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Thunderhawk

2022-08-20T11:20:39Z

2001:8003:1C20:8C00:20F3:298F:79DF:B820: /* Battlefleet Gothic Armada I & II */

[[File:Thunderhawk.jpg|thumb|250px|right|You could buy an actual (very small, crappy) airplane for less than this model costs.]]

The standard air support and transportation vehicle for the [[Space Marines]] and their Primaris brethen. Comes in two variants, the Thunderhawk Gunship and the Thunderhawk Transport. The gunship variant can hold thirty Space Marines inside (or fifteen [[Terminator]]s, three [[Dreadnought]]s, or some combination thereof), or fifteen [[Primaris Marines]] exclusively and sports the massive [[Thunderhawk Cannon]] (or a [[Superheavy Laser Weapons#Single-Barrelled|Turbo-Laser]]) on its back.

The Thunderhawk replaces the [[Stormbird|Stormbird transporter]], which is larger, more heavily armed and capable of carrying more cargo than a Thunderhawk Gunship and Transporter combined, up to 50 Space Marines. As the demand for dropships increased during the Great Crusade, the Thunderhawk was created as an easy-to-produce alternative for the Unification War era Stormbirds, though considered inferior in quality. After the [[Horus Heresy]], it was decided that putting one-twentieth of a Space Marine Chapter in a single vessel was a bad idea, so the Stormbird was mothballed after the [[Codex Astartes]] reform.

The Thunderhawk started out life in [[Epic]] as essentially a flying [[Rhino Transport|Rhino]] (in other words, they were [[METAL BOXES]]); it had a stumpy battle cannon and wings three scale feet thick. This persisted through a number of horrendous-looking scratchbuilds before eventually someone at Games Workshop had the bright idea of producing a limited-edition £400 Thunderhawk in lead for 40K, with a much longer hull, proper, manly wings, and loads of weapons. These were given away as the non-useless prize for winning Golden Demon along with the usual Slayer Sword a couple of times, until GW saw there was a Market and [[Forge World]] took up the slack. Forge World once made models for both the transport and gunship versions of the Thunderhawk, but nowadays they only sell the gunship version.

*'''Length:''' 26.6-28.8m
*'''Wingspan:''' 26.65m
*'''Mass:''' 105-121 tonnes
*'''Crew:''' 2-4 crew including 30 Astartes (15 if Terminators)

=== New Model ===

[[File:New_Thunderhawk01.jpg|250px|right|thumb|A Blood Angels Thunderhawk 2017.]]

In April 2017, [[Forgeworld]] released the new resin Thunderhawk model that replaced the old iconic flying brick. The new model [[Reasonable Marines|is actually god damned aerodynamic for once and actually looks like it could actually fly]] rather than the usual [[Space Marine]] modus operandi of [[Ork|strapping wings on a cargo container and duct-taping some rocket engines to the whole mess.]]

The new Thunderhawk model boasts a slimmer and sleeker fuselage, a smaller and less pronounced Thunderhawk Cannon, and a less conspicuous cockpit than the previous model, as well as having larger wings to make them a little more proportional to the newly elongated body. Unfortunately the new model removed the horizontal stabilizer from the tail plane, resulting in much [[Nurgle|despair]]. It is also a little smaller than its predecessor, with a less conspicuous profile.

The new model is also pretty customizable. The smaller wings can still be glued at your preferred angle, (LOCK S-FOILS IN ATTACK POSITION!) and the heavy bolter turrets on the wings and nose are both capable of rotating (rotatable?). The side doors of the troop bay can also be swapped out for any of the Forgeworld sculpted vehicle doors as they are the same size as the ones on the standard metal box.

So far reviews from high rollers who can actually afford the typically high forge world price have been largely positive.

=== Plastic Thunderhawk ===

Of all the rumours that saturate 40k, the myth of a Plastic Thunderhawk is the Unicorn, one that people forever seek and yet will never find. Ever since GW began to make Plastic Superheavies starting with the Baneblade, rumours, hints and wishes for a Plastic Thunderhawk have flitted across the internet. When in 2017 the old Resin Thunderhawk was retired, those dreams once again reared their heads and fueled by rumourmongers hype for a Plastic Thunderhawk spread across the usual sites like Bell of Lost Souls and Bolter and Chainsword. Then it was revealed that it would be yet another Resin Thunderhawk, and once more the dream died. To this day though people still cling to the hope that one day the Thunderhawk will be made in plastic and thus affordable without selling half your internal organs.

GW recently made a cheeky reference to the legend that is the plastic Thunderhawk in their Squat revival video. The dream lives? Now that Squats are back and plastic Sisters of Battle are confirmed, anything is possible.

...Well, a plastic Thunderhawk does in fact exist, [[Rage|but only in Aeronautica Imperialis (and therefore smaller than scale)]]. But it's a step closer to realizing the dream.
<gallery>
AeroImp_Thunderhawk.jpeg|A Salamander Thunderhawk so small that [[TTS|Vulkan would want to boop its snoot]].
</gallery>
== Thunderhawk Transporter ==

[[File:0f036ee7ad9f4fbd043900fe88c93eb9.jpg|250px|right|thumb|The Transport variant. AKA [[METAL BAWKSES|A METAL BAWKS carrying your METAL BAWKSES!]]]]

The Thunderhawk Transporter is a logistical variation of the normal Thunderhawk gunship.

