Detachment Focus: Rad-Zone Corps

In our Detachment Focus series we take a deep dive into an army’s Detachments, covering what’s in them, how they play, and how they’ll fit into the broader meta and your games. In this Detachment Focus we’re looking at the Rad-Zone Corps Detachment for the Adeptus Mechanicus.

The Rad-Zone Corps is an updated version of the oft-maligned Index Detachment for the Adeptus Mechanicus, giving players a set of rules designed to model a flexible, “all-rounder” army for the faction. Games with this Detachment start off with a radioactive bombardment of the enemy Deployment Zone  and its stratagems focus primarily on buffs to Battleline units.

Detachment Overview

In January 2025, post-Grotmas, Rad-Zone Corps stands as the third- or fourth-best Detachment Option for the Adeptus Mechanicus. Its Detachment rule–Rad Bombardment–can be a blessing (useful into elite one-wound infantry models like Aeldari Dark Reapers that want to sit in the enemy backfield), but also a curse against armies like Necrons (where their reanimation renders it useless), or Hallowed Martyrs Sororitas (which gains +1 to hit for having its units drop below starting strength). The strength of the Detachment lies in its enhancements and stratagems, which that help elevate the relatively mediocre Mechanicus datasheets into something more deadly.

While the Detachment does have a few rules that only interact with Skitarii units, it largely interacts with most of the Mechanicus datasheets, allowing for more flexible list design at the casual and tournament levels than something like Data-Psalm Conclave.  This flexibility is what allowed Rad-Zone to put up a decent win rate at events, but thanks to Grotmas it now has much tougher competition from the Haloscreed Battle Clade.

Detachment Rule: Rad-Bombardment

This rule is split into two parts, depending on the round.

Battle Round 1: Bombardment

At the start of the first battle round, every unit in your opponent’s deployment zone must either Take Cover or Stand Firm, then you roll a D6 for each of those units. For units Standing Firm, on a 3+ they take D3 mortal wounds. For units Taking Cover, those units are Battle-shocked and on a 5+ they take D3 mortal wounds.

Battle Round 2+: Fallout

At the start of your Command phase in the second Battle Round onwards, roll a D6 for each enemy unit in your opponent’s Deployment Zone. On a 3+ they take a mortal wound and have to take a Battle-shock test.

As mentioned, this rule can be useful in very particular situations, but can also be detrimental at other times.  If the enemy has expensive one-wound infantry models that plan to remain outside of transports and mostly near their deployment zone for much of the game, this rule can really shine, chipping those units down before you have to engage them and limiting their power in the late game (think Aeldari Dark Reapers or Drukhari Scourges).  On the other hand you have armies that take cheap 10-model units like Cultists to screen their backfield, in which case this rule will rarely ever hurt them enough to be relevant.  

In other cases, such as against armies that have healing mechanics (Necrons, Krieg Command Squad+20x Krieg Infantry, etc.) your small amount of mortal wounds will only give the enemy a couple extra inches of distance from that respawned model when they return to the table at maximum coherency.  Against armies that gain bonuses for units below starting strength, Rad Zone is the perfect rule for that enemy army to take irrelevant damage, but to also initiate their rules (Hallowed Martyrs Sisters).

Ultimately compared to Stealth for most Skitarii units or the flexible Halo Override buffs in the Battle Clade, this is quite poor Detachment rule in most matchups. I believe the designers thought the late-game Battle-shocks would be relevant to scoring potential, but that is simply not the case and largely irrelevant in most of the games I played with Rad-Zone.

Enhancements

The four Enhancements in this Detachment are wide open in terms of who can take them and two benefit the bearer’s attached unit.

