Chapter Approved was the saving grace for most Space Marine armies in 8th Edition. With that said, where do the Grey Knights stand now?
Grey Knights used to run as an entire stand-alone army back in the days of 5th edition. However, since then, it looks like they’ve receded back into being an ally-force for another army. What has Chapter Approved done to help with this? Let’s check it out.
Grey Knights Points Reduced
Grey Knights were at the point of literal unplayability before Chapter Approved. You’d only put some Grey Knights on the table if you wanted to just have a cool-looking/short game. However, Chapter Approved rolled around and cut their points down right where they needed them. Draigo actually dropped a whopping 60 pts. The army is definitely “playable” but we don’t think we’ll be seeing any mostly-Grey Knight lists pop up at the top of a tournament anytime soon.
Grey Knights are Still an Elite Army
Grey Knights are still a VERY elite army. They are a brotherhood of Librarians in Terminator armor. How many of those do you know in your personal life? (The answer is probably not more than two or three). Even though their lore describes them as nearly un-killable super-soldiers, they are still one of the chumps on the tabletop. They can never hope to have the same amount of board presence as Ork Boy or Chaos Cultist spam.
So how should we be running Grey Knights?
Sprinkle Characters in Your Force
If you want the maximum effect of Grey Knights and still have points to put towards a Batallion of Guard/ a couple Knights (basically whatever you want), then try taking a Supreme command detachment or maybe even a simple Patrol. Having three Grand Master Dreadknights in your back pocket for turn two isn’t a bad idea considering they can all deepstrike. They have a hefty chunk of wounds and come stock with an improvable 4++ invulnerable save. Bottom line is your opponent will have to deal with three of them showing up in a single turn which can help take some pressure off of what was on the board in the first place.
If you want some Infantry mulching action, you can just take Castellan Crowe (now 80 pts.) in a patrol with a Strike Squad. He gets an absurd amount of attacks and can pierce through an Ork Boy blob as a hot knife stuck in some butter.
Grey Knights characters are the best thing they have to offer. Let other factions spam the models and do the legwork. Your Grey Knights should be there for the cleanup.
What do you think about Grey Knights after Chapter Approved? Are they what you thought they would be? How do you run them? Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group.
About the Author: Wesley Floyd
Wesley Floyd
Job Title: Staff Writer
Joined: 2018
Socials: @RealmbrushPainting
About Wesley Floyd: Wes has been in the Warhammer hobby since 2015 and joined the Spikey Bits writing team in 2018. He is known for his satirist takes on trending topics and imaginative yet amazingly affordable hobby solutions to painting Warhammer miniatures.
Imperial fanboy, tabletop fanatic, and the self-proclaimed King of Sprues. He knows for a fact that Mephiston red is the best-tasting paint and is the commission painting equivalent of a Wendy’s 4 for $4. If you like what he writes and want to contact him or have your tabletop minatures painted (to a mostly okayish standard), message him on Instagram.
