30MF Superior Arch Knight: $34.99 Class V and Its Dark Twin

Bandai's first Class V knight, the 30MF Superior Arch Knight, costs exactly what a Liber Knight plus its Commander armor set costs in Japan: ¥3,300 with tax. If you want one from a US shop, plan for January to March 2027, and know that at USA Gundam Store the one box is $1.99 cheaper than that pair. Bandai's machine-translated English page says its body matches a "River Knight", a name Bandai's English schedule does not list.

As of Nov 6, 2026: Bandai's prices and months and the four shop listings as shown that day. Bandai and the shops may change both; we recheck weekly until the kit ships in Japan.

Overview: 30MF Superior Arch Knight price, month and status

Neither page carries a Tentative name. The Japanese item page gives ¥3,300 with Japan's 10% tax and only "2026年12月", December, with no day. Two other 30MF items share the month on Bandai's English schedule. The 30MF Land Hunter, at ¥2,650 before tax, is a crossbow job on the Liber Fighter's body shape. The 30MF Item Shop 6 (Gold / Silver Option), at ¥1,200 before tax, is gold and silver weapons plus "silver tableware" and "gold cups". The rest of the month is in our December 2026 Gunpla list.

Graphic: PlamoDesk. Sources: Bandai Hobby Site item pages in English and Japanese, read Nov 6.

Bandai describes a starter set. You get a plain "silhouette" body plus the armor and weapons to "job change" it into the Superior Arch Knight. The Japanese page calls the sword and shield "classed up" versions. The accessory list has four lines: armor parts, armament, hand parts and joint parts. The Element Core attribute is Light. No 30MF page we have read says what an attribute does in a build.

Read the English page with care. It says the body has "the same form as the separately sold '30MF River Knight'". Bandai's English schedule has no kit by that name. Bandai's Japanese page says it first: リーベルナイト, the Liber Knight, released in August 2024. Gundam Planet's and HLJ's copies of the list both say Liber Knight too.

Analysis: what Class V tells you about the 30MF Superior Arch Knight

Less than the label suggests. Outside this kit, Bandai's pages use "class" for its Class Up Armor sets. The Liber Commander set's page says its armor can be "classed up" to a higher job by "Armor Cross", Bandai's term for swapping armor on a body. None of the Bandai pages we read numbers the classes below V. The Liber Knight, the Commander set and the Darknevil Arch Knight give no number at all.

What you can check is the price, and the Liber Knight is the yardstick.

Desk note: Our copy of Bandai's Japanese item list (6,504 items, read Nov 1) has 29 general-retail kits with a body in 30MF's own fantasy line. That count leaves out the licensed Samurai Troopers (¥5,500) and Monster Hunter Wilds (¥4,950) kits, two 30ML ZONE exclusives and the ¥4,620 Premium Bandai Liber Holy Knight (Ceremonial). The 29 have a median price of ¥2,420 with tax, and ten sit at ¥2,200. The Superior Arch Knight and the January Darknevil Arch Knight are the highest of the 29, at ¥3,300. In US listings that gap reads as about $35 against $23.99 to $24.95 for the 2024 Liber Knight.

The Liber Knight lists at ¥2,000 before tax and its Commander armor at ¥1,000. Together they make ¥3,000 before tax and ¥3,300 with tax. That is the Superior Arch Knight's price to the yen.

Graphic: PlamoDesk. Sources: Bandai Hobby Site item pages and our copy of Bandai's Japanese list; USA Gundam Store product pages, read Nov 6.

US prices do not keep the tie. At USA Gundam Store on Nov 6 the Liber Knight was $23.99 and the Commander armor $12.99, both preorders for Q1 2027. That pair costs $36.98. The Superior Arch Knight is $34.99 with the same Q1 2027 estimate, so the one box saves $1.99.

The pair is not the same kit, though. It gives you two looks on one body: the Knight armor it ships with and the Commander set, which adds a long sword and a halberd. Swapping armor is how the line works, and one buyer on USA Gundam Store's Liber Knight page went that way:

"I got the kit to try out the line and now i'm addicted to 30MF kits. I later on purchased the Paladin upgrade for it and he looks even better." James K., verified buyer, USA Gundam Store review, November 2025

USA Gundam Store's Commander listing also promises a "Fire Element Core"; Bandai's page says water.

GODEEPER: How 30MF's Knights, Class Up Armor sets and Item Shops fit together, with US prices for each type. 30MF Kits: ¥2,200 Knight and ¥770 Armor, With Tax (2026) →

Superior Arch Knight vs Darknevil Arch Knight

Bandai pairs them itself. The Darknevil Arch Knight's Japanese page calls the Superior Arch Knight its counterpart: 対となる, "the one that forms its pair" (our translation). Same ¥3,300 with tax, one month later, in January 2027.