• Radial Suffusion (25 Points) – From the second battle round onwards, if the bearer is on the table, then when you roll a D6 for each enemy unit within 6” of them for the Rad-Bombadment rule in addition to those in your opponent’s Deployment Zone.  If you’re taking this detachment you can go down the rabbit hole to try to get every bit of value out of the lackluster detachment rule.  Sometimes I do so out of spite in my neurovault for the Rad rule, because it is a great way to get your opponent to place wound dice for all of their units and not much else.
• Malphonic Susurrus (20 Points) – While the bearer is leading a unit, models in that unit have Stealth. Solid enhancement which is usually taken to give Stealth to Kataphrons.
• Peerless Eradicator (20 Points) – While the bearer is leading a unit, ranged weapons in the unit have [SUSTAINED HITS 1]. The best enhancement here. It often finds a home on a Manipulus/Dominus in a Kataphron unit or on a Skitarii Marshal with Vanguard.
• Autoclavic Denunciation (15 Points) – Ranged weapons equipped by the bearer have [ANTI-INFANTRY 2+] and [ANTI-MONSTER 4+]  This was nerfed from the Index to Codex, but it still okay on a Manipulus with the Torsion Cannon.

None of these are enough to justify taking this Detachment by themselves, but Peerless Eradicator is the one that you should always take with a Rad-Zone list.

Stratagems

The Stratagems here are pretty open in their usage, though four provide a bonus when they’re used on a Battleline unit – specifically, that you can apply them to another non-Battleline Skitarii unit within 6” when your first target is a Battleline unit.. 

• Baleful Halo (Battle Tactic 2 CP) – Used in the Fight phase on one of your non-VEHICLE units being targeted. If you picked a Battleline unit, then you can also pick a friendly non-Battleline Skitarii unit within 6” of them. For the rest of the phase, incoming attacks on those units get -1 to wound. It’s inconceivable that this is a 2CP stratagem, especially since it cannot be used on Vehicle units. Far too pricey in most cases to ever use.
• Extinction Order (Strategic Ploy, 1 CP) – Used in your Command phase on a Tech-Priest and an objective marker within 24” of them. Roll a D6 for each enemy unit in range of that marker – on a 4+, they take 1 mortal wound and have to take a Battle-shock test. If this was each enemy unit within range of an objective marker within 24” had to take a battle-shock and a mortal, sure we can discuss it.  But a 4+ to even trigger it is far too inconsistent to be worth it.
• Aggressor Imperative (Battle Tactic, 1 CP) – Used in your Movement phase on a Skitarii unit. If they’re Battleline, then you can target a second friendly non-Battleline Skitarii unit within 6” of them. For the rest of the phase, those units auto-advance 6”.  This is easily one of the best stratagems in this Detachment and a stratagem that most Mechanicus Detachments would love to have!  With 3+ battleline units a common baseline for Mechanicus lists, it is very easy to use the stratagem on a battleline unit to gain the effect on a second Skitarii unit nearby.  Plan to use this often to contest objectives, perform move-blocks and on Ruststalkers or Dragoons when you advance and charge them.
• Pre-Calibrated Purge Solution (Battle Tactic, 1 CP) – Used in your Shooting phase. If you pick a Battleline unit, then you can pick a second friendly non-Battleline Skitarii unit within 6” of them to benefit as well. For the rest of the phase, each time those units make a ranged attack, if their target is in your opponent’s Deployment zone, you can re-roll the hit roll. This is a solid Stratagem if the enemy has units in their deployment zone to which you can draw line of sight with your firepower. If not, you could use it on a Belleros Skorpius Disintegrator. Its best use is on units being disembarked from Duneriders or coming in from Rapid Ingress that can easily get behind terrain and attack the enemy deployment zone.
• Lethal Dosage (Wargear, 1 CP) – Used in your Shooting phase to give one of your units [LETHAL HITS] on their attacks until the end of the phase. This is a solid stratagem on a Dominus-led Kataphron unit, on Skitarii, Corpuscarii, or on Skystalkers where they can punch up into tough targets.
• Bulwark Imperative (Battle Tactic, 2 CP) – Used in your opponent’s Shooting phase on a Skitarii unit they picked as a target. If the unit is Battleline, then you can pick a second non-Battleline Skitarii unit within 6” of them to benefit as well. For the rest of the phase, those models have a 4+ invulnerable save. Another 2CP stratagem that should only be 1 CP, especially considering if the enemy simply shoots the non-battleline unit first you will never get the second selection.

