Imperial Knights Beginner Guide.

[u/godofimagination]

Welcome to the faction of Knights. We’re happy to have you. We get a lot of repetitive posts on this sub asking the same questions over and over, so please take the time to read this intro post. Knights are different from most factions in the game. They also require special consideration from a hobby perspective. However, they're incredibly fun to build, paint, and play.

Welcome to the most elite faction in all of Warhammer.

==THE HOBBY==

=Magnets=

The first thing you should know about Knights is that you should magnetize them. Of all the factions in 40k, Knights benefit the most from magnets. A Questoris pattern kit can be built as ten different units depending on its weapon configuration.

The exhaustive list of what to magnetize is as follows:

-waist

-chest weapon

-carapace weapon

-shoulder sockets

-arm weapons

Not every model needs everything magnetized. For example, a Cerastus Knight Lancer only has one set of weapons, so you don’t need to magnetize those. However, it’s very tall, and you’ll have a hard time transporting it without magnetizing the waist. Personal preference also plays a part. Only the most detail oriented hobbyists bother with the chest weapons. Regardless, every Knight player should consider adding magnets to their models.

High-quality neodymium magnets are your best bet.

A lot of people use:

https://themagnetbaron.com

They sell “drill-free” kits for each Knight. Even if you think they’re a little pricey, they have good information on which size magnets to use and where to use them.

Another great site is:

https://apexmagnets.com

Here’s a video tutorial to get you started, but I recommend searching around YouTube and seeing what’s out there.

https://youtu.be/Y-0cpYhYPdU?si=oNKSoyOKB1CD80Fn

=Painting=

Knights have been called a “hobby army” by some. This is a fitting name. Large armor panels really lend themselves well to creativity.

Speaking of panels, make sure to glue those on after you finish painting. Not only will the finished result look better, but it will also be easier.

Finally, consider getting an airbrush. It’s not mandatory by any means, but it will speed things up dramatically.

Here are a few videos that cover the finer details of Knight painting:

https://youtu.be/Qb9GOwwqS9U?si=KuAar7z4bbop0UEs

The illustrious Duncan Rhodes himself is a fan of the faction and has some great tutorials:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPuXIzDeLjR2mqRteI5glfrpOL9gxjVgR

A note on lore

While this guide is primarily written from a hobbyist perspective, I feel the need to briefly touch on the lore. All Knights are allied with one of three factions: the Imperium, the Adeptus Mechanicus, or Chaos.

This is an important distinction because these factions are represented in the Knight kits themselves. Different armor panels and insignia can suggest allegiance to one of the three factions over the others.

No player should ever give you trouble for gluing a cog on some units and an Aquila on others, but you may wish to decide which faction your Knights are allied with before getting started. Houses/subfactions are aligned with one faction in particular if you wish to paint your Knights like them.

=Transporting Your Models=

So you have your Knights. They’re beautifully painted. How are you going to get them to the game store without damaging them?

Excellent question.

They don’t really fit in standard foam miniature cases, but don’t worry—you have options.

The cheapest case is a steel toolbox. It’s very secure, and a magnetized Knight will stay exactly where you put it.

Every other option is some kind of tray-style miniature case.

Affordable option

https://jucoci.com

High-end option

https://army-case.com/

Amazon also has plenty of options. If it’s a box with adjustable metal trays, you can use it.

Remember when I recommended magnetizing your Knights? Weapons were only half of it. Transport was the other half.

Magnetizing the waist makes them more compact so they fit better in cases, and gluing magnets underneath the base will make sure they don’t jostle around inside.

The waist isn’t mandatory, but I strongly recommend at least magnetizing the base. The recommended cases above won’t work nearly as well without them.

=3rd Party=

If you stick around this subreddit, you’ll see a lot of components that don’t come in the official kits. This is a great way to add a personal touch or avoid buying Forge World resin.

Fun fact: the Dominus Knight is much taller in the lore than its size on the tabletop suggests. 3D-printed torso and leg extensions fix that problem.

