The militant arm of the Ordo Malleus, the Grey Knights sally forth to destroy the daemonic enemies of Humanity. Equal part’s “Doom Slayer” and esoteric scholars, on the table you have an elite army of warriors ready to Deny the Witch (how ironic) while they blast their foe’s apart with psy-bolt, blade, and psyker abilities.
The Grey Knights stand out from their other Astartes counterparts, and still offer plenty of reasons to give them a roll on the tabletop! And while I wait in Votann purgatory, they’re the army I am currently having the most fun with for regular game days.
What Makes Them Special
Pro’s
- Just about every unit is a Psyker! Loads of powers and psychic options available.
- Force Weapons are fantastic, with several good choices and flexibility.
- High mortal wound output potential in the Psychic and Fight phases.
- Numerous sources of teleportation onto the table, or shunting units across the battlefield.
- Some very tough unit options available; Paladins casting Armored Resilience while in cover are nigh-immortal in some matchups.
- Wisdom of the Prognosticars has some excellent upgrades, including pre-game redeployment and other effects!
Con’s
- Just about every unit is a Psyker….which can make Abhor the Witch very painful
- Overall sub-par shooting lacking AP, challenging into Void Armor and Armor of Contempt forces.
- Secondary objectives for matched play are a bit limited (Purifying Ritual did need the nerf though), and can sometimes conflict with your list.
- Enemy resistance to Mortal Wounds can really ruin your day.
There are also a few “Brotherhoods” to consider (i.e, the sub factions) that will suit different playstyles and unit choices. Now that we can no longer mix Brotherhoods you’ll want to carefully make your selection! Each Brotherhood has a unique stratagem, Psychic Power, and Warlord trait available to it; no unique relics mind you. The more popular ones are;
- Rapiers: Lots of extra melee attacks available, and exploding 6’s to hit in melee for a 1 CP stratagem! Charge up a unit with Kaldor Draigo’s re-rolls and watch them go to work. The unique
- Prescient Bretheren: This is my preferred Brotherhood although I’ve also been experimenting with Preservers. I like my extra CP from the Warlord Trait, the unique power causing additional Mortal Wounds is fine when you run out of other things to cast, and the 1 CP stratagem on a unit to re-roll 1’st for hit/wound is great.
- Swordbearers: The previous top-dog Brotherhood; offering improvement to your vehicles with buff’s to hit and wound rolls. If you like Dreadknights; this is your Brotherhood of choice.
There are more Brotherhoods to consider as well, with varying interactions with pre-game movement, more resilient infantry, and even some cool lore based ties to the Inquisition! We’ll take a more in-depth look at their units in the future, and I’m holding out hope for the dataslate in the near future to give them some love (directly or otherwise)!
Conclusion:
The Grey Knights are an incredibly fun faction to play, especially if the lure of an elite army of heavily armored battle wizards appeals to you. With an interesting toolbox on the table, you can bring most fights around in your favor with some big-brain plays. There’s something for everyone in this codex and you can make just about all of the options work, even with some tough match-ups at a competitive level!
What makes the Grey Knights fun for you, and what do you play? Drop a comment or hit me up on our Discord to share the love!
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