Models Finished an Edition too Late

As I've said many times before, I'm a very slow modeler. Although events in real life have slowed my rate of painting even more, I've still been able to get a few models done recently. Unfortunately, I started all of the most recent batch during 7th Edition and finished them after the previous edition was obsolete.

Two of the recently completed models are the timeless bolter-armed Tactical Marines. Although I don't really need many more Tactical Marines with bolters, especially now that we can take Primaris Intercessors, I wanted to diversify the Marks of armor in my Tactical Squads. One Tactical Marine is wearing a full suit of Mk VI power armor while the other has a Mk IV helmet. (I'm rather fond of the Mk IV helmet and was very happy to see that the Primaris Marines' Mk X armor has a very similar helmet.) The Marine with the Mk IV helmet also has an archaic outline-only Chapter logo from ForgeWorld's Ultramarine Legion transfer sheet.

Three additional Tactical Marines are armed with grav weaponry: one with a grav-cannon, one with a grav-gun, and a Sergeant with a combi-grav. Although grav weapons are still a decent upgrade option (and are a lot less situational since the new rules make them effective against lightly armored units like Ork Boyz), they're not quite the must-take weapons that they were in 7th Edition.

The grav-cannon Marine is also equipped with Mk VI armor. I made the small Tactical logo on both Corvus-armored Marines' shoulder pads by cutting down a full-sized transfer with a razor.

The final model is Chief Librarian Tigurius, whose pewter model I bought back when I started the hobby in 2011. I don't much care for the old pewter models, but the introduction of the Librarius Conclave in the last Space Marine codex convinced me to build a trio of Librarians led by Tigurius. Sadly, by the time I finished painting the model, the Librarius Conclave was obsolete. The other two Librarians (one with a jump pack and one in Terminator armor) are primed and sitting in my storage case. At this point, the only reason I'll ever finish them is because I'm a fan of GW's plastic Librarian models.

Now for Something Completely Different: X-Wing Nashtah Pup Repaint

I mentioned late last year that I had started playing Fantasy Flight's X-Wing Miniatures game. Jake, our fellow Cabal member, local HobbyTown owner, and favorite pusher of Plastic Crack^®, introduced the rest of the Cabal to X-Wing in the first half of 2016. Within a couple months I was spending way too much money on little plastic spaceships as well as little plastic soldiers.

One of the appeals of X-Wing is that the ships are pre-painted. When it comes to 40K I'm a hobbyist first and foremost, but it takes me so long to paint a squad that one or two editions might pass before I finally get that new unit finished (Centurions were introduced in 6th Edition; 8th Edition will have been released before I have a squad of them painted). X-Wing ships, on the other hand, can be played straight out of the box. Now I can play X-Wing when I don't have any new Ultramarines painted up and don't feel like playing yet another variation of the same Space Marine list. Recently, though, I had the irresistible urge to paint one of my pre-painted ships.

(From here on I'll be referring freely to aspects of X-Wing with little background information. Newcomers to the game can find any information they need from the excellent X-Wing Wiki.)

A YV-666 (the kind of ship the bounty hunter Bossk used) can take the Hound's Tooth Title for just six points. With the Title, the Hound's Tooth can deploy a Z-95 Headhunter, the Nashtah Pup, upon destruction of the parent ship. Unfortunately, Fantasy Flight doesn't make a miniature of the Nashtah Pup, requiring players to buy a Z-95 separately. For most people that isn't a problem; you can simply buy a Rebel Z-95 or you can get two Scum & Villainy Z-95s with Black Sun syndicate markings in the Most Wanted pack. However, the Nashtah Pup's pilot card clearly shows that Bossk's Z-95 is painted brown and maroon and has teeth-like markings similar to those on the Hound's Tooth itself. Since buying the YV-666, I haven't been able to bring myself to field a Rebellion or Black Sun Z-95 as the Nashtah Pup.

Pictured: not the Nashtah Pup

On Friday, I bought another Rebel Z-95 with the express purpose of painting it as Bossk's escape vessel. I painted the bulk of the model with GW's Steel Legion Drab, Mephiston Red, Agrax Earthshade, and Leadbelcher. I used a tiny bit of Nuln Oil and White Scar for details. The miniature took the paint pretty well without needing to be primed.