If we zoom out, we have one amazing stratagem, two solid ones, and three mediocre or overpriced stratagems. By 10th Edition standards that is not the end of the world considering there are many very useful generic stratagems to use and the Mechanicus have only a few (rather inconsistent) ways to regain command points so you aren’t spamming stratagems like a Space Marine army.

Playing This Detachment

This Detachment fits the Mechanicus style of focusing on points scoring opportunities and when there is an opportunity for damage, maintaining a forward screen so even if you underperform you will still have a strong follow-up turn. The main strength of this Detachment over other options is the insane speed that Skystalkers can achieve with a Rapid Ingress on the enemy turn into a move and flat 6″ advance from the stratagem while in Conqueror Imperative, followed by a fire and fade to move even closer. While you trade out the defense value Skystalkers get in the Skitarii Hunter Cohort, you have the fastest possible unit and the best move-block tool and you will need to use this unit aggressively against stat-check armies to keep them pinned in their deployment zone while you gain a score lead.  All the while, a nasty Kataphron Breacher unit sits behind your midfield ruin and waits to unload with Peerless Eradicator once the enemy finally hits mid-board.

While many Mechanicus units like Dragoons and Ruststalkers also benefit tremendously from the flat 6” advance stratagem to get into the enemy lines, they have the weakness of wanting to make a charge move. And that opens up heroic interventions from the enemy or failed charges that cripple your plan. Skystalkers, on the other hand, allow your imagination and skill to be fully expressed on the table! Not to say you can’t run Dragoons, Ruststalkers, or other combat units, but there is more risk in doing so and when an Admech army performs well at events, it’s due to turns of consistent, calculated plays over many games. 

It can often be tempting to go all-in on damage, but always remember that Admech is about the combination of movement plays (move blocks, screening, tying things up that cannot fall back and act, etc.), and what damage you can muster is usually focused on killing your opponent’s easiest resources to kill.  When your gameplan is based on killing the enemy’s most durable key unit, take a step back and see if there is an alternative path that doesn’t put the game in the hands of dice.

Strengths

• Flat 6” advance stratagem for move blocking and scoring.
• Devastatingly strong Kataphron Breacher shooting/Counter assault/Overwatch unit.
• Flexible Detachment to Benefit both Protector and Conqueror Playstyles.

Weaknesses

• Skitarii Datasheets still make up the core of this Detachment like Haloscreed or Hunter Cohort.
• A lackluster Detachment rule and a few mediocre stratagems.
• Has real competition from Haloscreed Battle Clade for an all-around Adeptus Mechanicus Detachment.

A Sample List

Editor’s Note: The Rad-Zone Corps shares the same problem many other Adeptus Mechanicus Detachments have, which is that we haven’t seen a truly successful list, i.e. one with a TiWP, in a long time (if ever), during this edition. As such, Richard has opted to provide his own.

If I was to bring Rad-Zone Corps to a tournament, gun to my mechanical cranium, I would likely run something like this.

Richard’s Rad-Zone Corps List - click to expand

This list is designed to use Skystalkers to take away entire turns of the enemy’s ability to move up the table, trapping them in their deployment zone and gaining a large score lead early in the game.  While doing so it threatens damage with a core of Skitarii Dunerider packages alongside a Peerless Eradicator Breacher unit and 3x Skorpius Disintegrators.  This is a greatest hits of Admech list that can largely play in other Detachments as well.

Final Thoughts

While Adeptus Mechanicus received a fairly weak Codex compared to many others, the huge update in June of 2024 revitalized Tech-Priests worldwide and has allowed our army to succeed in 10th Edition!  It may not be easy, but Admech is an army where the sum is greater than the parts and Rad-Zone Corps exemplifies that ethos.

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