Editing Age of Darkness-Warhammer 30k/2.0 Tactics/Mechanicum Tactics (section)

==Unit Analysis==

===HQ===
*'''0-1 Archmagos Prime:''' Your head cyborg and the guy you want to bring to almost every game. Like the Legion Praetor, the Archmagos Prime is pretty much essential for your army, as he allows you to bring High Techno-arcana rules for your army. His ''Feudal Hierarchy'' rule means you can only bring one of any type of Archmagos Prime, so he will be one of a kind on the table and important to protect. Coming standard with a volkite serpenta, power weapon, a Mechanicum Protectiva and a cortex controller, the sheer amount of options he can be equipped with makes it so you can tailor him for most situations. He can be equipped with a machinator array to improve his ''Battlesmith (4+)'' rolls, Heavy weapons to make him a walking gun platform (even more so if you take the ''Myrmidax'' High Techno-arcana), a paragon blade and/or chainfist to make him as killy in melee as possible, and even a cyber-familiar to improve his Invulnerable save to 3++. The sky is near enough the limit with this guy when it comes to customisation. He also comes with a bucket full of special rules, having ''Relentless'', ''Stubborn'', ''Battlesmith (4+)'' and ''Firing Protocols (3)'', allowing him to shoot and repair multiple times in one turn. ''Master Cybertheurgist'' allows him to select either the Artificia Cybernetica, Artificia Machina or Ephemera Incursus Cybertheurgic Arcana, and ''The Orders of High Techno-arcana'' rule allows for even more specialisation and customisation. 
**He does have some drawbacks, though. Firstly, as you could have guessed, a basic Archmagos Prime is fairly expensive on his own, being 155 points for the standard cyborg commander, and almost all his options will severely ramp up his price; it means you'll have to pour a fair bit of your army's allowance into him.
**Secondly, while his BS, Strength and Toughness are all set to 5, he comes up short when compared to his Marine counterparts in melee, as he only has WS4 and 2 Attacks base (3 when adding his volkite serpenta and power weapon into the mix), meaning that he's going to be hitting Tactical Marines on 4's and Praetors on 5's, though it is possible to make him more adept at duelling with the right upgrades. Like most Mechanicum units, he's better suited at shooting than close combat, relying primarily on his Toughness and good saves to keep him alive during fights over being able to kill his opponents quickly.
**As of the 12/2022 FAQ, clarifications to ''Battlesmith (X)'' means no more shooting and repairing. In fact, the FAQ states you can't even repair multiple times a turn, so it's only one ''Battlesmith (X)'' roll per turn.

*'''0-1 Archmagos Prime on Abeyant:''' The same as above but mounted on a floating command console. For 30 extra points, your Archmagos Prime gains an extra point of Toughness and 2 Wounds, bringing him up to T6 and 5W. He loses ''Firing Protocols (3)'' and ''Relentless'', but that's fine since he gains the ''Monstrous'' and ''Antigrav'' sub-types which allow him to fire all the weapons he has and count as Stationary when shooting them, as well as letting him float over terrain. Finally, he also gains ''Pride of Place'', stopping him from boarding a transport because the Abeyant is '''not''' cheap and he wants to show it off. 

*'''Magos Dominus:''' A scaled-down Archmagos Prime, now only costing 75 points. While still very versatile, you'll notice the considerable drop in loadout options as well as the now Marine-tier BS4/S4/T4. While he comes with the ''Heavy'' sub-type, he's also only one unit and most likely to be strapped to an Adsecularis Covenant or Castellax Maniple, things that wouldn't care about running away anyway. You're probably going to need that extra kit too, because a power sword and laspistol will only carry you so far. Probably why there's no limitation on how many you can field.
**''Firing Protocols (2)'' will make your decisions count more, as now you'll find yourself either needing to pick whether you need to fire that gun once or spend both rounds of shooting to repair your bots.

*'''Magos Dominus on Abeyant:''' See above, but now on the floating pimp-throne. He curiously still keeps the ''Heavy'' sub-type, giving template protection, but there's not going to be many cases where such can be the case when this guy is now a giant floating target.

====Special Characters====

*'''Calleb Decima Invictus, Lord of Ruin, Vengeful Archmagos of the Ordo Reductor:''' Look how far he's come. A Loyalist Reductor Archmagos Dominus with a power axe and bolt pistol, both ''Master-crafted'', as well as a machinator array, all carrying ''Ignores Cover'', ''Sunder'', and ''Wrecker'' to demolish tanks and building alike while ''Hatred (Traitors)'' and ''Precision Strikes (5+)'' make him threatening in melee. On top of his Reductor rules, he also lets those within 6" of him gain ''Move Through Cover'', which can seriously help them go through the wreckage he causes.
**Calleb can pick up a Scyllax Maniple or a unit of Tech-Priest Auxilia as a retinue, customized as you see fit including grabbing a transport. This retinue will also carry ''Ignores Cover'', ''Sunder'', and ''Wrecker''. The Auxilia have their uses as they provide more repairs if Calleb's too busy with things and can offer an additional buff from their chosen Techno-arcana, to say nothing of their Servo-automata. The Scyllax are there if you really just want him to wreck shit because they're not going to be going anywhere fast.

