In this series we’ll talk about each faction, what they have to offer, how they play, and talk about a few list concepts to consider. You can find all the Faction Focuses that we’ve published here.
It took a while but Chaos Knights finally received their codex in mid 2025 along with a host of datasheet changes that fundamentally altered the faction’s play style. Since their inception in eighth edition, Chaos Knights have been gradually drifting further and further away from Imperial Knights as a faction, and their book gave them multiple ways to play the army.
Update Log
- Updated (Latest): 2025-11-18 for the Codex and balance updates
- Updated: 2024-05-06 for the Q2 points update
- Initial Publication: 2023-08-14
Why Should You Play This Faction?
Chaos Knights provide you with a lethal combination of speed and durability while also giving you access to some amazing datasheets for both the shooting and fight phases that can be taken en masse. Few armies can match Chaos Knights when it comes to the ability to flood the table with fast, durable vehicles that can shoot and fight, and while the army rules may not be quite as strong as what Imperial Knights get, Chaos Knights have much cooler options when it comes to their datasheets.
Army Rules
The Chaos Knights have three army rules to work with now, and while they’re generally a bit more meaningful than the rules they had back in Index, the Detachment rules are where you get real value.
Harbingers of Dread
Your Chaos Knights gain Dread abilities. Which abilities they gain depends on which ones are active for your army. All of your units start with the Deathly Terror ability active. Then, at the start of the first, third, and fifth battle rounds you can either pick one of the abilities from the below list or randomly select two Dread abilities to apply by rolling two D6 and applying the results. Duplicate abilities do not have an additional effect, and the abilities you activate stay active for the rest of the battle.
- Deathly Terror (Aura) –Â While an enemy unit is within 9″ of this model, worsen the Leadership characteristic of models in that unit by 1. The default ability for Chaos Knights. It doesn’t matter all the time but when it does, it can have a big impact. It’s particularly fun for messing with Chaos Space Marine Dark Pacts.
- Despair (Aura)Â – While an enemy unit is within 9″ of this model, worsen the Leadership characteristic of models in that unit by 1. This stacks with Deathly Terror. -2 to Leadership is nothing to sneeze at, especially against armies rocking 7+ as their base characteristic. That said, you’ve got other options you’re more likely to go with here.
- Doom –Â Each time this model makes an attack, if the target of the attack is Battle-shocked, add 1 to the Wound roll. This theoretically combos with Deathly Terror and Despair, but it’s a bit too unreliable to be something you want to use.
- Darkness –Â Each time an attack is made against this model, if the Attacking unit is Battle-shocked or more than 18″ away, subtract 1 from the hit roll. Now we’re talking. You’re basically picking this ability as your turn 1 ability 100% of the time for the extra protection it gives you against ranged attacks.
- Dismay (Aura) –Â In the Battle-shock step of your opponent’s Command phase, enemy units within 9″ of this model have to take a Battle-shock test if they’re below starting Strength. This one is more solid than the others, since forcing extra tests is how you make the best use of that Deathly Terror aura.
- Delirium (Aura) –Â While an enemy unit is within Half Strength and within 9″ of this model, each time it fails a Battle-shock test, it suffers D3 mortal wounds. This is theoretically nice if you’re already forcing tests, but it doesn’t combo with Dismay, which is unfortunate.
- Dominion –Â Add 3″ to the range of this model’s Aura abilities. This one is made to work with the other Dread abilities but also works with more open abilities like the auras on the Descecrator or Despoiler.
The only real must-take here is Darkness, so it’s pretty common to start games taking Darkness on round 1 and then roll for two abilities on rounds 3 and 5 unless there’s a specific ability that has value in your matchup. If your opponent is pure melee you may opt for Despair or Dominion turn 1 instead, then roll from there.
Super-Heavy Walker
Each time a model with this ability makes a Normal, Advance, or Fall Back move, it cam move through models (excluding TITANIC models) and sections of terrain features that are less than 4″ in height. It can move within Engagement range when doing this but can’t end its move within Engagement range of enemy units. It can also move through terrain features that are more than 4″ tall, but if you do this then after it’s done moving you have to roll a D6 and on a 1, the model is Battle-shocked.
This is huge for Titanic Chaos Knights, who need the ability to walk through walls in order to be playable on some terrain layouts. Note that this won’t help you when charging – you still need the Imperious Advance Stratagem for that – but it will help you set up for a charge move later. Just be mindful of that Battle-shock rider – there are many stories out there of players who moved through terrain, became Battle-shocked, and then failed their charge rolls and couldn’t re-roll, or ended up unable to use a key Stratagem after.
