Secutarii Get 8th Edition Treatment

Companies make decisions based on their consumer's pocket books, and our hobby is no different.  In both 30k and 40k, Titan owners are more than willing to part with their hard earned money to have some infantry to protect their giant God-engines.  A few weeks back, during the Forge World stream, it was revealed that there were no plans to move the Secutarii Hoplites and Peltasts to 8th edition in 40k.  This left many 40k Titan owners who love to be thematic and fluffy in the cold, and it seems that a little frostbite was to be in Forge World's future.

Since the indices dropped and Forge World didn't cover the Secutarii, it was only a matter of time before enough players got antsy.  Throw in that stream, and things were set for a flood of comments.  Those comments got GW and Forge World's attention, leading to this wonderful development:

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2018/06/15/15th-june-new-rules-by-popular-demandgw-homepage-post-2fw-homepage-post-1/

The Secutarii are back in 40k!

You can download the rules at:

https://whc-cdn.games-workshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/warhammer_40000_secutarii_peltasts_en-1.pdf

https://whc-cdn.games-workshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/warhammer_40000_secutarii_hoplites_en-3.pdf

It's great to see a company listening to its fan base, and better to see that it wasn't just a token effort.  These rules look pretty sharp.  What do you think?

Titans and Defense

Today we've got something a bit different.  No Titan update, no new Titan, no special coverage.  Think of this is whetting your appetite for the inexorable return of Collegia Titanica, which is coming relatively soon.  We have explored the weapons of the Titans in the past and we'll explore more of that in the future, as well as Titan stats themselves and even other items pertaining to them.  

But what's a dirty truth to using Titans in game?

They're massive killers, but once you can lay the hurt on them they feel it quickly.

Titans live and die not by the strength of arms they posess, but by what keeps them alive and defended.  Yes, a Titan can outkill what threatens it, even the scrappy Warhound can down a Warlord if fate is so kind, but they can only kill so much and so fast.  The smaller the Titan, the more likely they can be overwhelmed by large numbers, or outgunned.

How does a Titan, then, avoid an unfortunate case of death?

1.) Void shields.  Titans live and die by these things when it comes to range, especially the scout Titans.  Lose the void shields and now you're open to nasty stuff.  Often these are popped by smaller heavy weapons just so that Titan can be exposed to the harder hitting stuff, especially D weapons.  Warhound owners know that those two void shields are often their best friends.

2.) Heavy support elements.  Other super-heavies, big tanks, you name it.  If it's big and can draw attention or make it rain fire they can keep your Titan going by taking some heat or killing what threatens it.  These are great for defending your Titan from other Titans or tanks.

3.) Infantry.  Secutarii, Skitarii, Astartes, anything that moves on the ground near your Titan's feet is the best close combat defense your war machine can hope for.  They become expendable in that sense, but they do more than just beat things up.  They keep a Titan from being punched in the heel and looking like Achiles.

Interestingly, 63 percent of the Titans registered on TOC have maniple brethren or support of some form.  This means that almost two out of every three Titans has another Titan backing it, a Knight at its side, some sort of infantry keeping it from being boarded, or another form of help.

Obviously this is only a brief look at your options to defend a Titan and keep them alive.  It's something that we could easily explore more in depth.  Leave a comment below, tell us what you think about defending a Titan and what works best for you and your lovely God-Engine.

Secutarii Fully Revealed

While the Battle Bunnies were at the Forge World Open Day today, Drake and the others scooped some pictures of the fully revealed Secutarii upgrade kit. 

Unlike what was originally hoped for, they are resin upgrades only.  You'll still need to get the base Skitarii kit to build them, sadly.  Feel free to hit up the Battle Bunnies site and check out the pictures. 

Very well designed!  :)

http://battlebunnies.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/mechanicum-secutarii.html

Secutarii Fully Revealed at Warhammer Fest

Drake snapped these nice photos at Warhammer Fest for us.  Those of us Titan owners who can't wait to have Titan Guard running around the feet of our God-Engines just got a step closer to that reality.  We're also hearing that it is not a resin upgrade kit only, but that the plastic parts that will be necessary for the build will be included.

What do you think of the Secutarii?