Warlord Wednesdays: Adeptus Titanicus Stratagems

Welcome back to Goonhammer’s series for aspiring Titan Principes. We here at Goonhammer’s own Collegia Titanica know that Adeptus Titanicus can seem intimidating to players unfamiliar with its particular quirks, but this series aims to equip you with everything you’ll need to play out epic clashes on the battlefields of the far future with your very own Titan Battlegroup. In this series, we’ll be taking a more in-depth look at the various Legios of the Collegia Titanica – exploring their origins and how to use them on the tabletop, from maniple selection and their loadouts, through to how to command them on the field of battle to secure ultimate victory.

Titancius has a surprising amount of depth to it despite a relatively limited model range and unit count due to the sheer number of different ways it gives you to tailor your force. Most of these choices are made in advance of a game such as your Titan loadout and the structure of your maniples. But Just before deployment you’ll choose what stratagems and tactics your forces will have at their disposal for the upcoming battle.

Stratagems and tactics unlock many different abilities that vary from “basic utility” all the way up to “game-defining,” which you keep hidden from your opponent until it’s time to use them. After a few supplements, the game has loads to choose from, so this week we we’re looking at those stratagems, how to use them, and what we think of them.

Using Stratagems

Adeptus Titanicus Battle Levels – Credit: Warhammer Community

The first question here is the easiest: how do you get stratagem points? You start by looking at the size of the game you’re playing. Most games will be in the 1250-1750 point bracket, which means you start with 3 stratagem points. Next, look at your opponent’s list: how many sets of legion rules are they taking? For each legion in your opponent’s list, you get an extra 2 stratagem points. Finally, look at the points cost for your list and your opponent’s list. For each increment of the “underdog margin” between your lists, you get another 2 stratagem points.

So as an example, if you bring a 1260 point Legio Vulpa list, and your opponent brings a 1,550 point list pairing Legio Gryphonicus with Legio Atarus, your opponent would get 5 stratagem points – 3 base + 2 for your one set of legion rules – and you would get a whopping nine – 3 base + 4 for your opponent’s two sets of legion rules + another 2 for the underdog margin.

We find that most games will be in the “Confrontation” bracket, and that most opponents will bring one set of legion rules. This means that in your average game of Adeptus Titanicus, you’ll have five stratagem points to use. Bidding for the Underdog Margin could net you more points, but it typically isn’t worth it.

Legion Xestobiax Warlord Titan. Credit: Jack Hunter

Choosing Stratagems

Now that we know how many stratagem points we have at our disposal, we now have the challenge of deciding which ones to take. Here are some of the major factors you’ll want to take into account when choosing your stratagems:

Objectives
- What objective do you have for your mission? What is your opponent trying to achieve? Look at Stratagems that will help you in this goal, such as Long Retreat for Loyalists or Warp Displacement for traitors when playing Retrieval.
- If your opponent has an objective with a higher potential score and you think they might be able to convert, consider a tertiary objective – if you choose the right one and manage to bring it home, it could win you the game.
Terrain
- How is the terrain going to impact your game? A number of stratagems work better depending on the field, especially if your opponent is going to be bunched up.
Titans & Maniple
- Some stratagems work better with different Titans, whether being used offensively or defensively. Thermal Mines into a list full of Warhound Titans with the Vital Cargo or Retrieval objective can be a nasty trick.
- Sometimes, you might even build a specific Titan for use with a particular stratagem – Overcharged Cannon is a prime candidate here.
- Since you get to choose your stratagems after seeing your opponent’s list, be sure that you’re bringing ones that will work well against them. For instance, if you’re playing against a force of all Warhounds, a tertiary objective that requires you to kill a Warlord isn’t a great idea. Similarly, if your opponent is likely to move aggressively into close range with you, think carefully before taking too many stratagems that require you to be at long range.
Loyalty
- Whether or not you’re loyal to the Emperor will determine which faction subset of Stratagems you have access to. These add even more options and flavour to your force, and include some really cool ones such as Iron Resolve or Warp Displacement.
Legio
- Some Legios have their own exclusive Stratagems which have devastating effects such as Offensive Surge for Legio Fureans, which can be used for a unique edge. Not all of them are amazing, and a few are really core to how the legion works. Definitely look closely at these when they’re available.