 

I'm reasonably happy with the final result given that it only took me an afternoon and I was able to use paints that I already have. Although I wish that Steel Legion Drab better matched the YV-666's reddish-brown color, the Nashtah Pup is only deployed when the Hound's Tooth is destroyed; it's harder to notice their differences when they don't spend too much time side-by-side.

Jump Pack Sergeant and Chaplain

Unfortunately, I've finished very few models since I completed the Assault Squad back in November. Because I'm a huge fan of how the Eviscerator looks (if not its points cost), I decided to build a second Veteran Sergeant for the Assault Squad wielding a heavy chainsword. Immediately thereafter, I moved on to a jump pack Chaplain conversion to fulfill the HQ requirement for a Space Marine Demi-Company.

The Veteran Sergeant is built with a Vanguard Veteran torso and jump pack, the Eviscerator from the Assault Squad kit, Tactical Marine legs (since his weapon is huge and unwieldy, I wanted to model him with a firm stance as if he were getting ready to swing it), a head from the Sternguard box, and Mk IV shoulder pads.

In addition to being a relatively inexpensive HQ, I wanted to paint a Chaplain so I could work out a technique for painting black armor. That's something I'm going to have to figure out if I'm ever going to start working on the Deathwatch in earnest.

In the end I went with a very simple style, using light strokes of Eshin Grey on the edges of Abaddon Black armor. GW generally recommends Eshin Grey followed by Dawnstone for highlighting black armor, but I was unable to get the lighter gray quite as fine as I would like and instead went with a more subtle look. This is the first time I've ever used line highlighting on a model's armor rather than dry brushing.

The model was built using arms, legs, and a torso from the Vanguard Veterans box; various decorative bits from several sources; a shoulder pad from the Sternguard kit and a shoulder pad from the Ultramarines upgrade sprue; a Crozius Arcanum built from a Vanguard Squad axe and a banner decoration from the Command Squad kit; and a Chaos Space Marine helmet from which I removed a large Chaos arrow on the forehead.

Imperial Agents: The Hobbyist's Codex

I picked up Codex: Imperial Agents last week, mostly because I bought the four assassin models a while ago and I wanted to have their rules in a hardback format. As I flipped through the book, I realized that the codex is ideal for those who want to add some fluff to their games as well as for hobbyists who want to try their hand at painting other models without starting a new army.

The fluff aspect is pretty obvious; any number of 40K stories feature small teams of Grey Knights, Deathwatch Kill Teams, assassins, or inquisitors fighting alongside Space Marine Chapters or Imperial Guard divisions. The new Codex finally gives us the rules to recreate these scenarios.

But what really drew me to the book was the fact that it allows modellers to paint up a single squad from certain armies and to use them in normal games of 40K. If you want to build a single Deathwatch Kill Team composed of Astartes from a variety of Chapters and field them alongside your Imperial Guard, Codex: Imperial Agents allows you to do that. They can even bring one of their unique flyers with them. If you find the Grey Knights paint scheme interesting but you don't want to build an entire army of ornately decorated Marines, you can build a single squad of Grey Knight Terminators or Interceptors. The Codex even allows you to field a Dreadknight or a Land Raider with the infantry.

I already intended to build a Deathwatch army, so I'm rather happy that I can slowly build the army squad by squad and start playing them alongside my Ultramarines before finishing more than a handful of models. Even better, I've wanted to paint up some Grey Knights models for years, but I've never seriously considered starting an entire army of them. I would very happily build a single squad of Grey Knight Terminators, though, and I wouldn't mind having a Dreadknight either. It could be fun to combine them with a Space Marine Librarius Conclave just to put a few more Warp Charges on the table.

Finished Assault Squad

Months ago, in my last post, I complained how real life can get in the way of the hobby. Having broken my leg just over a month before, I fell behind in my modeling. Unfortunately, breaking my leg proved to be relatively easy compared to the next event. Only three weeks after I wrote about the Deathwatch, our three year old was diagnosed with leukemia. Thankfully it's the most treatable form of leukemia, but it's still heartbreaking when your child has cancer, even the "easy" one.

Our family's faith and a fantastic team of doctors have been getting us through this, while 40K and a newfound interest in the X-Wing Miniatures Game have provided me with some distraction. However, I've had a hard time mustering much energy for blogging.