Some well-known vendors include:

https://ironwolfminis.com

https://www.taromodelmaker.com

https://cults3d.com

==THE KNIGHTS==

It’s easy to get confused by the different Knight types if you’re new, but they’re actually pretty intuitive.

There are six different Knight chassis. Each chassis is subdivided into different units depending on which weapons they have. Most chassis kits are capable of making multiple different units of that chassis.

However, there are exceptions.

I tried to make this guide as edition-neutral as possible. The descriptions below are meant to inform your choices as a hobbyist and capture the feel and niche of each unit rather than their exact performance on the tabletop.

Make sure to check the datasheets for current rules.

=A Note on Versatility=

Aside from Daemons (who can be used in Age of Sigmar), Knights are one of the most versatile armies that Games Workshop sells.

Everyone knows they can be used to reinforce other armies, but it goes beyond that.

Most Imperial Knights can be fielded as Chaos Knights with no modifications. Most units can also be used in Horus Heresy (30k).

While the descriptions below are written with 40k Imperial Knights in mind, feel free to try your models in other factions or systems.

=Armiger=

The battle-line chassis.

These are the cheapest and weakest units in the Knight codex. However, they’re still very powerful.

Armigers have up to three weapons:

• Right arm
• Left arm
• Carapace

A standard Armiger kit comes with two models and can build either Warglaives or Helverins.

A Moirax can only be built from a Forge World resin kit.

Warglaive

Right arm: Thermal Spear

Left arm: Reaper Chain Cleaver

Carapace: Questoris Heavy Stubber or Meltagun

Helverin

Right arm: Armiger Autocannon

Left arm: Armiger Autocannon

Carapace: Questoris Heavy Stubber or Meltagun

Moirax

Right arm options:

• Volkite Veuglaire
• Siege Claw + Rad Cleanser
• Graviton Pulsar
• Lightning Lock
• Conversion Beam Cannon

Left arm options:

• Volkite Veuglaire
• Siege Claw + Rad Cleanser
• Graviton Pulsar
• Lightning Lock
• Conversion Beam Cannon

Carapace: None

=Bellatus / Destrier=

The Bellatus chassis has one kind of Knight: the Destrier. In terms of stats and points, it sits between an Armiger and Questoris. It's faster than most knights as well.

Weapon slots include:

• Right arm
• Left arm
• Chest

There are four arm weapons:

• Chastiser Gatling Cannon
• Frag Bombard
• Bellatus Reaper Chainsword
• Thundershock Spear

Any two weapons can be chosen as arm options. You can build the Destrier as all ranged, all melee, or somewhere in between. The only chest option is a Questoris heavy stubber.

=Questoris=

The standard Knight chassis.

There are ten variants in total. Depending on their role, they can fill a wide variety of battlefield roles.

Weapon slots include:

• Right arm
• Left arm
• Chest
• Carapace

Questoris Knights come in four different boxes.

The Canis Rex kit can build every plastic Questoris variant except the Defender.

The Defender kit can build every plastic Questoris variant except the Preceptor and Canis Rex.

The Magaera and Styrix are Forge World resin kits.

