We’re back for Part 2 of our Mechanicum Faction Focus. Expect things to get confusing soon, as we discuss the armaments, abilities and warlord traits of the various types of Mechanicum tech priests, before polishing it off with a number of sample Priests and Army Lists.
Okay. It’s time to get into the very crunchy, pale, dead for a very long time, meat of it. We have five datasheets to review: The Praetor-like Archmagos Prime (on foot and on Abeyant), the Centurion-like Magos Dominus (on foot and on Abeyant), and the Techmarine/Apothecary-like Tech Priest Auxilia. Abeyant means ‘big floaty robot mount’.
Magos Dominus are mostly robot herders, their main utility being the Patris Cybernetica rule which lets them join Automata. The Tech Priests Auxilia mostly serve as Battlesmith monkeys and buffing pieces for infantry units, and are accompanied by Servo Automata.
The Archmagos Prime is a 0-1 choice that allows access to a Techno Arcana, either the High Techno Arcana from the Liber Mechanicum or the Techno Heresies ones from the Martian Civil War. These are a sweeping set of changes halfway between a Rite of War and a Consularis upgrade granting army buffs, equipment and special rules to your big metal man. Largely speaking, the High Techno Arcana are better, but some of the Techno Heresies are very cool and might be worth taking for flavour on particular mechanical monsters. They also get a Warlord trait and have to be your Warlord if you pick them.
All of these characters have access to Cybertheurgies. Artificia Cybernetica (buffing robots) and Artificia Machina (fixing things) being available to all three classes. Ephemera Incursus (hacking other robots and vehicles) is available from Dominus up. Then a bunch more even weirder ones locked behind specific Techno Arcana choices available to only the Archmagos Prime. Every Cybertheurgy comes with one silly spell and one silly weapon. Most of the weapons have Data-Djinn, which means they fail to wound anything that isn’t a Dreadnought, Automata, Armigers, Vehicle, Building or Fortification, but they sometimes still have weird effects on infantry they can’t wound.
There are also a couple of Unique named characters: Calleb Decima Invictus, Archmagos Anacharis Scoria and Archmagos Draykavav. They’re all funky profiles that seem overcosted but I can’t speak to that confidently. Same rule here applies as to the normal Unique characters: Run them if you want to depict a specific conflict, or if you like the lore of the character!
There is a lot to go through here. Let’s get started.
Table of Contents
Tech Priest Auxilia
The basic unit is a 1 wound mortal Tech Priest with a power axe and Battlesmith (6+) protected by four Servo-automata with close combat weapons and Guardian. These T5 Fearless infantry are a fantastic scoring unit, as the priest has Line.
You can, and should, upgrade the basic Tech Priest to a Magos Auxilia, which brings the unit from 65 to 90pts but gives some stats. Battlesmith (5+) and options to the Priests and a choice of Cybertheurgies to the Auxilia, choosing from Artificia Cybernetica and Artificia Machina. Cybernetica gives you the Cybernetica buffing powers and Machina gives fixing things, and both are a real solid option. You can take two additional Tech-Priests and up to six Automata for 20pt and 5pt per model respectively, allowing multiple Battlesmiths rolls.
You get the choice of three abilities for the unit.
- Enginseer grants all Tech-Priests and Magos Auxilia a servo arm, and bumps up your Battlesmith to 4+ as long as you have any Servo-Automata left. This really improves your ability to fix Automata and Vehicles, especially if used in conjunction with the Animatus Integro power.
- Lachrimallus: Gives the whole unit Feel No Pain (5+) and buffs the Feel No Pain of any Adsecularis Tech-Thralls within 6” of the unit. 65pts feels like a lot of points to pay for an apothecary effect, and it is, but it applies to every unit with a model within 6” so you could spread this out amongst a lot of tightly packed Tech-Thralls.
- Reductor grants all Tech-Priests and Magos Auxilia a servo arm, and gives all models Sunder and Wrecker, making them lethal into vehicles. You can also give the Magos Auxilia a graviton imploder or conversion beamer but I’d give this a miss. This sounds like a miss, but you combine this by giving the tech-thralls servo-arm (cheap at 5pts) or a mutli-melta (very expensive at 25pt and useless without relentless) for a hilarious +1 on top of vehicle or building damage table rolls on top of the normal bonuses. The cheeky use for this is combining it with a max range conversion beamer to explode a tank on a +4.
You can give the Servo-Automata selection of slightly expensive ranged weapons: las-locks, flamers, maxima bolters, rotor-cannons, heavy bolters or multi-meltas. Flamers for a cheeky overwatch or rotor cannons for the pinning are solid, but the sleeper pick is servo-arms. You can have these guys swinging with four power fists-esque on the charge for 10pts each: One from profile, one from charging, one from the servo-weapon special rule, one since it doesn’t have two handed on special weapons. Ouch. Shame you’re hitting on 5s.
