No, it's not because I'm too lazy to do my pre-semester preparation for my graduate courses. My faith in the Omnissiah is too strong for that. Anyway, let's get down to it.
Differences between 7th and 8th Edition
The first difference that jumps out to us immediately when we switch over to 8th Edition is that our Adeptus Mechanicus factions have been combined into one army. That's right. We no longer carry around separate codexes for Skitarii and Cult Mechanicus. It's all Adeptus Mechanicus, baby! And even better, apparently the new codex that is gonna drop (and I will write a new review and tactics post for that one) will feature Questor Mechanicus, or basically Mechanicus Knights in addition to our existing Skitarii and Cult Mechanicus forces! WOOHOO!
One other noteworthy difference is that Skitarii has lost Doctrina Imperatives. That's right. No longer can you add 1 to your Ballistic Skill or Weapon Skill, or add 2/3 at the cost of 1/2 to the other skill. It used to make Skitarii more flavorful, but let's face it. 8th Edition is about cutting the bloat and getting rid of fancy rules. Besides, we might actually get it back in our codex, in the form of Forge World bonuses/tactics/traits.
Another thing is that the Canticles of the Omnissiah have been nerfed. Before you start crying about this, take note that this still makes Adeptus Mechanicus a very strong and viable army. Just because the Canticles are not as insane as they were in 7th Edition doesn't mean they are suddenly terrible now. It's a totally different edition, with none of those crazy Formations or whatever, so don't be disheartened. To be honest, I have to admit that the Canticles are basically useless. I never use them in my games. Perhaps I should learn to use them...but other than Shroudpsalm, they are pretty lackluster. Do take note that your entire Detachment has to be Adeptus Mechanicus in order to use Canticles of the Omnissiah. So if you take a Leman Russ tank for Heavy Support, you lose the Canticles. No big deal, to be honest.
Oh, and while Skitarii lost their Feel No Pain, they have 6++ invulnerable saves. No, actually, the whole army has a 6++ invulnerable save, including Kataphron Destroyers and Breachers. Kastelan Robots and Onager Dunecrawlers have 5++ invulnerable saves. And while we're add it, I might as well add the Imperial Knights' 4++ invulnerable saves in the form of the ion shield. Come on, we all know they're in the new codex, so let's just include them. But yeah, everything has at least 6++ invulnerable saves. Even the Tech-priest Enginseer, who's Astra Militarum, gets that sweet 6++ invulnerable save. Only the Servitors don't, but who cares about them? Can you say awesome?
No more Dunestrider, but the units have their movement buffed. Sicarian Infiltrators and Sicarian Ruststalkers now move 8" instead 9", which is fair, while Ironstrider Ballistarii and Sydonian Dragoons move a whooping 10". On the other hand, they lose their bonus to their charge distances, but giving Deep Striking Sicarian Infiltrators a +3 to their charge distance is a bit overpowered.
Faction Keywords
Do I really need a section for this? In addition to Imperium and Adeptus Mechanicus, each unit has a Forge World keyword, which will make a difference in the new codex. I can't wait to see what different strategies each Forge World has. Mars will be awesome! And you can pair them with House Taranis! And I think you will have Metallica and House Raven too. I'm so looking forward to this!
Ah, and apparently Skitarii still have the Skitarii Keywords and Cult Mechanicus have the Cult Mechanicus Keywords, which...don't really do anything, in my opinion. Not that I'm complaining. I'm so happy that everyone is now one big army, the Adeptus Mechanicus!
Canticles of the Omnissiah
All units with the ability gain a bonus during the battle depending on the Canticle of Omnissiah currently being canted. Take note you an pick which Canticle to use at the start of each battle round, so even if your opponent starts first, it'll be in effect during his turn and ends after your turn ends! So make sure to have Shroudpsalm in effect!
