Chaos Knight

I challenge thee, loyalist scum!

"How can you still count yourself a knight, when you have forsaken every vow you ever swore?"

– George R. R. Martin, A Clash of Kings

Chaos Knights (sometimes known as Daemon Knights) are the eviler and spikier counterparts of the Imperial Knights. Due to the greatest hangover since the Age of Strife called the Horus Heresy, many Knight Households have fallen to Chaos over the centuries. Their crews have long since died but their souls have fused with Daemons, floating within shells of their war machines. The Knights themselves have mutated, spouting claws, flails, and other chaotic weapons. Unfortunately, when the pilots were still alive inside, the echoes of their ancestors start to scream and shout against them, scolding them for the betrayal of their oaths and their dishonourable path. As you can guess, hearing your grandpa calling you a traitor, scum, beardling and oathbreaker can make your sanity a little twitching and unstable.

Certain members of the Ordo Malleus Inquisition maintain extensive records of the names and deeds of the Chaos Knights, cataloguing their many crimes, recording their blasphemous heraldry and tracing their lines in the same manner a savant-of-arms of the Terran Chambers Pursuivant might meticulously record those of an Imperial Knight Household. Why the Inquisition has a slight obsession cataloguing the history of these traitors is unknown. Though they are few, the very existence of Chaos Knights is a nigh indelible stain on the honour of the Knight Houses and upon the entire Imperium. Therefore most loyalist Knights vow to hunt these turncoats until they surrender and meet their demise through the face of a Autocannon barrel. Most appear to be the fallen scions of the Knight Houses, often Freeblades who have trodden the path of war overlong and heeded the ever-present call of the Ruinous Powers. Others, it is whispered, belong to entire fallen Households, either ones who sided with the Warmaster during the Horus Heresy and exist still, ones which have strayed since, or even Houses never brought into the Imperial fold and hailing from unknown Knight Worlds far beyond the rule of Terra.

They can be broadly classified into three groups:

• Iconoclast Houses, whose monstrous oaths to the Dark Gods have turned them into twisted mockeries of their former selves;
• Infernal Houses, pledged to the Dark Mechanicus in exchange for unnatural power;
• Dreadblades, fallen Freeblades and other individual Knights who turned to Chaos without taking their entire House with them.

Obviously, these are not to be confused with the Chaos Knights of Warhammer Fantasy, which are Chaos Warriors mounted on mutated steeds.

Houses

Iconoclast Houses

Probably the best known and most numerous of the Chaos Knight factions, these guys roughly correspond to the Imperial Houses of the regular Knights. They range from houses that followed traitorous causes out of loyalty to their oaths to power-hungry assholes and some downright weird cases like House Khymere.