*'''Archmagos Draykavac, Warlord of Cyclothrathe, Sovereign-Prelate of House Atrax, Bringer of Perfection:''' Horse-face is back and for 240 points he acts as one of - if not '''THE''' - best buffing characters for the Mechanicum, though only for Traitors. Armed with a paragon blade, graviton gun, and a statline that would make a Necron Overlord glow green with envy, he's a ''Traitor'' character with all the standard Archmagos Prime rules as well as a few extras thrown in. He has a machinator array and ''Preferred Enemy (Infantry)'' and his special rule ''Incursus Cybertheurgist'' gives him access to both the Artificia Machina and Ephemera Incursus Cybertheurgic Arcana, so he can spit computer viruses and scrap code as he goes. He also quite nicely buffs the army he is in with his ''Djinn-skein'' as it adds +1 to the BS of any unit he joins and allows '''ALL''' Scatter rolls to be re-rolled as long as he can see the targeted area and is not embarked in a transport or a building, giving added help to artillery-heavy and Deep Strike lists. He can also be a bit of a menace in combat as, while he has no real anti-horde capability, he can pose a threat to single models with his ''Liquifractor'' rule. This allows him to exchange all his attacks in combat (all 2 of them, that is) for a single I1 attack that auto-hits his opponent. This attack rolls 2D6, inflicting a number of wounds equal to the number rolled minus the Toughness of the target; e.g., 7 rolled - T4 = 3 wounds, all of which are resolved at AP2. If he hits a Vehicle with an Armour Value, halve the AV of the targeted Vehicle and use that number in place of Toughness when doing the math. For every point over, [[/d/|he inflicts a Penetration]]; e.g., 7 Rolled - AV6 (half of 12) = 1 Penetrating Hit. Remember, since this attack is used during the Assault phase against a model he is in base contact with, [[Anal_Circumference|this will be resolved against the Vehicle's Rear Armour.]]
**His Warlord Trait, '''Cruel Taskmaster''', turns him into a Cyborg [[Commissar]], as any unit within 12" of him that fails a Morale or Pinning test, he can {{BLAM|'''*BLAM!*'''}} a model from the same unit to make it automatically pass the test. In addition, he gives the army an extra Reaction during the Shooting phase.
**As if that wasn't enough, his unique High Techno-arcana, ''Stataraga'', allows him to be taken as a Troops choice in a Questoris Knights Detachment. In addition to this, he can bring Castellax Maniples and Vorax Maniples as non-Compulsory Troops choices while part of a Household Detachment. Back up your big robots with little robots.
**He is very tough, and while not the technological monster that Scoria is, he's rocking 5's for his WS, BS and Strength, a 6 for his Toughness and 4 Wounds.
**Finally, he can be taken on an Abeyant for 25 points extra, which gives him the standard Abeyant rules replacement and bumps his already impressive Toughness to 7 and Wounds to 6.

*'''[[Anacharis Scoria]], the Xanophane Tyrant, the Fallen Master, Lord of the Nine Cohorts, the Apostate Magister:''' The absolute monstrosity of HH 1.0 has returned. Now strapped to his giant scorpion-thing that used to be called an Abeyant, he's now a super-Traitor Archmagos Prime with all three regular Cybertheurgic Arcana with associated Rites and weapons (except those learned from certain High Techno-arcana), ''Battlesmith (3+)'' and ''Move Through Cover''. As if having a 2+ save on a T7 W7 beast with a cyber-familiar wasn't bad enough, he also has ''It Will Not Die (5+)'', so he can heal himself too. He's also a walking tank, carrying a photon thruster and two archaeotech pistols that he can fire at will while he gets in close to smack them up with his Vodian Sceptre. While no longer the auto-wounding monstrosity of yore, an S+2 AP2 ''Two-Handed'' seal of office with ''Armourbane (Melee)'', ''Exoshock (4+)'' and ''Murderous Strike (5+)'' is nothing to scoff at, especially if the enemy also has to contend with ''Fear (2)'' if they survive. The one weakness it gained is that, without anything like ''Brutal (X)'' to back it up, he will get held up by Terminators and other multi-wound units.
**His Warlord Trait, '''Forbidden Protocols''', gives a 6" bubble that allows units of Automata to make Reactions despite any insistence otherwise. Adding an additional Reaction each Movement phase means that he thrives on sending his bots over to rip up the enemy while he cackles and sends out whatever technosorcery he slings out.

*'''Inar Satarael, Master of the Taghmata Satarael, Synod-Persecutor of Incaladion, the Grief of Zoroastris, the Fleshless Lord<sup>Legacies</sup>:''' Another Traitor Archmagos Prime entombed in what might as well be called an Abeyant for the sake of rules, this time with the ''Archimandrite'' High Techno-arcana. On top of the power axe, graviton imploder and servo-arm, his Abeyant comes strapped with a ''Twin-linked'' Maxima bolter, which lets him fire quite a lot at close range, all for 185 points - the same as a stock Archmagos Prime on an Abeyant. He also comes with ''Feel No Pain (5+)'' and a 4++ save via his repulsion shield, one that lets him throw an S6 hit right back at whoever shot him if he rolls a natural 6 on his save, but only if it's not part of a Reaction.
**Satarael uniquely has a chance to be of no benefit to the enemy when slain. Not only can he explode upon losing his last wound, dealing S6 AP- hits to all models within D6" of him, but he also does not confer any VPs on a 4+, meaning that there might be a chance that your enemy just wasted all that firepower on one named Archmagos Prime on Abeyant. Of course, it's still worse for you because you just lost your Warlord; Satarael has the ''Archimandrite'' High Techno-arcana, remember?

===Elites===
*'''Tech-Priest Auxilia:''' The most customisable and utilitarian choice. You get a unit of 1-3 Tech-Priests with 4-10 Servo-automata. There is quite a lot to do with this unit; the Priests are ''Infantry (Character, Line)'' and are able to claim objectives, while the Servo-automata are ''Automata (Guardian)'' so will always be allocated wounds first, regardless of any other special rules. The Servo-automata also have a decent range of weapon options, from dirt cheap las-locks up to expensive multi-meltas, and they also bring the average Toughness of the unit to T5.
**One Tech-Priest may be upgraded to a Magos Auxilia, granting him several stat-buffs including an extra Wound and the ability to take either the ''Artificia Machina'' or ''Artificia Cybernetica'' Cybertheurgy Arcana.
**The Tech-Priests in the unit must choose a "lesser" Techno-arcana from a different list compared to the Archmagos Prime.
***''Enginseer:'' Tech-Priests and Magos Auxilia gain servo-arms for free and, while there are any Servo-automata remaining in the unit, the Priests get ''Battlesmith (4+)''.
***''Lachrimallus:'' Every model in the unit gets ''Feel No Pain (5+)''. In addition, friendly units of Adsecularis Tech-thralls within 6" of one or more Tech-Priest or Magos Auxilia with this rule gain +1 to their ''Feel No Pain (5+)'' rolls or gain ''Feel No Pain (6+)'' if they don't already have it.
***''Reductor:'' Tech-Priests and Magos Auxilia gain servo-arms for free, while all models in the unit gain the ''Sunder'' and ''Wrecker'' rules. Additionally, a Magos Auxilia in the unit may replace their servo-arm with a conversion beamer or graviton imploder for 25 points each.
**As a combined unit of models with the ''Battlesmith (X)'' rule and the ''Automata'' unit type, this unit is affected by quite a lot of the High Techno-Arcana rules that an Archmagos Prime could take, so there is considerable room for additional function.
**Tech-Priests and Magos Auxilia with cortex controllers are the go-to unit for ignoring the ''Programmed Behaviour'' rule of Automata. The Archmagos Prime and Magos Dominus are too expensive to act as babysitters. 