The transport variant has four massive magnetic clamping arms mounted on runners underneath the fuselage. These allow the Transporter to carry two Rhino or one Land Raider-sized vehicles, or an under-slung pod for carrying ammunition, fuel and other supplies. These items can be loaded and unloaded in quick order, minimizing the amount of time the Transporter is vulnerable while one the ground.

Both variants have missile/bomb pylons and multiple remotely-operated twin-linked [[Heavy Bolter|heavy bolter]] turrets on the wings and hull, although the Transporter is propelled by four RX-92-00 combination rocket/afterburning turbofans. It is analogous to the Tau's [[Orca]].

Crunchwise, it is what you expect. They fufill the role of airlifting tanks, and shares the statline of the normal Thunderhawk (with the exception of 26W - 4 fewer than the Gunship). In addition to 15 models including TERMINATORS, JUMP PACK models, CENTURIONS, and BIKES, it can hoist vehicles into battle in one of the following configurations:
*1 model with the LAND RAIDER or SPARTAN ASSAULT TANK keyword.
*Up to 2 of the following: RHINO, RAZORBACK, INFERNUM RAZORBACK, PREDATOR, DEIMOS PREDATOR, WHIRLWIND, WHIRLWIND HYPERIOS, HUNTER, STALKER, DAMOCLES, VINDICATOR, VINDICATOR DESTROYER, WHIRLWIND SCORPIUS.

== Ætos Dios ==

[[File:Forgeworld-horus-heresy-imperial-fists-thunderhawk-aetos-dios-22.jpg|300px|right|thumb|[[Rogal Dorn|"Sorry Pert, my flying fortress has aerial superiority while your]] [[Baneblade#Tormentor|Tormentor]] [[Rogal Dorn|is a sitting duck. That's a fact!"]]]]

Also known as the AEtos Dios because people can't type Æ. The ChÆtos Dioritos (or "Eagle God" if you wanna translate it) is a modified Thunderhawk exclusive to the [[Imperial Fists]] [[Primarch]], [[Rogal Dorn]]. This flying rape-engine was first conceived following several [[Fail|failed]] attempts on Rogal Dorn's life following the outbreak of the [[Horus Heresy]]. Magos Telluria constructed for Dorn a unique, heavily-customized personal Thunderhawk gunship to both convey him in battle and to shield him as he conducted missions in the defense of Terra.

It is quite befitting that Rogal would have his own personal jet plane fit for a Primarch to oppose [[Perturabo]]'s personal rolling bunker. It is also befitting that a Primarch's personal transport is the one big enough to carry three dreadnaughts, because we all know he wouldn't fit inside a [[Stormraven]].

The Ætos Dios differs from the bog-standard Thunderhawk, by being equipped with a Turbo-Laser instead of the [[Thunderhawk Cannon]] and a single Titan Void Shield. [[Awesome|Making it a flying Titan.]]

In terms of tabletop the Ætos Dios is usable in games of 3000+ points as a dedicated transport. It has the IWND special rule and a 4+ invulnerable save against all missile attacks. It's also CHEAPER than a Thunderhawk with the same equipment by more than 100 points despite having extra toys. It can ALSO carry 40 models rather than the standard 30.

== Battlefleet Gothic Armada I & II ==

In [[Battlefleet Gothic: Armada]] and its [[Battlefleet Gothic: Armada II|sequel]], the [[Adeptus Astartes Fleet]] is unique in that both its bomber and assault boats utilize the Thunderhawk. The bomber variant is a Thunderhawk ''Annihilator'', whether this means it is the Thunderhawk equivalent of a [[Predator Annihilator]], we have no idea. It's quite possible this is the case, given variants of Imperial Fighters adapted for space combat such as the Thunderbolt Kestrel exchange their Autocannons for additional Lascannons and/or Lascannon power cells. For the Thunderhawk Annihilator, this means it's likely a Thunderhawk that replaces the transport bay with additional power cells for the Turbo-Laser Destructor and/or a second barrel for the same gun.

Regardless, what we do know is that the bomber Thunderhawk is one of the most powerful bombers, second only to the [[Manta]]. Whilst the Space Marines have less bombers than most factions save for [[Tau]], they make up for its toughness, damage and high AA attacks. The same is similar to the assault boat Thunderhawk, which also boasts high toughness and AA attacks in exchange for a lower velocity.

[[Category: Warhammer 40,000]]

[[Category: Battlefleet Gothic]]

[[Category: Imperial]]

[[Category: Space Marines]]

[[Category: Adeptus Astartes Navy]]

[[Category: Vehicles]]

[[Category: Flyers]]

{{40k-Imperial-Vehicles}}
{{40k-Imperial-Ships}}
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!colspan=1| Adeptus Astartes!! Chaos!! Other
|- valign=top
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{{Marines-Forces}}
{{Blood Angels}}
{{Dark Angels}}
{{Grey Knights}}
{{Black-Templars}}
|
{{Chaos Space Marines}}
{{Death Guard}}
{{Emperor's Children}}
|
{{Fallen-Angels}}
|}

Age of Darkness-Warhammer 30k/2.0 Tactics/Questoris Knights Tactics

2022-08-18T13:05:24Z

2001:8003:1C20:8C00:20F3:298F:79DF:B820: /* 0-1 Questoris Knight Atrapos */

==Why Play Questoris Knights?==

==Special Rules==

===Warlord Traits===
All generic Mechanicum Warlords from all three lists have the option of getting a Warlord trait from one of the charts in the main rulebook, or rolling on their own unique chart:

Note, the only way to get a Warlord in a Questoris Knight list is to use the Household ranks upgrades to make one of your Knights into a ''Character''.