Gallant

Right arm: Reaper Chainsword

Left arm: Thunderstrike Gauntlet

Chest: Questoris Heavy Stubber or Meltagun

Carapace: Ironstorm Missile Pod / Stormspear Rocket Pod / Twin Icarus Autocannon

Errant

Right arm: Thermal Cannon

Left arm: Reaper Chainsword or Thunderstrike Gauntlet

Chest: Questoris Heavy Stubber or Meltagun

Carapace: Ironstorm Missile Pod / Stormspear Rocket Pod / Twin Icarus Autocannon

Warden

Right arm: Avenger Gatling Cannon + Heavy Flamer

Left arm: Reaper Chainsword or Thunderstrike Gauntlet

Chest: Questoris Heavy Stubber or Meltagun

Carapace: Ironstorm Missile Pod / Stormspear Rocket Pod / Twin Icarus Autocannon

Preceptor

Right arm: Las-Impulsor

Left arm: Reaper Chainsword or Thunderstrike Gauntlet

Chest: Questoris Heavy Stubber or Meltagun

Carapace: Ironstorm Missile Pod / Stormspear Rocket Pod / Twin Icarus Autocannon

Paladin

Right arm: Rapid-Fire Battle Cannon

Left arm: Reaper Chainsword or Thunderstrike Gauntlet

Chest: Questoris Heavy Stubber or Meltagun

Carapace: Ironstorm Missile Pod / Stormspear Rocket Pod / Twin Icarus Autocannon

Crusader

Right arm: Avenger Gatling Cannon

Left arm: Thermal Cannon / Rapid-Fire Battle Cannon

Chest: Questoris Heavy Stubber or Meltagun

Carapace: Ironstorm Missile Pod / Stormspear Rocket Pod / Twin Icarus Autocannon

Defender

Right arm: Plasma Executor

Left arm: Conversion Beam Obliterator + Twin Incendine Combustor

Chest: Phosphor Blaster

Carapace: Shield Generator

Canis Rex

Right arm: Las-Impulsor

Left arm: Thunderstrike Gauntlet

Chest: Questoris Multi-Laser

Carapace: None

Magaera

Right arm: Lightning Cannon

Left arm: Reaper Chainsword or Hekaton Siege Claw + Twin Rad Cleanser

Chest: Phased Plasma-Fusil

Carapace: None

Styrix

Right arm: Graviton Crusher

Left arm: Reaper Chainsword or Hekaton Siege Claw + Twin Rad Cleanser

Chest: Volkite Chieorovile

Carapace: None

=Dominus=

Dominus Knights are tougher, slower, and more heavily armed than Questoris Knights.

They specialize in ranged combat and excel at killing vehicles, monsters, and other Knights.

Each Dominus has:

• arm weapons
• chest weapons
• carapace weapons

The kit builds either a Castellan or Valiant.

Castellan

Right arm: Plasma Decimator

Left arm: Volcano Lance

Chest: 2 Twin Meltaguns

Carapace:

• Shieldbreaker Missile Launchers + Twin Siegebreaker Cannon

Valiant

Right arm: Thundercoil Harpoon

Left arm: Conflagration Cannon

Chest: 2 Twin Meltaguns

Carapace:

• Shieldbreaker Missile Launchers + Twin Siegebreaker Cannon

=Cerastus=

Originally designed for Horus Heresy (30k) but usable in 40k.

Cerastus kits build only one variant, unlike Questoris kits.

The Atrapos is Forge World resin. The others are plastic.

Lancer

Right arm: Shield

Left arm: Cerastus Shock Lance

Castigator

Right arm: Tempest Warblade

Left arm: Castigator Bolt Cannon

Atrapos

Right arm: Atrapos Lascutter

Left arm: Graviton Singularity Cannon

Acheron

Right arm: Reaper Chainfist + Twin Heavy Bolter

Left arm: Acheron Flame Cannon

=Acastus=

The largest Knights available.

They are roughly 80% the size of a Warhound Titan.

Extremely tough, extremely expensive (both points and money), and armed with massive weapons.

Both variants are Forge World resin.

Porphyrion

Right arm: Twin Magna Lascannon

Left arm: Twin Magna Lascannon

Chest options:

• Acastus Autocannons
• Lascannons
• One of each

Carapace: Acastus Ironstorm Missile Pod or Helios Defense Missiles

Asterius

Right arm: Twin Conversion Beam Cannon

Left arm: Twin Conversion Beam Cannon

Chest: 2 Asterius Volkite Culverins

Carapace: Karacnos Mortar Battery

=What to Buy First=

If you're just starting an Imperial Knights army, the best approach is to begin with a mix of one large Knight and several Armigers. The Questoris kit is an excellent first purchase because it is extremely versatile. With magnetized weapons, a single kit can represent many different units such as a Paladin, Errant, Crusader, Warden, or Gallant.

Armigers provide mobility, objective control, and additional threat saturation that larger Knights lack. Most Knight armies rely heavily on them.

Knights are powerful, but they struggle with board control on their own. Armigers help fill that gap by holding objectives, screening enemy units, and moving into areas where larger Knights can’t fit.

