OK, getting down to the raw firepower of these new Knights will sell a ton of them. I don't play Imperial Knights, but what a great time to jump on into them. Here is the latest.
via the Warhammer Community
https://www.warhammer-community.com/2018/05/29/29th-may-meet-the-dominus-class-knightgw-homepage-post-1/
With the new Codex: Imperial Knights just around the corner, we wanted to peek under the hood of these massive new war machines, taking a look at their characteristics, their guns and some nifty tricks you’ll be able to try with them.
The Dominus-class chassis is one of the largest we’ve encountered in Warhammer 40,000 so far, boasting – as standard – two heavy weapon mounts on the arms, two twin meltaguns and three hardpoints on the carapace. To supplement their firepower, each Dominus-class Knight features two plasma cores, offering it even more power than its kin, but making for even more devastating detonations on the rare occasion your enemy brings one of these mighty war machines down.
In the new Imperial Knights codex, we’re taking a look at two of the most renowned patterns of the Dominus-class Knight – the Knight Castellan and the Knight Valiant.
Both the short-ranged Valiant and the walking fortress that is the Castellan have a pretty substantial set of characteristics even before you get into the guns. Let’s take a look…
Toughness 8 means both of these Knights are nigh invulnerable to small arms fire, while only the most powerful anti-armour weapons, like lascannons, will be able to reliably breach their armour. Their 28 (yes, 28!) Wounds, meanwhile, puts them amongst the most durable units in the entire game – it’s going to take a very serious amount of firepower to take either of these Knights out.
Imperial Knights are defined by their weapons, and each of the guns on the Knight Castellan and Knight Valiant would be at home as the primary armament on some deadly Baneblade variant – so naturally, they carry two each. Both these Knights fulfil a range of roles on the battlefield (there are few situations that can’t be fixed by the overwhelming application of firepower) but, broadly speaking, the Knight Castellan excels at tackling other titanic units, tanks, and heavy infantry, while the Knight Valiant makes a mess of monsters and massed infantry.
Plasma Decimator
Isn’t plasma weaponry wonderful? Plasma guns are a stalwart of Warhammer 40,000, and for good reason, boasting great AP, Strength and Damage, not to mention flexible (if risky) firing modes. The plasma decimator is no different, boasting a huge number of shots and an impressive range of 48” to match – there are few units that’ll be able to hide from a barrage from a Knight Castellan wielding one of these.
Volcano Lance
Everyone loves Shadowswords, right?* The Knight Castellan mounts a scaled-down version of the Shadowsword’s iconic main armament, making it a particularly excellent super-heavy hunter – great if your opponent also brought a Lord of War! With D6 shots and a hefty 3D3 Damage, this weapon is going to reliably inflict a bucketload of wounds on anything it hits.
Conflagration Cannon
You’ve seen flamer weapons before, but never like this. The conflagration cannon is the absolute pinnacle of heretic-incinerating technology, delivering 3D6 automatic hits of incendiary death to anyone you point it at. With a profile boasting -2 AP, S7 and 2 Damage means this weapon performs superbly against a range of targets but is especially deadly on units that rely on hefty modifiers to hit in place of armour (sorry, Alaitoc – you’re gonna burn).
Thundercoil Harpoon
And here it is – the most damaging weapon in the entirety of Warhammer 40,000. That’s not a typo up there – the thundercoil harpoon really does do 10 damage (and chases it down with D3 mortal wounds), with -6 AP. With re-rollable hits against Vehicles and Monsters, and a Strength characteristic that all but guarantees you’ll be wounding anything on 2s, this weapon is what you use when you absolutely, truly, deeply want something to die.
Siegebreaker Cannons
If siegebreaker cannons were mounted on mainline battle tanks, you’d take them in every game – it just so happens that they’re the secondary armament of the Dominus-class Knights. Each of these guys features three customisable hardpoints on the carapace where you can mount a cluster of shieldbreaker missiles (more on those below) or a twin siegebreaker cannon, a lightweight battle cannon that’ll help you chew through medium-level targets – units like power-armoured foes, transports, bikes and other durable stuff that’s inefficient to shoot with your other, bigger guns.
Shieldbreaker Missiles
Sick of invulnerable saves? You’ll want to stock up on these guys. While you’ll only get to fire each missile once per battle, every shieldbreaker missile is nigh guaranteed to do some damage, cutting right through invulnerable saves. Where these weapons come into their own, however, is with a deadly Stratagem – the Oathbreaker Guidance System:
Character sniping with krak missiles that ignore invulnerable saves? Yes, please.
Of course, all this firepower is all well and good in your Imperium army, but what about defences? Well, we’ve got good news – as well as being nigh unkillable itself, both the Knight Castellan and Knight Valiant can shield your Imperium units with a hefty 5+ invulnerable save:
Whether you’re keeping hordes of Astra Militarum safe or just giving your Primaris Space Marines some additional durability, this Stratagem is going to be key for keeping the rest of your forces alive.
Which Dominus-class Knight you pick for your Imperium army comes down to personal preference and what other units you have in your collection. Pick a Dominus-class Knight that complements your forces – if you play a static gunline, for example, the Knight Valiant is the perfect spearhead for your forces, advancing ahead while you hold the back of the board. By the same token, if you play an assault-based army, consider having the Knight Castellan take point on your home objective and supporting you at range.
If you’re a pure Imperial Knights player, both Dominus-class Knights have a strong niche in your force – rather than picking one to suit your army, we’d suggest grabbing your favourite model and building the rest of the army around them.
