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Hi guys, brand spanking new player about to dive into the world of 40K. Looking for a hobby and friends brought me into 40k. I'm super into Greyknights because of their background lore and the way they look! That unofficial Lord Inquisitor trailer made my cravings irresistible. So I went to check out some of the rules to make my army in meta (I guess?) and my mind kind of blew up on how to get started. Im on a very tiny budget so Ill have to buy everything slowly but I really have no idea where and how to get started.

Okay so if you're absolutely set on starting Grey Knights, here's a few ideas on how to start...

A) Decide on a paint scheme you like (this is important, find a paint scheme you like the looks of and gives it your own personal edge... For example I have Pink Gauss Necrons) once you've decided on the paint scheme get the paints and a couple of brushes (not sure if you're using a GW shop or a FLGS so which ever they have to offer) and a squad of your favourite looking squad. You're probably looking at £60-£80 (Based on the £37.50 Grey Knights Strike Squad + brushes and paints) You'll also need some tools for this to cut them off of the sprues (a side cutting plier and an exacto knife/ stanley knife & plastic glue... A couple of quid extra if you go to a local DIY shop. This is based on the idea you're just looking in starting slowly and taking in a small budget.

B) Same as above, paint scheme, brushes, tools, plastic glue... You'll need to get yourself the Big Rule Book on top of this to learn the rules of the game and the Codex of the Grey Knights...
Already you're looking at about £90/£100.. Then at the very minimum 2 squads of Grey Knights troops selection (Strike squad and Terminator squad) and an HQ choice (quite a few so won't list them) and you have yourself a basic CAD formation and then can compete in small games... But this way is going to set you back a fair bit

But remember to always buy stuff you like the looks of!

I just had the luck of coming into a large force of Grey Knights. I can't really speak with authority on what is the best/most optimal other than common consensus is Dreadknights are great. What has been helpful to me is that the Nemisis Strike Force, combined with the Elite nature of the Knights lets you start with a very compact Detachment that can get you into Grey Knights quickly, with minimal investment. You can get a feel for them as you play, without buying a huge amount of chaff units. If you are like me, each faction I play has a great many units that only see play in the most casual of games, because they seemed good before I had a chance to field them. So far mine have met with limited success, but have been very fun to play.


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You can't go wrong with a Librarian for an HQ and a squad of Terminator Troops to get started.

Welcome to the Ordo Malleus!

Grey Knights are a good army to start on a budget; everything costs vast amounts of points, we've got units with overlapping models to reconfigure your army between games, and we don't have that many units to experiment with. We've also got the Nemesis Strike Force detachment that's got lower base requirements (1 HQ, 1 Troops) than most armies' (1 HQ, 2 Troops). You'll need either two Terminator boxes (labeled either Terminators or Paladins, it's the same kit) or one and a PAGK box (labeled either Strike Squad, Interceptor Squad, Purgator Squad, or Purifier Squad, it's the same kit) to field a minimum army.

From a theoretical where-to-go-from-here perspective sticking with pure GK is technically possible but you'll probably have an easier time if you grab a few allies to plug the major holes in the army (very expensive jack-of-all-trades units, short range, mediocre anti-armour, lots of psychic dice and not a lot of useful powers), the Inquisition is the obvious choice since they're cheap, flexible, work everywhere, and can be built to do pretty much anything. There aren't many official models for the Inquisition and you've got functional carte blanche to build them out of spare parts (extra PAGK with alternate heads and a black paint job make decent Inquisitors, for instance).

Within the Grey Knights book you'll find that the differences between your units are fairly subtle; you'll probably end up gravitating towards Purifiers, Terminators, the Librarian, and Dreadknights as your core list elements.

But most of these are concerns for later. For right now focus on finding the rulebooks, a box each of Terminators and PAGK (you can sort of get away with building them however looks cool, avoid making too many models with falchions and make sure you've got only one heavy weapon (probably a psycannon) in the Strike squad and you'll be fine), and a game store to pop down to and ask for some learning games.

How do I make a Librarian model? I've been looking for a Librarian Model but I only see Specific Captains and Grand Masters. Do I just make one out of any random GK squad?

Use a Space Marine Terminator Librarian.

And just give it some Grey Knight armor and shoulders?

Also i find the dreadknight look a bit ridiculous. It looks like a terminator in another huge headless terminator suit. I just have really mixed feelings about it. Even though it seems like it's one of the more useful units, the appearance didn't seem like my cup of tea.

