Warhammer 40,000 has a plethora of factions and sub-factions, each with their own rich backstory and set of unique traits. The face of the Warhammer 40K brand, the Adeptus Astartes/Space Marines, have a multitude of subsects known as Chapters. The most popular of these Chapters is the Ultramarines, known for their blue armor and place on the front of Games Workshop displays and products. One of the more interesting Astartes Chapters is the Grey Knights, protagonists of the upcoming Warhammer 40K: Chaos Gate Daemonhunters.
The Grey Knights, also known as Chapter 666, are the Space Marines' designated anti-daemon force tasked with repelling hordes that come from the mysterious Warp. The Chaos faction is one of 40K's deadliest, filled with cultists, possessed Space Marines, and a slew of deamonic entities powered by the four Chaos Gods. The Grey Knights have one goal: to exterminate all Chaos forces at all costs. The Grey Knights have a rich history that dates back to Warhammer 40K's very first edition.
The History of Grey Knights in the 40K Universe
Where other Space Marine sub-factions are known across the 40K universe, the Grey Knights are largely unheard of, with much of their history being purposefully deleted from the Imperium's archives. Because of this, a great deal of the Grey Knights' history is up for debate.
According to folk legends, the Grey Knights were founded toward the end of the Horus Heresy, an era in which the Emperor of Man was betrayed by about half of his forces that were corrupted by the deamonic forces of Chaos. As the conflict was coming to an end, the Emperor knew that he would likely perish and that a first-line of defense was needed to push back the Chaos.
The Emperor sent one of his most trusted servants, Malcador, to seek out the best candidates for this potential new Chapter, and twelve suitable volunteers were found, including those loyal to the Emperor and those who had sided with Chaos. Just before the Horus Heresy came to a brutal end, these first Grey Knights journeyed to Saturn's moon of Titan, where they discovered a fully-prepared Fortress-Monastery base that had been hidden by the Emperor's servant.
This base was teeming with possible Grey Knights candidates, both fresh recruits and pre-trained Space Marines. Malcador was then summoned back to the Emperor's side, but before leaving, cast a spell that would hide the base inside the Warp.
With the Horus Heresy at an end, the Titan base made a reappearance. Due to the Warp's unpredictable nature, time had moved at a much faster rate for the Grey Knights, leaving them with a full 1,000-man Chapter trained and ready for war. These Grey Knight soldiers were given the gene-seed from the Emperor directly, meaning they are one of the most powerful Astartes forces in the universe.
But when they emerged the universe had changed, and the war had ended, leaving the Grey Knights seemingly without a purpose. The Inquisition, an all-powerful organization that ensures order is being kept across humanity's colonies, decided to keep the Grey Knights a secret and gave them the designation of Chapter 666 - despite only 400 chapters being present in the Imperium.
The Inquisition, which was founded by Malcador as well, commissioned the Grey Knights to serve as the Chamber Militant of the Ordo Malleus, a task force dedicated to exterminating the Daemonic forces of Chaos. In the current 40K timeline, the Grey Knights have remained a secret Chapter of the Astartes, often being sent on suicide missions to eradicate any Daemonic entities that are attempting to breach humanity's colonies.
How Grey Knights Play in the Tabletop Game
The Grey Knights Chapter functions differently from other Space Marine sub-factions. Where the likes of the Ultramarines, Salamanders, and White Scars are all bred and trained for all-out war, the Grey Knights are tasked with striking the forces of Chaos quickly and deliberately.
In the tabletop game, the Grey Knights demonstrate this purposeful action with their use of "deep strike" tactics. This often involves jumping in behind an enemy for a surprise attack before teleporting away again. The Grey Knights also use their Thunderhawk and Stormraven Gunships to conduct a continuous stream of hit-and-run attacks and chip away at the enemy.
The Grey Knights are unique in that every single unit is also a Psyker, 40K's version of a sorcerer-type character that takes the power of the Warp and uses it to perform "spells." This sets the Grey Knights apart from other Astartes factions, as it's often the case that an entire squad of Grey Knights can use their Psyker abilities in complex ways, whereas most Astartes forces tend to only have one Psyker for every squad.
The Grey Knights are also highly skilled in melee combat, making them a deadly force up-close. An average Grey Knights player will often use the faction's melee proficiencies in tandem with the units' teleportation abilities, giving them a squad that rushes in, obliterates the enemy, and teleports away to recover.
Due to the Grey Knights' elevated strength, only a small force is allowed on the table. Although these units are extremely powerful, they can be easily outnumbered by an opposing army. This shouldn't matter to a skilled Grey Knights player, as the faction's deadly mix of melee combat, Psyker abilities, and vehicles can turn the tide of battle.
The upcoming Warhammer 40K: Chaos Gate Daemonhunters looks as though it's going to take the general tabletop rules for the Grey Knights and bring them to a turn-based tactics game. Players will be able to kit out their Grey Knights in a variety of Wargear and armors before dropping them on a planet's surface and commanding them to eradicate Chaos God Nurgle's forces.
All the Grey Knights' usual abilities seem to be present in the game, with a focus on melee combat and teleportation being present in trailers released so far. Warhammer 40K: Chaos Gate Daemonhunters certainly looks like a promising game, especially for fans of the Astartes' most secretive Chapter.
Warhammer 40K: Chaos Gate Daemonhunters is set to release May 5, 2022 on PC.