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Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Mechanicum: Taghmata (30k)

2017-12-29T22:04:23Z

2601:147:4200:6280:CD84:9D92:D635:D321: /* HQ */

''From the [[Heresy|weakness of the mind]], Omnissiah save us'' 
''From the [[Dark Mechanicum|lies of the Antipath]], Circuit preserve us'' 
''From the [[Men of Iron|rage of the Beast]], [[Pauldrons|Iron]] protect us'' 
''From the [[NSFW|temptations of the Flesh]], Silica cleanse us'' 
''From the [[Horus Heresy|ravages]] of the [[Chaos Gods|Destroyer]], [[Machine Spirit|Anima]] shield us'' 
''From this [[Imperium of Man|rotting cage of biomatter]], [[Omnissiah|Machine God]] set us free''.

Ave Omnissiah!

These are the current rules for the Horus Heresy era Mechanicum, featured in Forgeworld's book called Mechanicum: Taghmata Army List.
If you're looking for tactics with the previous versions of the Mechanicum, found in the Horus Heresy books, you'd find them here: [[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Mechanicum_(30k)|Previous Mechanicum Tactics.]]

For the generals on how to play the game and the basics on listbuilding (as well as other tactica rules) you may return to the [[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics|'''index''']]. You may also find the Horus Heresy general thread as "/HHG/" on [[/tg/]]

== Why Play The Mechanicum? ==
[[File:Belicosa_Potentis_Omnissiah.png|400px|thumbnail|right|Start at the top, and requisition your way to the bottom.]]

You've seen the models, right? For the first time since Rogue Trader, the followers of the Machine God can finally take to the field en masse! You can embody the grimdark universe of Warhammer <s>40,000</s> 30,000 with your exotic Martian death-rays, terrifying Battle-automata and horrific Cybernetic monstrosities.

Also? Robots.

At the beginning the force used to be divided between the three ordos of the Mechanicum: the footsloggin MCs of the Legio Cybernetica, the more complete Taghmata (vanilla) and the extremely limited Ordo Reductor. This led to question why would anyone ever use Reductor when the Taghmata list [[Fail|had better siege]] engines. The most recent update, however, fixes this problem by making you pick Taghmata as a base and then you can specialize into Reductor or Cybernetica as if they were Rites of War, with their advantages and limitations.

The list is still fairly small, with limited unit choices, but a large amount of flexibility within many of these units, and each new Horus Heresy source book would seem to be adding new units to choose from. Furthermore, all the Knights are available to use, beside the newest GW ones (just give it time), and the Ordinatus will probably have you shot if you actually use it against anyone. Be warned, this is a slippery slope that may result in the loss of financial security, family, friends and house...

Also, '' '''BIG''' Robots''!

Unusually for Forge World, the Mechanicum is one of the cheapest armies to get in to. It's possible to start an army with a single Magos, and a pair of Castellax or small Thallax Cohorts(Adsecularis if you really want to break the mold!). The army lists, whilst capable of standing alone, are intended to be used as allies for the Legion army list. As a starting point for a new army, this is ideal, as you need even less to get have something you can field. Mechanicum units provide you with some unique possibilities for conversions, too! Take a cursory glance around Coolminiornot or a painting forum and you'll find some damn fine examples. Of course, if this is not your thing, Forge World's own models are more than capable of satisfying any model fanatic.

Gameplay wise, you are universally '''hard as nails'''. There are only 3 models with 1 wound, one of which has a 3+ save, another T5, and the last one is dirt cheap and full of upgrades, all of which have access to FNP. However, with a handful of exceptions your models are somewhat pricey (with one, very notable exception), following the trend of a bare bones high T multiwound unit with 4+ save costing as much as a delicious 2+ save Terminator, and it mostly goes up from there. Tough as you are, this is primarily a crutch for the vast the majority of your army is short ranged and with low In, though you hardly lack in long range if you wanna invest some points here and there. Also, their high Toughness and numerous wounds are very vulnerable to Instant Death and weapons that do not roll against Toughness to wound (such as Rad and Poison), and their majority 4+ save doesn't do much to prevent this, but at least Ld isn't much of a problem with the abundance of Stubborn and Fearless, as robots have no feelings ([[Men of Iron|except hatred for the living]]). Along with the usual slow speed and short range of your models, it will be a pain in the mechadentrite to deal with those skyhunter Jetbikes.

It should also be noted that the Ad Mech got two new army books in 40k: [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Skitarii (7E)|Skitarii]], and [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Cult Mechanicus(7E)|Cult Mechanicus]]

==Special Rules==

===Warlord Traits===
All generic Mechanicum Warlords from all three lists have the option of getting a Warlord trait from one of the charts in the main rulebook, or rolling on their own unique chart:

#'''Master of Mechanisms:''' Select one MC unit or vehicle squadron with at least AV12 or more in the same detachment. This unit/squadron gets It Will Not Die. ''Very useful, it gives the best part of Paragon of Metal to a whole unit and lessens your Battlesmiths' workload''.
#'''Perfected Targeting:''' In the Shooting phase, select a Heavy weapon within 6" of the Warlord. The weapon counts as Twin-linked for the turn. This can be done every turn. ''Generally agreeable as any Mechanicum army will have many Heavy weapons''.
#'''Predictive Augury:''' The Warlord and his unit's overwatch hits on a 5+. ''Exceedingly awesome with Myrmidons''.
#'''The Death of Flesh:''' All units in the detachment have Preferred Enemy (Infantry - All Types) while within 3" of an objective. ''Helps a lot when storming enemy points or defending yours, so even Cybernetica (who aren't usually concerned about Objective markers) could make use of this to kill the enemy scoring units''.
#'''Dread Rites:''' The Warlord and his unit have seen and done some serious shit. They both cause Fear and are immune to it, and also gain Adamantium Will. ''Useful for Melee Magi. Wasted on Battle-Automata, who have all those rules by default''.
#'''Battlefield Analysis:''' After deployment but before the game begins, select a piece of terrain in the opponent's deployment zone and reduce its cover save by -1. ''Can stack to ludicrous levels with the myriad of other cover-reducing options your army has''.

===Cybertheurgy===
[[Omnissiah|Psychic powers for machines]]. WHERE IS YOUR WHEEL OF CHEESE NOW?!

In order to successfully use a power, the cybertheurgist must take a Leadership test. Depending on the strength and difficulty of the power, a bonus or penalty may be imposed on the Leadership value of the model making the test (note that this is applied always to the characteristic value being tested, not the dice result)
If the test is passed, the power takes effect. If the test is failed, nothing happens, but if the test is failed because a double 6 was rolled, the power has both failed AND gone awry. Roll immediately on the cybertheurgy mishap table.

*'''Cybertheurgy mishap table'''
**'''1-3 Signal Corruption:''' The target battle-automata may only fire snap shots and fights with WS 1 in assaults for the next game turn.
**'''4-5 Corrosive Paradox:''' The target battle-automata suffers a wound with no armour or cover saves possible.
**'''6 Malifica:''' The Machine Spirit rebels and gains [[Men_of_Iron|self awareness]]! The battle-automata is now destroyed for the purposes of VPs and is no longer part of the controlling player's force. If part of a unit, it is separated and placed out of coherency with the unit. The battle-automata is still used in the previously controlling player's turn, but will from now on move towards and shoot at the closest unit each turn and then assault that same unit if able. Both sides may now target the battle-automata if they desire.

*'''The Powers of Cybertheurgy'''
**'''Rite of Celerity, Ld Modifier 0:''' Target battle-automata gets +2 Initiative for the duration of the effect.
***Very situational, Castellax and Thanatars don't need it (as it's very hard to wound them in combat except for Primarchs who will still hit first), but Vorax will be at I6, hitting before commanders (except Emperor's Children commanders),<s> avoiding being krak'ed to death by Marines</s> not anymore thank to FaQ/Errata, in legio cybernetyca Vorax will become I7 hitting even before EC or Custodes.
**'''Rite of Eternity, Ld Modifier 0:''' Target Battle-automata regains 1 wound.
***This isn't that handy: Battlesmith is probably just as likely to go off, but if you really need to heal that Castellax, or don't have a reason to use any other Rite, <s>then there's no reason you cannot use this ''and'' Battlesmith</s>. Email from FW confirms you may only use Battlesmith and Cybertheurgy if you can fire more than two weapons in the shooting phase (i.e, Myrmidon Magos). Paragons of Metal can survive being fire magnets and [[Tarrasque|regain up to 3W per turn]]...if you're willing to risk a Malifica.
****FW emails have no value,everyone can fake it,only FaQ/Errata can decide this,but good common sense and fair play let people choose between battlesmith and Cybertheurgy (only one becouse any infantry model can fire one weapon only. BUT if you are a myrmidax or have a machinator array you can swap the two shooting attacks for BOTH battlesmith and Cybertheurgy (if you are a myrmidax+machinator array you can fire also one other weapon)
**'''Rite of Fury, Ld Modifier -1:''' Target battle-automata gets +2 attacks for the duration of the effect.
***A Castellax on the charge will mathematically produce seven S6 AP2 attacks + HoW (or better, depending on loadout): 1 HoW, 2 normal attacks, 2 from Rage, 2 from Fury and all of that with Concussive, which in anybody's book is incredible.
****Even better,with Retribution come the ARLATAX FMC,that with arc scourge will do 3+1 (assault)+D3 (rampage)+2 from the rite,up to 9 attacks in charge at S7 ap2 Armorbane and concussive! And if it is the SCORIA BFF HOMUNCULEX it can fullfill the 10 attacks stat because of RAGE!
**'''Rite of Destruction, Ld Modifier -1:''' Target battle-automata may fire its weapons twice against the same target in its shooting phase, but cannot use ranged weapons in the next shooting phase.
***Useful at long ranges, like firing 4 Darkfire shots or letting loose [[Touhou|16 rotor gun shots]] at 30" with Voraxes, not to mention planting [[Rape|two Hellex Large Blasts]]. However, it's a ''life saver at '''close range''''' whenever you DON'T want to get stuck in melee: Unit with Meltabombs? Double fire from Mauler cannons gets them Pinned. '''Tarpit too close to your Calix?''' Double TL Mauler again AND double graviton template with -2Ld modifier stops their charge. [[Horus|FUCKING HORUS]] dropping in with [[Rape|12 Justaerin bodyguard]]? Drop that sweet instant-killing plasma on them, and make ''them'' roll for [[FATAL|Anal Circumference]]. Sure, you could have Overwatched, but those are mere snapshots, and there's always [[That_Guy|the guy]] who argues MCs only overwatch with 1 weapon. You don't need +2 attacks if the enemy never gets to melee. If you're planning to be the one charging, then ask your Magos if Fury is better for you.
****Now it explicitly says it can't fire its weapons ''at all'' until the next shooting phase. This would include Overwatch and Interception.
**'''Rite of Dread Castigation, Ld Modifier -2:''' May ONLY target ENEMY battle-automata. Both sides roll a D6 and add Leadership (Cybertheurgist for the attacker, Battle-automata for the defender). Battle-automata suffers a wound with no armour or cover save allowed for each point that the attacker's total exceeds that of the defender. If a mishap happens, do not roll on the table; instead, the cybertheurgist suffers a 'Corrosive Paradox' and deals no damage to the target, leaving him wounded and within 12" of an MC. Use with caution.
***Pretty useful as Magi (and especially Archmagi) have much higher Leadership than battle-automata, making wounds that ignore the battle-automata's usual advantage: their high Toughness. It can help kill Paragons of Metal or Thanatars very quickly.
**'''Rite of Immolation, Ld Modifier -3:''' Target Battle-automata self-destructs. Replace the model with a Large Blast marker. S = Battle-automata's Toughness, AP = Battle-automata's armour save. If a mishap happens while trying to use Rite of Immolation, don't roll on the mishap table; instead, the Malifica effect is automatically applied.
***While this one can be hard to pull off, it's amazing when it does. Use on Thanatars who somehow got stuck into combat (as they're usually going to be stuck there for the entire game) for a blast capable of ID'ing marines at AP2, or Castellax for a S7 AP3 blast that'll wipe out the unit they're up against (well worth it for 105 points, especially if you're up against a 250+ pts Assault squad).

==Armoury of the Omnissiah==
Being a heresy era list, we get some funky wargear that's not found in later eras/outside of the hallowed halls of the machine god. Augments may also be a thing.

===Ranged Weapons===
*'''Archeotech Pistol:''' S6 AP3 Master-crafted pistol. A plasma pistol-lite for the Magos that places safety above all.
*'''Conversion Beam Weapons:''' Could be seen as inverse Melta, inflicting greater damage at longer ranges. The only differences between the Heavy and regular version are that the Heavy has a large blast radius and the '''Firing Calibration''' rule, which means the unit has to remain stationary in order to fire, even if it is Relentless or a Vehicle. ''On the corner of a standard 48" x 72" table it has [[FATAL|60% of the table in a S10 AP2 Large Blast killzone]], but this would only matter if the battlefield is modeled after parking lot, so the S8 AP4 Small Blast profile is the one you'll more commonly use''.
*'''Graviton Weapons:''' Not to be confused with [[Grav-Weaponry|Grav-weapons]]; their wounding mechanism has nothing to do with the enemy's armour save. These Heavy weapons (not Salvo) possess no Strength, but have both Concussion and Haywire effects. They make the enemy take Strength tests; if the result is above their Strength they take a wound - a result of 6 always causes a wound. So they are effectively [[Fail|Strength 3]], wounding GEQs on 4+, and MEQs on 5+, making it ineffective against infantry blobs. That's not why you're taking them though. You take them to dump haywire on the super-tough vehicles of this era. If you have nothing better to shoot at then you can use it bog down infantry because it also creates Difficult and Dangerous terrain in its blast radius, so it can at least severely hinder their movement which is certainly useful e.g. against melee dependent Legions such as World Eaters, Blood Angles etc. Don't expect many kills though because AP4 in the space marine millennium is just... sub optimal (although you will pull some kills back through the broken ankles via failed Dangerous Terrain checks). Stick to hunting vehicles unless you can spam fire against infantry using Myrmidon Secutors.
*'''Graviton Imploders:''' The 40k grav-guns to which you're used to (unless you began playing 30K before the 40K version of grav came out, in which case kudos). Trouble with Terminators? Accept no substitute! These are Salvo 2/4 AP2 grav guns, so the roll to wound mirrors the armor save of the target, with 18" range. So now you can have it both ways. It has problems when faced with large blobs with poor/no armour, but those things are generally easily killed by everything else, so it balances out.
*'''Las-Lock:''' The Minie-Ball muzzle-loaded musket to the Lasgun's AK47. Shorter 18" range and fewer shots at Assault 1, but packs a nasty S4 AP6 punch. Of course, as of current, AP6 is completely useless, but S4 however is not.
*'''Mitra-Lock:''' The Scattergun of the Las Family. It's an [[Derp|8" range]] Las-lock, but it gains Shred.
**'''Induction chargers:''' An optional attachment to ''both'' Las-locks AND Mitra-locks, it upgrades them to Assault 2.
*'''Maxima Bolter:''' Storm bolters with 50% more shots but 50% less range. Too bad it's Assault instead of a Pistol, so it doesn't give you +1 attack or the ability to fire it Gunslinger style, while still having a measly 12" range.
*'''Mauler Bolt cannon:''' Spiced-up Heavy bolter, with S6 AP3 Pinning, but keeping the short-ranged trend at only 24".
*'''Phased Plasma-Fusil:''' S6 AP3 Salvo 2/3 plasma that [[Tau|doesn't get hot]]. Since most of our dudes are Relentless, Salvo isn't really a concern. They are terrifyingly efficient marine wood-chippers.
*'''Phosphex Weapons:''' Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore's [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx5N-4JvVyk| preferred fragrance], this is your [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napalm napalm]/space [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_phosphorus_munitions white phosphorus], as it burns, it's poisonous and stick to surfaces. As if its S5 and AP2 wasn't going to ruin your opponent's day quite horribly enough, it also possesses Poison 3+. The '''Lingering Death''' rule causes the blast radius to remain on the field and become Dangerous terrain and, after scatter, '''Crawling fire''' lets you move the marker up to 2" in any direction so long as it covers more models, making it incredibly effective against units that are about to charge you, and with a lowly 6" range for the bomb version that's basically the extent of their use. Fortunately Medusas & Lightnings are capable of firing Phosphex munitions at a much greater range.
*'''Photon Weapons''' Funky disco-light ray guns that have '''AP2''', Blind and ''LANCE'', but also Gets Hot. Comes in Gauntlet (12" S5 Assault 2, no lance), Thruster (48" S6 Heavy 2) and Darkfire cannon (60" S7 heavy 2) sizes -- ''A glimmer of light upon this Armoured Ceramite'd millennium''.
*'''(I)Rad Weapons:''' Chernobyl guns, these are what you get if you rip out a cathode ray tube from an old television and soup them up. They shoot [[Awesome|''Fleshbane templates'']], and even if the enemy survives he'll die later of space-cancer, represented in crunch by '''Rad-phage''', which means unsaved wounds leave the model with a Toughness and Strength penalty [[FATAL|''for the rest of the battle'']]. They come in Lucifex (pistol), Cleanser (assault) and Engine (Heavy) sizes, and the largest one gets [[Rape|Torrent and AP3]].
**'''Rad grenades:''' Special grenades that reduce the enemy's toughness by one until the end of the assault phase, yours or your enemy's. Note this ''does'' affect Instant Death thresholds.
*'''Rotor Cannon:''' Basically a Salvo Lasgun. Most of the things that can take it are Relentless, so it's a nice way to add volume of fire, but more importantly, at 30" range. They're still S3, so don't get too worked up.
*'''Volkite Weapons:''' The original Martian ray guns®. Dating back to the Age of Strife, they were in the process of being replaced by the bolter as the preferred weapon of the Space Marines due to difficulties in production and maintenance.Volkite weapons have the '''Deflagrate''' special rule, which means each unsaved wound caused inflicts another automatic hit. Additional hits this way cannot cause yet more hits. They come in five flavours: Serpenta (S5 Pistol), Charger (S5 Assault 2), Caliver (S6 Heavy 2), Culverin (S6 Heavy 4) and the monstrous Carronade (S8 with Haywire and a beam effect that lets it hit everything in a straight line in front of it, with '''AP2'''). However, while they have higher Strength, they suffer from a short range and commonly have AP5.

===Melee weapons===

*'''Corposant Stave:''' A stun baton cranked up to 11. Str +1 AP4 Concussive and Two-handed weapon with Haywire. Versatile, can be useful when hunting anything Carapace-armored and even Battle-automata, like enemy Mechanicum. Too bad it's eclipsed by better options.
*'''Heavy Chainblade:''' Different to the main rulebook's Heavy Chainswords, these +2S AP4 Two-handed chainweapons are available for your common troops, which means it's easily massed, and their strength is enough to ID guardsmen and be a threat to vehicles.
*'''Paragon Blade:''' +1S AP2 Specialist melee weapon ''without'' Unwieldy that inflicts Instant Death on a wound roll of 6. Archmagos Prime exclusive, but unless he is a Malagra, he has better things to do rather than being stuck in melee. And even there, his relatively low Initiative & number of attacks and high Toughness means that, unless the enemy has Instant Death, he is better off with a Chainfist. But can be easily be combined with Toughness-decreasing items like Rad grenades and Furnaces to deliver armour-ignoring Instant Death to Space Marine characters before they can power fist you.

===Equipment & Special Rules===

*'''Abeyant:''' A special ride for your Magos, this gives him +1 Wound, Move Through Cover, Very Bulky, IWND and '''Hardened Armor''' (re-rolls failed armour saves from template or blast weapons, but reduces charge, sweep advance and run moves by -1" and counts as Void Hardened in ZM). Damn good value for its price.
*'''Augury Scanner:''' No unit can infiltrate within 18" of the unit. In addition, grants Interceptor to the unit's Rapid fire & Heavy weapons but only against enemies ''within 18" of an Augury scanner'' turning this from an auto-include item to situational, namely, to keep someone from infiltrating with a melta near your tanks' rear AV. ''Keep in mind 18" is the range of Graviton Imploders, and your forces have lots of low AP weapons''.
*'''Battlesmith:''' If a Battlesmith is in base contact with, or embarked upon, one or more damaged vehicles during the Shooting phase, they can attempt to repair on of them instead of firing a weapon. On a D6 roll of 5+ you may do one of the following: 1) Restore a lost Hull Point 2) Repair a Weapon Destroyed result 3) Repair an Immobilized result to the attendant vehicle. If a Weapon Destroyed result is repaired, that weapon can be fired in the following Shooting phase.
*'''Cortex Controller:''' Any unit with a model within 12" of a guy with Cortex Controller no longer suffers from Programmed Behavior. This is phase based, so things like running, consolidating, etc., can take them out of range during a turn.
**If the model has both a Cortex Controller and the Battlesmith rule, they can repair wounds on Battle-automata with the same repair roll. Hand out these to your Magi and Techpriests and watch your Castellax never fucking die.
*'''Cyber familiar:''' +1 to your invuln save, up to 3++, and lets you reroll failed tests other than Ld and Dangerous terrain.
*'''Cyber Occularis:''' Like servo skulls, but they're actually models now. They're Jetpack Infantry, bought as equipment by Magi and must deploy with him, but afterwards they can wander off on their own. They don't take up any transport space, but can only ride vehicles when accompanying their Magos. All models of the same detachment within 3" of them gain full Interceptor (no 18" restriction), and enemies within 12" of them get their cover saves reduced by 1. Nice combo with almost all your units. Unfortunately, they can't join units, but they have a 3+ save and Stealth, so bubble wrap them inside other units. Hilariously, having BS3 and a TL Laspistol they're better at shooting than guardsmen.
*'''Djinn-skein:''' Combos quite nice with Cyber-occularis. You can designate one unit within 6" of your Archmagos or any of his Cyber-occularis to gain +1 BS, including himself, and Barrage weapons can draw line of sight from them. It also prevents the scattering of units that arrive within 6" of him.
*'''Fusillade Attack:''' The model may [[Crisis_battlesuit|fire 2 ranged weapons]] in the shooting phase at the same target.
*'''Infravisor:''' Gain Night Vision, but Blind tests are taken at Initiative 1, but it's not like you had such high Initiative in the first place.
*'''Mechanicum Protectiva:''' Iron Halo for Magi.
*'''Nuncio Vox:''' ''Mixed older pattern of the current Locator Beacon-cum-Vox Caster''. Radio backpack that prevents the scatter of models that Deep strike 6" near the vox user AND allows Barrage weapons to use the carrying model's line of sight (range is still measured from the firing model).
*'''Servo-Arm:''' Models with the Battlesmith special rule may add +1 to their Repair roll result. May also make one additional Str 8 AP 2 Unwieldy attack in melee.
*'''Machinator Array:''' ''Older pattern of [[Dark_Mechanicum|Mechatendrils]]/Servo-harness''. Models with the Battlesmith special rule may add +2 to their Repair roll result. Adds +1 to wielder's Toughness and provides Night Vision. Also comes with Flamer and Inferno pistol, and you can shoot both in the same shooting phase or one of them and one of your other ranged weapons, akin to a Fusillade Attack. May also make two additional Shred Armourbane Power Axe attacks in melee. ''Since it let's you shoot two weapons it allows your Magos Dominus to use Battlesmith and Cybertheurgy in the same shooting phase''. Nice value.
*'''Lorica Thallax:''' Thallax armor, grants them a 4+ save and FnP(6), but prevents them from Sweep Advancing.
*'''Lumbering Advance:''' Models with this rule cant Run or make Sweep Advances.
*'''Rad Furnace:''' -1 Toughness to enemies locked in combat with them (e-mails to FW confirm Scyllax do not make any friendly troops -1T period) as well as granting immunity to Rad grenades and other Rad Furnaces, and makes Poison and Rad-phage only wound [[Mortarion|on a 6]]. Can now be taken by Magos Prime and Magos Reductor as well.
*'''Sunder:''' Attacks re-roll failed Armor Penetration rolls.
*'''Wrecker:''' Attacks re-roll failed Building Penetration and add +1 to the Building Damage chart.
*'''Secutarii Hazard Protocols''': Essentially replacing the Skitarii protocols, this raises their BS by 1, allowing them to make snap shots at BS2, but can't run and they reduce their Initiative and WS by 1.
*'''Titan Guard''': This rule only comes into effect in the really big games, as it gives the Titan Guards a re-roll on Morale and FNP checks when within 12" of a friendly Titan.

===Vehicle and Battle-automata Equipment & Rules===

*'''Anbaric Claw:''' [https://youtu.be/uRNVxHPJ0hM?t=15 Vehicle-mounted bug-zapper] that can be used once per player turn. D6 S5 AP4 Rending hits at I10 makes for a useful <s>car alarm</s> defensive system, but it hits ''all'' units near 1" of the hull (except for transported units), so rub your hands and exclaim "Clear!" each time you use it. It also hits Ramming/ed vehicles.
*'''Atomantic Shielding:''' The same as Legion Contemptors, 5++ save against shooting and explosions, 6++ against melee. If the Battle-automata explodes, add D6" to the radius.
*'''Battle-automata Power Blades:''' AP2 Rending weapons. Being MCs, Battle-automata melee attacks are already AP2, so the main use for them is the extra attack (because they are counted as a weapon) and, with some luck, some armor penetration due to Smash getting worse in 7th Ed.
*'''Blessed Autosimulacra:''' Weaker version of IWND, regaining a HP on a 6.
*'''Enhanced Targeting Array:''' +1 BS, and reduces enemy cover save by 1.
*'''Flare Shield:''' Front facing force field that reduces the strength of incoming frontal shots by -1. Template/Blast weapons get a -2S reduction instead, but melee/Destroyer hits are unaffected - ''Flare shielded vehicles are nigh impossible to destroy in ranged combat, much less if they are constantly being repaired/regenerating. Needless to say, [[Cheese|abuse it]].''
*'''Cybernetica Cortex:''' The Battle-automata's synthetic brain, which takes them from mere battle [[servitor]]s to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminator_(character_concept) T-800] stats. Since "Battle-automata" doesn't exist as a rule, this is what usually identifies them as such. It grants them a whole set of rules: '''Fearless''', '''Adamantium Will''', '''Cybernetic Resilience''', '''Fire Protocols''', '''Machine Creature''' and '''Programmed Behaviour'''.
**'''Fire Protocols:''' Now separate from "Programmed Behaviour", it enables the Battle-automata to shoot up to three weapons each shooting phase. Doesn't say anything about Overwatch or Interceptor, tho.
**'''Cybernetic Resilience:''' Successful wounds scored by Poisoned weapons must be rerolled, but Haywire wounds them on a separate D6 roll of a 6, all kind of saves allowed. They also reroll Fleshbane wounds, but can you get that 1?
**'''Machine Creature:''' This thing never scores. EVER. Still denies as normal.
**'''Programmed Behavior:''' Unless within 12" of a friendly model with a Cortex Controller or already locked in combat, the following restrictions are placed on the units:
***'''Target Priority:''' If an enemy model is within 12" and in line of sight during the shooting phase, the Battle-automata must fire all its weapons against the closest enemy unit it is able to harm. If that's not the case, then they are free to select targets as usual.
***'''Onslaught:''' If an enemy model is within 12" during their assault phase, the Battle-automata must attempt to charge the closest enemy unit. Note that the Battle-automata may still only charge the same unit it fired at in the Shooting Phase. If consolidating after combat, they must do so towards the nearest enemy model if there is one within 12". ''The most noticeable "disadvantage" of unnacompanied automata, if tarpits get within 12" range, that's it, you're facing them in CC instead of doing something useful''.
***'''Methodical:''' May not make Sweeping Advances or Run - ''After Onslaught forced you into combat, Methodical prevents you from finishing them. Remember! An unattended Battle-automata can be easily lured away and may not make back its points''.
*'''Paragon of Metal:''' If a Cybernetica Cortex turns machines into T-800s, this turns them into freaking Ultron. Paragons of Metal aren't subject to Programmed Behavior and gain IWND and Rampage, which is nice because they only come in units of 1 and they will become [[DISTRACTION_CARNIFEX|fire magnets]]. However, instead of Cybertheurgy mishaps they go full rampant, becoming [[Iron_Men|Malifica]].
*'''Reactor Blast:''' When killed, Battle-automata explode on a D6 roll of 6 - ''Being a S4 explosion it's more of a "farewell fuck you" to the offending unit rather than a danger to your automata''.
*'''Shock chargers:''' Adds 'Concussive' to all melee attacks, ''including'' Smash and Hammer of Wrath hits, though it doesn't give an additional attack due to not being a melee weapon per se.
*'''Volkite Sentinels:''' Independent pintle-mounted Volkite chargers with their own cogitator, they can be fired in addition to the host vehicle's weapons without penalty and against different targets.