• House Lucaris - Originally an Imperial Knight house whose homeworld Morda Prime was brought into compliance by Horus. During the Horus Heresy, they fought alongside the Traitors because of their vows to Horus. Even after the Warmaster was killed, House Lucaris kept the oath and continued to fight against the Imperium. They went as far as cutting ties with the Black Legion, whom they thought have betrayed Horus; though in recent centuries they have struck an alliance with Abbadon the Despoiler. Their colors are dark blue and red with gold trim.
• House Herpetrax - A Knight house which had only been discovered recently by Rogue Trader Cherris Draik (possible relative to the Rogue Trader character in Blackstone Fortress). They refused to submit to the Imperium and waged war to keep their independence. It turns out that over the millenia the house was approached by multiple individuals calling themselves the Emperor of Mankind, but none could match the mettle of House Herpetrax. House Herpetrax then said fuck all claims of sovereignty over humanity by the Emperor, and all would bow at their feet or be exterminated. It seemed that members of the House had been worshipping Chaos for a long time before being discovered. Their color scheme is olive green, tan, and black with gold trim.
• House Khymere - House Khymere is a Knight household that has only recently turned to Chaos. When the Great Rift opened, the Knights were seen fighting on behalf of Chaos. To stop their rampaging, the White Scars and Ultramarines attacked them, only to discover that they were still loyal to the Imperium. The nobles, appalled by the accusations, ventured into the Great Rift to prove their loyalty. The nobles all succumbed to the influence of Chaos on their crusade, and traveled back in time to become the very heretics they were initially accused of being. Their color scheme is dark red and black with brass trim.
• House Mandrakor - House Mandrakor sided with Horus during the Horus Heresy, yet for some reason never faced retribution for their actions after the Heresy ended. The nobles of the house destroyed all evidence of their betrayal and became very insular, fearing that the Imperium would come any day now. When the Imperium rediscovered House Mandrakor completely ignorant of their past betrayal, the nobles fought back fearing it was a ruse to draw them out. A few nobles of the house saw their rediscovery as a chance for redemption and managed to flee, now fighting as loyalist Freeblades. House Mandrakor is extremely inbred from years of internal politiking, to the point where their High King and High Queen are siblings. Their color scheme is orange, black, and cream with dark gold trim.
• House Devine - Molech was one of the earliest Knight Worlds to be brought into the Imperium, and unknown to all but the Emperor the planet concealed an ancient gateway to the Warp in its depths that he himself had (supposedly) used to gain his power. It had been assumed that a century of Imperial rule had stamped out the influence of the native cults of the serpent god, but when Horus assaulted the planet during the Heresy the second son of House Devine's High King betrayed his father and ultimately led the rest of his House into the clutches of Slaanesh (with a little help from Fulgrim). They were presumed destroyed in the Great Scouring, but rumor has it that a few of them still live. Their color scheme is maroon and purple with gold trim.
• House Ærthegn - A reaving band of Knights that was brought into the Imperium's fold by Horus after he personally slew the Chieftain of one band and subjugated the rest. Little is known about why House Ærthegn became the way they did other than that their original world was destroyed in an unknown calamity. Horus's attempts to civilize the house was largely unsuccessful, as the house only intensified their reaving ways and often dueled other loyalist houses and Freeblades to prove themselves to Horus and their Chieftain. All Horus did about this was to send Davinite Lodge Priests known as Crow Priests to the house which cemented their loyalty to Horus, although a few were spotted fighting for the loyalists during the Heresy. Their color scheme is black and red with silver trim.
• House Caesarean - House Caesarean was first formed to protect the colonists who settled on the moon of Octavia. Protected by warp storms throughout the system, the people of Octavia flourished and built many cities within the moon's jungles, and House Caesarean grew with them. What happened next is unclear, but a common thread in tales told by the families of House Caesarean is that the house awoke creatures locked by away by a long gone civilization that fucked everything up. When the Imperium rediscovered Octavia, the world was in constant warfare between tribal units of House Caesarean, the creatures themselves long dead. Though Octavia began to be rebuilt, the distrustful nature of the house led them to side with individual commanders rather than Horus or the Emperor specifically when the Horus Heresy broke out. To them, loyalty was earned on the battlefield and survival was all that mattered. Their color scheme is half black half yellow with silver trim.
• House Gotrith - House Gotrith was stuck in a bitter fight with Orks on their homeworld of Dallanar until the Imperium showed up and bailed them out. Though the Imperium helped rebuild the house's numbers, the scions of House Gotrith became bitter when the inhabitants of Dallanar started looking to the Emperor as their protector instead of them. The scions of House Gotrith spread themselves out amongst the Great Crusade looking to build a name for themselves, and soon garnered a reputation for bloody conquests that saw them relegated to guarding already conquered worlds. Unwilling to let others choose their fate, House Gotrith decided to side with Horus and tear down the Imperium, starting with the people of Dallanar for looking to the Emperor instead of them. Their color scheme is grey and red with brass trim.
• House Ioeden - House Ioeden once ruled over a dozen worlds until treachery from within toppled their empire and reduced them to raiders all vying for the position of High King. When the Emperor of Mankind arrived with the Great Crusade, he enticed them onto his side by promising to reunite their worlds and their house. The Emperor stayed true to his word, but he placed off-world foreigners in charge instead of House Ioeden. The bitter scions of House Ioeden sided with Horus to get their land back and united for the first time in millenia to butcher the loyalists on their worlds and rule with an iron fist. Yet House Ioeden would soon lose their worlds again as they were too busy fighting amongst themselves to properly defend them. Now exiled and reduced to raiding again, the scions of House Ioeden abandoned all pretenses of honor, fighting dirty and even dressing up as Knights from other loyalist houses. Their color scheme is purple and ultramarine blue with gold trim.
• House Oroborn - House Oroborn was once fiercely loyal to the Imperium after being rescued from the brink of extinction while fighting a war against xenos. Exactly why House Oroborn turned traitor is unknown, but it's believed the house was gripped with a sickness that had once been prophesied to be the house's undoing, a superstition that was thought to have been stamped out by the arrival of the Imperium. Having turned insular to avoid retribution from the Imperium, the house was apprached by agents of Horus who promised a cure in exchange for their loyalty to the Warmaster. Instead, the sickness only further corrupted the house and sealed their fate. Their color scheme is rusty black and white with sickly green trim.
• House Makabius - House Makabius won an 800-year long civil war on their homeworld of Baroda that left them the only Knight house on the world, and were forcefully brought into compliance by the Imperial Fists a few decades later. The house's decrepit state combined with the slow resupply from the Forge World of Mezoa meant that new Knight suits were fought over daily. The younger generation from the house often went Freeblade out of eagerness to join the Great Crusade. One of those Freeblades named Markan Hrotham earned the favor of Ezekyle Abaddon, and returned to Baroda to get the house loyal to Horus. With the help of the younger generation, Hrotham overthrew the old guard of the House and called everyone back to wait for Horus's call, culminating in a mini-Istvaan that left all the loyalists in the house dead. When the time came, House Makabius would never get the glory they desired as it was the Death Guard who came instead of Horus, stripping Baroda of all its resources and making House Makabius come with them on genocidal wars against the Imperium. Their color scheme is grey and cream with gold trim.

Infernal House

Rather than just allying with the Dark Mechanicus, as to mirror the loyalist Mechanicus houses, Infernal Houses also tend to ally themselves with daemons. Usually this would just mean bonding themselves and their knights to daemons, but there are those who are merely servants to a powerful daemon like with House Korvax.

