Imperium Unit Review: Imperial Knights Gallant

Hello, 40k armchair generals SaltyJohn from TFG Radio here to bring you a tactics article about the second most popular Imperial Knight the Gallant. For more reviews, bat reps, tactics discussions, and analysis check out the Tactics Corner!

The Imperial Knights have been a solid choice for competitive 40k players since their codex dropped in June of 2018. While many of the Knight variants are solid choices a few stand out above the rest. The Castellan obviously comes to mind, as does the Crusader, but the Gallant may be the best Knight point for point in the codex among the big boys. With two highly effective Close Combat weapons, 1 additional attack over other variants for additional Titanic Feet attacks, and a great Weapon Skill it is an absolute beast in the assault phase before you even give it Relics or Warlord Traits! 

Overview: The Gallant fills a very important role in an otherwise shooting oriented list. Major close combat punch. Generally speaking, 2 Gallants is the go to if you’re going to run them. Usually in support of a Castellan or Helverin based list as you force a choice for your opponent. Shoot the Gallants charging across the table at you full speed, or shoot the Castellan/Helverins that will rip you to shreds with their firepower? As a Knight player, you should be fine with whichever choice your opponent makes as long as you’re prepared and have to know how to use the Gallants wisely. 

Wargear:

• Heavy Stubber
• Reaper Chainsword
• Thunderstrike Gauntlet and Titanic Feet
• May take 1 item from the Carapace Weapons list.
• May replace Heavy Stubber with a Meltagun.

 

Special Rules: 

• Ion Shield 5+ invulnerable save from ranged weapons.
• Explodes
• Super-heavy Walker
• Titanic, Vehicle, Questoris Class

Rating:

• Competitive 

Tactics: 

The Gallants are the heavy close combat hitters for Imperial Knight armies. They’re practically ubiquitous at this point in the game. If you’re seeing an Imperial Knight Super Heavy Detachment you are most assuredly going to be looking at 1-3 Gallants. Why are Gallants so prolific in Imperial Knight lists? It’s simple, they’re the cheapest of the big Knights, they’re good against any type of unit you might encounter, and you can buff them easily through proper House choice, Warlord Traits, Relics, and/or Stratagems. They’re the true swiss army knife of the Imperial Knight army. Although they are limited to a single phase, that’s true for most of the Knights. In reality, even Knights that have a Close Combat weapon and ranged weapon should stay at arm’s length from the enemy. If that’s the case that close combat weapon is going to be underutilized most of the time and you may as well just take the Crusader or Castellan so you’re not wasting a weapon mount.  If you’re going to play Knights successfully you really want to make sure your Knights are tooled up for shooting or assault. This is why the Gallant is so great.

In a balanced Super Heavy Detachment, you will most certainly find the Castellan which is easily the best shooting platform in 40k right now. So you have shooting covered, and in a pinch, it can use Titanic Feet to assault. Which means the two other slots that are required for the detachment can be filled with the much cheaper, and complimentary close combat masters the Gallant. The tools at the Gallants disposal alone, combined with its stat line, make it a threat to anything it runs up against. With a 2+ Weapon Skill, it is hitting in Close Combat most of the time. Even pesky -1 to hit units are getting hit on a 3+ and -2 to hit units, which are rarer still, get hit 50% of the time on a 4+. The Gallant also has a standard 5 attacks instead of the 4 attacks of the other Knights. While this may seem lackluster at first remember, that gives it 3 extra attacks with it’s Titanic Feet! So rather than 12 Str 8, AP-2 Dmg d3 attacks with it’s Titanic Feet the Gallant gets 15 and it’s hitting more often! If you are attacking with the Reaper Chainsword or Thunderstrike Gauntlet, because you’re attacking a Monster, Vehicle, another Knight or the like, that extra attack is actually a big deal because it is more likely to hit than other variant’s attacks and it does massive damage. The Chainsword at Str 14 AP -3 Dmg 6 is going to cleave through most of the elite infantry and Monsters in the game no problem. The Gauntlet, although it is -1 to hit, will crush other Knights and Super Heavies.

As far as stratagems go the best strat is easily Full Tilt which allows a Knight charge after advancing! You will want your Gallant(s) up close and personal fast, and with a 12in movement rate being able to Advance and charge is key. When you couple that with the House Terryn Tradition allowing you to roll an extra d6 when the Gallant Advances or Charges and discard the lowest result you have a Close Combat monster of a Knight with a reliably huge threat range. To take it a step further you can give the Gallant, or a Knight that keeps pace with it, the Landstrider Warlord Trait. With Landstrider the Warlord, and any Knight within 6″, adds 2 to all Advance and charge rolls. Making it an even more reliable long-range assault threat! Some decent Relics to consider are the Armor of the Sainted Ion which gives the Knight a 2+ Armor save. Couple that with the ability to give it a 4++ from shooting and you will have a Knight that is going to get to the enemy most of the time. If you’re facing another Knight list you might consider the Paragon Gauntlet. It is almost the same as the stock Gauntlet but it is d8 and doesn’t suffer the -1 to hit. You also want to run the Gallant as House Terryn for their House Stratagem Glory in Honor. With Glory in Honor, you use it on a unit that fought and is fights an additional time that phase! So your close combat beast of a Knight can go twice in a single fight phase. It can shred hordes of infantry with the Titanic Feet, or cleave through Elite Infantry and Vehicles in a single fight phase.

If you’re running a list with more than just a Castellan, I highly suggest you check out the Knight Gallant. I don’t think you will be disappointed.

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