40K: The Knight Renaissance
We’re in the Golden Age of Imperial Knights on the tabletop – but why? Let’s a take a look at what the heck happened!
Knights are going through a Renaissance right on the tabletop with the upcoming release of Chaos Knights. Why are they so popular and what about the game makes them attractive to players?
Knights Got Better
The Knight Codex in 7th was pretty “okay” – they were tough and expensive points wise, but they weren’t anywhere near as dominate. But 8th Edition has given us more Knights and Specialist Knights. These new Knights are totally worth their points now because they can be tailored for specific roles. And combined with some of the factors below, Knights are just plain better now.
Knights Are Diverse
Knights range from the “small” Armigers to the massive Knight Dominus-Class. And then there are the “standard” Knights and all those variant options. Sure, a lot of those are just weapon swaps but the fact remains you can pick the knight you’re looking for to fill that specialist role (as mentioned above). But it doesn’t stop there. House Rules gave them more options. And then there are the Relic options. And the Warlord Traits. And the Freeblade options. You get the idea. You can build the Knight of your dreams – or at least the one you need to plug whatever hole you found in your list.
Knights Are CP Superheroes
8th Edition introduced Stratagems into the game. Along with those “get out of jail free” cards, we’ve also seen the rise of the CP Battery to help fuel those armies. When you combine Stratagems, CP Batteries, and hyper-optimized Knights that can be harnessed to really take advantage of those – well, you get Super-charged Knights.
Look at Infinity 2.0. In that edition of the game you could have your one super-commando and your multiple “cheer-leader” models that would feed them activations so they could mop-up around the tabletop. Conceptually, CP Batteries and Knights function very similar. While you can’t buy more activations, you’re still getting an obvious target to spend your CPs on to make them super-effective.
Knights Are Easy To Use
Before you get all huffy – this is not a dig at people who choose to use Knights. But Knights are objectively easier to use as a single model unit than other unit options in the game. You’ve only got to move one model per knight vs say 10 models in a 10-man unit. You’ve only got to measure range from one model – if it’s in, it’s it – there is no guessing there. You’ve also only got to remember and track the rules for your Knights who typically have a pretty low model count army to begin with. Plus your turns should be pretty fast and effective.
When you combine a low model count, small amount of rules, and hyper condensed turns that makes them easier to play – and that’s just science.
Knights Follow The Rule of Cool
Knights are just cool. They are big models. They have a crazy amount of detail. They are eye catching on the tabletop. And they clearly stand head-and-shoulders above the rest of the models on the tabletop. When Knights are on the tabletop they put on a show – one way or another. Plus, from a hobbyist stand point, they offer a lot of surface area to work with. You can make some amazing looking Knights from the same basic kit.
It’s the Golden Age for Knights right now – are you embracing the Knights or are you looking to rebel against the meta?