*'''0-1 Arcuitor Magisterium, Assassin of the Prefecture Magisterium, Paternis Malagra:''' A Loyalist-exclusive techno-assassin. This guy's about as strong as an Archmagos Prime with the same S5 and T5, but exchanges a wound an extra inch of Movement. While they have the Magos-like aspects with ''Battlesmith (5+)'' and ''Firing Protocols (2)'', they're more keyed towards melee with ''Monster Hunter'' and ''Precision Strikes (5+)''. To that end, they start with a corposant stave and archaeotech pistol with the option for a servo-arm or machinator array for some more swings at I1. They can also pick up a photon thruster or phased plasma-fusil if you're intending on using ''Firing Protocols (2)'' for shooting more than repairs and/or swap their melee weapon for a paragon blade for 15 pts; it can be worth it, but with 2 Attacks base, it's not an auto-take.
**The Arcuitor Magisterium's ''Hunter Killer'' rule lets them get a retinue of Vorax Battle-automata or Arlatax Battle-automata as a single unit, letting them hop around with extra protection, though this will hamper the bots' movement to their new owner.

*'''Myrmidon Secutor Host:''' A squad of 3 Tech-Priests who decided to become their own [[Necron Destroyer]]s. They are 150 points, bristling with special weapons and want nothing more than to kill all those disgusting fleshy things. They come standard with two Maxima bolters, but you can swap one or both of them out with volkite chargers for free or with graviton guns, irad-cleansers or phased plasma-fusils for some extra points. Don't worry about moving them around, since they have ''Relentless'' and ''Firing Protocols (2)'' allowing them to march around and fire all of the guns they are carrying and still charge. With their refractor field, 5's for their Strength, Toughness and BS, 4 Wounds and WS4, they are pretty tough; while they only have an Initiative of 2, the Myrmidon axes they carry have are S+2 AP2 with ''Sunder'' and ''Unwieldy'', the latter meaning you won't care too much about it. These axes, combined with their 3 Attacks (4 on the Secutor Lord), ''Hatred (Everything)'' and ''Stubborn'' make them one of the few effective melee units that the Mechanicum have, as they will quite happily cut their way though most marine squads, as long as they don't have WS5.

*'''Domitar Battle-Automata Maniple''': 145 points and you get one almost-dreadnought armed with two graviton hammers and one back mounted missile launcher, tacked on with ''Relentless'' and ''Hammer of Wrath (1)''. An additional 4 Domitar can be taken in the same unit and, if you feel like it, one model can be given ''Paragon of Metal''. Each bot has an atomantic deflector, giving them a 5++ Invulnerable save and some protection against ''Instant Death''. Despite having 7's for Toughness and Strength, 5 Wounds and 4 Attacks each, they have a pretty average WS4 and a pretty disappointing BS3. That said, their graviton hammers are template weapons with ''Haywire'' in shooting and are S10 AP2 with ''Armourbane (Melee)'' in close combat, giving them a pretty clear role as Vehicle punchers, and they should perform well against Militia hordes and tanks (when they actually get rules).
**In a vacuum, these are a decent unit and can perform their role as tank hunters fairly well. However, when compared to Legion Dreadnoughts, they come up very short.
***It's worth considering that with the ''Paragon of Metal'' upgrade, they don't come up short at all; these things are absolute monsters (no pun intended).  Not only do they already get a S7 AP- ''Hammer of Wrath (1)'' auto-hit at I10 wounding a MEQ on a 2 in Assault, but on the charge they get a sphincter-troubling '''SEVEN''' Attacks (3 base + 1 for two melee weapons + 1 for charging + 2 for ''Rampage (2)'' because they're always gonna be outnumbered, really) hitting WS4 units on 3's at S10 AP2 with ''Armourbane (Melee)'' giving 2D6 Armour Pen versus Vehicles and ''Concussive (2)'' for anything with a WS value.  If the target fails their Ld test for ''Concussive (2)'', their WS is dropped by 2, so for the average WS4 MEQ in the next Assault phase, your Domitar is now hitting them on 2's and they're trying to hit it on 6's. Plus +1W and ''It Will Not Die (4+)'' on a T7 Sv3+ platform is ''legit''.  A far better candidate for ''Paragon of Metal'' than any other Automata.

===Troops===

*'''[[Thallax|Thallax Cohort]]:''' Ogryn equivalents, they're pretty hardy with T5 and 3 wounds and are also equipped with Incunabulan jet packs and lightning guns. Their stats have been slightly nerfed for 2.0, as they are now S4 standard and have had their Ld reduced to 7, though in return they can take chain bayonets on their lightning guns for 2 points each, giving them S5 attacks with ''Shred'', and now have ''Relentless'', ''Stubborn'' and ''Feel No Pain (6+)'' standard. Additionally, one Thallax every three models can take a multi-laser, irad-cleanser, phased plasma-fusil, multi-melta or photon thruster. They have a few extra special rules, with ''Djinn-sight'' allowing them to reduce Cover Saves by -2 and block enemy Infiltrators from setting up with 24" of the Thallax Cohort, while their Lorica Thallax gives them a 4+ armour save and stops them from making Sweeping Advances. Sadly, they have lost Thallax Augments, so you can't buff them any further outside of your chosen High Techno-Arcana.

