Hail, Brothers! I've written a few pieces for the subreddit at this point, and I'm ready to take a crack at giving a tier list out based on all my gameplay. There are lots of tier lists out there already, but this one is aimed to help you know when and where different units should make a splash for you.

Why you should at least consider my insights:

• I've played about 25 games of 10e
• I've used almost every datasheet in our index
• I have a 70% win rate at tournament events
• I have faced about 2/3 of the factions in the game - and fought Eldar many, many times in competitive settings.

I'm not the best GK player out there, not even close, but I've played a lot and my neck of the woods is a competitive hotspot for 40k (Western USA).

Enough about me, let's talk about ratings. :)

I hate traditional tier lists - letter grades don't really tell you what to do with a unit. This list will break down the units and their viability as follows:

• Competitive Staple - This unit will see regular use at tournaments because of their excellence in scoring, destruction, resilience, or a combination thereof. These units are versatile, and perform largely irrespective of matchup.
• Situational Staple - This unit can see regular use depending on local metas or builds. These units have specializations or flaws that make them open to poor matchups or game states, but can otherwise excel in the right situation.
• Outclassed - This unit may or may not be bad, but is overshadowed by something that does their job, but better. This unit is hard to justify when a better pick is available. Point adjustments may be all that's required to make this unit attractive in the future.
• Casual Play - This unit is probably irredeemable for competitive play - only dramatic point drops or rules overhauls can save them. I hope to keep this list short, as most of our "bad" units are merely in the "Outclassed" category because of our largely homogenous roster.

Without further ado, here's the tier list, separated by grade!

Competitive Staples

Brotherhood Librarian - The GOAT. Our only source of "noninteractive" damage with Vortex, really high versatility, and an all-around all star. When you really, really need something to die, the Librarian will either rise to the occasion... or inflict 6 mortal wounds to yourself. This is our only real answer into most "tough" things in the game. Most competitive lists will want 2-3 of these. You can also run them solo with The Sigil of Exigence if you pocket a CP for Mists - it forces your opponent to either try a 9" charge on them, or you escape, no questions asked.

Brotherhood Terminator Squad - They have a lot of OC, they're annoying to kill, and they revive themselves. With Truesilver Armor, cover, and a myriad of other options, these form the backbone of most competitive lists. Lethal Hits on the charge is one of the few ways we can chunk high toughness targets, and they will gum up most non-Eldar enemies the entire game.

Grand Master (Terminator Armor) - I did not originally plan on including this unit in the "CS" category, since he's the same points as Voldus and seemingly offers less. Let me tell you, Might of Purity in the right place is insanely good, as is Master Strategist. Yes, comparatively it's worse than other free strat abilities out there, but the GM on foot allowed me to fight the Yncarne AND the Avatar of Khaine back to back today - and beat them both. Might of Purity is largely interpreted to allow you to not only ignore hit/wound mods, but also -1 damage effects, making terminators/paladins with a GM ideal for hunting -1 damage targets. The free strat is also insane when you need an extra Radiant Strike, another Mist, or something like that. IMO, both of those abilities compensate for trading away Voldus' unique offerings. Also, having 7W has kept this model alive on 1 wound many times, so while it seems like a small upgrade over Voldus, it can really make a difference at times.

Grand Master Voldus - At 115 points, this unit does pack a lot of value. The -1 to hit, bonus mortals from Soul Aflame, and his formidable hammer all make for a solid choice. You probably choose either him or a GM on foot in most lists.

Kaldor "Goddamn" Draigo - If you're running terminators or paladins, you're likely running Draigo. Melee armies struggle with delivery, but not with Draigo. One With the Warp means you can leverage Draigo and his homies to capture a critical point or secondary with a reasonably reliable charge. His 4 into mortals of all kind can help you weather the waves of Dev Wounds from other more fortunate factions. And, most flashy of all, if you stock up 2 CP for Radiant Strike, he can often topple Greater Daemons or Primarchs all on his own thanks to his Anti-Daemon 2 . Draigo is a playmaker.