You can choose each Canticle once, unfortunately. Or you can randomly determine which Canticle of Omnissiah is in effect by rolling a D6 - if you do this, then you can use the same Canticle twice if you managed to roll it again. Groovy. Go get Belisarius Cawl.
And as I said earlier, if you have a Battle-forged army, units only receive the bonus if every model in their Detachment has this ability. So don't sneak in a Techmarine or Dreadnaught or Leman Russ tank into your Detachment. Baneblades and Shadowswords work, though! Since they'll be taken in a different detachment called the Super-heavy Auxiliary Detachment. Same goes for Imperial Knights, who have their own Super-heavy Detachment.
1. Incantation of the Iron Soul: You can re-roll failed Morale tests for affected units. Given how my Skitarii infantry collapsed after sustaining heavy losses...I think this is useful.
2. Litany of the Electromancer: Roll a D6 for each enemy unit that is within 1" of any affected units. On a roll of 6, the unit being rolled for suffers D3 mortal wounds. This is a nice bonus if you're playing Electro-priests and Sicarian heavy. Throw your Sicarian Infiltrators and Sicarian Ruststalkers into combat and lock up as many units as possible to throw out mortal wounds! On the other hand, with only a 1/6 chance of getting this, it's unlikely. Still a nice bonus if you pull it off, though.
3. Chant of the Remorseless Fist: You can re-roll any failed hit rolls of 1 for affected units in the Fight phase. Again, a pretty good bonus if your army has lots of melee units like Electo-priests and Sicarian Infiltrators and Sicarian Ruststalkers. Or even Kastelan Fists Kastelan Robots. :)
4. Shroudpsalm: Affected units gain the bonus to their armor saving throws as if they were in cover. Well, doesn't affect units already in cover, but granting your Kastelan Robots and Onager Dunecrawlers a 2+ armor save is sweet. Best Canticle of the Omnissiah right here. Never fails to make me happy.
5. Invocation of Machine Might: Affected units have +1 Strength. Awesome. Another useful ability for combat. Eh, what? So the Adeptus Mechanicus is actually a melee army in secret?
6. Benediction of the Omnissiah: You can re-roll failed hit rolls of 1 for affected units in the Shooting phase. This is also another useful Canticle of the Omnissiah, except that your Tech-priest Dominus already provides an aura that does exactly the same thing. Save it for when your Tech-priest Dominus is killed, or if you have units out of range of the aura that really needs these re-rolls.
Forge Worlds
No, not the online shop offshoot of Gamesworkshop that sells expensive resin models. Yes, I'm going to buy the Battle-automata from them one day once they release Imperial Armor: Fires of Cyraxus. But what Forge World does is probably grant your Adeptus Mechanicus armies specific bonuses or traits similar to that of Adeptus Astartes's Chapter Tactics or Heretic Astartes's Legion Traits. Looking forward to this when the new codex drops!
Unit Anaylsis
HQ
Belisarius Cawl: The awesome Archmagos from the Triumvirate of the Imperium. Remember when you first bought him during the Fall of Cadia? I do. Now he's back! He's a beefy beatstick, with 2+ for both BS and WS and also his armor save! He has a whooping 8 wounds and Toughness 6, so it's going to take a lot of firepower to bring him down, and even if you bust through his 2+ armor save, he has a 5++ invulnerable save. And even if you do wound him, he can heal D3 wounds at the beginning of each of my turn. Heh. He's no slouch in melee either, with Strength 5 and 4 Attacks, which will effectively mean 4 Strength 6 Attacks at AP -2 and 2 damage with his Omnissian Axe. With his Mechadendrite hive, he can make 2D6 additional attacks with his normal Strength 5, but only at AP 0 and 1 damage. Still good against hordes. He also has an arc scourge that doubles his Strength to 10 and has AP -1, but only 1 damage against non-vehicles. However, it does D3 damage against vehicles, so it's still pretty awesome. Don't throw him against a Knight and expect him to survive, though.
