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I really can't get my head around Formations and Detachments.

I want to know, if I take a Space Marine Gladius Strike Force with an Allied Detachment of Imperial Knights is that legal? Will I lose any special rules etc?

If it is illegal, how exactly can I field marine formations with IK allies?

Thanks!!

You can take any amount of Formations and they are completely separate from the others. It's like they're two different armies that you control at the same time. You don't lose any rules in other Detachments. You also don't get extra rules from other Detachments.

Formations are basically a special kind of Detachment; they're typically more restrictive in terms of what you can include (needing specific units and occasionally specific wargear instead of just a number of Battlefield Roles).

As long as every model in your army is part of a Detchment or Formation, your army is Battle Forged and everybody gets all their special rules. If you have at least one model that isn't in any Formation or Detachment, then you're Unbound and Detachments lose their Command Benefit (is that the correct term?) rule.

Thanks guys, so just to clarify...

I can take a Space Marine Gladius Strike Force (this is the primary Detachment) which contains a Battle Demi-Company and a 10'th Company Task Force along side an Allied Detachment of Oathsworn Imperial Knights?

I was just worrying that as Knights aren't marines that the guys in the Gladius would be unbound.

That's not how it works. Is every model in a Detachment of one kind or another? The answer is yes, so it's Battleforged. Doesn't matter what the Detachments are, as long as every model is in one.