*'''Adsecularis Tech-Thrall Covenant:''' The cheapest unit available in 30K just got pricier, becoming 45pts for 10 dudes with ''Infantry (Heavy, Line)''. Don't expect the ''Heavy'' sub-type to do much for them though, as they only have a 6+ armour save, so they are not likely to be re-rolling anything. Being ''Heavy'' really just means they cannot perform Run moves. Additionally, due to ''The Rite of Pure Thought'' rule, they cannot perform Reactions or make Sweeping Advances. They have low stats; WS/BS/I are all 2, and their Ld value is 6 so their fighting ability is almost negligible, not to mention they have lost the ability to take carapace armour and all of their options from HH1. However, despite all of these downsides, they are still the cheapest unit in the book with ''Stubborn'' and ''Feel No Pain (5+)'' giving them added resilience against low Strength incoming damage, while also being able to come in units of up to thirty models. They are an objective-holding unit and, really, that's all you need them for. You can put no more than twenty of these poor bastards in a Triaros Armoured Conveyor or footslog the full thirty to use as 40K Guardsmen or Penal Legions. 
**For added protection, they gain a +1 to their ''Feel No Pain (5+)'' rolls while within 6" of a Tech-Priest Auxilia unit that has the ''Lachrimallus'' Techno-arcana. Granted, this still does nothing against S6 or above, but it ''is'' a desirable bonus if you have several squads who are likely to be subjected to bolter fire.

*'''Adsecularis Tech-Thrall Certus Covenant<sup>Legacies</sup>:''' Tech-thralls with mitra-locks, good ol' 8" Assault 2 S4 AP6 las-shotguns, now with ''Shred'' to make them an actual threat to MEQs, blob units, light Vehicles and maybe even non-Cataphractii Terminators if you spam enough of them... that is, if they're not vaporized by combi-volkite chargers or combi-grenade launchers first, something most Terminators, Veteran Squads and Legion-exclusives will have, if not their own unique weapons; don't expect too much from a unit with worse Ballistic Skill than Guardsmen/Imperial Militia. The entire unit can also exchange their mitra-locks for chainswords if want to use them as actual cannon fodder. A Triaros Armoured Conveyor is probably the best option to get them into ''Shred'' range or if you just want another tank for blob killing.

*'''Castellax Battle-Automata Maniple:''' Now Troops choices with no ifs, ands or buts. These trustworthy brutes are plenty capable of taking any abuse with T6, 4 Wounds, and a 3+/5++ save. The Castellax are plenty well-rounded to take whatever role you assign them to; each Castellax is equipped with two shock chargers with in-built bolters, as well as a mauler bolt cannon. Even better, they have a pretty broad list of upgrades available to any role. You can grab multiple Castellax for a full maniple or you can instead make a lone Castellax a ''Paragon of Metal'' if you intend to make a superweapon of a bot.
**While the shock chargers give you plenty to work with, you can instead grab a pair of power blade arrays with in-built bolters if you're looking to sacrifice AP3 for a chance at AP2. If you're looking to total tanks up-close, then you can replace a shock charger and its in-built bolter for a siege wrecker, a lethal S10 AP2 fist with ''Sunder'', ''Wrecker'' and ''Brutal (2)''. The major drawback of this is that it's quite costly and, as a ''Specialist Weapon'', it loses the extra attack for dual-wielding.
**The in-built bolters can be freely swapped for Maxima bolters, which works far better for a close-range Castellax by letting it fire an extra shot at a shorter range. Flamers are also available for its arms, which have their uses if you're considering going up against mobs. The mauler bolt cannon, on the other hand, can be replaced by a more suitable anti-tank weapon; you can either buy a multi-melta for up-close tank demolition or a darkfire cannon, one of the few weapons with ''Lance'', for ripping through heavy tanks at long range, but ''Gets Hot'' makes it a bit of a gamble.
**Despite being Troops choices, they lack the ''Line'' sub-type and cannot ordinarily claim objectives. Luckily, you can give them ''Line'' if your Archmagos Prime has the ''Cybernetica'' High Techno-Arcana.

*'''Scyllax Guardian-Automata Maniple:''' Oversized servo-skulls with a 4+ save, BS4, S4, T5, 2 Wounds each and 3 Attacks. They come equipped with Kraken bolters, rad furnaces and Scyllax combat arrays, making each Scyllax considerably armed for their size. ''Move Through Cover'', ''Relentless'' and ''Night Vision'' give them the ability to float around quite well, but they have the ''Heavy'' and ''Guardian'' sub-types which restrict their movement, and they need to be joined by Characters if you want them working at full capacity. They have ''Line'', meaning they can score unlike Castellax; however, they are a ''Support Squad'', so they can't act as your Compulsory Troops choice. They come in a unit of 4 which can add additional Scyllax for 25 points to a maximum of 16 in a maniple. All of can swap their Kraken bolters out for Maxima bolters for free or a flamer, volkite charger or rotor cannon for 5 points. The Scyllax combat array has two settings; 'Standard', which is S-User AP5 with ''Shred'', or 'Dismember', which is S+3 AP2 with ''Cumbersome'' and ''Unwieldy'', which will hurt their already poor WS but won't effect their Initiative if they aren't joined by a Character since they will have penalties from ''Guardian'' anyway. With the rad furnace, it allows them to inflict ''Instant Death'' on Marines (if they are lucky enough to hit them). The 'Dismember' setting could also be relatively effective at popping open light tanks. Finally, for every four Scyllax, one of them can take a graviton gun, plasma gun, irad-cleanser or a meltagun for some added punch in shooting.
**The best way to utilise these guys is to throw a Magos Dominus in with them and take them in a large unit to secure a chosen objective while keeping the Magos Dominus alive; the Magos Dominus is tougher to shift than you would first think thanks to the bonuses from the ''Guardian'' and ''Heavy'' sub-types of the Scyllax.

===Dedicated Transport===
*'''Triaros Armoured Conveyer''': <s>Dune Train</s> Not quite a [[Crassus Armored Assault Transport|CRASSUS]], but close. Your only Dedicated Transport has AV 14/12/12, 5HP, and a Transport Capacity of 22! This thing comes standard with a flare shield for all that -1 goodness and is armed with two volkite calivers and a ''Twin-linked'' mauler bolt cannon, meaning it can defend itself from infantry in a pinch. It's also equipped with a shock ram so you can live out your dreams of being a Navy torpedo ram and ramming a bunch of walkers (ironically, it's the Martians who are ramming the walkers this time) and, since the ram is S10 with multiple hits, it's arguably the Triaros' best weapon. In addition, ''Galvanic Traction Drive'' lets it re-roll Dangerous Terrain tests, so it doesn't pop a track when it rolls over a landmine. It's a fairly expensive Dedicated Transport, in terms of both points and money, but you can style on all those marine players and their little [[METAL BOXES]] with your Victorian warship on tracks.

