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Hey all!

So after a long hiatus I'm getting back into 40k, and finally putting together several Imperial Knights I had bought but never assembled. Before I stopped playing, I had my tentative lists all planned out for each point level, but with the new codex, three new Imperial Knight variants and a slew of wargear and relic options, I'm feeling like I'm in a bit over my head. On the one hand I'm really glad that Knights have gotten more flexible cost options, but on the other hand I have NO idea where to even begin list building with all these new options and carapace weapons. On top of that, I will almost definitely need to get some of these new variants, but again, I haven't played with or against them at all.

Here is what I currently have:

- Cerastus Knight Acheron

- Cerastus Knight Lancer

- Knight Errant/Gerantius (stock)

- One unbuilt Imperial Knight able to be configured as an Errant or a Paladin.

My FLGS is mostly running 1500 pt games currently, which means what I've got is plenty to field a pure knight list. But the point value will go up, and I'll need more knights, but being as expensive as they are, I'd really hate to build one (or several) in combinations that are just not good or that I'll never end up using. For reference, I'll most likely run my Acheron as my Warlord (for fluff purposes), and I've currently got the new Cerastus Atrapos on order for killing other knights. So what should I work on next? Is it even worth building a stock paladin/errant now? Should I get a Gallant or a Crusader, or is that unnecessary with an Acheron/Atrapos? Just looking for a little direction as to what is good and where I should go with this next. Thanks!

In my experience playing against them, the Paladin and Warden [Battle Cannon / Gattling Gun] versions seem to be the most useful.

The Pally can take the Krak-Missile piece, with a Meltagun, and have use as a MEQ / Medium Vehicle Killer.

The Warden can take the Sky-Cannon piece, to be useful as an AA platform. A dozen shots at a flyer should net a couple of hits, plus a hit or two from the Skycannons, you should put an HP or two on a flyer per turn.

Of course, everything can split-fire, effectively, so you could also mix and match.

I don't know about the Cerastus Knights, but I think a core of Pally / Wardens would be the best bet.

Wardens, really? That's interesting, from what I've read (which is admittedly little) it seemed like people were preferring Gallants and Crusaders over the Warden. But that S6 AP3 Heavy12/Rending is looking better and better.

I think, since I will have a well-equipped melee presence with the Acheron/Lancer/Atrapos, I may get the new kit and magnetize the arm so I can swap out between a Warden and a Crusader at will.

I haven't played with all the versions but think the usefulness of the Warden would depend on how many other superheavies/gargantuans you see in your meta. Stomps are enought to deal with most melee opponents so you only really need the D against the big stuff. Of course it is 5pts more expensive and doesn't have a cool sword

A point on the new kit, you can happily make a Carapace Missile Launcher and the Anti-air gun out of one kit and they just drop into the hole that's on the top of the knight body. SO one new kit and you get options for all your knights.

If you have a Lancer, don't bother with a Gallant.

Gallant doesn't have the 4++ in CC, and is harder to get across the field than the Lancer. The Thunderstrike Gauntlet throws are fun, but rarely as effective as a standard Initiative weapon.

I would suggest putting your unbuilt into the Paladin for MEQ/Medium AV, and buying a crusader for extra long range support/AA or a warden for AA/potential CC.

Crusader is the stronger choice though.

The Reaper is Strength D, which all but guarantees death, but the Knight is S10 and most of your kills comes from stomps anyways.

Make sure you put the Ironstorm Missle Pod on the Paladin and Crusader to make the most of the range on their battle cannons, and the Errant/Warden gets the Stormspear or Icarus Autocannon depending on how much AA you'll think you need.

@WidomLS: Since I haven't played for a while I'm not 100% sure on the meta, but just from looking at some snaps of recent 40k days, it looks like Knights are more common than I would have hoped, which leads me to believe that having some dedicated titan-killers on deck will be good. The Acheron's Chainfist, Lancer's Lance, and the Atrapos in general should be pretty good at tearing them up.

That's a good point about the carapace weapons though, if I even get a single kit I should have enough carapace weapons for a while.

@Mantorok: That's a good point, and as I said to WisdomLS, I have other knights that will do me better in melee, so I may opt for the Crusader/Warden route instead of a Gallant. I think I will build the second knight into a paladin, and perhaps magnetize the arm so that I can run it as a Warden/Crusader/Paladin as needed

The Paladin is a great general all purpose knight.

The Warden is similar to a Paladin, but a bit shorter range and a more reliable weapon against fliers. In fact I like the warden better than the paladin in most of my lists. That big gun doesn't scatter so in many ways it is more reliable imho.

The Errant is good at tearing up the high av vehicles, and really he is a budget option. If you can afford the Atrapos, there is no reason to take an errant imho. The Atrapos does a MUCH better job at tearing apart vehicles AND super heavies/gargantuan creatures while being more durable. On the Atrapos ALWAYS take the Occular Augmetics.

The Castigator is an excellent can opener for low av vehicles and decimates hordes.

The Crusader is good at fire support and filling gaps in what you need to cover. If you take a Crusader your really don't need a Warden, and I find the battle cannon is often more useful than the thermal cannon.

The Acheron is a great horde killer and pairs well with longer range knights like the Crusader, but I prefer the Castigator myself.

The Lancer is what the Gallant wishes it was. The Lancer is good against TEQ/MC and decent against MEQ/light vehicles. Gallants imho are for when you want another knight and can't afford any of the others. I don't much care for Gallants though I think they look awesome. They are just outclassed by both the Lancer and the Atrapos. Last I heard the Sanctuary relic stacked with the Lancer's shield.

The Magaera is good against MEQ and okay against Light vehicles/Light infantry/Heavy infantry.

I think a good 3 knight base to build off of would be a Crusader, Atrapos, and a Castigator. You would probably want the Atrapos to be the warlord. And if possible take the Mark of Omnissiah for a second roll to regain HP.

Lancers, Crusaders, Acherons, and Atraposes (Atraposies?) all make great Warlord choices.

I find the table here useful for deciding what I need https://www.frontlinegaming.org/2015/05/31/imperial-knights-7e-making-a-knight-primary-army/

That table is quite useful. Even if it is Missing the Atrapos.

Oh, and The Stormspear is almost always the best choice.