Imperial Knights Codex review Part 2: Questor Imperialis

Hey everyone, Reecius here to cover the next part of our Imperial Knights Codex review. This time we will talk about the options available to Questor Imperialis Knights. Check the Tactics Corner for more great articles!

If you missed it, you can read Part 1 of this article series, here.

Rating system

Here’s our rating system:

• Competitive: This is a codex entry (unit, stratagem, item, etc.) that has a place in essentially any competitive list built with this faction regardless of unit choices or is the source of a significant force multiplication effect for other units.
• Efficient: This is a codex entry that can stand on its own merit in a matched play list but works best when combined up with other units or in specific situations to become very powerful but may not always be seen.
• Situational: This is a codex entry that may not pass as competitive on its own merits but can be made effective in a creative list, as a meta-buster, or in a specific combo or scenario where it ratchets up in power to potentially very high strength but otherwise will not be seen very often.

Imperial Knights are broken into two sub-groupings, Questor Imperialis and Questor Mechanicus. Today we’re going to explore what the Questor Imperialis groupings of Knight houses has to offer. Questor Imperialis are those Knights who’ve sworn allegiance to the Imperium of Man and feature 5 houses, all of which have some seriously awesome benefits. Let’s dive in and check it out!

Questor Imperialis Stratagems

• Ironhail Heavy Stubbers: 1 CP, used before the battle. Gives all Questor Imperialis Knights in a detachment AP-1 on their heavy stubbers. Competitive.
  • Awesome strat assuming you have Heavy Stubbers in your list (which most Knights do). The extra AP makes a big difference and increases their leathality significantly. For a measly 1 CP cost, if you have even a few Heavy Stubbers this is a solid investment. 
• Valiant Last Stand: 2 CP, Used when a Questor Imperialis Knight is reduced to 0 wounds. Before removing the Knight you may shoot or fight again as if you had 1 wound remaining. Efficient.
  • This is a stratagem that will come in handy when you really need just a little more out of your model before removing it but not something you will use every time a Knight dies. As you’ll typically be hitting on 5’s in this scenario, it won’t always be an efficient use of your points but when it comes down to one last act to take out an enemy model this can win the game for you.
• Sally Forth! 3 CP, used during deployment to outflank a single Armiger unit or Questoris class Knight. Can only be used once per game. The Knight comes in on any table edge, within 6″ of the edge and more than 9″ away from enemy models. Competitive.
  • All-star stratagem and by itself a compelling argument for playing Questor Imperialis. The ability to keep a Knight off of the table and have perfect defense against an alpha strike is incredible. As with the Tallarn Shadowsword that is so popular in the meta, this means that in most cases you are assured to get at least one shooting phase out of your unit before it gets smoked. Absolutely awesome strat.

Questor Imperialis Relics

• Helm of the Nameless Warrior: +1 to your hit rolls in the Fight phase. Efficient.
  • Solid choice but one that will ironically not be taken very often as the unit you’re most likely to put it on, the Gallant, already hits on 2’s and as such only really useful once he degrades or against -1 to hit in melee opponents who are relatively rare. Obviously a good choice when you do find yourself facing them.
• Banner of Macharius Triumphant: Questoris Class Knights only,+1 to the Leadership characteristic of Imperium units within 6″ of the bearer. If the bearer is in range to control an objective, it gains ObSec, and counts as 10 models. Efficient.
  • A very good relic but one I assume we won’t see as often as the weapon or defensive relics. If you’re playing an all Knight army it can be a real boon for winning objectives, but again, I see this one falling on the priority scale behind other options despite its utility.
• Traitor’s Pyre: Replaces a model’s Conflagration Cannon with the following profile: 18″, Heavy 3D6, automatically hits the target, S7, AP-2, 2 damage, re-rolls failed wound rolls. Competitive.
  • Ballin’ out of control! This is an A++ relic and one you will see on pretty much every Knight Valiant that can take it. The Conflagration Cannon is already a tremendous weapon and this takes it up significantly in efficacy. Re-rolling failed wound rolls makes this weapon absolutely mean to come in and nuke a unit, or House Hawkshroud for the deadly Staunch Allies stratagem can be game changing. It also makes the weapon much more reliable against high toughness models.

House Terryn

House Terryn offers some amazing options for an assault oriented Knight detachment and is in my opinion, one of the best all around Household packages.