Strike Squad - These units are essential for competitive play. They give you more coverage and allow you greater freedom with moving and scoring. Sticky objectives is huge for our low model count. You should never leave home without at least 1 of these for snagging your home objective or prognosticating onto a point.

Situational Staples

Castellan Crowe & Purifiers - I'm lumping these together because you want to run them together. These almost made it into the "CS" tier because of my recent runs, because goddamn, these dudes absolutely cook infantry with insane reliability. Take 10 Purifiers with Crowe and you're looking at 24 Purifying Flame shots, 4D6 Incinerators, and 28 Stormbolter shots. If your local meta is heavy on infantry, you NEED these dudes. They are an overwatch threat, they obliterate infantry, and provide a huge amount of reliable killing power. The only reason they aren't in "CS" tier is because you will have a bad time if you match into a vehicle-heavy opponent - Crowe and the homies do nothing into them. They may well cause you a loss for the 400 points you could have had in something else.

Grand Master in Nemesis Dreadknight - I almost put this unit in "Outclassed", primarily because he's SOOOO expensive and requires a deft hand to use without getting him killed. Ingress is borderline essential, or Sigil of Exigence if you aren't afraid to make a pricey model even more expensive. All that said, if he connects with his favored targets, they can only limp away at best. I'd never recommend more than 1 in a list, and depending on local meta, one can do you well.

Land Raider Banisher - Betcha didn't expect to see this guy in here! IMO, the Banisher is the best of our Land Raider options. It has ample transport capacity, and the Heavy Incinerators are awesome. Trundle this dude up the board as an early and easy Overwatch threat into weaker enemy units. Having 1 Land Raider in a list can give you some unexpected durability because of the abundance of cover and access to Truesilver Armor. Having a transport to duck injured terminators into is hugely helpful, and having a Tank Shock option can save the day. This unit has helped especially into melee and T3 armies, but similar to Crowe & the Purifiers, the Banisher really hurts you in high-Toughness matchups. I love this model, and if you have one, I recommend you try it.

Paladin Squad - I was a bit of a doubter on this unit, but just today with the help of a Grand Master, my one squad of 5 duders was able to plonk both Aeldari Avatars, one after the other. Being -1 to wound and the 2 WS/BS AND extra dakka options means they have a place in a lot of games, but not necessarily all of them. The lack of Narthecium hurts them the most, IMO, and is why I tend to default to Brotherhood Terminators. A bad string of rolls can't be mitigated with Paladins, and they're very costly for what they do. If you do run them in your army, using 1 squad of 5 is probably a solid balance that give you more reliable Overwatch with Incinerators or better melee with a Grand Master.

Outclassed

Brother Captain - To keep it brief, this unit is not enough of a force multiplier to be worth the points and the one slot available in a terminator/paladin squad. You can run him with Psycannon Paladins for more dakka, but IMO it's not a very competitive choice, and you're better off with a GM, Voldus, or Draigo leading that squad.

Brother-Captain Stern - This unit is an okay force multiplier for a melee unit, but without access to reroll wounds, you'll fall victim to the fickle nature of hunting for 6's for extra damage. And, if you take Stern, you give up other better options (Voldus, Draigo, GM).

Brotherhood Champion - This unit almost made it into "Situational" tier because of the Always Fights First rule he grants his squad. Make no mistake, AFF is insane into melee armies and forces difficult fights. The challenge is twofold: Stikes aren't a particularly impressive melee unit, and the common meta out there is shooty - for that reason, the Champ will often be a liability. Draigo can ensure you see combat more reliably and offer better personal output. If you have a melee-heavy local meta, you could move the Champ to "Situational".

Brotherhood Chaplain - Similar to above, the Chaplain is competing against better leaders. The 1 to wound is good, but then you sacrifice the free strat of the GM, the delivery from Draigo, or the utility bundle with Voldus. If Dread Bearing was better (or like... completely freaking different) you could make a better argument for the Chappy. Shame, I love this model.