Tier 1 stratagems are worth considering regardless of most conditions if you are eligible. Nothing is an auto-include in Titanicus, but if you’ve got points left over and aren’t sure what to take, you can’t go wrong with these. A good example here is Blind Barrage from the Core Rules. It’s cheap, it gives you a powerful effect, and it’s got flexibility that allows you to protect a key model in your own battlegroup or interfere with the accuracy of your opponent’s big guns.

Tier 2 stratagems are powerful abilities which should be taken if you’ve got the right conditions on the table. A good example here is Only Forwards from Shadow & Iron – if you’re playing a “stand back and shoot” list, or if the terrain is so dense you don’t think you’ll be able to line up a single turn with multiple charges, this probably isn’t worth the SP. The difference between Tier 1 and Tier 2 stratagems is that Tier 2 stratagems won’t be readily usable in every game.

Tier 3 stratagems are pretty situational, but can do some solid work when they connect. The difference between Tier 2 and Tier 3 is usually either that Tier 3 stratagems are usually either even more situational or just plain too expensive for what you get. A good example is Orbital Lance Strike – it’s powerful when it lands, but it’s not super reliable and you only get it once per game.

Tier 4 stratagems are either pretty hard to use or aren’t that great. They also tend to be unreliable or not very effective, though several of them can create very memorable moments in the game. The difference between Tier 3 and Tier 4 is one of effectiveness – if you don’t have a narrative reason for taking one of these, they might disappoint you.

Don’t let this ranking deter you from taking something you think is cool, though! These rankings are to help you get a sense for what’s effective from a rules perspective, not necessarily what you’ll have fun with. However, keep in mind that more expensive and more situational stratagems might feel more like a weight dragging you down than a useful tool in your arsenal.

Soggy: I feel it’s important to underline that Adeptus Titanicus is more of a narrative game rather than a perfectly balanced competitive one and we certainly aren’t saying you should only take the Tier 1/2 stratagems. Things like Scatterable Mines have the potential to ruin someone’s day. Make sure you have the same expectations of the game and be excellent to each other.