===Fast Attack===
*'''Arlatax Battle-Automata Maniple''': One big robot armed with two power blade arrays that have in-built light autocannons, a plasma cannon, and an Utan jump booster (more on that in the Ursarax entry). It has ''Hammer of Wrath (1)'' and an atomantic deflector, giving it a 5++ Invulnerable save and protection from ''Instant Death'', not that it needed much protection from ID since it's Toughness 6 with 4 Wounds. They can reasonably hold their own in combat this edition with WS4, S7 and 3 Attacks base (5 with power blade arrays, 4 with arc scourges) and its Initiative is pretty good for a Mechanicum robot (yes, 4 is good for an Automata). Poor Arly has seen a fairly harsh nerf to his weapons in 2.0, since he no longer gets his awesome S+2 AP2 lightning claws and is now stuck with S-User AP4 ''Breaching (5+)'' power blade arrays, which will be effective against Militia and Auxilia hordes, but inconsistant against MEQs and TEQs. These can be swapped out for arc scourges, which you should do in most cases as they are much better than the power blade arrays, being S+2 AP3 with ''Rampage (D3)'' and ''Disruption (5+)'', allowing them to punch tanks to death and go all out with extra attacks when they are outnumbered by Tactical Marines. The unit can contain two more Arlatax, while a maniple made up of a single Arlatax can become a ''Paragon of Metal''. Arlatax are no longer the auto-take monsters they were last edition, but they can still be effective when used in the right way.
**If you take arc scourges, your Arlatax will gain ''Rampage (D3)'' when he gets outnumbered by two militia bumble-fucks, making them more effective anti-horde/infantry weapons.
***You might find it strange that Arlatax don't have ''Bulky (X)'', despite being big 4 Wound robots. Thing is, Automata can't enter transports or buildings and, as ''Bulky (X)'' makes it much harder to be outnumbered in combat, this would also fuck over any Automata which has access to ''Rampage (X)''. This is probably why no Automata have the ''Bulky (X)'' rule; they neither need it (no Embarking) nor want it (model count during melee combat).
**Arlatax don't have any official FW models, so if you want them, you need to convert them out of a Domitar or something.
***Honestly FW, I love your work (but not your pricing) and a fast, hulking hunched-over long-blade, dakka-clawed, plasma firing, murder-bot is a fucking amazing concept. '''HOW IS THERE STILL NO MODEL AFTER ALMOST A DECADE WTF CHAPS'''

*'''Ursarax Cohort''': A squad of three WS4/BS3 Thallaxii with melee weapons and Iron Man chest lasers. They come equipped with two lightning claws which give them 4 Attacks each and, for every three models, one Ursarax can be upgraded to take two power fists instead, but that Ursarax only has 3 attacks if this option is chosen. Unfortunately, they have seen a bit of a nerf this edition as they are now only S4, meaning they wound marines on 4's with their claws and they can't ID T5 models with power fists and, as stated above, only one model in three can take power fists now. The volkite incinerator in their chests is a 10" range volkite charger when it fires, but in melee it can be "fired" at an Infantry model the Ursarax is in combat with instead of fighting with its claws/fists, in which case it "fires" a S6 AP2 ''Instant Death'' hit against the Infantry unit (I would assume it uses the Ursarax's WS since when it's used in this way as it's classed as a melee weapon).
**Their Utan jump booster can up their Movement to a flat 12", which makes charges easier thanks to the new charge bonuses units get for having higher Movement values and allows them to ''Deep Strike'' and still let them Embark on transports; however, they can't Run anymore, but that's not really a problem. 
***Bit miffed by these guys not having ''Hammer of Wrath (X)''; they had it in the previous edition via their jump packs, all other MEQ jump infantry have it, but these guys?  Could be an oversight?  They've effectively gained an extra attack each via fancy lightning claws over the last edition, but lost HoW, which, to be fair, given their -1S nerf to S4 might be a fair trade. Would you rather take an additional S4 AP- attack at I10, or an additional AP3 attack at I2(!) with ''Shred'' & ''Rending (6+)'', assuming that enough models survive to the Initiative 2 step to take advantage? You decide.
***They've also had their ''Feel No Pain (5+)'' knobbled down to a ''Feel No Pain (6+)'' from HH 1.0. I assume that the missing point was mystically moved to the Thallax Cohort for their new ''Feel No Pain (6+)''.

*'''Vorax Battle-Automata Maniple''': The killer mantis-bots have gotten a lot zippier with non-fixed movement ranges, not only getting ''Scout'', but also having a high speed, ''Fleet (2)'' and the ''Light'' sub-type, so running makes these things cross the board even faster. If you're worried about anything trying to outrun them, each Vorax also comes equipped with two rotor cannons; not the strongest guns, but they ''can'' pin foes while the Vorax charges in with its S-User AP4 ''Rending (5+)'' power blade arrays.
**Each one comes with a lightning gun, which got a pretty decent improvement by being able to alternate between a rather light crowd-clearer and the heavier shot that can go through armour. One in three of the bots can instead replace that with an irad-cleanser, allowing the unit to more reliably take down mobs at the cost of its effectiveness against most things with a decent armour save.
 
*'''Vultarax Strato-Automata Squadron:''' No longer deemed a Vehicle, the Vultarax is now an ''Antigrav'' Castellax with T6, though it's way faster thanks to its Stratos thrusters, allowing it to change its Movement from the basic M8 to an insane M16 on any turn. There are pretty much entirely for harassing at range, with the arc blaster letting it zap through bots and tanks and its two havoc launchers let it shell anything else, especially with ''Djinn-sight'' effectively nullifying cover. This turns the Vultarax Squadrons into mobile harassment units, no longer pseudo-fighters like before, but more along the lines of Land Speeders in how they can attack.
**In one helpful addition, ''Surveillance Protocols'' lets the Vultarax ignore ''Programmed Behavior'' during the charge phase. Of course, these things lack melee weapons of any sort, so it only makes sense that this thing won't automatically throw itself away the moment a Magos with a cortex controller isn't there to stop its suicidal stupidity.
***With the arc blaster being AP5, it's hampered by a decent save (MEQ/TEQ) on any Infantry it wounds (which it is very good at), but ''Disruption (4+)'' makes it brutal against most Vehicles, with a 50% chance to auto-Glance regardless of AV. That's the main reason you take the Vultarax, so you can bypass the decent AV on expensive Vehicles as all of its weapons against MEQ and better, despite the number of hits they can rack up, are still only AP5. Also, the Vultarax lost its power blades from the last edition... not that you really want this in melee.