#'''A Soul of Cold Iron:''' The Warlord and any unit with 6" may still declare charges if they are under the effect of ''Pinning'', but are still subject to Snap-Firing. He also allows an additional reaction during the movement phase.
#'''The Logic of Victory:''' If the warlord has not shot, or is not locked in combat the whole army may make an additional reaction in all phases of the following turn. In addition the Warlord and a unit he is attached to gain +1 WS and BS during reactions, and +3 Movement and Initiative during movement based reactions.
#'''The Science of Slaughter:''' For each turn this Warlord is locked in combat (so staring on the 2nd round) he gains +1S and Strength for each round of combat he is in. After he has left the combat, his Strength and WS return to normal. The army may also make an additional reaction during the Assault Phase.

==Universal Equipment & Special Rules==
Because each Knight in the army is different and comes with their own selection of gear. It makes little sense to have a central armoury section covering their specific weapons.

Below are common items and weapons found across multiple models.

*'''Ion Shield:''' the most common defense that each Knight is equipped with. No longer is this a revolving shield that needs positioned every turn. Now it simply grants a 4+ Invulnerable save against shooting attacks to the Front Armour. It also grants a 5+ invulnerable save against shooting attacks against their Side Armour. It does nothing in melee.
*'''Ionic Deflector:''' the smaller version of the shield equipped on Armigers. It only grants a 5+ invulnerable save, but works on all facing and against both shooting and melee. It also grants the model ''Eternal Warrior''. If a model with an Ionic Deflector loses its last wound, all models within D6+3" suffer an automatic hit at S8 AP-.

*'''Heavy Stubber:''' equipped as a sidearm on most Knights and Armigers. 36" range means that it outranges the shooting attacks of infantry that it will be targeting. But S4 AP6 means that it won't often be doing much damage. Remember it when you get the chance to use reaction fire though.
*'''Meltagun:''' usually a sidearm upgrade for the Heavy Stubber. There is very little that a Meltagun cannot threaten, but consideration should be made for the models primary weapon, as the short 12" range may mean that it seldom gets used over the course of a battle, when a Stubber could have been used more often.

==Fielding Questoris Knights==
Any army in the Age of Darkness may field a Questoris Knight model as a Lord of War choice in their Force Organisation Chart, otherwise you can use the '''Questoris Household Force Organisation Chart'''.

===Questoris Household Force Organisation Chart===
A Questoris Household Detachment consists of 2-10 Troops choices and a conditional number of Lords of War. For every two Troops choices taken a Lord of War choice may be taken, ignoring the 25% point limit normally imposed on armies.

This is a big shift from how Knights used to be played in previous editions. The Superheavy Knights always remain Lords of War and don't change slot, but the '''hard requirement''' to take Armiger Talons as Troops choices means that every Knight has a 400 point tax on top of their cost. Meaning that Knight spam becomes a very expensive and difficult thing to manage this edition. A detachment can only consist of up to five "true" Knights, and only after 2,000 points spent on Armigers.

On the plus side, it can be used as both a Primary or Allied detachment in a combined force, but if used as an Allied detachment it doesn't get around the 25% limit on Lords of War, so keep that in mind before thinking you can add Knights with Household ranks to your Space Marines.

===Household Ranks===
When using the Questoris Household FOC, you may upgrade your knights with Household ranks, granting them stat boosts (or penalties) along with some other special rules. Note that you cannot just do this if taking Knights as Lords of War in other detachments, so Space Marines couldn't take a discount Knight Aspirant for example.

*'''Seneschal (0-1)''' the most expensive option intended for your primary leader Knight. The model gains +1 WS and BS and gains the ''Character'' sub-type. Additionally, if taken as part of the Primary Detachment, this model must be the Warlord and must take the '''Master of the Household''' trait.
**The Warlord trait grants friendly Knights within 8" the ability to use Reactions, ignoring the usual restrictions against Knights and Titans. This opens up a plethora of tactical options for the army, but remember that vehicles can still only use Defensive Weapons for Overwatch and Return Fire reactions. That Avenger Gatling Cannon and Castigator Bolt Cannon are fair game though.
*'''Arbalester:'''
*'''Aspirant:''' Get a discount on your Knight by reducing their WS/BS by -1 and dropping their Movement by -2. Because you have to invest a lot just for one Knight, you cannot spam them like last edition. There is almost no reason to do this unless you are specifically trying to save points for something else.
*'''Aucteller:'''
*'''Dolorous:'''
*'''Implacable:''' the second most expensive option at 65 pts. This upgrade grants '', Character'' sub-type and +1 Hull Point. Additionally, attacks which target this model can only ever inflict one Hull Point of damage.
**This upgrade effectively renders the vehicle damage chart obsolete. Knights were only ever subject to the 7+ "Explodes" result where they took D3 points of damage instead. Now, Implacable Knights can pretty much only ever be glanced to death, which might take a long time with that extra Hull Point.
*'''Preceptor:''' Gains +1 BS and the ''Character'' sub-type. Additionally, Armiger Warglaives and Helverins within 6" set their Leadership to 9, rendering them more resistant to Pinning and fleeing from combat if they lose.
**This bonus is more valuable the more Armigers you have, but the small aura will turn the Preceptor into the focal point for your troops choices, so equip them to compliment the Armigers to be accompanying: closer range tank killers for Warglaives, or longer range snipers for Helverins.
*'''Uhlan:''' The Knight gains a whopping +4" to their Movement Characteristic, the ''Character'' sub-type, as well as the ''Scout'' and ''Outflank'' special rules. This puts most standard "Questoris pattern" Knights at 14" movement, while the lankier "Cerastus Patterns" have speeds of up to 18". Remember the bonus to charge ranges, where applicable, so this also works great on close combat Knights.