===Relics of the Dark Age of Technology===

So, Conquest gave us couple of new toys! Relics are powerful items product of mankind's golden age. You can buy only one of each per army, and only for a non-unique IC, so no cloaking array for Draykavac or something. As for the January 2016 FAQ relics require your opponent's consent to be used. be careful about building lists that break without them.

In a campaign you're only allowed one character with a relic, which you'll be stuck with for the rest of the campaign, so be sure of your decision. If the relic bearer is killed, the side that killed him can choose to play a Relic Hunt mission, where the winner steals (or recovers) the relic, even if it's a Legion specific one, but a Draw means that relic is effectively lost for everyone. Still, you can always opt to play a 'Relic Hunt' mission at the beginning of every campaign phase to [[Blood_Ravens|acquire]] FREE relics, where your war zone-assigned character must be deployed. That way you can [[Adeptus_Mechanicus|divert lots of resources to hoard up on relics]], even getting duplicates of the non-faction-specific ones, by rolling a D6 on the 'Relic Uncovered' table below. As Mechanicum you should do this [[Fluff|EVERY time]]. Of course, this only matters when playing missions instead of casual gaming, so you could put one of each on your Archmagos and become the avatar of the Omnissiah. Enjoy!

*'''#1 Nanyte Blaster:''' The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_goo| Grey Goo] gun of uncontrolled carnage!!! It's a S5 AP2 Fleshbane weapon, where if it kills anyone you centre a large blast over the dead model on a die roll of 4+, causing a S5 AP2 hit to those underneath it. Unlike Volkite, each model who dies to this can cause ''yet MOAR'' large blasts on further rolls of a 4+. All you need to do is get one casualty and you can wipe out an entire unit! Smashing!
*'''#2 Warp Shunt Field:''' 3++ against shooting, however for every save of a 6+ (against direct fire weapons) the shooting unit suffers D6 S5 hits. ''Feeling envious, Satarael?'' And it only costs 20 pts more than a Cyber familiar, but only works at range. This is the only risk-free defensive relic.
*'''#3 [[Warp_Spiders|Phase Walker]]:''' Each moving phase, instead of moving you may place the bearer ANYWHERE you like, counting as having just deep struck but with no scatter. If you move through a solid object you have to take a Dangerous terrain check for EACH solid object you went through (including all models) so be wary of abusing it in City scenarios. If your dude also has Move through Cover (i.e.: Abeyant or Reductor), then feel free to abuse it. Works well for solo characters since they can't move with their unit.
*'''#4 Combat Augment Array:''' Once per game, at the beginning of any of the controller's player turn, he may count any '''single''' die (only 1) rolled as an automatic 6 (Emails from FW confirm). However, he must also pass Toughness tests for each remaining wound. Yes, your T6 Magos also thinks the flesh is weak. If he fails he suffers a wound with no saves or mitigating FnP rolls of any kind. A Cyber Familiar can mitigate the danger by granting a re-roll and an Abeyant gives you IWND, and you were taking both of them anyway. However, you're paying 35pts for '''one''' guaranteed 6 - better take a Paragon blade with your Archmagos (Malagra or Reductor) and instakill that pesky Thanatar or enemy Archmagos, for none of those have Eternal Warrior.
*'''#5 Cloaking Array:''' Once per game, at the ''beginning'' of ANY game turn you may make yourself invisible for that whole game turn (ie. on the 3rd turn both in your and your opponent's turn, thus starting on your enemy's turn if he goes first). You cannot be shot or charged at unless the enemy unit contains psykers or daemons, in which case the array immediately shuts down (so now ''everyone'' can hit you, not just the previous two). Unfortunately you cannot activate it while attached to a squad or if engaged in close combat already. You also cannot shoot, assault, move or ''do anything at all'' - Can't even perform actions that don't count as shooting, like Bombardment attacks. So your model stands on the same spot invisible but doing nothing during a whole game turn. Note that characteristics remain active and can actually perform actions that don't need to be declared - for example, units still arrive with no scatter near an invisible Djinn-skein user and artillery can still draw LoS from him. By its nature it benefits ranged, lone characters more than melee ones. There are relics easier to use than this one, though - very situational and LOTS of limitations.
*'''#6 [[Void_shields|Void Shield]] Harness:''' The Omnissiah preserves you with a Voidshield for your dude. It's a large blast-sized shield, centered on your dude but protecting anyone that fits inside. Glancing, Penetrating and Destroyer hits will collapse the shield, but it can be restored at the end of your turn on a 5+, and with AV12 you'll be immune to most small arms fire. However, a result of Explodes! will overload the shield, disabling it for the rest of the game and placing a S6 AP4 Pinning Large Blast template centered on the bearer, so ''keep away from meltaguns'' (or deepstrike some of your own to watch some enemy-HQ-flavored fireworks). Being Mechanicum you can slap this on an unkillable magos inside of an unkillable mech raider, assuming you are going for maximum trolling (and really, who isn't?).

====Mechanicum exclusive relics====
*'''Cortica Primus:''' Nice piece of equipment! Counts as Cortex Controller which gives you ability to cast those awesome Cybertheurgy spells on the ENTIRE unit of Battle-automata, but if you roll Mishap, its result is modified by +1 for every additional model in a unit (so a unit of 3 would have a +2 modifier). Only the new (Arch)Magos Dominus can use this properly and that's actually fair, although it has its risks: Imagine the might of a [[Tzeench|double-tapping]]/[[Khorne|angry]]/[[Nurgle|regenerating]]/[[Slaanesh|lightning-fast]] MC SQUAD, the [[Deathstar_Units|Deathstar]] to end all deathstars...[[FATAL|unless they '''ALL''' turn Malifica on him]].
*'''Contagium Mechanica:''' Spoopy Scary sentient computer virus that comes to destroy enemies of the Omnissiah! Well, at least their vehicles. It is a 12" Assault 1, Haywire weapon. If vehicle survives this DEVASTATING hit, then it starts to spread the virus itself. In each of your subsequent Shooting phases, each vehicle within 12" of the survivor (and the survivor itself) takes a hit from the weapon. Every vehicle that survives then become infected, and everything goes round 'n round until there are no more tanks to destroy... Awesome. Keep in mind that if the enemy manages this poorly you could have a robo plague bouncing up and down his line hitting tanks multiple times. . . or bouncing up your own vehicles if he gets an infected machine up in your grill. Use with caution.

==Taghmata Unit Analysis==

The main army that uses pretty much everything but is the baseline for all Mechanicum. Taghmata's advantages lie within the immense power and variety that can be possessed by a Magos Prime, without the compromises that must be met when playing as Cybernetica or Reductor, so unless you tailor your army to a specific theme/Style, you'll basically be using this mostly.

===HQ===
*'''Magos Prime:''' Now with Independent Character and Precision Shots! They [[Forgeworld|MUST BUY]] a Techno-Arcana, so they start as expensive WS3 Consuls…and they get even more expensive, but being Mechanicum lords they make up by having a huge amount of customization options, like a Jetpack to have [[Crisis_Battlesuit|flying heavy weapons]] that keep up with Thallax, or go solo, etc. – so many they have a whole section for that [[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Mechanicum:_Taghmata_(30k)#Magos_options|'''here''']]. Besides his wargear and Arcana he can be upgraded to Archmagos, becoming kind of like <s>a Praetor</s> a freaking monster with Relentless (to properly use those Heavy weapons of his without ''needing'' a Jetpack) T5, W3, BS5 and a 2+ save; up to [[Chapter_Master_Smashfucker|'''T6 W4 IWND and 2+/3++''']] with the Machinator Array, Abeyant and Cyber-familiar so many builds use – he’s already expensive, you might as well equip him nicely. The upgrade also unlocks 3 awesome options: the mighty Paragon Blade, the Archimandrite Techno-Arcana and, if he’s the Warlord, a Djinn-skein to greatly help your army. Makes sense you can only have 1 Archmagos in your army. The '''Orders of High Techno-Arcana''' are like space military PhDs that pretty much dictate how you're going to play, and are the following:
**'''Archimandrite:''' Archmagos exclusive, so there can be only one. ALL vehicles in the detachment (so not allies or LoWs) [[Iron_Hands|gain IWND]] (replacing Blessed Autosimulacra) ''by his mere presence'' and, if he is the Warlord, adds +1 to Reserve Rolls. He allows you to field some of the most fearsome Mech(anicum) lists in the game, especially when most of your options are Flare shielded, not to mention it comboes well with deepstriking Thallax, LRs with Explorator Augury Webs and makes your flyers (your army's weakest section) arrive faster and last longer - ''Overall the most supportive arcana. Coupled with a Djinn-skein and multiple Cyber-occularis he becomes the most supportive unnamed character ever.''
**'''Malagra:''' Heretek and MC hunters, they get +1WS and +1 Attack as well as Preferred Enemy (Characters), Monster Hunter and Precision Strikes. If you want your Magos to be a Mech-assassin and get up close and personal, he is your go-to guy. At I4 most CC characters are likely to hit faster than him, but properly equipped (which makes him even more expensive) he should be able to tank the damage and punch some skulls out. Good for one thing only, he kinda ''needs'' Archmagos stats to stand out, otherwise he'll be like the Legion Champion: a discount version of something better, useful for one thing only - ''The best recipient for a Combat Augment Array and Paragon Blade.'' FAQ update: as of the last FAQ, if a unit contains anything you have Preferred Enemy against, all attacks against that unit get the PE rerolls. Given almost every non-vehicle astartes unit contains a Character (the sergeant), a Malagra can give their unit PE against most of an astartes army.
**'''Myrmidax:''' Makes him a Myrmidon Lord...lord, gaining Fusillade attack, Hatred (Everything), Lumbering Advance, Precision shot on a 5+, but most importantly, Relentless, meaning he doesn't need a Jetpack or the Archmagos upgrade in order to move and shoot those sweet heavy weapons (of which ''he can fire 2''), although BS5 does help. Furthermore, Photon thrusters now don't overlap with the best options, and he can take two of them! [[Dakka|Four S6 Lance AP2 shots]] are bound to make some damage. Hatred means he's no slouch in melee, but you'll want him shooting all game long - ''Overall, the shootiest Magos.''
**'''Ordinator:''' Not to be confused with the proper Magos Reductor, their roles don't overlap, but can actually complement each other nicely. All of his attacks have Armourbane and Wrecker, and he also has one Bombardment attack (Ordnance D3, Large blast, Pinning, Armourbane, Wrecker, S8 AP3 One-use) which is one of the few Large blasts you have access to as a regular Taghmata, although it needs LOS. Regarding Armourbane, you already have lots of anti-tank stuff already, although an Armourbane Photon cannon is one of the few thing that can and WILL kill even a Flare shielded Armoured Ceramite Spartan, and if he can kill those he can kill anything with an AV. But maybe you want to have half your army shooting at it for the entire game, it's up to you. You don't want to know what an Ordinator [[Rape|does]] with a [[FATAL|Wrecker Armourbane Conversion Beam at full range]]. A regular Meltagun is also nice for him as Armourbane ignores Armoured Ceramite (and is independent of range unlike the Melta rule), and doesn't need Relentless – ''The Myrmidax shoots more but the Ordinator shoots stronger''.
**'''Lachrimallus:''' The most resilient Magos, his 5+ FNP will make your enemy weep cursed tears of rage each time he fails to kill him. He also makes Tech-thrall units come [[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Imperial_Guard/Death_Korps_of_Krieg_Assault_Brigade(7E)|back from the dead and into Ongoing reserves]] on a 5+, and forces you to take at least one unit of them. This guy won't go down quickly, if you're taking an Archimandrite and sizeable numbers of well equipped Thralls, take this guy. The former allows you to field those Thralls quicker, and the latter makes them return into reserves for free, potentially maximizing cost effectiveness. Also notice unlike the Archimandrite, this guy ''does not'' need to be the Warlord to use his bonus - ''Makes your Thrall screens recyclable, but that's not necessarily an instant win button: you'll need several squads to make it count, your enemy DOES receive VPs for killing them and they still have a 2/3 chance of dying for real. Keep them cheap so you can afford other things to do the real damage''.
**'''Macrotek:''' Enginseer lords, they reroll Battlesmith tests and can take Enginseer Tech-Priests Auxilia (Enginseer only) as troops, as well as allowing an extra fortification (unless forbidden by the mission). Given that Battle-automata can't score anymore it makes sense to give them Troop (scoring) Enginseer escorts with Cortex controllers, and/or he himself should be given both a Cortex controller and a Machinator Array to repair Battle-automata on a rerollable 3+. - ''Toppling a Castellum Stronghold isn't just anything, imagine now 2. Bringing 2 Turbo Laser Destructor-armed Primus Redoubts will get you shot, though''.
**These sphincters are ridiculously durable. If you created a Magos character for a Conquest campaign (HH4), the progression and wargear can take him up to '''T7'''. Yes, like a fucking Castellax. Properly built they can tie/beat Smashbubbler(link?)(Link or it didn't happen). http://boards.4chan.org/tg/thread/36435186/horus-heresy-conquest#p36450691. However, '''NO MAGOS HAS ETERNAL WARRIOR''', meaning most builds need the upgrade to T6, and even then a lucky (or Combat Augmented) Paragon Blade can be the end of your 200pts+ model, a very common weakness in this army, get used to it/kill Paragon wielders ASAP (you have Precision shot). You better get that 3++ save.

*'''Magos Dominus:''' What the average neckbeard has become by the 30th millennium. Your librarian equivalent, Dominus are your only other vanilla HQ options beside special snowflakes. They come with a Cortex Controller to better direct your Battle-automata, but you're actually bringing them for their sweet Cybertheurgy powers, for Techpriests arguably do a better job at mere robo-herding, and it's not like unsupervised Battle-automata begin to [[Tyranids|rip out each other's bits]]. Having seen lots of changes since their first iteration, their price increased a little and they're still NOT ICs, but gained FnP(5+) and the '''Patris Cybernetica''' rule which allows them to join their Battle-automata pets so they're not in mortal danger all game long. They can't tank hits for their Battle-automata though, because the enemy can ignore them as the closest model when shooting. As for their wargear, they still have wide variety of RANGED options and only three melee options including his default power weapon. For those times he's not using Cybertheurgy or repairing his bots. While taking him naked/with enhanced survivability is also a good decision. An extra Power Fist hit from the Sevro Arm and a +1 to a repair roll is decent. However the Machinator Array is a superior upgrade overall. ''He's a cheap HQ that helps your robots, but that's about it''.

*'''Secutarii Axiarch''': A Secutarii HQ with stats more befitting a Space Marine. Of note besides the rules most Secutarii get are the Refractor Field, Radium Pistol, Arc Maul, and Titanshard Armor, which grants them not only their pimping statline and a 3+ Save, but also IWND. Axiarchs can also grant all Secutarii within the detachment one of four new rules: a 5+ FNP, Move through Cover, +1 to pen vehicles, or PE Infantry. These guys are far cheaper than even the Magos, but they're also a lot more specific in their use and in a force with few Secutarii they're rather wasted.
**The Axiarch is nowhere near as useful in shooting or melee as the Magus and Magos. Nor does he have the full set of options that they do. He's one of two HQs without the option of a Machinator Array. So he won't last very long in a fight. Making the best options for him a Master-Crafted Phonton Gauntlet to re-roll Gets Hot, a Power Fist to make the best use of his three attacks, than spend the cheap cost of taking the Omnispex, Augury scanner and Shattersphere grenades for Rad Poisoning and Pinning. His other options have low AP while Hoplites have little need of extra help to spam Haywire. Kitting him out with all Rad weapons doesn't make him anywhere near as good as Radfucker. Though he will make an good meat shield and assistant for the Archmagos.

====Special Characters====

*'''Archmagos Draykavac:''' The first of the [[Dark Mechanicum]]. This scary bastard comes with a Graviton gun, a Machinator array, can buy up to 4 Cyber-occularis for his Djinn-skein and gives PE (Infantry) to all units while within 3" of an objective when he is the Warlord. He also has a Paragon blade that you might never use because of his special rule '''Liquifractor''', exchanging all his attacks for an autohit iflicting [[Anal_Circumference|2D6 - target's T]] worth of wounds at AP2, or 2D6 - AV/2 Penetrating hits against vehicles. This happens at In1, but having T6 and causing Fear means he has no problem waiting for his turn to attack. His unique arcana gives all Walkers, SH walkers and MCs in his detachment a +1 on their charges and Sweeps so consider bringing some Dominus and Knights. He is also available as HQ for a [[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Questoris_Knight_Crusade_(30k)|Knight army]]. Costing less than an equally equipped Archmagos but having lots of unique stuff and an amazing model it almost justifies him not being an IC, so give him an Abeyant to increase his survivability.

*'''Archmagos Inar Satarael:''' This dude died once, ''[[Commissar_Yarrick|came back]]'' and decided he was done with this "dying" thing so he gave himself a Mounstruous Creature-sized body (were he any tougher, he'd be a Castellax) with T6, '''W5''', FnP(5+) and a '''Repulsor shield''' which protects him from S6 shots (ie. the ones that matter) on a roll of 4+, and on a 6 the attack [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ABGIJwiGBc#t=16 bounces back to the offender]. However, it doesn't work against Template or Blast weapons (ie. the ones that matter), so a normal invuln would be better. Sadly he gave his body a mere 3+ save and forgot EW, but he planned for that - roll a D6 when he loses his last W, on a 3+ he teleports home denying any VP for killing him and his body Explodes. ''Even in death, fuck your dudes''. He's not an IC but has '''Patris Cybernetica''' meaning he can, and should join a unit of Battle-automata: 3 S6 AP2 non-unwieldy attacks and HoW means he's more competent in CC than what his WS3 might suggest, and his WT pretty much turns friendly Taghmata 12" around him into Word Bearers, rolling an additional D6 and keeping the lowest two dice when making Morale checks. Because most of your army also is Stubborn this works out very nicely. Having a TL Maxima bolter, a Graviton Imploder and a Servo-arm (which usually are mutually exclusive) he's very cheap for what you get. ''But for a little more I could get me a Knight!'' Yes, but he is both an Archimandrite AND an Archmagos Dominus, having a Djinn-skein (with 4 optional Cyber-occularii), Cybertheurgy and a Cortex Controller - in fact he's the only way of having both in your army.

*'''Magos Reductor [http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/en-CA/Titan-Tech-Priest Calleb Decima]:''' Now with Independent character and Precision Shots! Decima is a very divergent Magos Reductor, exchanging 1WS, BS and the usual 4++ for +1S, W, Ld and a 5++. He has a MC Power axe and a Machinator Array which makes him decent in CC (hits at S6 but fights like a guardsman at WS3, though Master-crafted mitigate this), and with his longest ranged weapon being a MC Bolt pistol he's certainly not a shooty character either. ''Then what's the point?'' He's a Magos Reductor available for Taghmata use, meaning you can bring Battle-automata and non-Thallax troops without restriction while still getting his Reductor buffs: His unit has Move through Cover (ruins, minefields, rubble and treches) and is immune to Pinning from enemy shooting, all his attacks have Sunder and +1 on both Damage tables, which he can confer to a nearby Heavy/Ordnance weapon if he doesn't shoot (which he won't really be doing), not to mention he's the only Taghmata magos with a '''retinue''' of his own (Scyllax or Reductor Techpriests forming a unit with him, doesn't count towards FOC). ''So, no point taking him when playing proper Ordo Reductor, then?'' [[Heresy|Nonsense]]! Sure, he is weaker but he can upgrade to a 4++ save and has access to a <s>Land Raider</s> Macrocarid DT. Freed one Heavy support slot for you, your welcome. But pretty much the sole reason you want him is for his '''Curse of the Omnissiah''' attack. An awesome, if somewhat expensive ''support'' HQ, specially when taken as an allied one as the first book intended to. Not that he isn't good in a primary detachment either. Thallax lose their mobility advantage when he joins them, so put him in a Scyllax unit: now all five of his attacks ID MEQ's since the Marines he'll be up against will be T3!
**'''Curse of the Omnissiah:''' Makes him a death sentence to anything less than a Titan (provided you get a good roll), being able to unleash 2D6 Haywire Sunder shots, which means he can [[Awesome|scream a Spartan to death]] on a single turn. This counts as firing all his weapons - no extra Machinator shots. Unfortunately, it's very difficult to use, being Heavy One Use and having only 18" range. And being ''only'' T5 with a 3+/5++ save and no access to transports with fire points or Relentless means Caleb will face danger to use it ''and after'' using it, [[Derp|because it Gets Hot]]. Feel free to move when targeting a flyer, though. If you want to use it you'll probably need staying power, so take a Cyber familiar for a 4++ invuln and/or his retinue. Fun fact: Being S3 AP3 and hitting so many times, this thing can serve against guardsmen in a pinch.
**'''Optional FOC - Istvaan III Survivor Force (Campaign only):''' A throwback to when the Reductor list was 4 pages long, Calleb's [[Fluff|band of survivors]] has Move through Cover (Rubble, ruins, minefields & trenches), and receives Stealth in the first turn in exchange of being VERY limited in scope (eg. [[Fail|No battle-automata]], ouch). Good in ambush or cityfight scenarios, but not much else.
***'''HQ:''' Calleb (Compulsory) and Magos Reductor only - ''No Technoarcana nor Cybertheurgy for you. Ouch''.
***'''Elites:''' Tech-Priest Auxilia (Enginseer and Reductor only) and Myrmidon Secutors only.
***'''Troops:''' Thallax only.
***'''Fast Attack:''' Avenger Strike Fighter only - ''This also means Thallax will be your only melee''.
***'''Heavy Support:''' Ordo Reductor Artillery Battery, Myrmidon Destructors, Krios, and 0-1 Legiones Astartes Tank Heavy Support. ''Introduce the Sicaran Venator to Decima and love will b(l)oom''.
***'''Lord of War:''' As normal.
**'''Upgrade time! - Decima Invictus:''' And you thought he was the only non-Archmagos special character. This badass survives the crucible of Istvaan III and returns with red hot Hatred (Traitors) and '''Eternal Warrior'''. He now counts as an Archmagos and must be the Warlord (-1 to a piece of cover). Not only that, he gains Relentless to scream machines to death [[Awesome|'''on the move''']], his greatest weaknesses gone! However, he [[Fail|''doesn't'' get Archmagos stats]], and now your entire army must Sweep Advance when able and cannot Go to ground. Now he costs as much as a Land Raider...but he can get his points back with just one attack so it balances out.

*'''[[Anacharis Scoria]]:''' A SCARY MOTHERFUCKER introduced in HH6 for both Taghmata and Cybernetica, this is what happens when FW decides to create a character ''even more dangerous than Sigismund''. Let that sink in. Pioneer of the Dark Mechanicum and lord of the first Hell Forge, Mr. "I whoop Primarch ass for breakfast" comes with an impressive statline (WS/BS/S/T/I of 5, 4W, 3A, 2+/3++), Archamagos Dominus rules along with '''Eternal Warrior''', Relentless and Adamantium Will, two Archaeotech Pistols, Machinator Array (so yeah, ''he is T6'') and his AWESOME CCW - The Vodian Sceptre, which inflicts '''D3 AP 2 auto-wounds''' (or cuts 1 HP from a vehicle) for each successfull hit. Besides ignoring Toughness and armour, these wounds also ignore FnP and don't allow It Will Not Die rolls. As masterful Dominus he has his own Cybertheurgy power - The Rite of the Beast, which is cast with a -2 Ld modifier and affects every Battle-Automata model in targeted unit (''that's right, like the Cortica Primus relic''), granting them [[Rape|+1 to their Initiative, Move and Charge distanses, and re-roll of failed hits in assault]]. The downside is that when the power loses its effect, every model must roll a D6, losing a wound on roll of 1 with no saves allowed.
**If all of that is not enough for you, for 40 points he may purchase his special Xanathite Abeyant, which gives him +1 Wound (yes, '''5 Wounds'''!!!), +1 Attack, Move Through Cover, It Will Not Die, Hardened Armour ''and'' a Photon Thruster, which can be fired in addition to all other shooting attacks, aka ''he has 5 guns, 4 of them are AP3 or better and he can shoot 4 of them per turn (don't forget the Gunslinger rule for his two Pistols.)''. His Warlord trait allows all Cybernetica-Cortex units make Sweeping Advance and Run (essentially ignoring the "Methodical" part of the Cybernetica Cortex), and if they're outside Control range they must move to the closest enemy unit, charge it and try to make Sweeping Advance. He also may take The Homonculex - his own customized Arlatax Battle-automata with basically simply gets Paragon of Metal for free but if Anacharis dies it is removed from play alongside him (and since Scoria can be a '''T6 5W 2+/3++ FnP(5+) IWND Eternal Warrior''' - if you managed to get this guy killed [[Not_as_planned|things have gone tits up anyway]]). Or somebody dropped a Warlord Titan on him (honestly, it's not overkill). While Scoria himself isn't Fearless, his Patris Cybernetica rule allows him to join units of Battle-Automata which are, and so prevent being sweep advanced. That's [[Troll|assuming your opponent can dish out more damage than you]], of course. Emm ... Cool, I guess?
*** Scoria is a beast. Simply put, this guy can kill most of the Primarchs without breaking a sweat. Horus needs to be '''''lucky''''' to kill him as otherwise Scoria will kill him at the cost of 4 of his wounds.
****<s>The only Primarch capable of going toe-to-toe with this motherfucker is Mortarion, and that's only because of Preternatural Resilience rule meaning that Scoria has to get a 6+ to wound him</s> (Mortarion doesn't get wounded by Scoria on a flat roll which would trigger preternatural resilience, he is auto wounded when hit, Scoria doesn't suddenly need a 6 to hit him before auto-wounding him) <s>and his ID scythe can chew through any Scyllax or Homunculex bodyguards Scoria can bring.</s>

===Elites===
*'''Techpriest Auxillia:''' 1 Adept with 4 Servo-automata for 65 points. Plays similar to the IG Enginseer, except the unit can have up to 8 Servitors and 2 Adepts, and can take a Triaros DT. Adepts can be given a vox to act as forward observers, and Cortex controllers to heal Battle-automata (don't give them weapons, they should be busy repairing stuff). One of them can be upgraded to Magos Auxilia, who has Dominus stats but [[Derp|no cybertheurgy or cool toys]]. Because of the price and the Servo-automata's dependence on their Adepts, two of them are better than a single Magos. Speaking of Servo-automata, they can take nice weapons but the lack of Relentless will be felt with the better ones. Still, those guys are hella cheap: Eight T5 dudes with flamers cost 60pts and constitute an effective restriction order for most things - actually fearsome in Zones Mortalis (if you ever play that). Overall, the squad ''would'' feel like a budget Magos for insurance against broken stuff, but they get free Techno-Arcana.
**'''Enginseer:''' Adepts gain a servo-arm ''and'' a +1 to Battlesmith (so they pass on a 3+). Furthermore, each servo-automata with a servo-arm gives yet another +1 to your enginseers. Whatever you assign them to wont die, so stick them inside a custom LR, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up0t2ZDfX7E play the music] and proceed to collect tears.
**'''Lacryaemarta:''' The Adepts grant FnP 5+ to the unit and +1 to Adsecularis FnP within 6". Because resilience is their theme, a T4 Magos could be a nice addition. Great for Thrall hordes (especially with a Lachimallus and Revenants), although their own T5 servo-automata benefit more than the T3 Thralls.
**'''Reductor:''' Everyone gets Tank Hunters and Wrecker, Adepts gain a servo-arm that they can trade for a Conversion beamer or Graviton Imploder. They aren't Myrmidons, and with their BS3 and lack of Relentless you'll notice it. However, a Reductor Magos Auxilia can shoot a Conversion beamer as good as an actual Ordinator Magos, but cheaper. Equate the cost and you get yet another Conversion beamer, not counting your 4 tank hunting servo-wounds. In their hands, those guns make buildings explode on a 4+. Compared to ''3'' Myrmidons Destroyers, that's 85 pts saved at the expense of just 5% decrease in effectiveness. Who’s an insurance squad now?

