| “ | More stalwart and powerful than even the riders atop them, demigryphs deliver a monstrous charge into enemy battle lines. | „ |
Demigryph Knights are an 
Empire melee cavalry unit introduced in Total War: Warhammer.
Recruitment[ | ]
The Empire
- The Huntsmarshal's Expedition
- Unlocked with: Menagerie (requires Armoury and unlocking the building with the Emperor's Mandate mechanic)
- gained from the Knightly Orders option with the Imperial Supplies mechanic and recruiting them in the Imperial Supplies tab
Description[ | ]
Whilst many of the monstrous creatures ridden by the heroes of the Empire have been raised from birth, such is not always the case with demigryphs. Amongst some Knightly Orders, an aspiring Knight's final trial is to capture a demigryph and break it up to his will. Unsurprisingly, many fail and are torn to bloody ribbons. As a result, there are relatively few Demigryph Knights in the Empire and even the Knights Griffon, who count fully two dozen of these majestic beasts amongst their number, still rely primarily on more conventional steeds. However, those few small Orders, such as the Knights of Taal's Fury and the Knights of the Vengeful Sun, whose entire brotherhoods can take to war upon these monstrous beasts, have a roll of victory honours surpassed only by the most ancient of Knightly Orders. Demigryph Knights do not tend to overwhelm their prey in great sweeping charges. Instead they are more likely to engage the enemy in protracted assaults where the strength and endurance of their fearsome mounts becomes decisive. Demigryphs are well suited to the savage and bloody nature of such fighting, with their claws and razor sharp beaks cutting a bloody swathe through their foes. In such close confines, a Knight's traditional lance loses much of its effectiveness, and many Demigryph Knights have thusly adapted their fighting style to wield heavy cavalry halberds in battle instead. These weapons strike the perfect balance between reach and power, and are far better suited to the Knight's role on the battlefield.
Attributes[ | ]
- Monstrous Shock Cavalry
- ▲ Armoured & Shielded: Armoured units can block damage from any source apart from Armour-Piercing damage. Shields have a chance of blocking arrows, bolts, rifle shots and similar small arms fire - but only in a forward facing arc.
- ▲ Armour-Piercing: The damage of armour-piercing weapons mostly ignores the armour of the target, making them the ideal choice against heavily-armoured enemies. They are often heavier and attack at a slower rate though, making them less efficient against poorly-armoured targets.
- ▲ Anti-Infantry: Anti-infantry units have an advantage against targets that are smaller than a horse. This advantage can be a damage bonus against small targets, superior weight used to smash through lighter enemies, or an explosive attack from range that effects a large area.
armour-piercing weapons mostly ignores the armour of the target, making them the ideal choice against heavily-armoured enemies. They are often heavier and attack at a slower rate though, making them less efficient against poorly-armoured targets.Strategy[ | ]
The more well rounded of the Demigryph knights, these warriors can excel in most situations. They have solid armour piercing, strong melee stats, high charge bonus, bronze shields. They will come out on top in many 1v1s. However, they will struggle under immense pressure and should be kept away from units with an anti-large bonus.
Oddly enough people tend to almost always take the halberd variety for anti-large and dismiss these guys as less effective. When it comes to elite heavy infantry crunching however, particularly with the ability to stay alive and come out the other side to charge again, the demigryph with lance and shield is very hard to beat. they are among the gold standards of the archetypal shock cavalry. Just use them for the battles they're meant for and you'll see some wonderful effects from them.
Synergizes well with a mounted wizard, hero, general, pistoliers, outriders, steam tanks, and basically anything that can move quickly. They are all around elite cav that can bring something to any situation.