==Unit Analysis==

===Troops===
Both units of Armigers come in squadron sizes of 1-4 models for 200 points each. They have the ''Armiger (Skirmish, Line)'' unit type which is roughly equivalent to an Astartes Dreadnought and comes with T7 and six wounds, and a fairly rapid movement speed of 8, so remember the extra +1 to charge ranges where it matters. They have the advantage of their ''Ionic Deflector'' which is better than an ''Atomantic Deflector'' because it straight up gives them ''Eternal Warrior'' along with the 5+ invulnerable save, as well as a larger blast radius when they lose their last wound.

Because of the requirements of the Force Organisation Chart to get Knights, you are going to require Armigers in your army. The easiest and cheapest way to add them is to take them in units of one model and only take larger squads if you are trying to fill out points values. But bear in mind that these are ''Line'' units, and unless you brough allies are the only models that are capable of claiming objectives, so some care will have to be taken with them.

Unlike Dreadnoughts, Armigers lack ''Fearless'' and are only ''Stubborn''. Because they are taken in Talons and operate as independent models, this means little outside of the Assault phase. But with Ld7 there is a reasonable possibility that they could break and fall back from close combat and even be caught up in a Sweeping Advance. It does also mean that they can be pinned and/or concussed, so don't presume that they are immune to those conditions.

Frankly while it seems like a drag to take them, considering that the primary reason to play this army is to field a bunch of superheavy walkers, this does open the possibility of fielding a large number of T7 models with ''Eternal Warrior'' and not stressing too much about small arms.

====Armiger Warglaive Talon====
Armigers equipped for tank slaying. Their Thermal Lance weapon is longer ranged than a Multimelta so manages to get the ''Armourbane (Melta)'' bonus at a fairly respectable 18". It does appear to be the only Melta weapon with AP2, but with two ''Twin-Linked'' shots it should still be sufficient to do the job asked of it, and it still effectively functions the same against regular infantry and is good for causing ''Instant Death'' on two-wound TEQs that have become more prevalent this edition. The other weapon, the Reaper Chainblade strikes with three attacks at S9 AP2 with the ''Shred'' special rule. Not quite as effective as a Gravis Fist on the Dreadnought equivalent, but still a reliably effective weapon nonetheless.

====Armiger Helverin Talon====
The rifleman Armiger is armed with a pair of Phaeton Autocannons that have surprising utility. The base weapon has a superior range of 64", Heavy 2, S7 AP3, and ''Rending (6+)'' so is already better than a regular Autocannon and will handily pop off MEQs from more than half the table away. On top of that, it has two different firing modes, granting either ''Sunder'' or ''Ignores Cover''. The trade off is that Helverins have no close combat weapon and so fares relatively poorly in melee, but with such a considerable weapon range with no drop off in effectiveness like with Melta weapons, Helverins should be kept as far away as possible and be used as long range harassing units.
**Like any Autocannon this edition, there is a small chance of being able to damage AV14 with the addition of ''Rending (6+)'', but with ''Sunder'' the odds of Glancing increase from 17% to roughly 30% and is actually <u>better</u> at damaging AV14 than the Thermal Cannon at ranges greater than 18", with more shots to boot. Something to think about before dismissing the Helverin as a poor substitute.