Meanwhile, our auxilias can take a charming combo of ranged and utility equipment. Cortex controllers are a no-brainer in a Cybernetica focused lists, nuncio-voxes help land hits with the conversion beamers, lightning locks/cannons and karacnos batteries, augury scanners lend some much needed Interceptor, whereas the volkite chargers and graviton gun feel overcosted at 10pts and 15pts respectively.
If your Archmagos takes Malagra you can replace their Techno-Arcana with Interfector Auxilia, granting them Scout and free prehensile dataspikes for a powerful melee upgrade.
What Are We Doing Here?
There’s three principle ways I see this unit run, base bones with a cortex-controller and a Artificia Cybernetica for making the automata pop, equipped with Enginseer and Artificia Machina for impressive ranged repair, and maxed out in size and specced out with servo-arms and Reductor for surprise melee threat or alongside Lachrimallus to give the unit a No Pain and a Triaros to get ’em where they need to be. Either way, they’re points efficient, do much needed buffs and have Line, leaving them as a great unit.
Magos Dominus
Weirdly this is the simplest datasheet to hold in my head. It ain’t gonna scare anyone with 2 attacks and 2 wounds. Comes with a 3+ and a 4+, with FNP (5+) and Battlesmith (5+), Stubborn, Relentless, Firing Protocols (2), Patric Cybernetica (which lets them join Automata), and a free Cortex Controller. They have BS4 but WS3 and I3, so won’t be fighting anyone in a challenge any time soon. Costs a beefy 75pt before upgrades (and you’ll be buying a LOT).
Abeyants have 2 more wounds, Antigrav, Heavy and Monstrous and losing the ability to embark in transports, helpful for making any Unwieldy weapons swing before their slow slow fellows, but costing 30 more points. I’ve seen conflicting reports on these, some people like to keep them cheap, others take the Abeyants and as many upgrades as possible. The other big use of an Abeyant is that the Monstrous keyword means they can’t be pinned by Cybertheurgic Feedback.
The main advantage of this unit over the Archmagos Prime is the fact that you can only take one Archmagos. They’re slightly cheaper, but the Prime is really possessing much more bang for their buck.
There are a lot of equipment options here. A 15pt Cyber Familiar brings them up to a tasty 3++, so is an autotake really, especially on an Abeyant. An Augury Scanner is a must if you go Artificia Cybernetica. Most of the ranged weapons are expensive, and the only melee options are the servo arm and the machinator array
My final piece of advice is to be careful loading up on too many guns. Often you will wish to Battlesmith or use a Cybertheurgy, both of which replace a model’s entire shooting attack instead of a single instance of Firing Protocols like you might think. Your Firing Protocols is also only 2. I’d stick with the machinator array when it comes to guns, and avoid cashing out big money on conversion beamers, photon-thrusters or archeotech pistols. I’m unsure if master crafting the machinator array impacts one weapon or all of them.
What Are We Doing Here?
I don’t see many of these fitting into Mechanicum lists. They only buff slightly better than an Auxilia, and only have access to only a few more powers!
The role of the Magos Dominus is joining and buffing Automata with equipment and Cybertheurgies. Popping an Augury Scanner on a big unit of Castellax or a Thanatar and turning on their reactions means you can throw a pretty lethal pile of ranged weapons into an interceptor attack to discourage Deep Strikes.
There’s two formats I see having legs here, both focusing on Artificia Cybernetica to follow and buff robots. I’d use a bare bones Magos on foot to buff a backfield Thanatar with Cybernetica Exortus, likely focusing on increased shooting and resistance for their large and chonky friend.
Meanwhile, a Magos Dominus on Abeyant with an augury scanner, machinator array and cyber familiar would get much more up close and personal with a big unit of Castellax (or maybe Domitar). This second fellow gives their friends reactions and improved shooting, and hopes to tank lots of AP2 wounds on their 3++ granted by the cyber-familiar and mechanicum protectiva, setting you back a reasonable 150 points to tier up a big unit of Automata into a serious threat.
Archmagos Prime
The largest and clankiest option of our three tech priests, the Archmagos is the reason we all got out of bed and read this article. Let’s make sense of the basic datasheet.
Importantly, you’re locked to a single Archmagos Prime (regardless of if they are on Abeyant or not) thanks to the Feudal Hierarchy rule.