Anyway, I eventually finished the Assault Squad I started so long ago. I'm pretty happy with how the squad turned out:

I'm a big fan of the earlier marks of armor, equipping one Marine in a full suit of Mk VI plate and giving him a bionic arm for extra character. I'm irrationally proud of the small Assault logo I painted freehand on the Mk VI shoulder pad.

For those who less obsessed with the minutiae of Astartes power armor than I am, the left shoulder pad of a suit of Mk V or Mk VI armor is completely covered in studs rather than the Chapter logo as found on other marks of armor. Thus, the right shoulder pad shows both the Chapter logo as well as a smaller version of the squad logo. Since the right shoulder pad is also rimless, the Marine's Company is represented by something other than the color of the rim. I followed the example of the old Insignium Astartes and denoted the Company number with an Arabic numeral to the left of the Chapter logo.

From left to right: 2nd Company, 2nd Tactical Squad; 2nd Company, 7th Assault Squad;
2nd Company, 9th Devastator Squad; 1st Company, 3rd Veteran Squad

Except for the bionic arm, which came from the Space Marine Commander kit, the Mk VI Marine was assembled entirely from bits from the newer Assault Marine box. Another Marine ended up with a pair of Mk IV legs from the Betrayal at Calth kit:

I've been very happy with the figures in the new Assault Squad kit; the two-part legs allow much more dynamic poses and the arms have a lot more variety.

I've been trying to get the Ultramarine army in a good place so I can start my next one (I'm serious about it, this time). As I said in my last post, I was very excited to be finally be able to field a Deathwatch Kill Team. Who would have known that less than a year later GW would give us an entire Deathwatch army? As much as I love the Ultramarines, I've long wanted to model Astartes from other Chapters; the Deathwatch is the perfect opportunity to do it. For several weeks I've been collecting Dark Angels, Black Templars, Blood Angels, and Space Wolves bits, sprues, and boxes to give my Ordo Xenos Marines a lot of variety. I've also been reading up on the various First Founding Chapters as well as the more colorful Ultramarines successors (e.g., the Silver Skulls, the Mortifactors) and selecting the bits and pieces that best represent their style and culture.

First Assault Marine

The release of the 7th Edition Space Marine codex threw my whole modeling schedule for a loop. Just as I was ready to start on a Tactical Marine-heavy list with a cheap Librarian at its head, GW introduced the concept of the Demi-Company and the Gladius Formation and I lost all interest in fielding a solitary CAD. Models that I felt no urgency to build suddenly became necessary additions to the army while certain other models (e.g., Librarians) found their futures in question.

The Assault Squad ended up on my must-build list, not only because it fills a position in the Demi-Company, but because I completely lack any fast attack units. (That's right, I've been playing the game for over four years and I've never taken any units in the Fast Attack slots.) I don't know how many times I've found myself in a mission where I was too slow to grab objectives in time.

Although I already had Assault Squad bits that I bought a few years ago, I grabbed up a new Assault Squad box immediately after its release. The kit has a good variety of bits in it, including normal backpacks and torsos without jump pack straps for those who want to build a foot-slogging squad. It even has a Mk VI backpack (the first ever in plastic, I believe), allowing you to build a Marine in 100% Corvus armor.

My first Assault Marine is a Veteran Sergeant with dual lightning claws. Unfortunately, the model is a tremendously expensive 57 points with these upgrades (a Vanguard Marine with the same exact wargear and stats is only 32 points), but it looks great.

The legs are from the new Assault Squad kit, the right shoulder pad, torso, jump pack, and lightning claws are from the Vanguard kit, the left shoulder pad is from the Commander kit, and the head is a Mk IV helmet from the Betrayal at Calth box. (Yes, I said I probably wouldn't buy Betrayal at Calth, but it was a great value and Bryce and I split the cost.)

I'm very happy with how the model turned out. The Mk IV helmet looks great and I'm fairly proud of my hand painted laurels. The Assault logo on his right shoulder worked out pretty well, too. After cutting off the bottom third of the transfer, I used my usual technique to apply it to the shoulder pad. Once the decal was dry, I used a razor to scrape away the bits of stray decal from the Imperialis on his shoulder pad.