• House Vextrix - Loyal servants of the Legio Mortis, House Vextrix followed their masters and turned traitor during the Horus Heresy. They still fight alongside the Legio Mortis today, while launching campaigns by themselves to recover hidden and heretical repositories of knowledge. Their color scheme is green and black with bronze trim.
• House Khomentis - Before their turn to Chaos, it was a custom for nobles of House Khometis to hunt giant beasts that lived on their homeworld Matarakh, believing that these animals were their spiritual guides for the nobles after being bonded with the Knights. Now they hunt Daemons, whom they deliberately allowed to possess their body. When a noble dies after housing a Daemon from too long, a small warp rift forms to allow even more Daemons to spill out for the nobles to hunt. Their color scheme is red and black with gold trim.
• House Morbidia - Once rivals of House Taranis and House Zavora, House Morbidia of Mars, also known as the Pact of Morbidia, was stripped of its position in the Mechanicum due to a crime they committed and forced into servitude "...until such times as the stars themselves burned cold." House Morbidia became the personal attack dog for the Fabricator-General, going after those who went against Mars' doctrines. Despite the loss of their freedom, they loved their new job and quickly gained a reputation for being merciless and having a lust for slaughter. When Legio Mortis rose up against the Imperium under the traitorous Fabricator-General Kelbor-Hal's call, they successfully swayed House Morbidia with the promise of freedom. Their color scheme is red and tan with dark silver trim.
• House Perdaxia - House Perdaxia served as a vassal household for Legio Fureans, and were fanatically loyal to them. The entire household repainted their colors to Legio Fureans colors, and they sacrificed themselves by the boatload to protect their masters during the Battle of Paramar V. Their color scheme is yellow with black flame patterns and black trim.
• House Mordred - Living on the Forge World of Incaladion along with Legio Fureans, House Mordred and Legio Fureans are bros to the end. This relationship was often presented with rituals and ceremonies that looked primitive to outsiders. House Mordred has a methodical and brutal way of warfare, destroying anyone who somehow survived an assult from Legio Fureans. To House Mordred, the concept of mercy is stupid as hell, and their uncompromising nature meant they had no trouble following Legio Fureans in betraying the Emperor. Their color scheme is Black and red with gold trim.
• House Korvax - During the Charadon Campaign, Be'lakor plunged House Raven's homeworld of Kolossi into an endless night, bringing forth madness and Daemons upon the whole planet. With 80% of House Raven away on deployment, the loyalist Knights on the planet did what they could to maintain order but were corrupted themselves by traitorous Sacristans who had tainted their Thrones Mechanicum. Despite the arrival of the Sisters of Battle and reinforcements from House Raven, the remaining loyalists were wiped out and Be'lakor succeeded in teleporting Kolossi (now Korvosi) to the other side of the galaxy, bringing the corrupted Knights with him. Their color scheme is black, tan, and red with brass trim.
• House Hyboras - House Hyboras lived on the volcanic world of Slestra, which was nearly uninhabitable save for powerful quadrupedal bioforms that could submerge in lava. The house's culture revolved around hunting these beasts, and ranking up meant beating your boss in a hunting game to take his job and send him back to the bottom ranking. After a failed invasion of the Forge World of Anvillus by the house, Legio Vulpa helped rebuild them in recognition for how ballsy they were and partnered up with them. When Legio Vulpa sided with Horus, House Hyboras was right behind them. Their color scheme is red and orange with dark silver trim.
• House Malinax - House Malinax was formed shortly after their home Forge World of Xana II was incorporated into the Imperium. Despite having a solid service record in the latter years of the Great Crusade and positive reviews from those they served alongside, House Malinax would garner a sinister reputation due to the mystery surrounding Xana II's true loyalties. When Xana II was caught working with both the Imperium and Horus, House Malinax went full traitor along with Xana II. Thanks to the size and power of Xana II, House Malinax had plentiful access to rare Knight patterns such as the Acastus Knight Porphyrion and Questoris Knight Magaera. Their color scheme is tan with black trim.
• House Atrax - House Atrax was missed by the Imperium and was instead rediscovered by the Forge World of Cyclothrathe, who blasted them into submission and stripped them of all independence through a harsh interpetation of the Sidon Protocols. This experience plus a purge of all their scions who even showed a hint of dissent left them a dour bunch. Locked underground their toxic homeworld of Arrian and kept seperate from their Knights under the threat of having all their Throne Mechanicums destroyed, House Atrax were only ever let out when Cyclothrathe needed them for wars of conquest. When Cyclothrathe sided with Horus, House Atrax was let out to wage war against the Imperium, taking revenge against those who hadn't suffered like they had and relishing their limited freedom. Their color scheme is black and red with gold trim.

Dreadblades

These guys are exactly what the name implies: individual Knights that went renegade or fell to Chaos without taking the rest of their House with them, whether because they're the last surviving member or because the rest of the House stayed loyal. Generally act like a kind of reverse-Freeblade, working as mercenaries, pursuing personal vendettas against the Imperium, or just randomly lashing out at everything in their path.

• Sire of Doom - The Knights of House Daitan were captured by the Dark Mechanicum and then subjected to inhuman torture. The Knights died one by one until they came to the last of them, Kiro. The Dark Mechanicum then sealed all the pain and despair Kiro's kinsmen experienced inside his machine, the Sire of Doom, turning both pilot and machine into a mindless engine of destruction.
• Incarnate Slaughter - House Merridon was wiped out by Hive Fleet Hydra, save for the Knight Valour Incarnate and its pilot Decima. Just as the Knight was deep in Tyranid bodies, it was spirited away though a Warp Rift. Now the Knight Rampager appears on battlefields where enough blood has been shed to form massive pools. Though it prefers to hunt down Tyranids whenever it can find them, it's definitely not averse to massacring any Imperials it runs across.
• The Gilded King - House Lyngor had a custom of adorning their Knights with escutcheons made out of gold. When the High Monarchs of House Lyngor fell to Chaos, the Knight Desecrator The Gilded King began killing every other Knight, stripping them of the golden escutcheons, then put them on themselves. The Gilded King continued its quest of exterminating every lifeform on its homeworld until today.
• Hope's Shroud - The Freeblade known as Hope's Shroud pledged allegiance to Goge Vandire during the Age of Apostasy and given the task of killing Sebastian Thor. When Goge Vandire was killed and Sebastian Thor took over, Hope's Shroud swore to kill every last Sororitas. He succeeded in killing the Canoness Superior of all six main Orders. Nowadays Hope's Shroud regularly fights alongside the Word Bearers, and might be drawing its pilots from the Traitor Legion.
• Hatred of Krastellan - House Hawkshroud, following the Heresy, gave whoever was the pilot of the Hatred of Krastellan the shittiest jobs - killing allies suspected of betrayal, punishing planets which could not fulfil their Imperial Tithes, purging civilian populations that chose the wrong side in civil wars, that sort of stuff. Eventually the spirits inhabiting Hatred of Krastellan could take no more and went batspit bonkers, declaring itself the true High Monarch of Krastellan and beginning its long descent into Chaos. After slaughtering an entire planet (a magos from Mezoa was convinced that Knights couldn't fall to Chaos and told them fighting it would be treason, causing their armed forces to lay down their arms even as it killed them), HoK ended up allying with the Company of Misery warband and sending a challenge to Sir Hekhtur the Chainbreaker to duel on a dead moon.
• Litany of Destruction - Once a pious if somewhat unhinged Freeblade called Living Litany, by unknown means the Knight turned to Chaos and became the Dreadblade Litany of Destruction, fighting alongside the Traitor Legions.