But that's not why you're taking him. Nope, you're taking him for his shooting aura and support abilities. He can repair any friendly Adeptus Mechanicus model with D3 wounds within 3" - I'm looking at you, Onager Dunecrawlers and Kataphron Destroyers - and allow any friendly Mars units within 6" to re-roll any hit rolls in the shooting phase. Suddenly your Kastelan Robots are a lot deadlier with their Protector Protocol. Oh, and you can add or subtract 1 when rolling on the Canticles of the Omnissiah table, just so you can get that Shroudpsalm again.
His shooting is cool, I mean for a 12" Assault D3, it puts out a lot of firepower. Strength 10 AP -4 and D3 Damage is nothing to sneeze at. And if your target is within 6", it does D6 Damage instead. Wow.
People say he's a must-take, but I've been playing fine without him. Probably because my main army is Imperial Knights.
Tech-priest Dominus: They are still pretty good, with their 3+ WS and 2+ BS and 2+ armor save. Pretty survivable with Toughness 4, 5 Wounds and a 5++ invulnerable save. He's decent in melee - I had my Tech-priest Dominus behead Sanguinary Guard and Inceptors in melee before - the Omnissian axe's 2 Damage is awesome. He can also heal D3 wounds per turn and repair D3 wounds on any Adeptus Mechanicus unit within 3". Again, Onager Dunecrawlers and Kataphron Destroyers. Heh. His other support ability, while not as amazing as Belisarius's Cawl re-roll all hit rolls, still mitigate those plasma overcharge risks by allowing you to re-roll hit rolls of 1s if they're within 6". So overcharge your Kataphron Destroyers and drown the enemies of the Omnissiah in 3D6 plasma culverin shots. Feel the fury of the Omnissiah!
Wargear options are pretty cool. Other than the Omnissian axe that I mentioned, he can take either the Volkite Blaster for reliable shooting - it always makes 3 Strengh 6 AP 0 shots that deal additional mortal wounds on a 6+ - or the eradication ray for more punch - D3 Strength 6 AP -2 shots that deal 1 Damage, but utterly destroys foes within 8" with AP -4 and D3 Damage instead. For a sidearm, he has either the macrostubber that fires 5 pistol shots - and you can't fire it with your main weapon, bleah. But you can fire it during the shooting phase if you're locked in melee. Its 5 shots at Strength 4 AP 0 are still decent, because of the dakka. On the other hand, you have the phosphor serpenta that is assault instead, and does Strength 5 AP -1, but ignores cover, so take that if you want to fire both weapons.
Troops
Kataphron Breachers: They have power armor save at 3+, and also a 6++ invulnerable save. They are pretty tanky with their Toughness 5 and 3 Wounds, but they are slow and their BS and WS are mediocre. On the bright side, they can move and shoot their heavy weapons without penalty, so yay. So what are those heavy weapons, you ask? Well, first is the heavy arc rifle wthat fires 2 heavy shots at 36" at Strength 6 AP -2 and dealing D3 damage. Sure, they lost the old haywire rule and don't damage vehicles as reliably as before, particularly the heavy ones like Toughness 7 Predators or Toughness 8 Land Raiders, Leman Russ tanks and Imperial Knights, but if you do get a wound through, they deal D6 damage like eery lascannon. Make sure the targets are vehicles, though. On the other hand, with Strength AP-2, they are much better at killing infantry now, especially multiple-wound models like Terminators and Primaris Marines, even if it's just D3 damage. For melee, they have an arc claw, which increases their Strength from 5 to 6, gives them AP -1 and deals D3 damage to vehicles and 1 damage to everything else.