===Lords of War===

====Knight Questoris====
Gone are the pre-set Paladin, or Errant, or other designations. The traditional Knight now comes in a build-your-own format. Initially starting with an arm mounted Reaper Chainsword and a Rapid-Fire Battle Cannon, these arms may be swapped for whatever comes in the regular plastic kit.
*'''Rapid Fire Battle Cannon with in-built Heavy Stubber:''' the default arm weapon. Comes with Ordnance 2, S8 AP4 ''Large Blast (5")''. This gun is reliably solid if you can't decide that else to take. It can hit large units multiple times and is capable of causing Instant Death on T4 models that fail a save. There are better options against vehicles, but it can hit them twice and gets to reroll fails to penetrate thanks to the ''Ordnance'' weapon type. The Heavy Stubber is there as the cherry on top, don't discount it, but also don't factor it in to any decision making.
*'''Thermal Cannon:''' This weapon is in a very strange predicament. While it is the strongest weapon that the Questoris Knight has access to, it kind of suffers from being in an army that doesn't really need it. 36" S8 AP1 Heavy 1, ''Large Blast (5"), Armourbane (Melta)'' looks great. But that still only hits a vehicle once, and is most effective within 18" range. For comparison, the pair of Armigers that you ''have'' to take to accompany each Knight could be Warglaives, and be able to hit the same vehicle at the same range, more reliably with ''Twin-Linked'', and more times with each weapon. That's not to say the Thermal Cannon is a poor choice, not at all. One shot can utterly devastate MEQ/TEQ squads, especially those with expensive characters you want rid of, and the +2 on vehicle damage charts means that one shot has better odds of causing an explosion. The Thermal Cannon will reliably damage everything you point it at.
*'''Avenger Gatling Cannons with in-built Heavy Flamer:''' the only ranged weapon that a Questoris Knight can take twice, with twelve shots at S6 AP4 and ''Rending (6+)'' there is a lot of potential for damaging hordes and lighter vehicles. The Heavy Flamer also compliments its role quite well.
**If the army contains a Seneschal, both of these weapons are Defensive, so make for really good Return Fire/Overwatch reactions where applicable.
*'''Las Impulsor:''' The most expensive arm weapon has some of the biggest drawbacks. It is 12" S10 AP2 Heavy 2, ''Sunder, Instant Death''. That is a pitiful range with no blast template to cover multiple models, so it already has some of the lowest potential out of all of the Knight armaments, even the Thermal Cannon is better against vehicles at short (18") range ''(with +2 on the vehicle damage chart)'' and can start hitting from further away. That being said, it is easily the better option against anything with T5 or higher due to Instant Death capability, but really requires knowing in advance what you want your Knight to do, since anything that you want the Las Impulsor to be able to take out, like Dreadnoughts, puts the Knight within a dangerously close range for a counter attack.
**The Las Impulsor also has a close ranged mode which is clearly a Trap! S10 AP1 ''Instant Death, Armourbane (Melee)'' looks really cool, until you see the ''Cumbersome'' rule. Knights get no exemption from the one-attack at WS1 provision, so this weapon would only be good for striking buildings as you would be hitting everything else at 6+. Reaper Chainswords and Thunderstrike Gauntlets work just fine against the same targets and get to use the full compliment of attacks.

====Questoris Knight Magaera====

====Questoris Knight Styrix====

====Knight Lancer====
The melee focused variant of the Cerastus-pattern Knights. It dispenses with the traditional Ion Shield in favour of an Ion Gauntlet Shield, which grants it only a 5+ Invulnerable save to the front and side, but also a 5+ invulnerable save against all melee attacks.

Its only armament is its dual-function Shock Lance which works in both range and melee. As a shooting weapon it has 18" range, S7 AP3, Heavy 6 and ''Concussive (2)''. While it pales in destructive power in comparison to some other Knight weapons, it has a respectable number of shots that are very likely to take wounds off of MEQs. What's more is that ''Concussive (2)'' has the chance to reduce the weapon skill of the target unit by a massive two points whether the shooting attack killed anything or not.

In melee it has S10 AP2 ''Reach(1)'' and ''Exoshock (5+)'' means that it is often faster than a lot of the models it gets into combat with, and will cause Instant Death on anything of T5 or below. It also is very effective against vehicles too, though not quite as good as a Thunderstrike Gauntlet or similar. Also remember that Knights also get to make Stomp attacks against smaller non-Knight models in addition to their regular allotment of attacks, so the Lancer throws out four/five S10 AP2 attacks at Initiative 5, then D3+4 S9 AP2 attacks at Initiative 1. So this bad boy feels right at home in melee.

Remember, with a massive movement speed of 14 it is able to stay out of the danger range until it gets ready to strike, and it also gains a +3 to charge rolls, giving itself an overall charging threat radius of around 24" on average. While all Knights can be powerhouses in melee, this one is kitted out specifically for dealing with Elite/HQ infantry units. If it can get the ''Concussive (2)'' rule to work it can massively influence the striking odds of both sides of the melee.

====Knight Castigator====
The Castigator is a pure anti-infantry Knight, but unlike the Lancer, its focus is more on clearing large units rather than dealing with Elite squads.

Both of its weapons are capable of dealing a '''lot''' of indiscriminate wounds, but are generally of less use against vehicles or other kinds of single model unit.

Its namesake weapon, the Castigator Bolt Cannon is ''Twin-Linked'' Heavy 18 with S6 AP4. That puts more shots than the Avenger Gatling Cannon, but without the added benefit of ''Rending (6+)''. Instead, the Castigator has ''Pinning'' and ''Shell Shock (1)'', so is a weapon designed for forcing the enemy to keep their heads down rather than doing damage outright.

The other weapon is the Tempest Warblade. Like many Knight Weapons it hits at S10 AP2, but this has the ''Deflagrate'' and ''Tempest'' rules. Meaning that unsaved wounds get a chance to do more damage again. This works quite well with the Tempest rule that allows the Knight to forgo it's normal allotment of four attacks and to make a Tempest attack as Initiative step 2 and ''automatically hit'' every single model in contact with its base. This reinforces the notion that this Knight should be getting into fights with large units of enemy infantry. But without any kind of invulnerable save in melee like the Lancer has, it needs to be careful about going for enemies that have a good chance of damaging it.

