One difficulty of trying to do this blog blind is that just because I'm not looking up information or watching videos, doesn't mean information doesn't reach me. Additionally, I'm still trying to keep up with news and sometimes that might contain spoilers. And with that has come one piece of information that has been almost impossible to avoid.
Knights are STRONG!
Potent, long-ranged firepower combined with the new Towering rule have made Knights, and the Imperial variant in particular, an absolute menace on certain tables. An almost binary condition has emerged for the faction. Either the table has plenty of solid ruins for units to hide behind and a somewhat balanced game of 40K can be played, or the table has classic style ruins with plenty of windows and the Knights blast their opponents off the board. Combine this with generous points that I imagine reflected either the former board state or tried to account for the difficulty of moving these large miniatures around, and you've got some frustrated players.
GW says they're going to look at the Towering Keyword and adjust it some time in the near future. For now, let's try to imagine a state in which Knights are playing by something resembling 9th Edition line of sight as we proceed.
ARMY RULES
We already saw Oaths in the Faction Focus as well as Indomitable Heroes. These two rules are both fantastic, granting potent buffs to your Knights with the potential to make them even better. I still think that Reclaim the Realm is a really good Oath, but with the current rules most players are probably using Lay Low the Tyrant.
We also get three additional rules, two of which we've already seen in the Chaos Knights Index. Super-Heavy Walker is the identical rule which grants our Knights a limited ability to move over other miniatures and terrain, while Free Blades is our equivalent ally ability that allows other factions to field either one Titanic unit or up to three Armigers.
Completely new is the Bondsman ability. This ability is used by your big Knights in the Command Phase and allows you to select an Armiger to share a buff with. Each Knight can use their ability on a single Armiger, and each Armiger can only receive one bondsman ability each round, though I'm guessing we're going to see a Stratagem or Enhancement that will change that. I'm curious to see what the different Buffs will be. Chaos Knights had some fun ones.
ENHANCEMENTS
Revered Knight - 20 points
Knights have good Leadership, though Armigers look like they get Ld7+. If the meta ends up heavy with Battle-shock tests, and you like taking Armigers, this deserves a closer look.
Mythic Hero - 25 points
Here's the enhancement that lets you give a second Armiger your Bondsman ability. If Questoris have a particularly nice abilities, you'll always take this on one. Otherwise it stays home.
Mysterious Guardian - 35 points
Deep Strike is powerful, and this lets you Deep Strike a Knight twice. You don't have a lot of models, so the ability to rapidly respond to a different section of the board is huge. This is probably a must have.
Banner of Macharius Triumphant - 30 points
This tribute from the late Lord Solar gives you sticky objectives. That seems like a lot for one Knight to get it. Unfortunately, this might just be auto-include due to the difficulty Knights have with board control.
Unyielding Paragon - 40 points
Armour of Contempt is potent. If Questoris are good, than this is going to be good.
I find it weird that Knights get five enhancements, two of which are specifically for Questoris. The enhancements also seem a bit pricey, with one of them feeling almost like a tax. Granted, these are small costs in relation to the Knights themselves. But both Mysterious Guardian and Unyielding Paragon seem powerful.
STRATAGEMS
Shoulder the Burden - 2CP
Our previewed Stratagem is still awesome. Your Knight does have to survive to your Command phase, and your opponent probably isn't going to let that happen. But as I've said before, this forces your opponent to overcommit. Additionally, as a Knight player you'll see another interaction. Unlike other armies, where your opponent might end up pouring the fire power of two or three units into one to stop rules like this, a Knight might take a significant portion of your opponent's forces to take down. This leaves them with a tough decision to make. Do they take what they have left and try to chip at another Knight, knowing you can use this? Or do they hold their fire until the next turn? That is the real power of this Stratagem.
Thunderstomp - 1CP
This isn't as situational as it might appear. Your Knights are likely well equipped to deal with Monsters and Vehicles. It's the hordes of Infantry, possibly guants toting around LETHAL HITS against Vehicles, that you have to deal with in combat. This allows some of your damage to spill over and take out some of those softer targets.
Squire's Duty - 1CP
Um . . . wait what? At first I thought this was the Imperial version of the War Dog strat I loved so much. But though I think it was intended to only work for the chosen enemy unit, it just flat out buffs all of your Armigers. This is almost certainly an oversight.
Rotate Ion Shields - 1CP
It's still the old strat, but now it always costs 1CP. You will use this a lot.
Trophy Claim - 1CP
Our other previewed strat is very cool, though a bit situational. I honestly thought we'd see more like this, or more Honored interactions, but we've gotten a mix of strats. I think on the whole it's a good balance.
Valiant Last Stand - 1CP
1CP Fight on Death! This is fantastic, and very needed.
I really like these strats. Though what is it with Knight Indexes and weird layouts? Regardless, you have a good mix of strats here that cover a few different playstyles. The only really odd one is Squire's Duty. If that one doesn't get errata'd, expect to see a lot of pure Armiger lists.
DATASHEETS
Armiger Helverin - 145 pts
While this is probably feels like a situational pick, do I need to explain why this is still good? If you're not taking this, it's not because this isn't a steal . . .
Armiger Warglaive - 140 pts
Our revealed Armiger looks even better now. Seriously, how is this only 140 pts?