You retain Battlesmith (4+), Relentless, Stubborn and Master Cybertheurgist, plus increase Firing Protocols to 3. Your Cybertheurgies are more effective thanks to LD10, but you do lose the FNP and Patris Cybernetica of the Magos Dominus, meaning you are forced to footslog alongside Myrmidons, Scyllax or grab a incunabulan jet pack to join a squad of Thallax. Alternatively, the Cybernetica High Techno-Arcana (a common choice) can grant you Patris Cybernetica to help follow robots around. Like the Dominus, they can become an Abeyant, losing a point of Initiative and gaining a whole bunch of keywords, in particular the Monstrous keyword means they can’t be pinned by Cybertheurgic Feedback and ignore Unwieldy.
WS4 and I4 means beating a Praetor in melee isn’t really the job of an Archmagos, but you can give it a solid bloody shot thanks to the glut of melee and ranged options and buffs you can bring. A 3++ with a cyber-familiar is a must. S5 and T5 means you’re circumventing a lot of the normal Instant Death breakpoints, especially since you can grab cheap rad-grenades at 10pt auto-include. With a power axe, corposant stave or paragon blade your S6 Archmagos can Instant Death a T4 -> T3 Space Marine. Only two Attacks makes a servo-arm or machinator array a must for extra melee attacks.
Once again, there is a bewildering array of melee and ranged weapons. The standout melee weapons are the paragon blade and corposant stave on the base Archmagos, or the machinator array or chainfist on the Abeyant variant, which ignores Unwieldy thanks to the monstrous subtype. In the pistols category, archeotech pistols are absurdly cheap at 5pts, photon gauntlets being a brilliant method of AP2 shots and blind checks. You also get big ranged weapons (2 if you are a Myrmidax) which are all quite expensive, but add some ranged punch to your priest, or sod that all off for a rad furnace, a nasty piece of wargear which gives +1 to wound but sets you back 30pts.
What Are We Doing Here?
The temptation here is to go all in on toys and my gut says that you just have to. A fully toyed up Archmagos Prime is 250pts plus and does the work for it. We’ll look at some sample builds once we’ve covered all of the Warlord Traits and the staggering 11 Techno Arcana orders, and their accompanying Cybertheurgies.
Warlord Traits
There are three options in the basic rules, and four further Traitor-locked ones in the Martian Civil War. Like most of the stuff involving Martian Civil War, the core book options are less niche and a fair bit stronger.
- A Soul of Cold Iron: The Warlord and any friendly unit within 6” may move and charged when Pinned. A solid option for a big warlord who wants to castle up. However, Abeyant warlords are immune to pinning and Automata cannot be pinned, so this is often a little useless. This is best on Warlords that lead Myrmidons or Thallax. Extra Movement phase Reaction.
- The Logic of Victory: If the Warlord does not make a Shooting Attack and is not locked in combat, then they gain an additional Reaction in every phase of the following turn. Dang! My understanding is that non-weapon Cybertheurgies and Battlesmith would not count here as those options are ‘in place of a shooting attack’. In addition, when the Warlord and their unit reacts they have +1 WS and BS when making attacks and +3 Initiative or Movement when making a move, which is important as your Warlord will have low initiative. Leans much more onto a buffing and passive style and would be very interesting on a bare bones warlord, but we don’t believe in those in this house. No extra Reactions built in.
- The Science of Slaughter: The Warlord gains +1 WS and S each round they spend locked in combat until that combat ends. This caps at 10. This is how our warlords kill Praetors. However, prolonged combats are rare with Mech as you either murder the enemy in the turn your rad grenades go off or you’re in danger.
I think there’s an argument for any of these three, but I’d go for Science of Slaughter if you want your Warlord killing things, and Logic of Victory if you want your army to. I’d strongly favour Logic of Victory here, given the role the Warlord typically plays in a Mechanicus army. Two reactions per phase every phase is just too too good.
There are four Warlord Traits in here for Traitor Mechanicum.
- Scion of Scylothrathe modifies Haywire against your Corrupted Engine models so it’s less lethal. I wish this applied to other Automata, but it only applies to your demon engines. Too niche to see use beyond the most skew lists played into another skew list. Extra Movement phase Reaction.
- Scion of Xana II gives an Advanced Reaction that improves the Malific Invulnerable save of a nearby Corrupted Engine unit by 1 for a shooting phase reaction. Dang… I mean if this worked on Automata it would be good, but again, it only worked on Demon Engines. Extra Shooting phase Reaction.
- Scions of Retlaxi makes the Corrupted Engine’s who die deal explosion esque hits against all models within D3+3 inches. Again, low power and very niche. Cool as hell though. Extra Shooting phase Reaction.
- Scion of Sarum is a rare Warlord trait that opens up Blood Slaughterers as Troops and/or Fast Attack choices, and gives Line to ones taken as Compulsory Troops. The good news is that Blood Slaughterers aren’t as filthy as Dreads, but this still spooks me. Extra Movement phase Reaction.
All of these buff Corrupted Engines, which is fun. Unless you have 10 Blood Slaughterers lying around, I’d leave these at home.