*'''Mechanicum Tarantula Sentry Gun Battery<sup>Legacies</sup>:''' Remember how everyone laughed at the Legions' Tarantulas for being useless because they had two guns but could only shoot them once because they forgot [[RAGE|'''one single rule''']]? Well, GW's sterling rules writers did that shit again because they're incapable of learning from their mistakes! That's right, you've got a pair of heavy bolters (or lascannons), [[Derp|but can only fire one of them at the closest target they can see]] at a measly BS2. If you sprung for the Hyperios missile launcher, then you're struggling with the fact that you have a ''Skyfire'' weapon that'll only shoot at the closest enemies they can find, even if that enemy isn't flying at all (and no, Assault Marines do not count).

*'''Mechanicum Termite Assault Drill<sup>Legacies</sup>:''' Well, look who fucking came back... [[FAIL|and now cannot be a DT for your Adsecularis,]] meaning you're wasting a Fast Attack slot that could've been spent on more robots. At least they're as useful to you as they are to the Legions, because these give you a singular way of Deep Striking onto the field, especially when supported by the Ordinatus Aktaeus.

===Heavy Support===
*'''Thanatar Siege-Automata Maniple''': A walking tank of a robot with S8, T8, W7 and a 2+/5++ save with an atomantic deflector. Each Thanatar comes with a ''Twin-linked'' mauler bolt cannon for defending itself from crowds when it can't use its preferred weapons. While you can buy up to two additional Thanatar that you have to deploy alongside the first one, their ''Thanatar Maniple'' rule means they're ultimately on their own after the game starts.
**'''Thanatar-Cavas''': The basic Thanatar, it comes with a pair of shock chargers for AP3 melee power, complemented by the Thanatar's stock ''Hammer of Wrath (1)'' rule. The plasma mortar provides it with plenty of bombardment, dealing S8 AP4 ''Large Blast (5")'' shots with ''Breaching (4+)'' and ''Ignores Cover''. ''Reactor Overload'' allows the mortar to shoot twice, but the Thanatar-Cavas must suffer D3 Wounds without saves to offset it.
**'''Thanatar-Calix''': 20 points more expensive than the stock Thanatar-Cavas. The big draw is its Sollex heavy-las, a Heavy 3 lascannon with S10 AP2, ''Armourbane (Ranged)'' and ''Shock Pulse'' to flat-out demolish tanks. While it lacks the reliability of shock chargers, it comes with a graviton ram, which can either be used as an AP4 Template with ''Haywire'', ''Grav Wave'', ''Graviton Pulse'' and ''Concussive (1)'' or an S10 AP1 fist with ''Armourbane (Melee)'' and ''Concussive (2)'' for a more devastating stun.

*'''Myrmidon Destructor Host''': The real Necron Destroyers of the Mechanicum and the heavy weapon variant of the Secutors, they lack the Myrmidon axe and are instead equipped with shock chargers which, combined with fact they lack ''Hatred (Everything)'', makes them less impressive in melee. However, you don't want these guys in melee since then you won't be able to use their heavy weapons; they all come with volkite culverins as their default equipment and they can be upgraded to take conversion beamers, graviton imploders, darkfire cannons or irradiation engines, so they can be kitted out for most shooting roles that you desire. Their 4 Wounds, Toughness 5 and refractor field mean they can be quite hard to shift by shooting attacks and, thanks to ''Relentless'', they can move around and shoot as much as they want. 
**Unlike Dreadnoughts and Automata, Myrmidon Destructor Hosts shouldn't mix and match their weapons. Treat them like Heavy Support Squads or 40K Devastator Squads, i.e., you should give them all the same weapons. As an added bonus, they can take a Triaros Armoured Conveyor, which is very good at dealing with MEQs and blobs on its own.

*'''Karacnos Assault Tank''': The heavy battle tank of the Mechanicum with AV 14/12/12 and a flare shield to ensure that anti-tank weapons won't instantly spell its doom. While it has Sponson Mounted lightning locks to bombard whatever it comes across, the main star of this tank is the Karacnos mortar battery, a massive S6 AP4 chemical bomb launcher that's using the rare ''Massive Blast (7")'' pieplate with a whole slurry of rules: ''Fleshbane'', ''Rad-phage'', ''Ignores Cover'', ''Barrage'', ''Pinning'', ''Crawling Fire'' '''and''' ''Shell Shock (3)''. Simply put, you aim this at crowds of infantry and they will disintegrate. That said, like with all ordnance/artillery weapons, Space Marines will likely have a chance to walk away from the initial assault. That's where ''Crawling Fire'' comes in, allowing it to slide over to the unlucky foe (if they're trapped, and with that Pinning check, it's a good shot) and hit them again.
**While all of its weapons are swingy pieplates, that doesn't mean that it doesn't have anything to protect itself up close. Unusually, it has a shock ram, letting it deal 1+D6 Ram Attacks at S10 AP4 with ''Concussive (3)''. While this by no means makes it capable of combat, it does mean that you're not hosed against any tank hunters.
**Expect this to draw a LOT of fire and be ready for anything, as ''Hazardous Munitions'' means that any explosions it suffers will be catastrophic, dealing S8 AP4 hits to anyone within 6+D6".