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Name	Restriction	Cost	Text	Verdict	Tier	Source
Veteran Princeps		1	When this is chosen the player chooses one of their Titans that is not a Princeps Seniores to be commanded by a Veteran Princeps. Add 1 to the result of any Command checks made when issuing an order to the chosen Titan. This may be purchased multiple times	Competes with Iron Resolve, trading away the certainty that you’re going to get the order you want exactly when you want it for more reliable orders across the board. If you want to issue orders frequently and consistently, pick this. If you want one decisive turn and are a Loyalist, go for Iron Resolve (or Only Forwards for close-combat lists). If you want to guarantee one decisive turn and are a Traitor, sucks to be you, I guess.	1	S&I
Concealment Barrage		1	Play during any Strategy phase. Place the 5” template anywhere on the battlefield. Any part of the battlefield underneath the template blocks line of sight. Remove the Blast marker at the end of the round.	Got instantly nerfed and is still one of the best strats in the game. You can no longer place it reactively to say "no, that Titan is not allowed to shoot, actually," but it is still a very powerful tool that can deny key lanes of shooting to let you work through your opponent's force without having to worry about return fire. Plus, making you play it at the top of the stratagem phase honestly makes it more fun - thinking about where to put it so you get the most use out of it while minimizing your opponent's ability to play around it can be a brain-burner that is a lot of fun.	1	S&I
Profane Blessing	Traitor	1	Play in the first strategy phase of the game. The player chooses one of their Titans and places a token next to its Command Terminal. That unit may re-roll any number of dice for a single roll; for example the dice for a Command Check, or any dice from the hit roll from a single weapon. After resolving the re-roll remove the token. This stratagem may be purchased multiple times.	Very good. Getting a once-per game re-roll on Titans during clutch moments can be huge. Being able to re-roll shield saves to keep your shields up after rolling a shocking number of 2's or being able to get the kill shot on an enemy titan is huge.	1
Iron Resolve	Loyalist	1	Play when a Titan fails a command check during the Strategy Phase or when a Knight Banner fails a command check to see if they become Shaken in any phase. That check is instead passed. This can be purchased multiple times.	Do you know you're going to need a particular order at a particular time to execute your strategy? This actually guarantees it.	1	S&I
Blind Barrage		1	Once per battle, play this during the Strategy phase. Pick a unit on the battlefield. Any attacks that target it or are made by it suffer a -2 To Hit penalty for the duration of the round.	The original auto-include. Able to be used offensively on a Titan you want to miss or on a vital Titan that needs to survive this turn.	1	Core
Override Signal		1	Play this Stratagem when a Titan (friend or foe) within 12" of a friendly Titan suffers Catastrophic Damage, before rolling on the Catastrophic Damage table. When rolling on the Catastrophic Damage table for the chosen Titan, add 4 to the result	Sometimes you really want to see a catastrophic meltdown. This helps you do that.	1	DoR
Tactical Assessment		2	Play this at the end of the deployment phase, before rolling to see who is the First Player. The player may immediately discard their current objective and determine a new one by rolling two D6 on the Mission Objective table as described in the Adeptus Titanicus rulebook	Simply incredible. This is a mulligan on your objectives that happens after you've seen the deployment, so you can tailor the objective you pick to the situation as it stands on the field. A fantastic stratagem that should always be in consideration.	1	DoR
Last Ditch Effort		1	Play this Stratagem when a friendly Titan falls due to the Laid Low or Wild Fire Catastrophic Damage effect. The controlling player may choose the direction the Titan falls, rather than determining it by rolling a Scatter dice. If, for whatever reason, both players are allowed to choose the direction the Titan falls, randomly determine the direction as normal and discard this Stratagem	Being able to force a Titan to fall in the direction you want can save your own Titans and possible take out an enemy in close or mid range. Plus, it's cheap. In most games you'll lose at least one engine, and with the number of times we find ourselves fervently wishing that, just once, the scatter die would come down in our favor, this is a solid trick that could help mitigate a disaster or turn an even trade into an advantageous one.	1	DoR
Vox Blackout		3	Play this Stratagem in any Strategy phase. The Strategy phase immediately ends and all orders are removed, with the exception of Shutdown orders.	Was God-Tier, still very good after changing to 3 points instead of just 1. TLDR; Counterspell. Always useful to deny any critical orders such as charge orders or completely ruin Knight Households from Coordinated Striking. Can be used to prevent your opponent from any stratagems if you play it first. Condit: Just be careful bringing this into a casual game - denying your opponent a critical stratagem can create a real "feel bad" moment.	2	DoM
Overcharged Cannon		2	Play this Stratagem in the Strategy phase of the first round. The player chooses one of their Titans armed with a weapon with the Maximal Fire trait. Place this card next to the Titan's Command Terminal and select one of its weapons with the Maximal Fire trait. For the duration of the battle, the Titan can fire this weapon on Super Maximal Fire. This works in exactly the same way as the Maximal Fire trait, except that the weapon's Strength is increased by 4 instead of 2.	Turn your Sunfury into a Bellicosa that can do targeted shots. Core unshielded Titans and vapourise Knight Banners on demand	2	DoM

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Legio Fureans Warhound and Reaver. Credit: genola

Titan Legions

As we mentioned earlier, some Legios have their own exclusive stratagems reflecting their style of warfare. Here’s our take on those stratagems:

