wraithknight

Hello all,

So I received a wraithknight for my birthday. I know it's not as good as it once was, but just love the model.

Conventional wisdom seems to be that the sword and shield is not particuarly optimal unless you now you're facing some biggies (like knights). I'm planning to magnetize my arms either way, but i'm curious about people's experience using the sword in 8th ed

This poor thread has been just sitting here lonely for three weeks. Sad.
But the forum's a bit dry, so it got my attention.

I, too, wanted to get the big boy on the table for much the same reasons as you. It just looks cool. And I modded mine to look DE with a bunch of chains and spikes and whatever so it could run with the true kin.

I have mine with a sword and shield permanently afixed so it's not optimal. The problem, however, is not the sword - it's the mobility of the knight. In a vehicle rich meta environment (like mine) the sword wouldn't be bad. It's just getting the big fella to the target. So, I have to run him as Iyanden no matter what, just so he doesn't degrade as he plods along at a snail's pace of 12". Usually, seeing him coming, he'll take one full turn of focus fire, often two turns of it which usually leaves him worthless or outright dead.
The only way I get any return on investment is if my opponent is playing a similar game with big heavies that want to charge forward. Ork Dredds, for example. Necron or Tau guns, Imp Guard tanks, just about any normal list, will just chew him up with the sword option. However, he can soak it up. Lot of points, and extra care to transport him from home to the LGS, just to have an irresistible target.
But with DE gunboats and Ravagers, it actually works to have him take everything.

Thanks for someone finally replying!!! LOL

This took so long, that I actually went a head and magnetized my arms anyway.

I had largely come to the conclusion you note nerdelemental, and I face knights often enough that the sword will have some use.

Some options to enhance your Wraithknight:

1) Farseer with Fortune to really make it tanky. Normally Drukhari get minor benefit from a second power, and a Fortuned Wraithknight is actually worthwhile.

2) Psytronome of Iyanden. If you are going Iyanden to avoid losing profile. Put it on a Warlock Skyrunner who can keep up with the Knight, and give the Warlock Jinx. At the critical combat use the Supreme Disdain stratagem to get extra attacks on a 6+ to hit.
If using the feet, with the Psytronome and Supreme Disdain you get 24 hit rolls with each 6+ giving another attack with three hit rolls per attack (on average another 12 hit rolls).
If using the sword and the same buffs, 8 attacks with another 4/3 bonus attacks.

3) Ideally keep a Spiritseer up with the Knight, which might be tricky. If you went Iyanden then the Iyanden Stratagem allows up to 12" from the Seer to get the reroll 1s aura.

If you use the three of those together then you have a Supreme Command Detachment. Not the absolutely meta option, but more powerful than most people would expect. You could also sneak in some Wraithblades to give a backup option for the Psytronome if the Wraithknight gets shot down.

Interesting.

I'd never played my wraithguard as Iyanden because the -1 to hit for Alaitoc was a better choice.   So I had never considered the Psytronome

I had never looked at the interrelation between supreme Distain, and the titanic feet. I had just assumed each 6+ was only one more attack, so wasn't sure of the overall benefit of the strategem that way. But that's an interesting combo when you get 3 more attacks.

I used it against Mortarion and tapdanced him into oblivion

I agree with and support Kantalla's assessments!
Actually, I have mine kitbashed to look very Dark Eldar and my response was based on trying to run him as a faux DE Knight, without Craftworld on the table at all.
However, I strongly agree that to get any real benefit for taking the extra effort to get him from home shelf to LGS table, I now only consider it with most of the support Kantalla listed. Only in my Craftworld list. Always Iyanden. Almost always a Bonesinger hauling ass to keep up. Usually flanked by two Wave Serps packed with Wraith Guards/Blades of one type or another.
I've given up on the Spiritseer support, though. More trouble than I think it's worth. Farseer or Farseer on jetbike, though, is usually good support.
Oh, and if you have a relaxed group of opponents, I've run mine as a proxy for the Skathach. That's more fun than a standard Knight. But that big boy doesn't have swords, either.

I'm about to play in a tourney with the following rules; 2k points, mono-codex only, 3 detachments w/ no repeating detachments.

So, I've decided to play Iyanden and include a wraithknight, as I'm thinking that it might be able to perform decently in this kind of meta. In the 4 practice games that I've played so far, it has performed better than expected (though in two of the four games, it's main purposes was to draw a lot of firepower, charge one big thing, slice or stomp the hell out of it, and die not long after... though, surprisingly, it lasted a full 5 turns vs. a Deathwatch army that I practiced against).

Has anyone tried running a wraithknight with a wraith host specialist detachment to give it a 4+ invul save using the strat?

I think that a dual battalion list would be a must-have, just so that you have enough CP to make this worthwhile.

I've toyed with the idea of having an Iyanden Supreme Command detachment to support my PoF & BH Batallions. List is;
BH Batallion
2 Archon (Lab Cunning)
3×5 Kabal with Blaster
4 Venom

PoF Batallion
Haemy
Urien (Diabolic)
3×5 Wracks
5 Grots
3 Talos

Iyanden SC
Farseer Skyrunner Doom/Fortune
Warlock Skyrunner Protect/Jinx (Maybe give him Psytronome)
Spiritseer, maybe Twilight Gloom, Maybe Faolchus Wing if not Psytronome field commander revered by the dead
WK sword n board

Comes in at just under 2000pts. The idea being the warlock and farseer are things id want anyway and giving the warlock the Psytronome allows him to follow up on the Wraith Knight to support fire and fade away to safety. Faolchu's wing on the Spiritseer let's him keep up and the warlord trait gives the WK a better chance of getting into combat. If I went for both relics id be on 7cp+d3 but the WK would have a lot of support!

Does the Psychic Awakening choose your own adventure help out the Wraithknight any?

I'm inclined to use the reroll one hit/wound aspect and possibly ignores cover. Would those buffs be enough to use the double gun Wraithknight?