Dreadblades
This is your ally rule – you can include up to 3 War Dog models or 1 TITANIC Chaos Knight in any Chaos army. Those models can’t be your Warlord and cannot be given Enhancements. This is the rule that lets you take Chaos Knights in other armies and it gets a fair amount of use – it’s particularly nasty when you’re taking a double gatling Despoiler with Mortarion’s Hammer Death Guard, where it can get the benefit of shooting units with -1 to their saves.
The Detachments
Chaos Knights have access to four different Detachments in their Codex, plus a fifth from Grotmas 2024, the Iconoclast Fiefdom. Click on the banners below to visit the Detachment Focus article for each detachment.
This is your War Dogs detachment, which makes War Dog units BATTLELINE.
The Detachment from Grotmas 2024 lets you combine Chaos Knights with Cultists and Accursed Cultists, and sacrifice them for power form the dark gods.
Sell your soul to the dark gods for power! In the Infernal Lance you can take Leadership tests and risk mortal wounds in exchange for added benefits in the form of speed, damage, or durability.
Your “Oops, all bigs!” Detachment, the Lords of Dread gives you extra Enhancement options and gives every unit in the ability to lock down a sticky objective with OC 5.
The revised Index Detachment, the Traitoris Lance offers versatility and some solid Stratagems you can’t get anywhere else.
Five Things to Know
- The Infernal Lance is Your Go-To Detachment. Shortly following the release of Codex: Chaos Knights, the army had several options for competitive detachments. Since the Q3 balance dataslate, those have largely fallen away and now the only real option is Infernal Lance, which just makes your already potent datasheets even better. On that note…
- You are naturally a Skew Build. You get access to some of the most efficient and effective vehicle datasheets in the game. Some armies can just straight up not deal with the sheer volume of wounds you’re packing on high-toughness models with solid saves. If an army can’t reliably kill two big knights in a single turn, you’ll run right over them. That said, your durability has limits: Armies packing lots of Lethal Hits or high volumes of S6 attacks can cause you problems, and against armies which can easily drop two big knights per turn you’ll need to play a bit more cagey.
- Big Knights are Back. If you haven’t touched Chaos Knights since the index, you’ll be surprised to find that big knights aren’t just back, they’re a key portion of the army. The current meta pick is to run three Knight Despoilers, but there’s plenty of room for the Atrapos or Lancer to provide value and occasionally you can get away with a Desecrator, Rampager, or Knight Tyrant in your list as well. Pound for pound, few units in the game are as devastating when it comes to shooting as the double gatling Knight Despoiler with Lethal or Sustained Hits on its guns, but the Lancer gives you a more durable, fast melee threat to hang with your Karnivores.
- Daemons are Your Friends. Although big knights can perform actions and still shoot, you want your expensive Chaos Knight datasheets out there killing things, not protecting your home objective or acting as a screen. That’s where Daemons come in – units like Nurglings make fantastic deep strike screens and movement blockers, while Beasts of Nurgle and Plaguebearers make outstanding backfield objective holders. Most competitive daemons lists run multiple units of Nurglings and many run Nurglings, Beasts, and Plaguebearers. Rotigus and the Great Unclean One also make the occasional appearance in successful lists, making more “Monster Mash” style lists a very real possibility.
- Terrain is Just Like, a Suggestion, Man. When you’re working with big knights terrain becomes much less a real problem and more like an idea. Be mindful of your TITANIC rule and how you can use it to open up line of sight on key enemy units and when you can just toe in or walk through it to reach a key enemy. Plan your games around how you’ll use the terrain to your advantage and be mindful of when you need to walk through it.
What Are the Must-Have Units to Start This Faction?
Chaos Knight lists tend to have a little more variety than they used to but if you’re starting a competitive army right it likely starts with at least two and probably three Knights Despoiler, each armed with a pair of Gatling Cannons. Beyond those you’ll need at least a few War Dogs, and right now the best options for the faction tend to be the melee-focused Karnivore and the Stalker, which comes with an Avenger Chaincannon and Scouts 6″. The exact mix between big and small knights can seesaw around a bit, but right now the meta has settled on three big knights supported by a mix of war dogs and daemons.