Orders of the High Techno-Arcana
There are three stock neutral Cybertheurgies. In the Liber Mechanicum there are seven Orders of the High Techno Arcana and three extra Cybertheurgies. In the Martian Civil War there are four new Techno-Heresies that any Traitor Archmagos can swap for their normal Orders of the High Techno-Arcana.
Archimandrite
The ruler of an entire Forge World. They must be your warlord, and may also take a Mechanicum detachment which can include a second Archmagos Prime with their own High Arcana. This is the only way to get two Archmagos Prime in one list!
The Archimandrite also gains a second Cybertheurgic Arcana, potentially using multiple Cybertheurgic Weapons with Firing Protocols.
Thanks to the Master Technomancer build, you gain additional bonuses when other priests in your Detachment use Battlesmith. You can upgrade a big unit to shoot with the BS of the model, or give a vehicle Power of the Machine Spirit so it can split fire.
The main utility of the Archimandrite is allowing access to a second Archmagos and having them choose a new ability. It also opens up potential extra detachment slots for the Mechanicum, or allows you to ally a normal Knight Household into your Mechanicum. I think there is a use case in higher point value games, but having two Archmagos is probably undesirable since they clock in at a very high price.
Thanks to the remote battlesmith, this is a good pairing with the Artificia Machina Cybertheurgies.
Cybernetica
A leader of robots, a robot herder on steroids! Grants Line to all Castellax, and gains Patris Cybernetica, which allows them to join units of Automata, granting some bonuses that prevent you being hit by Sniper or Precision Shots. I am pretty sure this prevents them taking wounds from Cybertheurgic Feedback too.
The other bonus is that thanks to Networked Sensorium Protocols, Automata units within 12” of two models with a cortex controller reduce cover saves by 2. 4+ cover saves are pretty rare in Heresy, but so are cortex controllers. If you can castle up, this will make your firepower even more lethal.
Cybernetica is a real solid option if you’re going all in on Cohorts Cybernetica, and leading a bit unit of Domitars or Castellax is a cool plan for an Archmagos. This is a good pairing with the Artificia Cybernetica Cybertheurgies.
Lacyraemarta
Master of servitors, thralls and postmortal servants. The first and most niche rule is that Rending, Poisoned or Fleshbane only effect the model and it attached infantry units on a 6. A nice but situational buff on Thallax or Myrmidons bodyguards, but will have little effect on Scyllax or other Automata.
Opus Viscera lets your Archmagos and other models in their Detachment use Battlesmith on people, which is frankly hilarious. You can restore wounds on wounded models (but not reanimating dead ones), or make models move twice equal to their Initiative in the shooting phase, which doesn’t prevent shooting or charging.
Mechanicum units have pretty shocking Initiative, and 4” on a unit of Myrmidons or Thallax is pretty situational. However, an jetpack Archmagos with Ephemera Intigare can move up to 27” in a turn and still charge. Thallax are pants in combat, but maybe you could meltabomb someone to death.
The helpful benefit of this is actually on allies with Sworn Brothers, and you can make Iron Hands, Iron Warriors, Sons of Horus, Word Bearers, Salamanders or Alpha Legion units dash a healthy 8 inches on a Battlesmith roll. Could be helpful on a big unit of Terminators or something.
You’re locked into the Ephemera Lacyraemarta Cyberthuergies.
Macrotek
Experts in forgecraft and production.
First off, you can take Tech-Priest Auxilia units as troops but they have to be Engineers. It allows you to take more Auxilia, but makes them way less flexible.
Secondly, your Battlesmith abilities can also be used on buildings, which helps in those rare fortification armies. This reasonably useless ribbon doesn’t show up often due to the lack of buildings in the game. The extra clause for Battlesmith allowing Rending (X), Breaching (X) and Exoshock (X) only to trigger on 6s is potentially useful.
The best thing comes last. After terrain is placed but before objectives are placed, you can move up to 3 pieces of 6” as long as they don’t end up within 2” of another piece of terrain. I’m not smart enough to work out how to use this, but I’m terrified of what someone who is could do with it. What a crazy powerful rule.
Doesn’t lock you into a specific Cybertheurgic Arcana.
Malagra
Assassin and enforcers of the Mechanicum.
First up, models with Character in this detachment can upgrade servo-arms or machinator arrays with a prehensile dataspike. Adds some Breaching (+4) and Reach (2) onto random tech priests and turn them into more useful combat pieces. Interfector Auxilia gives a new option to give Tech Priest Auxilia Scout and free dataspikes. Potentially tasty in melee?
There is an option allowing you to take a super unit of up to 3 Scout-ing Arcuitor Magisterium that deploys together and then splits up. Thus, they can only give a single unit Scout, but can then spread their Monster Hunter out. Like Macrotek, I’m not smart enough to work out how to use this; but instead of it being powerful, I think it’s probably trash.