Grey Knights Land Raider - This unit made my easy matchups easier, but made my harder matchups harder. If you're taking a Land Raider, I definitely prefer the Banisher over this one. The low volume of shots leads to really swingy results. Today, in fact, I had this damn thing land successful wounds into Belakor 3 times with the Godhammers, only to roll 1 damage each time. It's aggravating, and it leaves a lot of performance up to swingy D6 rolls. If you take a Land Raider, go with the Banisher first.

Grey Knights Land Raider Crusader - At nearly the same points as a Banisher, this Land Raider is straight up worse. It has more transport capacity that you'll never use, worse guns that are garbage for overwatch, and overall doesn't give you the same output of the Banisher at a similar price.

Grey Knights Land Raider Redeemer - I like the idea of using the Redeemer, but this unit is freaking expensive. It's slightly less swingy than the Banisher on flamer damage output, but it costs a hefty 35 points more. Trading down to a Banisher frees up those points for enhancements, an Exaction Squad, etc. that can be more impactful. If points came down closer to where the Banisher is, I could recommend this unit more.

Interceptor Squad - Okay, so I really like what this squad has to offer in theory, but what they offer can just be replaced with Strike Marines with Prognosticated Arrival. They also only have OC1, and are pricey in an army of pricey models. They have no support in melee, so they underperform compared to Terminators/Paladins, and their utility just doesn't meet standard.

Nemesis Dreadknight - If you got used to Dreadknights from 9e and then tried these ones out, you know why these dudes are here: they're freakin' rough. Terminator squads are both more durable, more OC, more reliable, AND do more damage. The only thing the Dreadknight does better is move, but at scalding 215 PPM, it's a tough sell. They just aren't what you need to win games. At around 180 points you might start considering these, but at 215 they just gobble up too much other valuable resources.

Purgation Squad - Up until GW's unnecessary nerf to the Purgs, these were in "Situational". At 38 friggin' ppm, you just cannot justify these. Take Purifiers instead for extra dakka and land on people with Prognosticated arrival and just delete them. The indirect is not worth such a disgusting premium. None of the guns merit this point cost, at all.

Servitors - Early reads of the index had people excited about Servitors, but let's be real, that was really misguided. Yes, you can get Servitors to hit on 2 with Multimeltas, but there are two harsh realities we just didn't know yet: 1. You're huffing paint if you think you will ever get a shot on someone with stationary Servitors, and 2. Multimeltas are kinda terrible at taking out tanks. It was a nice dream, but if you wanna take out a tank, play a different army. Much like Wakanda, "We don't do that here". Also a hard sell at 50 points per squad when better Inquisition options exist.

Casual Play

Brotherhood Techmarine - The power of this unit hinges entirely on the shooting prowess of the vehicles in our roster, and let's face it - our shooting is dogass. If our vehicles get better, so too will the Techmarine get better.

Grey Knights Razorback - I wish to god this unit had a transport cap of 11; you might then talk me into taking it for some dakka memes. As it is, the best thing you can put in this is Crowe and 5 Purifiers, and that's just not worth the price of admission for me. For the price of the Razorback, you can buy most of the rest of the Purifiers required for a 10 man squad, and that alone is better output into infantry than the reroll wounds. None of our other units have dakka worthy of the Razorback's Fire Support rule. On top of that, this unit has incredibly unreliable output.

Grey Knights Rhino - Only one thing needs to happen for me to take Rhinos: if Strikes are inside it at the top of the command phase, the Rhino gains "Sticky" from the Strikes. Drukhari get it for Kabalites in Venoms, and that's what makes them good. Getting that for Rhinos would be huge, and would allow you to shelter a unit effectively without sacrificing one of their best abilities. Otherwise, our model count is so low already that I can't really sacrifice points for this.

Grey Knights Stormhawk Interceptor - Low volume of unimpressive firepower on a chassis more visible than the bat signal. Gaining 1 to hit units with "Fly" would be better if it was more universal, but even then, it's not enough output for the points in my opinion. You're better off forking out for a Stormraven or a Land Raider instead where you get better shooting and far better durability and utility. Lastalon being S10 is also turbocringe for an army that already has poor Strength.