• Household Tradition: Gallant Warriors: When determining how far a Knight in this Household may advance or charge, roll an extra D6 and discard the lowest result. Competitive.
  • This is a very strong tradition when you build for it. The ability to reliably move at a rapid pace obviously benefits things like Armiger Warglaives and Knight Gallants with assault weapons that want to get into melee. It pairs extremely well with the Landstrider and Champion of the Household Warlord Traits, in addition to Full Tilt stratagem. 
• Stratagem: Glory in Honour! 3 CP, allows a model to fight again in the Fight Phase. Competitive.
  • Awesome strat, doesn’t really need any explanation. Use it on a Gallant geared up for melee and profit.
• Warlord Trait: Champion of the Household: You may re-roll failed charges.
  • Very good Warlord Trait but one that would likely not be taken very frequently if it was your only Warlord Trait. When looked at in consideration of the Exalted Court strat, it is one that becomes quite appealing in an aggressive House Terryn list that will really want to make those charges. Efficient.
• Relic: Thunder of Voltaris: Replaces a Knight’s Rapid-fire Battle Cannon: 72″, Heavy 2D6, S9, AP-2, D3 damage, when shooting roll 3D6 and take the two highest for the number of shots. Competitive.
  • Bad ass relic. In my experience the Rapid-fire Battle Cannon is the best general purpose Knight weapon anyway, and this makes it significantly better. Higher strength is amazing for fighting things like other Knights, and the increased reliability on the number of shots is extremely useful.

House Griffith

House Griffith offers up some solid options and while all of their House sepcific options may not be as good as say, Hose Terryn, their basic trait of +1 attack is REALLY good, particularly in a detachment built around it featuring Gallants and Warglaives.

• Household Tradition: Glory of the Charge: +1 attack when a model with this Tradition charges, is charged or Heroically Intervenes (which it may do as if it were a Character). Competitive.
  • Obviously for anything that hits as hard as a Knight, an additional attack in melee is amazing. Particularly with their Titanic Feet.
• Stratagem: Dragonslayer: 2 CP, used before shooting or fighting. +1 to wound vs. units with a wounds characteristic of 10 or more. Efficient.
  • This is a strat that obviously won’t be used every turn (unless you find yourself playing against an army of Monsters or Vehicles, of course) but when it is useful it is VERY useful. A solid strat if not a meat and potatoes option.
• Warlord Trait: Master of the Joust: After you complete a charge move, an enemy unit within 1″ takes D3 Mortal Wounds on a 4+. Situational.
  • Not a bad option but certainly wouldn’t be my first choice. If you do use it, may as well go witht the Mark of the Lance as well to double down on the Mortal Wound output.
• Relic: Mark of the Lance: When the bearer completes a charge move, an enemy unit within 1″ takes D3 Mortal Wounds on a 2+, and on a 6 suffers 3 Mortal Wounds. Efficient.
  • Not bad, not great. Reliably dealing Mortal Wounds is never a bad rule but when looked at in terms of what you miss out on to get it, is not likely to be taken very frequently but if you do take it, will likely not be disappointed and if you do, may as well go with Master of the Joust as well to really lean into your ability to smash things up on the charge.

House Hawkshroud

House Hawkshroud is my personal favorite Knight Household as it offers an incredible Tradition and Stratagem in addition to a situationally fantastic relic and Warlord Trait.

• Household Tradition: Oathkeeprs: Models with this Household tradition double the number of remaining wounds when determining which damage tier they use. Competitive.
  • This is an extremely good Household Tradition. As we all know, 8th ed is deadly and your Knights WILL take damage during the course of the game. This means you don’t degrade until you’re down to 7 wounds in most cases keeping each Knight operating at higher efficiency longer.
• Stratagem: Staunch Allies: 2 CP, used in the Charge phase, allows a Knight to fire overwatch on an enemy unit charging an Imperium unit within 12″ as if they were the target of the charge. If the enemy unit successfully completes the charge you may then Heroically Intervene 2D6″. Competitive.
  • Again, outstanding strat. When used with a unit like the Valiant with the Traitor’s Pyre relic, you will obliterate units that try to charge units near you and can then jump into combat and stomp on them, too! Very, very good.
• Warlord Trait: Duty of the Forsworn: At the start of the game, choose an enemy unit. Your Warlord gains +1 to hit against that unit. Efficient.
  • Not a trait to be taken every game but when you do want it, it’s great. The obvious choices here at high value targets like Magnus, Mortarion, or even a big unit of tough models like Bullgryn, Plague Drones, Cultists, etc. that you need to hit hard.
• Relic: Angel’s Grace: Ignore Mortal Wounds dealt in the psychic phase on a 4+ for the bearer. Efficient.
  •  As with the above, this is a relic that won’t be used every game but when you do need it, it is awesome. If you find yourself squaring off with Tzeentch especially, this can be a lifesaver. 