Chaos Variants

There was originally two known types of Chaos Knights, however in 2019 the Questoris Traitoris received some love from GW and got some new entirely unique Chaos Knight variants. They differ from the Imperial Knights in that they are allowed to get daemonic marks from the four Chaos Gods. If they choose Khorne they get the Daemon and Hatred (Daemons of Slaanesh) special rules. In addition, the Knight may re-roll the dice to determine the number of Stomps it makes as part of a Stomp attack, and it also gains +D3 attacks on any turn in which it successfully charges an enemy unit instead of +1 attack. A Daemon Knight of Khorne counts as a literal shredding machine of CQC rape and tear. If it is Nurgle they get the Daemon, Hatred (Daemons of Tzeentch) and It Will Not Die special rules. In addition, it counts as being a Daemon aligned with Nurgle, turning this thing into a gigantic bullet sponge and creating a fine distraction. If they pick Tzeentch, they get the Daemon and Hatred (Daemons of Nurgle) special rules. In addition, the Daemon Knight may re-roll all To Hit rolls of 1 and its heavy stubbers have the Soul Blaze special rule. This will then turn the Knight into a giant wall of guns and overwhelming firepower. Lastly if it choose Slaanesh they get the Daemon and Hatred (Daemons of Khorne) special rules. In addition, all models with a Leadership value in combat with this Daemon Knight at the start of the Fight sub-phase must pass a Leadership test with a -2 modifier or reduce their Initiative value to 1 for the duration of that Fight sub-phase. Or to put this shortly it makes your Knight so smexy and hawt that your enemies struggle to even gain a hit.

Chaos Knight War Dog

The chaos version of the Imperial Armiger Knights. Unlike the Armigers, the War Dogs are more like lone wolves, usually coming with one model rather than a pair of two. To compensate for the lower model count, the War Dogs can carry all of the weapons from both the Warglaive and Helverin Armigers, giving the War Dogs more choice, flexibility and adaptability than their loyalist counterparts. This of course, is only applicable to the Apocalypse rule set.

War Dogs are used much in the same way by Chaos Knights as the Imperial Warglaives and Helverins - they flush the enemy out of cover and lay down covering fire for their bigger cousins. While Armiger pilots receive orders from their lords (via the helm mechanicum) as powerful and basically irresistible suggestions that are infused with notions of heroism and nobility, War Dog pilots are given brutal orders using the same mental link. These pilots are treated like garbage and used as fodder and their superiors constantly remind them that they are weak and expendable. This makes War Dog pilots bitter and angry, always scheming behind the backs of their lords but never being able to do anything about it. In battle, their pent-up frustration is let loose and they revel in killing anything weaker than them - which means most infantry and tanks, as War Dogs tower over even the Dreadnoughts of the Space Marines.

War Dog Executioner

War Dog Executioner

Your bog-standard War Dog type. These are the types you see that are equipped with a Daemonbreath Spear, Heavy Stubbers, and Autocannons. Piloted by the most methodically cold and emotionless Fallen Nobles whose calm disposition is needed in order to hit their targets properly. Executioners are by far, one of the most common garden varieties of Chaos Knights from hell you will meet across the battlefields.

Crunch-wise, they are the Dakka-laden War Dog, equipped with a pair of Autocannons for crowd removal from afar. It's also got the option between either a Daemonbreath Meltagun (kinda conflicting when your autocannons work very far away) or a Heavy Stubber for lighter infantry. Like all War Dogs, they're fast but fragile (when compared to the larger Knights, anyway) units that can dish out some punishment.

Iconoclast War Dogs aka Executioners with autocannons will have a slightly easier time fighting off their assaulters compared to the more melee-focused brethren, while one of the two Infernal autocannons can become a respectable S8 AP-1 D4 death machine when you need it to be. Don't forget to grab a Knight Desecrator if you want to make the most of these puppies!

War Dog Huntsman

War Dog Huntsman

Your dedicated tank hunter. War Dog Huntsmans specialize in hunting down and slaying large enemies. To this end, they are equipped with a Daemonbreath Spears, a Thermal Spear, and a Reaper Chain-Cleaver. Huntsmans are by far, one of the most common garden variety of Chaos Knights from hell you will meet across the battlefields.

On the tabletop, they are your heretical Armiger Knight Warglaives, equipped with an evilly-named daemonbreath spear, meltagun and a reaper chain-cleaver so tanks can go and cry all they want. Of course, the issue with the meltagun comes to its minimal range, so you'd be better off just getting a heavy stubber so you're only worrying about the spear's optimal range.