The kicker is that this gives the Archmagos Preferred Enemy (Character) (which is functionally preferred enemy infantry since 90% of units have a character sergeant or something), Precision Strikes (5+) and the Monster Hunter special rules, as well as WS5 and A3. This makes your Archmagos a designated character killer.
Doesn’t lock you into a specific Cybertheurgic Arcana.
Myrmidax
The Myrmidon synergy option, with most of the abilities about buffing them Myrmidons.
Secutors become Troops and Destructors become Elites, moving both of them into less contested slots.
You can take a single Thanatar-Calix as a non-Compulsory HQ, and Myrmidons of both types within 6” of it gain Line and a mini Vexila effect granting +1 to Wounds score for Assault phase resolution. .
Finally, your Archmagos gains Hatred (Everything), Bulky (3) and 5 Wounds.
Myrmidons are pretty good, and buffing them should be pretty good too. However, they’re so expensive that you’re rarely going to fill up all your slots, and only giving them Line within a small bubble of the vulnerable Thanatar.
Doesn’t lock you into a specific Cybertheurgic Arcana.
Reductor
Focusing on blowing things up, with an interest in fortifications and buildings.
They can target three terrain pieces before the game. If its area terrain, it loses its cover saves and becomes difficult and dangerous terrain. If it’s a building or fortification, you gain +1 on the building damage table against it.
They can also Battlesmith things to destroy them… Buildings or Vehicles lose hull Points, Dreadnought and Automata might take wounds, or alternatively you can immobilise or Weapon Destroy targets.
You’re locked into the Artificia Reductor Cybertheurgies.
Cyberthuergies
We’re going to begin our summary by going through the three Cybertheurgies that aren’t locked to an Order, then review each Order of the High Techno-Arcana (henceforth Techno-Arcana) and then go over the Orders of the Proscribed Techno-Arcana (henceforth Techno-Heresies). Every time an Order of either type has an associated Cybertheurgy, we’ll cover that in a sub-heading.
Remember that Cybertheurgy works a bit like a psychic power. The only big difference is that psychic hoods don’t affect them, they don’t have any fancy effects against demons, and a unit suffering Cybertheurgic Feedback (think Perils of the Warp) suffers only a single wound, not D3, and is immediately Pinned. Another advantage of Abeyants, since Monstrous means they aren’t Pinned.
Critically, most of the Cybertheurgy Rites that are not weapons replace a Shooting Attack. This means that if you’ve got lots of ranged weapons and Firing Protocols (X), you need to sacrifice all of your weapon attacks, not just one. This means the Rites have significant opportunity cost in ranged firepower, and if your intent is to use loads of Cybertheurgic Rites you should not invest heavily into ranged weapons and vice versa.
These are all written in funky pig Latin (High Gothic). I’ve done my best to translate them with my GCSE Latin.
Cybertheurgic Arcana: Artificia Machina
The art of the machine is our first generic Arcana.
Animatus Integro (to make the spirit intact) allows you to use Battlesmith on a unit within 12” of you, with the potential for Cybertheurgy to go off twice. How helpful! This allows a bunch of helpful flexibility in your utility units.
Animatus Excindor is a D6 shot Haywire Data-Djinn weapon that will do absolute horror to a Vehicle or Dread. Another nice simply weapon! We’re off to a good start with these Cybertheurgies.
Cybertheurgic Arcana: Artificia Cybernetica
The art of the cyborg is our second generic Arcana.
Cybernetica Exortus (Cybertheurgic Rite) is the Cybernetica’s bread and butter, granting one of four strong effects to an Automata within 12”, or 2 effects if you pass a Cybertheurgy Check.
- Roll 3D6 for your charge roll and discard the lower.
- Ignore the first wound inflicted in each Shooting Attack next turn.
- +1 BS.
- Allow the unit to react even though it’s an Automata.
Mordeo Cogita (Destroy Thought/The Image): A S10 AP1 with Instant Death. Simply annihilate another Automata, or deal D3 wounds to a Dread.
This is the absolute meat and potatoes of the Mechanicum list building.
Cybertheurgic Arcana: Ephemera Incursus
Ephemera means ‘things that fade’ which I’m translating as ‘the flesh’. Thus Hurry the Flesh is our third Arcana.
Ephemera Perfidiae (Treachery of the Flesh) can make enemy Vehicles and Automata Snap Shoot against a friendly unit. If you make a successful Cybertheurgy check, this can be at full BS instead. The unit that shoots then gains Hatred (Cybertheurgists). This is very very fun.