*'''Myrmidon Secutors:''' Sturdy SOBs. T5 W2 3+/5++, 120 points for 2 Secutors and their Lord, up to 10-strong and come with Power Axes, but their guns are bought separate, of which they MUST buy two and can fire them like a cyber John Woo due to Fusilade Attack (not twin linked) and with BS5, Relentless and Infravisors they're damn good at using them. ''Lumbering Advance'' prevents them from running and sweep advancing, but with so much dakka and I2 you won't give a damn. Most of their weapon options are short ranged however, so they ''need'' a transport. A Triaros is a must if you want them to actually shoot instead of being a [[DISTRACTION_CARNIFEX|distraction]]. Unfortunately the Secutors have a lot of issues, especially when comparing them to other Mechanicum units, starting with their price. They're 50pts each on average, and while they have two Power Axe attacks base (three on the Ld10 Lord) and Stubborn to function as a heavy assault trooper, you'll want them shooting all match long rather than being tied in melee. As their rules are based around the shoulder guns. They're also not very good at their jobs.
**Against infantry, '''Irad cleansers''' would be a strong option; Fleshbane and Rad-phage template is good, however Irad Engines and Lightning cannons are better than any number of cleansers.
**'''Phased-Plasma Fusils''' might seem like a good idea for killing MEQ's/TEQ's, as even though Castellax can already take care of them the Secutors perform better in ranged combat while being worse at melee, so there's a trade-off there. They still don't do it as well as the Thanatars or the Myrmidon Destroyers however, but both of those are in the heavily contested Heavy Support slot, allowing Secutors to fill in for them if you've already got their slots maxed out. The Secutors also have the advantage of being allowed to climb in a transport, but they cost so much that even the cheapest transport the Mechanicum can get will make them a very juicy target. Losing the transport while still being too far away to do shit really sucks, especially for these guys.
**A unit of Secutors equipped with '''Graviton guns''' used to provide superb anti-armour as a squad with Graviton guns can ''reliably'' glance most vehicles and buldings to death, outright ignoring Armoured Ceramite, Armour Values and even Flare Shields. Better yet is that they're Relentless, so the Graviton gun's biggest drawback never affects them. Unfortunately they're beaten at their own game by Hoplites which are not only Troops, but much cheaper Troops at that. Even ignoring them there's many other workarounds, Castellax get Multi-meltas for free, can be pushed into melee and may take flamer(s) for Anti-infantry, Thallax behave in a similar way but are more mobile and can fill the role of Compulsory Scoring Troops, Tech-priests auxilia can bring 8 Tank Hunter Multi-meltas for 205 points and can also boost the rest of your MCs/vehicles and the new Vultarax also has a Haywire gun, but it's mounted on an FCM that will never die alongside other blob-killer weapons.
**For general use however, you'll probably find yourself taking Volkite-Chargers for some good dice-spamming potential (with a strong likelyhood of wounding), backed up by at least one Graviton Gun to help slow down the enemy at such short ranges, alongside causing lovely glancing hits. It's really one of the more lackluster units in the codex.

*'''Domitar Class Battle-Automata Maniple''': Essentially a melee automata geared for punching other Automata. It can also handle vehicles and buildings in equal measure thanks to four attacks at S10 and its WS4 make it so it'll hit all other automata on 3's (and D3 S7 Hammer of Wrath hits per model (roll once and multiply by number of models)). Its shooting is a shitty missile, but the Domitar shines even when getting charged thanks to the Graviton Hammers forcing opponents to make disordered charges, and with Crusader you'll be dictating when your charges happen quite often. Keep them away from tarpitts (Paragon of metal doesn't help out too much here, and getting hacked apart by a large mob of S6 fearless goons whose entire squad costs probably less than half your model is embarrassing). Don't go thinking that it can take on every monster unit either. Charge a few Castellax with Darkfire Cannons (or even go solo near their Bolt-Cannons) and you'll find that's a 175+ point investment down the drain.
**The price of these though is very prohibitive, a unit of Castellax with Siege Wreckers can do essentially the same job for less, and unless you know you're up against MC heavy lists there's very little reason to bring a Domitar. If you bring them anyway, send them after pricey and important targets, smaller terminator units and HQ, but keep them away from Dreadnoughts. Cortus Dreads can very well kick its ass for cheaper.

===Troops===

*'''[[Thallax|Thallax Cohort]]:''' Thallax are Jet pack Ogryn equivalents, being pretty hardy with T5 and 3 wounds. Their special rule '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMli33ornEU Djinn-sight]''' [[Markerlight|reduces enemy cover]] by 2 (too bad their main guns are AP5) and denies infiltration within 24" of them, so deploy them near your valuable assets. Their Lightning guns are somewhat short ranged (18"), but they're able to pull that [[Battlesuit|jump-shoot-jump]] trick and are effective against vehicles (even AV14 with some luck), but they don't pump out enough dakka to be much of a threat to infantry. Even though they're WS3, being S5|T5 FnP(6) means they're not too shabby in combat either. Good stats, but each one costs more than a multi-wound terminator. Thallax can be upgraded with one augmentation.
**'''Destructor''' (''Tank Hunters'') better allows them to attack AV, meaning they get to reroll Rending against vehicles. A '''Multi-melta''' is also a good choice, as in ~1500 pts games it's not that easy to Melta-proof all your vehicles and AP1 helps against infantry too. After the FAQ, Meltabomb squads aren't what they used to be.
**'''Ferrox''' gives them ''Rage'' and ''Rending'' in melee. Useful, since Thallax are not as numerous as you'd like them to be. Can't replace their Lightning guns but you won't be shooting with the Ferrox upgrade anyway. Synergizing well with Ferrox are '''Heavy Chainblades''', making them a threat to heavy vehicles now that Meltabombs are poof (9 guys shooting and charging averaging [[Spartan_Assault_Tank|5 lost HP]], 3 of them Penetrating). Now there's your melee AND anti-armor option combined. But don't blow up transports, you don't want to lose the Rage bonus, you want to be charging shooty units and using your firepower against choppy things. Avoid tarpits because to make their points back these guys need to be always charging, and ''they can't Sweep Advance''. Too bad Ursarax do it better, but at least Ferrox have stronger guns and can fill the compulsory slot.
**''Against MEQs'' take '''Phased-plasma fusils''', terribly efficient marine-wood chippers that effectively become Assault 3 in the hands of your Relentless minions. And being Djinn-sighted, cover won't save them. ''To kill Terminators'', however, '''Photon thrusters''' are your only option. It's the most expensive option, but 2 S6 Blind shots will make a difference, and even MCs (and Primarchs!) might feel more than a sting, all that from 48" away. They're also Lance, but at S6 no one cares, stick to your default guns for tank killing. ''For dealing with light infantry (T3) blobs and light vehicles (AV 10-11, rhino/fighter/land speeder territory'', '''Multi-lasers''' are a very cheap way of adding much needed firepower, S6 denying FnP and reliably glancing AV 10 on top of having long range. '''Irad-cleansers''' are very useful too, their Fleshbane templates felling scores of poorly armoured enemies, even making tough units take a ton of saves.
**'''Empyrite''' is only useful in Zones Mortalis and those environments where aerial deployment is forbidden, deepstriking by teleportation instead and gaining Void Hardened armour. '''Icarian''' is another useless upgrade, since it gives them Skyfire but only if they don't move, doesn't give them Interceptor, their guns are too short ranged anyway and emplaced weapons either already have Skyfire or are Heavy bolters. Not to mention they become Heavy support. Auto''pass''.

*'''Adsecularis Covenant''': The cheapest unit available in 30k, heck even in 40k its only outdone by Ork grots by a decimal point! (35pts for 10!) However in many ways it shows. The cheapest source of scoring bodies in the codex, they're a tarpit unit with low stats and even worse fighting ability. However, you can turn their measly Ld7 into ''Fearless'' at the cost of Overwatch and Sweep Advance (nearly an auto-include), and can upgrade their FnP6+ with Revenant Alchemistry, gaining ''Hatred'' and FnP5+ at the cost of Slow and Purposeful. Which can be further enhanced by nearby Lacryaemarta Techpriests and issued Carapace armour. So in essence, they can be turned into 20-man drooling cyber-zombie squads, resilient to regular infantry killing methods but still vulnerable to being blown to smithereens. Said Lachrimallus Magi can also bring them back from the dead on a 5+, but if they were upgraded with Revenant Alchemistry the returned squads won't even make it out of your deployment zone. Take this into consideration.
**Though equipped with Laslocks as standard (S4 lasgun with shorter range) they can swap this out for a Mitralock, giving them Shred in exchange for even shorter range... which is nigh unusable in the case of anyone using RoPT.
***It is possible to improve their shooting by buying them Induction Chargers, giving them an extra shot with the lock's, at a flat 15 points, a ten man squad with these costs 50 pts and puts out 20 shots, compared to a 60 points for the same number of shots if the squad doesn't have the Chargers. With a twenty man squad this is even better, 80 pts for 40 shots compared to 130 pts for the same number without Chargers. However, with BS2 you don't really want these guys shooting, especially considering the next option...
**Heavy chainblades augment them fantastically, buffing them to S6(!) and AP4 for some fucking filthy stuff. Against other AdMech or GEQ they are ''disgusting''.
***A 20 man unit of appropriately equipped Heavy-chainblade thralls can work wonders vs just about anything, especially when paired with Lacyraemarta Tech-priest auxilia to give them SV4+ FNP4+. If you wish to rules lawyer and lose all your friends, there is no explicitly mentioned limitation on their bonus. '''But don't do that.'''

*'''Castellax Class Battle-automata:''': After an arguably deserved price increase, losing scoring and can't be compulsory Troops, they're still powerful and useful all-rounder tough Battle Automata with marine-killing Mauler Bolters (S6 AP3 Pinning). Without list-tailoring on the enemy's behalf (like Plasma vets) a Castellax will hold its own against nearly everything thrown at it and can put out a lot of hurt in both the Shooting and Assault phases thanks to their Atomantic shielding, Str6, Rage, Shock chargers and ranged weapon options.
**For melee, Shock Chargers (Concussion on all attacks including HoW) can be exchanged for Dual Powerblades (Rending and +1 attack) which is an upgrade to be considered, but probably should only be taken if you have spare points left over for some reason. Rending hardly matters (they're AP2 by default and if you want to wreck armour, get Siege Wreckers) and you can almost always get more Castellax if you want more attacks. They may also get a single Siege Wrecker (S10 Concussive Wrecker), losing one bolter but essentially gaining four Smash attacks instead of just one, which can be pretty great. Don't forget to buy Frag grenades.
**For ranged combat, Enhanced Targeting arrays will help their Armour-ignoring guns to find their mark, and additionally worsen the foe's chance of surviving since if they're not making an Armour save, they'll be making a Cover save. Never buy Infra-vision. Getting rid of temporary stealth isn't worth always taking Blind at I1, let alone the extra points it'll cost you. As for their weapons, Mauler bolters kill (and Pin) infantry very well, however Multimeltas aren't as great a choice on this unit. If you know you're up against a multi-wound squad, or if your opponent's using a 2+ save model to block the bolters then you can use the Multimelta's to clear them out and finish off the squad with the bolters. In short it's situational, even for its intended role thanks to Armoured Ceramite and Flare Shields, making it more useful on something like Thallax that can get behind the enemy. Darkfire cannons are the other AP2 choice and a better one in general for the Castellax, despite their price. They fare better than Melta's at taking down 2+ armour (such as terminators) and with a long range that helps lay carefully slather pain on enemy Monstrous Creatures or Primarchs with bad/mediocre saves. The Blind rule can also tip the balance of power when melee is on the cards. Ignore the lance factor as at that Strength, you're still glancing on 5's.
**A Castellax is one of the best Battle Automata to turn into the ''Paragon of Metal'', turning this already versatile bot into a one-model wrecking machine. Give it a Darkfire cannon to blind enemy units and hurt vehicles from afar. Dual power blades will help against infantry trying to overwhelm it (+1 attack is nothing to scoff at), but a Siege Wrecker (buffs Strength to 10 in exchange for a bolter) allows it to tackle all manner of targets without resorting to Smash. Remember, a Castellax with dual power blades can get up to SEVEN attacks on the charge! Cybertheurgy can stack to ludicrous levels with them, but beware of [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41kzMU7vbbY Malifica]. Granted, Malifica is extremely unlikely unless it is a Paragon of Metal (any failed Cybertheurgy attempt will result in your death-robots turning against you!).

*'''Scyllax Guardian-Automata Covenant''': Defensive horde-masher tentacle-bots with a radioactive engine powering them. Any unit other than <s> a fellow Scyllax cov has its ''Toughness reduced by 1'' just by being in the same close combat</s> (Updated FW E-mail confirms Scyllax only makes enemy units -1T, and Scyllax are resistant to Rad weaponry and derived rules. Comparing most roles, Scyllax come off a smidge less efficient than Thallax, which are just slightly more expensive with a better statline and far more mobility. But the crunchy defensive melee properties cannot be dismissed. Scyllax can either put out a whirlwind of anti-infantry attacks which effectively deflagrate like Volkite weapons; or they can trade all that for one attack per model that is burly enough to ID TEQ's. These guys have a number of ranged options, replacing their standard Kraken bolters:
**If Defensive Assault is your ideal strategy, then load up on '''Flamers''' (available to all) and '''Rad-cleansers''' (available to only one in four, sadly). Template weapons can help whittle down a lot of blobs real fast (having that much Wall of Death doesn't hurt if you get counter-charged either).
**If you opt for ranged combat, you'll want the '''Rotor Cannons'''. Sure they're weaker in strength than the '''Volkite Chargers''' but they put out more shots the Volkites and your regular Bolters do, Relentless meaning you get to fire 4 shots at full 30" range. And they're the cheapest option! Even if you're up against 4+ saves, the heightened volume of fire means you'll inflict more wounds than Kraken Bolters.
**As for the other "1-in-X can equip Y" items, they're pretty self explanatory. '''Graviton guns''' help with slowing infantry and dealing with vehicles that got too close, '''Plasma guns''' help with taking out 2+ saves from range (handy if a player puts their Artificer Armour Sergeant in front), and '''Melta guns''' are good for leaving at home because your opponent bought Armoured Ceramite and you have better things to deal with vehicles and 2+ saves.
***These are not bulky! You could fit a large mob of 16 and a Magos with Rad-grenades in a Triaros and upset people.

*'''Secutarii Peltast Phalanx''': Old-School Titan Guard [[Skitarii]] with FNP, Relentless, and Galvanic Casters, these guys are the ranged botherers with guns that can either circumvent cover or blast without remorse. They're protected by a 4+ armor and the Kyropatris Field, a special shield that lets them re-roll 1's on a save if there are at least 5 models and reduces the strength of any shots targeting them by 1 if there are at least 10 models. While they all can buy arc mauls, power weapons, arc rifles, or radium carbines, you need at least 5 Casters to benefit from the last rule they have, which gives a one-time use ability that gives an ally within 18" Shrouded for the turn. Titans can even be shielded, but only if multiple Peltasts blow their use of it. The Peltast are your solid go-to ground units. Whereas your Tech-Thralls stand and hold backfield objectives, the Secutarii are particularly adept at besieging a particular area. Battle-automata may be more resilient overall, but it isn't particularly easy for them to footslog across an entire board. An ample tactic is to take a full unit of Peltast equipped with radium carbines (as it should theoretically have a higher damage output than the galvanic casters), stick them in a Triaros, and launch them towards a forward objective and plant themselves down under the cover of the Triaros. Anyone who gets too close will have to deal with 20 3-shot radium carbines at BS5. Are they expensive? Yes. Are they explicitly needed? No. But this is the Horus Heresy! Larger blobs of units gunning each-other down is encouraged. Essentially, the Peltast are an all-around decent choice for the Mechanicum. Not amazing like an Arlatax per say, but they allow you to mix up your play style and not have to rely on high toughness robots for once.
**No reason to take Phalanx anymore take 10+ of em and stick inside a Triaros or better Macrocarid, all equipped with arc rifle(different from 40k version),run into enemy lines disembark and RAPE everything have an AV value with a rain of haywire shots(unfortunately 2 shots at 6 inch,so usually a 10 strong squad will put something like 15-20 hits),better that any legion support squad with graviton weapon or meltagun and cheaper! and they will reach a target for sure because of Omnissiah blessed transports!
***alternative vision,with S6 arc rifle can be also good against other Taghmata MC due to haywire
****for conversion purposes use legion graviton gun,cheaper than take bits from online store, much more faster and will look even better!

*'''Secutarii Hoplite Phalanx''': Where the Peltasts shoot for a living, these guys have Arc Lances and boarding shields with 5+ Invulns. They don't get the bonus guns the other guys get, but their Arc Lances can shoot at S5 AP5 with Haywire and the Kyropatris field, meaning they aren't hopelessly outgunned. If you wanted a more punchy force, you could "buy power weapons or Arc Mauls for them" <- Only the alpha can do this. Put them in an Arvus lighter and WAIT WHAT? YOU JUST GUNNED DOWN A KNIGHT WITH HOW MANY HAYWIRE SHOTS? If it hasn't become clear yet, these guys are your end-all tankbusters. No armored vehicle, save titans, is going to survive a full squad of Hoplites shooting at them.

===Dedicated Transport===
*'''Triaros Armoured Conveyer''': <s>Dune Train</s> Not quite a [[Crassus Armored Assault Transport|CRASSUS]], but close. 14/12/12, 4HP The thing comes standard with a flare shield for all that -1 goodness. It also gets a shock ram giving you AV15 on your front when ramming and does haywire damage. the shock ram also inflicts d6 S6 AP5 hits on any unit it tank shocks in addition to resolving the tank shock and the shock ram doesn't count as a weapon so can never be removed by weapon destroyed results on the damage chart. Carries 20 and re-rolls failed dangerous terrain tests. Give it lesser IWND for 5 points. 135. Awesome. Great for getting things close. The Spice must flow.
**Volkite Sentinels are a subtle, but potent feature. Essentially they are two Volkite chargers than may target independently of the Triaros itself (and presumably the other Volkite weapon); these can be used to take out "Chaff" units (exceptionally important if you're using this in 40k).
**You'll generally give this unit the noble task of transporting the Omnissiah's servants. Myrmidons of both kinds are the most obvious use, it's effectively mandatory for Secutors as they all possess short range weapons, and with the most expensive weapon option for Secutors being the one with AP3 you will greatly appreciate the Twin-linked Mauler Boltcannon. Destructors too can benefit from this, the Graviton Imploder and Irrad Engine to be specific. Another possible useage is Tech-priests. Not to bad as almost any configuration of the Tech-priest is cheaper than Myrmidons; 8 Flamer servitors could be considered a very light version of the Irrad-Engine. The description indicates that it is fair game to use the FNP buff while inside the vehicle; take a minimum sized Tech-priest squad, 15 Thralls, load em up and maybe have some fun...? Its a stretch that one.

===Fast Attack===
*'''Ursarax Cohort''': These are Thallax's less agile but stronger and faster siblings(they trade jetpack for jumpack), with twin lightning claws (or Power fists) and Ironman chest lasers. the Volkite Incinerator isn't too great in CC, as four attacks at S10 almost always beats ONE S6 instant death attack (even if the target is T6) but if you get locked in multiple rounds it can be okay enough against T6 models. Having said that, swapping twin lightning claws for powerfists might seem like a good general idea since you're Initiative 2, but if you're fighting against Marines, lightning claws at S5 will put out more wounds than fists at S10.
**Also the twin-powerfists are 10 points each: ideally, if you're taking a large squad, nestle a couple into a squad to provide some tough tin-can opening power.
**A squad of 9 will put out (excluding HoW) 36 attacks. This costs 455 points and can be hillariously powerful against anything that isn't going to launch S10 at you or is packing sizeable numbers of Autocannons. Toss in say 3 Powerfists and you'll be good to against pretty much anything.
***Not a very strong option in the current custodes-medusa Meta but they can ID most of the stuff IF they survive(even in melee theyr low I is uncomfortable).
***They probably have a better life in Zone Mortalis,but price escale quickly,a squad of 3 in ordo reductor with 2 power fist can tell his own.
*'''Vorax Class Battle-Automata''': Got quite a buff; were made cheaper in points, WS4, have 3 attacks due to Power-blades now being pair weapons and the change in the wording of "Programmed behaviour" means its alot easier to use fleet, they can now also be in units of 6 too.
**They are still fragile, but they can seriously upset small units by hacking them apart with volume of attacks and generally can soak up enough wounds (T6, 3 Wounds and 4+ save is relatively durable) to withstand the enemy. Just don't be an idiot and expect to have a good day vs a sizeable tactical marine blob because you will have krak-grenade booted your back end. Though if your playing with Legio-Cybernetica, you may be a bad enough dude to abuse the shit out of native I5. They may also upgrade their rotor-cannons to have bio-corrosive rounds, which makes them poisoned (4+), but reduces their range to 15'. ALWAYS TAKE THEM, Vorax already want to be in close combat anyway, and vanilla rotor cannons don't have enough stopping power to be a threat to marines. Seeing as you already are going to be getting close with your Vorax, there is no reason not to take the Bio-Corrosive rounds.
*'''Arlatax Class Battle-Automata Maniple''': Hoo boy forget about the Domitar now, this thing will rip to shreds anything you set its sights at. Equipped with +2 strength lightning claws at AP2 in addition to its base strength of 7 which effectively makes it '''S9!!!''' And as if that isn't enough, its a '''JUMP PACK MONSTROUS CREATURE.''' Have fun zipping around the battlefield busting open tanks with 5 S9 AP2 attacks on the charge (and since it has frag nades as base, you don't even have to worry about cover). Since it costs the same as a Domitar, you may as well give it Paragon of Metal since IWND will come in handy. Like most of the other Mechanicum's battle-automata, it has automantic shielding which grants you a 5++ to shooting and a 6++ in close combat. It can replace each of its lightning claws with an arc scourge, which is a Strength User AP2 Melee, rampage, armorbane, concussive electric whip-lash for ten points each. Its debatable as to whether this is worth it. If you are getting it, its likely because you want to bust open a land raider, but the base lightning claws can do that just about the same with the added benefit of being S9. On second thought, the Arlatax can serve as a very effective monstrous creature/vehicle hunter (looking at you Leviathan dreads-- but please, then take it in a Legio Cybernetica list for that extra cortex range boost and that delicious Initiative 5). Even more, it has some staying power at range too with its inbuilt cannon (slightly worse mauler cannon as it is only S6 AP4, but you are only using these before you assault anyway) and Plasma Blaster (S7 AP2, gets hot, Assault 2, uh...not overkill at all) One thing is for sure, if you take one of these its going to be heavily focused. It only has a 3+ armor save with T6 which means while it is not fragile, it is not exactly the toughest battle-automata out there. GET BEHIND COVER. You want to get this guy stuck into close combat as soon as possible (preferably with monstrous creatures, because did I mention its is I4 as well?). Overall, it looks like the Arlatax can very well soon become one of the staple units of the Mechanicum as soon as Forgeworld decides to release a model. But hey, whats stopping you from converting a Castellax or Domitar yourself so you can use it now?
*'''[[Avenger Strike Fighter]]''' Your ground attack craft. Coming armed with the Avenger Bolt Cannon (36" S6 AP3 Heavy 7) and a pair of Lascannons standard its ready to take on any target, along with a host of options to suit either infantry or tank hunting, for infantry you're given the options of 6 Tactical Bombs (S6 AP4, Barrage, Blast, one use), 2 Autocannons or 2 Multilasers. For tanks you can mount 2 Kraken Penetrator Missiles (36" S8 AP1 Missile, Armourbane, one use) and pair this with the Battle Servitor control special option which give the Fighter Tank Hunters. For both roles, you can give the Fighter a pair of Missile Launchers (Frag/Krak). Your sole defensive anti-air weapon is a Heavy Stubber which can attack other targets than your ground weapons, also has Skyfire, use this to opportunistically(/desperately) take pot shots at enemy aircraft side or rear armour. Also, it comes with BS3, but as you'll mostly be attacking ground targets this is mitigated by the Strafing Run rule. It's not the most resilient craft though, at 12/10/10 with 2 Hull Points, and while the Chaff Launcher option (4+ invul against Missile type weapons) and the Supersonic special rule help mitigate some threat, prioritise Anti-Air threats first or the Fighter might not last long. (Written pre-Death from the Skies update, update if/when Forge World updates to bring flyers in line with said update.)

*'''[[Lightning Fighter]]''' Multi-role fighter that excels a bit more at dogfighting than the Avenger but can also play the role of ground attack craft if needed. Separating itself from the Avenger, the Lightning has BS4, already more capable an anti-air fighter, taken with just its stock pair of Lascannons its a moderately priced anti-air fighter that will do a pretty good job of keeping the airspace clear, which can be augmented by taking the expensive (But worth it) pair of Kraken Penetrator Missile (36" S8 AP1 Heavy 1, Missile, Armourbane one use) or a pair of Autocannons, virtually assured to wipe opposition out of the sky. If you want to get into ground attack mode, the Ground-Tracking Auguries upgrade will give you Strafing Run and Battle Servitor Control will give you Tank Hunters, you can take upgrades accordingly. For infantry, you get access to the Phosphex Bomb Cluster which is an absolute infantry shredder (Bomb 2, Barrage, Blast, Poison 3+, Crawling Fire, Lingering Death, Deadly Cargo, one use) but dangerous if you get hit before dropping it. (Dangerous Cargo: If you lose a hull point, roll D6, on 6 you explode.) Also available is a pair of Sunfury Heavy Missiles (36" S6 AP3, Heavy 1, Missile, Large Blast, Blind, Gets Hot, one use) for Marine hunting. Along with twin-linked Multi-Lasers, Autocannons and Missile Launchers (Frag/Krak). Vehicle hunting is, along with the aforementioned Lascannons and Kraken Missiles, you've got an Electromagnetic Storm Charge for vehicles or other Mechanicum units with Cybernetica Cortex (S3 AP4, Bomb 1, Haywire, Large Blast, Concussive, one use). Survivability is still an issue with 11/11/10 and 2 hull points, Chaff Launcher (4+ invul against Missile weapons) comes standard, and the Agile rule gives +1 to Jink saves, along with Supersonic to get away from AA, the last trick up your sleeve is the Ramjet Diffraction Grid which trades the cover saves you get from Night Fighting to decrease the strength of incoming shots by -1, which is definitely a good trade off as you'll be Jinking on a 3+ anyway. A lot of the upgrades you'll be sticking on this thing are really expensive, so consider whether you want an AA fighter or choose the Avenger if you want a dedicated ground-attack craft. (Written pre-Death from the Skies update, update if/when Forge World updates to bring flyers in line with said update.)

*'''[[Tarantula]]s''' Hot diggly dangingly, you have some cool toys with these. Everyone who has seen these before (particularly Solar Auxilia players who would appreciate them due to Nuncio-Vox) knows the drill on these already (Deep strike some nifty TL-heavy weapon love). However, being Mechanicus, you have some cool toys. Tech-Priest auxilia and Djinn-Skein Magos (unfortauntely, doesn't extend to Occulari) give you reliable deep-strike abilities. Models with Battlesmith allow them to fire normally.
**Twin-linlked Mauler Boltcannons, which can be savage in Zone-Mortalis from a defensive view point.
**Twin-linked Volkite Culverins can give you some reasonably priced anti-horde abilities, or just put out a healthy amount of S6-Deflagerate.
**Twin-linked Photon thrusters, in case you wanted to fry up some Terminators on the cheap.
**Quad-gun, because you wanna be an Aegis-line apparently (this is the most expensive option).
***With a few of these options, you would do well compare them to Myrmidons of either kind. Generally, they're cheaper, but their likeliness to hit is lower, but if your deep-striking them they're much more mobile, curiously.

*'''Vultarax Strato-Automata:''' A flying Castellax (FMC) with T6 (downgraded in inferno), armed with two Setheno Havoc Launchers which reroll successful cover saves that synergize well with their Enhanced Targetting array to further reduce cover saves chances, for a total of four S5 AP5 small blasts twin-linked @ BS5 no less; ''and'' an Arc Blaster, a three-shot S6 Shredding ''Haywire'' weapon, meaning a full Maniple of three can swoop in and destroy a Spartan in a single shooting phase (even a fucking Knight if you get around the shield), Tau-style. Because the concept of targets surviving more than one turn of shooting is foreign to them. The Arc Blaster may have as much range as a bolter, but remember Swooping FMCs can move up to 24", so add that to their range, and these guys have no trouble at closing in with their T6 (as of Book 7 Inferno) 3+ save protected by a Flare shield (yes, even though they don't have a "front AV"), and can further buy Blessed Autosimulacra, not even mentioning the fact you can only hit them on a 6+ when they are swooping, can Jink and can't suffer Pens like regular aircraft do (but are subject to Grounded Tests) -- Strato-Automata also ignore the 'Methodical' portion of 'Programmed Behavior' and have more freedom when picking shooting targets, enabling them to better operate beyond Cortex Controller range (do note it makes no mention of 'Onslaught', so try to Swoop as much as possible/mind your positioning when Gliding!). And for those who haven't looked at the Flying Monstrous Creature rules in a dog's age, remember they behave like Jump units when Gliding, meaning they can dance those mean 48" range "fuck your cover" Setheno guns a full 12", reliably staying out of range of most infantry that could ever pose a threat to them. For the most part disregard the optional Power Blades: at S4 WS3 you don't want them in melee, and Vector Strike doesn't benefit from either Rending or Smash. These <s>Obama drones</s> devilish automated flyers are good the way they are.
**The Vulturax are not nearly praised enough, and I don't see them in many lists. Seriously, these flying nightmares are borderline broken. Since you will mostly face Space Marine Legions when playing Mechanicum, a way to deal with their heavy armour is a must. A unit of just two can reliably wreck anything <s>below a Spartan in a turn</s>you guy forgot about Cybertheurgy,with Legyio cybernetica it is easyer but for the other is still possible,make double shoot also only one of the 2 vulturax will result in the destruction of any Non-superheavy tank in 1 turn,bye spartn. A unit of three will destroy any vehicle, with maybe an exception to Knights. In either case, a unit of one or two should almost be considered an auto-include, at least if your local meta uses vehicles other than Rhinos.
**Anyone know how fall test work with FMC units?