Knight Paladin - 390 pts
Okay, enough talking about points on these. I think at this point we all get it; Knights are under-costed. Let's instead focus on the Bondsman abilities. LETHAL HITS and LANCE probably aren't going to be too impactful for Knights. I could be wrong; after all there are plenty of enemy Knights in the meta so an average of one or two more wounds could be useful. But for many armies, you're not going to have trouble wounding. The free re-roll per phase is very nice though.
Knight Errant - 375 pts
This, however, is fantastic! Knights need all the help with movement they can get, so having both re-rolls for Advances and ASSAULT will be very impactful. You're going to want an Errant.
Knight Gallant - 400 pts
Gallants fortunately get a little extra movement to help with their primary role of being melee bruisers. Their Bondsman ability also gives them re-rolls on Charges to help seal the deal. Though I find it hilarious, they then also get a -1 to Hit once they're in melee.
Knight Warden - 420 pts
If, however, you want to go for a more gunline approach, -1 Dmg is huge for Knights. They also get DEVASTATING WOUNDS on smaller targets for free. This probably makes them better ANTI-FLY than Helverins. But you're probably combining them if you're doing a gun line.
Knight Crusader - 415 pts
With most Knights hitting on 3s, their ability to get and grant +1 to Hit is fantastic. This also helps if you want to go with Icarus pods, even though Knights aren't currently having a lot of trouble with line of sight. The SUSTAINED HITS for Remaining Stationary can possibly add up to a lot of additional damage.
Knight Preceptor - 375 pts
This is an interesting model. Its main purpose is to try and hold down objectives. And since the Bondsman ability affects it and one Armiger, that's possibly two objectives the Preceptor can make really hard to take. Its second ability to give itself an Oath of Moment against a single enemy unit is much more situational, and may not synergize well with what this Knight is doing.
Knight Castellan - 495 pts
The terror of 8th Edition is looking really good. It feels like a pretty balanced choice, granting Cover to nearby Armigers while also getting the rare re-roll Damage against Vehicles and Monsters. Granted, this means that it's also going to attract a lot of enemy firepower . . .
Knight Valliant - 490 pts
The Valiant gets our only Battle-shock rule, forcing a test on one unit it Hit in Shooting. I think the Castellan probably has better rules, but the Valliant can take the Thundercoil.
Canis Rex - 405 pts
Canis Rex is definitely good at this cost, as all Knights are at their respective costs. However, he doesn't synergize as well with the rest of the army. If you're going to take a Freeblade, this is definitely your go-to choice. The fact that you can't take both an Armiger and a Questoris really hurts there.
IMPERIAL ARMOUR DATASHEETS
Acastus Knight Asterious - 730 pts
For 235 pts more than a Castellan, you get 6 more wounds . . . and that's kinda it? The conversion beamer is somewhat of a side-grade from the volcano lance. Its rule is also very similar, with the extra effect against Fortifications being very situational.
Acastus Knight Porphyrion - 645 pts
This feels much better, though I'm still not sure it's worth taking over a Castellan. The twin magmas are very nice though. Again, we get a Knight with LETHAL HITS, which is a much less valuable rule when you have so many high strength weapons.
Cerastus Knight Lancer - 430 pts
This, however, is an interesting pick. The Cerastus is a little tougher than Questoris are, and the shock lance is pretty mean in melee. It also gets a Bondsman ability for the always potent Advance and Charge. The free Tank Shock is honestly gravy.
Cerastus Knight Castigator - 425 pts
Another interesting pick! The Bondsman ability here grants both SUSTAINED HITS 1, which is great on high strength weaponry, and a rare and potent AP buff. The -1 to Hit from suppression makes much more sense here. All and all, a pretty solid choice!
Cerastus Knight Acheron - 385 pts
Cerastus patterns are looking really good, with the only serious drawback being the loss of two Enhancements. This Cerastus not only has a much stronger Battle-shock ability than the Valiant does, it also strips cover, which can greatly improve the effectiveness of other units. Being a flamer focused Knight, it's also a great Overwatch target.
Cerastus Knight Atropos - 385 pts
If Knights stay a potent choice, this is going to be practically auto-include. That's two decent anti-vehicle weapons and two great rules against enemy Knights. And it's still generically good against vehicles and monsters.
Questoris Knight Magaera - 390 pts
One of two Forge World Questoris, this is a bit of an odd duck. It's obviously meant to charge in close and crush things in combat. But it also grants IGNORES COVER with its Bondsman ability. To make things even weirder, it heals in your command phase. Strange, but still potentially fun.
Questoris Knight Styrix - 425 pts
Huh! I wonder if we have copy/paste error. This one has the same Bondsman as the Magaera but it feels slightly, if only slightly, more appropriate here. The pinning effect is definitely nice on this one. Of the two, I'd definitely take the Styrix despite the increased cost.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Yeah, Knights are a thing and I can definitely see why the Imperial variant in particular is doing so well right now. The Bondsman abilities feel like a decent skill check for both army building and piloting. It definitely makes me want to try and squeeze in three Knights with as many Armigers as I can get instead of running a single Knight. Unfortunately, that likely means the Castellan and Valiant are staying home. But there is definitely some real power in this index beyond the Towering rule.
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