If you want to add Forge World Knights to your list, the top choices are the Lancer and the Atrapos. The Lancer gives you a fast, durable melee unit which can shoot across the board in a single turn with the extra movement from Infernal Lance while the Atrapos is more just an excellent all-rounder unit.
Regardless of which knight build you go with for your army, you also likely want some daemons to round out your list and give you some versatility. You’ll want at least two and probably three units of Nurglings, one to two Beasts of Nurgle, and a unit of Plaguebearers to work with.
How Does This Faction Secure Objectives?
Scoring and denying primary is generally not a huge problem for knights, even after their datasheet changes. Knights have a high OC and movement, allowing them to move onto objectives and hold them effectively during games. War Dogs have OC 6 while the TITANIC knights have OC 10, meaning you’ll typically have to kill them to take an objective from them. Though note that these units lose OC when bracketed, and that can potentially flip an objective back to an opponent. That said, you’ll occasionally also just get lucky with Battle-shock tests and watch an opponent look on helplessly when they fail a test they needed to hold an objective.
If you’re going heavy on War Dogs you’ll want to overwhelm your opponent’s key objectives by throwing as many cheap War Dogs on them as possible. Your models also have huge bases which means you can easily move-block opponents from being able to move onto objectives during their turn.
Secondary missions are a bigger problem. The upside is that your big knights can perform actions and still shoot, but if your focus was melee or you needed to range ahead with War Dogs, you may have to make some choices you didn’t want to make. That said, you do have the speed to be where you need to be for many secondary objectives. But this is where Daemons come in – Nurglings give you cheap Infiltrators who can help score Engage on All Fronts, while Beasts of Nurgle can help protect your home objective or do actions and Plaguebearers can likely buy you some additional insurance by stickying your home objective.Â
How Does This Faction Handle Enemy Hordes?
The short answer is Gatling Guns and Chain Cannons. You’ll find the former on Despoilers and the latter on Stalkers and they give you an insane volume of shots that’s good for both killing light infantry and also heavier and elite infantry. One of the most demoralizing feelings in the game is watching a Despoiler throw out 18 shots with SUSTAINED HITS 1, then realizing that’s only half their shots. Havoc Launchers are also a solid help in these matchups, giving you extra shots that can also dig out hidden units with Indirect Fire, but just be mindful that six War Dog Havoc Launchers likely won’t kill a full unit of ten Cultists if they’re shooting Indirectly. Past that, most of your melee threats have sweep attacks which can help finish off a larger unit, though they tend to excel more at wiping out heavy infantry.
How Does This Faction Handle Enemy Tanks and Monsters?
Good news: Most of the things in your army can handle tanks and monsters. Every knight platform has access to a weapon over Strength 10 except the Executioner, and even that war dog can still punch up fairly reliably through sheer volume. Thermal Spears and the melee attacks on the Atrapos and Lancer are great here, but don’t sleep on the Gatling Despoiler – the ability to drop LETHAL HITS on its guns instead of Sustained Hits gives it the ability to punch up very effectively.
What Combos Should You Build Around?
One of the big differences between Imperial Knights and Chaos Knights is that you don’t really need combos in Chaos Knights. All of the unit abilities work independently outside of the big knights giving minor buffs to nearby War Dogs, the most useful of which being the Desecrator giving nearby dogs the ability to re-roll 1s to hit in shooting. But even that isn’t typically enough to justify taking the Desecrator in most lists. The name of the game here is taking your best, most efficient datasheets and making them even better with the buffs you get in Infernal Lance. In the current meta, that means three Gatling Cannon Despoilers.
Sample Lists
You can find sample lists for this army in the Detachment Focus articles. Right now competitive play for Chaos Knights is dominated by the Infernal Lance Detachment, so that’s your best bet if you’re just looking for the most competitive option.
Wrap Up
That about covers it for Chaos Knights. They provide an incredibly effective, elite, and lethal army that can often out pressure your opponents if you commit your units right. While it may seem very one note for now, I can promise you the game plan is fun and there are other ways to play them that, while not achieving top levels competitively, are still fun to play and won’t leave you struggling to reach .500.
Have any questions or feedback? Drop us a note in the comments below or email us at contact@goonhammer.com. Want articles like this linked in your inbox every Monday morning? Sign up for our newsletter. And don’t forget that you can support us on Patreon for backer rewards like early video content, Administratum access, an ad-free experience on our website and more.
