The Grey Knights are a secret an mysterious Chapter of Space Marines specifically tasked with combating the dangerous Daemonic entities of the Warp and all those mortals who wield the corrupt power of the Chaos Gods. They were created by the Emperor with the aid of Malcador the Sigillite at the time of the Horus Heresy to serve as Humanity’s greatest weapon against the threat posed by the existence of Chaos. They have the honour of being implanted with gene-seed engineered directly from the genome of the Emperor Himself.
The existence of the highly secretive Chapter is virtually unknown outside of the Inquisition and the highest echelons of the Imperial adepta, and is a well-guarded secret enforced by mind-wipes and even assassination of Imperial citizens if necessary.
Unlike other Astartes, every Grey Knight is a potent psyker. Yet, in the 10,000 standard years of Imperial history, no Grey Knight has ever been corrupted by the Ruinous Powers of Chaos. Additionally, the Grey Knights do not follow the tenets of the Codex Astartes in the matter of force organization.
Overview
Grey Knights are my first 40k army. I had never seen them before before the Hexfire and decided to take the plunge and split the box. Since then, they have stayed a staple in my rotation of many armies. They are second favorite armies second only to my Chaos Knights in 10th edition. Games Workshop has heavily leaned into the Grey Knights heavy use of teleportation chambers as their source of inspiration for their index playstyle. They are an extremely fast force. Their army rule allows them up to 3 units to redeploy from deep strike at the end of each of the opponent’s turns in a standard 2000-point game. This is enhanced by the auto 6-inch advance from the only currently available detachment.
The army is primarily focused on high-volume melee with mass low to no ap long-range fire. It is extremely limited in high-strength options period, making dealing with vehicles and monsters somewhat of an issue for the army. I play the army with less focus on lethality and lean more into the finesse that the army’s speed offers. This force allows the player to determine exactly when they are and when they are not engaged. The army is deceptively durable with an army-wide 2+ armor save, though having relatively low toughness across the board. My favorite unit has to be the Strike Squad. 24pts is a hefty cost, but this grants you an on-demand 12-inch movement, redeploying, 2+ armor save, OC 2 unit and the capability to clear most other battelines albeit in melee. Absolutely love the force, but would not recommend it for those looking to enter the 40k space for its higher learning curve as the range limits you to less than a handful of playstyles.