====Knight Acheron====

====0-1 Acastus Knight Porphyrion====

====0-1 Acastus Knight Asterius====

====0-1 Cerastus Knight Atrapos====

[[Category:Warhammer Tactics/30k]]
{{Warhammer_30k_Tactics}}

Age of Darkness-Warhammer 30k/2.0 Tactics/Questoris Knights Tactics

2022-08-18T13:04:57Z

2001:8003:1C20:8C00:20F3:298F:79DF:B820: /* 0-1 Questoris Knight Acastus Asterius */

==Why Play Questoris Knights?==

==Special Rules==

===Warlord Traits===
All generic Mechanicum Warlords from all three lists have the option of getting a Warlord trait from one of the charts in the main rulebook, or rolling on their own unique chart:

Note, the only way to get a Warlord in a Questoris Knight list is to use the Household ranks upgrades to make one of your Knights into a ''Character''.

#'''A Soul of Cold Iron:''' The Warlord and any unit with 6" may still declare charges if they are under the effect of ''Pinning'', but are still subject to Snap-Firing. He also allows an additional reaction during the movement phase.
#'''The Logic of Victory:''' If the warlord has not shot, or is not locked in combat the whole army may make an additional reaction in all phases of the following turn. In addition the Warlord and a unit he is attached to gain +1 WS and BS during reactions, and +3 Movement and Initiative during movement based reactions.
#'''The Science of Slaughter:''' For each turn this Warlord is locked in combat (so staring on the 2nd round) he gains +1S and Strength for each round of combat he is in. After he has left the combat, his Strength and WS return to normal. The army may also make an additional reaction during the Assault Phase.

==Universal Equipment & Special Rules==
Because each Knight in the army is different and comes with their own selection of gear. It makes little sense to have a central armoury section covering their specific weapons.

Below are common items and weapons found across multiple models.

*'''Ion Shield:''' the most common defense that each Knight is equipped with. No longer is this a revolving shield that needs positioned every turn. Now it simply grants a 4+ Invulnerable save against shooting attacks to the Front Armour. It also grants a 5+ invulnerable save against shooting attacks against their Side Armour. It does nothing in melee.
*'''Ionic Deflector:''' the smaller version of the shield equipped on Armigers. It only grants a 5+ invulnerable save, but works on all facing and against both shooting and melee. It also grants the model ''Eternal Warrior''. If a model with an Ionic Deflector loses its last wound, all models within D6+3" suffer an automatic hit at S8 AP-.

*'''Heavy Stubber:''' equipped as a sidearm on most Knights and Armigers. 36" range means that it outranges the shooting attacks of infantry that it will be targeting. But S4 AP6 means that it won't often be doing much damage. Remember it when you get the chance to use reaction fire though.
*'''Meltagun:''' usually a sidearm upgrade for the Heavy Stubber. There is very little that a Meltagun cannot threaten, but consideration should be made for the models primary weapon, as the short 12" range may mean that it seldom gets used over the course of a battle, when a Stubber could have been used more often.

==Fielding Questoris Knights==
Any army in the Age of Darkness may field a Questoris Knight model as a Lord of War choice in their Force Organisation Chart, otherwise you can use the '''Questoris Household Force Organisation Chart'''.

===Questoris Household Force Organisation Chart===
A Questoris Household Detachment consists of 2-10 Troops choices and a conditional number of Lords of War. For every two Troops choices taken a Lord of War choice may be taken, ignoring the 25% point limit normally imposed on armies.

This is a big shift from how Knights used to be played in previous editions. The Superheavy Knights always remain Lords of War and don't change slot, but the '''hard requirement''' to take Armiger Talons as Troops choices means that every Knight has a 400 point tax on top of their cost. Meaning that Knight spam becomes a very expensive and difficult thing to manage this edition. A detachment can only consist of up to five "true" Knights, and only after 2,000 points spent on Armigers.

On the plus side, it can be used as both a Primary or Allied detachment in a combined force, but if used as an Allied detachment it doesn't get around the 25% limit on Lords of War, so keep that in mind before thinking you can add Knights with Household ranks to your Space Marines.

===Household Ranks===
When using the Questoris Household FOC, you may upgrade your knights with Household ranks, granting them stat boosts (or penalties) along with some other special rules. Note that you cannot just do this if taking Knights as Lords of War in other detachments, so Space Marines couldn't take a discount Knight Aspirant for example.

*'''Seneschal (0-1)''' the most expensive option intended for your primary leader Knight. The model gains +1 WS and BS and gains the ''Character'' sub-type. Additionally, if taken as part of the Primary Detachment, this model must be the Warlord and must take the '''Master of the Household''' trait.
**The Warlord trait grants friendly Knights within 8" the ability to use Reactions, ignoring the usual restrictions against Knights and Titans. This opens up a plethora of tactical options for the army, but remember that vehicles can still only use Defensive Weapons for Overwatch and Return Fire reactions. That Avenger Gatling Cannon and Castigator Bolt Cannon are fair game though.
*'''Arbalester:'''
*'''Aspirant:''' Get a discount on your Knight by reducing their WS/BS by -1 and dropping their Movement by -2. Because you have to invest a lot just for one Knight, you cannot spam them like last edition. There is almost no reason to do this unless you are specifically trying to save points for something else.
*'''Aucteller:'''
*'''Dolorous:'''
*'''Implacable:''' the second most expensive option at 65 pts. This upgrade grants '', Character'' sub-type and +1 Hull Point. Additionally, attacks which target this model can only ever inflict one Hull Point of damage.
**This upgrade effectively renders the vehicle damage chart obsolete. Knights were only ever subject to the 7+ "Explodes" result where they took D3 points of damage instead. Now, Implacable Knights can pretty much only ever be glanced to death, which might take a long time with that extra Hull Point.
*'''Preceptor:''' Gains +1 BS and the ''Character'' sub-type. Additionally, Armiger Warglaives and Helverins within 6" set their Leadership to 9, rendering them more resistant to Pinning and fleeing from combat if they lose.
**This bonus is more valuable the more Armigers you have, but the small aura will turn the Preceptor into the focal point for your troops choices, so equip them to compliment the Armigers to be accompanying: closer range tank killers for Warglaives, or longer range snipers for Helverins.
*'''Uhlan:''' The Knight gains a whopping +4" to their Movement Characteristic, the ''Character'' sub-type, as well as the ''Scout'' and ''Outflank'' special rules. This puts most standard "Questoris pattern" Knights at 14" movement, while the lankier "Cerastus Patterns" have speeds of up to 18". Remember the bonus to charge ranges, where applicable, so this also works great on close combat Knights.

