I came to a decision regarding House Yato. In the end, instead of bothering with all the crunch, gameplay, strategy, list-building, tactics and what-not, I decided to go back to my original inspiration for House Yato - House Taranis from Graham McNeill's Mechanicum. That is one of my favorite Horus Heresy books, right up there with A Thousand Sons. Actually, I'm not even sure which I prefer, but regardless, Mechanicum is up there on my list of favorites, and one of the reasons why I enjoyed it was because I followed the Imperial Knights of House Taranis, especially Raf Maven and Leopold Cronus - their journey to hunt that warp-cursed machine thing. That was one of the highlights of the book for me. Oh, and the last stand of the Knights of House Taranis and the Titans of Legio Tempestus. That was so heart-breaking to read and was what drew me to the awesome Knights in the first place. Furthermore, I remember writing a few years ago (was it 3 years? 4?) that House Yato and the Knight houses of Draconis III are closest to House Taranis because they do not need neural implants or sockets to connect with their Knights or something. So...yeah, I decided to model my Knight house after House Taranis in terms of gameplay too. So I'll be building a fluffy list rather than a competitive list (though the moment I chose Knights for my main faction, I doubt I can use that as an excuse). Just like the fluff I did for my original House Yato back in 7th edition, I decided to make them as close to House Taranis as possible.
In other words, just like House Taranis, House Yato is blessed with the Omnissiah's Grace. Yay.
So how do I build my Knight list? I already have a Knight army, so what do I add? I honestly do not think I'll get any new Questoris-class Knights since I practically have one of each except the Knight Gallant. The Knight Gallant is cool and all, but I'm not a big fan of pure melee units without much in the way of shooting. The Knight Crusader fits my style more, but obviously it would be impractical to take 3 of them in the same list, especially since they cost quite a bit in terms of both points and cash. So I'll work with what I have, and then add to my list a couple of the new Knights such as the Knight Castellan and Armigers Helverin. So how do I compile a list around these new units and still include my old units? Basically let's look at a 1,500-point list.
Super-heavy Detachment
Knight Castellan with 2 siegebreaker cannons and 2 shieldbreaker missiles 604 (Ion Bulwark Warlord Trait and Cawl's Wrath)
Knight Errant with heavy stubber and stormspear rocket pod 440 (Fury of Mars)
Knight Warden with meltagun and twin Icarus autocannon 454 (Mark of the Omnissiah or Endless Fury)
Total: 1,498 (9 Command Points -> 6 because of Heirlooms of the Household Stratagem)
Looking good. 3 Knights, perfect for a Super-heavy Detachment. Not only that, it gives me a whooping 6 bonus Command Points! Nice! And it's kind of fluffy, and I'm just gonna spam the Heirlooms of the Household Stratagem because...I can. Anyway, that's my 1,500-point list. For bigger games, I'll have room for at least one more Knight.
Super-heavy Detachment
Knight Castellan with 2 siegebreaker cannons and 2 shieldbreaker missiles 604 (Ion Bulwark Warlord Trait and Cawl's Wrath)
Knight Errant with heavy stubber and stormspear rocket pod 440 (Fury of Mars)
Knight Crusader with 2 heavy stubbers, rapid-fire battle cannon and stormspear rocket pod 530 (Mark of the Omnissiah)
Armiger Helverin with heavy stubber 174
Total: 1,748 (9 Command Points -> 6 because of Heirlooms of the Household Stratagem)
This list is for 1,750-point games because apparently that's the point number they're using at tournaments or something. I'm not sure. But that's what I'm going with if I'm only restricted to a 1,750-point list. Still a pretty fun and great list that's thematic, since I'm going House Taranis-styled House Yato, and all the awesome heirlooms and whatnot. For 2,000-point games, I can swap the Armiger Helverin for a proper Titanic Knight
Super-heavy Detachment
Knight Castellan with 2 siegebreaker cannons and 2 shieldbreaker missiles 604 (Ion Bulwark Warlord Trait and Cawl's Wrath)
Knight Errant with heavy stubber and stormspear rocket pod 440 (Fury of Mars)
Knight Crusader with 2 heavy stubbers, rapid-fire battle cannon and stormspear rocket pod 530 (Mark of the Omnissiah)
Knight Warden with meltagun 424 / Knight Paladin with heavy stubbers 423
Total: 1,998 / 1,997 (9 Command Points -> 6 because of Heirlooms of the Household Stratagem)
Of course, there's always the option to swap the 4th Knight out for an Imperial Guard Battalion. This will give me more Command Points as well as infantry and a tank. After all, it's weird to have a Knight lance go into battle alone without infantry and armored support. Well, Knights are armor, but you know what I mean. It's unfortunate that Knights cost so much that I can only squeeze in a small, almost minimal Battalion, otherwise I would have a lance of Knights accompanying a full-sized Brigade. Well, that's that. What to do indeed.
Super-heavy Detachment
Knight Castellan with 2 siegebreaker cannons and 2 shieldbreaker missiles 604 (Ion Bulwark Warlord Trait and Cawl's Wrath)
Knight Errant with heavy stubber and stormspear rocket pod 440 (Fury of Mars)
Knight Crusader with 2 heavy stubbers, rapid-fire battle cannon and stormspear rocket pod 530 (Mark of the Omnissiah)
Total: 1,574
Imperial Guard Battalion Detachment
Company Commander with plasma pistol 35 (Kurov's Aquila)
Tempestor Prime with bolt pistol 41
Infantry squad with plasma gun 47
Infantry squad with plasma gun 47
5 Militarum Tempestus Scions (Kamikaze Storm Troopers) with 2 hot-shot volley guns 62
Leman Russ Executioner tank with lascannon and plasma cannon sponsons 192
Total: 424
Grand Total: 1,998 (14 Command Points -> 10 because of Heirlooms of the Household Stratagem and Imperial Commander's Armory Stratagem)
There you go. Perfect for a 2,000-point game, and the Astra Militarum detachment is a household retinue for House Yato, escorting and protecting the Knights with infantry and tanks. There's even Kamikaze Storm Troopers!
For even bigger games, I can go with a pure Knights list.
Super-heavy Detachment
Knight Castellan with 2 siegebreaker cannons and 2 shieldbreaker missiles 604 (Cawl's Wrath)
Knight Errant with heavy stubber and ironstorm missile pod 411 (Fury of Mars)
Knight Crusader with 2 heavy stubbers, rapid-fire battle cannon and stormspear rocket pod 530
Total: 1,545
Super-heavy Detachment
Knight Valiant with 2 siegebreaker cannons and 2 shieldbreaker missiles 594 (Mark of the Omnissiah and Blessed by the Sacristans Warlord Trait)
Armiger Helverin with heavy stubber 174
Armiger Helverin with meltagun 187
Total: 955
Grand Total: 2,500 (12 Command Points -> 9 because of Heirlooms of the Household Stratagem)
So that's a full pure Knights army for a 2,500-point game, if anybody ever wants to play that many points. I don't have to worry about it as I probably wouldn't be getting the Knight Valiant for a while. I'll focus on the Knight Castellan and Armigers Helverin for now, and once I'm done with that, I'll see how much funds I have left. Money is always a limiting factor. And time too. I've no idea how busy my next semester will be, so it might be difficult for me to build a second Dominus-class Knight during the semester. Won't stop me from trying, though. As always, it'll be funny to use the Our Darkest Hour Stratagem on my Knight Valiant, bring him back to life (on a 4+ though, ugh) and then unleash 3D6 auto-hitting shots with his conflagration cannon. Cool, eh?
For the Emperor and the Omnissiah!