Warhammer 40K Meta Hotness: Grey Knights
Goatboy here with a 40K Meta Hotness alert – Grey Knights are a rising power. Let’s take a closer look at what’s going on.
Take a look at a nice skew list taken by the Boy King of 40K – Jack Harpster from the Art of War Crew. We’ll see how some of the Art of War crew does at WTC and I am excited to see all my friends kick some butt over there with a much more focused team of nonsense.
But this article is about how Jack took a cool Grey Knight list to ATC designed to prey on some of the more popular armies utilizing their movement tricks and fat bottom boys. The Grey Knight Index is an interesting one due to some over-costed parts mixed with very powerful movement tricks. It’s lacking some ranged damage potential. However, in the hands of a good general on the lookout for the game win – it can be an interesting faction choice.
Why Grey Knights Now?
Currently, 40K is looking at methods to bring board-controlling bricks to the battlefield if you are not playing an Aeldari army. You can see this in the Custodes lists, the GSC lists, and a lot of the other Marine options. Controlling the middle of the table allows you to win a lot of primary points as well as have a good chance to “win” the secondary war by just being in the right place.
Which Grey Knights can seemingly do with the ability to take Battleline Terminators and Paladin bricks to just – get to the middle and sit there like they own it. They have a powerful counter-attack too, with their Force Weapons, healing abilities, and straight-up damage potential. You throw in a few characters, and they are a tough nut to chew through.
All of these movement tricks mean the Grey Knights can set up very defensively Turn 1. They spread all over the table Turns 2+, and keep scoring. Then their foe has to try to figure out a way to chew through all of these hard-to-kill bodies in cover. I have seen a lot of other Grey Knight armies that utilize Paladins, Terminators, and even Purifiers in ways to generate board control. Overall it feels like a unique army to take to an event if you expect to see a lot of Aeldari.
Aeldari don’t like armies that can move as fast as they can. Heck, even all the bolters can be an issue when they float around the table and shoot the squishy parts of the Aeldari army. I just like the idea of a massed troop army that actually uses its Battleline to win the game. It feels right!
A Sample List
Here is Jack’s list that doesn’t have any Dreadknights, which is pretty cool to me. One of those units that skyrocketed last edition then crashed into the ground as things caught up to it. I still wonder if having one is worth it. But that is most likely due to me having a sweet conversion I love to trot around the tabletop.
Grey Knights
Teleport Strike Force
Strike Force (2000 Points)
CHARACTERS
Brother-Captain (125 Points)
• 1x Nemesis force weapon
1x Psycannon
• Enhancements: Sigil of Exigence
Grand Master (150 Points)
• 1x Incinerator
1x Nemesis force weapon
• Enhancements: First to the Fray
Kaldor Draigo (155 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Scourging
1x Storm bolter
1x The Titansword
BATTLELINE
Brotherhood Terminator Squad (450 Points)
• 1x Terminator Justicar
• 1x Nemesis force weapon
1x Storm bolter
• 9x Brotherhood Terminator
• 1x Ancient’s Banner
2x Incinerator
1x Narthecium
9x Nemesis force weapon
6x Storm bolter
Brotherhood Terminator Squad (450 Points)
• 1x Terminator Justicar
• 1x Nemesis force weapon
1x Storm bolter
• 9x Brotherhood Terminator
• 1x Ancient’s Banner
2x Incinerator
1x Narthecium
9x Nemesis force weapon
6x Storm bolter
OTHER DATASHEETS
Paladin Squad (510 Points)
• 1x Paragon
• 1x Nemesis force weapon
1x Storm bolter
• 8x Paladin
• 8x Nemesis force weapon
4x Psycannon
4x Storm bolter
• 1x Paladin Ancient
• 1x Ancient’s Banner
1x Nemesis force weapon
1x Psycannon
ALLIED UNITS
Callidus Assassin (115 Points)
• 1x Neural shredder
1x Phase sword and poison blades
Exaction Squad (35 Points)
• 1x Proctor-Exactant
• 1x Arbites combat shotgun
1x Arbites shotpistol
1x Close combat weapon
• 4x Exaction Vigilant
• 1x Arbites Medi-kit
2x Arbites combat shotgun
1x Arbites grenade launcher
4x Arbites shotpistol
4x Close combat weapon
1x Soulguilt Scanner
1x Webber
2000 Points
Grey Knight List Tactics
As you can see, Jack uses a nice setup of Imperial options to help shore up the army with a Backfield holding unit and a Calidus to mess with the enemy. This sort of set up is going to be common. More Imperial Armies are figuring out a method to force the middle/initial Opponents deployment zone and still have friends hanging out in the back.
Good job to Art of War for kicking butt at ATC and good luck with the WTC this coming weekend. I know I will be reading up on their exploits and hope they just kick butt over there. One of these days I will head out to go.
For the Emperor!