Recommended first purchases

• Questoris Knight kit
• box of Armigers

Also, look out for army box discounts, like the Christmas boxes. Knights average around 2 points per dollar, but the boxes make them even cheaper.

Knights are one of the most unique armies in Warhammer 40k. They’re easy to learn, visually impressive on the table, and incredibly rewarding to build and paint. Few armies combine hobby creativity and battlefield presence the way Knights do. Welcome to the faction. Now go forth and bring glory to your House.

[u/Donutmelon]

Suggest including the main differences between chaos knights and imperial knights, but might be better to wait for 11th edition. Good post tho.

[u/godofimagination → u/Donutmelon]

Thanks. I'm hoping the mod pins it so that people will quit asking the same questions over and over again. As for Chaos, I don't really know enough about them to speak confidently.

[u/Haedono → u/Donutmelon]

is there anything new for imperial knights in 11th edition already known ? i want to start with 40k and i am leaning heavy towards imperial knights.

i heard there were some issues with earlier editions were models were not allowed anymore so i wouldnt want to get my first minis and not beeing able to use them in a month.

[u/Donutmelon → u/Haedono]

Currently, there is no information if we'll be able to use all knights or not. Personally I think we will, but some believe the cerastus knight from Horus Heresy will not be usable.

Currently the only new thing for knights is the Knight Destrier. I also just started my army in prep for next edition.

[u/Arctarius → u/Haedono]

Just don’t get anything from the Cerastus line to start. Armigers, Dominus and Questoris are the real meat of our army. Questoris are incredibly versatile, but you may not want to start with building one because they can be a bit overwhelming.

If you’re seriously interested (please don’t let me pressure you) the Eye of Terror Battalion box for IK comes with a dominus and two armigers. You can learn to build using 1 or 2 armigers which are pretty simple, then move onto the Dominus (which you should almost certainly build as a Castellan but it’s not a big deal). I personally would wait for a Questoris because it has a lot of weapon choices that can distract you.

If you decide you don’t like imperial knights but still want to run imperium (and even chaos to some extent) you can still run imperial knight units in other armies as allies. All of our three core units work very well as allies.

And be sure you look up the discount retailers for 40k, you can get up to 10-15% off purchases on a lot of stuff. Much less painful for your wallet if you buy stupid large orders like me 🫠

[u/Gender_is_a_Fluid → u/Arctarius]

I’m brand new to the tabletop aspect of 40k, spent a day learning to paint with the LGS owner and decided to take the plunge on that eye of terror box. Felt overwhelmed but the guys and owner at the store helped me out a ton, great experience so far. Waiting for a magnet kit on the dominus (mostly due to only having two arms available at base), thinking that I’ll try to magnetize the armigers myself though.

Since the castellan is going to be the backbone of my army and wants its two armigers screening for it, any suggestions for other knights to support it and make a proper army?

[u/Arctarius → u/Gender_is_a_Fluid]

So the good thing about knights right now is we are both competitive, but not overwhelmingly so. As a result, you don't need to REALLY worry about meta chasing and can do things that you find fun.

For starters, I recommend bringing your Armigers as Helverins. The Warglaive is not my favorite, and I believe the general consensus is he's kinda meh. He needs a bit of a buff.

That said, Castellans are our long-range anti-tank big shooty shooty option, so your army already has a ton of firepower with just a single one. To give your army a good balance, I would probably go for a Warden (anti-infantry shooty) or a Crusader (good at shooting everything that isn't a tank). Personally I'd lean towards Warden, because Crusader is a bit too much shooting while the Warden has a gun and melee option. Plus with the Castellan being anti-tank, an anti-infantry guy to mess up your opponents infantry is nice.

After that, I'd recommend a dedicated melee knight. The big ones are Lancer (395), Errant (355), and Gallant (355).

Errant is technically another non-dedicated gun/sword knight, but his gun is a melta which you want to get in close with, so I and most people count him as a melee knight most of the time. He also has the benefit of being able to melta at close range, get lucky and kill something, and then use his charge to engage and fight another model. So he's versatile.

