The Rapiers form the Sixth Brotherhood of the Grey Knights, a formation whose reputation rests not upon overwhelming numbers but upon lethal precision. Its warriors are renowned throughout Titan as exacting taskmasters and cold strategists, knights who study a threat until every weakness lies exposed and then remove it with a single, perfectly placed thrust. Where other brotherhoods might commit their full strength to a battle line, the Rapiers prefer the scalpel to the hammer, striking at the vital heart of an enemy with compact squads of hand-picked veterans.
Command of the brotherhood falls to the High Seneschal of the Citadel of Titan, one of the most demanding offices in the whole Chapter. It is his charge to assemble the most elite and deadly strike forces the Grey Knights can field, matching each warrior and weapon to the precise contours of the mission ahead. Under his direction the Rapiers become an instrument of surgical annihilation, appearing without warning, severing the sinews of a daemonic incursion, and vanishing before the foe can bring its full weight to bear.
When a battle demands bodies to hold a line or blunt an onslaught, the Sixth does not squander its irreplaceable brethren. Instead it marshals ranks of mindless servitors to bog down the enemy and soak up its fury, freeing the true knights to hunt the greater prey. It is a doctrine of ruthless economy, and it has made the Rapiers among the most feared executioners of the warp's champions.
Grey Knights
Order of battle
The The Rapiers field the units of the Grey Knights — a detachment from the roster:
Kindred formations
Other Grey Knights formations
Brotherhood of the FistAmong the eight Brotherhoods, that known as the Fist is spoken of as a hammer held ready to fall. Its warriors specialise in the shattering assault, the decisive blow delivered without warning into the heart of the enemy. When a daemonic incursion must be broken swiftly before it can spread, the Fist is often the answer, its Terminators teleporting into the fray to crush the foe beneath overwhelming force.
Brotherhood of the FlameThe Brotherhood of the Flame carries the light of purity into the darkest places of the galaxy. Its warriors are noted for their zeal and their mastery of cleansing fire, both the literal flame of the incinerator and the searing psychic radiance of their disciplined minds. Where corruption has taken root and must be burned away utterly, the Flame answers, leaving nothing behind that the enemy might use.
Brotherhood of the SwordThe Brotherhood of the Sword is regarded as the exemplar of the Chapter's martial artistry, its warriors masters of the force blade and the disciplined psychic strike. Balanced in all things, it can fight as readily at range as in the press of close combat, and its champions are counted among the finest swordsmen the Imperium has ever fielded. It stands as the model against which the other Brotherhoods measure themselves.
The PurifiersThe Purifiers are a specialist order of Grey Knights whose members possess a rare and profound clarity of soul, making them the purest warriors in a Chapter already renowned for its purity. Drawn from every Brotherhood by right of merit rather than assigned by lineage, they undertake the Chapter's most sacred and dangerous exorcisms. Wherever corruption festers most deeply, the Purifiers are called upon to burn it away with holy flame and cleansing psychic fire.
The WardmakersThe Third Brotherhood of the Grey Knights, keepers of ancient wards and cradle of the Chapter's greatest heroes.