The Battle for Felweather Keep

As usual, the Horus Heresy team has released an Exemplary Battle for us, and yay! It's about Knights this time! Woohoo!

Basically, the Knights of House Vyronii had no idea about Horus Lupercal's betrayal, and when they approached the Mechanicum Tech-priests of Cyclothrathe for help in repairing their aging and damaged Knight suits, the Dark Mechanicum dudes decide to invade House Vyronii's home world of Damaetus for the treacherous Warmaster.

Cyclothrathe not only fielded Taghmata forces that had fallen to Chaos, they even deployed the Corrupted Knights of House Atrax. And this is where you can find rules for Corrupted Knights at Warhammer Community.

Long story short, Gios - the eldest son of House Vyronii's Grand Master, returned to Damaetus in time to warn his Household of the traitors' invasion, and the Knights of House Vyronii sallied forth to engage the Dark Mechanicum troops and Corrupted Knights of House Atrax. Unfortunately, though they emerged victorious and drove the invaders off their homeworld, they paid a steep price for their triumph. Their Grand Master, Jahk, who piloted the Cerastus Knight Lancer Rex-Orfeo, was slain in combat by Corrupted Knights with oath-marks - the Ravenous Dissolution Dark Blessing - and 25% of their forces - already crippled by attrition throughout the Great Crusade that saw their once impressive roster of 600 Knight suits reduced to barely 200, and then down again to roughly 100 active armors by the time of the Heresy - had been shattered. So maybe 75 active suits left? At least they won, and the Sacristans had salvaged enough materiel to repair the damaged suits and bring the Knight House back to strength.

This isn't canon, but I would like to think that the forge world of Draconis IV offered resources and expertise to help repair and salvage House Vyronii's Knight suits, similar to the treaty they signed with House Yato of Draconis III, and perhaps even a few of House Yato Knights were on hand to help defend Felweather Keep on Damaetus during the Cyclothrathe's invasion. But hey, it's not as if these will ever go on record, and most probably that assistance was provided after the Siege of Terra because House Yato and the forge world of Draconis IV had to help out at the Siege, as well as the defense of Ryza and a few hundred other theaters of war.

Anyway, the Dark Blessings are pretty cool. Just take note that if you use the Dark Blessings, you can't use Household Ranks in Liber Mechanicum. We have Conqueror of Wars, which is identical to Seneschal (the Household Rank for your Knight Warlord with Reactions for Knights). Then you have Heedless Slaughter that's free in terms of points, but buffs every unit Armiger for each Heedless Slaughter upgrade you take, giving them Rage (2) at the cost of reducing your big Knight's Weapon Skill and Ballistic Skill by -1. Malevolence Artifice gives you It Will Not Die and a subsequent bonus to it every time you deal an unsaved Wound or Hull Point with a melee weapon, starting from 6+ to a maximum of 4+. Encroaching Ruin gives +1 to Ballistic Skill and buffs your Armigers' Movement by 2" every turn if they're within 6". Putrid Corruption reduces Movement by -2", can't be taken on an Acastus Knight, but limits the damage from an Explosion result to only 1 Hull Point instead of D3.

Infernal Tempest makes your Knight a Psyker with a Leadership of 7 for psychic checks, and you can buff your invulnerable save by +1 with Infernal Warding if you pass or suffer Perils of the Warp if you fail. You can also unleash an Empyreal Tempest that's a 12" Strength 5 AP 2 Blast 3" weapon, but again, you need to pass your psychic check or eat wounds from Perils of the Warp.

Ravenous Dissolution buffs a Knight's Weapon Skill by +1, and allows you to choose an enemy unit to be Marked for Death, which means you re-roll all failed Wound rolls of 1 against it. Rapturous Sensation denies enemy units within 8" Reactions unless they pass their Leadership test. Formless Distortion gives you a whip or lash weapon named Ionic Lash (basically Banelash from House Devine in Molech) in place of your reaper chainsword or melee weapon, plus a +1 to your Weapon Skill. It's a Strength 10 AP2 weapon with Reach (2) and Exoshock (6+). That's pretty much it, I think.

Have fun with your Corrupted Knights, Traitors, and I'll see you on the Battlefield with my Loyalist ones! Also, for some reason I actually wrote this ahead of Goonhammer, unless they decide not to write an article on this specific Exemplary Battle because it's about Knights. Hah! I actually was ahead of Goonhammer for once! Yay!