Faction Guide
Chaos Knights
Towering war machines corrupted by Chaos. Their noble pilot-lords fell to ambition, desperation, and daemonic whispers — and their Knights warped around them. Now they stalk the galaxy as Dread Households, engines of ruin bound to no master but ruin itself.
Playstyle
Walking War Machines
Painting
Hard
Rules
Medium
Starter Cost
~$165+
*No Combat Patrol box exists for Chaos Knights. Entry point is 3x War Dog Executioners — playable and competitive.
The fallen houses
Imperial Knight households are ancient institutions — noble families bound to their war machines across generations, each Knight bound to its pilot through a neural interface called the Throne Mechanicum. For millennia they served the Imperium faithfully. Then some did not.
Some fell through ambition — a Knight lord who bargained with Chaos for greater power and found the price was everything. Some fell through desperation — households that swore themselves to a Chaos warband to survive a war the Imperium had abandoned them to. Some fell through madness — the Throne Mechanicum is a psychically active device, and in the wrong circumstances, it whispers.
Whatever the cause, the result is the same. The Knight warps. Spines and blades grow from the hull. Daemonic entities fuse with the machine-spirit. The pilot becomes something else — still in there, still screaming, but no longer in control. These are Chaos Knights: Dread Households that march under the banners of the Dark Gods, bringing ruin to all they encounter.
War Dogs are smaller Chaos equivalents of Imperial Armiger-class Knights — fast, aggressive, and utterly unpredictable. They hunt in packs, serving the great Chaos Knights as hounds serve hunters, except these hounds are the size of tanks.
How they play on the table
Chaos Knights are a super-heavy army — every model is a massive war machine worth hundreds of points. A typical army has only 3–6 models total. You are not managing squads. You are managing engines of destruction.
Compared to Imperial Knights, Chaos Knights skew aggressively toward melee. War Dogs are fast and excellent at getting into combat quickly. Full-sized Chaos Knights — Desecrators, Tyrants, and Abominants — hit harder in close combat than their Imperial equivalents and can receive Daemonic Corruption upgrades that push their capabilities further in exchange for instability.
The appeal: few models means low cognitive overhead. You will never be overwhelmed by bookkeeping thirty units. Each activation matters enormously — your Knights are individually powerful enough to swing the whole game. Devastating when piloted well, manageable to learn on.
Chaos Knights are for you if...
- ✓ You love giant corrupted war machines
- ✓ You want a small model count army (3–6 models)
- ✓ You prefer melee-focused aggression
- ✓ You want a high visual impact on the table
- ✓ You enjoy painting large centrepiece models
Maybe look elsewhere if...
- ✗ You want lots of models on the table
- ✗ You hate painting large flat panels
- ✗ You want a beginner-friendly entry price
- ✗ You prefer ranged, shooty armies
- ✗ You need a Combat Patrol box to start small
The Knight classes
Chaos Knights come in two size categories. Your army will be built from these choices.
War Dog Executioner
Armiger-class (small)Fast melee harasserThe recommended starting purchase. Three War Dogs form a legal and highly competitive patrol. Armed with twin diabolus heavy stubbers and a slaughterclaw. Fast enough to threaten flanks on turn one.
War Dog Karnivore
Armiger-class (small)Pure melee hunterThe most melee-focused War Dog. Reaper chaintalon for devastating close combat. Less shooting than the Executioner but hits harder up close. A pack of these is terrifying.
Chaos Knight Desecrator
Knight-class (full size)Melee centrepieceThe full-sized Chaos Knight most players start with. Immense melee output via the laser destructor and titanic feet. The centerpiece of any Dread Household.
Chaos Knight Tyrant
Knight-class (full size)Ranged fire supportA full Knight skewed toward shooting. The Warpstrike cannon is devastating at range. A good complement to War Dogs doing the aggressive flanking work.
Chaos Knight Abominant
Knight-class (full size)Melee monsterThe most corrupted and daemonically enhanced full Knight. Devastating in combat, radiates Chaos corruption onto nearby units. The apex predator of the Dread Household.
War Dogs and full Knights from the same kit build multiple configurations — check the sprue options before buying multiples to maximise flexibility.
How to paint Chaos Knights
Large panels + corruption effects = a challenging but spectacular result. The key is building up the corruption gradually rather than trying to do it all at once.
Prime black, base coat your armor color
Chaos Black spray primer. Then base coat the armor panels in your chosen Household color — Iron Warriors go Leadbelcher, others might use dark red (Khorne Red) or rotted metal. Pick one identity and commit.
Wash the whole model with Nuln Oil
Apply Nuln Oil (or Agrax Earthshade for warmer tones) across all panels. Work into the recesses, cracks, and joint areas heavily. This is your shadow layer and rust foundation.
Drybrush the armor panels
Drybrush raised edges with a lighter version of your armor color. For metallics: Ironbreaker over Leadbelcher. This restores color to the high points and creates wear lines automatically.
Sponge on rust and chipping
Tear a small piece of blister foam, dab it in Rhinox Hide, and lightly stipple along edges and lower panels. Then do the same with Skrag Brown. This is the fastest corruption effect and looks immediately convincing.
Daemonic energy in the cracks
Pick a Chaos power color: sickly green (Tesseract Glow), purple (Magos Purple), or orange-red (Bloodletter). Apply as a Contrast paint or glaze into panel gaps, eye lenses, and corruption vents. This is the defining visual of Chaos Knights.
Pick out the bone and metal details
Spines and bone growths: Ushabti Bone base → Agrax Earthshade → Screaming Skull drybrush. Metallic trim: Balthasar Gold washed with Agrax. The base: Stirland Mud texture paint, dried and drybrushed Karak Stone.
The corruption shortcut
Prime black → spray Leadbelcher from above only → apply Nuln Oil Gloss everywhere → drybrush Ironbreaker on panels → apply Plaguebearer Flesh Contrast orTesseract Glow into cracks → done. Three hours, table-ready result, unmistakably Chaos.
What to buy first
There's no Combat Patrol for Chaos Knights. Start with three War Dogs — they form a legal patrol and are genuinely competitive.
3x War Dog Executioners
Three boxes gives you a small but legal Chaos Knights army. War Dogs are fast, hit hard in melee, and each one is an imposing centrepiece model. Paint all three before buying anything else — large models take time. Each kit also builds the Karnivore variant, so look at the weapons and pick what suits your planned playstyle.
Search Amazon →Chaos Knight (Desecrator / Tyrant / Abominant)
Once your War Dogs are painted, add a full Chaos Knight as your army's anchor. One box builds the Desecrator, Tyrant, or Abominant — decide which role you want before assembling, as the builds are meaningfully different in how they play.
Search Amazon →Paints you need
Honest cost breakdown
3x War Dog Executioners
Minimum legal army — three impressive models
Essential paints (8)
Metallics, rust effects, daemonic glow
Basing supplies
Texture paint + tufts + grey drybrush
Clippers + hobby knife
One-time purchase
Plastic glue
Large kits need plastic glue, not super glue
Starter total (War Dogs only)
~$212Adding a full Chaos Knight (~$160) brings the total to ~$372 for a fuller list. Unlike most factions, three War Dogs is already a genuinely playable army — you don't need the big Knight immediately.
The household falls. The hunt begins.
Three War Dogs. Three towering engines of Chaos. Paint them before buying anything else — they reward patience and attention. The corruption paints itself once you start.