Tuesday, June 11, 2019

More Knights for Adeptus Titanicus

A "banner" of rebel Knights prepares to depart the staging grounds of my kitchen and fight for Horus and the Warmaster!
The blogging pace has slowed as summer approaches in Canada. But I haven't stopped painting - honest! Work has been very busy (this is a good thing) and then there has even been a bit of nice weather here and there, so I haven't been painting as much, but I've still been painting.

Fusion cannon - very nasty at short range!
After a steady run of historical subjects on my painting table, I've turned my brushes once again to the grim darkness of the far future.  While GW hasn't exactly been killing it with support for their new game, I still have models in the "pending pile" I should take care of. Here are three more Knights for GW's re-booted "Adeptus Titanicus", the game featuring the clash of massive, city-crushing war machines during the (even) dark(er) days of the Horus Heresy.

The detail on these new plastic Knights is incredible - very clever little kits.
I find the story of the Knight Houses in 30k/40k to be utterly barmy - who cares about House Puffin-Humper (likely not an actual Knight Household, but that is what they all seem like to me). But the Knight models themselves are really nicely done, and the "Adeptus Titanicus" rules reflect their role in the Titan-filled battlefields of the grimdark future very well.  In the 30k/40k universe Knights are large war machines - much larger than you or me, than even Space Marines, their dreadnoughts or their heaviest super-heavy tanks.  But they are still the small fry when put in the context of the city-crushing Titans. With this in mind, the role of the Knights in the "Adeptus Titanicus" game emphasizes careful movement and harassing fire.

A view of some of the great detail on the rear of the Knights.
As the small fish in the big pond, the Knights are pretty vulnerable to the heavy weapons of the Titans. Their defence relies on speed and mobility, and the group application of their Ion shields.  The larger the "banner" of Knights, the better the shield protection they have. The basic "banner" size, of three Knights, doesn't leave much margin of error when a Volcano Cannon shot arrives.  By increasing the "banner" to a maximum size of six machines, the Knights' ability to survive increases materially. As a group the Knights can pose a serious threat to the big Titans, getting close, inside the void shields, and delivering heavy damage. The Princeps of the Titans ignore enemy Knights at their peril, and will rely on friendly Knights to keep them in the clear, so they can focus on the enemy's larger war engines.

The gatling cannon of the Knights is not super-useful in the "Adeptus Titanicus" game, but if nothing else, this fellow can serve as ablative armour when a Volcano Cannon shot arrives...
I have two "banners" of three Knights painted previously - one each for the loyalists and rebels.  I want to expand those to full six-Knight banners.  It will come as no surprise to anyone that the rebel side gets the first set of reinforcements...Horus for Hope! These three will join my growing rebel forces.

So things are slowing down, yes, but stay tuned for more painting and gaming as the summer approaches. Thanks for visiting, have a great day!

7 comments:

Michael Awdry said...

Outstanding!

Wouter said...

Brilliant beautiful looking knights.
While they game may get little support, it's still better than what games like Dreadfleet received. Hopefully enough to keep the game alive.

DAM said...

They look great!

Simon Quinton said...

Nice work. I do wish they would do like an Epic game. I could justify buying into these then.

Moiterei_1984 said...

Gorgeous work yet again! I've decided to stay clear of this game but enjoy each and every post you do on the subject.

Dallas said...

Great work! I'm loving the chequers in particular.

Curt said...

It was a hoot getting the engines on the table again, and besides, who doesn't love it when titan reactors go thermal. :) The 'summer house' scenario was brilliant - very seasonally appropriate.