?
Black Templar is a contrast paint, made to basecoat and shade in a single pass over a light primer. One coat drops color into the recesses and leaves the raised areas brighter; a second coat deepens the tone if you want it richer.
What do I highlight and shade Black Templar with?
Highlight Black Templar toward Nighthaunt Gloom and shade it down into Wyldwood, both Citadel paints in the same finish family.