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Name	Restriction	Cost	Text	Verdict	Tier	Source
Blessings of the Emperor	Defensor	2	Reveal this Stratagem when a hit would result in one of your Titans rolling on the Catastrophic Damage table. The hit is ignored and this Stratagem has no further effect.	Being able to say no when your Opponent says "ENGINEKILL" is always amusing. Although you have to make the investment worth it	1	TD
Fog of War	Solaria	1	Play this Stratagem in the Strategy phase of the first round. The Imperial Hunters player may redeploy a Warhound Titan for every Titan with a Scale of 7 or greater in their force. These redeployed units can be placed anywhere that they would normally be allowed to deploy by the mission being played. This stratagem can be purchased multiple times.	Redeploy shenanigans are always great, especially with Warhounds, who definitely benefit from the ability to hide from key firing arcs.	1	TD
Offensive Surge	Fureans	3	Reveal this Stratagem in any Combat phase. The Tiger Eyes player may choose one of their deployed Tiger Eyes maniples; for this Combat phase, each Titan in the chosen maniple may attack twice with one of its weapons but must increase its Reactor level by 1, in addition to any other effects.	Puts the Alpha in Alpha Strike, worthy of the high cost	1	TD
Burned Ones	Infernus	1	Play during any Combat phase. Choose any piece of Blocking terrain within 12” of any Legio Infernus Titan and remove it replacing it with an area of difficult terrain of the same size. This can be purchased multiple times.	Don't like that building? That's fine. Just blow it up! Cheap, useful when you need it, and you can take it as many times as you want.	1	S&I
Cull the Weak	Vulturum	1	Play this Stratagem when an enemy Titan moves outside of its Front arc (see Sidestepping and Backing Up in the Adeptus Titanicusrulebook), whether voluntarily or involuntarily. A friendly Legio Vulturum Titan can immediately make an attack with one of their weapon systems against that target, increasing its Reactor Level by 1 to do so. For all intents and purposes, this is a new attack requiring an Attack roll, any additional increases to the Titan’s reactor level, etc.	Hate Corsairs? This strat is for you. Punish your opponent for moving in unpredictable and untelegraphed ways. And if you've got two maniples, you can spend a Princeps Trait to be able to take this more than once.	1	DoR
Scent of Blood	Vulturum	2	Play this Stratagem when an enemy Titan suffers Critical Damage in the Combat phase as a result of damage from an attack made by a friendly Legio Vulturum Titan. After the attacking Titan’s activation has ended, you can immediately activate another friendly Legio Vulturum Titan that hasn’t yet been activated this Combat phase, increasing the chosen Titan’s reactor level by 2 to do so. This counts as that Titan’s activation this Combat phase	An out-of-sequence activation that lets you follow up on a crit to either try and finish off that target or get started on a new one.	1	DoR
Battle Fervour	Magna	3	Play this Stratagem during any Strategy phase. For the remainder of the phase, friendly Legio Magna Titans may be issued Charge orders without the need to make a Command check. In addition, for the remainder of the round, friendly Legio Magna Titans may re-roll Hit rolls of a 1 for attacks made with a weapon with the Melee trait.	Magna wants to be in close, and this lets you make excellent use of this. A well-coordinated set of charges can turn the tide of a game, and adding the extra dice on is just gravy. Well worth the cost.	1	DoR
Heedless Charge	Laniaskara	1	Play this Stratagem at the start of any Strategy phase. For the remainder of the phase, any friendly Legio Laniaskara Titan can be issued a Charge order without the need to make a Command check.	Auto include if you've got multiple melee titans, low cost makes it easy to use with Warp Displacement	1	CoR
Steadfast Basion	Kulisaetai	1	Add 6" to the Short range (but not the Long range) characteristic of all weapons without the Melee trait carried by a Legio Kulisaetai Titan during the Shooting phase, so long as it has not moved (voluntarily or involuntarily) already this round.	Hillarious with the right weapons, makes for great called shot opportunities for weapons with short range bonuses - Lasers and Gatlings become terrifying	1	CoR
Methodical Advance	Kulisaetai	2	Play this Stratagem in the Strategy phase of the first round. Choose a Scale. All friendly Legio Kulisaetai Titans with the same Scale as the chosen Scale may immediately make a move although no Titan may declare Power to Stabilisers! or Power to Locomotors!. After the effects of the Stratagem have been resolved, the opposing player becomes the First Player. Titans that move in this way may not be activated in the Strategy phase of the first round.	Depends on battlegroup and scenario, excellent for maniples homogenous titans like the Lupercal or Corsair. Effectively gives you a full stride with the ability to still shoot.	1	CoR

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Blood Wolf, Warhound of Legio Mortis Credit: Alfredo Ramirez

Show Your Strategic Genius

Stratagems add another layer of depth to Titanicus and will help you keep your opponent guessing. Clever use of these can turn a game around or result in legendary moments that you’ll talk about around the table for some time. And while choosing the right stratagems in your games is difficult, what’s important is that you think about what you’re trying to accomplish, and how the various stratagems might play into that.

Also keep in mind that just because a stratagem is expensive, situational, or a little weak doesn’t mean that it can’t be fun to play with. Take the time to experiment and find out what works for you, but keep in mind that you’ve only got so many points to work with. Stratagems are yet another way to define how your legion plays, so as long as you’re thinking about how they can support the play style you’re looking for, you can’t go wrong.

As always, if you have any questions or feedback, feel free to drop us a note in the comments below or email us at contact@goonhammer.com.

Warlord Wednesdays: Adeptus Titanicus Stratagems