*''' Arvus Lighter:''' The Arvus is a flittery little thing, holding 12 models, but nothing else at a bone-stock price of 75 points. It does get a rather ''broad'' list of upgrades and weapons, which might give it survivability, but with Rhino stats it's not going to really go that much once it unloads its squad. Best kept mostly cheap and used to Deep strike 12-man secutarii hoplites or peltast with arc rifle in front of enemy tanks working like a flying Rhino/Drop Pod with good options, but the points cost is too high to make it disposable, so use it to place something nasty where your opponent is most vulnerable. If you do take any weapons on this, twin-link them! It's only 5pts more.
**It can be upgraded to carry 1 castellax OR 2 voraxes but nothing else, best for paragon-model, but too expensive between basic cost+ upgrade+ MC inside it, the good thing is that they will survive for sure to the EXplosion! result
**Looking at the weapons, there's not much point getting the multi-laser, due to the low rate of fire and the fact that an autocannon does the job of light vehicle hunting much better. Select from the Auto and Lascannon based on whether you want it targeting light or heavy armour respectively.
**Hilariously, this thing can get a freaking [[What|Flare shield]].

===Heavy Support===
*'''Thanatar Class Siege-Automata Maniple''': 250 a pop, but they're t8,s8 2+. Go look up a picture and see how sexy they are. They get Hellex Plasma Mortars for Instant Death on marines and wiping out Terminator Squads. They're also one of the models in your army that can get the Paragon of Metal upgrade, because you've put so many points into this guy that you might as well make him even more durable. Searchlights are so cheap they might as well be a free upgrade, keep in mind that at T8 they should be able to deal with anything that shoots at them, and the Enhanced Targeting array helps a lot, both with its Mortar and the Twin-Linked Mauler Bolt Cannon (use the cannon second to finish off whatever the Mortar does not). Want to see your enemies cry?
**Got too much time, too much money, and too many Terminators running at you to the point photon weapons just don't cut it? Take a unit of more than 1, take Advanced Targeting, now here's the important part; Cyber-Occulari. You are now BS6, and likely able to use the Occulari LoS, the result is a unit that keep its shots in a very tight grouping. A cortex controller will likely be needed, to stop some pesky quick distraction-chaff from absorbing the plasma-wrath.
***Something to keep in mind is that despite being S8, T8 they assault poorly well, like the Destructors they have 2 attacks base and this cannot be increased like a Castellax, and at WS3 they'll be lucky to kill one model per turn. Any enemy will be interested in tying these things up in combat,as that's 250 pts (if it's only one) that'll be sitting the entire game out.
***Watch the fuck out for Instant Death weaponry, even more so than the rest of your high-point army. While it's rare you do not want any 250 point model (base) to suddenly die because Mortarion teleported right next to him then kicked his ass in assault, or failing that any Dark Angels consul with a jump pack and Terran Greatsword. Another guy who can do this is Alpharius who has an even sneakier way to get close and can charge the turn he is revealed. This is too huge problem to the point that if you know your opponent is using one of these Primarchs, consider not even fielding Thallax. There's other ways to ID it too, like a Praetor with a Combat Augment Array who made their Paragon Blade roll a six and beheaded your Thanatar (somehow, or more likely impaled its cortex, the Mechanicum didn't bother giving them necks). Be really really careful. ''So keep them screened with tech-thralls, even in a Legio Cybernetica list. ''

*'''Thanatar-Calix Class Siege-Automata''': This is the guy who puts the "Siege" in "Siege-Automata". the mortar is replaced with an S10 Lascannon (yes, a single, one-shot-per-turn lascannon, unfortunately) but this Thanatar gets an additional Graviton Ram in return, which can be used in shooting as a moderately effective template weapon with Haywire or in melee as an S10 AP 1 armourbane weapon which gets bumped up to str D against buildings(!) However this guy is a whopping 295 points, so make those potential str D hits happen or you're not getting those points back.
**Never, ever let him be assaulted by infantry (and don't be dumb enough to charge infantry with him). The template weapon forces a strength test instead of rolling to wound - in HH most infantry are S4, so you're going to need 5+ to wound and they can still make 3+ saves. However, against weak tarpit units with low strength, it could work quite well - morale checks caused my this template are taken with a Ld -2 modifier, so you can scare off potential tarpits. a S10 AP1 close combat attack is mostly wasted on infantry, being not at all any more effective than the base S8 AP2 that a normal Thanatar would have.
**This Thanatar is a death sentence against vehicles. If it can get close enough, a single turn can see it firing a S10 AP2 Lascannon and a haywire template, then charging in with 3 S10 AP1 Armourbane hits in melee. (Don't charge transports unless you've got something else to engage the occupants with in CC - it can't be stressed enough how tremendous a waste this guy is in melee with infantry.)
**Where this guy really takes the spotlight is in attacks on Fortifications. against those, it can do the same as to vehicles (minus the haywire) but DEALING STRENGTH D HITS instead of S10. With the monstrous number of hull points fortifications can have (looking at you, Primus Redoubt) this can be a huge help, and really, that strength D hit is where your points are going to, so you'd better make some of those hits.
**This guy is 300 points. He moves 6 inches a turn and cannot run. His target is a building on the other side of the table. If you plan to get this guy in your army at all, he'll have to be the Paragon of Metal. First off, he's going to draw a lot of fire - no, really, a lot. at T8 W4 2+5++, he can tank a good number of hits but you'll want the chance to regenerate because there is a solid chance he may never reach his target otherwise. Secondly, this guy is going to be headed straight for the toughest part of your opposing forces, and while he's tough as nails, most cortex-controlling units don't can't withstand nearly as much. An enemy could easily kill this Thanatar's controller and drink your tears as the Thanatar runs off to charge at infantry. While most automata can function reasonably well without cortex control (either they stay way back and don't get distracted by nearby enemies, or it doesn't matter because you want them to attack whatever's convenient), a focused, controlled beeline to fortifications is what this guy needs to do, and if you lose control of him that's essentially 300 points down the drain.
***Plop a group of equally slow Tech-Thralls in front to screen him from charges. Plop a unit of what ever Tech-Priest Auxilia you feel like (Any other combos will actually do alright) behind it and get ready to make battlesmith rolls.
***Annoyingly this thing suffers a notably less-chronic case of "Secutor Syndrome" in that it has a similarly-priced cousin (once kitted out) that's X times more effective: Knight Errants. Of course those are LoW's and this isn't. The Calix has some edges other it: the fantastic range of its S10 Lascannon and the haywire template will likely knock off Hullpoints; both however will eventually need to make the crunch and the Errant can actually deal with a multitude of issues and moves a shitload faster... though its Meltacannon is subject to Armoured Ceramite. Nor will it be nearly as harmed by Flare-shielding as it has no-blast weapons; there for the Errant will have to rely almost entirely on its melee, where as this doesn't have too. Issue is though most of the time you can "rely on the D", especially when it travels so damned fast.

*'''Thanatar Cynis''': Once upon a time, the Magos of Estaban III were wondering if they could make cheaper Thanatars; they failed and Ryza was really upset. It results in the marginally more expensive Thanatar-Cynis; you ever wanted a giant plasma shotgun? You now have it! You were wondering where that Gets Hot was? It's here! This baby has '''two''' Plasma Ejectors: 18" (It's Mechanicum), S8, Ap2, Heavy 2, 3" blast, Plasma wave (with gets hot)... and a Mauler-Bolt cannon. It's short range may make it awkward to use, but correctly deployed it will ruin whatever squad is unfortunate to stand before it.
**Though expensive, it could be used against cheap-infantry blobs in a pinch by dint of sheer spammyness, though this obviously wastes its power. It's better used against TEQ and MEQs.
***Vulkan has a squad of these to bathe him each morning. Keep them the hell away from him, but against every other Primarch start giggling; especially Angron as he cannot even use his standard save vs the Mauler-bolt cannon!
**The Rite of Destruction is ludicrous when used with this Automata, EIGHT STRENGTH EIGHT AP2 BLASTS! (And 6 Mauler Bolt Cannon shots) But you better have something ready to guard it while it cools down, as it will be unable to shoot for the next turn. So make sure that when you use Rite of Destruction on your nearly 300 point model that it's on something that you absolutely, positively '''must''' destroy.

*'''Krios Battle Tank Squadron''': Farmer Joe's angry Tractor. These sex bots are 13/12/10 3HP with a flare shield. Aww crispy biscuits yeeeaaah!! They're fast and can be taken in squadrons of 3. Start off at 125, and can take a Pulsar Fusil for 25 extra points. (So turn your s7 ap3 large blast marine eating lightning gun into a s9 ap2 ordnance 4 tank killer. Weapons can be mixed in squadrons.) They also have Autosimulacra and access to Anbaric claws and Volkite sentinels. With Mauler Bolt Cannons, Irradiation engines, the 3-shot battlecannon on the paladin, and more anti-MEQ, I would almost always go Venator.
**If you're taking the Venator (as you should), never forget to upgrade your tanks with one or two Volkite sentinels. Just having the Pulsar Fusil leaves them extremely vulnerable to Weapon Destroyed results if you get penetrated. Trust me, having one of these tanks without a weapon is not fun. They just become worthless tractors.
***Alternative view,take em naked and cheaper,take at least 2 estra armor if you make a squadron of em. Volkite sentinel are useless,would have been a cool and cheap TL bolter for 5pts but 15 pts for a volkite gun are too much, on 3 krios are 45-90 pts wasted (conversion is still cool),considering that often thank to the flare shields they will be wreked with glance hits,and rarely a penetrating one,that often have less than the 16% of chance to cause damage destroyed weapon.

*'''Macrocarid Explorator:''' The "Build Your Land Raider" construction kit™. Starting at 195 points you pay for a basic Land Raider chassis, which being Mechanicum comes stock with Blessed Autosimulacra and Extra Armour, Anbaric Claw and placeholder weapons (2 Lascannons and a Mauler Bolt Cannon, none of them twin linked). Then you can choose any of the dozens of options to kit it out, some of the options have been removed with the release of the Taghmata Army list book. You can make any and all type of pre- and post-heresy LR's (except Terminus Ultra, Ares, Achilles or Redeemer) and even some homebrew patterns that [[Heresy|don't exist on any sacred blueprints]] (you filthy Heretek). Explorator's can't be take as Dedicated Transport (for now). So you have to make the choice between [[Dakka|customized firepower]] or the Triaros with ability to tank shock, re-reroll Dangerous Terran tests and 15 points of frontal armor.
**You seriously have a broad range of options, though being limited in capacity you'll gravitate to make your Macrocarid as tough as possible and the Explorator Augury Web takes away yet another precious transport slot. Instead, take Armoured Ceramite and Flare shield base: A neat tactic with the Macrocarid is to use it as a mobile wall for Thallax, pop out, shoot, then use your assault move to dash behind it again and grab popcorn as you watch your enemy try to deal with what effectively is AV15/AV16. As for your weapons, you'll need to decide what kind of enemies you want to target and how specialized or tactical you want your Macrocarid to be (e.g. Multi-melta + <s>Flamestorm</s> able to tackle both Fortifications and their Marine garrisons). You can't take pintle weapons, that's heresy too.
***Irradiation Engines are worthy of special mention here, the Macrocarid being one of only two units in the entire Heresy that can mount them. You can equip the sponsons with these murder-projectors for a cheeky 40 points. Watch entire Marine formations wilt when given a double rad-shower, even when hidden in the heaviest of fortifications. This poses a couple of limitaions to your firepower, no AP2 and short range. You can fix this by mounting an equally exotic Gravition Imploder in place of the bolt cannon, and if used in the fire-support transport role you won't mind the lack of reach.Torrent must remain inside the 45° of the arc of fire(?)if so the irradiation engine are very limited in use. <s> No, the Irradiation Engines are sponson, not hull mounted, see the newly released Age of Darkness rulebook for better clarified fire arc diagrams.</s>new diagrams do not help to explain anything,they are effectively sponson mounted BUT they are not free to move as LR sponson,they have ~ 45degree of freedom more or less,as usual by rules you have to put the start of the template inside the weapon fire arc,but now you can go outside of it with the template withthe restriction that the template body cant be nearer to the Macrocarid than the tip of the template.
***Against ''light infantry blobs'' you can Upgrade the Mauler Bolt Cannon to a Volkite Culverin (Heavy 4|S6|''Deflagrate'') for free. Too bad it's not twin-linked. Phased plasma fusils being TL+AP3 will also deliver. <s>As for sponsons, you can mount [[Land_Raider#Crusader_Pattern|Quad-Heavy Bolters]] or [[Land_Raider#Redeemer_Pattern|Flamestorm cannons]] ''absolutely free'', the former being a little better for being twin-linked, having more range and being able to fire them even at Cruising speed - 12 TL shots having to hit something. This means you'll either park it and shoot or dash it forward and burn stuff, Armored Ceramite making it fear nothing.</s> These are no longer options.
***Against heavy infantry, namely ''Marines'', the best weapons are the TL Phased plasma fusil and sponson TL Mauler Bolt Cannons, all those being AP3 and wounding on 2+. <s>Vs ''Terminators'', grab the Plasma cannons and don't move any faster than Combat speed. None of your hull weapons shoots enough AP2 to be a menace, so aim at something else.</s> Plasma cannons are no longer an option.
***Against ''armoured targets'' your hull weapon will be either the tried-and-true Lascannon (long range S9), Conversion Beamer or fort-killer Multi-melta (forts can't get Armoured Ceramite). As for sponsons, it's TL Lascannons which are valid options at 20 pts.
****Best way to use macrocarid,as gun platform is a bit wasted but can but a great amount of VP3 at short range,best units to put inside are oviously myrmidon of both tipes(love destructors with irradiaton engine),peltast with arch rifle(so you can melt tank with em and then riddle the inside occupants with macrocarid graviton/mauler/laser,can make the same with secutors)

*'''Myrmidon Destructors''': Similar to Myrmidon Secutors, but have Preferred Enemy (Everything!), which is pretty great at BS5, though they can only pick 1 weapon. Also their models are freaking awesome. Their options are all more specialized to targeting a specific type of enemy and as such it's best to give them all one type of weapon rather than picking and choosing between several (with the exception of Irradiation Engines). They also can take a Triaros for delivering RAD-PHAGE. Note that their grav gun has been replaced by a Graviton Imploder (AP2, but without Haywire).
**Give them all '''Volkite Culverins''' to watch Orks and Guard (or any 5+ save unit) cry all day long, on average without cover saves you'll actually kill more models than you shoot.
**For 2+ saves, '''Photon Thruster Cannons''' are good at forcing even Primarchs to take a lot of saves and chip away at Terminator squads thanks to their AP2 and incredible range.
**'''Graviton Imploders''' use 40k grav rules. So five of them regularly will kill a spartan one turn due to stacking hull point loss from immobilized. Just don't ever use them in a friendly list. With preferred enemy and wounding on 2's against 2+ armour, they can remove primarchs in two turns. Also 4 shots per gun. Truly brutal.
**'''Irradiation Engines''' are your Marine removers, giving the whole squad these is overkill (remember that Torrent weapons can be placed differently to a standard Flamer and they have PREFERRED ENEMY EVERYTHING,fleshbane rerollable to-wound), and considering how much 2+ armour there is in 30K it's better used alongside the Photon Thruster, either to remove the 2+ Sergeant before nuking the squad, or using it to wipe the squad and exposing the Sergeant before shooting him.
** Lastly '''Conversion Beamers''' are only really the optimal choice if you're up against other Mechanicum where you'll likely be facing a lot of high Toughness monsters and the S6 from the Photon Thrusters doesn't quite cut it, but at that point you're better off with a Thanatar.
***An important question to ask, especially within a Taghmata list is "why isn't an Enginseer squad doing this?" - hence you will often not have a Conversion beamer Destructor squad unless you're absolutely terrified of scatter and want to reroll to wound.
**Something to keep in mind is that despite the Powerfist the Destructors don't do all that great in assault, this is because they're locked at 2 attacks base and not in a way that they can be boosted to 5 like the Castellax, they're not bad, as in they'll hold their own against tactical squads and the like, but dedicated assault units will mulch right through them and dedicated tarpits will render them useless.
***Heavily consider putting your Magos in with this squad; <s>it will grant Preferred Enemy to them and they can help the squad in assault. </s> they have preferred enemy everithing! no need it but it is a good suggestion,reductor fit really well with em and also the various prime mostly becouse is hard to find a good bodyguard unit and eventually he can tank low VP ID hits(2+ 3++ hardened armour paired wih R6 can help against some storm cannon/knight gatling or random phosporex/scorpius against the unit,even medusa and basilisk).
****destructors with culvelin or i-rad are the way to go against the solar auxilia(remember the S.A-first-turn-combo aegis+shrouded invalidate most of the wound/damages inflicted),you can ignore they aegis defence lines with RAD or rape from turn 2 the infantry with the culvelin

*'''Karacnos Assault Tank''' :Basically a Triaros without transport capacity and with some guns slapped on. The Karacnos trades the armament of the Triaros for 2 Lightning-Blaster sentinels and a Karacnos Mortar battery and a larger explosion result if it goes kaboom. The Lightning-Blast sentinels can fire separate from the mortar and snap shot at bs2, their basically short range autocannons with worse ap that are heavy 3 shred rending. Decent vs light Armour. The Mortar is a R60 heavy bolter with barrage,small blast,fleshbane,radphage,Ignores cover, and pinning which seems good on paper but with the majority of targets getting armour saves this mostly equates to a longer range :AM: wyvern, im not sure this tank is good enough for its price tag which is just 25 shy of a stock thanatar,for 100 point less and in squadron it would have been good

===Lords of War===

* [[Imperial Knight]]s
** Knight Errant: Identical to GW rules, minus the ability to mount additional Heavy Stubbers
** Knight Paladin: See above
** '''Knight Lancer''': A good character and monster killer, though its cost is right up there with the Primarchs, it'll take on nearly everything you send it at and come out on top aside from the aforementioned Primarchs (and it can still do very well against them if they're Init 1 or S6-7 since it's Strength D).
** '''Knight Acheron''': Just as excellent at wrecking armour as the Castigator is at wrecking infantry, though in the Taghmata dealing with armour isn't that much of an issue, and you have to close in and assault the enemy to deal with the armour effectively, leaving the Acheron a giant target. It also doesn't benefit from many of the bonuses you can offer, isn't as good at character/monster hunting as the Lancer (thanks to no close combat Invuln save) and the Styrix has better guns to deal with Infantry. It isn't a bad choice on its own but your own units can usually do what it does just as well, if not better.
** '''Questoris Knight Styrix''': The long-ranged Marine remover, it's not such a great idea to take this over the other knights if you want to assault the enemy (admittedly a non-competitive way of playing) but it can be awesome in a gunline. Any Marine squad it hits it'll wreck thanks to Deflagrate and AP3, boost it with a Djinn-skein and mathematically it kills 6.365 Marines with that one gun per turn. It also packs a grav gun for slowing the enemy down when they close in, though the siege claw can be skipped as you have other ways of dealing with Armour and the Rad Cleanser is unlikely to make its points back unless you're up against Tyranids or Orks.
** [https://www.forgeworld.co.uk/resources/PDF/fw_warscrolls/Acastus-Knight-Porpyhrion.pdf '''Acastus Knight Porphyrion''']: The new knight on the block, and a big, beefy, shooty one at that. It weighs in at 495 points and has BS5, 14/13/12, and 8 HP as standard. It also comes with Blessed Autosimulacra in a Taghmata list. It's main weapons are a TL Magna Lascannon (72" S10 AP2 Ordnance 2, Large Blast) on each arm, and an Ironstorm Missile Pod (72" S6 AP4 Ordnance 1, 7" Blast) on its back, which can be swapped with Helios Defense Missiles (60" S8 AP2 Heavy 2, Skyfire, Interceptor) for free. It's secondary weapons are ''not'' a heavy stubber, but ''two'' autocannons, which can be individually upgraded to Irad cleansers or lascannons. Clearly this thing is built around tearing down vehicles or Monstrous Creatures, though it can be used in wiping away infantry one pie plate at a time.

*'''[[Ordinatus|Ordinatus-Minoris Macro Engine]]:''' Comes in two flavours, and If you ever run them against someone, they're probably not your friend. Each Ordinatus comes with three Volkite Culverins, Blessed Autosimulacra, Anabaric Claw, Armored ceremite and a Ordinatus Dispersion shield. Oh and 14/13/13 with 14HP and is a super heavy. But if it explodes anything under will probably die as it utilises it's own destruction chart which every one of the results always has a Destroyer hit. The Dispersion shield is the big thing on this machine. Basically it's a super Flare Shield that loses effectiveness overtime but will always have an affect. Turn one :-3 Strength to shooting attacks and rolls on the D chart, Turn two: -2 Strength to shooting attacks and D Chart and Turn three and subsequent turns -1 Strength to shooting and D charts. Basically don't shoot it with D as you'll never be stripping off those hull points.
**''Ordinatus Sagittar'': Because fuck that model (or that unit), it didn't deserve to be on the table, even at that distance. A 180" Strength D weapon with an Apocalyptic Blast that royally fucks over vehicles might seem OP, but that's because it is, though at its extremely expensive cost it will need some protection, though if you fight Marines often, and combined with its dispersion shield, it can easily make its points back by turn 3 so long as you keep its guns pointed where they belong, at the priciest unit within 180".
**''Ordinatus Ulator'': The one displayed from FW Open day, This big ass sonic projector will have people kicking you in the nuts every time you shoot it. 72" Range Strength X AP2 Pinning Armourbane Instant Death Ignores Cover Ulator Sonic Wave. Place down a Massive blast template(7") at the edge of the hull. Direct it at an enemy (Has to be enemy first and can hit friendlies) and draw a straight line using the Massive blast template. Anything that gets partially touched by it takes a hit from the following Table. (This also includes Flyers. Yes. Even Flyers.)
***The Ulator is one of the few things in the game that is effective against everything that isn't a Primarch (or that has Eternal Warrior). You can effectively use it to fill in any hole your army develops, lost Anti-tank? Strength 8-10 with Armourbane at AP2. Hordes got you down? Strength 5 ID Massive Blast template will thin them out. Air defence gone? Just shoot those fliers down. Your opponent brought their Baneblade(s) (or their variants)? You shoot them with Strength D, and on top of all of this, you literally CANNOT miss a single shot you ever fire. Also note that it is incredibly potent against Gargantuan Creatures, as it removes D3 wound per wound suffered because of Instant Death, surpassing their Feel No Pain as most lack Eternal Warrior. Useful against that prick who thought he could curbstomp with Wraithknights in a 30k game.

*'''[[Warhound Scout Titan]]''': The same Titan as the Ordo Reductor, it has one extra void shield and night vision for the same price as post-heresy one Warhound, Even though 6-th edition nerfed D-strength a lot (no more +1 on damage chart), take a DB TLD for dealing with Terminators and Characters, and a Vulcan Mega-Bolter boosted with a Djinn-skein for the squads as on average against 3+ marines you'll kill 10.416 Marines per use of the Mega-Bolter.

*'''[[Reaver Battle Titan]]''': Again, The same Titan as the Ordo Reductor, it's the Warhounds bigger, tougher, meaner and slower brother. Destroyer blast spam is still the preferable weapon loadout (especially with the points level you'll be likely using this guy at), but in 30K there's nothing wrong with choosing Gatling blaster (because fuck Marines) or a Melta cannon. Curiously it can take a Vortex support missile for a carapace weapon, you lose a lot of your average firepower, so compensate by getting something with more blasts instead of going all Strength, but the missile is capable of one-shoting any other lord of war (besides another Reaver) by removing D3 SP from super-heavies or just insta-killing any other model (yes, even Primarchs) with no saves of any kind allowed, but it is one use only, so use it wisely.

*'''[[Warlord Battle Titan]]:''' 2750 pts for quite possibly the hardest damned motherfucker out there; 30 HP, 15/15/14, 5+ Invuln, haywire immunity, Armoured ceramite and 6 void shields and it pretty much ignores anything in melee besides other titans. It is bristling with Anti-aircraft firepower atop it with its Ardex (Essentially Cognis) Mauler boltcannons and TL Lascannons. Now some notes on the meat of it!
** If you're taking this to spew D weapons, you're in for a disappointment as 2850pts total would "only" fire 8 D blasts; 2 Belicosa volcano's and 2 Reaver Laser blasters, though the former weapon will produce 2 10" reroll 1's on D table. If you wanna spam D, take a Reaver, it will work out cheaper in every single way.
**What this is good for however, is abusing its World Burner rule to turn the battle field into a charnel house where only true Titans, the lucky, and those with Flare shields may live to wretch in the ashen pork world that was left behind. This rule lets you use your Blast based weapons (all bar melee effectively) against whatever the hell you want: Baptise them in fire!
***Of course, you'll need the right tools for the job. Standard are two aforementioned '''Belicosa pattern volcano cannons''', a very good all round choice and in the event you don't have worthy backup against other Titans, stick with these. Other arm mounted weapons include '''Sunfury plasma annhilators''', PW4, Apoc barrage, force rerolls on cover,at S9AP2, remember Apocalyptic Barrage follows all the rules of regular barrage and thus would hit side armour and having two would effectively up you to having a PW8 profile. '''Mori-Quake cannons''' are similar to the regular quake cannons (D to 9 to 6), at AP3 they're kinda lackluster but it makes for it via making units move far slower (Half movement, no running/flatout/charge, all movement is dangerous terrain for next turn), a Direct hit with this will likely heavily delay a Spartan from reaching its destination in time, which could be extremely important. '''Saturnyne lascutters''' are fun, they double as a melee and hellstorm weapon. The Latter is S9, AP2 Instant death, making it perfect for mulching Mechanicum, the former it will possess a D, Machine Destroyer (Reroll 1's on D table) and ID again, which is relevant against Gargantuan creatures (Each D wound scored will inflict D3 wounds.). Next up is the '''Arioch Power Claw''': D Melee, +1 attack Machine destroyer; at least you'll look rad *New upgrade revealed at the 2016 Horus Heresy Weekender: splash out 75 pts and slap on a Vulcan Mega Bolter so you can smash and shoot! This then just leaves the '''Macro-gatling blaster''' looking a bit out in the woods: PW6, 5", Pinning at S10 AP3. It's really for just completely removing Marines from the board.
***Next up are the Assortment of carapace weapons (minimum 24"). These are all taken in a pair (the Ardex weapons cannot be changed). Standard are two Apocalypse Launchers, shrug.... wait a second. The Apocalypse Launchers have uses: the Barrage 4 firepower and AP3 allows you to kill Marines in cover quicker than standard blast weapons and then there is Titan dueling. If you are playing massive Apocalypse games with ranges over 100" these are perfect for smashing down other titans void shields and exposing them to your Belicosa Volcano Cannons: those Laser Blasters are no use if out range and will lose the extreme distance battle to the launcher-equipped Warlord everytime. Then come in the DL-Turbolasers, TL-Vulcan Mega bolters, and Titan Plasma blastguns, for free. The Reaver-greade weapons are all 100 pts: Laser blasters, Meltacannons (which will look real fucking stupid with all this AC around) and Gatling Blasters. Then some uniques come in: 2XVortex missile banks for 150 pts, which essentially let you fling out a total of 4 of these missiles throughout the game (its the "Eh" 40k version). And 75 pts Incinerator missile banks: PW10, No cover, Apoc Barrage, one use each at S6 AP3; for when all the marines must die turn 1.
***You can probably tell now, the resultant purpose of these Titans is destroy any supporting forces as quickly as possible, before destroying other super heavies in a barrage of unrelenting firepower across a number of turns and slugging it out, where as the Reaver is probably just blasting down enemy super heavies. In either case you may wish to sit down, take a look at your bank-statements and wonder how on earth you are going to be reasonably transporting this to the secret Drug-Cartel hideout where they fight each other with Titan Legions.

