Escalation is a hot topic in the 40k community. There are two opposite sides, those that support it and those that don’t. In my opinion the Super-Heavy gives the player the opportunity to build new lists and takes the all- around list concept to another level. On February 2014 GW introduced the Imperial knight, a new Super-Heavy Walker. This wouldn’t be a big deal if the Knight wasn’t a Codex by itself.
The Knights are an army by themselves. You can take them as a Primary Detachment of three to six (Choose one as your Warlord). Or you can take them as an Allied Detachment, in which case you can include up to three (Battle Brother with all Imperial Forces).
| | WS | BS | S | F | S | R | I | A | HP | |
| Imperial knight | ||||||||||
4 | 4 | 10 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 6 |
Its stats aren’t that different to an Ironclad, but its weapons and SR make a BIG difference. The Knight has the SR Invincible Behemoth (instead of explosion it suffers a D3 HP), Fear, Hammer of Wrath, Move through Cover, Relentless, Smash and Strikedown. It also has the Ion Shield, a shield that grants him a 4+ inv in a specific facing, either Front, right side, left side, or rear, that the player nominates at the start of the enemy’s Shooting phase.We can distinguish two main types, based on the main weapon equipped:
• Knight Errand: Thermal Cannon [Range 36” S9 AP1 Heavy 1, Large Blast, Melta]
• Knight Paladin: Rapid-fire Battle Cannon [Range 72” S8 AP3 Ordinance 2, Large Blast]
The Knight’s secondary and melee weapons consists of two heavy Stubbers [Range 36” S4 P6 Heavy 3] and the Reaper Chainsword [Range - S D AP2 melee].
And all of that only for 370 (Errand) / 375 (Paladin).
We the Wolves can see the Knights in two ways. As an enemy, the knight is something that if you ignore could rip apart your army. It may be strong, but it’s only a machine and the Wolves know better than anyone how to wreck a machine. Omnissiah forgive me, as what I will speak is heresy to him, but a Space Wolf is better than any machine.Once again my faith lies with the Emperor and the Drop Pods that he provides. Logan as the peak of the spear and his fellow Wolf Guards will wreak havoc to the enemy lines, with the unlimited numbers of Combi-Meltas. The Knights, as I mentioned in the beginning, are Walkers and as Walkers we have to fight them. With only 6HP they won’t be a problem for the Melta Alpha strike we can bring to them.
+++ Anti-5 Imperial Knight list (1841pts) +++
+++ 1850pt Codex: Space Wolves Roster (Primary Detachment) +++
+ HQ +
* Logan Grimnar
* Rune Priest
+ Troops +
* Wolf Guard Pack (Troops) * Drop Pod
* 7x Power Armour
7x Combi Melta
*5x Wolf Guard Pack (Troops)
* Drop Pod
* 8x Power Armour
8x Combi Melta
+ Heavy Support +
* Long Fangs Pack
* Drop Pod
* 5x Multi-melta
* Squad Leader
[Wolf tip: Remember that in every explosion the Super-heavies don’t explode but, they suffer a D3 HP]
Now, as an ally in our list the Knight isn’t that bad. Its point value is perfect for what it can give back. The enemies will surely focus fire on it and with its shield it can survive a turn or two. I believe the Paladin is better, as we can have enough Meltas but we lack Long range Large Blast AP3 shots in our army. You can make a line of fire with 2 Paladins and Long Fangs with 15 ML. I was thinking of posting a list with the Knight as an ally, but I don’t believe I have something very good that will do the job, thus I leave it you.As Escalationbecomes more and more prevalent, our Wolves will become even better, since there are only a few things we can’t deal with.
The Knight isn’t as big of an addition as GW wants it to be. Sure it’s a very nice model and I would like to have it, but for 110 euros it’s a bit too much. If I bought it I would convert its face to make it as a wolf, much like the helmet in the GH pack.
As some of you might have noticed, I had said that I would post a tournament review, but the knight was a bigger issue for me so I preferred to post that first. Of course I would like to hear your opinion on this and all my previous posts, as well as suggestions for what you would like me to write about.
Next post “Tournament report part1"!
Until next time remember Prospero and…
VLKA FENRIKA
VLKA FENRIKA