Ephemera Exocluo (Blind the Flesh) is an Assault 6 ranged weapon with Blind and Vox Silence. It does have Data-djinn, so you can only wound Vehicles, Automata or Dreadnoughts, but since the intent is to blind things, you can use it on infantry. Vox Silence also reduces Leadership by 2. A handy debuff power.
Cybertheurgic Arcana: Ephemera Lacyraemarta
Locked to the Lacyraemarta Techno-Arcana. We’re going with ‘flesh’ for ephemera, and lacrymae is ‘tears’. Tears of the flesh?
Ephemera Instigare (Instigate the Flesh) replaces a shooting attack and targets a Mechanicum Infantry unit within 12”. The unit then moves twice the Initiative of the highest Initiative model directly towards the nearest enemy unit. Unlike the Opus Viscera, this is locked to Mechanicum units, so the secret here is adding an Arcuitor Magisterium or an Archmagos themselves to the unit, the faction’s only source of I4.
Ephemera Excrusis (Pain of the Flesh) uses bursts of exotic radiation to weaken the enemy, with an AP3, Fleshbane, Rad-phage, and Concussive weapon. Unlike most Cybertheurgic Weapons, it doesn’t have Data Djinn, so you can use it on infantry. This will shred 3+ armour save mortals, which I guess is the point of this power!
Cybertheurgic Arcana: Artificia Reductor
Locked to the Reductor Techno-Arcana. The art of destruction or the art of making things low.
Porta Fractis (Break The Door) replaces the model’s Shooting attack and forces an enemy unit within 12” to disembark from their transport and suffer a pinning check. This is fucking awesome. The main issue is the range, which is very low.
Manos Ruinius (Hand of Ruin) is less cool. This melee weapon throws out a single WS1 I1 S10 attack with Armourbane and Exo-Shock (+3) and Unwieldy, and is pretty likely to deal a Penetrating hit to a vehicle that might explode it, but has no utility into dreads or automata with high WS.
Orders of the Proscribed Techno-Arcana
Servants of the New Mechanicum. You’re going to see me use a lot of words like ‘Interesting’ or ‘Cool’ in the next few paragraphs. These are all much weaker than their High Arcana counterparts, and are obviously Traitor locked.
Malefikite
To do with scrap code nonsense.
You can give the Ruinos Cybernetica rule to your Automata for 10pts. If you pass a Leadership Check, they become functionally immune to Programmed Behaviour, but they have to charge enemy units within 12″. If you fail, they take an automatic wound with no saves or mitigation. This allows units to operate slightly independently of cortex-controllers. The Archmagos can also pass on this ability like a virus instead of doing a shooting attack.
This critically gives units missing easy access to Cortex Controllers a way to avoid their Programmed Behaviour.
It also comes with a special Cybertheurgy order Machina Melifica (To Make Demons):
- Indicium Malefica (To Show The Demon) broadcasts corrupt data sermons that do wounds to enemy units. You can either target a single unit within 6”, or every unit within 6” if you do a Cybertheurgy check. This can be some satisfying AoE, but it doesn’t do huge amounts of damage.
- Diabolis Quiritatus (Screaming/Crying Demon) is a 3 shot Data-Djin gun with Rending (5+) and AP3 that might do a wound or two to a dread.
This isn’t a bad start, but it doesn’t hold a candle to many of the High Techno-Arcana.
Necrotek
Nurgle-ish themed necromancy nonsense.
Cybernetica in your detachment gain It Will Not Die (5+) and you increase your Archmagos’ Wounds by 1.
It also comes with a special Cybertheurgy order Ephemera Necrotek (The Flesh of Death):
- Viteum Adficio (To Make An Impression on Life): Pick a friendly Mechanicum unit within 6” and roll 3D6. For each 4+, a friendly model in that unit loses a wound and the Archmagos gains one. If you pass a Cybertheurgy check, you can re-roll the dice.
- Tactus Mors (The Touch of Death) is a melee weapon with Unwieldy and Haywire.
RealSnice: There is play here to make a very hard to shift army. Big blocks of shambling Thralls that your Archmagos drains the life of, as well as Domitars and Thanatars that just won’t die.
While objectively not the strongest option technically I think this Arcana hits really well on the “narrative” versus “viable on the table” scale. It’s definitely my preferred and planned choice for my future Dark Mech force.
Malamina
Allows you to take Infernus Abominations in the detachment as an Elite Choice and gives the option of taking Abomination Blades instead of power weapons or power blades arrays. These Breaching (+4) and Rampage (1) weapons are cool, and an interesting but expensive option on something like a Castellax or maybe Myrmidons.
My pal Chris suggested taking multiple Fear (2) bubbles with the Karacnos to implement -5 LD Pinning Checks. Disgusting.
Doesn’t lock you into a specific Cybertheurgic Arcana.