House Cadmus

House Cadmus has some cool utility available with board control and to make a more durable Knight but may not be chosen as often as some of the other Households.

• Household Tradition: Hunters of the Foe: Re-roll wound rolls of 1 in the fight phase against enemy units containing only models with a wounds characteristic of 12 or less. Efficient.
  • This is a solid Tradition when it applies (which to be fair, is most of the time) and can help a lot to plow through infantry with stomp attacks. However, the fact that is has limitations which means it could simply not work is what gives it the Efficient status over Competitive. Don’t let that deter you form picking, just understand that where the other Traditions will always work, this one may not in certain circumstances. 
• Stratagem: Bio-Scryer Cogitator Array: 3 CP, used after enemy reinforcements arrive within 12″ of a House Cadmus model. You may fire on that model as if it were your shooting phase. Competitive.
  • A brutal strat, but also a pricey one. This is savage as many armies rely on reserves to deliver key units to the battlefield and this creates a huge bubble to deter these units and screw up your opponent’s plans. The funny thing is you often won’t use it, but the fear of it will keep your opponent away from you and this gives you serious board control potential without actually spending any points!
• Warlord Trait: Veteran of Gryphonne IV: Reduce all damage suffered by your Warlord in the Fight phase by 1 to a minimum of 1. Competitive.
  • An absolutely awesome Warlord Trait! Any type of damage reduction on something as tough as a knight is fantastic and keeps them alive and kicking for longer.
• Relic: The Hunter’s Eye: grants the bearer Ignore Cover. Efficient.
  • A solid choice. Ignores Cover often gets underrated by players but it makes a big difference and is especially useful when trying to blast a unit off of an objective that is dug in. However, when compared to some of the other options available to you, is not likely to be chosen often. That said, when you find yourself facing an army that gets additional cover bonuses like say, Space Marine Scouts with cloaks, then it may be worth choosing.

House Mortan

• Household Tradition: Close-Quarters Killers: +1 to hit rolls on turns in which these models charges, were charged or Heroically Intervened. Efficient.
  • A solid tradition but as Gallants already hit on 2’s and they are the primary recipient of this, it is not as effective in optimal conditions as say, +1 attack. However, it does allow you to degrade and still hit on 2’s, and for any other Knight, particularly something like a Warglaive, it is quite a boost as even shooty Knights often end up in melee. So an all around good choice but perhaps not the most optimal choice for a melee boosting Household Tradition.
• Stratagem: Slayers of Shadows: 1 CP, Ignore all modifiers when shooting for a Knight. Competitive.
  • Absolutely killer strat in the right circumstances. As in the competitive meta -1, -2 or even -3 to hit units are fairly common this can be a game changer on a Knight Crusader or Casetllan, for example.
• Warlord Trait: Legacy of the Black Pall: -1 to hit against attacks that target your Warlord from more than 18″ away. Competitive.
  • Incredibly potent Warlord Trait. Slap this on a shooty Knight that wants to hang out in the backfield anyway and watch him become incredibly difficult to damage.
• Relic: Honour’s Bite: Replaces a Knight’s Reaper Chainsword: melee, S+6, AP-4, 6 damage, each wound roll of a 6 deals D3 Mortal Wounds in addition to normal damage. Efficient.
  • A solid choice if not 100% optimal. If you build a Knight with say, the +1 attack Warlord Trait and go all out for those extra Mortal Wound it can be quite deadly but generally speaking I think most players will opt for other options with their relics. That said, this is not bad at all, just doesn’t necessarily compare as favorably to the other choices.

And there you have it! Next up, we’ll cover the Questor Mechanicus houses and take a look at what they have to offer.

Which Questor Imperialis house is your favorite? 

 

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