Warhammer 40K: 10th Ed Rules Preview Chaos Knights – Forged In Terror
The Eye of Terror opens and the Chaos Knights spill forth. Check out what these war machines will be capable of on the tabletop!
Chaos Knights tower over their enemies and unleash nightmares borne of the warp onto their foes. They are the dark mirror of their Imperial Knight “cousins” and the antithesis of those Noble Houses. They seek only to conqueror, corrupt, and condemn their enemies to destruction. But how will they work in 10th Edition? That’s what we are here to find out!
“Chaos Knights are fear made manifest – walking engines of pure destruction that chill the souls of all who gaze upon them. Where their Imperial counterparts are all about courtly manners and noblesse oblige, the dread households prize nothing but sheer martial dominance, and have many ways to exploit the quaking terror that they inspire in lowly mortals.”
Chaos Knight Faction Rules
Army Rule – Harbingers of Dread
So the Chaos Knights get Harbingers of Dread as their faction rule. This bonus stacks with itself so on turn 1 the Chaos Knights will have the Despair Aura which makes Battle-shock or Leadership tests slightly harder. And then from turn 3 onwards they also get Doom and Darkness which helps them to punish Battle-shocked units even more. Personally, I think the Despair Aura isn’t going to be that useful turn 1 just based on the deployments we’ve seen thus far. But hey, if your opponent closes the gap that quick and you do get the benefits of it on turn one, great!
Detachment Rule – Forged In Terror
The Traitoris Lance is the first detachment reveal and with it comes the special rule Forged in Terror. Basically if a unit is under it’s Starting Strength it has to take a Battle-shock test if it’s within 12″ of a Chaos Knight. Okay…that Despair Aura is starting to make sense. This means that if the Chaos Knights cause even a single model from a unit to be destroyed and they are within 12″ of the unit then it will have to take a Battle-shock test with the penalty applied. Hmm…I wonder if we’re going to see any more ways for them to modify the Battle-shock tests of their enemies?
Stratagem – Dread Hounds
This one’s for the War Dog units in the Chaos Knight army. If two or more War Dog units are within range of the same target then you’ll get some bonuses when you attack it. What’s nice about this is that it also stacks with the Battle-shock effects making it more effective vs units that are Battle-shocked. Also note that the targets are two or more War Dogs. Theoretically you could have several War Dogs target the same unit. That means something is about to have a really bad day…
Chaos Knight Unit Rules
Knight Despoiler
The Knight Despoiler is sort of like the default Chaos Knight option. And speaking of options, it’s got ALL the options. However you equip your Knight Despoiler just be sure to remember the Seething Hatred ability that allows you to re-roll one Hit roll or re-roll one Wound roll. Either option is going to be useful!
Knight Abominant
Maybe you’re looking for something a bit more specialized. The Knight Abominant brings some Psychic punch with them. Take note of the Vortex of Terrors ability as it can trigger a Battle-shock test on an enemy at the start your shooting phase. That will again combo with all the above Battle-shock tricks. This would work extremely well with some War Dogs to really take advantage of those bonuses — especially after the third round!
Desecrator Laser Destructor
While we got to see several weapon profiles from above here’s a closer look at the Desecrator Laser Destructor. It’s got an impressive profile to start! And if you’re like me you might be wondering why it’s not classified as “Heavy” — take a closer look at the BS of this weapon and it should click. If not, also consider this is on a Chaos Knight so…yeah, you could probably consider it a “stable firing platform” even if it moved. Why add in a bunch of extra rules when just making it BS 2+ has the same impact you’re going for without the word salad?
Warpstrike Claw
The Warpstrike Claw is for those situations where your opponent thinks that getting up close is better than taking all those shots at range. Both options have their place and both of them will leave a mark on whatever they make contact with. Choose your attack wisely!
Is that thunder in the distance? No…it’s just the Chaos Knights marching to war.