You can replace the heavy arc rifles with torison cannons, but why would you do that? They have worse range at 24", and only fire one shot - not exactly encouraging given the Breachers' BS 4+. On the other hand, they have a superior Strength 8 and AP -4 and deal D6 damage straight. So it's for monster hunting? It's basically a multi-melta without the melta rule. As for melee, you can swap the arc claw for a hydraulic claw, which doubles the Breachers' Strength to 10, and Damage D3 while maintaining AP -1, but at the cost of its to hit rolls. Basically unwieldly. So depends on what you want. I would say that's a more reliable way of hitting vehicles, to be honest...except that you'll only be hitting 1/3 of your hits.
Kataphron Destroyers: Well, they're a bit less sturdy than their Breacher cousins, with only a 4+ armor save, but otherwise have an identical profile except that they have 1 Attack and the Breachers have 2. This is the shooty variant, and they are not to be underestimated, no matter how many articles, posts or analysis you read online claiming that they're the worst Troops choice and you should only take Vanguard. They come with a plasma culverin, and that thing is a beast. No, seriously. 3 D6 shots of plasma will incinerate any foe. I've used them and they single-headedly wiped out Sanguinary Guard, entire squads of Terminators and Devastators, and even wrecked vehicles by overcharging their plasma culverins. Just plop down a Tech-priest Dominus next to them and you can safely re-roll Gets Hot! rolls of 1 for the supercharged plasma culverins. It's worth the risk, I tell you. Don't bother with stastistics or online posts and just try them out for yourselves like I did. They are brutal.
They also come with a phosphor blaster that is rapid fire 24", Strength 5 AP -1 and ignores cover, but I prefer the cognis flamers that fire D6 shots at 8" because they automatically hit, and can take care of hordes, and are awesome for overwatch. You can swap the plasma culverins for heavy grav-cannons for more reliable weight of fire since they do a flat heavy 5 instead of D6, but given how grav has been nerfed this edition I would say plasma culverins are better. The heavy grav-cannons are still decent, with their Strength 5 AP -3, that deal 1 damage to hordes and D3 damage to anything with an armor save of 3+ and better. Basically still a Terminator killer, and better at wiping out Primaris Marines. But I still prefer the cheaper plasma culverins.
Skitarii Rangers: The iconic Skitarii unit, with their awesome hoods and stuff. Gone is their 6+ Feel No Pain, but they gain a 6++ invulnerable save instead and is 1 point cheaper than last edition. Their galvanic rifles are nerfed. They still retain their 30" range and rapid fire but are now Strength 4 AP 0. Damage 1 is okay, and if you roll a 6 for to wound rolls, you get an AP -1 bonus. As usual you can take omnispex, which now straight up ignores cover. Woohoo! They are meant to be shooty, since you have a decent 3+ BS, abuse it! But the galvanic rifles aren't the reason why you take them. You take them because 2 in a 5-men squad and 3 in a 10-men squad can swap those galvanic rifles for transuranic arquebus, which is a 60" sniper rifle with Strength 7 AP -2 and D3 Damage. Meaning, you use these bad boys to snipe enemy Characters from far away. Not only that, thanks to sniper rules, any To Wound roll of 6+ will inflict a mortal wound in additoion to its normal damage. Sweet! Combined with the Rangers' standard 30" galvanic rifles, you usually park them on a backfield objective, camp them down there and shoot from afar. You have to do that because you can't fire the transuranic arquebus if you moved them during that turn.
Skitarii Vanguard: The other excellent troops choice for Adeptus Mechanicus, the Skitarii Vanguard forms the vanguard of the armies of forge worlds. In addition to their decent 3+ BS, they also have the same 6++ invulnerable save as almost everyone else, and they have rad-saturation whch reduces the Toughness of enemy units except vehicles by 1 if they're within 1" range (meaning in combat). But that's not why you're taking them. They have awesome radium carbines which literally shoot cancer - the 18" range might be lackluster, but make no mistake, anything that comes within range will eat radioactive bullets with a profile of Assault 3 Strength 3 AP 0. Every time you make a wound roll of 6+, the Damage increases from 1 to 2, so it's not the horde killer it used to be, but will take down vehicles pretty quickly, and are useful against Terminators and multi-wound models. They can take omnispex to ignore cover, like the Rangers, and swap their weapons. Personally I recommend the plasma calivers, which are also 18" range, but Assault 2 instead of 3 from last edition. They are a lot cheaper though, and still deal the usual plasma damage. Have a Tech-priest Dominus nearby and they can overcharge their plasma calivers for Strength 8 AP -3 2 Damage shots. Woohoo!