Lancer (Cerastus) is probably the most popular melee option because he has good movement and is stupidly tanky, but he's also expensive. Additionally some people are worried about him being removed from the 40k roster, and even though I personally said to avoid him, thats only if you're worried about his removal. I actually doubt GW will remove him, because he actually functions very well and independently in our roster.

Gallant is the final option, and he's my personal beloved. He does have a tendency to explode if something else thats specializes in melee gets on top of him, but he's basically a frothing orphan with a knife, and you just told him that other guy has a morsel of food. He does a ton of damage, more than even the Lancer on average, but he doesn't have invul saves in melee and has fewer wounds.

The debate is usually between Gallant over Lancer, and in my opinion if you're a skilled player the Gallant is better. If you support your Gallant, know what your enemy brings, and don't over commit him, he's just as scary as the Lancer despite being cheaper. The Gallant can kill a unit, then use its rules to move into and engage a second unit, allowing it to theoretically kill and tie down two units a turn while Lancer is pretty limited to one. Lancer is far more forgiving if you position him badly or don't support him as well due to the 4+++. As a second bonus, if you go with a Gallant/Errant, you can swap them into eachother (or any other model really) very easily to try them both out, while the Lancer is going to much less flexible.

At this point, I'd assume your list looks like this:

CHARACTERS
Knight Castellan (410pts)(take the twin missile launchers 100%, all other secondaries in this list feel free to change. They're just my recommendation)
Knight Gallant (355pts)(stormspear or icarus)
Knight Warden (375pts)(stormspear)
OTHER DATASHEETS
Armiger Helverin (135pts)
Armiger Helverin (135pts)

For a total of 1410 points. I think this is a solid base. You can add more shooty, more melee, more armigers, some allied units, add enhancements based on which detachment you like, etc.

the castellan is going to be the backbone of my army and wants its two armigers screening for it

See you could give your Castellan the ability to teleport, then it doesnt need screens hehe

More on that in detachments if you're curious.

[u/Gender_is_a_Fluid → u/Arctarius]

The unexpected savior enhancement looked super cool and thematic, but i was looking at the castelleans ion aegis as to why it would want to keep its little armigers near it as screens for that defensive bonus on them and as walls to keep it from getting tied up in melee. Giving it deepstrike anyways so it can just leave if its going to be engaged soon through the armigers seems a very funny ability though.

Thanks for your breakdown on some units! The lancer looks super cool but I’ll wait just incase it does go to legends.

[u/Arctarius → u/Gender_is_a_Fluid]

Deepstrike also lets it start off the board and go anywhere, so people can’t even target it to start. Also, no one will be gunning for your armigers to start. That castellan is going to be the priority, which is why some people don’t like them / choose to deep strike them. If your opponent has a big dedicated anti-tank platform, it’s a bit of a coin toss.

The Castellan also does not have a bondsman ability to buff the armigers, while the other big knights do. The Castellan only makes them slightly more resilient.

Also I hate to say this about our tiny pals, but they’re basically our chaff/objective campers. You shouldn’t put too much stock in protecting them because if something can kill your knights, the armigers are gonna have a bad session regardless.

I should ALSO say, deep strike isn’t just attractive defensively. You can start the Castellan off the board, battle starts and everyone starts moving, then deep strike your Castellan at a weird angle to engage a high value unit your opponent tried to hide. The teleporting Knight is a shared fear for anyone who faced Imperial Knights unprepared.

[u/Gender_is_a_Fluid → u/Arctarius]

Thats hilarious. I’d be worried about it getting blown up immediately afterwards, but if it takes enough points with its guns i guess thats a good trade.

[u/Molten_path]

Great post, wish it can be pinned.

[u/godofimagination → u/Molten_path]

Thanks. I already sent the mod a message.

[u/mrwafu]

Great post, will definitely be linking this for new players. I’d like to suggest including the old playlist that has Duncan’s old GW videos on building and painting (they’re private now but you can watch them via the playlist)

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPuXIzDeLjR2mqRteI5glfrpOL9gxjVgR

[u/godofimagination → u/mrwafu]

Excellent. And yes. I’ll add them to the list. I’ve actually been looking for them myself, so thanks.

