It's been a bit since we've had a review but we're back and our usual flair is still here. Not only that, but today we have the princes of the battlefields themselves, the Imperial Knights as part of the review! First up, thank you to Games Workshop for sending free review copies so we can show off the upcoming awesome. One model in particular for this review doesn't have rule available to us at the time of writing, so please be aware things may differ once full rules come out, and we'll start with that one:
It's a plane? It's a bird! It's Aethon Shaan. (Really, Shadow, you gotta go there?) The Chapter Master of the Raven Guard "struts his stuff" so to say with this brand-new character, model-wise, from GW. While some of the TOC staff feel it's overdone aesthetically for the sons of Corax, there is ZERO doubt that this is a gorgeous model and well sculpted.
Replete with lightning claws, because what else are the Raven Guard going to put on their best, Shaan has a helmet reminiscent of Mk. VI Corvus without being Mk. VI, and a pair of greaves to match that modified aesthetic. And look at that chest plastron! This ranks up there as one of the most unique looking of the newest Space Marine models of late.
How does he stack up against Knights and Titans in a way to augment the Raven Guard's ability to fight them? Well, not really. He gives a unit he's attached to Rapid Ingress and Heroic Intervention for 0 CP allowing one unit to get stuck in against the battlefield gods sooner. However, as these units are going to be assault oriented, they often aren't striking with the power needed to do more than tarpit something.
Lost to the warp for far too long and then subjected to quite a lot upon his return, Darnath Lysander has made a bit of a career of the impossible. Short of a Primarch, Captain Lysander of the Imperial Fists has the most impressive anti-Titan record among all Adeptus Astartes and in the lore has quite the repertoire of tactics for doing so and even had rules for such things in older Apocalypse editions. Brought into glorious plastic, this upscaled version of the venerable captain is a real treat. There's nothing not to like, especially seeing the Fist of Dorn and the shield, Rampart, brought up to date.
For the Marine who has plenty of Titan kills under his belt, how does he augment the Fists to take them down in game? There were no updated rules in the kit or any mention of changes on Warhammer-Community, so we can assume that there is no change. Inspiring Commander is good for holding objectives, but it's not the key thing Lysander brings when fighting the big-bads of the battlefield. Rampart allows him to, once per game, have a 2+ invulnerable save, so you can imagine the Belicosa shot tanking shenanigans on that one turn if he was being shot at. It's still situational and only affects Lysander.
Icon of Obstinacy is what makes him dangerous. The ability for him to be attached to Terminator units and subtract 1 from the wound roll against them makes Knights and Titans less effective when attacking that unit. That, in turn, buys them more time to get in and begin wrecking face. A unit of 10 Assault Terminators with thunder hammers? Even Titans will be paying attention - and then the Fist of Dorn adds a tiny bit extra on top of it. Knights and Titans beware if Lysander is attached to that kind of unit.
We know why you're here. Barons and Baronesses, the Imperial Knights have arrived with the brand new Knight Defender! The box builds the classics you know and love, with exception to Canis Rex and the Knight Preceptor, and gives you a sprue for the Knight Defender. A plasma executor and a conversion beam obliterator? Yes, please.
A plasma weapon with 36" range and 4-9 shots is a pretty nice touch and will do a hefty amount of damage at S8 and 2 damage each. Paired with its conversion beam, also at 36", this is a weapon that prefers to be at long-range when compared to its thermal cannon counterpart. Three attacks at S12 doing 4 damage each is no joke and will certainly have other Knights and even Titans paying attention when this weapon draws near. And it makes for a dang cool looking tabletop piece!
And that shield generator? 4+ invulnerable that can be used to help its allies as well.
We'll do a more in-depth review of the full Knights codex at a later time - suffice it to say there is a good amount of lore in this book, painting guides, and updated rules that make individual Knights more painful and less reliant specifically on Bondsmen for force buffs.
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