Another alternative for both the Vanguard and Rangers is the arc rifle. They are much cheaper than before, at 4 points, and has decent Strength 6, AP-1 and 24" rapid fire. Again, lackluster against vehicles with D3 Damage that won't go through with their high Toughness and good armor save, but will be deadly against infantry. Very funny. The haywire weapons are going haywire with their roles.
Elites
Tech-priest Enginseer: What is this guy doing here? Well, yeah...he's Adeptus Mechanicus, but he's mostly attached to an Imperial Guard regiment, especially tank regiments. He's a cheap unit that has mediocre shooting and melee, but that's not why you're taking him. You're taking him to spam cheap units to repair your Onager Dunecrawlers and other vehicles. Just make sure they're within 3". This guy is flexible enough in that he can repair Astra Militarum vehicles in addition to Forge World vehicles, so you can stick him in the Imperial Guard to repair those Baneblades and Leman Russ tanks instead.
Fulgurite Electro-priests: A good melee unit with 5++ invulnerable save that uncreases to 3++ when you wipe out an enemy unit in the Fight phase. Not just until end of turn, mind you. For the rest of the battle. Can you say awesome? Oh, and they get Feel No Pain, so they can ignore even mortal wounds on a 5 and 6 (why not just say 5+?).
If you charge them, you roll a D6 for each model in the charged unit, and deal a mortal wound for every 6 you roll. Not exactly reliable, but fun. They're armed with Electroleech staves that increase their Strength 3 to 5 and give them AP -2 and D3 Damage. Every time you make a wound roll of 6+ with this weapon, the target suffers D3 mortal wounds instead of the normal damage. Can you say awesome? These guys got buffed pretty heavily!
Corpuscarii Elecro-priests: The shooty version, they also get a 5++ invulnerable save and the same Feel No Pain as their Fulgurite brothers. And yeah, the same deal a mortal wound for each rolls of 6 when you successfully charge an enemy unit and roll for each model in that unit. They don't have the 3++ invulnerable save when they wipe out an enemy unit in combat, but they do have shooting capabilities tgat are 12" Assault 3, Strength 5 AP 0. They also deal the same in melee. But each hit roll of 6+, whether melee or shooting, causes 3 hits instead of 1, so they are basically tasers. Cool!
Servitors: Uh, they seem pretty out of place. They have terrible BS and WS - basically Orks, but if you put them within 6" of any friendly Tech-priests, Tech-priest Enginseer included, their Leadership goes up from 6 to 9, and their Ballistic Skill and Weapon Skill go up to 4+. Their basic loadout is a servo-arm, which doubles their strength to 6 in combat and gives AP -2 and 3 damage, but because it's unwieldy, you have to subtract 1 from the hit roll, making it WS 5 again. You can replace the servo-arm with a heavy bolter, plasma cannon or multi-melta and have them camp far away to shoot those heavy weapons at BS4+ but you've better options than that.