Plastic Heresy-era Armor On Its Way

It's been much too long since I've posted on this blog. Fortunately, I've been inactive because I've been getting a lot of modeling done.

It's been eight months since we first started hearing rumors that plastic Horus Heresy models were going to be released. A few months ago, leaked images showed a sprue of Mk IV Maximus armor and a sprue with two HQs: one in Mk IV armor and another in Cataphractii Terminator armor.

Additional photos have since confirmed that GW will be releasing Betrayal at Calth, a board game set during the Horus Heresy. Pictures of the back of the box show that the game includes multiple infantry models and a Dreadnought:

Although these models are supposed to be part of a board game, it's apparent that GW has much bigger plans than a single game. Space Hulk, which was obviously meant to be a one-off board game, had beautiful models but a minimal piece count and fixed weapons options

By contrast, the Mk IV Marine sprues are part of a full-blown multi-piece model kit with multiple wargear options (in one of the photos you can make out a plasma gun, a meltagun, a missile launcher, and several combi-weapon bits). From the look of them, the Mk IV parts are almost certainly compatible with other plastic power armor kits.

The Cataphractii Terminators are also from a multi-piece kit with a lot of options. It looks like there five pairs of lightning claws (I love the long-fingered Heresy-era lightning claws), five power fists, five chainfists, five combi-bolters, a heavy flamer, and a power sword.

The models on the HQ sprue have the least poseability (i.e., none) or wargear options (a plasma pistol and a power maul on the Mk IV model and a combi-melta and a chainfist on the Cataphractii model). I think most of us have gotten used to having limited options in our plastic HQs by now, and you could do worse than a Terminator Captain with a combi-melta and a chainfist.

Finally, the Contemptor Dreadnought is a little disappointing compared to the infantry sprues, although it's a step up from the usual starter kit Dreadnoughts. The pose is pretty static, but at least it gives you the option of arming it with a multi-melta or an assault cannon (Kheres pattern?).

(Most of these images come from War of Sigmar.)

It seems obvious that GW is trying to get more players into Horus Heresy. Personally, I'm still not interested in playing 30K, especially since the vehicles are likely to remain in resin (but give me a plastic Sicaran Battle Tank and I'll think about it).

Unless some of my fellow Cabal members decide to split the cost, I probably won't be buying Betrayal at Calth. I really want some Mk IV armor for my Tactical and Sternguard Squads, but I don't need nearly as many models as are included in this kit. If and when a 10 man kit of Mk IV Marines is released, I'll be the first in line.

As for the Cataphractii, I was on the fence until I saw the sprue. Now I'm willing to overlook the fact that I already have more Terminators than I can practically field in a standard game. I'm sure I could find a way to fit five Cataphractii Terminators into my army.

New Imperial Knights Incoming

Not long ago, we started getting rumors about new Imperial Knights: the Knight Warden and the Knight Crusader. Like the Knights Errant and Paladin, these Knight types existed in GW's small scale game, Epic 40,000. Although there are a few differences between the old Errants and Paladins and the new ones (e.g., the original Errants had giant power fists instead of chainswords), they're similar enough that it's been generally assumed that any future models will share certain features with the old ones.

The original Knights Warden and Crusader were both heavily armed, long-range Knights. Thus, it wasn't surprising when the rumormongers eventually gave us the following:

Crusader is armed with: Quake Cannon, TL Las-cannons
Warden is armed with: Volcano Cannon, Multi-barreled Autocannon
Both models have an optional top carapace missile launcher weapon mount, with multishot S8, AP3 anti-flyer capability
Both models are protected by a single energy field based heavily on the rules for the Stronghold Assault book’s Void Shield Generator.
Armor Values: Front:14 Side:13 Rear:13
Hull Points: 8
Both models clock in well above the cost of the Knight Paladin/Errant

As is now the norm, both Knights were supposed to be built from the same kit. Not long afterward, we were told that the kit would build a third Knight: the Knight Gallant. The Gallant doesn't appear to have an Epic counterpart.

Today, GW released their teaser for the Knights. Although the teaser only shows the new Knights in silhouette, we can guess a few things about them.

For starters, the legs, torso, and shoulder armor appear to be identical. Second, the new models can be equipped with weapons found on the Paladin and Errant. Both the rapid-fire battle cannon and the Reaper chainsword make an appearance. It's very likely that the new kit contains all the Paladin and Errant sprues plus at least one more sprue with new weapons.

