Cerastus Knights for Adeptus Titanicus

A banner of Cerastus Knights armed with Shock Lances for GW's re-booted "Adpetus Titanicus".

As the quarantine painting rolls along, I thought it would be good to get back to some sci-fi subjects.  I've been painting a lot of historical stuff lately (and plan to do even more!) but every so often I find I need to apply the brushes to pieces of war machinery from GW's rebooted Adeptus Titanicus. This a banner of three "Cerastus" type Knights for GW's re-booted "Adeptus Titanicus" game.

These models...the detail is just incredible. Yes, the price is eye-watering...but GW has really hit it out of the park with their new Adpetus Titanicus models, just amazing.

"Titanicus" is a game of giant, city-crushing machines blasting and beating each other until their reactors cook off.  In that environment, the Knights play a supporting role, harassing and flanking the much larger titans like the Reavers and Warlords.  The individual Knights are perhaps not impressive compared to the massive battle titans, but when they operate in groups, and are used properly, Knights are a real threat to enemy war engines.

Incredible detail on the rear of the Knights' chassis.

These Cerastus Knights, armed with "Shock Lances", need to get close, very close, to the enemy war engines in order to strike - but their charge can be devastating, and the lances can cause fatal damage to enemy titans. These Knights are organized into "banners", and in the case of these types of Knights they max out at three machines per banner.  I opted to put together a full strength banner, just to maximize their chances of survival on the table.  These Knights are bigger than the other "Questoris" style engines, but thankfully are slightly tougher, and can move very fast on the battlefield. Opposing Princeps will need to be wary!

Power shields can fend off the assaults of other Knights...and in a group, the shields can work together to TRY and hold out under the bombardment of enemy titans...but speed is the better defence there...

Read to move out and spread "hope" - Horus for hope!

I really like the Knight models, but the actual back story of the Knights is pretty lame...best just to think of them as a sort of sub-force for the great Titan Orders.  These fellows are painted int the same teal/green colours I use for the Knights that support my Legio Mortis forces, and they will fight in the name of the Warmaster, Horus Lupercal, and his bold plans to make the Imperium great again...

I try to keep my "Titanicus" collection relatively balanced between rebel and loyalist forces, but as we go through the Quarantine Challenge I'm hoping to add a few more engines to the Warmaster's side of the equation...can always balance that out later :)

"Family photo" of my rebel Adeptus Titanicus forces...the Legio Mortis engines loom in the background...

I keep saying it, but "Titanicus" is really a great game, yet another example of how GW can crank out fantastic rule sets if they feel like it.  The advantages of the Knights over the more ponderous and more heavily equipped battle titans are subtle but real, and they can add a lot to the game.  The re-booted "Titanicus" is a just superb set of rules overall, and the new range of models that go with them are equally amazing. These particular kits have been a real treat to work with. And they are, of course, expensive...glad I purchased these before the economy collapsed...

Thanks for reading, I hope everyone is having a great day - and is staying safe.

New Knight & Reaver Weapon for AT18

Some AT18 painting - another Cerastus Knight Lancer and a new carapace weapon for a Reaver Titan.

In my last post about painting, I mentioned I was staying in 10mm, and I sort of consider the new Adeptus Titanicus model range from GW to be 10mm-ish...at any rate, after finishing those few small Prussians, my brushes have returned to Adeptus Titanicus subjects for the past couple of weeks.  Here is a Cerastus Knight and a Warp Missile Rack for the carapace mount of a Reaver Titan.

Cerastus Knight
The Cerastus Knight is one of the newer models GW have released for their Adeptus Titanicus re-boot ("AT18").  When it comes to the "fluff" of the story, the Knights are not of great interest to me, but the models are really lovely and the Knights can play an important role in the game.  This specific Knight will join two I painted earlier this year to form a full-strength banner of Cerastus Lancers.

This may shock you...

Each Cerastus Knight seen here carriers a shock lance and an "Ion Gauntlet" (a power fist for Knights, essentially).  They are intended for close combat on the AT18 table.  They are able to move fast and if they survive to get close to their opposition, the shock lances could deliver a nasty surprise to even the mighty Warlord Titans.  They will also do well putting a beating on banners of opposing Questoris Knights.

I can't say enough about the excellent decal sheets GW has released for AT18. They are very nice, and really help finish a model, especially the Knights, which are often sporting heraldry of their various "houses".

There are other weapons available, in theory, for the Cerastus Knight chassis, but for now the shock lance and ion gauntlet are the only models out there. I assume the flame cannon and bolt cannon variants will arrive as either separate model sets, or as upgrades from Forge World.