*'''Krios Squadron''': While not as armoured as the Karacnos at AV 13/12/10, this is the only tank you can take in squadrons, coming with ''It Will Not Die (6+)'' to give it some manner of regeneration. It's a zippy tank as well, as it has a very good move speed and the ''Fast'' sub-type to make it always go the distance. Aside from the basic armaments of each tank, you can also grab volkite calivers to add some guaranteed incineration on each tank.
**'''Krios Battle Tank:''' Comes with a Hull (Front) Mounted lightning cannon for some crowd coverage that can potentially cause some extra damage to any Vehicles it hits as well.
**'''Krios Venator Tank Destroyer:''' Costlier than the basic tank, but much more reliable at breaking tanks. Less prone to moving, as it exchanges the lightning cannon for a pulsar-fusil, an Ordnance 4 S9 AP2 weapon with ''Pinning''. Not only is it capable of totaling lesser tanks in one go, but it can also lock down anything less.

*'''Knight Moirax Talon''': Why yes, the Mechanicum can throw in Armigers as Heavy Support choices. While largely similar to its Questoris kin, the Moirax comes with a rad furnace to spread cancer in melee. They have a pretty flexible loadout in contrast to the fixed loadouts of the Questoris Armigers, with the option to double up on its volkite veuglaires or siege claws with in-built irad-cleansers in any combination, depending on where you want it to stay. If you plan on taking other guns, you can buy lightning locks, conversion beam cannons, and graviton pulsars.
**Their ''Greuso Protocol'' rule gives them a unique Reaction, triggered when an enemy charges a friendly Automata or Knight within 12". This allows the Moirax Talon to shoot at whoever is charging, allowing for Tau-tier supporting fire against any charges.

*'''Mechanicum Land Raider Phobos<sup>Legacies</sup>:''' The ever-trustworthy build-a-Land Raider returns to its home in the Mechanicum. Sadly, as with the Termite and Macrocarid, it can't be used as a DT, and unlike the Legions you can't take squadrons of them, but your Land Raiders at least have a vast array of different guns you can slap onto it. On top of all the weapons that the marines get, you can also swap out the sponsons for any manner of guns if lascannons don't suit your needs and the hull gun can be replaced with a variety of exotic weapons like the graviton gun or the ''Twin-linked'' phased plasma-fusil. You can actually kit this LR out to fulfill a specific job while still transporting, which is something that the Legions can only do in a limited fashion while retaining the same capacity.

*'''Macrocarid Explorator<sup>Legacies</sup>:''' Horrendously more expensive than the Triaros or even the Land Raider in the same Legacies doc, but this boy has AV 14 all around and can carry 26 troops, so there's a small space for Auxilia too. Though you lack any of the specialized gear (to be fair, so did the Marines, for the most part), you still retain a lot of insanely powerful guns to slap onto it, from the horde-eradicating irradiation engines and volkite culverins to the marine-cracking ''Twin-linked'' phased plasma-fusil and mauler bolt cannons.
**If you are fielding this, it's because you want it as a heavy assault platform. On top of its heavy firepower, it's also considered an ''Assault Vehicle'', so you can have your packs of Automata and Adsecularis charge straight out of the Macrocarid while it fires away to absolutely demolish whatever it is you sent it towards.

*'''Ordo Reductor Artillery Tank Battery<sup>Legacies</sup>:''' We had these? Well, apparently the Mechanicum had what amounted to Whirlwinds stashed away somewhere because they're in the document. Okay, the Whirlwind comparison does feel kind of lazy because these things can swap out their missile launchers for a rather impressive array of artillery and direct siege weapons, meaning you could also make it a Basilisk or Medusa if you saw fit or make it tote a (Gravis? Look, the bullets call it a Gravis array, the weapon's stat forgot that Gravis bit) melta cannon array if you just needed to hunt tanks. If you feel uncomfortable throwing what amounts to Rhinos so close, you can also buy multiple tanks, though they all need to take the same main cannon if you buy more.

*'''Ordo Reductor Minotaur Battery<sup>Legacies</sup>:''' This is only really here if you wanted an Earthshaker but want it to actually survive a shot or two at AV 13/12/13 (though having an ''Open Crew Compartment'' means any melee strikes will always hit at AV12). While it has the ''Slow'' and ''Reinforced'' sub-types, you're not really going to need that movement much anyways because Earthshakers could cover most of an entire board anyways. The cannon having ''Shred'' and ''Pinning'' also make it a decent pick even if it got nerfed to AP4.

===Lords of War===
Do note that the Mechanicum Knights are not the same as the Questoris Knights from the Questoris Household army list. The Mechanicum Knights all have ''It Will Not Die (6+)'' built into their special rules, and all of them except for the Acastus Knight Asterius also come equipped with a flare shield for added protection, making them cost around 20 more points than their Questoris equivalent.

*'''Mechanicum Knight Magaera''': The Mechanicum's cheapest Knight, it's an upgraded Knight Questoris armed with a lightning cannon, a Hull (Front) Mounted phased plasma-fusil and a Reaper chainsword which can be swapped out for a siege claw with an in-built irad-cleanser. It has both the ''It Will Not Die (6+)'' rule and a flare shield, as well as ''Night Vison''; do be careful about having too many units being near it if it blows up, since its explosion blast is resolved at AP3. The lightning cannon is a very good weapon in HH 2.0 as ''Large Blast (5")'' AP2/3 weapons are all but extinct, so being able to vaporise a unit wearing power armour with a single shot is worth its weight in incense these days, and for 400 points, will happily fit in most games.
 
*'''Mechanicum Knight Styrix''': The Magaera's brother, having all the same rules but being equipped with a volkite chieorovile and Hull (Front) Mounted graviton gun instead for 10 points more than the Magaera. It can exchange its Reaper chainsword for a siege claw with an in-built irad-cleanser. Like the Magaera, the Styrix causes an AP3 blast if it explodes. The volkite chieorovile is less impressive than the lightning cannon, being Heavy 5 S8 AP4, which will make it very good at clearing Solar Auxilia and Milita hordes, and it should perform well as a medium anti-armour option, but it lacks the MEQ melting capability of the lightning cannon. 
 