Grey Knights Stormraven Gunship - Aircraft in general are in a rough spot for the "competitive meta", so I'd only take this at casual events. Output is swingy, and without assault ramp, it's not an especially effective delivery vehicle. It's alright with Interceptors if you can make it a turn without getting blown up, but Interceptors are pretty underwhelming themselves. This unit is fun as hell, but needs some help.

Grey Knights Stormtalon Gunship - This is just a better Stormhawk. Everything about it an improvement. Better guns, better ability ( 1 to hit non-fly), and around the same points. All that said, still not a great unit for what you pay.

Grey Knights Thunderhawk Gunship - If I speak impolitely about this ship, it will land on my house and crush it. I'm actually buying one of these this year. They're such impressive models, and can actually serve a strategic purpose! They have Assault Ramp, so they're not awful, and for that reason I like them more than Stormravens. At 805 points though, it's not a small investment! Cram that dude full of terminators and you basically deploy your whole army in one drop. I think this unit is absolutely meme-worthy, so it would make fun games of 40k, but I can never recommend it for competitive 40k. Our model count is too low already, and this compounds the issue. But... it's so awesome! And I think you could absolutely win games with this in the right matchups. If you're a gigachad, you use a Techmarine with Sigil of Exigence to Teleport Strike around the map to follow the gunship for repairs and 1 to hit. Because memes, of course.

Grey Knights Venerable Dreadnought - When I first saw this datasheet, I thought to myself: "cool, if this unit is 100 points, I'm down to clown". Nope, 155. It's literally the same points as Kaldor Goddamn Draigo with none of the good stuff. If the reroll 1's wasn't limited to infantry, or if the Dreadnought had Teleport Assault to get around the map and position better, maybe, but never at 155 points. It's not even friggin -1 damage anymore! I hate to say it, but this unit has let me down quite a bit.

Inquisitorial Honorable Mentions

There are a few units worth mentioning from the Inquisition index to ally in, should you so desire. They're not bad picks, they can synergize well with GK, and make lists more fun, if that's your jam. They don't really fit into the rating system above, but wanted to report on how I felt like these picks fit with GK.

Inquisitor Coteaz - If you fight Eldar a ton (\sigh**), Coteaz is kinda goated. Most Eldar lists have a Wayleaper for free CP, so Coteaz can give you the same thing. He hobbles Strikes a bit (limits Mists to move only, and prohibits Scout), but he's not a bad unit if you have the spare points. Great contender against Eldar, or other factions with high CP generation. Unsure of if he's sacrificing a Strike Squad to fit, though.

Callidus Assassin - Similar to why Coteaz is good, many factions have that one bastard strat that gets in your way (for us, it's Mists - your opponents hate it). Making something like Phantasm for Eldar or Catalyst on Tyranids an extra CP can really open up opportunities for you. Again, not sure it's worth trading Strikes for, but it's one of our best options for Agents.

Exaction Squad - CHEAP. That is all. Don't pick this over Sigil of Exigence, though. That's a better choice instead.

Henchmen - Not as cheap as Exactions, but are -1 to wound when an Inquisitor leads them, and are just freakin' cool. Nostalgia and all that shit. They're 5 points more than exactions, or a tad more if you go for a Mystic for easy home objective protection. Again, not convinced it's worth carving away some Grey Knights to fit, but it's a fun and otherwise not awful option.

Summary

Look, this all is just my opinion after trying almost all of these units. You can disagree - and in fact, please do! If there's something noteworthy I overlooked, please let me know. Even as small as our index is, it's a lot to review and details can be easy to miss.

Like last time, I wish to leave you with words of courage: The path of the Grey Knight is the darkest one to walk. Right now, that means we have to endure some difficult fights. We don't have the guns, the might, or the magic to slay our foes - but we can defeat them with our wits and cunning. We don't get anything for free, but we can fight tooth and nail for every inch of ground.

If you're struggling in your games, hit me up as well and I can offer advice on list creation and general strategy to try to help put you on top. :) The Brothers of Titan look out for one another.

Fare thee well brothers, until next time!