Aethertek
Allows a single Decimator unit to be taken as non-compulsory troops, and Corrupted Engines can’t have their stats modified.
It also comes with a special Cybertheurgy order Anima Malifica (The Spirit of Demons):
- Animatus Malevolence (Spirit of Malevolence): In the shooting phase grants 1 option to a friendly Corrupted Engine unit within 6”, or 2 options if you pass a Cybertheurgy check. These are significant powers, and 2 of them grant a Brass Scorpion or Decimator a devastating burst of melee prowess.
- Move up to the unit’s Initiative.
- Improve their Invuln save by 1.
- Grant +1 WS and Initiative.
- Amthea Excrusis (Something Pain) a 3 shot ranged weapon with S5, AP3 Blind and Deflagrate. More likely to Blind an Automata or Dread than kill it, and pretty useless against vehicles.
This one looks pants, but in the right situation you could make a Decimator, Kytan or Scorpion do some dangerous work. WS6 I5 Brass Scorpion with a 4+ Invuln? I approve.
What Are We Doing Here?
Heck there are a lot of options here. I think the strongest options are:
- Cybernetica to make half the units in the army work.
- Terrain nonsense with Macrotek.
- Malagra assassin-maxing.
- Aethertek to buff the unbalanced demon engines.
We’ll investigate how to make these work in the next article, where we look at some sample tech priests and army lists.
Credit: Pendulin
Archmagos Dominus Warlords
It’s time to take the principles we’ve learned and distill them down into three Mechanicum warlords and three Mechanicum lists.
Let’s start with our Archmagos. I’m aiming to design three different Warlords, each with a matching Warlord trait, type of bodyguard and style of army.
Our first Archmagos sets us back 260pts. They follow around Myrmidon Secturos and ruin people’s days, swinging at I4 to clear out threats to the unwieldy Secutors, and mincing Terminators like no one’s business, alongside some cheeky Blind checks and Vox-Silence from Ephemera Exocluo. The Malagra Order gives Preferred Enemy (Character) to the squad also, as well as access to prehensile data spikes.
Archmagos Prime, Master Crafted Paragon Blade, Power Fist, Machinator Array with Prehensive Data Spike, second Meltagun, Augury Scanner, Rad grenades, Cyber Familiar, Science of Slaughter Warlord Trait, Ephemera Incursus Cybertheurgy, Malagra Order of High Techno Arcana
Our second Archmagos is 235pts and flies around with a squad of Thallax being a menace. We’ve saved points on melee weapons, since if the unit gets charged it’s game over already! Accompany this warlord with some Vorax or Artalax, benefiting from the pace of its Cortex Controller. The speedy fellow kicks out a firmly disgusting six S6 AP2 shots per turn, with a little bit of master crafting to reduce Gets Hot. I’ve gone with Macrotek, because moving around terrain is mad, but Reductor is also a solid option for destroying Terrain and shunting units out of their transports with Porta Fractis. Soul of Cold Iron keeps the unit on the move, as the unit wants to be shooting (no to Logic of Victory) and not fighting (no to Science of Slaughter). It might be worth taking Stoic Defender instead for the pinning, or just taking Logic of Victory anyway so you can movement react 13” for insane escapes. .
Archmagos Prime, Incunalabulan Jet Pack, Master Crafted Photon Thruster, Photon Gauntlet x2, Cyber Familiar, Ephemera Incursus Cybertheurgy, Macrotek or Reductor Order of High Techno Arcana. Soul of Cold Iron Warlord Trait.
Our final Archmagos is 260pts and is our only Abeyant, and they babysit a massive pile of Castellax or Domitars. Cybernetica is our chosen High Arcana, and also our Cybertheurgy. Melee weapons have been taken over ranged weapons, since we’ll be using Cybernetica Exortus most of the time alongside Logic of Victory for extra reactions.
Archmagos Prime on Abeyant, Machinator Array, Power Fist, Master Crafted Paragon Blade, Cyber Familiar, Rad Grenades, Artificia Cybernetica Cybertheurgy, Cybernetica Order of the High Techno Arcana, Logic of Victory Warlord Trait
Sample Lists
Now let’s write a 2500pt list with each of these Warlords. Mechanicum comes in very hot or cold depending on the matchup and the pilot. Lists that are clear filth certainly spring to mind, like spamming Plasma Secutors or Aethertek Decimator abuse, but we’ve written three lists with a clear theme aimed to handle all comers in a fair and interesting manner.
HQ:
Archmagos Prime, Master Crafted Paragon Blade, Power Fist, Machinator Array with Prehensive Data Spike, second Meltagun, Augury Scanner, Rad grenades, Cyber Familiar, Science of Slaughter Warlord Trait, Ephemera Incursus Cybertheurgy, Malagra Order of High Techno Arcana
Magos Dominus: Augury Scanner, Cyber Familiar, Master Crafted Machinator Array. Artificia Cybernetica.