Additionally, these War Dogs with the aforementioned reaper chain cleavers and daemonbreath spears benefit more from the Iconoclast ambition as it gives them extra attacks and makes them more of a threat to tarpits and horde units due to the Morale debuff. This is not to say Infernal War Dog Huntsman are bad per se - all of the Daemonic Surge effects are great for them. +2" Move and +1 to Advance and Charges allows them to get in melta range faster and get stuck in, while +1 Toughness makes them as tough as the bigger Despoilers. Finally making the Daemonbreath Spear S9 AP-4 Damage D6+1 (2D6 pick the highest +1 in half range) is quite crazy as well - it's a friggin' melta lascannon at that point.

War Dog Knight Karnivore

War Dog Karnivore

A new variant of War Dog with no clear Loyalist counterpart, the War Dog Karnivore specializes in melee attacks, with a Reaper Chaintalon and Slaughterclaw that can slice a Dreadnought in half. It (along with the other two new War Dog versions) can also bring along either a diabolus Heavy Stubber or a Havoc Missile Launcher.

Unburdened by ammunition stowage, the Karnivore’s impetuous spirit also gives it an extra burst of speed, so it won’t be left languishing in no man’s land and they can more quickly RIP AND TEAR.

It also looks like it is going for a furry convention with its giant wolf skull, but that could all be a coincidence.

On the tabletop, these are your zippy little murder engine, boosted to 14" movement. Not only do they have chainblades to handle either crowds or tanks, but they also have a slaughterclaw for a power fist-alike with Sx2 AP-3 D3+d3 to demolish knights. While you have havoc launchers here too, you're simply better served by picking up the heavy stubber, so you're not worrying about the LoS penalties and get 5 points back.

It should be noted that the the War Dog Karnivore, Brigand and Stalker as well as the Abominant all get the PTERRORSHADES keyword, which only works for certain stratagems and relics.

• 

War Dog Knight Stalker

War Dog Stalker

The Chaos equivalent to the Armiger Knight Warglaive; even more so than the War Dog Huntsman, equipped with either a tank-melting Daemonbreath Spear or an Avenger Chaincannon in addition to a melee weapon such as the aforementioned Reaper Chaintalon and Slaughterclaw.

The all-rounder of the War Dog series and the most balanced of the lot. They are piloted by the strongest-willed Nobles, often leading other packs into battle.

On the tabletop, these are the adaptable ones. Very well-balanced, flexible and cost-effective when it comes to dealing with various threats. Comes with the chaincannon and sword base, but can swap either out for a thermal spear and slaughterclaw respectfully. Your jack of all trades War dog. Can also replace their heavy stubby with a havoc launcher for fun.

It should be noted that the War Dog Stalker alongside the Brigand, Karnivore as well as the Abominant all get the PTERRORSHADES keyword, which only works for certain stratagems and relics.

War Dog Knight Brigand

War Dog Brigand

A fully shooty War Dog which skips out on the melee weapons for both the Avenger Chaincannon and the Daemonbreath Spear. This is the yin to the Karnivore's yang; it's the polar opposite really and the traitorous counterpart to the Armiger Knight Helverin and a counterpart to the equally shooty War Dog Executioner.

Because of both its ranged weapons and the weight of its ammunition. It is far more cautious than its Karnivore or even Stalker counterpart. Their pilots likewise are also enamoured with ranged killing and disdain close combat assaults.

In 9th Edition, the Brigands as aforementioned in the fluff, are your heretical Armiger Helverin, though not by much. Your Brigand comes with the thermal spear like the Huntsman and a chaincannon that's more than capable of handling most crowds with AP-2. You also get a havoc launcher that gives you some short-ranged bombardment as it doesn't require LoS to hit, but you'll be subject to any penalties for doing that. Unlike the Executioner which deals with slightly tougher opponents at long range and is therefore, much more consistent with their shots, the Brigans target the more squishier units to cleanse tarpitters.

It should be noted that the War Dog Brigand, Karnivore and Stalker as well as the Abominant all get the PTERRORSHADES keyword, which only works for certain stratagems and relics.

Chaos Knight Abhorrent

Better known as the Questoris-pattern knights

Chaos Knight Paladin (7E)

Chaos Knight Paladin

Similar to their more loyal counterparts in terms of looks and armory, Chaos Paladins are the vanilla of Traitorous Knights and come automatically with a Knight chainsword, a two-shot battle cannon and an extra heavy stubber. Meant to be used at longer ranges, Chaos Paladins help cover firing support towards the traitor legions by specifically targeting infantry and light armor. Chaos Paladins are super-heavy walkers that have a special Ion Shield that gives them a 4+ invulnerable save. The Chaos Paladin can take an additional Dirge Caster and is allowed to take a daemonic mark from any of the four Chaos Gods.

For all intents and purposes, Chaos Paladins function almost entirely the same as their loyalist counterparts. Of course, they differ greatly from the aforementioned favors of the Chaos Gods. For the Paladin specifically, it is preferable if you have a daemonic pact with Tzeentch as it compliments the long range DAKKA of the Knight Paladin specifically. Having your autocannon be able to re-roll all hit rolls of 1 is a significant boon against light armor and turning your mediocre heavy stubber into the more useful soul blaze is quite nifty in scoring a few more kills. Of course, if you are more inclined to preserve your DISTRACTION CARNIFEX as much as possible, you could have a pact with Nurgle. If you want to always attack first and fuck with the enemy moral if they ambush you with CQC, choose Slaanesh. However, Khorne maybe the least effective of the Chaos Gods as his buffs clash with the more well-rounded and balanced playstyle of the Paladin; you use the Paladins' autocannon and heavy stubber to provide fire support, only going in close with your chainsword to protect more vulnerable units from ambushes.