==Legio Cybernetica Unit Analysis==

The Legio Cybernetica is a Taghmata variant that focuses on robots. Every slot's gotta have robots! Like the Ordo Reductor, Legio Cybernetica draws from the main list of Taghmata units and receives a number of benefits and penalties.
*'''Unique HQ - Archmagos Dominus:''' An exclusive HQ choice for Legio Cybernetica detachments.
*'''Rule of the Dominus:''' Your Compulsory HQ must be a Magos Dominus, Archmagos Dominus, or one of the two special characters: Inar Satarael or Anacharis Scoria. In addition, if your primary detachment is from Legio Cybernetica, your opponent gains +d3 Victory Points if they manage to remove all your Cortex Controllers.
*'''Legion of Steel:''' Your Compulsory Troops MUST be 2-strong Castellax units each (keep in mind these are still [[Derp|not scoring]]). The first Fast Attack and Heavy Support choices MUST have the Cybernetica Cortex rule; once you have a robot in there, you're free to buy whatever else you desire. But what you desire is more robots anyway, right?
*'''Enhanced Cyber-control:''' What truly defines Legio Cybernetica. Your Cortex Controller and Cybertheurgy ranges is increased to 24" from 12". In addition all models with a Cybernetica Cortex in the detachment have +1 Iniative to their profile.
The main advantages of Legio Cybernetica is that their robots can be spread around without fear of losing control and the increased Initiative has the potential to radically alter the outcome of your close combats. Vorax will strike before most marines, Castellax and their ilk will strike at initiative, and in mirror fights they will all strike first. The penalty is that you are forced to buy four Castellax just to make a legal list. Castellax recently got a 20 points increase, making them a very costly affair. And if you lose your Cortex Controllers, the opponent gets free victory points; at lower point levels it's likely that you will only have one in your list...

===HQ===

*'''Archmagos Dominus:''' Everyone can field normal Dominus, but only you can bring their boss. You pay for what you get, and that's a lot. However, he does the same thing a normal Dominus does: use Cybertheurgy and Battlesmith instead of shooting all day long, but now at Ld10. His WS4 and I3 makes him mediocre in CC for his huge cost. Don't get us wrong, he can succeed by dint of sheer resilience when kitted up properly - [[Chapter_Master_Smashfucker|T6 W4 IWND FnP(5+) and six S5 AP2 attacks]] (2 of them Shredding Armourbane) is great in anyone's book...but you could have brought 2 Castellax for that. ''Then why use it?'' Because only he can properly use the Cortica Primus relic, making a unit of [[Deathstar_Units|3+ Battle-automata]] (otherwise not worth it) live up to their Monstrous Creature names and unleash the might of the Cybernetica! ''But that's always too costly''. Think again: 5 Voraxes cost less than 10 Termies. Use [[Rage|Rite of Fury]]. Now your enemy is in for [[Anal_Circumference|'''30 S6 AP2 attacks at I5''' + HoW]], not to mention the opening salvo, all delivered by [[Tarpit|15 T6 worth of Fearless wounds]] that don't need a transport and can [[Rip_and_Tear|pry open]] Land Raiders. Yes, you just [[Just_as_planned|both Nope'd a Primarch's retinue AND tarpitted him]]. And the Archmagos [[Troll|doesn't even need to be with them]] because of the 24" Controller range!
*'''Anacharis Scoria:''' Anacharis can be your Warlord in a Legio Cybernetica detachment, and really that's where he shines. [https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Mechanicum:_Taghmata_(30k)#HQ See the Taghmata section].
*'''Inar Satarael:''' Also a Warlord for Legio Cybernetica. [https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Mechanicum:_Taghmata_(30k)#HQ See the Taghmata section].

==Ordo Reductor Unit Analysis==

We've gone from the Mechanicum list with the least options to the one with the most in one book!

The Ordo Reductor's initial list, main troop choice and dedicated transport was in HH1: Betrayal and is a campaign allied detachment list when playing an Isstvan 3 re-enactment. At first there was only a unique HQ unit but then the Magos Dominus from book two became available to the Ordo Reductor (called Magos Reductor) and has been updated since. With the release of the new Red book for Mechanicum we have now the best and most varied tanks of the Mechanicum, alongside some exclusive options, like the <s>new</s> old Minotaur. The new list makes Ordo Reductor list extremely viable, capable of some OP/borderline stupid combinations (12 PHOSPEX MEDUSAS!), becoming like a powered up version of the Legion Rites of War. The Iron Warriors are the best at siege? Pfft! ''Amateurs!'' Mechanicum sees what your legion does and cranks it up to 11!

'''Bonuses:'''
*'''Walkers in Ruin:''' Any unit in this detachment is immune to Pinning by enemy fire and is also immune to Difficult and Dangerous terrain (Rubble, Ruins, Minefields and Trenchworks). No more tanks fucking themselves in terrain - ''You can bring enough Phosphex to cover substancial portions of the battlefield and leave only the 4 previous terrain types unscathed, a reasonable counter against faster armies.''
*'''Engines of Destruction:''' Allows us to take Minotaur ''batteries'', Artillery batteries and (Arch)Magos Reductor - ''Coupled with the Matrix of Ruin you can shove down 12 Phosphex shells a turn to be truly obnoxious.''

'''Restrictions:'''
*'''The Master of the Covenant:''' Compulsory HQ Choice has to be (Arch)Magos Reductor or special character Caleb Decima.
*'''Patterns of Force:''' Must take Thallax Cohorts as the compulsory Troops choice ''unless'' you bring a titan (Warhound and above) when you can bring the titan guard. Furthermore, a Reductor list may not contain more Battle-automata or Siege Automata units than half the total number of units in the detachment regardless of the detachments type (e.g.: if a primary detatchment force made from an Ordo Reductor war covenant comprises a total of six units, up to three of them can be Battle-automata) - ''Thallax are one of your best options, so not much of a downside there.''

===The Matrix of Ruin===

*'''Compulsory:''' 1 HQ, 2 Troops, 2 Heavy Support.
*'''Optional:''' 1 HQ, 3 Troops, 2 Heavy Support, 2 Elites, 2 Fast attack, '''2''' Lords of War.
*'''The Unfetted Wrath of the Machine:''' All Tanks are scoring in the enemy deployment zone in Age of Darknes missions, aka 30k, OR gain Objective Secured in Maelstrom of War missions instead - ''Bring an Archimandrite for sweet IWND on your scoring, dangerous terrain-ignoring tanks''.
*Can't take Fortifications or allies - ''You're a destroyer, not a builder. Thus, Macroteks are less useful for you.''

This OPTIONAL Reductor-exclusive version of the Onslaught FOC can be seen as a RoW within a RoW. A small modification to the FOC but a significant one none the less, it exchanges versatility for sheer firepower, but unless you bring the right units the loss of versatility can become a major problem. Compared to the Onslaught FOC (HH:LACAL p.10), which is available to all 30k, the Matrix of Ruin gains 1 Troop choice and better Tanks without relinquishing the ability of going first, but at the cost of 2 Elite slots and a higher minimum cost. Compared to the normal Age of Darkness FOC [[Fail|you lose 1 HQ, 1 Troop, 2 Elites, 1 FA, Fortifications and Allies]], but [[Derp|gain 1 HS and 1 LoW]]. But it truly shines in 40k - OS Triaros were difficult to deal with, try dealing with [[OP#Overpowered|OS]] Krios Venators.

===HQ===

*'''Magos Reductor:''' ''Who needs Decima?'' Forget about his Book 2 incarnation, the update has improved this guy big time giving him IC (but not Precision Shots) and better stats than the average Magos. He can be upgraded to Archmagos gaining Relentless, the option to choose "-1 to a piece of cover" as his WT instead of rolling for it and getting a 5 in WS, BS, S & T. Even a campaign Archmagos Reductor OC has little room left for stat-improving (so he can get extra rules faster!). ''Ahem'', the new book also tinkered with his wargear adding exclusive options like Phosphex Bombs and Breacher charges, losing the Jetpack and moving around certain options; little modifications that radically change [[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Mechanicum:_Taghmata_(30k)#Magos_options|this Magos' builds]]. He can get a '''retinue''' of Reductor Techpriests or Scyllax and all his attacks have Sunder and a +1 on the Vehicle and Building damage tables. Most importantly, he can grant this buff to a nearby Heavy/Ordnance weapon if he doesn't shoot himself and can be combined with Mechanicum WTs, specially Perfected Targeting. Thatatar Calix's single shot S10 not good enough for you? Buff it so it becomes Twin-linked, Sunder, and Explodes them on a 5+. But his best buddy is the Ordinator: an Armourbane + Wrecker + Sunder + extra table damage weapon can kill [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3oGbGlcQh0 pretty much anything], so put them together and buff his bombardment attack.

===Troops===

*'''Scyllax Guardian-Automata Covenant:''' While they can be taken by everyone (and they're no longer compulsory Troops), there's a synergy the Reductor have with the Scyllax that should be given its own entry. A balanced melee-ish squad, having 2 attacks base that generate an extra attack on a To wound roll of 6. In addition, they can exchange all their attacks (even the extra one for charging) for a Dismemberment attack: [[Rape|+3S AP2]] Unwieldy. They also get some decent firepower in the form of Kraken bolters as standard, one of the longest ranged infantry weapons in the whole Mechanicum, AP4 to boot. Nice. WS3 coupled with Relentless, Move through Cover, Night Vision and the usual Mechanicum stats (T5|2W|I3|4+ save) and the possibility to have up to 16 models means the unit is more than just a tarpit unit. [[Rage|Too bad they cost as much as Terminators]]. Also, like the Servitors they are, they become Fearless when they're within 24" of a Magos...but have to test on their Ld7 to move when away from them, so keep Magi nearby [[Tyranid|to herd them around]]. ''Then why take them?'' Because they come equipped with a '''Rad Furnace''', which means anyone in base contact with them suffers -1T, while they themselves are immune to it, as well immune to Rad grenades (''so they're different/[[Anal Circumference|THEIR EFFECTS CAN STACK?!]]'') and Poison & Rad-phage [[Mortarion|only affects them on a 6+]]. ''What does this mean for your Reductor army?'' That you should either stick a Rad grenade, Abeyant-equipped Archmagos with them since they will be able to Instant Death MEQ's with their regular attacks and attack the nearest foe with your Relentless, Move through Cover unit that [[meme|doesn't afraid of anything]] (Fearless). Alternatively put Calleb in one since at S6 he won't even need the Rad Grenades to ID MEQ's (''at last, a good unit for him to hang with!'') Terminators on sight? Pfft, Rad Furnace + Dismemberment will finish them off, even if they have [[Grey_Knights|2 Wounds]]. Just remember your Magos isn't immune to Rad, so keep away from Precision strikes and Challenges and buy a Machinator Array. Like all Mechanicum units, they have numerous weapon options, but keep your eyes on the points price.
**If Assault is your ideal strategy, then load up on '''Flamers''' (available to all) and '''Rad-cleansers''' (available to only one in four, sadly). Template weapons can help whittle down a lot of blobs real fast (having that much Wall of Death doesn't hurt if you get counter-charged either).
**If you opt for ranged combat, you'll want the '''Rotor Cannons'''. Sure they're weaker in strength than the '''Volkite Chargers''' but they put out more shots the Volkites and your regular Bolters do, Relentless meaning you get to fire 4 shots at full 30" range. And they're the cheapest option! Even if you're up against 4+ saves, the heightened volume of fire means you'll inflict more wounds than Kraken Bolters.
**As for the other "1-in-X can equip Y" items, they're pretty self explanatory. '''Graviton guns''' help with slowing infantry and dealing with vehicles that got too close, '''Plasma guns''' help with taking out 2+ saves from range (handy if a player puts their Artificer Armour Sergeant in front), and '''Melta guns''' are good for leaving at home because your opponent bought Armoured Ceramite and you have better things to deal with vehicles and 2+ saves.

===Heavy Support===

*'''Ordo Reductor Artillery Tank Battery''': The main reason for going Reductor, now we can take artillery Batteries from the legions and field them with impunity. 1-3 Artillery Tanks. Cheaper than the Legion variants, they start as a Whirlwinds with Vengeance and Castellan missiles that can be swapped for Hyperios missiles for free, becoming your best source of anti-air. But that would be a waste because they can upgrade their guns and pretty much become any artillery tank you need and then more, which makes the unit incredibly versatile. All models in the unit must have the same equipped primary weapon. In addition to the usual vehicle options, ours can also get a Machine spirit, Blessed Autosimulacra (or IWND with an Archimandrite) and upgrade to AV13 on the front. That's right, the Ordo Reductor can use its artillery tanks ''to assault'', essentially getting cheaper better Vindicators, so [[Commissar_Dan|charge, you pig fuckers!]]. Or you could also extend the life of your Medusas by running away 12" while still firing on the enemy and let your Krios Venators do the assault job. The weapon options are:
**Demolisher Cannon
**Quad Lascannon
**Dual Melta Cannon (a 3" blast Twin-linked Multi-melta)
**Earthshaker Cannon
**Medusa Cannon (with access to both Phosphex and normal shells by default)
**Mars-Colossus Bombard [S7|AP3|Concussive Pinning Massive blast with 12-72" range]

*'''Ordo Reductor Minotaur Battery''': Up to 3 Minotaurs forming a battery. It's not a Superheavy anymore, but a Heavy Tank (so it can score). Much better than the IA Minotaur by having an enclosed cabin, Autosimulacra, Extra armour, BS4, the chance of having 3 as one HS choice and it's 70 pts cheaper. Like the IA version it has AV14 on the rear by virtue of its rear-facing Flare shield, it's hit on its AV12 side on assaults and can't level its Massive Blast Twin-Linked Earthshaker cannon for direct fire, so it has a 24" blind zone that deep strikers will try to exploit. For that it has access to Armoured Ceramite to whithstand melta blasts, a pintle mounted <s>marine woodchipper</s> Phased-plasma fusil and the Anabaric Claw, which zaps those melee attackers at I10.

===Lords of War===

*[[Fellblade#Falchion |Legion Falchion]]

==Allies (This covers all three flavours)==

===Battle Brothers===

*'''Sons of Horus''' Troop Reavers make excellent scoring units (you took Maloghurst, right?). Just keep them backed up with Castellax and Thallax.
*'''Iron Hands''' They don't really offer us much we don't already have. They do, however, soak up bullets very well, so consider them for forward objective capture.
*'''Salamanders''' Resolutely meh for us. Iron Hands and Iron Warriors capture better.
*'''Iron Warriors''' Tough fuckers who don't mind getting shot. Consider a few drop-pod fulls for capturing forward objectives. Or use them as heavy support whilst using thallax and castellax for clearing up dug enemies. Altogether the best legion alongside mechanicum
*'''Raven Guard''' With their ability to infiltrate infantry, they can sneak a vox anywhere on the field to guide in deep striking thallax/ursarax. Consider if that's your play style, otherwise they don't bring us much we don't already have.
*'''Knights''' What's better than two knights palling it it up with your dudes? MORE KNIGHTS! Think this one through though, since we can already take them as lords of war. '''[[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Questoris Knight Crusade (30k)|Knights]]'''

===Fellow Warriors===
*'''Alpha Legion''' 20 strong Tac Squads that infiltrate on point? Yes please! This said, unless you're looking to take some armor as well, Raven Guard does it better, since they can call in deep strikers. Really it all comes down to how badly you want to field that Sicaran/have a Dreadnought Talon broing it up with your Castellax.
*'''Emperors Children'''
*'''Night Lords'''
*'''Death Guard'''
*'''World Eaters'''
*'''Word Bearers'''
*'''Custodes'''
*'''Sisters'''
*'''Imperial Army''' May act as objective-bench warmers; possibly bring ordnance onto the field?
**Though with the increased squad size of Tech-thralls, this may not be such an issue now.
***[[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Solar_Auxilia_(30k)|Solar Auxilia]] If you're taking these, you'll probably drop Tech-Thralls immiedatly; 100pts (Lasrifle section) for 20 man squad, BS4, Rapid Fire 30" or Heavy 2 36", overwatching on BS2, likely to get WS4 and 4+ save is pretty good in anyone's books. Though it has LD8/7, being able to always regroup is pleasant. Also, Lasrifle Sections come stock with a nuncio-vox, which can help your Thanatars and deep-striking Thallax/Ursarax a lot, freeing up your cyber-occulari to focus on their other forms of mischief, or saving you the trouble of getting the djinn skein altogether, if that's what you were planning to use those for. Alternatively Veletaris offers you some pretty nice potent short range fire power, but any variation of Mechanicum is hardly lacking in that. What you want from an allied choice is most likely cheaper barrage/template options than the Thanatar. The Rapier battery can see this pretty well, with the Quad mortar option filling this best: 60pts for small template spamming with pinning, uniquely possessing a shorter ranged direct fire option which rerolls armour penetration. This takes an elite slot, but you would not be missing anything else in this, probably. The Artillery battery, though durable, is pricey compared to Vanilla guardsmen options (presuming Imperial-Army vanilla will use Chimera based Artillery).
***Alternatively you may consider the Malcador. Yes a Superheavy as a heavy support option, and a fast super-heavy at that! It costs 5 points less than the Thanatar, you get 13/13/12 HP6 and 3 autocannons (Multi-laster and Hv.Flamer is free) alongside a Leman-Russ cannon, so you could leave it at that. If you feel like dropping 30 points you could get a Demolisher cannon and a Battlecannon firing at the same time (though, you would have to convert either Lascannons to a battlecannon or a hull gun to a demolisher if you're not performing a complete scratch build). If you wanted to fork out 10 more points you could the drop the fast property and ram your self up to front 14, you could then ram Flare shield and Armoured Ceramite, totaling up to 320 pts for vehicle that will take ALOT of shit forward facing and at 6 Hull points you'll be taking that for a while.
***[[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Imperial Militia and Cults (30k)|Imperial Milita and Cults]] have a dizzying array of options for you to take. You can make Pesudo-Skitarii with a combination of ''Survivors of the Dark Age'' and ''Cyber Augmented'', or even get some cultist support if you're playing Dark Mechanicum. Generally they seem to be similar to the Imperial Guard from 40K, in that they have a large number of expendable soldiers backed by tanks, so take them if you want more bodies on the ground. Seriously consider which Provenances of War you give them, generally you will be wanting them to stay in place and camp objectives, so Abhuman Helots with Discipline Collars will work wonders, and if they have Cyber-Augmetics then they count as Sworn Brothers!

==Tactical Discussion==

'''As Allies:'''
Real talk. Legion troops cost a lot. Tactical Squad? 10 bolter marines for 150 points. Buy them a rhino or max them with an apothecary? 200-350 for 1 troop choice with only bolters. When you start looking at non-compulsory options like terminators or tactical support squads they break the bank even worse.

Enter Mechanicum (from book 2). The best way of getting cheap fearless troops into a legion army:

*'''1: Cheap scoring units''' –The cheapest ally option. A naked Magos Dominus and two units of fearless Tech-Thralls runs around 165 points. That’s two fearless objective campers and a guy who can repair tanks. Now with Taghmata, even cheaper and more blobby!

*'''2: Troop Deathstar''' –A Magos Dominus, some upgrades, and two scoring Castellax runs around 275 points. That’s ten majority toughness 7 wounds. If you take lance weapons, you have up to 6 48-60” S7, AP2, heavy 2 lance shots (which you can fire TWICE if you don’t roll like a 13 year old with a superiority complex on xbox live). Make them melee oriented and you have an all-around MC hunter or tarpit unit. Or just march it alongside your tactical blob- blow up tanks with your lances and then fury of the legion the assholes inside. If it’s still alive, charge in your MCs.

*'''3: Skimmer + Objective Hunter''' – Thallax Cohorts are fast and their best feature is reducing cover saves by 2 points. 200 gets you a cohort and a Magos Dominus kitted into a support role. Use the Thallax to uproot objective campers in cover or hunt all those pesky jetbikes, skimmers, and light vehicles. Jink saves against the 2 S7 AP5 and 3 S6 AP3 shots? Bitch please.

Here's something to try:
Make a Myrmidon Destructor squadron, four-strong. Pack two with Conversion Beamers and two with Irradiation Engines. Have them joined by the ArchMagos, pray you get the "Free Twin-Linked for a unit within 6"" trait, park in a tower and snipe to your heart's content. Everything comes at you gets cancer, everything that stays away gets Beamed. Be sure to reinforce with Castellax to toss head first at the enemy lines to give them something to keep shooting at.

As for Mechanicum allies; Ally LC with Taghmata, or vice versa. This is primarily to get the Archmagos for the Castellaxs and the Magos-Prime for the Thralls and the IC.

== Magos options ==
There are so many different setups for Magos of any kind it deserves it own section - if only to avoid cluttering the normal entries for Magos and Tactics.
*'''Magos Prime'''
**'''Photonman'''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkLvpt9Z3fA]: The core of this build is a Myrmidax with two Photon Thrusters; with no other upgrades, that comes to 180 points. You'll be spewing out, at 48", 4 AP2 Blind shots - woe betide any Terminator that dares to enter your line of sight.
***Even with all that firepower, you've still got your hands free - you could keep him cheap, with the default power weapon and serpenta, or kit him out for melee as well if you're shitting points.
***Of course you've got the full range of Magos-buffers to make him invincible: the Machinator Array, Abeyant, and Cyber-familiar.
***The biggest benefit to going Arch- is probably the point of BS, but the boosts to the rest of your stat-line certainly don't hurt.
***Just don't look at how many Photon-Thrusting Destructors you could buy for the same points, or all of this will start to look like a really dumb idea.
**<s>If you just want to piss your opponent off, give your Magos/Archmagos the following: Nanyte Blaster, Phase Walker, Contagium Mechanica, Void Shield Harness, and a jetpack plus whatever else you might feel like taking, like an abeyant or cyber-familiar. every turn, simply pop up exactly at 12" from vehicle or infantry blobs and have at it with the appropriate relic fuckery, then jet out of charge range in order to continue fucking around next turn. as long as you don't get into close combat, you could completely decimate the entire enemy army with this one douchebag. Also could be useful for taking whatever objective you need in Maelstrom games, but that's mainly just the Phase Walker. </s> They're relics, you're not taking more than one.
**Archmagos Radfucker: Do you want to win at melee combat? Well for a small payment of '''285+ points''' you can do that all of the time! First take the standard abeyant, cyber familiar and machinator array combo to give him T6 W4 IWND and 2+/3++ and Hardened Armour as well as providing extra weapons. Make him Malagra of course for that extra WS and attack as well as prefered enemy (characters). As for your main weapons take a master crafted chainfist and a power fist to get the two specialist weapons bonus attack. Now he hits 4 times at S8 AP2, with a re-roll for master crafted and two more at S5 AP2 and all these attacks re-roll ones to hit on characters. But we're not done yet,give him rad grenades and a rad furnace for the radioactive cherry on top, that will give enemies -2 toughness on the charge and -1 toughness if they survive any longer. Since you've taken a rad furnace, there's no reason not to give him a Scyllax Automata bodyguard unit since they wont fuck up each other's toughness anymore. Congratulations, you now have a warlord that can tango with [[Chapter_Master_Smashfucker|'''Smashfucker''']] and has nothing but instant death weapons to fear.
** Alternative opinion: the red Taghmata book only allows ‘one option’ under Rad Furnace and Machinator Array - you can only take one but not both. Also Rad Grenades are Reductor-exclusive.
*'''Magos Reductor'''
**'''Support (i.e. Naked)''': Because not everyone can be a Chapter Master and Ordo Reductor [[Derp|lacks Techpriests]]. The cheapest build, focusing instead in bringing more siege engines and herding your Thanatars around, which are too valuable to have them melee at stuff. Don't even think about getting him guns - his shooting phase will be spent repairing shit, and if he isn't, you're [[DISTRACTION_CARNIFEX|not trying hard enough]]. Too frail? Give him an Aurugy scanner to deny infiltration and stick him in a Thallax bodyguard instead of an Abeyant, maybe give him a Machinator for good measure (+1T, +1 Battlesmith). This means not only he gets some dudes to take hits for him, but you can also bring ''yet another'' Macrocarid DT, kited with Lascannons so it can function as another siege engine. ''A LR on the front, two Thanatar at each side, Thallax at the back and the Magos in the middle. [[Get_shit_done|That's your Ordo Reductor list right there]]''. And if you have models in Reserve, you can give the LR an Explorator Web. Doesn't look that cheap, but take into account that you were already going to bring LRs and Thanatars, so ~95 pts total.
**'''Melee:''' Fortunately, you can make your Magos a 4W T6 3+/3++ monster. Model-wise, this is the most expensive loadout, but it's a good way of using the Reductor's exclusive Rad grenades, Phosphex and Breacher charges (10 pts a piece, ouch). Make him an Archmagos with the obligatory Machinator array so you don't have to worry about the breacher charge either scattering or insta-killing you. ''Only 125 pts so far, suck on that Caleb!'' Add invuln for that AP3 weaponry. Maybe also an Abeyant for +1 Wound and sweet IWND. And don't forget the Rad grenades. No guns here, the Machinator's meltagun and flamer are more than enough. However, you can fire the meltagun and another weapon, so throw a Phosphex bomb. Or a Rad-cleanser. And a Breacher charge to treat challengers with non-Unwieldy S8 AP2. Look again, your model now costs ''~205 pts'', not to mention he still needs a retinue, which cost as much as Terminators (but Ferrox Thallax hit hard and Scyllax are customizable and outright scary). ''Srsly, why are you meleeing in a siege list?'' Because Archmagos Reductors are the only Archmagos to end up with WS&S5. Plus it's fucking fun.
**'''Ranged:''' A normal Reductor with a Photon Thruster/Conversion beamer and Augury Scanner is an interesting tactic and definitely one to consider for your Thanatar-Calix shepherd. It's cheap, makes you durable, and can help bring much needed high Strength/low AP firepower to the field, protect your side from deepstrikers and heal your Thanatar when it needs it, without being unreasonably expensive. You could put this guy in a unit of scyllax when rounding up your Thanatar because he will make them fearless and then their bolters can then fire at deepstrikers as well as the Magos's heavy weapon. ''Just ~100 pts there.''

[[Category:Warhammer Tactics/30k]]

Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Mechanicum: Taghmata (30k)

2017-12-29T21:09:24Z

2601:147:4200:6280:CD84:9D92:D635:D321: /* HQ */

''From the [[Heresy|weakness of the mind]], Omnissiah save us'' 
''From the [[Dark Mechanicum|lies of the Antipath]], Circuit preserve us'' 
''From the [[Men of Iron|rage of the Beast]], [[Pauldrons|Iron]] protect us'' 
''From the [[NSFW|temptations of the Flesh]], Silica cleanse us'' 
''From the [[Horus Heresy|ravages]] of the [[Chaos Gods|Destroyer]], [[Machine Spirit|Anima]] shield us'' 
''From this [[Imperium of Man|rotting cage of biomatter]], [[Omnissiah|Machine God]] set us free''.

Ave Omnissiah!

These are the current rules for the Horus Heresy era Mechanicum, featured in Forgeworld's book called Mechanicum: Taghmata Army List.
If you're looking for tactics with the previous versions of the Mechanicum, found in the Horus Heresy books, you'd find them here: [[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Mechanicum_(30k)|Previous Mechanicum Tactics.]]

For the generals on how to play the game and the basics on listbuilding (as well as other tactica rules) you may return to the [[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics|'''index''']]. You may also find the Horus Heresy general thread as "/HHG/" on [[/tg/]]

== Why Play The Mechanicum? ==
[[File:Belicosa_Potentis_Omnissiah.png|400px|thumbnail|right|Start at the top, and requisition your way to the bottom.]]

You've seen the models, right? For the first time since Rogue Trader, the followers of the Machine God can finally take to the field en masse! You can embody the grimdark universe of Warhammer <s>40,000</s> 30,000 with your exotic Martian death-rays, terrifying Battle-automata and horrific Cybernetic monstrosities.

Also? Robots.

At the beginning the force used to be divided between the three ordos of the Mechanicum: the footsloggin MCs of the Legio Cybernetica, the more complete Taghmata (vanilla) and the extremely limited Ordo Reductor. This led to question why would anyone ever use Reductor when the Taghmata list [[Fail|had better siege]] engines. The most recent update, however, fixes this problem by making you pick Taghmata as a base and then you can specialize into Reductor or Cybernetica as if they were Rites of War, with their advantages and limitations.

The list is still fairly small, with limited unit choices, but a large amount of flexibility within many of these units, and each new Horus Heresy source book would seem to be adding new units to choose from. Furthermore, all the Knights are available to use, beside the newest GW ones (just give it time), and the Ordinatus will probably have you shot if you actually use it against anyone. Be warned, this is a slippery slope that may result in the loss of financial security, family, friends and house...

Also, '' '''BIG''' Robots''!

Unusually for Forge World, the Mechanicum is one of the cheapest armies to get in to. It's possible to start an army with a single Magos, and a pair of Castellax or small Thallax Cohorts(Adsecularis if you really want to break the mold!). The army lists, whilst capable of standing alone, are intended to be used as allies for the Legion army list. As a starting point for a new army, this is ideal, as you need even less to get have something you can field. Mechanicum units provide you with some unique possibilities for conversions, too! Take a cursory glance around Coolminiornot or a painting forum and you'll find some damn fine examples. Of course, if this is not your thing, Forge World's own models are more than capable of satisfying any model fanatic.