The Ion Shield, which is capable of delivering a short-range "shock blast".

The shock lance...another short-range weapon, but can be very deadly on the table if the Knight is in the right position...

My loyalists now have the support of two different Knight banners - these fellows, and a full strength banner of six Questoris Knights.

Warp Missile Rack
GW's support for AT18 has been hit-and-miss, but they are gradually releasing a greater variety of weapons for the Titans in the game.  Selecting different weapons load-outs for your Titans was always a fun aspect of the original Adeptus Titanicus game - and while the new Reaver kits at least have a touch of variety in their weapon loadouts, Forge World has augmented the choice out there (for a price, of course) by releasing Warp Missile Racks designed to fit the carapace weapon mount on Reaver Titans.

A one-shot deal, mounted in the carapace mount of a Legio Gryphonicus Reaver Titan.

The Warp Missile is a fun, whacky, weapon.  Basically the missile flies at the enemy Titan, goes briefly into the warp in order to avoid any void shields, then returns from the warp just in time to hit the target Titan.  In essence, this weapon gives you a chance to land a critical hit on an enemy God-engine even while your target's void shields are in rude health. Yikes! This weapon has a lot of disruptive potential - I look forward to seeing the players try it out on the table!

Another view of the Warp Missile Rack.  The missile itself can be removed to show it has been fired (and presumably has caused trouble for the Warmaster's minions...).

While I am not hobby-savvy enough to figure out how to magnetize the arm weapons on my Reaver Titans, it is very easy to magnetize the carapace weapons, and so it is easy to swap out the Apocalypse Launcher and/or Laser Blaster to mount this thing on top.

Reaver Titan and Cerastus Lancer banner - you can see the Cerastus Knights are pretty tall for Knights (it's all relative in the grim darkness of the far future).

There is a nice variety of weapons available out there now for your Titans.  They are not cheap to acquire, and GW has managed to package this in a fashion that brings to mind the ridiculous process TV signal-sellers use to flogging channel packages, but they are out there now, and even seem to be in supply.  As I said above, choosing weapon loadouts is, for me, part of the fun, so I hope to share some more progress on different weapons for my Titans soon.  And, of course, more Titans at some point...

Thanks for visiting!

Cerastus Knights for Adeptus Titanicus

More loyalist reinforcements - a pair of Cerastus Knight Lancers for Adeptus Titanicus.

 More elements for Adeptus Titanicus in this post.  Still painting Knights, but these are of a different sort from the previous bunch - these are "Cerastus"- type Knights (as opposed to the "Questoris" sort which I have been painting previously).  These Knights, which can see from their equipment, are the "Lancer" variety - equipped with a shock lance and an ion gauntlet (aka fist to punch things) as well as a shield.

He'll poke your eye out...

These new models were released...earlier this year, I think? Or maybe late 2018? I can't remember exactly...the pace of new releases in this game has been so slow, and the levels of stock so low, that I have been losing track.  They come two to a box - and yes, the price remains exhorbitant. But the model kits are brilliantly done, and you get a great decal sheet to use with the models.

Gives you an idea of the relative size of the Cerastus Knights...a good bit taller than the Questoris machines.

The Cerastus Knights are a good bit taller than the Questoris ones, and they are a little tougher as well. But there are limits to the size of their "Banners" - they top out at three machines, where the Questoris banners can have as many as six machines.  I have just painted these two for my loyalist forces for now, but have others in the queue - hoping to have a "Banner" of three machines for each of my loyalists and rebels.

The models have an excellent sort of "loping" motion...very well done by GW.

While the Cerastus are tougher, they are also easier to target because they are larger, and the big scary weapons like the bellicosa volcano problems will blast them to pieces. Fortunately the Cerastus Knights also move fast, and have a good command rating, so you have a better chance to give them orders.  The shock lance can be extremely damaging to even mighty Warlord Titans if they are able to charge home - enemy Princeps will need to keep an eye on these fellows, and ensure the flanks of their God-engines are covered.

You're going to need that shield...

The Cerastus-type chassis can carry other weapon assortments - a big flamer, a big heavy bolter, and different sorts of blades for "close combat" situations - but those models (or maybe just separate weapon sprues?) haven't yet been released by GW.  I believe GW intends to release them...but it's hard to know, as they have been so hot-and-cold when it comes the re-booted Adeptus Titanicus.

Thanks for visiting the blog, hope you are having a great summer.