Tuesday, March 31, 2020

From GregB: 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 a piece of war machinery from the grim darkness of the far future...here I scratch that itch with 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 they operate in groups and, used properly, are a real threat to enemy war engines.

Incredible detail on the rear of the Knights' chassis.
These 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...
"Titanicus" is really a great game, yet another example of how GW can crank out fantastic rule sets if they feel like it (as opposed to 8th edition 40k...but anyway).  The advantages of the Knights over the more ponderous and more heavily equipped battle titans are subtle but real, and they 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 (and expensive...glad I purchased these before the economy collapsed).

Thanks for reading, I hope you have a great day!

GregB

12 comments:

  1. Oh, these look superb, Greg. I agree with you on how GW just nailed it with Titanicus. The subtleties between the titan classes and the knights are excellently rendered on the tabletop. I really like how cohesive your two forces are. I may have to go back and repaint some of mine as they're sort of a beggar's feast of livery. Well done my friend!

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  2. Those look great Greg, nice work on the liveries. I do chuckle over Scifi figures who forgo powerful long range weapons so that they can slug it out with metal fisticuffs.

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  3. Very impressive these; realistic is hardly the right word but you get the gist. The knightly livery is very fashionable too!

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  4. You've done a marvelous job on picking out the detail on these models. Well done. For the Warmaster!

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  5. Splendid looking mini titans! Make the Imperium great again?!
    Best Iain

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  6. Smashing stuff Greg, I think the real benefit of titanicus is being able to field full banners without spending thousands at FW and needing to use the garden as a gaming board!

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  7. Splendid stuff Greg - these are a joy to look at. So far I have resisted the lure of Titanicus, but if GW ever get around to re-doing the Epic Space Marine game, I am all in!

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  8. I really like these Greg, I know nothing about the GW world but these, I like these 👍

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  9. With painting and colours this well executed, I might almost be persuaded to start gaming this too...

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  10. Great work Greg! I really like the turquoise and overall colour scheme

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