Mystery Knight #1
Given that the Warden and the Crusader are supposed to be equipped for long-range combat, I'm going to guess that this one is the Knight Gallant:

The Reaper chainsword and the power fist show that this is primarily a close combat Knight, although the structure on its back is probably the missile launcher mentioned in the rumors. Its shape and location are nearly identical to the missile launchers found on larger Titans like the Reaver:

I'm very curious as to whether or not the power fist has special rules (perhaps it's AP1 versus the chainsword's AP2) or if it's just there to give the model an extra attack. If it's effectively identical to the chainsword (and assuming the kits are interchangeable), hobbyists who want to better distinguish their Errants from their Paladins could follow the pattern of the Epic models and equip the Errants with power fists.

Mystery Knight #2
This one is interesting since it's equipped with two new weapons that are difficult to identify. Obviously, its right arm is equipped with a standard rapid-fire battle cannon. However, its left arm has a large weapon with a complex shape on the end:

It's possible that this is the multi-barreled autocannon that the rumors mentioned, but I don't think the shapes are round enough to represent a rotary weapon. In fact, it looks like it could be the tip of the Volcano cannon, like the one carried by the Shadowsword:

That leaves us with the gun on the carapace:

It's difficult to tell what this is, but the rounded shapes and the loops at the top make me think that it could be a twin-linked or multi-barreled autocannon with ammunition drums and feeds.

It's worth nothing this model doesn't seem to match the rumors, which said nothing about the Crusader or Warden being able to carry the rapid-fire battle cannon.

Mystery Knight #3
Now we're really deviating from the rumors. Mystery Knight #2 may have a twin-linked/multi-barreled autocannon and a Volcano cannon, which would make it the Knight Warden. This Knight, however, doesn't match the rumor's description of either the Warden or the Crusader. It's armed with a missile launcher, the mystery arm cannon (possibly a Volcano cannon), and a power fist. If the model has twin-linked lascannons, they're hidden within the rest of the silhouette.

Given what we've been shown, I strongly suspect that Gallant, Warden, and Crusader are going to be very loose terms for the new Knights. Although the Epic Knights followed rigid patterns, the new fluff says that the weapons are actually interchangeable (GW even put tiny lifting lugs on the guns to suggest that they can be hoisted off their arm mounts) and that it's only by tradition that certain types of Knights carry certain weapons.

The GW teaser was probably meant to show the variety that the new/revised kit has and that those providing the rumors may only be aware of a couple of major builds. As for the missing Quake cannon, the only difference between the Volcano cannon-equipped Shadowsword and the Quake cannon-equipped Banesword models is literally a single piece at the tip of the cannon. It would be very easy for the Knight model to do the same.

First Thoughts on Skitarii

I've been perusing Codex: Skitarii since I bought it. It turns out that having purchased the last three White Dwarves meant that I had already seen about 80% of the codex. The biggest things missing from the magazine were the description of the Doctrina Imperatives and the Detachments/Formations. Either way, I'm very excited to start this army. Although I wish I were a faster painter and could get a large Skitarii army on the Cabal's tables quickly, the codex seems designed to allow gamers to start out by fielding relatively small Mechanicus forces alongside their existing armies.

Models and Fluff
In my last post, I praised the Vanguard, Ranger, and Ironstrider models. The model line only got better with the Sicarian Infiltrator and Ruststalker models. GW topped it all off with the Onager Dunecrawler.

Ironstrider

Sicarians
I love the look of all these models, particularly the long-legged Sicarians. Their torsos and upper legs are clearly those of human beings, but their multi-jointed lower legs are grotesque cybernetic alterations that give them phenomenal mobility. This is reflected in their Dunestrider rule, which gives them an additional 3" of movement during the Movement phase, while running, and when charging. I prefer the look of the Sicarian Ruststalkers, but I think the Infiltrators' Stealth, Infiltrate, and Neurostatic Aura (which reduces a nearby enemy's WS, BS, I, and Ld by 1) will be a lot more useful.

