A Hard Days' Knight...

A Hard Days' Knight...

Imperial Knights/Dark Angels versus Orks

Big Guns Never Tire, Hammer and Anvil, 2500 Points



The forces of the Imperium, having detected an Orkish infestation in system Balur, decided to dispatch one of its most powerful strike forces to eliminate the greenskins before they could establish themselves: a detachment known as Knight Force Alpha. This consisted of an Imperial Knights force, under the leadership of the Seneschal Knight, Crimson Retribution; plus a strike team selected from the Dark Angels Deathwing under the command of Belial.

Unbeknownst to the Imperium, however, the Orks had a surprise in store...

Arriving on Balur, the Knights found themselves confronting a powerful Ork force, dominated by an outlandish (and very Ork) Lord of War, Stompa. Possessing awesome firepower and extremely difficult to target at range, the Knights were forced into a desperate frontal assault - hoping that their close combat skills would prove a match for the Stompa's brute force.

The Orks, however, were no one-trick pony. They had also brought in some powerful support units, in the form of mobile mega-nobz, lootas and Gorkanautz. They were also quick off the mark. Identifying several key strategic objectives (i.e. that would guarantee them victory), the Orks charged forward and seized control of the middle of the battlefield.

Fortunately for the Knights. Ork enthusiasm was not matched by ballistic skill. In the opening phase of the battle, Ork shots failed to find their mark - and even when the occasional shot did land, imperial armour proved sufficient to prevent catastrophe. On the other hand, imperial firepower proved insufficient to slow the Ork advance; and it became clear that the conflict would be decided through close quarter fighting. With no other option, Belial and the Deathwing entered the fray with the express aim of bringing pain to the enemy.

Orks love nothing more than a good melee - but even greenskins falter in the face of Knightly prowess. One Gorkanaut fell to the blows of Deathwing Knights; one of the Ork Truks was annihilated by Knight Errant Greyhelm; and the Stompa was grievously wounded by Paladin Scion of Ultramar. A heavy price was paid for these gains; Scion perished under the blows of the Stompa, and the Deathwing Knights were gradually struck down until none remained, Belial himself falling to murderous Orkish firepower.

Back and forth the battle raged. Imperial Air support tackled the Orkish Lootas; Terminators threw back and slaughtered the Meganobz; and finally - in the decisive phase of the engagement - the mortally wounded Greyhelm was able to bring the Stompa down. The lootas were able to destroy the imperial Storm Eagle, but not before their truk had been put out of action; and with Crimson Retribution taking charge of the remaining imperial forces (directing the last active Terminators to victory over the surviving Gorkanaut), the armies of mankind were able to secure a hard-fought and heroic victory.

Final Tally:

Imperial Knights: 9 objective points, First Blood - 10

Orks: 3 objective points - 3 points

Observations/Suggestions:

No points were claimed in respect of Lords of War damage; the status of Imperial Knights as super heavies which are not Lords of War would give them too much of an advantage in scoring terms. On the other hand, the available evidence suggests that - equally - they are not sufficiently powerful (when compared to other 250-400 point units) to be penalized by conceding victory points.

Let me outline my thinking here:

1) They are vulnerable to air power (which they cannot deal with, having no non-blast shooting that is strong enough to bring down enemy flyers);

2) while they are really strong melee units, they do not have saving throws against damage sustained in assaults;

3) their D attack damage in assaults only counts against individual models, although they do of course get 1d3 stomps (although only after Initiative 1);

4) they are 13 armour, which while strong is not sufficient to repel multiple attacks from STR 8 troops.

I therefore suggest that:

1) the Knights - if played as a Combined Arms Detachment - should be treated as any other army, save for their being to score victory points from damaging enemy LOWs and gaining a 5+ change of stealing initiative.

2) if a single Knight is deployed in a battleforged army - as outlined by the force organisation chart in the Knight FAQs - they should not be counted as a LOW, and - as long as no LOW is played alongside them - points for damaging LOWs should be available (and 5+ steal initiatives allowed)

3) if 2 or more Knights are deployed in an unbound army, they should be counted as LOWs - giving 5+ steal initiative to the enemy, and conceding victory points for each 3 wounds

I am looking to find a fair balance to a situation that has been created by GWs creation of a super-heavy that is not a LOW - without proper consideration of the potential problems that this might create. To some extent, I don't actually feel that I am under any obligation to do so - the Knights are catered for under (some admittedly dubious) GW rules. However, because we are all supposed to enjoy what is a game, and because I am not determined to win at all costs (just most), I agree that certain anomalies should be addressed. I appreciate that their arrival has created a challenge for opponents; but from my perspective, it has merely filled a serious hole in Imperial Ranks that could otherwise only be countered through the purchase of multiple codexes and/or forgeworld fluff.

I cannot claim to be totally objective where the Knights are concerned; but I think they are fantastic models that add to the game, and I am bound to be less than impressed if - having bought them - they are going to be singled out for 'nerfing' before irrefutable evidence of their 'brokenness' has been provided; and, moreover, 'nerfing' that does not emanate from GW. Such a move would, I believe, create a dangerous precedent - and open the doors to endless bickering over other units that are challenging.

To date, I have fielded Knights as units 6 times - and only 1 has survived the battle in which they have taken part. They are not unbeatable, and if they have strengthened the Imperium relative to other armies... well I guess that it's time for someone else to enjoy being Eldar for a bit! (And I am far from certain that that is what the Knights have achieved).

As a general rule, I think that we ought to agree that - as far as rule changes are concerned - these can only be introduced if everyone agrees to them. Unanimity is essential because you are not going to get a satisfactory result from simple democracy. A 5 or 6 person electorate is too small and too easily swayed to be regarded as sufficiently wise or objective to provide a reasonable mandate for change. It would be better to stick with problems that we can blame on GW rather than to create a basis for bad feeling on the part of minorities.