Goatboy’s Monday Thoughts: Ad-Mech Worth It?
Goatboy here again and I promised a look at the Admech last week instead of just a terrible list.
The book is pretty short rules wise but since you have an HQ and a Troop choice you can actually make a true CAD which gives you more flexibility then the Skitarii book that came out a few months ago. While that is good it does feel like a book designed to add onto other armies instead of truly being a full fledged single book, old school 40k army book.
Unit Reviews
Let’s start at the top as the overall list is pretty dang short.
HQ: Tech-Priest Dominus
Rating: 3 out of 5 Crossed Eyed Servo Skulls
This guy clocks in a bit too expensive when you compare it to the other “character” option in the book with the Robot controller. He does have a lot of interesting bits of war gear but you wonder if he would be better to have the option to pay for them instead of being forced to have them for more points. Still he is the ultimate Tech Marine with a 2+ fix option and a piece of war gear that can also fix more Hull points if you roll well enough. Being able to heal wounds will be interesting a well. His plethora of extra rules are also neat but again – if you could just have a 2 Wound 50 point leader it might have been better. At least he is Toughness 4 so Scat Bikes won’t cover him in disco glow lights and murder out his dreams.
Elite: The Priests of Disco – aka Fulgurite and Corpuscarii Electro Priets
Rating: 1 out of 5 Sad Eyed Servo Skulls
Man these guys look alright and are pretty grim dark in their background but they are just not very good. Being Toughness 3 is a complete bummer as there are so many Str 6+ massed shooting that it won’t take long to murder through a set of 5+ save guys. Their shooting, while good at removing basic models, pails in comparison to the battle servitors so I don’t expect to see these fielded on the table top. Just be thankful the crazy detachment or a really good formation isn’t in here that demands a tax of 5 Mad Max rejects. I think they might be a good starting point for some cool Tzeetch Daemon Kin conversions if you want to go to a evil tech style look list.
Troops: Kataphron Breachers and Destroyers
Rating: 3 out of 5 Disco Servo Skulls for the Breachers
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Angry Servo Skulls for the Destroyers
This is where the power of the book lies as we all know massed Grav on a troop choice that doesn’t cost too much is very very strong. Marine players of all colors will be utilizing these squads depending on if the rumors of no more drop pod Centurions becomes true. The Destroyers run over a hundred points cheaper then Centurions and while not as good at “shooting” they do benefit highly from an added Librarian friend riding down with them in a drop pod. This troop choice will punish those massed GC players and help keep the meta a bit better. Plus they are just going to be good to remove any kind of armored threat as well as keep Scat Bikes playing fair.
The Breachers read alright on paper. I like the Torsion Cannon and if you mix some kind of way to get twin linked they could be very good for dealing with massed Knight lists. Still a Toughness 5 troops with 3+ armor and 2 wounds is pretty scary on an objective secured option. I think another interesting thing is that with their bases being so big they will easily contest/control objectives and still be a threat for shooting. I haven’t had a chance to play with massed Flesh Hounds on 50mm bases but I expect that much real estate getting taking up on the battlefield is a huge advantage. Don’t expect units more then 3 because 3 fit perfectly in a BA/SW drop pod.
Heavy: Kastelan Robot Maniple
Rating: 3 out of 5 Danger Will Robinson Servo Skulls
First of all – I love how they look. They look fun to paint and the only thing I thought could be cool is do some kind of lens upgrade to the flat face. Still I think they look cool and the Datasmith is one bad ass looking model too. Also when was the last time you saw GW put out a box of minis that is worth so many more points then its actual cost. 69 bucks for almost 300 points of a unit is pretty crazy. I figured we would see each Robot sold separately with the Datasmith as a 25 dollar clam pack. Instead we have a great single purchase with 3 unique models to paint up.
Rules wise these guys seem alright. I wish they had some more weapon options as the massed str 6 ap 3 shot is good I just feel like they are missing some kind of anti tank option that isn’t just a str 10 power fist. Their 3 Protocol options are a neat way to create new rules interactions that will force players to plan out turns and not just rely on rolling 40+ dice at your opponent and say – suck a butt. I think the quick upgrade to get some shooting options on it and have them shoot 9 shots apiece is probably the “best”. It makes the unit break 300 points but it allows them to be a threat to a lot of things. Though there is a thought in making this unit a huge assault force with Double Attacks coming in at 6 attacks each with some Canticles of the Omnissiah bonuses.
Extra Rules, Gear, and Abilities
Canticles of the Omnissiah
The data card set of rules for this army deal with the army chanting some nonsense like put the lotion on the cog or it gets the hose again. Each one checks how many Ad Mech units on the table you have and grants you an effect. Just like the Skitarii program changes these things seem interesting and depending on your army build there are some that might not ever get used.
Incarnation of the Iron Soul
This is the leadership effecting one with starting with Stubborn, getting a reroll of all checks, and finally just granting Fearless if you got a ton of red robed Mars jerks. This one will be used towards the end when you need your army to hold an objective. Could be good for sticking an opponent unit around if you got a big enough squad. The robots are already fearless and the Priests as well so this isn’t nearly as interesting for a pure Ad Mech army. Now if you use that crazy Formation/Detachment/Etc from the White Dwarf we are talking about a much more interesting option.