Sicarian Infiltrators: They are back, and they're badass as ever! Sadly, their neurostatic aura got nerfed, and they only affect enemy units within 3" (read: in combat) and give them -1 to their Leadership. On the other hand, they have the same 6++ invulnerable save and 2 wounds each, but can Deep Strike more than 9" away from enemy units instead of the old Infiltration rule. They lost their Feel No Pain rule, but they are a lot cheaper and just as deadly in combat. Load them with flechette blasters, which deal 5 pistol shots at 12" Strength 3 AP 0 - while the Strength has gone up, they lost the Shred ability. Pair it with the taser goads, which raises their Strength from 4 to 6, but sadly lacks the AP. But that's not why you want taser goads. You want them because each hit roll of 6+ gives 3 hits instead of 1, and while they have been FAQed to only have 2 Attacks for the normal Infiltrators and 3 Attacks for the Princeps, that's potentially a lot of hits. And if you still can't kil them in combat, you can shoot them with their flechette blasters during the shooting phase. They are a lot cheaper than in last edition, costing about 2/3 of their original points, so don't worry about the nerfs. They are still solid in combat.
The other option is power sword and stubcarbines, which are decent and cheaper. The stubcarbine has greater strength and range, but does only 3 shots. On the other hand, the power sword does grant AP -3 at the cost of Strength, but it doesn't have that wicked taser rule to give 3 hits for every rolls of 6. So it depends on what you want. Better shooting and AP? Stubcarbines and power swords. Volume of shots and melee attacks? Flechette blasters and taser goads.
Sicarian Ruststalkers: Like their Infiltrator cousins, they lost their Feel No Pain but retain their 6++ invulneable save and 2 wounds. Unlike the Infiltrators, the Ruststalkers still have the 3 Attacks each and 4 Attacks for the Princeps because they're a dedicated melee unit. They come stock with transonic razors and chordclaws. Chordclaws can only make one attack each time the model fights, bur you deal D3 mortal wounds with each to wound of 6+ you make for it. Otherwise it's just Strength 4 AP0, but D3 Damage. The transonic razors are also Strength 4 (user's Strength) AP0, but again you deal a mortal wound with every to wound roll of 6+, so that's actually pretty good. You can swap the chordclaws and transonic razors for transonic blades, which grant an extra Strength but does pretty much the same thing. Given how the Chordclaw deal D3 mortal wounds, I wouldn't advise it. They can be brutal if you can get them in combat. They are also a lot cheaper than last edition, about 2/3 their cost, but they lost the Mindscrambler Grenades. Considering they don't need those, and you can only throw 1 grenade per turn, it's not a big loss, and we get a huge discount in points!
Cybernetica Datasmith: A fairly cheap model and Character you take to babysit your Kastelan Robots. That's it. You're not taking him for his gamma pistol, which only shoots at 12" and Strength 6 AP -3 with 2 Damage and re-rolling failed wound rolls against vehcles. Let's be honest, if he's that close to an enemy, he's probably dead despite his 2+ armor save and 5++ invulnerable save. Nor are you taking him for his power fists which take away 1 from his to hit rolls while granting him a decent Strength 8 AP -3 and D3 Damage - with only 2 Attacks, he's not going to do much. No, you're bringing him along to repair your Kastelan Robots - D3 wounds per turn - and also to change the protocols for your Kastelan Robots.
Fast Attack
Ironstrider Ballistarii: Moved to Fast Attack from Heavy Support and most deservedly so, this is a not-so-cheap weapons platform that has the same 6++ invulnerable save as everyone and gives nearby friendly Forge World units +1 to their Leadership if they're within 3". You can take up to 6 of them in one squadron. His twin cognis weapons have been nerfed. Instead of firing Overwatch on BS 5+, they now only allow your dudes to fire if they Advance, but subtract 2 from the hit rolls if they do. The twin cognis autocannons fire 4 Strength 7 AP -2 shots that deal 2 Damage, but the twin cognis lascannon while more expensive fires 2 Strength 9 AP -3 shots that deal D6 damage. You would most probably take this as a long range weapon platform, but most likely the Kastelan Robots and Onager Dunecrawlers are much better at shooting than these guys, so you'll only need them for their fast 10" movement, Advance, and fire. They're good at outflanking, claiming objectives and being a nuisance, I suppose.
