Warhammer 40k Knights – Best Kits, Tactics & How to Start
Warhammer 40k Knights – Lore, Best Kits, Tactics & How to Start an Imperial Lance
Warhammer 40,000 Knights are towering engines of war piloted by noble scions who pledge oaths to the Emperor or the Omnissiah. On the tabletop, an Imperial Knights lance is a low‑model, high‑impact army that plays fast, hits brutally, and wins by controlling space with a few unstoppable centerpieces backed by swift Armiger‑class escorts. In this guide, we cover who the Knights are, the best kits to buy first, list‑building concepts, and painting/magnetizing tips—so you can stride onto the battlefield like a true High Scion.
Who Are the Imperial Knights?
Imperial Knights descend from feudal warrior houses that settled distant colony worlds during humanity’s early expansion. Each Knight pilot—called a scion—is bound to a Throne Mechanicum, a psycho‑reactive throne that links mind and engine into a single will. Households swear fealty either to the Imperium proper (Questor Imperialis) or to the Adeptus Mechanicus (Questor Mechanicus), shaping heraldry, oaths, and battlefield customs.
Knights fight as part of a Household (formal banners, traditions, and crusades) or as Freeblades—lone wanderers bearing personal quests and eccentric wargear. Famous Imperialis houses include Terryn and Hawkshroud; Mechanicus‑aligned houses include Taranis and Raven. Whether as dutiful vassals or grim ronin, Knights are the Imperium’s answer to enemy titans, xenos monstrosities, and heretic war machines.
Daring Deeds from the Knightly Chronicles
- The Bridge of Dawn: A pair of Questoris Knights held a hive‑city causeway alone through the night, dueling enemy walkers at dawn to keep evacuation columns moving.
- Red Sand Oath: Mechanicus House lancers charged a traitor titan across a dust storm, their ion shields flaring as they pierced the reactor cowling and brought the engine down in a single tilt.
- Freeblade’s Vow: A solitary Freeblade hunted a brood‑nest for seven moons, slaying the synaptic apex with a point‑blank thermal strike that collapsed the entire front.
Imperial Knight Chassis – What’s What
Imperial Knights fall into three practical size classes. Knowing what each does helps you buy smart and plan your lance.
Armiger‑Class (Escort Knights)
- Armiger Warglaive: Fast skirmisher with a thermal spear or melta‑style lance and chain‑cleaver. Excellent at trading up into vehicles and monsters and at bullying mid‑board.
- Armiger Helverin: Mobile fire support with twin long‑barrel autocannons. Great at stripping light armor, punishing infantry in the open, and screening flanks.
Why they matter: Armigers win missions. They’re quick, relatively cheap, and can leap onto objectives while the big Knights pin the enemy in place.
Questoris‑Class (Core Battle Knights)
- Paladin/Errant: Classic battle‑knight loadouts—battle cannon vs. thermal cannon—backed by a reaper chainsword or thunderstrike gauntlet.
- Warden/Gallant: Warden blends heavy shooting with a hard melee arm; Gallant doubles down on close combat and board control.
- Crusader: Long‑range gun platform with paired heavy weapons—your anchor for lanes and overwatch control.
- Preceptor: Command‑oriented Knight that synergizes especially well with Armigers, guiding their guns and charges.
Why they matter: Questoris frames are the backbone—enough wounds to hold ground, enough guns (or blades) to flip combats, and often the “buff engine” that elevates your Armigers.
Dominus‑Class (Super‑Heavy Knights)
- Castellan: Tank‑buster and horde‑burner with titanic ranged weapons; ideal into gunlines and monster mash metas.
- Valiant: Close‑range brawler with harpoon and conflagration cannon—devastating at mid board if you can deliver it safely.
Why they matter: A Dominus dictates the flow of the game. Even when it isn’t firing, the threat of its guns—or a Valiant’s board‑control template—forces suboptimal enemy movement.
How Imperial Knights Play (Edition‑Agnostic Fundamentals)
- Control with mass and reach: A 13‑story robot parked on an objective is hard to shift. Use big Knights to anchor lanes; let Armigers sweep side objectives and cut off counter‑attacks.
- Trade up: Every activation should delete or cripple something worth more than what you risk. Knights have low unit count—make every shot count and avoid splitting fire unless it secures a mission breakpoint.
- Layer threats: Pair a long‑range Crusader or Castellan with fast Armigers. Present two problems on opposite flanks so the opponent can’t solve both in time.
- Angle your hulls: Rotate to deny charges on key arcs, block deep‑strike landing zones, and create “walls” that protect your escorts.
- Time the push: Knights win games with a turn‑3/4 surge—clear a lane, step onto their primary, and never step off.
Buying Guide – Best First Kits & Smart Upgrades
If You’re New (Start Here)
- Questoris Knight kit (build as Paladin, Errant, Warden, Gallant, Crusader, or Preceptor). It’s the most flexible box and the easiest to magnetize.
- Armiger Warglaive/Helverin pair. One of each gives you melee punch and mobile fire support.
- Second Questoris. Use this to complement your first: if you built a gun Knight, add a melee or command variant and vice‑versa.