• 

  Chaos Paladin of Chaos Undivided. When you don't care what enemies you're fighting against, so long as you can watch the world burn

Chaos Knight Errant (7E)

Chaos Knight Errant

Another copy-pasta of the loyalist equivalents. Chaos Errants come with the standard issue Knight chainsword, a S9 Thermal Cannon with a large blast marker and an extra heavy stubber. They act as close combat dedicated tank destroyers as their heavier weaponry allows the Errant to breach enemy armor with relative ease. Chaos Errants like the Paladins are super-heavy walkers that have a special Ion Shield that gives them a 4+ invulnerable save. The Chaos Errants can take an additional Dirge Caster as well as take a daemonic mark from any of the four Chaos Gods.

For all intents and purposes, Chaos Errants function almost entirely the same as their loyalist counterparts. Of course, they differ greatly from the aforementioned favors of the Chaos Gods. For the Errant specifically, its more assault and close range/anti-tank nature means that it benefits more towards the pact of Khorne to deal with those pesky infantry. The ability to be able to re-roll the number of stomp attacks and the +D3 attacks on a successful charge (Which you will be using a lot off) would make this close range anti-tank walker SCARY. Of course, if you are more inclined to turn your DISTRACTION CARNIFEX into a giant Khornate Berserker that cannot die, you could have a pact with Nurgle. If you want to always attack first and fuck with the enemy moral if they ambush you when your busy dealing with tanks, choose Slaanesh. However, Tzeentch maybe the least effective of the Chaos Gods as his buffs to the heavy stubber is pointless and whilst his re-rolls of all hit rolls of 1 to the Thermal Cannon is nice and all, once that enemy tank is within range of your gigantic chainsword, the re-roll to hit rolls becomes almost window dressing.

• 

  Iron Warriors Chaos Errant by Jared 656.

• 

  Chaos Errant of Khorne. For when you want to fight for Khorne but also need to avoid the blood ruining your paint job.

Chaos Knight Rampager

Chaos Knight Rampager

The Chaos Knight Rampager is the eviler counterpart to the Knight Gallant (Seriously, that Chainsword and Warpstrike Claw is not that subtle). This is an entirely CQC orientated Chaos Knight, more so than the Chaos Knight Errant. The fact that its 'helmet' looks like those of an NFL Footballer may or may not be intentional (Seriously it looks more at home in Blood Bowl than it does 40k).

Knight Rampagers fluff wise, are -true to their name- basically Khorne Berserkers in Knight-form. Oh yes, Khornate players rejoice because this monster is going to tear several unfortunate vehicles a new asshole. In this regard, they act more like giant beasts or Daemon Engines rather than the actual 'Noble Demon' characterization of the Knight Desecrator; storming into battle howling rather than speaking in Middle English. They charge full tilt toward the foe with no thought for their own defense.

Due to their (lack of) character, these Knights are often dropped from a low-flying hauler directly into the fighting of a war zone. Other times they are teleported from within Adamantium cages aboard orbiting war ships, or even transported to the front lines chained into transporters that bind them like armored straight jackets until it is time for them to be unleashed. Sometimes the raving war engine has broken free of its restraints en route to the front, and wrought mayhem among its allies. As damaging and scary as a regular Khornate Berserker is, imagine one the size of a two-story building. Bricks will be shat.

Crunchwise, these are your classic brawlers, they are extremely damaging in close combat and, unlike the Desecrator which is a more balanced duelist, the Rampagers are just there to Leeroy Jenkins their way through the soft and juicy parts of any army play list and let it rip. Suffice to say, short of another CQC supheavy walker or a Primarch and some Assault Terminators, Rampagers are going to make for an excellent and pants-shitisfying DISTRACTION CARNIFEX.

Chaos Knight Desecrator

Chaos Knight Desecrator

In contrast to the Rampager, Knights Desecrator possess potent mid- to close-range armaments that lend themselves toward duelling enemy war engines or monstrous beasts, or tearing down the foe's Fortifications. Armed with a laser destructor, it packs a considerable punch at considerable range. There was some confusion between the Desecrator and the Despoiler due to the fact that GW used the same knight image for both the Desecrator and Despoiler. Thankfully, the Codex: Chaos Knights dispelled this confusion and confirmed that, yes, they are indeed two different patterns.

In terms of the fluff, Desecrators are all cruel despots, well disposed to imposing their tyrannical will upon others and no different than a normal Chaos Lord for that matter. For all intents and purposes, these guys are the ones that treat their War Dog underlings like utter shit the same way a Chaos Lord view his Cultist underlings with the same affection as one views a Snotling. Essentially, they are Dicks. Contrast this to the Despoiler who couldn't give two flying fucks stepping on the little ones and go their own merry way unless someone challenges them for rightful heir in their households. They are also exceptionally trigger happy if you want to know.

On tabletop, these are one of your vanilla Chaos Knights. The longer ranged version of the Knight Errant - both loyalist and traitor - the Knight Desecrator is your short-to-long ranged anti-tank option despite what fluff dictates it being short-to-mid ranged. Trust us, laser destructors are anything but short ranged. As such, these Knights offer an excellent and extremely flexible unit for any Chaos army. The only thing it is vulnerable against is being tarpitted, but then again, that's where the Rampager comes in.

Chaos Knight Despoiler

Chaos Knight Despoiler

Not to be confused with another Despoiler. although this Despoiler is less of a fuckup and probably HAS a much better career in GETTING SHIT DONE! than that armless failure.

