Warhammer is a game that is played with miniatures, and that’s fine – to a point. From the heady days of Epic Space Marine and Titan Legions, Warhammer hasn’t been afraid to dream a little bigger, finding new ways to introduce gigantic machines of war alongside ranked infantry. But, what if… what if you could put a full-sized Knight into a game of Warhammer 40,000?
Well, the geniuses in the Warhammer Studio didn’t dare to dream. They just acted, working themselves into a sculpting frenzy, resulting in the Imperial Knight Paladin.
Imperial Knights have been around for a while, originally designed by the legendary Jes Goodwin for Adeptus Titanicus in the late 1980s in epic scale. They were an eclectic bunch that brought together all sorts of influences from medieval armour to Victorian engineering and were bristling with devastating weapons. Even as far back as then, they were divided into Paladin, Crusader, and Errant variants, which have since become designations for future Knights.
When these gargantuan war machines graduated from epic scale and rumbled into Warhammer 40,000, the Imperial Knights lagged behind their Xenos and Astra Militarum counterparts. The Baneblade super-heavy tank, Stompa, and Wraithknight were all striding out and sundering battlefields with centrepiece plastic kits long before the Knight Households got their own, but eventually, the Imperial Knight Paladin landed, reaper chainsword revving.
Noble steeds ridden by the scions of the Knightly Houses, these massive engines of destruction are the Imperium’s abhorrent might reified but were initially designed to help Imperial colonisers overcome nature. Jes was once again involved in updating these classic machines, using the opportunity to bring an iconic piece of Warhammer history to the tabletop in plastic.
The beetle back design, sunken head, and massive rounded shoulders evoke the armour of mediaeval knights while riffing on Imperial Warlord Titans, creating an utterly unique mechanical monster that blends chivalry with the esoteric technological sensibilities of Warhammer 40,000 and made a stunning centrepiece in any collection.
Variants on the Paladin known as the Crusader and Errant errant emerged in due course, along with a character Knight, Canis Rex, and its rider Sir Hektur. Forge World continued to release more Knight designs in resin, such as the long-legged Cerastus Knight Lancer, the sinister Cerastus Knight-Atrapos, and the Titan-bothering Acastus Knight Porphyrion, and more.
With their own Codex and a strong presence in the Horus Heresy, the Knight Households continued to swell with the towering Castellan and the smaller Armigers.
The forces of Chaos struck back with a malevolent take on the noble Paladin chassis followed by a pack of Wardogs and the terrifying Knight Abominant.
It is now common to see whole armies composed entirely of Knights, and with the upcoming Knight Cerastus Lancer and its two variants, establishing a vast Knight Household is easier than ever.