Some of the most terrifying war machines to stride through the Age of Darkness owe their power to the forges of Mars, whose arcane technologies proved particularly effective when mounted on an Imperial Knight. These Mechanicum-aligned Knights carry fearsome weapons unique among their kind, and two of the most deadly variations are coming to wreak havoc on the battlefields of Legions Imperialis.
The Knight Atrapos is built from the loping Cerastus pattern chassis and stands a good deal taller than the Knights Magaera that share in the favour of Mars. As the Horus Heresy erupted they often duelled enemy Knights as their graviton singularity cannons and massive lascutters gave them a serious armour-piercing punch – reflected by the Macro-extinction Protocols special rule which gives them re-rolls when fighting other Super-heavies, Knights, and Titans.
They also sport a beefed-up defensive profile, with a stronger Ion Shield than a Cerastus Knight to keep them in the fight.
When you need the final word in both durability and killing power, however, you may want to trade up for the indomitable Acastus Knight Asterius.
The mighty Acastus Knights approach the size and power of full-scale Titans, and the Asterius combines that impressive provenance with some of the Mechanicum’s most destructive weapons. The massive conversion beam cannons it carries on each arm grow in power as the beam travels towards its target, causing some truly epic damage at maximum range.
The upcoming plastic Cerastus Knights Atrapos kit builds four individual Knights for use in Legions Imperialis, while the Acastus Knights Asterius box contains two giant walkers. Rules for both detachments can be found in the Legions Imperialis Core Rulebook, while expanded rules for fielding entire armies of Knights and more Mechanicum-aligned machines are included in The Rise of the Dark Mechanicum. They will be up for pre-order soon.