Gameplay wise, you are universally '''hard as nails'''. There are only 3 models with 1 wound, one of which has a 3+ save, another T5, and the last one is dirt cheap and full of upgrades, all of which have access to FNP. However, with a handful of exceptions your models are somewhat pricey (with one, very notable exception), following the trend of a bare bones high T multiwound unit with 4+ save costing as much as a delicious 2+ save Terminator, and it mostly goes up from there. Tough as you are, this is primarily a crutch for the vast the majority of your army is short ranged and with low In, though you hardly lack in long range if you wanna invest some points here and there. Also, their high Toughness and numerous wounds are very vulnerable to Instant Death and weapons that do not roll against Toughness to wound (such as Rad and Poison), and their majority 4+ save doesn't do much to prevent this, but at least Ld isn't much of a problem with the abundance of Stubborn and Fearless, as robots have no feelings ([[Men of Iron|except hatred for the living]]). Along with the usual slow speed and short range of your models, it will be a pain in the mechadentrite to deal with those skyhunter Jetbikes.

It should also be noted that the Ad Mech got two new army books in 40k: [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Skitarii (7E)|Skitarii]], and [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Cult Mechanicus(7E)|Cult Mechanicus]]

==Special Rules==

===Warlord Traits===
All generic Mechanicum Warlords from all three lists have the option of getting a Warlord trait from one of the charts in the main rulebook, or rolling on their own unique chart:

#'''Master of Mechanisms:''' Select one MC unit or vehicle squadron with at least AV12 or more in the same detachment. This unit/squadron gets It Will Not Die. ''Very useful, it gives the best part of Paragon of Metal to a whole unit and lessens your Battlesmiths' workload''.
#'''Perfected Targeting:''' In the Shooting phase, select a Heavy weapon within 6" of the Warlord. The weapon counts as Twin-linked for the turn. This can be done every turn. ''Generally agreeable as any Mechanicum army will have many Heavy weapons''.
#'''Predictive Augury:''' The Warlord and his unit's overwatch hits on a 5+. ''Exceedingly awesome with Myrmidons''.
#'''The Death of Flesh:''' All units in the detachment have Preferred Enemy (Infantry - All Types) while within 3" of an objective. ''Helps a lot when storming enemy points or defending yours, so even Cybernetica (who aren't usually concerned about Objective markers) could make use of this to kill the enemy scoring units''.
#'''Dread Rites:''' The Warlord and his unit have seen and done some serious shit. They both cause Fear and are immune to it, and also gain Adamantium Will. ''Useful for Melee Magi. Wasted on Battle-Automata, who have all those rules by default''.
#'''Battlefield Analysis:''' After deployment but before the game begins, select a piece of terrain in the opponent's deployment zone and reduce its cover save by -1. ''Can stack to ludicrous levels with the myriad of other cover-reducing options your army has''.

===Cybertheurgy===
[[Omnissiah|Psychic powers for machines]]. WHERE IS YOUR WHEEL OF CHEESE NOW?!

In order to successfully use a power, the cybertheurgist must take a Leadership test. Depending on the strength and difficulty of the power, a bonus or penalty may be imposed on the Leadership value of the model making the test (note that this is applied always to the characteristic value being tested, not the dice result)
If the test is passed, the power takes effect. If the test is failed, nothing happens, but if the test is failed because a double 6 was rolled, the power has both failed AND gone awry. Roll immediately on the cybertheurgy mishap table.

*'''Cybertheurgy mishap table'''
**'''1-3 Signal Corruption:''' The target battle-automata may only fire snap shots and fights with WS 1 in assaults for the next game turn.
**'''4-5 Corrosive Paradox:''' The target battle-automata suffers a wound with no armour or cover saves possible.
**'''6 Malifica:''' The Machine Spirit rebels and gains [[Men_of_Iron|self awareness]]! The battle-automata is now destroyed for the purposes of VPs and is no longer part of the controlling player's force. If part of a unit, it is separated and placed out of coherency with the unit. The battle-automata is still used in the previously controlling player's turn, but will from now on move towards and shoot at the closest unit each turn and then assault that same unit if able. Both sides may now target the battle-automata if they desire.

*'''The Powers of Cybertheurgy'''
**'''Rite of Celerity, Ld Modifier 0:''' Target battle-automata gets +2 Initiative for the duration of the effect.
***Very situational, Castellax and Thanatars don't need it (as it's very hard to wound them in combat except for Primarchs who will still hit first), but Vorax will be at I6, hitting before commanders (except Emperor's Children commanders),<s> avoiding being krak'ed to death by Marines</s> not anymore thank to FaQ/Errata, in legio cybernetyca Vorax will become I7 hitting even before EC or Custodes.
**'''Rite of Eternity, Ld Modifier 0:''' Target Battle-automata regains 1 wound.
***This isn't that handy: Battlesmith is probably just as likely to go off, but if you really need to heal that Castellax, or don't have a reason to use any other Rite, <s>then there's no reason you cannot use this ''and'' Battlesmith</s>. Email from FW confirms you may only use Battlesmith and Cybertheurgy if you can fire more than two weapons in the shooting phase (i.e, Myrmidon Magos). Paragons of Metal can survive being fire magnets and [[Tarrasque|regain up to 3W per turn]]...if you're willing to risk a Malifica.
****FW emails have no value,everyone can fake it,only FaQ/Errata can decide this,but good common sense and fair play let people choose between battlesmith and Cybertheurgy (only one becouse any infantry model can fire one weapon only. BUT if you are a myrmidax or have a machinator array you can swap the two shooting attacks for BOTH battlesmith and Cybertheurgy (if you are a myrmidax+machinator array you can fire also one other weapon)
**'''Rite of Fury, Ld Modifier -1:''' Target battle-automata gets +2 attacks for the duration of the effect.
***A Castellax on the charge will mathematically produce seven S6 AP2 attacks + HoW (or better, depending on loadout): 1 HoW, 2 normal attacks, 2 from Rage, 2 from Fury and all of that with Concussive, which in anybody's book is incredible.
****Even better,with Retribution come the ARLATAX FMC,that with arc scourge will do 3+1 (assault)+D3 (rampage)+2 from the rite,up to 9 attacks in charge at S7 ap2 Armorbane and concussive! And if it is the SCORIA BFF HOMUNCULEX it can fullfill the 10 attacks stat because of RAGE!
**'''Rite of Destruction, Ld Modifier -1:''' Target battle-automata may fire its weapons twice against the same target in its shooting phase, but cannot use ranged weapons in the next shooting phase.
***Useful at long ranges, like firing 4 Darkfire shots or letting loose [[Touhou|16 rotor gun shots]] at 30" with Voraxes, not to mention planting [[Rape|two Hellex Large Blasts]]. However, it's a ''life saver at '''close range''''' whenever you DON'T want to get stuck in melee: Unit with Meltabombs? Double fire from Mauler cannons gets them Pinned. '''Tarpit too close to your Calix?''' Double TL Mauler again AND double graviton template with -2Ld modifier stops their charge. [[Horus|FUCKING HORUS]] dropping in with [[Rape|12 Justaerin bodyguard]]? Drop that sweet instant-killing plasma on them, and make ''them'' roll for [[FATAL|Anal Circumference]]. Sure, you could have Overwatched, but those are mere snapshots, and there's always [[That_Guy|the guy]] who argues MCs only overwatch with 1 weapon. You don't need +2 attacks if the enemy never gets to melee. If you're planning to be the one charging, then ask your Magos if Fury is better for you.
****Now it explicitly says it can't fire its weapons ''at all'' until the next shooting phase. This would include Overwatch and Interception.
**'''Rite of Dread Castigation, Ld Modifier -2:''' May ONLY target ENEMY battle-automata. Both sides roll a D6 and add Leadership (Cybertheurgist for the attacker, Battle-automata for the defender). Battle-automata suffers a wound with no armour or cover save allowed for each point that the attacker's total exceeds that of the defender. If a mishap happens, do not roll on the table; instead, the cybertheurgist suffers a 'Corrosive Paradox' and deals no damage to the target, leaving him wounded and within 12" of an MC. Use with caution.
***Pretty useful as Magi (and especially Archmagi) have much higher Leadership than battle-automata, making wounds that ignore the battle-automata's usual advantage: their high Toughness. It can help kill Paragons of Metal or Thanatars very quickly.
**'''Rite of Immolation, Ld Modifier -3:''' Target Battle-automata self-destructs. Replace the model with a Large Blast marker. S = Battle-automata's Toughness, AP = Battle-automata's armour save. If a mishap happens while trying to use Rite of Immolation, don't roll on the mishap table; instead, the Malifica effect is automatically applied.
***While this one can be hard to pull off, it's amazing when it does. Use on Thanatars who somehow got stuck into combat (as they're usually going to be stuck there for the entire game) for a blast capable of ID'ing marines at AP2, or Castellax for a S7 AP3 blast that'll wipe out the unit they're up against (well worth it for 105 points, especially if you're up against a 250+ pts Assault squad).

==Armoury of the Omnissiah==
Being a heresy era list, we get some funky wargear that's not found in later eras/outside of the hallowed halls of the machine god. Augments may also be a thing.

===Ranged Weapons===
*'''Archeotech Pistol:''' S6 AP3 Master-crafted pistol. A plasma pistol-lite for the Magos that places safety above all.
*'''Conversion Beam Weapons:''' Could be seen as inverse Melta, inflicting greater damage at longer ranges. The only differences between the Heavy and regular version are that the Heavy has a large blast radius and the '''Firing Calibration''' rule, which means the unit has to remain stationary in order to fire, even if it is Relentless or a Vehicle. ''On the corner of a standard 48" x 72" table it has [[FATAL|60% of the table in a S10 AP2 Large Blast killzone]], but this would only matter if the battlefield is modeled after parking lot, so the S8 AP4 Small Blast profile is the one you'll more commonly use''.
*'''Graviton Weapons:''' Not to be confused with [[Grav-Weaponry|Grav-weapons]]; their wounding mechanism has nothing to do with the enemy's armour save. These Heavy weapons (not Salvo) possess no Strength, but have both Concussion and Haywire effects. They make the enemy take Strength tests; if the result is above their Strength they take a wound - a result of 6 always causes a wound. So they are effectively [[Fail|Strength 3]], wounding GEQs on 4+, and MEQs on 5+, making it ineffective against infantry blobs. That's not why you're taking them though. You take them to dump haywire on the super-tough vehicles of this era. If you have nothing better to shoot at then you can use it bog down infantry because it also creates Difficult and Dangerous terrain in its blast radius, so it can at least severely hinder their movement which is certainly useful e.g. against melee dependent Legions such as World Eaters, Blood Angles etc. Don't expect many kills though because AP4 in the space marine millennium is just... sub optimal (although you will pull some kills back through the broken ankles via failed Dangerous Terrain checks). Stick to hunting vehicles unless you can spam fire against infantry using Myrmidon Secutors.
*'''Graviton Imploders:''' The 40k grav-guns to which you're used to (unless you began playing 30K before the 40K version of grav came out, in which case kudos). Trouble with Terminators? Accept no substitute! These are Salvo 2/4 AP2 grav guns, so the roll to wound mirrors the armor save of the target, with 18" range. So now you can have it both ways. It has problems when faced with large blobs with poor/no armour, but those things are generally easily killed by everything else, so it balances out.
*'''Las-Lock:''' The Minie-Ball muzzle-loaded musket to the Lasgun's AK47. Shorter 18" range and fewer shots at Assault 1, but packs a nasty S4 AP6 punch. Of course, as of current, AP6 is completely useless, but S4 however is not.
*'''Mitra-Lock:''' The Scattergun of the Las Family. It's an [[Derp|8" range]] Las-lock, but it gains Shred.
**'''Induction chargers:''' An optional attachment to ''both'' Las-locks AND Mitra-locks, it upgrades them to Assault 2.
*'''Maxima Bolter:''' Storm bolters with 50% more shots but 50% less range. Too bad it's Assault instead of a Pistol, so it doesn't give you +1 attack or the ability to fire it Gunslinger style, while still having a measly 12" range.
*'''Mauler Bolt cannon:''' Spiced-up Heavy bolter, with S6 AP3 Pinning, but keeping the short-ranged trend at only 24".
*'''Phased Plasma-Fusil:''' S6 AP3 Salvo 2/3 plasma that [[Tau|doesn't get hot]]. Since most of our dudes are Relentless, Salvo isn't really a concern. They are terrifyingly efficient marine wood-chippers.
*'''Phosphex Weapons:''' Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore's [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx5N-4JvVyk| preferred fragrance], this is your [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napalm napalm]/space [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_phosphorus_munitions white phosphorus], as it burns, it's poisonous and stick to surfaces. As if its S5 and AP2 wasn't going to ruin your opponent's day quite horribly enough, it also possesses Poison 3+. The '''Lingering Death''' rule causes the blast radius to remain on the field and become Dangerous terrain and, after scatter, '''Crawling fire''' lets you move the marker up to 2" in any direction so long as it covers more models, making it incredibly effective against units that are about to charge you, and with a lowly 6" range for the bomb version that's basically the extent of their use. Fortunately Medusas & Lightnings are capable of firing Phosphex munitions at a much greater range.
*'''Photon Weapons''' Funky disco-light ray guns that have '''AP2''', Blind and ''LANCE'', but also Gets Hot. Comes in Gauntlet (12" S5 Assault 2, no lance), Thruster (48" S6 Heavy 2) and Darkfire cannon (60" S7 heavy 2) sizes -- ''A glimmer of light upon this Armoured Ceramite'd millennium''.
*'''(I)Rad Weapons:''' Chernobyl guns, these are what you get if you rip out a cathode ray tube from an old television and soup them up. They shoot [[Awesome|''Fleshbane templates'']], and even if the enemy survives he'll die later of space-cancer, represented in crunch by '''Rad-phage''', which means unsaved wounds leave the model with a Toughness and Strength penalty [[FATAL|''for the rest of the battle'']]. They come in Lucifex (pistol), Cleanser (assault) and Engine (Heavy) sizes, and the largest one gets [[Rape|Torrent and AP3]].
**'''Rad grenades:''' Special grenades that reduce the enemy's toughness by one until the end of the assault phase, yours or your enemy's. Note this ''does'' affect Instant Death thresholds.
*'''Rotor Cannon:''' Basically a Salvo Lasgun. Most of the things that can take it are Relentless, so it's a nice way to add volume of fire, but more importantly, at 30" range. They're still S3, so don't get too worked up.
*'''Volkite Weapons:''' The original Martian ray guns®. Dating back to the Age of Strife, they were in the process of being replaced by the bolter as the preferred weapon of the Space Marines due to difficulties in production and maintenance.Volkite weapons have the '''Deflagrate''' special rule, which means each unsaved wound caused inflicts another automatic hit. Additional hits this way cannot cause yet more hits. They come in five flavours: Serpenta (S5 Pistol), Charger (S5 Assault 2), Caliver (S6 Heavy 2), Culverin (S6 Heavy 4) and the monstrous Carronade (S8 with Haywire and a beam effect that lets it hit everything in a straight line in front of it, with '''AP2'''). However, while they have higher Strength, they suffer from a short range and commonly have AP5.

===Melee weapons===

*'''Corposant Stave:''' A stun baton cranked up to 11. Str +1 AP4 Concussive and Two-handed weapon with Haywire. Versatile, can be useful when hunting anything Carapace-armored and even Battle-automata, like enemy Mechanicum. Too bad it's eclipsed by better options.
*'''Heavy Chainblade:''' Different to the main rulebook's Heavy Chainswords, these +2S AP4 Two-handed chainweapons are available for your common troops, which means it's easily massed, and their strength is enough to ID guardsmen and be a threat to vehicles.
*'''Paragon Blade:''' +1S AP2 Specialist melee weapon ''without'' Unwieldy that inflicts Instant Death on a wound roll of 6. Archmagos Prime exclusive, but unless he is a Malagra, he has better things to do rather than being stuck in melee. And even there, his relatively low Initiative & number of attacks and high Toughness means that, unless the enemy has Instant Death, he is better off with a Chainfist. But can be easily be combined with Toughness-decreasing items like Rad grenades and Furnaces to deliver armour-ignoring Instant Death to Space Marine characters before they can power fist you.

===Equipment & Special Rules===

*'''Abeyant:''' A special ride for your Magos, this gives him +1 Wound, Move Through Cover, Very Bulky, IWND and '''Hardened Armor''' (re-rolls failed armour saves from template or blast weapons, but reduces charge, sweep advance and run moves by -1" and counts as Void Hardened in ZM). Damn good value for its price.
*'''Augury Scanner:''' No unit can infiltrate within 18" of the unit. In addition, grants Interceptor to the unit's Rapid fire & Heavy weapons but only against enemies ''within 18" of an Augury scanner'' turning this from an auto-include item to situational, namely, to keep someone from infiltrating with a melta near your tanks' rear AV. ''Keep in mind 18" is the range of Graviton Imploders, and your forces have lots of low AP weapons''.
*'''Battlesmith:''' If a Battlesmith is in base contact with, or embarked upon, one or more damaged vehicles during the Shooting phase, they can attempt to repair on of them instead of firing a weapon. On a D6 roll of 5+ you may do one of the following: 1) Restore a lost Hull Point 2) Repair a Weapon Destroyed result 3) Repair an Immobilized result to the attendant vehicle. If a Weapon Destroyed result is repaired, that weapon can be fired in the following Shooting phase.
*'''Cortex Controller:''' Any unit with a model within 12" of a guy with Cortex Controller no longer suffers from Programmed Behavior. This is phase based, so things like running, consolidating, etc., can take them out of range during a turn.
**If the model has both a Cortex Controller and the Battlesmith rule, they can repair wounds on Battle-automata with the same repair roll. Hand out these to your Magi and Techpriests and watch your Castellax never fucking die.
*'''Cyber familiar:''' +1 to your invuln save, up to 3++, and lets you reroll failed tests other than Ld and Dangerous terrain.
*'''Cyber Occularis:''' Like servo skulls, but they're actually models now. They're Jetpack Infantry, bought as equipment by Magi and must deploy with him, but afterwards they can wander off on their own. They don't take up any transport space, but can only ride vehicles when accompanying their Magos. All models of the same detachment within 3" of them gain full Interceptor (no 18" restriction), and enemies within 12" of them get their cover saves reduced by 1. Nice combo with almost all your units. Unfortunately, they can't join units, but they have a 3+ save and Stealth, so bubble wrap them inside other units. Hilariously, having BS3 and a TL Laspistol they're better at shooting than guardsmen.
*'''Djinn-skein:''' Combos quite nice with Cyber-occularis. You can designate one unit within 6" of your Archmagos or any of his Cyber-occularis to gain +1 BS, including himself, and Barrage weapons can draw line of sight from them. It also prevents the scattering of units that arrive within 6" of him.
*'''Fusillade Attack:''' The model may [[Crisis_battlesuit|fire 2 ranged weapons]] in the shooting phase at the same target.
*'''Infravisor:''' Gain Night Vision, but Blind tests are taken at Initiative 1, but it's not like you had such high Initiative in the first place.
*'''Mechanicum Protectiva:''' Iron Halo for Magi.
*'''Nuncio Vox:''' ''Mixed older pattern of the current Locator Beacon-cum-Vox Caster''. Radio backpack that prevents the scatter of models that Deep strike 6" near the vox user AND allows Barrage weapons to use the carrying model's line of sight (range is still measured from the firing model).
*'''Servo-Arm:''' Models with the Battlesmith special rule may add +1 to their Repair roll result. May also make one additional Str 8 AP 2 Unwieldy attack in melee.
*'''Machinator Array:''' ''Older pattern of [[Dark_Mechanicum|Mechatendrils]]/Servo-harness''. Models with the Battlesmith special rule may add +2 to their Repair roll result. Adds +1 to wielder's Toughness and provides Night Vision. Also comes with Flamer and Inferno pistol, and you can shoot both in the same shooting phase or one of them and one of your other ranged weapons, akin to a Fusillade Attack. May also make two additional Shred Armourbane Power Axe attacks in melee. ''Since it let's you shoot two weapons it allows your Magos Dominus to use Battlesmith and Cybertheurgy in the same shooting phase''. Nice value.
*'''Lorica Thallax:''' Thallax armor, grants them a 4+ save and FnP(6), but prevents them from Sweep Advancing.
*'''Lumbering Advance:''' Models with this rule cant Run or make Sweep Advances.
*'''Rad Furnace:''' -1 Toughness to enemies locked in combat with them (e-mails to FW confirm Scyllax do not make any friendly troops -1T period) as well as granting immunity to Rad grenades and other Rad Furnaces, and makes Poison and Rad-phage only wound [[Mortarion|on a 6]]. Can now be taken by Magos Prime and Magos Reductor as well.
*'''Sunder:''' Attacks re-roll failed Armor Penetration rolls.
*'''Wrecker:''' Attacks re-roll failed Building Penetration and add +1 to the Building Damage chart.
*'''Secutarii Hazard Protocols''': Essentially replacing the Skitarii protocols, this raises their BS by 1, allowing them to make snap shots at BS2, but can't run and they reduce their Initiative and WS by 1.
*'''Titan Guard''': This rule only comes into effect in the really big games, as it gives the Titan Guards a re-roll on Morale and FNP checks when within 12" of a friendly Titan.

===Vehicle and Battle-automata Equipment & Rules===

*'''Anbaric Claw:''' [https://youtu.be/uRNVxHPJ0hM?t=15 Vehicle-mounted bug-zapper] that can be used once per player turn. D6 S5 AP4 Rending hits at I10 makes for a useful <s>car alarm</s> defensive system, but it hits ''all'' units near 1" of the hull (except for transported units), so rub your hands and exclaim "Clear!" each time you use it. It also hits Ramming/ed vehicles.
*'''Atomantic Shielding:''' The same as Legion Contemptors, 5++ save against shooting and explosions, 6++ against melee. If the Battle-automata explodes, add D6" to the radius.
*'''Battle-automata Power Blades:''' AP2 Rending weapons. Being MCs, Battle-automata melee attacks are already AP2, so the main use for them is the extra attack (because they are counted as a weapon) and, with some luck, some armor penetration due to Smash getting worse in 7th Ed.
*'''Blessed Autosimulacra:''' Weaker version of IWND, regaining a HP on a 6.
*'''Enhanced Targeting Array:''' +1 BS, and reduces enemy cover save by 1.
*'''Flare Shield:''' Front facing force field that reduces the strength of incoming frontal shots by -1. Template/Blast weapons get a -2S reduction instead, but melee/Destroyer hits are unaffected - ''Flare shielded vehicles are nigh impossible to destroy in ranged combat, much less if they are constantly being repaired/regenerating. Needless to say, [[Cheese|abuse it]].''
*'''Cybernetica Cortex:''' The Battle-automata's synthetic brain, which takes them from mere battle [[servitor]]s to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminator_(character_concept) T-800] stats. Since "Battle-automata" doesn't exist as a rule, this is what usually identifies them as such. It grants them a whole set of rules: '''Fearless''', '''Adamantium Will''', '''Cybernetic Resilience''', '''Fire Protocols''', '''Machine Creature''' and '''Programmed Behaviour'''.
**'''Fire Protocols:''' Now separate from "Programmed Behaviour", it enables the Battle-automata to shoot up to three weapons each shooting phase. Doesn't say anything about Overwatch or Interceptor, tho.
**'''Cybernetic Resilience:''' Successful wounds scored by Poisoned weapons must be rerolled, but Haywire wounds them on a separate D6 roll of a 6, all kind of saves allowed. They also reroll Fleshbane wounds, but can you get that 1?
**'''Machine Creature:''' This thing never scores. EVER. Still denies as normal.
**'''Programmed Behavior:''' Unless within 12" of a friendly model with a Cortex Controller or already locked in combat, the following restrictions are placed on the units:
***'''Target Priority:''' If an enemy model is within 12" and in line of sight during the shooting phase, the Battle-automata must fire all its weapons against the closest enemy unit it is able to harm. If that's not the case, then they are free to select targets as usual.
***'''Onslaught:''' If an enemy model is within 12" during their assault phase, the Battle-automata must attempt to charge the closest enemy unit. Note that the Battle-automata may still only charge the same unit it fired at in the Shooting Phase. If consolidating after combat, they must do so towards the nearest enemy model if there is one within 12". ''The most noticeable "disadvantage" of unnacompanied automata, if tarpits get within 12" range, that's it, you're facing them in CC instead of doing something useful''.
***'''Methodical:''' May not make Sweeping Advances or Run - ''After Onslaught forced you into combat, Methodical prevents you from finishing them. Remember! An unattended Battle-automata can be easily lured away and may not make back its points''.
*'''Paragon of Metal:''' If a Cybernetica Cortex turns machines into T-800s, this turns them into freaking Ultron. Paragons of Metal aren't subject to Programmed Behavior and gain IWND and Rampage, which is nice because they only come in units of 1 and they will become [[DISTRACTION_CARNIFEX|fire magnets]]. However, instead of Cybertheurgy mishaps they go full rampant, becoming [[Iron_Men|Malifica]].
*'''Reactor Blast:''' When killed, Battle-automata explode on a D6 roll of 6 - ''Being a S4 explosion it's more of a "farewell fuck you" to the offending unit rather than a danger to your automata''.
*'''Shock chargers:''' Adds 'Concussive' to all melee attacks, ''including'' Smash and Hammer of Wrath hits, though it doesn't give an additional attack due to not being a melee weapon per se.
*'''Volkite Sentinels:''' Independent pintle-mounted Volkite chargers with their own cogitator, they can be fired in addition to the host vehicle's weapons without penalty and against different targets.

===Relics of the Dark Age of Technology===

So, Conquest gave us couple of new toys! Relics are powerful items product of mankind's golden age. You can buy only one of each per army, and only for a non-unique IC, so no cloaking array for Draykavac or something. As for the January 2016 FAQ relics require your opponent's consent to be used. be careful about building lists that break without them.

In a campaign you're only allowed one character with a relic, which you'll be stuck with for the rest of the campaign, so be sure of your decision. If the relic bearer is killed, the side that killed him can choose to play a Relic Hunt mission, where the winner steals (or recovers) the relic, even if it's a Legion specific one, but a Draw means that relic is effectively lost for everyone. Still, you can always opt to play a 'Relic Hunt' mission at the beginning of every campaign phase to [[Blood_Ravens|acquire]] FREE relics, where your war zone-assigned character must be deployed. That way you can [[Adeptus_Mechanicus|divert lots of resources to hoard up on relics]], even getting duplicates of the non-faction-specific ones, by rolling a D6 on the 'Relic Uncovered' table below. As Mechanicum you should do this [[Fluff|EVERY time]]. Of course, this only matters when playing missions instead of casual gaming, so you could put one of each on your Archmagos and become the avatar of the Omnissiah. Enjoy!

*'''#1 Nanyte Blaster:''' The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_goo| Grey Goo] gun of uncontrolled carnage!!! It's a S5 AP2 Fleshbane weapon, where if it kills anyone you centre a large blast over the dead model on a die roll of 4+, causing a S5 AP2 hit to those underneath it. Unlike Volkite, each model who dies to this can cause ''yet MOAR'' large blasts on further rolls of a 4+. All you need to do is get one casualty and you can wipe out an entire unit! Smashing!
*'''#2 Warp Shunt Field:''' 3++ against shooting, however for every save of a 6+ (against direct fire weapons) the shooting unit suffers D6 S5 hits. ''Feeling envious, Satarael?'' And it only costs 20 pts more than a Cyber familiar, but only works at range. This is the only risk-free defensive relic.
*'''#3 [[Warp_Spiders|Phase Walker]]:''' Each moving phase, instead of moving you may place the bearer ANYWHERE you like, counting as having just deep struck but with no scatter. If you move through a solid object you have to take a Dangerous terrain check for EACH solid object you went through (including all models) so be wary of abusing it in City scenarios. If your dude also has Move through Cover (i.e.: Abeyant or Reductor), then feel free to abuse it. Works well for solo characters since they can't move with their unit.
*'''#4 Combat Augment Array:''' Once per game, at the beginning of any of the controller's player turn, he may count any '''single''' die (only 1) rolled as an automatic 6 (Emails from FW confirm). However, he must also pass Toughness tests for each remaining wound. Yes, your T6 Magos also thinks the flesh is weak. If he fails he suffers a wound with no saves or mitigating FnP rolls of any kind. A Cyber Familiar can mitigate the danger by granting a re-roll and an Abeyant gives you IWND, and you were taking both of them anyway. However, you're paying 35pts for '''one''' guaranteed 6 - better take a Paragon blade with your Archmagos (Malagra or Reductor) and instakill that pesky Thanatar or enemy Archmagos, for none of those have Eternal Warrior.
*'''#5 Cloaking Array:''' Once per game, at the ''beginning'' of ANY game turn you may make yourself invisible for that whole game turn (ie. on the 3rd turn both in your and your opponent's turn, thus starting on your enemy's turn if he goes first). You cannot be shot or charged at unless the enemy unit contains psykers or daemons, in which case the array immediately shuts down (so now ''everyone'' can hit you, not just the previous two). Unfortunately you cannot activate it while attached to a squad or if engaged in close combat already. You also cannot shoot, assault, move or ''do anything at all'' - Can't even perform actions that don't count as shooting, like Bombardment attacks. So your model stands on the same spot invisible but doing nothing during a whole game turn. Note that characteristics remain active and can actually perform actions that don't need to be declared - for example, units still arrive with no scatter near an invisible Djinn-skein user and artillery can still draw LoS from him. By its nature it benefits ranged, lone characters more than melee ones. There are relics easier to use than this one, though - very situational and LOTS of limitations.
*'''#6 [[Void_shields|Void Shield]] Harness:''' The Omnissiah preserves you with a Voidshield for your dude. It's a large blast-sized shield, centered on your dude but protecting anyone that fits inside. Glancing, Penetrating and Destroyer hits will collapse the shield, but it can be restored at the end of your turn on a 5+, and with AV12 you'll be immune to most small arms fire. However, a result of Explodes! will overload the shield, disabling it for the rest of the game and placing a S6 AP4 Pinning Large Blast template centered on the bearer, so ''keep away from meltaguns'' (or deepstrike some of your own to watch some enemy-HQ-flavored fireworks). Being Mechanicum you can slap this on an unkillable magos inside of an unkillable mech raider, assuming you are going for maximum trolling (and really, who isn't?).

