Warhammer 40K: This Week’s Meta Hotness – Ad-Mech Sicarian Ruststalkers
Let’s take a look at a unit that is slicing and dicing the opposition, Ad-Mech Sicarian Ruststalkers.
In the ever-shifting meta of 40K, armies rise and fall. We’ve spent a lot of time talking about armies that are hot or not, but a lot less time looking at units that are running the show. Today let’s start by taking a look at one of the hottest units currently running around the tabletop.
The Unit
Sicarian Ruststalkers are an elite Adeptus Mechanicus assault unit. These augmented Skitarii are hunters and stalkers, bringing terror to the enemy. More machine than man, they excel at getting up close and personal. 2 Wounds and a 4+/5++ also make them pretty survivable. Thanks to Wasteland Stalkers and their army buffs, it’s not hard at all to get them to have a 2+ or even 1+ save vs shooting. This makes them good at surviving alpha strikes and more likely to get into combat. Optimized Gait won’t come up that much, but it helps prevent them from being stopped by enemy tricks.
Why are Sicarian Ruststalkers Good?
Ruststalkers start off with a solid stat line. Move 8, WS 3+, S4, and 3 attacks make for a great melee base. They are accurate, get a lot of attacks, and aren’t weak. They’ve got plenty of speed to get into combat. They’ve got a few different close combat options and all either give them extra attacks or allow for extra damage. All also have at least some AP. This is a unit that can hurt things.
Sicarian Ruststalkers, like all Admech, also get a lot from army rules. With stratagems to give them extra attacks and strength, and the option to take relics they can get real buff. It’s possible for a single ‘Stalker to put out something like 20 damage in a turn, with the right combos and perfect rolling. This is a unit that is strong on its own, but gets better with friends.
A Sample List
Saying a unit is hot is all well and good, but let’s take a look at how players are using it. Ruststalkers have been in a number of lists that have done well at recent tournaments. One list that uses them is the following: run by Richard Siegler to win LVO.
Adeptus Mechanicus – Richard Siegler
++ Battalion Detachment 0CP (Imperium – Adeptus Mechanicus) [95 PL, 6CP, 1,997pts] ++
+ Configuration +
Army of Renown – Skitarii Veteran Cohort
Battle Size [12CP]: 3. Strike Force (101-200 Total PL / 1001-2000 Points)
Detachment Command Cost
Forge World Choice: Forge World: Mars
+ Stratagems +
Archeotech Specialist [-2CP]: 2x Archeotech Specialist
Artefactotum [-2CP]: 2x Artefactotum
Host of the Intermediary [-1CP]: Host of the Intermediary
Mechanicus Locum [-1CP]: Mechanicus Locum
+ No Force Org Slot +
Brotherhood of the Cog [5 PL, 85pts]
. Tech-Priest Enginseer: Magi
+ HQ +
Skitarii Marshal [3 PL, 55pts]: Relic (Skitarii Veteran Cohort): Cantic Thrallnet, Warlord, Warlord Trait (Skitarii Veteran Cohort): Calculate Without Diversion
Skitarii Marshal [3 PL, 55pts]: Mechanicus Locum, Relic: Exemplar’s Eternity, Warlord Trait (Codex 3): Programmed Retreat
Tech-Priest Manipulus [6 PL, 120pts]: Logi, Magnarail lance, Relic: Raiment of the Technomartyr
+ Troops +
Skitarii Rangers [9 PL, 219pts]: Omnispex
. Ranger Alpha: Galvanic Rifle, Host of the Intermediary, Warlord Trait (Codex 5): Firepoint Telemetry Cache
. 18x Skitarii Ranger: 18x Galvanic Rifle
Skitarii Rangers [9 PL, 219pts]: Omnispex
. Ranger Alpha: Galvanic Rifle
. 18x Skitarii Ranger: 18x Galvanic Rifle
Skitarii Vanguards [2 PL, 55pts]
. 4x Skitarii Vanguard: 4x Radium Carbine
. Vanguard Alpha: Radium Carbine
Skitarii Vanguards [2 PL, 55pts]
. 4x Skitarii Vanguard: 4x Radium Carbine
. Vanguard Alpha: Radium Carbine
+ Elites +
Sicarian Infiltrators [4 PL, 95pts]
. Infiltrator Princeps (Stub/Sword)
. 4x Sicarian Infiltrator (Stub/Sword): 4x Power Sword, 4x Stubcarbine
Sicarian Ruststalkers [8 PL, 190pts]
. Ruststalker Princeps (Blades): Artefactotum, Relic: Temporcopia
. 9x Sicarian Ruststalker (Blades): 9x Transonic Blades
Sicarian Ruststalkers [8 PL, 152pts]
. Ruststalker Princeps (Blades): Artefactotum, Relic: The Omniscient Mask
. 7x Sicarian Ruststalker (Blades): 7x Transonic Blades
Sicarian Ruststalkers [8 PL, 152pts]
. Ruststalker Princeps (Blades)
. 7x Sicarian Ruststalker (Blades): 7x Transonic Blades
+ Fast Attack +
Ironstrider Ballistarii [4 PL, 85pts]
. Ballistarius: Twin Cognis Lascannon
Ironstrider Ballistarii [4 PL, 85pts]
. Ballistarius: Twin Cognis Lascannon
Ironstrider Ballistarii [4 PL, 85pts]
. Ballistarius: Twin Cognis Lascannon
+ Heavy Support +
Skorpius Disintegrator [8 PL, 145pts]: Belleros Energy Cannon
Skorpius Disintegrator [8 PL, 145pts]: Belleros Energy Cannon
++ Total: [95 PL, 6CP, 1,997pts] ++
Using Sicarian Ruststalkers
Siegler’s list makes use of 3 units of Sicarian Ruststalkers. These form a large and integral part of his assault force. Equipped with Transonic Blades they are strong and can punch through armor with ease. Thanks to the relics they carry, if you keep them together they do extra hits on 6s. Another relic lets them force an enemy unit to fight last. This means they can dogpile a really nasty unit and hopefully kill it before it can fight back. Thanks to being a Veteran Cohort he has access to two stratagems that increase their attacks. All of this makes the unit super deadly.
Let us know what units you think are hot right now, down in the comments!