A unique variant, the Knight Despoiler is very adaptable ranged and/or close-combat anti-tank walker in contrast to the specialized CQC Knight Rampager. While it comes stock standard with close combat weapons such as the Reaper Chainsword and Warpstrike Claw, the Knight Despoiler can gain access to a wide and we mean WIDE range of anti-tank and anti-infantry weapons, from an Avenger Gatling Cannon, Rapid-fire Battle Cannon all the way to a Thermal Cannon. This makes the Knight Despoiler exceptionally customizable and adaptable superheavy weapons platform. In addition to gaining access to ALL the Questoris-class weapons of the different Imperial variants, Knights Despoilers can double up on the same gun too! Being free from the shackles of the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Sacristan Orders allows Knights Despoiler to wreak havoc and GET SHIT DONE! In the fluff, the choice of weaponry reflects the noble pilots preferance and his condition too. Without the help of their sacristans, some nobles find that weapons more complex than rapid-fire battle cannons are almost impossible to maintain and so stick to to these. Other nobles just really like the sound of gatling good and strap two Avenger gatling cannons to their knight. Whatever the case, most of the knights in any Iconoclast or Infernal household will be Despoilers armed to the teeth and ready to leave a trail of destruction behind them.

Before the brand-spanking-new Chaos Knights codex, the most popular loadout was 2 Avenger gatling cannons with either an Ironstorm Missile Pod or Stormspear Rocket Pod. Due to some point changes, there's some competition for the Dakka knight of Doom now. Doubling up on guns is still a good idea, but the new, cheaper Thermal Cannons are a lot more enticing and double RFBCs are not bad by any means either (dat range doe). There's also something to be said about hybrid loadouts - Infernals for example can only boost one of their ranged weapons with Daemonic Power, so if you want 'supercharged' Avenger shots on the cheap, you could grab a melee weapon instead of a second gun and be slightly better against heavy tanks and the like.

• 

  Despoiler Art

Chaos Knight Abominant

Chaos Knight Abominant

In a hilariously ironic twist, GeeDubs have given Chaos the honour of the second faction to own a psychic Titan equivalent. Before the Eldar could, which, you know, HAD a psychic titan back in Epic.

Nevertheless, this is a type of psychic Chaos Knight that has apparently rolled a 5-star on its Gacha fortunes and has gotten itself a cache of archaeotech, since its main gun is a Volkite Combustor. The Electroscourge and Balemace on its other arm and tail respectively, makes it no less dangerous in melee, and because it is psychic, it is bound to have some broken as fuck psychic powers.

On the tabletop, these giant money sinker is the big new showpiece of 9E, a psychic knight with a surprisingly intact volkite combustor that, while not too effective on knights with only AP-1, does deal three mortal wounds on a natural 6 to wound on top of its base 3 damage. It also has two melee weapons besides the stomps, both of which make up for the surprisingly pitiful 3 attacks as the scourge triples your attacks for S:User AP-2 D3 attacks while the mace gives you an additional d3 S:User AP-2 D2 swings.

But the main thing you are looking for is the fact that it is a psychic knight. So the Abominants have a Warpstorm Discipline. A side note is that whilst Abominants may start out as your only Psyker, if you invest enough points on your regular Chaos Knight to Tzeentch, you can also have your own custom-made Psyker (using the Pyrothrone). Otherwise, for simplicity's sake, you can just double-down on the Abominant you have; the Twisted Mask relic (another power known, and +1 to cast) is probably only worth on a doubled-down Abominant anyway. The Warp Haunted Hull gives more denies and a Psychic Shrug, but doesn't require the knight to be a Psyker, if you wanted to spread out Deny coverage.

Anyways, the full Disciplines are as follows:

• Winds of the Warp: WC 6. Gives the Psyker a 5+++ FNP, and if manifested on an 8 or more, gives War Dogs a 6+++ FNP within 6" as well.
• Vortex Terrors: WC 5. 18" range. Select one enemy unit, -1 Ld and they take a dread test. If they fail the test then they take -1 WS & BS.
• The Storm Malevolent: WC 7. 18" range. Select one enemy unit. Any Knight that targets them for melee attacks get the following abilities until the next psychic phase: +1 to wound. 6's to wound causes 1 MW to a max of 3MW's.
• Cyclonic Lamentation: WC 6. 12" range. All enemy units with 12" take a dread test. If they fail they take 1 MW or 1d3 MW if the result of the psychic test was 11 or more.
• Coruscating Hate: WC 6. 18" range. The closest enemy unit take 1d3 MW then roll a 1d6, the nearest enemy unit within 6" to that unit takes 1MW on a 2-3 or 1d3 MW on a 4-6.
• Spitesquall: WC 6. 18" range. When cast, the target unit cannot overwatch or set to defend. Also, whenever the unit loses a model, add 1 to the Spitesqual tally. At the end of the phase, roll a d6 for each lost model, and on a 5+, the unit suffers a MW. The tally is reset at the end of the phase.

Chaos Knight Tyrant

Chaos Knight Tyrant (Plasma Decimator and Volcano Lance)

The more evil versions of the baby-Warlord Titans known as the Dominus Knights. The Chaos Knight Tyrants either bring the weapons of the Imperial Knight Castellan (volcano lance and plasma decimator) or those of the Valiant (thundercoil harpoon and conflagration cannon). Unlike the Knights Despoiler, you can't double up on the same weapon or mix the two loadouts. This is very fortunate or unfortunate, depending on which side of the Tyrant you are. Regardless of their arm weapons, they also carry at least one twin siegebreaker cannon and a pair of shieldbreaker missiles and have two twin meltaguns for point defense.