====Mechanicum exclusive relics====
*'''Cortica Primus:''' Nice piece of equipment! Counts as Cortex Controller which gives you ability to cast those awesome Cybertheurgy spells on the ENTIRE unit of Battle-automata, but if you roll Mishap, its result is modified by +1 for every additional model in a unit (so a unit of 3 would have a +2 modifier). Only the new (Arch)Magos Dominus can use this properly and that's actually fair, although it has its risks: Imagine the might of a [[Tzeench|double-tapping]]/[[Khorne|angry]]/[[Nurgle|regenerating]]/[[Slaanesh|lightning-fast]] MC SQUAD, the [[Deathstar_Units|Deathstar]] to end all deathstars...[[FATAL|unless they '''ALL''' turn Malifica on him]].
*'''Contagium Mechanica:''' Spoopy Scary sentient computer virus that comes to destroy enemies of the Omnissiah! Well, at least their vehicles. It is a 12" Assault 1, Haywire weapon. If vehicle survives this DEVASTATING hit, then it starts to spread the virus itself. In each of your subsequent Shooting phases, each vehicle within 12" of the survivor (and the survivor itself) takes a hit from the weapon. Every vehicle that survives then become infected, and everything goes round 'n round until there are no more tanks to destroy... Awesome. Keep in mind that if the enemy manages this poorly you could have a robo plague bouncing up and down his line hitting tanks multiple times. . . or bouncing up your own vehicles if he gets an infected machine up in your grill. Use with caution.

==Taghmata Unit Analysis==

The main army that uses pretty much everything but is the baseline for all Mechanicum. Taghmata's advantages lie within the immense power and variety that can be possessed by a Magos Prime, without the compromises that must be met when playing as Cybernetica or Reductor, so unless you tailor your army to a specific theme/Style, you'll basically be using this mostly.

===HQ===
*'''Magos Prime:''' Now with Independent Character and Precision Shots! They [[Forgeworld|MUST BUY]] a Techno-Arcana, so they start as expensive WS3 Consuls…and they get even more expensive, but being Mechanicum lords they make up by having a huge amount of customization options, like a Jetpack to have [[Crisis_Battlesuit|flying heavy weapons]] that keep up with Thallax, or go solo, etc. – so many they have a whole section for that [[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Mechanicum:_Taghmata_(30k)#Magos_options|'''here''']]. Besides his wargear and Arcana he can be upgraded to Archmagos, becoming kind of like <s>a Praetor</s> a freaking monster with Relentless (to properly use those Heavy weapons of his without ''needing'' a Jetpack) T5, W3, BS5 and a 2+ save; up to [[Chapter_Master_Smashfucker|'''T6 W4 IWND and 2+/3++''']] with the Machinator Array, Abeyant and Cyber-familiar so many builds use – he’s already expensive, you might as well equip him nicely. The upgrade also unlocks 3 awesome options: the mighty Paragon Blade, the Archimandrite Techno-Arcana and, if he’s the Warlord, a Djinn-skein to greatly help your army. Makes sense you can only have 1 Archmagos in your army. The '''Orders of High Techno-Arcana''' are like space military PhDs that pretty much dictate how you're going to play, and are the following:
**'''Archimandrite:''' Archmagos exclusive, so there can be only one. ALL vehicles in the detachment (so not allies or LoWs) [[Iron_Hands|gain IWND]] (replacing Blessed Autosimulacra) ''by his mere presence'' and, if he is the Warlord, adds +1 to Reserve Rolls. He allows you to field some of the most fearsome Mech(anicum) lists in the game, especially when most of your options are Flare shielded, not to mention it comboes well with deepstriking Thallax, LRs with Explorator Augury Webs and makes your flyers (your army's weakest section) arrive faster and last longer - ''Overall the most supportive arcana. Coupled with a Djinn-skein and multiple Cyber-occularis he becomes the most supportive unnamed character ever.''
**'''Malagra:''' Heretek and MC hunters, they get +1WS and +1 Attack as well as Preferred Enemy (Characters), Monster Hunter and Precision Strikes. If you want your Magos to be a Mech-assassin and get up close and personal, he is your go-to guy. At I4 most CC characters are likely to hit faster than him, but properly equipped (which makes him even more expensive) he should be able to tank the damage and punch some skulls out. Good for one thing only, he kinda ''needs'' Archmagos stats to stand out, otherwise he'll be like the Legion Champion: a discount version of something better, useful for one thing only - ''The best recipient for a Combat Augment Array and Paragon Blade.'' FAQ update: as of the last FAQ, if a unit contains anything you have Preferred Enemy against, all attacks against that unit get the PE rerolls. Given almost every non-vehicle astartes unit contains a Character (the sergeant), a Malagra can give their unit PE against most of an astartes army.
**'''Myrmidax:''' Makes him a Myrmidon Lord...lord, gaining Fusillade attack, Hatred (Everything), Lumbering Advance, Precision shot on a 5+, but most importantly, Relentless, meaning he doesn't need a Jetpack or the Archmagos upgrade in order to move and shoot those sweet heavy weapons (of which ''he can fire 2''), although BS5 does help. Furthermore, Photon thrusters now don't overlap with the best options, and he can take two of them! [[Dakka|Four S6 Lance AP2 shots]] are bound to make some damage. Hatred means he's no slouch in melee, but you'll want him shooting all game long - ''Overall, the shootiest Magos.''
**'''Ordinator:''' Not to be confused with the proper Magos Reductor, their roles don't overlap, but can actually complement each other nicely. All of his attacks have Armourbane and Wrecker, and he also has one Bombardment attack (Ordnance D3, Large blast, Pinning, Armourbane, Wrecker, S8 AP3 One-use) which is one of the few Large blasts you have access to as a regular Taghmata, although it needs LOS. Regarding Armourbane, you already have lots of anti-tank stuff already, although an Armourbane Photon cannon is one of the few thing that can and WILL kill even a Flare shielded Armoured Ceramite Spartan, and if he can kill those he can kill anything with an AV. But maybe you want to have half your army shooting at it for the entire game, it's up to you. You don't want to know what an Ordinator [[Rape|does]] with a [[FATAL|Wrecker Armourbane Conversion Beam at full range]]. A regular Meltagun is also nice for him as Armourbane ignores Armoured Ceramite (and is independent of range unlike the Melta rule), and doesn't need Relentless – ''The Myrmidax shoots more but the Ordinator shoots stronger''.
**'''Lachrimallus:''' The most resilient Magos, his 5+ FNP will make your enemy weep cursed tears of rage each time he fails to kill him. He also makes Tech-thrall units come [[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Imperial_Guard/Death_Korps_of_Krieg_Assault_Brigade(7E)|back from the dead and into Ongoing reserves]] on a 5+, and forces you to take at least one unit of them. This guy won't go down quickly, if you're taking an Archimandrite and sizeable numbers of well equipped Thralls, take this guy. The former allows you to field those Thralls quicker, and the latter makes them return into reserves for free, potentially maximizing cost effectiveness. Also notice unlike the Archimandrite, this guy ''does not'' need to be the Warlord to use his bonus - ''Makes your Thrall screens recyclable, but that's not necessarily an instant win button: you'll need several squads to make it count, your enemy DOES receive VPs for killing them and they still have a 2/3 chance of dying for real. Keep them cheap so you can afford other things to do the real damage''.
**'''Macrotek:''' Enginseer lords, they reroll Battlesmith tests and can take Enginseer Tech-Priests Auxilia (Enginseer only) as troops, as well as allowing an extra fortification (unless forbidden by the mission). Given that Battle-automata can't score anymore it makes sense to give them Troop (scoring) Enginseer escorts with Cortex controllers, and/or he himself should be given both a Cortex controller and a Machinator Array to repair Battle-automata on a rerollable 3+. - ''Toppling a Castellum Stronghold isn't just anything, imagine now 2. Bringing 2 Turbo Laser Destructor-armed Primus Redoubts will get you shot, though''.
**These sphincters are ridiculously durable. If you created a Magos character for a Conquest campaign (HH4), the progression and wargear can take him up to '''T7'''. Yes, like a fucking Castellax. Properly built they can tie/beat Smashbubbler(link?)(Link or it didn't happen). http://boards.4chan.org/tg/thread/36435186/horus-heresy-conquest#p36450691. However, '''NO MAGOS HAS ETERNAL WARRIOR''', meaning most builds need the upgrade to T6, and even then a lucky (or Combat Augmented) Paragon Blade can be the end of your 200pts+ model, a very common weakness in this army, get used to it/kill Paragon wielders ASAP (you have Precision shot). You better get that 3++ save.

*'''Magos Dominus:''' What the average neckbeard has become by the 30th millennium. Your librarian equivalent, Dominus are your only other vanilla HQ options beside special snowflakes. They come with a Cortex Controller to better direct your Battle-automata, but you're actually bringing them for their sweet Cybertheurgy powers, for Techpriests arguably do a better job at mere robo-herding, and it's not like unsupervised Battle-automata begin to [[Tyranids|rip out each other's bits]]. Having seen lots of changes since their first iteration, their price increased a little and they're still NOT ICs, but gained FnP(5+) and the '''Patris Cybernetica''' rule which allows them to join their Battle-automata pets so they're not in mortal danger all game long. They can't tank hits for their Battle-automata though, because the enemy can ignore them as the closest model when shooting. As for their wargear, they still have wide variety of RANGED options and only three melee options including his default power weapon. For those times he's not using Cybertheurgy or repairing his bots. While taking him naked/with enhanced survivability is also a good decision. An extra Power Fist hit from the Sevro Arm and a +1 to a repair roll is decent. The Machinator Array is a superior upgrade overall. ''He's a cheap HQ that helps your robots, but that's about it''.

*'''Secutarii Axiarch''': A Secutarii HQ with stats more befitting a Space Marine. Of note besides the rules most Secutarii get are the Refractor Field, Radium Pistol, Arc Maul, and Titanshard Armor, which grants them not only their pimping statline and a 3+ Save, but also IWND. Axiarchs can also grant all Secutarii within the detachment one of four new rules: a 5+ FNP, Move through Cover, +1 to pen vehicles, or PE Infantry. These guys are far cheaper than even the Magos, but they're also a lot more specific in their use and in a force with few Secutarii they're rather wasted.
**The Axiarch is nowhere near as useful in shooting or melee as the Magus and Magos. Nor does he have the full set of options that they do. He's one of two HQs without the option of a Machinator Array. So he won't last very long in a fight. Making the best options for him a Master-Crafted Phonton Gauntlet to re-roll Gets Hot, a Power Fist to make the best use of his three attacks, than spend the cheap cost of taking the Omnispex, Augury scanner and Shattersphere grenades for Rad Poisoning and Pinning. His other options have low AP while Hoplites have little need of extra help to spam Haywire. Kitting him out with all Rad weapons doesn't make him anywhere near as good as Radfucker. Though he will make an good meat shield and assistant for the Archmagos.

====Special Characters====

*'''Archmagos Draykavac:''' The first of the [[Dark Mechanicum]]. This scary bastard comes with a Graviton gun, a Machinator array, can buy up to 4 Cyber-occularis for his Djinn-skein and gives PE (Infantry) to all units while within 3" of an objective when he is the Warlord. He also has a Paragon blade that you might never use because of his special rule '''Liquifractor''', exchanging all his attacks for an autohit iflicting [[Anal_Circumference|2D6 - target's T]] worth of wounds at AP2, or 2D6 - AV/2 Penetrating hits against vehicles. This happens at In1, but having T6 and causing Fear means he has no problem waiting for his turn to attack. His unique arcana gives all Walkers, SH walkers and MCs in his detachment a +1 on their charges and Sweeps so consider bringing some Dominus and Knights. He is also available as HQ for a [[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Questoris_Knight_Crusade_(30k)|Knight army]]. Costing less than an equally equipped Archmagos but having lots of unique stuff and an amazing model it almost justifies him not being an IC, so give him an Abeyant to increase his survivability.

*'''Archmagos Inar Satarael:''' This dude died once, ''[[Commissar_Yarrick|came back]]'' and decided he was done with this "dying" thing so he gave himself a Mounstruous Creature-sized body (were he any tougher, he'd be a Castellax) with T6, '''W5''', FnP(5+) and a '''Repulsor shield''' which protects him from S6 shots (ie. the ones that matter) on a roll of 4+, and on a 6 the attack [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ABGIJwiGBc#t=16 bounces back to the offender]. However, it doesn't work against Template or Blast weapons (ie. the ones that matter), so a normal invuln would be better. Sadly he gave his body a mere 3+ save and forgot EW, but he planned for that - roll a D6 when he loses his last W, on a 3+ he teleports home denying any VP for killing him and his body Explodes. ''Even in death, fuck your dudes''. He's not an IC but has '''Patris Cybernetica''' meaning he can, and should join a unit of Battle-automata: 3 S6 AP2 non-unwieldy attacks and HoW means he's more competent in CC than what his WS3 might suggest, and his WT pretty much turns friendly Taghmata 12" around him into Word Bearers, rolling an additional D6 and keeping the lowest two dice when making Morale checks. Because most of your army also is Stubborn this works out very nicely. Having a TL Maxima bolter, a Graviton Imploder and a Servo-arm (which usually are mutually exclusive) he's very cheap for what you get. ''But for a little more I could get me a Knight!'' Yes, but he is both an Archimandrite AND an Archmagos Dominus, having a Djinn-skein (with 4 optional Cyber-occularii), Cybertheurgy and a Cortex Controller - in fact he's the only way of having both in your army.

*'''Magos Reductor [http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/en-CA/Titan-Tech-Priest Calleb Decima]:''' Now with Independent character and Precision Shots! Decima is a very divergent Magos Reductor, exchanging 1WS, BS and the usual 4++ for +1S, W, Ld and a 5++. He has a MC Power axe and a Machinator Array which makes him decent in CC (hits at S6 but fights like a guardsman at WS3, though Master-crafted mitigate this), and with his longest ranged weapon being a MC Bolt pistol he's certainly not a shooty character either. ''Then what's the point?'' He's a Magos Reductor available for Taghmata use, meaning you can bring Battle-automata and non-Thallax troops without restriction while still getting his Reductor buffs: His unit has Move through Cover (ruins, minefields, rubble and treches) and is immune to Pinning from enemy shooting, all his attacks have Sunder and +1 on both Damage tables, which he can confer to a nearby Heavy/Ordnance weapon if he doesn't shoot (which he won't really be doing), not to mention he's the only Taghmata magos with a '''retinue''' of his own (Scyllax or Reductor Techpriests forming a unit with him, doesn't count towards FOC). ''So, no point taking him when playing proper Ordo Reductor, then?'' [[Heresy|Nonsense]]! Sure, he is weaker but he can upgrade to a 4++ save and has access to a <s>Land Raider</s> Macrocarid DT. Freed one Heavy support slot for you, your welcome. But pretty much the sole reason you want him is for his '''Curse of the Omnissiah''' attack. An awesome, if somewhat expensive ''support'' HQ, specially when taken as an allied one as the first book intended to. Not that he isn't good in a primary detachment either. Thallax lose their mobility advantage when he joins them, so put him in a Scyllax unit: now all five of his attacks ID MEQ's since the Marines he'll be up against will be T3!
**'''Curse of the Omnissiah:''' Makes him a death sentence to anything less than a Titan (provided you get a good roll), being able to unleash 2D6 Haywire Sunder shots, which means he can [[Awesome|scream a Spartan to death]] on a single turn. This counts as firing all his weapons - no extra Machinator shots. Unfortunately, it's very difficult to use, being Heavy One Use and having only 18" range. And being ''only'' T5 with a 3+/5++ save and no access to transports with fire points or Relentless means Caleb will face danger to use it ''and after'' using it, [[Derp|because it Gets Hot]]. Feel free to move when targeting a flyer, though. If you want to use it you'll probably need staying power, so take a Cyber familiar for a 4++ invuln and/or his retinue. Fun fact: Being S3 AP3 and hitting so many times, this thing can serve against guardsmen in a pinch.
**'''Optional FOC - Istvaan III Survivor Force (Campaign only):''' A throwback to when the Reductor list was 4 pages long, Calleb's [[Fluff|band of survivors]] has Move through Cover (Rubble, ruins, minefields & trenches), and receives Stealth in the first turn in exchange of being VERY limited in scope (eg. [[Fail|No battle-automata]], ouch). Good in ambush or cityfight scenarios, but not much else.
***'''HQ:''' Calleb (Compulsory) and Magos Reductor only - ''No Technoarcana nor Cybertheurgy for you. Ouch''.
***'''Elites:''' Tech-Priest Auxilia (Enginseer and Reductor only) and Myrmidon Secutors only.
***'''Troops:''' Thallax only.
***'''Fast Attack:''' Avenger Strike Fighter only - ''This also means Thallax will be your only melee''.
***'''Heavy Support:''' Ordo Reductor Artillery Battery, Myrmidon Destructors, Krios, and 0-1 Legiones Astartes Tank Heavy Support. ''Introduce the Sicaran Venator to Decima and love will b(l)oom''.
***'''Lord of War:''' As normal.
**'''Upgrade time! - Decima Invictus:''' And you thought he was the only non-Archmagos special character. This badass survives the crucible of Istvaan III and returns with red hot Hatred (Traitors) and '''Eternal Warrior'''. He now counts as an Archmagos and must be the Warlord (-1 to a piece of cover). Not only that, he gains Relentless to scream machines to death [[Awesome|'''on the move''']], his greatest weaknesses gone! However, he [[Fail|''doesn't'' get Archmagos stats]], and now your entire army must Sweep Advance when able and cannot Go to ground. Now he costs as much as a Land Raider...but he can get his points back with just one attack so it balances out.

*'''[[Anacharis Scoria]]:''' A SCARY MOTHERFUCKER introduced in HH6 for both Taghmata and Cybernetica, this is what happens when FW decides to create a character ''even more dangerous than Sigismund''. Let that sink in. Pioneer of the Dark Mechanicum and lord of the first Hell Forge, Mr. "I whoop Primarch ass for breakfast" comes with an impressive statline (WS/BS/S/T/I of 5, 4W, 3A, 2+/3++), Archamagos Dominus rules along with '''Eternal Warrior''', Relentless and Adamantium Will, two Archaeotech Pistols, Machinator Array (so yeah, ''he is T6'') and his AWESOME CCW - The Vodian Sceptre, which inflicts '''D3 AP 2 auto-wounds''' (or cuts 1 HP from a vehicle) for each successfull hit. Besides ignoring Toughness and armour, these wounds also ignore FnP and don't allow It Will Not Die rolls. As masterful Dominus he has his own Cybertheurgy power - The Rite of the Beast, which is cast with a -2 Ld modifier and affects every Battle-Automata model in targeted unit (''that's right, like the Cortica Primus relic''), granting them [[Rape|+1 to their Initiative, Move and Charge distanses, and re-roll of failed hits in assault]]. The downside is that when the power loses its effect, every model must roll a D6, losing a wound on roll of 1 with no saves allowed.
**If all of that is not enough for you, for 40 points he may purchase his special Xanathite Abeyant, which gives him +1 Wound (yes, '''5 Wounds'''!!!), +1 Attack, Move Through Cover, It Will Not Die, Hardened Armour ''and'' a Photon Thruster, which can be fired in addition to all other shooting attacks, aka ''he has 5 guns, 4 of them are AP3 or better and he can shoot 4 of them per turn (don't forget the Gunslinger rule for his two Pistols.)''. His Warlord trait allows all Cybernetica-Cortex units make Sweeping Advance and Run (essentially ignoring the "Methodical" part of the Cybernetica Cortex), and if they're outside Control range they must move to the closest enemy unit, charge it and try to make Sweeping Advance. He also may take The Homonculex - his own customized Arlatax Battle-automata with basically simply gets Paragon of Metal for free but if Anacharis dies it is removed from play alongside him (and since Scoria can be a '''T6 5W 2+/3++ FnP(5+) IWND Eternal Warrior''' - if you managed to get this guy killed [[Not_as_planned|things have gone tits up anyway]]). Or somebody dropped a Warlord Titan on him (honestly, it's not overkill). While Scoria himself isn't Fearless, his Patris Cybernetica rule allows him to join units of Battle-Automata which are, and so prevent being sweep advanced. That's [[Troll|assuming your opponent can dish out more damage than you]], of course. Emm ... Cool, I guess?
*** Scoria is a beast. Simply put, this guy can kill most of the Primarchs without breaking a sweat. Horus needs to be '''''lucky''''' to kill him as otherwise Scoria will kill him at the cost of 4 of his wounds.
****<s>The only Primarch capable of going toe-to-toe with this motherfucker is Mortarion, and that's only because of Preternatural Resilience rule meaning that Scoria has to get a 6+ to wound him</s> (Mortarion doesn't get wounded by Scoria on a flat roll which would trigger preternatural resilience, he is auto wounded when hit, Scoria doesn't suddenly need a 6 to hit him before auto-wounding him) <s>and his ID scythe can chew through any Scyllax or Homunculex bodyguards Scoria can bring.</s>

===Elites===
*'''Techpriest Auxillia:''' 1 Adept with 4 Servo-automata for 65 points. Plays similar to the IG Enginseer, except the unit can have up to 8 Servitors and 2 Adepts, and can take a Triaros DT. Adepts can be given a vox to act as forward observers, and Cortex controllers to heal Battle-automata (don't give them weapons, they should be busy repairing stuff). One of them can be upgraded to Magos Auxilia, who has Dominus stats but [[Derp|no cybertheurgy or cool toys]]. Because of the price and the Servo-automata's dependence on their Adepts, two of them are better than a single Magos. Speaking of Servo-automata, they can take nice weapons but the lack of Relentless will be felt with the better ones. Still, those guys are hella cheap: Eight T5 dudes with flamers cost 60pts and constitute an effective restriction order for most things - actually fearsome in Zones Mortalis (if you ever play that). Overall, the squad ''would'' feel like a budget Magos for insurance against broken stuff, but they get free Techno-Arcana.
**'''Enginseer:''' Adepts gain a servo-arm ''and'' a +1 to Battlesmith (so they pass on a 3+). Furthermore, each servo-automata with a servo-arm gives yet another +1 to your enginseers. Whatever you assign them to wont die, so stick them inside a custom LR, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up0t2ZDfX7E play the music] and proceed to collect tears.
**'''Lacryaemarta:''' The Adepts grant FnP 5+ to the unit and +1 to Adsecularis FnP within 6". Because resilience is their theme, a T4 Magos could be a nice addition. Great for Thrall hordes (especially with a Lachimallus and Revenants), although their own T5 servo-automata benefit more than the T3 Thralls.
**'''Reductor:''' Everyone gets Tank Hunters and Wrecker, Adepts gain a servo-arm that they can trade for a Conversion beamer or Graviton Imploder. They aren't Myrmidons, and with their BS3 and lack of Relentless you'll notice it. However, a Reductor Magos Auxilia can shoot a Conversion beamer as good as an actual Ordinator Magos, but cheaper. Equate the cost and you get yet another Conversion beamer, not counting your 4 tank hunting servo-wounds. In their hands, those guns make buildings explode on a 4+. Compared to ''3'' Myrmidons Destroyers, that's 85 pts saved at the expense of just 5% decrease in effectiveness. Who’s an insurance squad now?

*'''Myrmidon Secutors:''' Sturdy SOBs. T5 W2 3+/5++, 120 points for 2 Secutors and their Lord, up to 10-strong and come with Power Axes, but their guns are bought separate, of which they MUST buy two and can fire them like a cyber John Woo due to Fusilade Attack (not twin linked) and with BS5, Relentless and Infravisors they're damn good at using them. ''Lumbering Advance'' prevents them from running and sweep advancing, but with so much dakka and I2 you won't give a damn. Most of their weapon options are short ranged however, so they ''need'' a transport. A Triaros is a must if you want them to actually shoot instead of being a [[DISTRACTION_CARNIFEX|distraction]]. Unfortunately the Secutors have a lot of issues, especially when comparing them to other Mechanicum units, starting with their price. They're 50pts each on average, and while they have two Power Axe attacks base (three on the Ld10 Lord) and Stubborn to function as a heavy assault trooper, you'll want them shooting all match long rather than being tied in melee. As their rules are based around the shoulder guns. They're also not very good at their jobs.
**Against infantry, '''Irad cleansers''' would be a strong option; Fleshbane and Rad-phage template is good, however Irad Engines and Lightning cannons are better than any number of cleansers.
**'''Phased-Plasma Fusils''' might seem like a good idea for killing MEQ's/TEQ's, as even though Castellax can already take care of them the Secutors perform better in ranged combat while being worse at melee, so there's a trade-off there. They still don't do it as well as the Thanatars or the Myrmidon Destroyers however, but both of those are in the heavily contested Heavy Support slot, allowing Secutors to fill in for them if you've already got their slots maxed out. The Secutors also have the advantage of being allowed to climb in a transport, but they cost so much that even the cheapest transport the Mechanicum can get will make them a very juicy target. Losing the transport while still being too far away to do shit really sucks, especially for these guys.
**A unit of Secutors equipped with '''Graviton guns''' used to provide superb anti-armour as a squad with Graviton guns can ''reliably'' glance most vehicles and buldings to death, outright ignoring Armoured Ceramite, Armour Values and even Flare Shields. Better yet is that they're Relentless, so the Graviton gun's biggest drawback never affects them. Unfortunately they're beaten at their own game by Hoplites which are not only Troops, but much cheaper Troops at that. Even ignoring them there's many other workarounds, Castellax get Multi-meltas for free, can be pushed into melee and may take flamer(s) for Anti-infantry, Thallax behave in a similar way but are more mobile and can fill the role of Compulsory Scoring Troops, Tech-priests auxilia can bring 8 Tank Hunter Multi-meltas for 205 points and can also boost the rest of your MCs/vehicles and the new Vultarax also has a Haywire gun, but it's mounted on an FCM that will never die alongside other blob-killer weapons.
**For general use however, you'll probably find yourself taking Volkite-Chargers for some good dice-spamming potential (with a strong likelyhood of wounding), backed up by at least one Graviton Gun to help slow down the enemy at such short ranges, alongside causing lovely glancing hits. It's really one of the more lackluster units in the codex.

*'''Domitar Class Battle-Automata Maniple''': Essentially a melee automata geared for punching other Automata. It can also handle vehicles and buildings in equal measure thanks to four attacks at S10 and its WS4 make it so it'll hit all other automata on 3's (and D3 S7 Hammer of Wrath hits per model (roll once and multiply by number of models)). Its shooting is a shitty missile, but the Domitar shines even when getting charged thanks to the Graviton Hammers forcing opponents to make disordered charges, and with Crusader you'll be dictating when your charges happen quite often. Keep them away from tarpitts (Paragon of metal doesn't help out too much here, and getting hacked apart by a large mob of S6 fearless goons whose entire squad costs probably less than half your model is embarrassing). Don't go thinking that it can take on every monster unit either. Charge a few Castellax with Darkfire Cannons (or even go solo near their Bolt-Cannons) and you'll find that's a 175+ point investment down the drain.
**The price of these though is very prohibitive, a unit of Castellax with Siege Wreckers can do essentially the same job for less, and unless you know you're up against MC heavy lists there's very little reason to bring a Domitar. If you bring them anyway, send them after pricey and important targets, smaller terminator units and HQ, but keep them away from Dreadnoughts. Cortus Dreads can very well kick its ass for cheaper.