Sicarian Infiltrators

Sicarian Ruststalkers

Onager Dunecrawler
I'm also a fan of the crab-like Onager Dunecrawler. The walker is obviously of human design and, like the Ironstrider, clearly shares characteristics with the Imperial Knight (the fleur-de-lis makes yet another appearance). At the same time, it has an insectile design that makes it completely different from anything we've seen fielded by the Imperium of Man. GW has even given the Onager a clever backstory.

As diehard 40K nerds already know, the High Gothic of the 41st Millennium is essentially corrupted Latin, although GW seems to throw in a healthy dose of Greek, too (paleontologists also love to mix up their Latin and Greek when naming dinosaurs). "Onager" is Greek for half-donkey or mule. This High Gothic name for the weaponized crawler was intended to be a translation of the name of its original utilitarian version: the "Mars Universal Land Engine" or "M.U.L.E." The M.U.L.E.'s design was inspired by the (apparently long-extinct) Terran beast of burden, which the designer mistakenly believed was insect-like.

Onager Dunecrawler

The original M.U.L.E. was used to escort early Martian settlers across the planet's wastes. Since the Mechanicus is nothing if not a slave to tradition, Skitarii Battle Maniples of the 41st Millennium are still centered around their Onager Squadron.

The Rules
Leadership and Doctrina Imperatives
Contrary to my expectations, Skitarii are not fearless. However, their base Leadership is as high as that of Space Marines while also having a number of ways to boost its value. We also know now that Doctrina Imperatives boost the BS or WS of the army for a turn. If the boost is merely +1, no other characteristics are affected. However, if the boost to BS or WS is +2 or +3, then an increase in BS will adversely affect WS or vice versa. There are currently six Imperatives, each of which can only be used once per game.

Initially, I had assumed that Doctrina Imperatives were based on a Leadership test since the White Dwarf revealed that "Data-tether" wargear added 1 to the Leadership of a unit affected by an Imperative. I wasn't sure how this was going to work for Skitarii vehicles since they also had the special rule. However, the codex states that to use a Doctrina Imperative, you simply choose one at the beginning of the Movement phase; all units in the army with the Doctrina Imperatives special rule benefit from the Imperative unit your next turn. Apparently, data-tether wargear is meant to reflect the fact that a unit affected by a Doctrina Imperative is subject to a higher level of external control by the Mechanicus Tech-priests, which has the side effect of increasing their effective Leadership for that turn.

Detachments and Formations
Since Skitarii lack an HQ, the standard Combined Arms Detachment is not an option. Instead, the basic Detachment is the Skitarii Maniple, which has no HQ choices, two mandatory Troop slots, six optional Troop slots, four optional Elite slots, two optional Fast Attack slots, four optional Heavy Support slots, and one optional Fortification slot. The Skitarii Maniple gives Preferred Enemy to your Warlord (who is chosen from among the Skitarii Alphas of your Vanguard or Ranger Squads, or from among the Princeps of your Infiltrator or Ruststalker Squads) as well as Scout and Crusader to all models. The universal Scout is limited in that units can't use it to Outflank unless they have the native ability to do so; e.g., Infiltrators, which have the Infiltrate special rule. The Skitarii Maniple seems like the best way to field a 1500 to 2000 point all Skitarii army.

The Battle Maniple Formation appears to be one of the best ways to field 800 to 1250 points of Skitarii with another force. The Formation consists of one unit of Vanguard, one unit of Rangers, one unit of Ruststalkers, one unit of Infiltrators, one unit of Ironstriders (either Sydonian Dragoons or Ballistarii, either of which can have up to six walkers), and one unit of Onager Dunecrawlers (which can have up to three vehicles). The Battle Maniple has all the special rules of the Skitarii Maniple while also giving Leadership 10 to all models within 12" of an Onager Dunecrawler.

For a reasonably balanced 2000 point force, you can run two Imperial Knights and a ~1250 point Battle Maniple. Unfortunately, you're limited to a single squadron of Onagers. The Onager is easily the most flexible unit in the codex. While the basic model has extremely limited close combat ability, if you upgrade it with a Cognis Manipulator, you get a Strength 10, AP1 close combat attack that also gives the vehicle It Will Not Die. (Bear in mind that its WS, I, and A aren't great, so don't get it in a fight with a Dreadnought or a Soulgrinder.) The walker's ranged capability is much more impressive, and has anti-infantry, anti-flyer, and anti-armor options. However, since all vehicles in a squadron have to fire at the same target, it's inefficient to arm each Onager with a different weapon.

