Entreat with powerful allies and earn awesome abilities in the new Chaos Knights Crusade

Chaos Knight households are fiercely independent, but they prefer to take on the galaxy with support from powerful benefactors. Working alongside these forces as equals really isn’t their style, however – so the new Crusade Rules from Codex: Chaos Knights let you exert your control and extract powerful boons from those who would benefit from your might.

To keep their dark dominion running, Fallen Nobles must amass power with three distinct entities. The Idolators – as fallen sacristans are known – are responsible for keeping the Knights themselves in working order, and these are the first port of call for pilots hoping to attach some profane technology to their steed. War Dog packs are a valuable asset to be used and abused by their superiors, thrown into enemy guns or else sent to perform menial battlefield objectives while the true nobles earn their infamy. And the Dark Gods themselves, whose favour can grant powerful boons or malign curses in equal measure, if only a noble has the will to bargain.

Maintaining strong ties with all three Power Bases is a balancing act of titanic proportions, as a Chaos Knight’s influence wanes over time and those not brought to heel will gladly take their services elsewhere. Winning games and completing Agendas are the only ways to exert control, but the rewards for your efforts are exceptional.

Each Power Base grants its own kind of Battle Traits for your units to acquire instead of the usual options. The Idolators offer upgrades to your Knights’ legs, arms, torso, and head – and each location has three regular upgrades to pick from. Fleshmetal Servo-tendons grant your Knight an extra turn of speed, for instance. 

There are two more upgrades reserved for those who have paid special attention to their influence, such as Damned Construction, which boosts armour saves.

Domination over the War Dogs unlocks access to specialist Hunting Packs, ad-hoc formations that can benefit from shared abilities earned as Battle Traits. How many War Dogs you can fit in a pack depends on how friendly you are with them. When one member has acquired a Hunt Tactic, its special secondary effect is shared with the whole pack once they become Ascended – which requires one of them to have killed something in that game.

Hidden Stalkers is a great choice for longer-ranged War Dogs who want to dance at the edge of their enemies’ range, granting the Benefit of Cover and a facsimile of the Lone Operative rule. Brute Tactics is the complete opposite, extending your War Dog’s invulnerable save to include melee combat and letting them dole out mortal wounds simply by charging into the fight.

Finally, you could sign a Pact of Damnation, which – given the track record of the Chaos Gods – certainly entails no existential risk whatsoever. We’re kidding, of course: you get to inflict a random Battle Scar on yourself that lasts until you break the Pact with a special Requisition, but the Boons you get in return make it profoundly worth the cost.

Those at the Wary or Cautious levels of trust can pick a Minor Boon like Wrathful Aura, which fully doubles their Objective Control characteristic. However, if you’ve gained enough favour to reach Aligned Interests, you can pick one of the top-shelf options instead – like Brazen Heart, which can bring your titanic champion back from the brink.

You also get the usual stock of Crusade Relics to earn, and three new Crusade Badges to achieve across the course of your campaign. You can begin your Crusade when Codex: Chaos Knights goes up for pre-order this weekend, and if you want to bulk out your War Dog packs to take advantage of their Hunt Tactics, make sure to pick up the Houndpack Lance Battleforce!