RaiGreySteel wrote:
And just give it some Grey Knight armor and shoulders?

Also i find the dreadknight look a bit ridiculous. It looks like a terminator in another huge headless terminator suit. I just have really mixed feelings about it. Even though it seems like it's one of the more useful units, the appearance didn't seem like my cup of tea.

You are like many people, then. It's a giant baby-carrier, but gosh-DARN is it good on the table.

First off, welcome to dakka!

I actually don't play Grey Knights, however they were my first army too so I can give a few tips.

Go with what looks cool, that is very important. If you don't love the army you are building then it is very hard to stay motivated.

Additionally, picking up a few paints that you think may be useful is definitely a great place to start, grab a few brushes while your at it and ask for a few tips from your fellow wargamers, as there are tons of different techniques and the such, and part of the fun of the hobby is sharing ideas with your friends and visa versa.

You can use the Space Marine Librarian model (found here: https://www.games-workshop.com/en-GB/Space-Marine-Terminator-Librarian-2014) and paint him like a grey knight.

There are a lot of directions you can go with Grey Knights, you can use a terminator heavy army if you think they look cooler, or you could do a power armoured army with lots of strike squads, purifiers, and purgation squads, etc etc. And although you said you don't like the dreadknights, you can do a big monster list with lots of dreadknights and land raiders and the such. And, since you're playing an army of the imperium, it would be very easy to incorporate other aspects of imperial armies into yours, using ally rules, however that is a bit more advanced, and definitely shouldn't be taken into account when you are first building an army.

Happy wargaming!
~Mikey

 gummyofallbears wrote:

And, since you're playing an army of the imperium, it would be very easy to incorporate other aspects of imperial armies into yours, using ally rules, however that is a bit more advanced, and definitely shouldn't be taken into account when you are first building an army.

Does it mean that I can include other SM chapters in my army as well? Or do I have to stick with Inquisition branches of forces such as the Deathwatch, Sisters of Battle and the Inquisition them selves? OR I can only use GK related units?



Also I know that I mentioned how the Dreadknights look's kind of weird and personally feels kind of unrealistic on how OP it is. (It literally has no extra protection for the person operating the dreadknight, Especially the head!!!)
but I do think that it somewhat makes my army feel like it's missing a giant walking warmachine.

I do know that Dreadnoughts can be used to fill that void but from what I read from the fluff (I hope that's how I use that term) about the GK, It seems like they rarely use Dreadnoughts and I don't even know if Dreadnoughts are something of great use for my army.

Maybe I'm thinking too much.. haha.
I should just try and focus on some Terminators first before I can focused on large warmachines.

 RaiGreySteel wrote:
Does it mean that I can include other SM chapters in my army as well? Or do I have to stick with Inquisition branches of forces such as the Deathwatch, Sisters of Battle and the Inquisition them selves? OR I can only use GK related units?

You can ally in most imperial units as Battle Brothers to plug gaps, but as mentioned previously, it's worth building your core force first before you consider expanding.

 RaiGreySteel wrote:
Also I know that I mentioned how the Dreadknights look's kind of weird and personally feels kind of unrealistic on how OP it is. (It literally has no extra protection for the person operating the dreadknight, Especially the head!!!)
but I do think that it somewhat makes my army feel like it's missing a giant walking warmachine.

I do know that Dreadnoughts can be used to fill that void but from what I read from the fluff (I hope that's how I use that term) about the GK, It seems like they rarely use Dreadnoughts and I don't even know if Dreadnoughts are something of great use for my army.

Maybe I'm thinking too much.. haha.
I should just try and focus on some Terminators first before I can focused on large warmachines.

Definitely get a dreadknight, or two. i will agree they look awful, but you can do some simple conversions to make them look much better

My two WIP dreadknights (there are MUCH better examples out there):

Some people are trying to be nice about DK, so I'll be honest instead.

Whether or not you like Dreadknights, if you are not going to buy them and use them don't bother playing the army. They are the core of the GK, without them you're going to have a very difficult time and get sick of playing losing games very quickly.

 troa wrote:
Some people are trying to be nice about DK, so I'll be honest instead.

Whether or not you like Dreadknights, if you are not going to buy them and use them don't bother playing the army. They are the core of the GK, without them you're going to have a very difficult time and get sick of playing losing games very quickly.

That applies at a competitive level. Not a casual level. So long as your opponents aren't complete butthats, you should be able to get good games even without Dreadknights.