For larger games you can field a War Cohort, which is composed of three Battle Maniples. All models in a War Cohort benefit from the rules of a Battle Maniple while gaining the ability to re-use a single Doctrina Imperative. I find the War Cohort appealing, in part because it includes three Onager squadrons, each of which can be equipped for a specific task. Unfortunately, my preliminary lists suggest that a reasonably effective War Cohort will cost at least 2500 points.

Adeptus Mechanicus and Skitarii

My first exposure to the Warhammer 40,000 universe outside of a codex or rulebook was through Dan Abnett's excellent novel Titanicus. At that time, I barely knew what a Titan was and all I knew about the Adeptus Mechanicus was that they worshiped some sort of Machine God and trained the Techmarines that maintained the Astartes' vehicles. I was completely new to the idea of the Skitarii, the Noosphere, or the strained relationship between Mars and the Imperium. By the time I finished Titanicus, I was very interested in the Mechanicus and was disappointed that they weren't a playable faction in the game.

As soon as the pictures leaked, I became tremendously excited for the new Skitarii and the fact that the Adeptus Mechanicus would finally take an active role in 40K. The most recent White Dwarf provides the rules for the recently released models and gives hints of more to come. Presumably the current release and those that are expected over the next couple weeks are meant to act as a companion force for other armies of the Imperium. I can only hope that this release does well and that GW expands the Mechanicus into as large and diverse a force as other 40K mainstays.

The Models
They're amazing. I love the robes, the masks, the cybernetic enhancements, and the archaic weapons. The arc rifle is as steampunk as you can get and looks like it was lifted from an H.G. Wells story. The other weapons look even older; the "radium jezzail" that some Sydonian Dragoons carry is inspired by the long barrelled, muzzle-loading, and occasionally rifled firearm commonly used in the Middle East up until the 1800s. "Arquebus" and "caliver" were terms that originally referred to muzzle-loading smoothbore guns used between the 15th and 17th centuries. The fact that a musket rest is provided for the transuranic arquebus shows how much attention went into these models. Apparently, "arquebus" could be a fairly broad term, with some referring to lighter versions as "calivers" while larger ones that required a rest were called "muskets".

I'm a big fan of design consistency, which is another reason why I find the Skitarii so appealing. The recent White Dwarf says that the Skitarii models were deliberately designed to fit in with the design philosophy of other Imperium units; the models share both artistic elements and technical details. For example, the fleur-de-lis emblem on the armored plates of the Imperial Knights, on the Tempestus Scions' armor, and on the Scion/Guard Taurox, also appears on the Ironstrider walkers. And a close comparison shows that, under their armor plating, the legs of the Imperial Knights and the Ironstriders share similar design features. Even the Knight's "faces" resembles a Skitarii mask.

The Rules
I have to admit that, with the exception of their archaeotech weapons, Titanicus made me expect the Skitarii to be something more akin to cyborg Space Marines. Once I accepted that their stat-lines more closely represent Astra Militarum Veterans in carapace armor, I looked more closely at their special rules and wargear.

Honestly, I like the models so much that I would play them even if their rules were mediocre. However, it looks like a lot of thought went into making the Skitarii a useful addition to any army since their rules are apparently meant to allow for some mean combinations.

For example, Vanguard don't seem too impressive as an assault unit by themselves. But when a unit is locked in combat with them, their Rad-saturation rule drops the enemy unit's Toughness by 1. Once the enemy is weakened by Rad-saturation, you can hit them with another unit (e.g., a Space Marine Assault Squad) to finish them off quickly.

Phosphor weapons also have some potential. These S5 AP4 weapons have the Luminagen rule. If a unit suffers an unsaved wound or a glancing or penetrating hit from a phosphor weapon, its cover saves are worsened by 1 until the end of the phase. Combo this with an Omnispex (cover saves taken against attacks made by a unit with an omnispex have a -1 modifier) for some real fun.