Litany of the Electromancer
So this one just gives you free hits if you have units locked in combat. Basically you just overcharge your batteries to cause some strength 4 hits based on how many models with the Omnissiah locked in combat. Each level gives you another hit so it could be funny to have 20 guys locked in combat with a huge horde and cause 60 free Initiative 10 hits. I don’t see this getting used as much but could forge a really nutty narrative if it works.
Chant of the Remorseless Fist
This is the close combat chant that starts by letting your reroll 1’s, then 1’s and 2’s, and finally reroll everything. I think in the big formation this might be pretty strong as the Skitarii do well with assault options.
ShroudPsalm
This one is probably the best as it grants your army some extra survivability. The start gives you Stealth, the next gives you Shrouded, and finally you get the ultimate 2+ eff you combo. The Detachment for the Ad Mech in the book lets you do these twice so expect this power to show up all the time.
Invocation of Machine-Might
This one lets you get more Strength to robot fight harder. 1, 2, 3 are the bonuses and again it depends on what you need, how close you got with assault options and if you need to punch a tank or 2. It isn’t bad just probably not used as much.
Benediction of Omniscience
Here you get the other strong option in this book. This one does the same as the close combat one but with shooting attacks. You need to hit something that turn – this chant is going to go off and hopefully allow your crippling firepower completely destroy what they are targeting with the glory of Mars shooting.
Warlord Traits
All the traits are ok with some being strong for your HQ to survive and others depending on what your tournament is allowing. The only one that is kind of meh is the 2nd one that gives you a master crafted weapon. I don’t know why GW has a hard on for making so many things cost more and be master crafted but I guess they think that rule is just so good. I expect that trait to always be rerolled. 6 gives you warlord and his unit the maximum Canticles power which is pretty good if you are investing a lot in his walk around unit. I like the reroll FNP rolls and Eternal Warrior options the best. The Mysterious Objective pick option is pretty cute and if your tournament allows them you I can see so many crazy things happening as he moves around and grabs objectives.
Special Wargear Speed Review
Raiment of the Technomartyr – Extra rule is good by granting them Cognis but you already have 2+ armor on the HQ and its too expensive so no.
Anzions Psuedogenetor – Extra attacks are neat but they are not a good AP. Plus the name is terrible to say and so you have to explain it too many times to just say no.
Mask of Alpha Dominus – If you are playing Robots this is good. Being able to change right away if you need to is good – but lose it as I guess you burn out the data card. Still if you are playing Robots this will be on one Datasmith.
Autocaduceus of Arkhan Land – This is another item the Datasmith will want in any robot army. Giving IWND To everyone in the unit is pretty strong.
Uncreator Guantlet – Here we go with the lazy name item it does seem interesting in specific army builds. If you are playing a Knight army you could easily fix up your lead Big Knight with 2+ Hull points per turn. This is pretty strong and could help you survive all the crazy shooting we are seeing. This is one of the items that could be look at more for specific builds.
The ScryerSkull Perspicatus – This one is too expensive as one half of its Rules are kind of not even used in most events.
Overall we have one piece of weird war gear that is good and then 2 others depending on the type of army you are playing/using. Overall I don’t expect most people to burn points here.
Formations
Cohort Cybernetica
This one is such an expensive formation but it could be really interesting to field. You get one super unit of 2 Kastelan Robot Maniples and a Dominus. The benefit any Robot rule you use turns on at the end of the turn right away. If you shoot a ton and then notice you are too close to a close combat you can give the close combat option. The other thing is the Datasmiths can take over robots and have them shoot at different things. This formation is so expensive but if you are running a robot army this is the one I would start to look at.
Elimination Maniple
Man this one was hyped so much before it came out. Ignore cover Destroyers were going to wreck the game. Instead we get a very meh formation that while it has a cool rule is really only going to kill the heck out of one unit for like 600+ points. This one isn’t going to be field anytime soon as you can get similar power by just using Space Marine allies with drop pods.
Numinous Conclave
The only way to get these Priests used is to make them give you free points if you take them. Review is meh and ignore.
Holy Requisitioner
Lots of neat rules here and I just wish we had Destroyers instead of Breachers. It is interesting to think of adding in Terminator Armor Space Marine librarians to each Breacher unit to help give some anti cover or Prescience options. Being able to deep strike around an objective and not scatter thought could be very powerful for causing issues for an opponent. I also like gaining Zealot and Counter Attack near an objective. This formation bears some more thought on it as it could be good in a Knight dominated format.
The last book review is the new Cult Mechanicus Battle Congregation Detachment. It basically is a CAD with the added option of getting the ability to use 2 of the same Canticle. This is pretty strong as this CAD is part of the White Dwarf super Mars formation that I will talk about in a second. Being able to Shroud 2 times or give everyone Twin Linked twice will be pretty soul crushing on specific turns. You also get to reroll your warlord trait because everyone gets that when having a new Detachment. It does only give you one HQ choice and 2 Heavy options but everything is looks like a Normal CAD option.
Overall this book looks interesting. I think it can benefit some of the other armies in the Imperium by granting some cheap Grav options at a troop slot. I like them to keep Objective Secured so I expect a lot of either Ally options with 1 HQ and 2 Troops or at least 2 HQ’s and 2 Troops in a normal CAD. I plan on using them with my Knight army by giving me some much needed anti GC weapons with the Grav guys.
What’s your take on Cult Mechanicus?