Sydonian Dragoons: Another melee-orientated unit, you usually take them in mass. In other words, don't just take one of them, take 6! They have Incense Cloud, which subtracts 1 from your opponents' To hit rolls and causes them to be Incensed. 6++ invulnerable and same morale bonus as the Ironstrider Ballistarii above. But this is a more melee orientated unit. Sure, you can equip them wiith a phosphor serpenta that fires Strength 5 AP -1 attacks at 18" range and it ignores cover, but the main reason is their taser lance, which like the Sicarian Infiltrators' taser goads, deal 3 hits instead of 1 on every to hit roll of 6+ in combat. They increase the Strength of the Sydonian Dragoons from 5 to 8, but sadly remains at AP 0. They do 2 damage though, so still pretty cool, and with 3 Attacks each, you'll be stomping over hordes.
They can also swap their taser lances for radium jezzails, which has a 30" range and 2 shots. Not as good as the 60" transuranic arquebus because it is only Strength 5 AP 0 and 1 Damage, but has the same additional mortal wound on a wound roll of 6 as other sniper weapons. Not really recommended, and besides it doesn't look as cool as the taser lance.
Heavy Support
Kastelan Robots: Starting out at a minimum squad of 2, you can take up to 6 of them, and why the hell not? Well...because it's not fun if they get tied up in melee, with the loss of Monstrous Creature rules and Smash. Anyway, they are tough to kill, with a whooping Toughness 7, 6 Wounds and a 3+ armor save and 5++ invulnerable save that can go up to 2+ and 4++ if you left Aegis Protocol on. No more Feel No Pain, sadly enough, but hey, I'll take the bonus. Because each time you roll a 6+ for the invulnerable save, you can deal a mortal wound to the unit who shot him. In other words, you can reflect mortal wounds if you roll a 5 for your invulnerable save!
They come stock with an incendine combustor, which is a 12" heavy flamer that deals the standard D6 auto-hits at Strength 5 A -1 and 1 Damage, and astelan fists, which increases their Strength from 6 to 10, grants them AP -3 and deals 3 Damage flat. This, when combined with Conquerer Protocols, allows the Kastelan Robots to kick ass in melee not once but twice. That's 6 Attacks hitting at WS 4+ per turn, and with the minimum 2 Kastelan Robots, that's 12 Attacks. 4? That's 24. At Strength 10 AP -3 and 3 Damage. That's insane.
But most people would prefer to turn their Kastelan Robots into a gunline. With Protector Protocols, you can have them fire twice. This is where you swap the incendine combustor and Kastelan fists for 3 heavy phosphor blasters. Normally each Kastelan Robot fires 9 Strength 6 AP -2 shots per turn. But activate Protector Protocols, that turns into 18. With a minimum of 2 Kastelan Robots, that's 36 shots, doubling to a whooping 72 if you have 4, or 108 if you have 6. Add in Belisarius Cawl to re-roll your hit rolls, and well...you get the picture. Take note you need a Cybernetica Datasmith to be within 6" to change the Protocols, and you have to roll a D6 and get 2+ during your movement phase in order to change them the next batttle round. Oh well.
Also beware. While throwing out 108 dakka shots of Strength 6 AP -2 might sound amazing, replacing the Kastelan fists means they suck in combat. Strength 6 is nothing to slouch at, but their attacks will all be resolved at AP 0 and 1 Damage instead, which will prove costly if they get tied up in melee.
Onager Dunecrawler: Ah, our very own spiderbots, ripped off from the Monkeylord of Supreme Commander and Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance notoriety. They are pretty tough, with Toughness 7 and 11 Wounds, a 3+ armors save and a 5++ invulnerable save. They can also re-roll invulnerable saves of 1s if you put them within 6" of each other, and also grant the same old Leadership bonus as the other Skitarii vehicles. They also ignore the -1 penalty to hit rolls for heavy weapons if you move them, so awesome. Can't Advance more than D3" though, but that's the Ironstrider Ballistarii's job. Take note you can't squadron them anymore, so they will eat up your Heavy Support slots pretty quickly. But that's why you're taking the Spearhead Detachment like me.
