Adeptus Mechanicus Codex Review - Datasheets

Greetings, Princeps.  We’re wrapping up our core coverage of the new Adeptus Mechanicus codex as we briefly look at the datasheets in the new book.  Since we’ve fixed our Binharic Cant scrapcode issues, let us proceed in the name of the Omnissiah.

DATASHEETS

The reason you get a codex: to play the army!  We’ll get this out of the way quickly:  AdMech got so much better.  There are plenty of unit changes. Old units are being given new life. Then there are points updates across the board.  

Even if you’re not building Titanguard, there is something here for you. 

Doctrina Imperatives are a set of rules that your forces gain access to if the entire army is AdMech (minus a few exemptions) that provide minor buffs to some states while providing minor de-buffs to others.  Each is situational and can help you improve at certain aspects of the battle where needed, but be aware they last an entire battle round and you need a DOCTRINA ASSEMBLER on the table to issue them.

Canticles of the Omnissiah are the glorious binharic battle cant of the Adeptus Mechanicus that provide straight-up bonuses without the de-buffs; however, they are one-use abilities, meaning you’ll have to be very careful which one you select at the start of a battle round.

HQ

Every army needs a leader, and this is where that excellence comes from.

Belisarius Cawl remains largely unchanged, still boasts a ferociously good statline, and excels at managing your forces and keeping himself and vehicles on the table.

The Tech-Priest Manipulus makes an official appearance in the codex and packs a bit of ranged punch but largely focuses on keeping friendly forces alive.

The Tech-Priest Dominus and Tech-Priest Engineseer remain by and large unchanged, though Engineseers can be taken without chewing up a slot for each Dominus or Manipulus within the Detachment.

The Technoarcheologist makes its debut from another 40k box and takes on the role of close-range combatant and servitor repair.  Brotherhood of the Cog allows a Technoarcheologist to be taken without using up a valuable HQ slot for each Dominus or Manipulus in the detachment.

The new kid on the block, the Skitarii Marshal, is the lord of the Skitarii and serves as an uber-alpha in his own right.  This is the fluffy guy you bring to lead your Titanguard.  His Control Edict allows a single friendly DATA-TETHER unit to ignore the deprecation (de-buff) effect of a Doctrina Imperative, while his Servo-skull Uplink provides the Lieutenant-like wound re-rolls.  He’s no slouch in close combat, either.

TROOPS

Skitarii Vanguard and Rangers stay rooted in the troops category but saw massive updates to their weapons.  However, the biggest changes are their new 20-man unit cap and ability to take more special weapons than ever before.  These guys are arguably the biggest winners of the new codex and still form a solid set of units to build a list around.  These guys can definitely protect Titans alongside the Secutarii.

Kataphron servitors sitting in the troops slot allows you something beefy to hold the line and objectives. They remain at 3W and T5, making them dependable; and it looks like their main arm-weapons picked up some damage output. 

ELITES

Servitors remain much the same, but have picked up the profile of other Imperium weapons.  There’s nothing special to be had here.

Electro-Priests will still zap you and make the day miserable.  However, they also benefit from an upped unit size.

Cybernetica Datasmiths are DOCTRINA ASSEMBLERs outside of the HQ ranks that still maintain the Kastelan Robots, though changes to these robots now rely on the Action abilities of 9^th edition.  They remain largely unchanged otherwise.

Sicarans are wicked fast in this codex though they seem largely unchanged.

FAST ATTACK, HEAVY SUPPORT, AND FLYERS

This is where points changes were much more common than anything versus changes to unit functionality.  A lot of what these sections came from later updates after the release of the 8^th edition codex, especially during Psychic Awakening.  With that said, there weren’t many things expected to change beyond points.

Serberys units remain dedicated skirmishers that will be harassing the enemy flanks but won’t have the durability of Adeptus Astartes bike forces, meaning they’ll need to be used judiciously.

Pteraxii remain your drop assassins, but there is no doubt the increased range on the Sterylizors has drastically increased their threat potential.

Ironstriders and Sydonians fill the same role as the Serberys units but are somewhat beefier.  With that said, the points cost reflects what you’re getting.

Kastelan Robots, the vehicles, and flyers remain largely unchanged with small tweaks but still remain effective.

CONCLUSION

This is the kind of codex AdMech deserves!  Weird, fantastical, and completely bonkers in all the right grim-dark ways.  Their Crusade rules are probably the most thematic of the entire group and changes made to the forces have been all about increasing their ability to work harmoniously on the table.  While some aspects do feel clunky and a bit too complex, we think they won’t slow the game down and that over time players will get used to them.  As for the focus of this blog and how we’d use AdMech: these are definitely new tools in our box and will provide great ways to support our Titans and Knights.  The US Branch is even going to be doing a Titanicast episode on it shortly.