Games Workshop has revealed a new variant of the massive Questoris-pattern Imperial Knight kit, the Defender, armed with two massive anti-tank guns and protected by a void shield. This is the first new loyalist Knight kit for Warhammer 40k since the Castellan released way back in 2018.
GW revealed the new model on the Warhammer Community website on Monday, which will get new rules in the upcoming 10th edition Codex Imperial Knights. The firm hasn’t confirmed that the model will get rules for use in games of Horus Heresy as well as Warhammer 40k, but we expect it will – every other Knight can be used in both game systems.
The article also shows off the cover for the Imperial Knights’ new Warhammer 40k Codex, though it doesn’t update us on exactly when to expect it. The new Codex will feature four 40k detachments for the Knights, but no Combat Patrol. Instead it will have “an in-depth painting and heraldry guide”.
The Knight Defender has two new ranged weapons, the plasma executor and conversion bleam obliterator. Assuming the plasma executor is anything like the other plasma ordnance in the game, it will be a high powered blast weapon that can be overcharged charge for extra Strength, AP, and Damage, at the expense of becoming Hazardous; a good all-purpose elite infantry killer and vehicle mangler.
The conversion beam obliterator is a different beast. Conversion weapons have a low number of attacks, high Strength, middling AP, good Damage, and Sustained Hits D3. They also have the unique 40k ability Conversion, which lets them score Critical Hits on a 4+ against targets at over half of the weapon’s maximum range. It’s basically the reverse of Rapid Fire.
Instead of a carapace weapon, the Knight Defender has its own void shield generator. This provides “even greater protection than the usual ion shields in a flickering dome that can envelop other nearby allies”. If this works like the Void Shield Generator terrain piece, this should grant a 4+ invulnerable save against ranged attacks to friendly models wholly within six inches of the Defender.
The Imperial Knights are one of the most distinctive Warhammer 40k factions, fielding a small number of centerpiece models that each cost as much (in money and in points) as a 40k Combat Patrol for any other army. This new implement of destruction will make the Knights extremely hardy against other ranged forces, and is a natural backfield objective holder, but will choke a little when faced by enemy melee troops.
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Source: Wargamer
