Saturnine Terminator squad, Saturnine Dreadnought and Mastodon

I assembled my Saturnine Terminator squads and Saturnine Dreadnoughts! Oh, and Mastodon transports too! 2 squads of Saturnine Terminators (3 "detachments" of 3, so a squad of 9 each?), 2 command squads (1 redundant one), and 4 Saturnine Dreadnoughts, all embarked in 2 Mastodon transports! They're ready to siege! The Mastodons break through any fortifications with their melta arrays, and the Saturnine Terminators and Dreadnoughts disembark to wreck whatever's inside.

Oh, and if you look closer, all the Saturnine Terminators - except the command squads - are equipped with plasma bombards and twin heavy disintegrators. How did that happen, you may cry. After all, Goonhammer correctly explained in their review that there aren't enough left hand options to make your Saturnine Terminators completely ranged. And they are correct. There are only 6 right plasma bombards, 6 right twin heavy disintegrators, 3 left plasma bombards and 3 left twin heavy disintegrators.

That means, even if you pair them up with left and right, you'll only be able to equip 6 of the 9 Saturnine Terminators per sprue with dual ranged weapons. The last 3 have the option of equipping either plasma bombard or twin heavy disintegrators for their right hands, but only have a bunch of left disruptive fists.

How did I equip my guys with nothing but ranged weapons then? Well, nothing a little kitbashing wouldn't fix. Honestly, it was a little difficult, but what I did was snip the twin heavy disintegrators off at the joint, did the same for the left disruptive fists, and then glued the twin heavy disintegrators to the left arms (after cutting away the fists).

Yes, it's that simple. It sounds simpler than actually doing it, and I had to cut and shave away at the joints to make sure they fit. They aren't designed to fit together, after all, so I did a bit of trial and error. It took a lot of time and work, but I think it's worth it in the end. After all, I don't think anyone can tell that these guys are kitbashed. All they can see are 9 guys armed with plasma bombards and twin heavy disintegrators, and that there are 2 squads of these guys. Hah!

I'm fielding these guys in the Saturnine Heavy Assault Cadre Formation. The command squad fulfills the single HQ slot, then the 2 units of 3 Saturnine Terminator bases fill the Support slots. 2 units of 2 Saturnine Dreadnoughts then fill the optional Bastion slots in the Formation.

Saturnine Heavy Assault Cadre

Saturnine Command (50)

3 (x3) Saturnine Terminator (115)

3 (x3) Saturnine Terminator (115)

2 Saturnine Dreadnoughts (70)

2 Saturnine Dreadnoughts (70)

Points: 420

A single squadron of 2 Mastodon assault transport costs 250 points, so that brings me up to 670. I intend to also bring a Legion Super-heavy Spearhead, and I have already bought the Glaives (but not yet assembled them - they will wait until next week), which are another 110 points each. That means I have 890 points worth of Legiones Astartes, perfect for allies.

So what will these guys be used for? I'm thinking of fielding them as Word Bearers alongside my Dark Mechanicum, because right now the Loyalists heavily outnumber them. They can swap between Loyalist and Traitor, but for the purposes of my eventual diorama, I think I'll put them on the side of the Traitors to even the odds, or the Loyalists will outnumber them heavily. Yikes. Why Word Bearers? Because they're also red...and I can easily swap between them and Loyalist Thousand Sons as necessary. Or I can go "f it" and field them as Traitor Thousand Sons. Whatever. Anyway...

That means I've to alter my list. Currently, I have:

Dark Taghma Sub-covenant

Archmagos Prime on Abeyant (45)

5 (x5) Adsecularis Tech-thrall Covenant (40)

5 (x5) Adsecularis Tech-thrall Covenant (40)

4 (x3) Thallax (45)

4 (x2) Myrmidon Destructor Host (55)

2 (x2) Myrmidon Secutor Host (30)

4 (x3) Ursarax Cohort (55)

4 Triaros Armored Conveyors (88)

Points: 398

Terror Protocol Cohort

1 Scintillax Cyclops Noospheric Stalker Network (75)

4 (x3) Harpax Swarmer Scout Hosts (30)

4 (x3) Harpax Swarmer Scout Hosts (30)

1 Errax Butcher Assault Stalker Cohort (45)

1 Errax Butcher Assault Stalker Cohort (45)

Points: 225

Purge Protocol Cohort

2 Serperos Overlord Heavy Stalker Maniple (175)

1 Tenebrax Archer Battle Stalker Cohort (35)

1 Tenebrax Archer Battle Stalker Cohort (35)

1 Scintillax Cyclops Noospheric Stalker Network (75)

2 Serperos Overlord Heavy Stalker Maniple (175)

Points: 495

Total: 1,118

Adding the Legiones Astartes to that scary force would being me up to 2,008 points. That leaves me 992 points for Titans. Let's say I get a Warmaster Titan for 850 points. That leaves 142 points. Instead of buying the Warhound Titans as I originally intended, I can replace them with a squadron of 4 Karacnos assault tanks for 140 points. They're perfect for Dark Mechanicum because of their rad weaponry, which contrasts against the "pure" automata of my Loyalist Mechanicum, who fight to preserve life...or something.

Alternatively, I can add the Legiones Astartes (Thousand Sons) as allies to my Solar Auxilia, keeping them as Loyalists.

Solar Auxilia Mechanized Infantry sub-cohort: 1,123

Solar Auxilia Armored Company: 845

Solar Auxilia Titan Hunter Company: 480

Total: 2,448 points

I'll remove the Baneblades, Ogryns and 2 Dracosan armored transports to free up 354 points, which gives me 906 points. Excellent. I'll have 16 points left over, but I think it's a great start! Solar Auxilia backed up by Saturnine Terminators and even more tanks!