*'''Mechanicum Knight Atrapos''': The only Cerastus pattern Mechanicum Knight (the tall ones) and 100 points more expensive than the two Questoris pattern Mechanicum Knights, but it's stronger, faster, and carrying heavier weapons, as well as hitting everyone with an AP1 blast if it explodes. Equipped with both an Atrapos phasecutter and a singularity cannon, this thing is the bane of TEQs and tanks. The phasecutter has both a ranged and melee profile, with it having a 12" range Ordnance 1 S10 AP2 shot which should punch a hole in most tanks, and its melee option is S10 AP1 with ''Instant Death'' and ''Armourbane (Melee)'' (technically just ''Armourbane'' according to its profile, but it should be obvious the writers just forgot the (Melee) part), but it's not great at fighting non-Vehicles since it also has ''Cumbersome'' now. The singularity cannon is the real great weapon here, as it shoots S8 AP2 ''Large Blast (5")'' shots, making it one of the few guns in the game that can effectively deal with units of Terminators at range. Praise the Omnissiah! The singularity cannon also has ''Haywire'' and ''Concussive (1)'', which is great, and the ''Graviton Singularity'' rule, which is like ''Gets Hot'' except it's rolled before the gun fires; it deducts a Hull Point on a roll of 1, does nothing on a 2-5 and gives the shot ''Vortex'' on a roll of 6. It has ''Flank Speed'' like the other Cerastus pattern Knights if you want to increase the Atrapos' movement at the cost of shooting and ''Macro-extinction Targeting Protocols'', which gives all of its guns ''Twin-linked'' when targeting Super-heavies, Titans, Knights or Monstrous units, making it a decent Greater Daemon hunter and anti-LoW choice.
**Despite gaining both a flare shield and ''It Will Not Die (6+)'', the Mechanicum version of the Atrapos costs the same as its Questoris variant.
 
*'''Mechanicum Acastus Knight Asterius''': A Knight that rivals a Warhound Scout Titan in size, firepower and price, costing 625 points. It's got an Armour Value of 14/13/12, 9 Hull Points and is armed with two ''Twin-linked'' heavy conversion beam cannons. However, the real kicker is the fact it's armed with a Karacnos mortar battery, making the Knight extremely effective against both tanks and Infantry. It also has two Hull (Front) Mounted volkite culverins, just in case the dirty bomb launcher and giant cannons weren't enough firepower for you. ''Night Vison'' means those pesky Night Fighting rules won't phase it and ''Catastrophic Explosion'' means that anything caught in its death explosion will eat an AP2 hit.
**Unlike the other Mechanicum Knights, the Mechanicum Acastus Knight Asterius is the exact same as the Questoris Acastus Knight Asterius.

*'''Ordinatus Ulator''': For a mighty 1075 points, you get a giant sonic cannon mounted on what is essentially a stripped down Baneblade chassis (but with better AV than the actual Baneblade now). Despite seeing a bit of a nerf, it's still as terrifying as ever. It's a ''Super-Heavy'' with AV 14/13/13, 14 Hull Points, ''It Will Not Die(5+)'' and ''Reinforced Structure'' (a 5++ against shooting attacks), making it a very tough self-propelled gun. Its Ordinatus dispersion shield now only works during the first turn for attacks against the Front and Side Armour, with any indirect attacks that hit the Ordinatus reducing their Strength by 2 to help stop it being shot off the board on Turn 1, since that will be everyone's game plan when they see it. It has three volkite culverins, one Hull (Rear) Mounted and two Sponson Mounted, but the real reason you are bringing this thing is its main gun, the sonic destructor. Having seen a bit of a nerf, it's now a flat S6, increasing to S10 when it hits a Super-heavy, Knight, Titan, Building or Fortification, though it can still ruin an entire section of your opponent's army like nobody's business. Its ''Sonic Wave'' rule means you don't place the weapon's ''Large Blast (5")'' pieplate like normal artillery weapons, but you instead use it to draw a straight line from the front of the Ordinatus to its maximum 72" range, and every model (including flyers) that is under that 5" wide line, eats a Destroyer 1 S6 AP2 hit with ''Armourbane (Ranged)'', ''Pinning'', ''Murderous Strike(5+)'' and ''Ignores Cover''. Find the area where the models are bunched together and watch this thing clear a choke point like a shotgun clears a trench.
**A possible writing oversight is that the sonic destructor remains S6 when it hits Dreadnoughts and non-Super-heavy Vehicles, [[Fail|meaning a Rhino will be less likely to be Glanced or Penned than a Fellblade or Warhound Scout Titan]].

*'''Ordinatus Aktaeus''': THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!... *Ahem* I mean, for 800 points you get a Super-heavy transport with 14 Hull Points, AV 14/13/13 and 42-model Transport Capacity with a ''Transport Bay'' for Automata. The Mole (that's what Imperials called it) is armed with a Terrebrax rocket battery, which is a Heavy 12 autocannon with AP5, along with ''It Will Not Die (6+)'' and ''Reinforced Structure'', making it a hard nut to crack. Its main armament is its giant Aktaeus class seismic excavator macro-drill, which now, once per game, can create an earthquake at the end of a turn. Pick a point 6" from the front of the Mole, and '''everything''' with 6" multiplied by the current game turn (except the Mole) suffers D6 S7 AP4 ''Pinning'' hits. After this, the Mole can not move again for the rest of the game. Overall, this attack isn't great, but it can help clear out the surrounding area. It's odd that it just sets off an earthquake and then taps out instead of using the drill like a ram, but clearly the Mechanicum (and GW) think they're onto something with their man-made earthquakes. Where the Mole really shines is the fact that it has ''Subterranean Assault'', allowing it to Deep Strike its 42 Transport Capacity into your enemy's rear-line, and ''Terrestrial Disregard'', which lets you place an ''Apocalyptic Blast (10")'' on the table at least 1" away from Impassable Terrain and enemy models and then place the Aktaeus' hull over the centre blast template and place it on the table. With that done, every model and Fortification within 6" of the Aktaeus takes as S10 AP2 hit and must make a Pinning test, while the area under the ''Apocalyptic Blast (10")'' becomes Dangerous and Difficult Terrain for the rest of the game. While the Ordinatus Aktaeus is not as lethal as its sonic brother, it is a great super-transport for your army and it can effectively disrupt your opponent's forces when it arrives and drills them. Also, it looks awesome. 
**This thing is absolutely great in a ''Subterranean Assault'' army; with the main force in the Mole and the rest being transported in Termite Assault Drills, they can all pop up in your enemy's defences and start causing chaos.