They come stock with the eradication beamer, which is okay. It fires heavy D6 shots at 36", dealing Strength 8 AP -2 and D3 Damage. But if your opponents are within 12", you reduce eit to D3 shots, but the AP goes up to -4 and the Damage to D6. Not too bad. You can swap it for the twin heavy phosphor blaster, which isn't too bad, but honestly, those are better on the Kastelan Robots where they are cheaper and can fire more dakka. And twice
No, instead you only take Onager Dunecrawlers because you want the awesome neutron laser, which also comes with a cognis heavy stubber - which can be fired even if you Advanced with a -2 Penalty, but nobody cares about that. The neutron laser only fires D3 shots, but it's Strength 10 AP -4 and D6 Damage, which does a minimum of 3 Damage even if you roll a 1 or 2. Can you say awesome? I blew a couple of Land Raiders up with these guys! And they have 48" so you can just park them in one corner and hurl neutron lasers from afar!
Or you can also take the Icarus array, which honestly is the best anti-air weapon in the game. Daedalus missile launcher that fires a Strength 7 AP -3 shot that deals D6 damage? Check. Gatling rocket launcher that fires 5 rockets at Strength 6 AP -2? Check. Twun Icarus aytocannon that fires 4 Strength 7 AP -1 Damage 2 attacks? Check. The Orks don't have dakka on us. 10 anti-air shots that fires on Flyers with to hit rolls on 2+, on Flyers with Hard to Hit rule on 3+ and non-Flyers on 4+. Hell, even if your opponent doesn't have Flyers, the amount of dakka these guys pump out will wipe out hordes of infantry. You can't go wrong with this weapon.
Lord of War
Imperial Knights: You know them, you love them. I won't talk much until I get a good look at the Questor Mechanicus in the new Adeptus Mechanicus codex, but these guys are beastly. They have won me almost every game I played, except that Tau game where Farsight and the 8 destroyed them. Ouch. Other than that, they are pretty durable, with Toughness 8, 24 Wounds and a 3+ armor save and 5++ invulnerable save. They are a great Distraction Carnifex that forces the opponent to throw everything they have at killing them while the rest of my army wipes them out (except the Tau, ugh). They are awesome. There are five variants, the Knight Crusader, the Knight Gallant, he Knight Paladin, the Knight Errant and the Knight Warden, but let's face it. They can just be one unit on their own. Only difference is their weapon options. Either you equip them with two melee weapons, the Thunderstrike Gauntlet or Reaper Chainsword, or just one melee weapon and one main weapon. They can also step over infantry, can fall back and shoot and charge again the same turn, and do not suffer the penalty to shooting Heavy weapons. The main weapons are the thermal cannon, which melts Terminators and vehicles to slag at Strength 9 AP -4 and D6 Damage, the rapid-fire battle cannon, which throws out 2D6 shots at Strength 8 AP -2 and D3 Damage, and the Avenger Gatling cannon, which hurls 12 Strength 6 AP -2 shots that deal 2 Damage each, and comes equipped with a heavy flamer as a bonus. You can even take carapace weapons, like the Stormspear rocket pod that fires 3 Strength 8 AP -2 missiles with D6 Damage, the Ironstorm missile pod, which fires D6 shots at Strength 5 AP -1 and 2 Damage and can target units not visible to the shooter from 72" away, and the twin Icarus autocannons, which fire 4 Strength 7 AP -1 and 2 Damage shots with the Skyfire rule. In other words, hitting Flyers on a 2+ unless they have Hard to Hit, which then makes it 3+, and 4+ against anything else.
I wonder if the Mechanicus Household will grant them bonuses that allows them to benefit from Canticles or allows them to be repaired by Tech-priests...
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