It's definitely not yet time for the new, 10th edition Warhammer 40k Imperial Knights codex. But, to avoid this weekend's new Chaos Knights 'dex causing a nasty power gap between stompies of the loyal and traitorous varieties, Games Workshop has helpfully updated the Imperials' points to match, in a surprise Munitorum Field Manual update. And folks: almost everything is cheaper.
GW announced the "raft of updated downloads" on Wednesday, June 18. Alongside the points changes, it also confirms that all Imperial Knights datasheets are losing one point of Toughness (T), in exchange for extra Wounds, "to keep the Imperial Knights in line with their Chaotic cousins".
Looking at the updated Index PDF shows us the specifics: the smaller Armiger class Knights go down from T10 to T9, and up from 12 to 14 wounds, while Questoris class Knights (the medium-big ones) go from T12 to T11, but gain four more wounds, from 22 up to 26. The really big Dominus class Knights likewise drop from T13 to T12 in exchange for four extra wounds, jumping from 24 to 28.
We'll be digging into what other little tweaks may be buried in the index at a later date, but for now, back to the headline: from what we can see, pretty much every unit is dropping hard in points. The bigger the Knight, the bigger the price cut, too: the vast Castellan gun platform and line breaking Valiant both drop by 115 points, from 510 down to 395.
Dome headed Questoris Knights get a variety of smaller points reductions, bringing them down from the high 300s and low 400s into a the same low-300s range, with the Preceptor now 335 points, and the Paladin, Gallant, and Errant all costing 345. Only the beefier Crusader pokes its gun-toting head above, at 365 (down 80 from 445). Oh, and billy no-mates named character Canis Rex, down 70 from 450 points to 380).
The only mainline Imperial Knights that don't get a points drop in this update are the lighter, fast moving Armiger class engines, which stay at 130 points for your shooty Helverins and 140 for the punchy Warglaives. And rightly so - they're a mainstay for objective and board control plays, but they're not over costed.
Over in Forge World land, the points reductions are (predictably) much more modest, with cost cuts varying between 10 and 70 points - or no cut at all, in the case of the basically-a-Titan Acastus Knight Asterius, which remains at 765 points. The one exception is the Cerastus Knight Castigator, falling 100 points to a more manageable 365 points. You can read the full list in the updated Munitorum Field Manual here.
It's all a bit dramatic - and signals some big list building changes about to drop when the Chaos Knights 'dex arrives on Saturday. What are you hoping to see? Or, if you're an Imperial Knights main, do these points drops already have you feverishly list building? Come tell us in the Wargamer Discord community!
Alternatively, you can always read up on the less stompy armies in our complete guide to all the Warhammer 40k factions - or find out which new rulebooks are coming next in our tracker of all the Warhammer 40k codex release dates.