Knight Styrix

Questoris Knight Styrix Rhadamanth of the traitorous House Atrax

The Knight Styrix, originally called the Questoris Knight Styrix, is amongst the rarest patterns of Imperial Knight armours ever produced. Housing Machine Spirits which some say became too accustomed to wholesale slaughter during the Age of Strife and the Great Crusade that followed it, many of the more conservative Knight houses consider the Styrix to be a dark and malevolent pattern of armour, the wanton slaughter it unleashes being beneath the dignity of a true Knight. Other households hold no such reservations, loosing entire formations of Styrix Pattern Knights to mercilessly annihilate their foes.

Armed with a devastating Volkite Chieorovile and backed up with a Graviton Crusher and twin-linked Rad Cleanser, the Questoris Knight Styrix is easily able to eliminate large numbers of infantry at range. Whilst in close combat, its immensely powerful Hekaton Siege Claw can smash vehicles and tear buildings asunder, making it a powerful addition to any army.

History

The Styrix Pattern Knight armour is the equal of the Magaera in technological sophistication, and has been meticulously designed to facilitate the efficient eradication of infantry formations and supporting vehicles. Blasts from the Styrix's integral Graviton Gun can pin hapless targets in place while scything volkite beams and flesh-boiling rad-cleanser discharges reap a heavy toll of lives.

The anima of these armours' Thrones Mechanicum, steeped in slaughter and death in its most visceral sense, often develop distinctly malevolent Machine Spirits (artificial intelligences), and have garnered something of a dark reputation in many of the more conservative households, who view the wanton slaughter of impotent infantry as beneath the honour of a true Knight.

Among Mechanicus-oathed houeholds, the Styrix is held in higher esteem, especially among those Scions who have undergone extensive cybernetic augmentation in honour of their enigmatic patrons and share their antipathy for the weakness of flesh. The pitiless thrall-Knights of House Col'Khak are renowned for fielding entire formations of these war machines in support of the Legio Atarus ("Firebrands"), sweeping clear enemy infantry from the Titans' feet in a furious blast of energy beams and cleansing radiation.

Unit Composition

• 1 Questoris Knight Styrix

Wargear

• Volkite Chieorovile
• Graviton Crusher
• Reaper Chainsword
• Blessed Autocimulacra
• Throne Mechanicum
• Empyreal Preysight - An upgrade to the Knight's Occular sensors enabling a far greater degree of visual acuity, including the ability to 'see' enemy infantry through cover.
• Ionic Flare Shield - An upgraded version of the standard Ion Shields used by most Knight classes. The Ionic Flare Shield is a combination of the standard Ion Shield and a Flare Shield, providing a greater degree of protection to its user, especially during melee combat.
• Titanic Feet - The weight of the Knight alone is enough for to crush enemy units beneath its behemoth tread.

Optional Wargear

• Hekaton Siege Claw with built-in twin-linked Rad Cleansers
• Occular Augmetics (31st Millennium Only) - An upgrade to the Knight's Occular sensors enabling a far greater degree of visual input during low-light conditions, such as night-fighting.

Sources

• The Horus Heresy - Book Four: Conquest (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 102-103
• The Horus Heresy - Book Six: Retribution (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 78-79
• White Dwarf Weekly 48 (27 Dec. 2014), "Questoris Knight Styrix", pg. 7
• Forge World - Quetoris Knight Styrix

Gallery

Heraldry of the Questoris Knight Styrix Rhadamanth (dorsal view)

The House Malinax Traitor Questoris Knight Styrix Xaulhqui

House Malinax Traitor Questoris Knight Styrix Xaulhqui (dorsal view)

The House Perdaxia Traitor Questoris Knight Styrix Svatsoyana-Z622 as seen during the Horus Heresy.

The House Vextrix Traitor Questoris Knight Styrix Fractured Angel as seen during the Horus Heresy.

House Taranis Pre-Heresy blue colour scheme as displayed by the Loyalist Questoris Knight Styrix Mors Iram.