In the fluff, it is mentioned that most Tyrant pilots fuse bodily with their steeds to become the apex predators of the battlefield and often get drunk with delusions of grandeur due to being the biggest and baddest, kind of like a mecha Tim Curry all things considered. In many Infernal households, the souls of the pilots are consumed by their daemon-infested throne mechanicum, leaving their mutated body writhing on it. These bodies are cut open and carved by the Dark Mechanicum to allow a new pilot to take his or her place on the throne. They too will be consumed in time and the cycle begins anew. Grimdark.

Rules-wise, these guys are very similar to their Imperial counterparts at first glance. What really sets them apart are the Chaos Knight stratagems. Trail of Destruction will make a 'Castellan' less likely to damage itself and more likely to hit its mark, regardless of the enemies' To Hit modifiers. When it comes to ambitions, Infernal might be the way to go - higher Movement will help the 'Valiant' get in range quicker, T9 will make these guys straight up ridiculous and buffing their almost Titan-grade weaponry is just insane.

• 

  Tyrant with Conflagration Cannon and Thundercoil Harpoon.

Slaaneshi Variants

This article is about something that is considered by the overpowering majority of /tg/ to be fail. Expect huge amounts of derp and rage, punctuated by /tg/ extracting humor from it.

For some reason, Slaanesh has a fetish for knights/titans of his/her/its own. You would think that these massive engines of destruction would be more suitable for Khorne or Nurgle right? Instead Slaanesh must glory hog all of these in order to compensate for his/her/its lack of Daemon Engines (or maybe since he/she/it is already the lady/lord of hentai, it may as well govern over all things weeaboo, including giant robots). Similar to the Slaanesh Subjugator, these daemonically altered knights look more like glorified flamingos than an actual threat. Than again Slaanesh strives for beauty and elegance rather than coolness and awesomeness so its all in character.

The Daemon Knights of Slaanesh are surrounded by a glittering wall of energy. This is a result of the Warp-interface which keeps the daemonic spirit within them in the material universe. This shifting, swirling aura is called the Glamour of Slaanesh and makes the Daemon Knights very hard to accurately target. In a nutshell, they are Slaaneshi/Chaos Holo-Fields, not surprising given what Slaanesh was born in.

There are three main types of Slaanesh Daemon Knights. Each more pompous than the next. Well well well! Excuse me Princess! Who do you think I am? A Barbarian like Khorne? I am more cultured than that! >:(

Hell-Knight

Overglorified Flamingos of doom incoming!

Hell-Knights are one of the most specialized of the Slaaneshi knights and by far the least painful looking. Aside from Bolters, their main weapon is a Thermal Cannon which, albeit short-ranged, has enough power to pierce almost any armour plate with relative ease. Hell-Knights are often used to hunt down enemy Knights and even Titans, exploiting their speed to attack from the sides and overwhelm opponents. Moreover, they are excellent at infiltrating enemy positions, setting ambushes, and attacking support detachments and artillery. Their combat role is ironically similar to that of the Eldar's Revenant Titan, further mirroring the dark symbolism and relationship between Slaanesh and the Eldar.

In addition to this, they are perfectly suited to perform ambushes, and are often used in this respect. In packs, they can even destroy Imperator Titans, as was the case with the Praeco Deictus during the Battle of Kado. How a 100+foot tall Titan with weapons that can bathe entire armies in plasma can fall to these chicken walkers, no matter how daemonically possessed is a source of embarrassment to the Imperium.

Hell-Scourge

Another chicken walker to the cocaine party!

Hell-Scourges are slightly larger than the Hell-Knights.

While they look similar to the Hell-Knights, Hell-Scourges wield a massive Castigator Cannons. Hell-Scourges possess a certain pack instinct and are in constant telepathic communication with each other. As such, they make exceptionally well-coordinated assaults, outflanking their enemies with ease. This telepathic contact seems to encompass all Hell-Scourges present on the battlefield, or perhaps even further.

The Castigator Cannons mind your, ain't related to the Castigator Bolt Cannon. If it was, than this Knight would have been ten times cooler, but alas it is some kind of Slaaneshi weapon with little to no information. Most likely that the Castigator Cannon could be similiar in affect to the Tormentor Cannons from the Slaaneshi Questor Scout Titan and Subjugator. But than again, how the hell does one kill a Titan with pain weapons?

Overall they function similar to that of Hell-Knights, requiring large numbers to overwhelm larger machines.

Hell-Strider

God...this thing is fucking Cringe.

Hell-Striders are the smallest of the Slaaneshi knights.

They are also the most painful to the eyes and look completely stupid. Looking more akin to a walking penisHOHOHO! But that is the entire point of my ingenious machines! Why else to design them in such a phallic appearance then to make my lovely Eldar wet themselves in delight!

Anyway being the smallest of the bunch, these vehicles are extremely mobile, able to flush enemy out of defenses with their powerful short-ranged weaponry. Like their older brothers sisters, in sufficient numbers, Hell-Striders can even hunt enemy Titans, picking off their prey's shields with their Lascannons, before closing in for the kill with their melta-beams.....How the hell are they supposed to get near the Titan without getting blown up? You could see that pink from the cockpit 100 feet in the air. Seriously, you might as well give them a sign that say "shoot me". See, this is why you can't take out 1 incompetent empire, this shit, right here.

Gallery

• 

  A Thousand Sons Chaos Knight.

See Also

• Tactics for Chaos Knights.
• Renegade Knight House Creation Tables