My only concern is that we still don't know what "Doctrina Imperatives" are. All the units introduced this week, both infantry and vehicles, include it as a special rule. The only hint we're given is that "Data-tether" wargear adds 1 to the Leadership of a unit affected by a Doctrina Imperative until the start of their next turn. The fact that the special rule is plural (i.e., "Doctrina Imperatives") indicates that there are several Imperatives and the fact that a Data-tether enhance a unit's Leadership suggests that whatever the Imperatives do, they are based on a Leadership test. Some have guessed that this may be similar to Tyranids' Instinctive Behavior and that a unit will attempt to execute a "pre-programmed" task unless they pass a Doctrina Imperative test. Although I hope that this isn't the case and that Doctrina Imperatives are more of a benefit than a liability, it wouldn't be a deal-breaker for me if they do resemble Instinctive Behavior.

Skitarii and Imperial Knights

Just over a year ago, GW released the Imperial Knights. Although I was attracted to the idea of depicting a Mechanicus-aligned house, particularly the Mars-based House Taranis (whose paint scheme I was particularly fond of), I had thought that my Knights were going to go into combat alongside the Ultramarines. I decided against Taranis because:

While the story of House Taranis is interesting, it's obvious that their true loyalties lie with the Adeptus Mechanicus. This would be fine if I were playing Iron Hands or the Imperial Guard, but I play Ultramarines; a Chapter whose captains bear titles like "Knight Champion of Macragge" and "Regent of Ultramar". I want to model a knightly house that will remember a favor and repay a debt millennia after the fact, not one that will ally with the Ultramarines because the Mechanicus' and the Astartes' interests are generally aligned.

Needless to say, my opinion has changed significantly now that we can finally pair up Imperial Knights with an Adeptus Mechanicus army. House Taranis' fluff now makes it the ideal Knightly House for allying with Skitarii. From The Imperial Knight Companion:

The Ritual of Becoming is a hazardous process. Many of those who undertake its stresses do not survive, or if they do are rendered insensate. [...] House Taranis, gifted with the learned presence of the Adeptus Mechanicus and an understanding of the Throne Mechanicum like no other, has a much more practical use for those incompatible with the device's delicate neural matrixes. Known to the Tech-priests of Mars as the Psychosis-Neuracanium, nobles that have failed the Ritual of Becoming and survived are still a valuable resource. [...]

Primarily, the Psychosis-Neuracanium are adapted for use as Skitarii captain-overseers. Their forebrains are implanted with emotive-selectors and memory-catheters to keep their rages and madness in check. [...] The families of House Taranis willingly give these broken sons to the attentions of the Mechanicus, on the promise that the regiments they lead, and the formations they fight in, will find a place at the side of the household Knights.

In other words, I'll almost certainly be building two Knights of House Taranis. Since my fever dreams still include a total of three Knights, the third will either be from House Terryn (as I originally intended for all three Knights) or the Freeblade known as the Obsidian Knight.

Future Releases
Rumor has it that we'll be getting more infantry in the form of the "Sicarians", which will supposedly be revealed this week. While we know very little about additional infantry units, we definitely know that Skitarii will be getting another walker thanks to a single leaked image:

The vehicle, which is rumored to be called the "Onager Dunecrawler", looks to be pretty large based on the size of the gunner.

My biggest concern right now is whether or not Skitarii infantry will get some sort of transport. The Vanguard and Rangers have some awesome rules and weapons, but with the stat-line of a Guard Veteran, they simply won't last long out in the open. The easiest route would be for GW to stick with preexisting fluff and designate the Rhino as a Dedicated Transport for Skitarii squads. The release of the Skitarii Transfer Sheet, which has multiple decals that appear to be sized for vehicles, has made me suspicious that an existing model might find its way into the new army. While I wouldn't be too excited about building even more Rhino chassis, I'd rather field more Rhinos than lose my troops en masse.

Final Thoughts
As I said before, I'm very excited for this release. Not only are fans of the Adeptus Mechanicus getting some great models, but GW's recent history has left the door open for even more releases. Late last year, GW unexpectedly released multiple new Tyranid models, with several of them representing entirely new units. Rather than waiting to release the models with a new codex, the models' rules were simply released in White Dwarf and the Shield of Baal supplements.

If the Skitarii line is successful (and it's hard to imagine that they won't be), I think we can expect the kind of treatment that Tyranids received, with periodic releases of models whose rules are published in White Dwarf and/or supplements. In a few years, the Adeptus Mechanicus might become a full blown army on par with the game's major factions.