Elites:
5 Man Myrmidon Squad, Maxim Bolters x4, Phased Plasma Fusil x6, Dedicated Transport: Triaros Armoured Conveyor
Troops:
20 Man Tech Thralls
20 Man Tech Thralls
3 Man Thallax with Multi Melta and Melta Bombs
3 Man Thallax with Multi Melta and Melta Bombs
6 Man Thallax with 2 Phased Plasma Fusils
4 Man Castellax with Maxima Bolters and Heavy Bolters.
Heavy Support:
Krios with Laser Fusil
Krios with Laser Fusil
Thanatar-Calix with Paragon of Metal
First up we have a run-of-the-mill starter list that shoots for accessibility over power. It’s made of two copies of the starter box, adding a pair of HQs, a plastic Thanatar, a pair of Krios and five Secutors. The Secutors are only thing not in plastic and I’ve seen these easily kitbashed from Kataphrons, Sicarans or even Nighthaunt! My favourite evil ghost robot is the Dreadscythe Harridans or Grimghast Reapers with a spare Hellblaster sprue of plasma guns.
Our warlord leads the Myrmidon unit in the Triaros and deletes everything with Hatred and Preferred Enemy (Character). Our second HQ joins a firebase of Castellax, which castles up with our character sniping Paragon of Metal -Calix. Two Krios and the small squads of Thallax zip around the board blowing up tanks and dreads, while our big Thallax blob and Tech-Thralls hold objectives.
HQ:
Archmagos Prime, Master Crafted Paragon Blade, Power Fist, Machinator Array with Prehensive Data Spike, second Meltagun, Augury Scanner, Rad grenades, Cyber Familiar, Science of Slaughter Warlord Trait, Ephemera Incursus Cybertheurgy, Malagra Order of High Techno Arcana
Elites:
Techpriest Auxilia unit with Magos Auxilia and Artificia Machina. Lachrimallus and 4 Flamers on Servo Automata.
Troops:
20 Man Tech Thralls
20 Man Tech Thralls
6 Man Thallax with 2 Phased Plasma Fusils
6 Man Thallax with 2 Phased Plasma Fusils
Fast Attack:
3 Man Vorax Battle Automata
3 Man Vorax Battle Automata
Heavy Support:
Krios with Laser Fusil
Krios with Laser Fusil
2x Armiger Moirax with Siege Claws and Lightning Locks
Lord of War
Knight Maegera with Siege Claw
Our second list showcases a mobile Archmagos to help all of the units where I said, “These seem cool but are desperately missing cortex controllers.” Our warlord runs around with one of the Thallax blobs, accompanied by the two squads of Vorax. Our Tech Priest Auxilia squad grants Feel-No-Pain to the 40 Tech Thralls, acting as a screen for the knight detachment, which focuses on lightning guns and siege claws. A pair of fusil Krios blow up tanks.
This army is very fast and excessively shooty. It looks to refuse a flank, speed to one side and blow up whatever comes close to it.
HQ:
Archmagos Prime on Abeyant, Machinator Array, Power Fist, Master Crafted Paragon Blade, Cyber Familiar, Rad Grenades, Artificia Cybernetica Cybertheurgy, Cybernetica Order of the High Techno Arcana, Logic of Victory Warlord Trait
Magos Dominus: Cyber Familiar,. Augury Scanner, Artificia Cybernetica
Elites:
Tech Priest Auxilia with Magos Auxilia. Cortex Controller and Nuncio-vox. Reductor. Artificia Cybernetica. Flamers on the Servo-Automata.
Tech Priest Auxilia with Magos Auxilia and 2 additional Tech-Priests. Cortex Controller and Nuncio-vox. Enginseer. Artificia Cybernetica.
3 man Domitar Battle Automata
Troops:
6 man Castellax with Darkfire Cannons and 2 Siege Wreckers
4 man Castellax with Maxima Bolters
3 man Thallax
3 man Thallax
Heavy Support:
2 man Thanatar Cavas
List number three is all about Cybernetica, and focuses on big bricks of robots and ways to buff them. A pair of squadded up Thanatar hide at the back along with the Magos Dominus and deletes entire units at once. The Archmagos accompanies the darkfire lance Castellax, moving up with the Domitar, and dares units to charge into them
Some further Castallax and some minimum size Thallax help with scoring. The two units of lesser Tech Priests hide out of line of sight and focus on buffing and repairing the remaining platforms. I would send the Cybernetica Reductor unit forward, and then keep the Machina triple priest unit back and focused on repairs.
Finally, I asked Chris of Tangenticool minis to submit a list for us to put here:
Summary