 RaiGreySteel wrote:
How do I make a Librarian model? I've been looking for a Librarian Model but I only see Specific Captains and Grand Masters. Do I just make one out of any random GK squad?

All our ICs (who aren't Crowe) are in Terminator armour. Build a Terminator and give him a blue arm and you've pretty much got one.

(The major distinguishing factor of a normal Space Marine Librarian's armour over anyone else's is the psychic hood cowling behind the head, but all Grey Knight armour has that anyway)


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 troa wrote:
Some people are trying to be nice about DK, so I'll be honest instead.

Whether or not you like Dreadknights, if you are not going to buy them and use them don't bother playing the army. They are the core of the GK, without them you're going to have a very difficult time and get sick of playing losing games very quickly.

This is both true and false; it applies if you're playing pure GK in a fairly competitive setting, but if you mix in other armies and/or are playing in a laid-back meta you should be fine without them.


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 RaiGreySteel wrote:
...Does it mean that I can include other SM chapters in my army as well? Or do I have to stick with Inquisition branches of forces such as the Deathwatch, Sisters of Battle and the Inquisition them selves? OR I can only use GK related units?...

You're allowed any of the Armies of the Imperium, which is a pretty long list (Space Marines, Blood Angels, Dark Angels, Space Wolves, the Deathwatch, the Imperial Guard (Astra Militarum/Militarum Tempestus), Adepta Sororitas, the Cult Mechanicus, Skitarii, the Inquisition, Imperial Knights, and Assassins).

For practical purposes most Space Marines overlap too much with what the GK already do, your best options for allies give you inexpensive units and effective long-ranged firepower (Guard, Skitarii, and the Inquisition).

 D4V1D0 wrote:


My two WIP dreadknights (there are MUCH better examples out there):

Okay, they definitely look WAY better with some Dreadnought Chassis, it definitely feels more protective for the operator. I think I will give that a go!

 RaiGreySteel wrote:
Hi guys, brand spanking new player about to dive into the world of 40K. Looking for a hobby and friends brought me into 40k. I'm super into Greyknights because of their background lore and the way they look! That unofficial Lord Inquisitor trailer made my cravings irresistible. So I went to check out some of the rules to make my army in meta (I guess?) and my mind kind of blew up on how to get started. Im on a very tiny budget so Ill have to buy everything slowly but I really have no idea where and how to get started.

I personally think a DreadKnight is hard to beat as an inclusion in the force.

Obviously you will need Troops and unfortunately the Codex actually DOES make that decision harder than it appears. Most people prefer the Terminators for that role. They are also versatile as they can be used as Paladins once you start getting the hang of those.

I think HQ's are tough for Grey Knights. I use Castellan Crowe because I like playing a Purifier based army. Love the whole concept of them. But obviously the big man on campus is Kaldor Drago who is kind of a beast. He is who a lot of more competitive players tend to take but he's not cheap and also happens to be a Lord of War, requiring a very large investment in characters so.... Characters are tough on Grey Knights.

Just an FYI, you can make every GK TDA HQ out of the standard Grey Knight Terminator box set. All GK armor includes a built in Psychic Hood, which makes building a Librarian super easy, I prefer no helm and some guitar string for cables connecting his head to the hood. GM's are more ornate, BC's are less ornate, etc.. You can even build Draigo, if you bitz an appropriate Shield for him.

All Power Armor GKs except the Techmarine can be made from the PAGK sets. In my opinion, Interceptors are the best choice here. BroChamps and Crowe are super easy to build from this kits, too.

Nemesis DreadKnights catch a lot of flak over there looks versus their overwhelming need go be spammed. Personally, I love how they look yet only take two in my lists. A great thing you can do with them is build the exo-armor in a dynamic pose, then model the pilot to match the stance. It adds a sense of action to the model that improves the aesthetic greatly.

Avoid Dreadnoughts like the plague, until GW updates them to be half the price or changes them into Monstrous Creatures.

SJ

Dreadnoughts did get the FAQ fix to 4 attacks. That makes them less bad for sure.

They just need a Psycannon upgrade for an arm is all. I thought one of the IA provided that but I don't recall.

Slayer-Fan123 wrote:
Dreadnoughts did get the FAQ fix to 4 attacks. That makes them less bad for sure.

They just need a Psycannon upgrade for an arm is all. I thought one of the IA provided that but I don't recall.

Doesn't matter, they are still too expensive for their utility. Even at 100pts before upgrades, they will still be too expensive to take when NDKs exist. Now, if all DNs go MC, that's a different story.

SJ