==Unit Analysis==

===Troops===
Both units of Armigers come in squadron sizes of 1-4 models for 200 points each. They have the ''Armiger (Skirmish, Line)'' unit type which is roughly equivalent to an Astartes Dreadnought and comes with T7 and six wounds, and a fairly rapid movement speed of 8, so remember the extra +1 to charge ranges where it matters. They have the advantage of their ''Ionic Deflector'' which is better than an ''Atomantic Deflector'' because it straight up gives them ''Eternal Warrior'' along with the 5+ invulnerable save, as well as a larger blast radius when they lose their last wound.

Because of the requirements of the Force Organisation Chart to get Knights, you are going to require Armigers in your army. The easiest and cheapest way to add them is to take them in units of one model and only take larger squads if you are trying to fill out points values. But bear in mind that these are ''Line'' units, and unless you brough allies are the only models that are capable of claiming objectives, so some care will have to be taken with them.

Unlike Dreadnoughts, Armigers lack ''Fearless'' and are only ''Stubborn''. Because they are taken in Talons and operate as independent models, this means little outside of the Assault phase. But with Ld7 there is a reasonable possibility that they could break and fall back from close combat and even be caught up in a Sweeping Advance. It does also mean that they can be pinned and/or concussed, so don't presume that they are immune to those conditions.

Frankly while it seems like a drag to take them, considering that the primary reason to play this army is to field a bunch of superheavy walkers, this does open the possibility of fielding a large number of T7 models with ''Eternal Warrior'' and not stressing too much about small arms.

====Armiger Warglaive Talon====
Armigers equipped for tank slaying. Their Thermal Lance weapon is longer ranged than a Multimelta so manages to get the ''Armourbane (Melta)'' bonus at a fairly respectable 18". It does appear to be the only Melta weapon with AP2, but with two ''Twin-Linked'' shots it should still be sufficient to do the job asked of it, and it still effectively functions the same against regular infantry and is good for causing ''Instant Death'' on two-wound TEQs that have become more prevalent this edition. The other weapon, the Reaper Chainblade strikes with three attacks at S9 AP2 with the ''Shred'' special rule. Not quite as effective as a Gravis Fist on the Dreadnought equivalent, but still a reliably effective weapon nonetheless.

====Armiger Helverin Talon====
The rifleman Armiger is armed with a pair of Phaeton Autocannons that have surprising utility. The base weapon has a superior range of 64", Heavy 2, S7 AP3, and ''Rending (6+)'' so is already better than a regular Autocannon and will handily pop off MEQs from more than half the table away. On top of that, it has two different firing modes, granting either ''Sunder'' or ''Ignores Cover''. The trade off is that Helverins have no close combat weapon and so fares relatively poorly in melee, but with such a considerable weapon range with no drop off in effectiveness like with Melta weapons, Helverins should be kept as far away as possible and be used as long range harassing units.
**Like any Autocannon this edition, there is a small chance of being able to damage AV14 with the addition of ''Rending (6+)'', but with ''Sunder'' the odds of Glancing increase from 17% to roughly 30% and is actually <u>better</u> at damaging AV14 than the Thermal Cannon at ranges greater than 18", with more shots to boot. Something to think about before dismissing the Helverin as a poor substitute.