The differences Bandai lists are short. Darkness replaces Light as the Element Core attribute. The Darknevil adds a Mask, "the mark of one who serves the darkness" (our translation), with a face design and colors that differ from the Superior Arch Knight. Its sword and shield carry no "classed up" note, and its page gives no class number. Unlike the Superior Arch Knight's page, it names no base kit, so we cannot tell you which older Knight's shape it shares.

It also has no English page yet. Bandai's English address for the item returned "could not be found" on Nov 6, which is why its row above has no before-tax price.

If you want both on the shelf together, they will not arrive together. Gundam Planet estimates January 2027 for the light one and February 2027 for the dark one, at $34.95 and $36.95. USA Gundam Store gives Q1 and Q2 2027, at $34.99 each. Newtype shows both at $35, not yet open. The Darknevil's month is in our January 2027 Gunpla list.

When the 30MF Superior Arch Knight reaches US shops

Not before Christmas. Both US shops that give an estimate say 2027, and no shop gives a day. For something to wrap this year, our Gunpla gift guide lists seven picks, each in stock at a US shop when checked in late October.

Graphic: PlamoDesk. Sources: the four shops' product and search pages, Nov 6.

The three US prices sit within 5 cents of each other. Pick the shop by its estimate and its charging rules. Gundam Planet says its month comes from the official North American distributor: "It is possible this date will be delayed." It also holds a whole order until every item in it is in stock. USA Gundam Store charges the full price at checkout.

Treat any exact day as a placeholder. HLJ's details row shows 2026/12/31, while its note on the same page says "Expected release date is Dec. 2026." Bandai gives only the month.

GODEEPER: How the main US shops charge preorders and ship split orders. Where to Buy Gunpla in the US: Shops, Japan Orders and Duty →

What we don't know yet

The Japanese release day. What Classes I to IV are, if Bandai numbers them anywhere. Which older Knight the Darknevil's body matches. Whether Liber Class Up Armor sets fit the Superior Arch Knight. Bandai says its body "can be adapted to any job", but the armor page we read names only the Liber Knight as its base.

Our take

Pick the Superior Arch Knight for one finished top-tier knight; start with a Liber Knight if you want to swap jobs. In Japan the box costs exactly a Liber Knight plus its Commander armor, ¥3,300 with tax, and at USA Gundam Store it is $1.99 cheaper than that pair. The pair gives you two looks, which is what the line is built around. Skip any plan to have it by Christmas: every US estimate is 2027. We recheck Bandai's pages and the four shops weekly, and again after Bandai's next 30 MINUTES LABEL presentation, streamed on the evening of Nov 17 in Japan.

How we checked this

On Nov 6 we read Bandai's English and Japanese pages for both Arch Knights, the Liber Knight, the Liber Commander armor, the Land Hunter and Item Shop 6, plus both December schedules. US prices and status come from each shop's product page that day. HLJ showed prices in Vietnamese dong from our location, so we used only its status. Japan prices with tax and the line counts come from our copy of Bandai's Japanese item list. No shop had a review of this kit yet; the quote above is from the Liber Knight's page, read by hand.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the barcode of the 30MF Superior Arch Knight? 4580886844876. HLJ shows it as the JAN code on its item page, and USA Gundam Store carries the same number in its product data, both read Nov 6. Matching the barcode on a box to a shop listing is one quick check; our bootleg guide lists six.

Does the 30MF Superior Arch Knight come with a stand? No. Bandai's accessory list has four lines: armor parts, armament, hand parts and joint parts. Gundam Planet's copy of the list has the same four. A base for posing is a separate purchase; our guide to Action Base stands covers what Bandai sells.

Related Reading

• Gunpla Release Schedule 2026: what comes out each month of 2026, on one page.
• 30 Minutes Missions Explained: the sister line in the same 30 Minutes label, which also has new kits in December.
• Gunpla Tools for Beginners: the four tools to buy first, in the order you need them.

References

• Bandai Hobby Site (English) item pages: 30MF Superior Arch Knight, 30MF Liber Knight, Class Up Armor (Liber Commander), 30MF Land Hunter, 30MF Item Shop 6 (Gold / Silver Option)
• Bandai Hobby Site (Japan): Superior Arch Knight item page, Darknevil Arch Knight item page, December 2026 schedule
• Bandai Hobby Site (English) December 2026 schedule
• 30 MINUTES CHANNEL: 16th 30 MINUTES LABEL presentation (official, scheduled stream)
• Shops: Gundam Planet, USA Gundam Store, Newtype, HLJ; Darknevil Arch Knight at Gundam Planet and USA Gundam Store; Liber Knight at USA Gundam Store and Gundam Planet; Liber Commander armor at USA Gundam Store