If You Already Own a Core (Power Up)
- Add a Dominus (Castellan/Valiant) when your meta rewards extreme range or brutal mid‑board denial.
- Third & fourth Armigers to play the mission more aggressively and to trade screens without exposing your anchors.
- Character/Freeblade conversion for narrative play—crest swaps, reliquaries, and extra scrollwork instantly read as “hero Knight.”
Sample Lance Concepts (No Points Required)
“Anvil & Talons” (Balanced)
- Crusader (long‑range anchor)
- Warden or Paladin (mid‑board bully)
- 2× Armigers (Warglaive + Helverin)
Plan: Anchor a firing lane with the Crusader; the Warden/Paladin takes the center; Armigers peel screens and flip side objectives.
“Spearhead” (Aggression)
- Gallant (frontline charger)
- Errant or Preceptor (support/pressure)
- 2–3× Armigers (mostly Warglaives)
Plan: Hit hard on one flank, trap the enemy against the board edge, and let Armigers finish stragglers while the big Knights park on primaries.
“Guns & Roses” (Firepower)
- Castellan (apex shooting)
- Crusader or Warden (secondary fire lane)
- 2× Helverins (mobile gun escorts)
Plan: Force the opponent to cross a killing field. Helverins chase light armor; big Knights delete the lynchpin unit each turn.
Magnetizing & Modeling Tips (Save Money, Gain Options)
- Questoris Arms: 5×2 mm or 6×2 mm round magnets in shoulder sockets let you swap battle‑cannon/thermal/avenger and melee arms. Keep polarity consistent—mark one “master” magnet and mirror it.
- Carapace & Faceplates: Smaller 3×1 mm magnets work for missile pods, faceplates, and ion‑shield emblems.
- Armigers: 3×2 mm magnets at the elbow and shoulder let you switch between Warglaive and Helverin builds across a pair of kits.
- Pinning heavy stances: A short brass rod through one foot into the base keeps dynamic lunges stable for transport.
Painting Knights – Big Surfaces, Big Payoff
Fast, Readable Knight Scheme
- Prime & Zenithal: Prime dark; dust from above with light neutral to pre‑shade plates.
- Panels: Two smooth coats of your house color; panel line with a slightly darker tone to frame each plate.
- Trim: Gold/brass + a brown wash; a tiny silver edge on upper ridges makes the metal pop.
- Heraldry: Freehand the house sigil on one pauldron; add campaign chevrons or kill stripes on the other.
- Weathering: Sponge chips (dark brown), then a smaller bright‑metal chip inside the largest marks; powder pigments on feet and lower greaves to match your base.
Photography‑Ready Details
- Lenses & viewports: Bright spot color (turquoise/red) with a tiny white specular dot.
- Glow effects: Subtle OSL on plasma/thermal vents; keep it restrained so it doesn’t overpower the heraldry.
- Basing: Rubble, hazard stripes, and spent casings sell scale in photos and store displays.
Common Knight Mistakes (and Easy Fixes)
- Over‑extending the anvil: Marching your biggest Knight into their whole army invites a dogpile. Fix: push with Armigers first; counter‑charge with the big frame.
- Splitting fire without purpose: Half‑measures leave two units alive. Fix: focus a priority threat each turn unless splitting directly wins a mission point swing.
- Ignoring mission play: Knights don’t auto‑win on kills. Fix: dedicate at least one Armiger to objective flips and late‑game steals.
- Poor hull angles: Side‑on Knights give enemies short charges. Fix: angle to deny base contact and to block deep‑strike landings behind you.
Image Suggestions
- Hero banner: Questoris Knight striding down a ruined avenue with two Armigers flanking.
- Loadout grid: Crusader, Gallant, Paladin/Errant, Warden, Preceptor with captions.
- Escort action: Helverins screening a Castellan while Warglaives sprint to a side objective.
Link to Shop
Build your lance with Questoris, Dominus, and Armigers from our Imperial Knights collection.
FAQs – Warhammer 40k Knights (tap + to expand)
Imperial Knights swear oaths to the Imperium or Mechanicus and bear noble heraldry; Chaos Knights are traitor houses corrupted by the Dark Gods, trading honour for dread powers. This guide focuses on Imperial Knights.
A practical first lance is 1 big Knight (Questoris) + 2 Armigers. From there, add another Questoris or a Dominus and a third/fourth Armiger to play missions comfortably.
Yes. Low model count means faster building and painting, and on the table they reward clear target priority and movement fundamentals.
Start with a Questoris for flexibility and easier magnetizing. Add a Dominus if your local meta rewards extreme range (Castellan) or mid‑board area denial (Valiant).
Armigers capture/flip objectives, screen big Knights, and pick off light vehicles. Their speed and numbers make the mission math work while your anchors do the heavy lifting.
Absolutely. Freeblades are lone Knights with personal quests—great for narrative play and unique paint schemes.
Zenithal undercoat, smooth two‑coat color, crisp panel lining, and restrained sponge chipping. Keep heraldry clean—the eye should go to sigils and faceplates first.