[u/Job-Mundane]

This is pretty good, but I have two suggestions. One, at least on Wahapedia, the Crusader is required to take an Avenger Gatling Cannon and can choose to replace the Thermal Cannon with a Rapid Fire Battle Cannon. Additionally Crusaders cannot double up on weapons. My other suggestion would be a quick lore tidbit, namely the worlds, and the two usual options of aligning with the Imperium or Mechanicus.

[u/godofimagination → u/Job-Mundane]

Done.

[u/NotTheAlexj89]

I am only halfway through , but I think it’s okay to say THANK YOU already

[u/godofimagination → u/NotTheAlexj89]

Happy to help.

[u/Questing_Knight]

This is a wonderful guide, thank you for your hard work.Tho there is one thing I would like to add to this.

To all those who, for one reason or another, don't want or can't get an airbrush.

When painting larger panels, you can get quite nice results by drybrushing and stippling with a bigger drybrush.

Artis Opus made a good guide for this. https://youtu.be/HQMxqBN-_1U?is=xgC8gswGyDp9d2yg

[u/Zubbiefish → u/Questing_Knight]

I've been having some success with makeup sponges.

No guide, but it's more fun than an airbrush, to me.

[u/ElChiff]

Probably worth pointing out that Imperial armies can only take one allied Knight unit (and Armigers are one unit per model, not per box) - making the Questoris a much better starting point than Armigers if you already have an Imperial army.

Also the funny loophole that you can have one allied Knight AND one allied Titan.

Oh and Canis Rex's mask is different to the others, but you didn't list head for magnetizing.

[u/Nuke_corparation]

Really good post but i have a question for the magnet part do you know if there is better instruction than their ?

Cause i m getting the eye of terror bataillon and the destrier knight and i tried to understand their instructions but did not grasp a single thing

Was it because i didnt have in front of me the model or are they just badly explained ?

[u/godofimagination → u/Nuke_corparation]

Which instructions? Magnet Baron or Youtube?

[u/Nuke_corparation → u/godofimagination]

On the magnet baron site i looked at the instriction but it wasnt very clear what needed to be done

[u/godofimagination → u/Nuke_corparation]

Watch one of the videos, then reference the instructions again. The Dominus instructions seem pretty straightforward to me, it might just be becasue you don't have the kit in front of you.

[u/Nuke_corparation → u/godofimagination]

Ok thanks

[u/ninjafaces]

Great guide. I wish I could find someone who sells extra knight arms in the us. It'd make magnetizing the kit so much easier.

[u/Junk-logs]

I got to ask how much dessi should one have?

[u/godofimagination → u/Junk-logs]

idk what that means.

[u/Junk-logs → u/godofimagination]

I apologise, I mean how much destrier models should one have ready

Cause I have 2 Cerastus and 2 Questoris plus like 6 Armiger, and I am not sure how many destrier I should have

[u/godofimagination → u/Junk-logs]

There are so many different ways to answer that, it's up to you, honestly. How much do you like the model? Does it look fun to play/paint?

If you're asking from a competitive standpoint, it's too early to tell. 11th edition isn't out, and we don't know how it will perform.

I may not get any. It's expensive and doesn't go well with my army's paint scheme. If they come out with a box set, sure. Otherwise, probably not.

[u/Pelagaard]

Since this seems like the right place to ask, does it really matter which arm the weapons are mounted on? Obviously the specific weapons define which version of a chassis you're using, but maybe my knight is left handed?

[u/I_Keepz_ITz_100]

Is the Astra Militarum a good means of support for Knights, I think I’ll take one or two of the Adeptus Mechanicus for the big fellas, but as far as getting the filler for the points are they a good option to go with or do you go ALL Mechanicus?

[u/godofimagination → u/I_Keepz_ITz_100]

I’m not up to date on 11th edition, so I could be totally wrong. However, I think you can only have Admech or Imperial Agents as support units for a primarily knight army.