===Lords of War===

====Knight Questoris====
Gone are the pre-set Paladin, or Errant, or other designations. The traditional Knight now comes in a build-your-own format. Initially starting with an arm mounted Reaper Chainsword and a Rapid-Fire Battle Cannon, these arms may be swapped for whatever comes in the regular plastic kit.
*'''Rapid Fire Battle Cannon with in-built Heavy Stubber:''' the default arm weapon. Comes with Ordnance 2, S8 AP4 ''Large Blast (5")''. This gun is reliably solid if you can't decide that else to take. It can hit large units multiple times and is capable of causing Instant Death on T4 models that fail a save. There are better options against vehicles, but it can hit them twice and gets to reroll fails to penetrate thanks to the ''Ordnance'' weapon type. The Heavy Stubber is there as the cherry on top, don't discount it, but also don't factor it in to any decision making.
*'''Thermal Cannon:''' This weapon is in a very strange predicament. While it is the strongest weapon that the Questoris Knight has access to, it kind of suffers from being in an army that doesn't really need it. 36" S8 AP1 Heavy 1, ''Large Blast (5"), Armourbane (Melta)'' looks great. But that still only hits a vehicle once, and is most effective within 18" range. For comparison, the pair of Armigers that you ''have'' to take to accompany each Knight could be Warglaives, and be able to hit the same vehicle at the same range, more reliably with ''Twin-Linked'', and more times with each weapon. That's not to say the Thermal Cannon is a poor choice, not at all. One shot can utterly devastate MEQ/TEQ squads, especially those with expensive characters you want rid of, and the +2 on vehicle damage charts means that one shot has better odds of causing an explosion. The Thermal Cannon will reliably damage everything you point it at.
*'''Avenger Gatling Cannons with in-built Heavy Flamer:''' the only ranged weapon that a Questoris Knight can take twice, with twelve shots at S6 AP4 and ''Rending (6+)'' there is a lot of potential for damaging hordes and lighter vehicles. The Heavy Flamer also compliments its role quite well.
**If the army contains a Seneschal, both of these weapons are Defensive, so make for really good Return Fire/Overwatch reactions where applicable.
*'''Las Impulsor:''' The most expensive arm weapon has some of the biggest drawbacks. It is 12" S10 AP2 Heavy 2, ''Sunder, Instant Death''. That is a pitiful range with no blast template to cover multiple models, so it already has some of the lowest potential out of all of the Knight armaments, even the Thermal Cannon is better against vehicles at short (18") range ''(with +2 on the vehicle damage chart)'' and can start hitting from further away. That being said, it is easily the better option against anything with T5 or higher due to Instant Death capability, but really requires knowing in advance what you want your Knight to do, since anything that you want the Las Impulsor to be able to take out, like Dreadnoughts, puts the Knight within a dangerously close range for a counter attack.
**The Las Impulsor also has a close ranged mode which is clearly a Trap! S10 AP1 ''Instant Death, Armourbane (Melee)'' looks really cool, until you see the ''Cumbersome'' rule. Knights get no exemption from the one-attack at WS1 provision, so this weapon would only be good for striking buildings as you would be hitting everything else at 6+. Reaper Chainswords and Thunderstrike Gauntlets work just fine against the same targets and get to use the full compliment of attacks.

====Questoris Knight Magaera====

====Questoris Knight Styrix====

====Knight Lancer====
The melee focused variant of the Cerastus-pattern Knights. It dispenses with the traditional Ion Shield in favour of an Ion Gauntlet Shield, which grants it only a 5+ Invulnerable save to the front and side, but also a 5+ invulnerable save against all melee attacks.

Its only armament is its dual-function Shock Lance which works in both range and melee. As a shooting weapon it has 18" range, S7 AP3, Heavy 6 and ''Concussive (2)''. While it pales in destructive power in comparison to some other Knight weapons, it has a respectable number of shots that are very likely to take wounds off of MEQs. What's more is that ''Concussive (2)'' has the chance to reduce the weapon skill of the target unit by a massive two points whether the shooting attack killed anything or not.

In melee it has S10 AP2 ''Reach(1)'' and ''Exoshock (5+)'' means that it is often faster than a lot of the models it gets into combat with, and will cause Instant Death on anything of T5 or below. It also is very effective against vehicles too, though not quite as good as a Thunderstrike Gauntlet or similar. Also remember that Knights also get to make Stomp attacks against smaller non-Knight models in addition to their regular allotment of attacks, so the Lancer throws out four/five S10 AP2 attacks at Initiative 5, then D3+4 S9 AP2 attacks at Initiative 1. So this bad boy feels right at home in melee.

Remember, with a massive movement speed of 14 it is able to stay out of the danger range until it gets ready to strike, and it also gains a +3 to charge rolls, giving itself an overall charging threat radius of around 24" on average. While all Knights can be powerhouses in melee, this one is kitted out specifically for dealing with Elite/HQ infantry units. If it can get the ''Concussive (2)'' rule to work it can massively influence the striking odds of both sides of the melee.

====Knight Castigator====
The Castigator is a pure anti-infantry Knight, but unlike the Lancer, its focus is more on clearing large units rather than dealing with Elite squads.

Both of its weapons are capable of dealing a '''lot''' of indiscriminate wounds, but are generally of less use against vehicles or other kinds of single model unit.

Its namesake weapon, the Castigator Bolt Cannon is ''Twin-Linked'' Heavy 18 with S6 AP4. That puts more shots than the Avenger Gatling Cannon, but without the added benefit of ''Rending (6+)''. Instead, the Castigator has ''Pinning'' and ''Shell Shock (1)'', so is a weapon designed for forcing the enemy to keep their heads down rather than doing damage outright.

The other weapon is the Tempest Warblade. Like many Knight Weapons it hits at S10 AP2, but this has the ''Deflagrate'' and ''Tempest'' rules. Meaning that unsaved wounds get a chance to do more damage again. This works quite well with the Tempest rule that allows the Knight to forgo it's normal allotment of four attacks and to make a Tempest attack as Initiative step 2 and ''automatically hit'' every single model in contact with its base. This reinforces the notion that this Knight should be getting into fights with large units of enemy infantry. But without any kind of invulnerable save in melee like the Lancer has, it needs to be careful about going for enemies that have a good chance of damaging it.

====Knight Acheron====

====0-1 Acastus Knight Porphyrion====

====0-1 Acastus Knight Asterius====

====0-1 Questoris Knight Atrapos====

[[Category:Warhammer Tactics/30k]]
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