===Troops===

*'''[[Thallax|Thallax Cohort]]:''' Thallax are Jet pack Ogryn equivalents, being pretty hardy with T5 and 3 wounds. Their special rule '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMli33ornEU Djinn-sight]''' [[Markerlight|reduces enemy cover]] by 2 (too bad their main guns are AP5) and denies infiltration within 24" of them, so deploy them near your valuable assets. Their Lightning guns are somewhat short ranged (18"), but they're able to pull that [[Battlesuit|jump-shoot-jump]] trick and are effective against vehicles (even AV14 with some luck), but they don't pump out enough dakka to be much of a threat to infantry. Even though they're WS3, being S5|T5 FnP(6) means they're not too shabby in combat either. Good stats, but each one costs more than a multi-wound terminator. Thallax can be upgraded with one augmentation.
**'''Destructor''' (''Tank Hunters'') better allows them to attack AV, meaning they get to reroll Rending against vehicles. A '''Multi-melta''' is also a good choice, as in ~1500 pts games it's not that easy to Melta-proof all your vehicles and AP1 helps against infantry too. After the FAQ, Meltabomb squads aren't what they used to be.
**'''Ferrox''' gives them ''Rage'' and ''Rending'' in melee. Useful, since Thallax are not as numerous as you'd like them to be. Can't replace their Lightning guns but you won't be shooting with the Ferrox upgrade anyway. Synergizing well with Ferrox are '''Heavy Chainblades''', making them a threat to heavy vehicles now that Meltabombs are poof (9 guys shooting and charging averaging [[Spartan_Assault_Tank|5 lost HP]], 3 of them Penetrating). Now there's your melee AND anti-armor option combined. But don't blow up transports, you don't want to lose the Rage bonus, you want to be charging shooty units and using your firepower against choppy things. Avoid tarpits because to make their points back these guys need to be always charging, and ''they can't Sweep Advance''. Too bad Ursarax do it better, but at least Ferrox have stronger guns and can fill the compulsory slot.
**''Against MEQs'' take '''Phased-plasma fusils''', terribly efficient marine-wood chippers that effectively become Assault 3 in the hands of your Relentless minions. And being Djinn-sighted, cover won't save them. ''To kill Terminators'', however, '''Photon thrusters''' are your only option. It's the most expensive option, but 2 S6 Blind shots will make a difference, and even MCs (and Primarchs!) might feel more than a sting, all that from 48" away. They're also Lance, but at S6 no one cares, stick to your default guns for tank killing. ''For dealing with light infantry (T3) blobs and light vehicles (AV 10-11, rhino/fighter/land speeder territory'', '''Multi-lasers''' are a very cheap way of adding much needed firepower, S6 denying FnP and reliably glancing AV 10 on top of having long range. '''Irad-cleansers''' are very useful too, their Fleshbane templates felling scores of poorly armoured enemies, even making tough units take a ton of saves.
**'''Empyrite''' is only useful in Zones Mortalis and those environments where aerial deployment is forbidden, deepstriking by teleportation instead and gaining Void Hardened armour. '''Icarian''' is another useless upgrade, since it gives them Skyfire but only if they don't move, doesn't give them Interceptor, their guns are too short ranged anyway and emplaced weapons either already have Skyfire or are Heavy bolters. Not to mention they become Heavy support. Auto''pass''.

*'''Adsecularis Covenant''': The cheapest unit available in 30k, heck even in 40k its only outdone by Ork grots by a decimal point! (35pts for 10!) However in many ways it shows. The cheapest source of scoring bodies in the codex, they're a tarpit unit with low stats and even worse fighting ability. However, you can turn their measly Ld7 into ''Fearless'' at the cost of Overwatch and Sweep Advance (nearly an auto-include), and can upgrade their FnP6+ with Revenant Alchemistry, gaining ''Hatred'' and FnP5+ at the cost of Slow and Purposeful. Which can be further enhanced by nearby Lacryaemarta Techpriests and issued Carapace armour. So in essence, they can be turned into 20-man drooling cyber-zombie squads, resilient to regular infantry killing methods but still vulnerable to being blown to smithereens. Said Lachrimallus Magi can also bring them back from the dead on a 5+, but if they were upgraded with Revenant Alchemistry the returned squads won't even make it out of your deployment zone. Take this into consideration.
**Though equipped with Laslocks as standard (S4 lasgun with shorter range) they can swap this out for a Mitralock, giving them Shred in exchange for even shorter range... which is nigh unusable in the case of anyone using RoPT.
***It is possible to improve their shooting by buying them Induction Chargers, giving them an extra shot with the lock's, at a flat 15 points, a ten man squad with these costs 50 pts and puts out 20 shots, compared to a 60 points for the same number of shots if the squad doesn't have the Chargers. With a twenty man squad this is even better, 80 pts for 40 shots compared to 130 pts for the same number without Chargers. However, with BS2 you don't really want these guys shooting, especially considering the next option...
**Heavy chainblades augment them fantastically, buffing them to S6(!) and AP4 for some fucking filthy stuff. Against other AdMech or GEQ they are ''disgusting''.
***A 20 man unit of appropriately equipped Heavy-chainblade thralls can work wonders vs just about anything, especially when paired with Lacyraemarta Tech-priest auxilia to give them SV4+ FNP4+. If you wish to rules lawyer and lose all your friends, there is no explicitly mentioned limitation on their bonus. '''But don't do that.'''

*'''Castellax Class Battle-automata:''': After an arguably deserved price increase, losing scoring and can't be compulsory Troops, they're still powerful and useful all-rounder tough Battle Automata with marine-killing Mauler Bolters (S6 AP3 Pinning). Without list-tailoring on the enemy's behalf (like Plasma vets) a Castellax will hold its own against nearly everything thrown at it and can put out a lot of hurt in both the Shooting and Assault phases thanks to their Atomantic shielding, Str6, Rage, Shock chargers and ranged weapon options.
**For melee, Shock Chargers (Concussion on all attacks including HoW) can be exchanged for Dual Powerblades (Rending and +1 attack) which is an upgrade to be considered, but probably should only be taken if you have spare points left over for some reason. Rending hardly matters (they're AP2 by default and if you want to wreck armour, get Siege Wreckers) and you can almost always get more Castellax if you want more attacks. They may also get a single Siege Wrecker (S10 Concussive Wrecker), losing one bolter but essentially gaining four Smash attacks instead of just one, which can be pretty great. Don't forget to buy Frag grenades.
**For ranged combat, Enhanced Targeting arrays will help their Armour-ignoring guns to find their mark, and additionally worsen the foe's chance of surviving since if they're not making an Armour save, they'll be making a Cover save. Never buy Infra-vision. Getting rid of temporary stealth isn't worth always taking Blind at I1, let alone the extra points it'll cost you. As for their weapons, Mauler bolters kill (and Pin) infantry very well, however Multimeltas aren't as great a choice on this unit. If you know you're up against a multi-wound squad, or if your opponent's using a 2+ save model to block the bolters then you can use the Multimelta's to clear them out and finish off the squad with the bolters. In short it's situational, even for its intended role thanks to Armoured Ceramite and Flare Shields, making it more useful on something like Thallax that can get behind the enemy. Darkfire cannons are the other AP2 choice and a better one in general for the Castellax, despite their price. They fare better than Melta's at taking down 2+ armour (such as terminators) and with a long range that helps lay carefully slather pain on enemy Monstrous Creatures or Primarchs with bad/mediocre saves. The Blind rule can also tip the balance of power when melee is on the cards. Ignore the lance factor as at that Strength, you're still glancing on 5's.
**A Castellax is one of the best Battle Automata to turn into the ''Paragon of Metal'', turning this already versatile bot into a one-model wrecking machine. Give it a Darkfire cannon to blind enemy units and hurt vehicles from afar. Dual power blades will help against infantry trying to overwhelm it (+1 attack is nothing to scoff at), but a Siege Wrecker (buffs Strength to 10 in exchange for a bolter) allows it to tackle all manner of targets without resorting to Smash. Remember, a Castellax with dual power blades can get up to SEVEN attacks on the charge! Cybertheurgy can stack to ludicrous levels with them, but beware of [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41kzMU7vbbY Malifica]. Granted, Malifica is extremely unlikely unless it is a Paragon of Metal (any failed Cybertheurgy attempt will result in your death-robots turning against you!).

*'''Scyllax Guardian-Automata Covenant''': Defensive horde-masher tentacle-bots with a radioactive engine powering them. Any unit other than <s> a fellow Scyllax cov has its ''Toughness reduced by 1'' just by being in the same close combat</s> (Updated FW E-mail confirms Scyllax only makes enemy units -1T, and Scyllax are resistant to Rad weaponry and derived rules. Comparing most roles, Scyllax come off a smidge less efficient than Thallax, which are just slightly more expensive with a better statline and far more mobility. But the crunchy defensive melee properties cannot be dismissed. Scyllax can either put out a whirlwind of anti-infantry attacks which effectively deflagrate like Volkite weapons; or they can trade all that for one attack per model that is burly enough to ID TEQ's. These guys have a number of ranged options, replacing their standard Kraken bolters:
**If Defensive Assault is your ideal strategy, then load up on '''Flamers''' (available to all) and '''Rad-cleansers''' (available to only one in four, sadly). Template weapons can help whittle down a lot of blobs real fast (having that much Wall of Death doesn't hurt if you get counter-charged either).
**If you opt for ranged combat, you'll want the '''Rotor Cannons'''. Sure they're weaker in strength than the '''Volkite Chargers''' but they put out more shots the Volkites and your regular Bolters do, Relentless meaning you get to fire 4 shots at full 30" range. And they're the cheapest option! Even if you're up against 4+ saves, the heightened volume of fire means you'll inflict more wounds than Kraken Bolters.
**As for the other "1-in-X can equip Y" items, they're pretty self explanatory. '''Graviton guns''' help with slowing infantry and dealing with vehicles that got too close, '''Plasma guns''' help with taking out 2+ saves from range (handy if a player puts their Artificer Armour Sergeant in front), and '''Melta guns''' are good for leaving at home because your opponent bought Armoured Ceramite and you have better things to deal with vehicles and 2+ saves.
***These are not bulky! You could fit a large mob of 16 and a Magos with Rad-grenades in a Triaros and upset people.

*'''Secutarii Peltast Phalanx''': Old-School Titan Guard [[Skitarii]] with FNP, Relentless, and Galvanic Casters, these guys are the ranged botherers with guns that can either circumvent cover or blast without remorse. They're protected by a 4+ armor and the Kyropatris Field, a special shield that lets them re-roll 1's on a save if there are at least 5 models and reduces the strength of any shots targeting them by 1 if there are at least 10 models. While they all can buy arc mauls, power weapons, arc rifles, or radium carbines, you need at least 5 Casters to benefit from the last rule they have, which gives a one-time use ability that gives an ally within 18" Shrouded for the turn. Titans can even be shielded, but only if multiple Peltasts blow their use of it. The Peltast are your solid go-to ground units. Whereas your Tech-Thralls stand and hold backfield objectives, the Secutarii are particularly adept at besieging a particular area. Battle-automata may be more resilient overall, but it isn't particularly easy for them to footslog across an entire board. An ample tactic is to take a full unit of Peltast equipped with radium carbines (as it should theoretically have a higher damage output than the galvanic casters), stick them in a Triaros, and launch them towards a forward objective and plant themselves down under the cover of the Triaros. Anyone who gets too close will have to deal with 20 3-shot radium carbines at BS5. Are they expensive? Yes. Are they explicitly needed? No. But this is the Horus Heresy! Larger blobs of units gunning each-other down is encouraged. Essentially, the Peltast are an all-around decent choice for the Mechanicum. Not amazing like an Arlatax per say, but they allow you to mix up your play style and not have to rely on high toughness robots for once.
**No reason to take Phalanx anymore take 10+ of em and stick inside a Triaros or better Macrocarid, all equipped with arc rifle(different from 40k version),run into enemy lines disembark and RAPE everything have an AV value with a rain of haywire shots(unfortunately 2 shots at 6 inch,so usually a 10 strong squad will put something like 15-20 hits),better that any legion support squad with graviton weapon or meltagun and cheaper! and they will reach a target for sure because of Omnissiah blessed transports!
***alternative vision,with S6 arc rifle can be also good against other Taghmata MC due to haywire
****for conversion purposes use legion graviton gun,cheaper than take bits from online store, much more faster and will look even better!

*'''Secutarii Hoplite Phalanx''': Where the Peltasts shoot for a living, these guys have Arc Lances and boarding shields with 5+ Invulns. They don't get the bonus guns the other guys get, but their Arc Lances can shoot at S5 AP5 with Haywire and the Kyropatris field, meaning they aren't hopelessly outgunned. If you wanted a more punchy force, you could "buy power weapons or Arc Mauls for them" <- Only the alpha can do this. Put them in an Arvus lighter and WAIT WHAT? YOU JUST GUNNED DOWN A KNIGHT WITH HOW MANY HAYWIRE SHOTS? If it hasn't become clear yet, these guys are your end-all tankbusters. No armored vehicle, save titans, is going to survive a full squad of Hoplites shooting at them.

===Dedicated Transport===
*'''Triaros Armoured Conveyer''': <s>Dune Train</s> Not quite a [[Crassus Armored Assault Transport|CRASSUS]], but close. 14/12/12, 4HP The thing comes standard with a flare shield for all that -1 goodness. It also gets a shock ram giving you AV15 on your front when ramming and does haywire damage. the shock ram also inflicts d6 S6 AP5 hits on any unit it tank shocks in addition to resolving the tank shock and the shock ram doesn't count as a weapon so can never be removed by weapon destroyed results on the damage chart. Carries 20 and re-rolls failed dangerous terrain tests. Give it lesser IWND for 5 points. 135. Awesome. Great for getting things close. The Spice must flow.
**Volkite Sentinels are a subtle, but potent feature. Essentially they are two Volkite chargers than may target independently of the Triaros itself (and presumably the other Volkite weapon); these can be used to take out "Chaff" units (exceptionally important if you're using this in 40k).
**You'll generally give this unit the noble task of transporting the Omnissiah's servants. Myrmidons of both kinds are the most obvious use, it's effectively mandatory for Secutors as they all possess short range weapons, and with the most expensive weapon option for Secutors being the one with AP3 you will greatly appreciate the Twin-linked Mauler Boltcannon. Destructors too can benefit from this, the Graviton Imploder and Irrad Engine to be specific. Another possible useage is Tech-priests. Not to bad as almost any configuration of the Tech-priest is cheaper than Myrmidons; 8 Flamer servitors could be considered a very light version of the Irrad-Engine. The description indicates that it is fair game to use the FNP buff while inside the vehicle; take a minimum sized Tech-priest squad, 15 Thralls, load em up and maybe have some fun...? Its a stretch that one.

===Fast Attack===
*'''Ursarax Cohort''': These are Thallax's less agile but stronger and faster siblings(they trade jetpack for jumpack), with twin lightning claws (or Power fists) and Ironman chest lasers. the Volkite Incinerator isn't too great in CC, as four attacks at S10 almost always beats ONE S6 instant death attack (even if the target is T6) but if you get locked in multiple rounds it can be okay enough against T6 models. Having said that, swapping twin lightning claws for powerfists might seem like a good general idea since you're Initiative 2, but if you're fighting against Marines, lightning claws at S5 will put out more wounds than fists at S10.
**Also the twin-powerfists are 10 points each: ideally, if you're taking a large squad, nestle a couple into a squad to provide some tough tin-can opening power.
**A squad of 9 will put out (excluding HoW) 36 attacks. This costs 455 points and can be hillariously powerful against anything that isn't going to launch S10 at you or is packing sizeable numbers of Autocannons. Toss in say 3 Powerfists and you'll be good to against pretty much anything.
***Not a very strong option in the current custodes-medusa Meta but they can ID most of the stuff IF they survive(even in melee theyr low I is uncomfortable).
***They probably have a better life in Zone Mortalis,but price escale quickly,a squad of 3 in ordo reductor with 2 power fist can tell his own.
*'''Vorax Class Battle-Automata''': Got quite a buff; were made cheaper in points, WS4, have 3 attacks due to Power-blades now being pair weapons and the change in the wording of "Programmed behaviour" means its alot easier to use fleet, they can now also be in units of 6 too.
**They are still fragile, but they can seriously upset small units by hacking them apart with volume of attacks and generally can soak up enough wounds (T6, 3 Wounds and 4+ save is relatively durable) to withstand the enemy. Just don't be an idiot and expect to have a good day vs a sizeable tactical marine blob because you will have krak-grenade booted your back end. Though if your playing with Legio-Cybernetica, you may be a bad enough dude to abuse the shit out of native I5. They may also upgrade their rotor-cannons to have bio-corrosive rounds, which makes them poisoned (4+), but reduces their range to 15'. ALWAYS TAKE THEM, Vorax already want to be in close combat anyway, and vanilla rotor cannons don't have enough stopping power to be a threat to marines. Seeing as you already are going to be getting close with your Vorax, there is no reason not to take the Bio-Corrosive rounds.
*'''Arlatax Class Battle-Automata Maniple''': Hoo boy forget about the Domitar now, this thing will rip to shreds anything you set its sights at. Equipped with +2 strength lightning claws at AP2 in addition to its base strength of 7 which effectively makes it '''S9!!!''' And as if that isn't enough, its a '''JUMP PACK MONSTROUS CREATURE.''' Have fun zipping around the battlefield busting open tanks with 5 S9 AP2 attacks on the charge (and since it has frag nades as base, you don't even have to worry about cover). Since it costs the same as a Domitar, you may as well give it Paragon of Metal since IWND will come in handy. Like most of the other Mechanicum's battle-automata, it has automantic shielding which grants you a 5++ to shooting and a 6++ in close combat. It can replace each of its lightning claws with an arc scourge, which is a Strength User AP2 Melee, rampage, armorbane, concussive electric whip-lash for ten points each. Its debatable as to whether this is worth it. If you are getting it, its likely because you want to bust open a land raider, but the base lightning claws can do that just about the same with the added benefit of being S9. On second thought, the Arlatax can serve as a very effective monstrous creature/vehicle hunter (looking at you Leviathan dreads-- but please, then take it in a Legio Cybernetica list for that extra cortex range boost and that delicious Initiative 5). Even more, it has some staying power at range too with its inbuilt cannon (slightly worse mauler cannon as it is only S6 AP4, but you are only using these before you assault anyway) and Plasma Blaster (S7 AP2, gets hot, Assault 2, uh...not overkill at all) One thing is for sure, if you take one of these its going to be heavily focused. It only has a 3+ armor save with T6 which means while it is not fragile, it is not exactly the toughest battle-automata out there. GET BEHIND COVER. You want to get this guy stuck into close combat as soon as possible (preferably with monstrous creatures, because did I mention its is I4 as well?). Overall, it looks like the Arlatax can very well soon become one of the staple units of the Mechanicum as soon as Forgeworld decides to release a model. But hey, whats stopping you from converting a Castellax or Domitar yourself so you can use it now?
*'''[[Avenger Strike Fighter]]''' Your ground attack craft. Coming armed with the Avenger Bolt Cannon (36" S6 AP3 Heavy 7) and a pair of Lascannons standard its ready to take on any target, along with a host of options to suit either infantry or tank hunting, for infantry you're given the options of 6 Tactical Bombs (S6 AP4, Barrage, Blast, one use), 2 Autocannons or 2 Multilasers. For tanks you can mount 2 Kraken Penetrator Missiles (36" S8 AP1 Missile, Armourbane, one use) and pair this with the Battle Servitor control special option which give the Fighter Tank Hunters. For both roles, you can give the Fighter a pair of Missile Launchers (Frag/Krak). Your sole defensive anti-air weapon is a Heavy Stubber which can attack other targets than your ground weapons, also has Skyfire, use this to opportunistically(/desperately) take pot shots at enemy aircraft side or rear armour. Also, it comes with BS3, but as you'll mostly be attacking ground targets this is mitigated by the Strafing Run rule. It's not the most resilient craft though, at 12/10/10 with 2 Hull Points, and while the Chaff Launcher option (4+ invul against Missile type weapons) and the Supersonic special rule help mitigate some threat, prioritise Anti-Air threats first or the Fighter might not last long. (Written pre-Death from the Skies update, update if/when Forge World updates to bring flyers in line with said update.)

*'''[[Lightning Fighter]]''' Multi-role fighter that excels a bit more at dogfighting than the Avenger but can also play the role of ground attack craft if needed. Separating itself from the Avenger, the Lightning has BS4, already more capable an anti-air fighter, taken with just its stock pair of Lascannons its a moderately priced anti-air fighter that will do a pretty good job of keeping the airspace clear, which can be augmented by taking the expensive (But worth it) pair of Kraken Penetrator Missile (36" S8 AP1 Heavy 1, Missile, Armourbane one use) or a pair of Autocannons, virtually assured to wipe opposition out of the sky. If you want to get into ground attack mode, the Ground-Tracking Auguries upgrade will give you Strafing Run and Battle Servitor Control will give you Tank Hunters, you can take upgrades accordingly. For infantry, you get access to the Phosphex Bomb Cluster which is an absolute infantry shredder (Bomb 2, Barrage, Blast, Poison 3+, Crawling Fire, Lingering Death, Deadly Cargo, one use) but dangerous if you get hit before dropping it. (Dangerous Cargo: If you lose a hull point, roll D6, on 6 you explode.) Also available is a pair of Sunfury Heavy Missiles (36" S6 AP3, Heavy 1, Missile, Large Blast, Blind, Gets Hot, one use) for Marine hunting. Along with twin-linked Multi-Lasers, Autocannons and Missile Launchers (Frag/Krak). Vehicle hunting is, along with the aforementioned Lascannons and Kraken Missiles, you've got an Electromagnetic Storm Charge for vehicles or other Mechanicum units with Cybernetica Cortex (S3 AP4, Bomb 1, Haywire, Large Blast, Concussive, one use). Survivability is still an issue with 11/11/10 and 2 hull points, Chaff Launcher (4+ invul against Missile weapons) comes standard, and the Agile rule gives +1 to Jink saves, along with Supersonic to get away from AA, the last trick up your sleeve is the Ramjet Diffraction Grid which trades the cover saves you get from Night Fighting to decrease the strength of incoming shots by -1, which is definitely a good trade off as you'll be Jinking on a 3+ anyway. A lot of the upgrades you'll be sticking on this thing are really expensive, so consider whether you want an AA fighter or choose the Avenger if you want a dedicated ground-attack craft. (Written pre-Death from the Skies update, update if/when Forge World updates to bring flyers in line with said update.)

*'''[[Tarantula]]s''' Hot diggly dangingly, you have some cool toys with these. Everyone who has seen these before (particularly Solar Auxilia players who would appreciate them due to Nuncio-Vox) knows the drill on these already (Deep strike some nifty TL-heavy weapon love). However, being Mechanicus, you have some cool toys. Tech-Priest auxilia and Djinn-Skein Magos (unfortauntely, doesn't extend to Occulari) give you reliable deep-strike abilities. Models with Battlesmith allow them to fire normally.
**Twin-linlked Mauler Boltcannons, which can be savage in Zone-Mortalis from a defensive view point.
**Twin-linked Volkite Culverins can give you some reasonably priced anti-horde abilities, or just put out a healthy amount of S6-Deflagerate.
**Twin-linked Photon thrusters, in case you wanted to fry up some Terminators on the cheap.
**Quad-gun, because you wanna be an Aegis-line apparently (this is the most expensive option).
***With a few of these options, you would do well compare them to Myrmidons of either kind. Generally, they're cheaper, but their likeliness to hit is lower, but if your deep-striking them they're much more mobile, curiously.

*'''Vultarax Strato-Automata:''' A flying Castellax (FMC) with T6 (downgraded in inferno), armed with two Setheno Havoc Launchers which reroll successful cover saves that synergize well with their Enhanced Targetting array to further reduce cover saves chances, for a total of four S5 AP5 small blasts twin-linked @ BS5 no less; ''and'' an Arc Blaster, a three-shot S6 Shredding ''Haywire'' weapon, meaning a full Maniple of three can swoop in and destroy a Spartan in a single shooting phase (even a fucking Knight if you get around the shield), Tau-style. Because the concept of targets surviving more than one turn of shooting is foreign to them. The Arc Blaster may have as much range as a bolter, but remember Swooping FMCs can move up to 24", so add that to their range, and these guys have no trouble at closing in with their T6 (as of Book 7 Inferno) 3+ save protected by a Flare shield (yes, even though they don't have a "front AV"), and can further buy Blessed Autosimulacra, not even mentioning the fact you can only hit them on a 6+ when they are swooping, can Jink and can't suffer Pens like regular aircraft do (but are subject to Grounded Tests) -- Strato-Automata also ignore the 'Methodical' portion of 'Programmed Behavior' and have more freedom when picking shooting targets, enabling them to better operate beyond Cortex Controller range (do note it makes no mention of 'Onslaught', so try to Swoop as much as possible/mind your positioning when Gliding!). And for those who haven't looked at the Flying Monstrous Creature rules in a dog's age, remember they behave like Jump units when Gliding, meaning they can dance those mean 48" range "fuck your cover" Setheno guns a full 12", reliably staying out of range of most infantry that could ever pose a threat to them. For the most part disregard the optional Power Blades: at S4 WS3 you don't want them in melee, and Vector Strike doesn't benefit from either Rending or Smash. These <s>Obama drones</s> devilish automated flyers are good the way they are.
**The Vulturax are not nearly praised enough, and I don't see them in many lists. Seriously, these flying nightmares are borderline broken. Since you will mostly face Space Marine Legions when playing Mechanicum, a way to deal with their heavy armour is a must. A unit of just two can reliably wreck anything <s>below a Spartan in a turn</s>you guy forgot about Cybertheurgy,with Legyio cybernetica it is easyer but for the other is still possible,make double shoot also only one of the 2 vulturax will result in the destruction of any Non-superheavy tank in 1 turn,bye spartn. A unit of three will destroy any vehicle, with maybe an exception to Knights. In either case, a unit of one or two should almost be considered an auto-include, at least if your local meta uses vehicles other than Rhinos.
**Anyone know how fall test work with FMC units?

*''' Arvus Lighter:''' The Arvus is a flittery little thing, holding 12 models, but nothing else at a bone-stock price of 75 points. It does get a rather ''broad'' list of upgrades and weapons, which might give it survivability, but with Rhino stats it's not going to really go that much once it unloads its squad. Best kept mostly cheap and used to Deep strike 12-man secutarii hoplites or peltast with arc rifle in front of enemy tanks working like a flying Rhino/Drop Pod with good options, but the points cost is too high to make it disposable, so use it to place something nasty where your opponent is most vulnerable. If you do take any weapons on this, twin-link them! It's only 5pts more.
**It can be upgraded to carry 1 castellax OR 2 voraxes but nothing else, best for paragon-model, but too expensive between basic cost+ upgrade+ MC inside it, the good thing is that they will survive for sure to the EXplosion! result
**Looking at the weapons, there's not much point getting the multi-laser, due to the low rate of fire and the fact that an autocannon does the job of light vehicle hunting much better. Select from the Auto and Lascannon based on whether you want it targeting light or heavy armour respectively.
**Hilariously, this thing can get a freaking [[What|Flare shield]].

===Heavy Support===
*'''Thanatar Class Siege-Automata Maniple''': 250 a pop, but they're t8,s8 2+. Go look up a picture and see how sexy they are. They get Hellex Plasma Mortars for Instant Death on marines and wiping out Terminator Squads. They're also one of the models in your army that can get the Paragon of Metal upgrade, because you've put so many points into this guy that you might as well make him even more durable. Searchlights are so cheap they might as well be a free upgrade, keep in mind that at T8 they should be able to deal with anything that shoots at them, and the Enhanced Targeting array helps a lot, both with its Mortar and the Twin-Linked Mauler Bolt Cannon (use the cannon second to finish off whatever the Mortar does not). Want to see your enemies cry?
**Got too much time, too much money, and too many Terminators running at you to the point photon weapons just don't cut it? Take a unit of more than 1, take Advanced Targeting, now here's the important part; Cyber-Occulari. You are now BS6, and likely able to use the Occulari LoS, the result is a unit that keep its shots in a very tight grouping. A cortex controller will likely be needed, to stop some pesky quick distraction-chaff from absorbing the plasma-wrath.
***Something to keep in mind is that despite being S8, T8 they assault poorly well, like the Destructors they have 2 attacks base and this cannot be increased like a Castellax, and at WS3 they'll be lucky to kill one model per turn. Any enemy will be interested in tying these things up in combat,as that's 250 pts (if it's only one) that'll be sitting the entire game out.
***Watch the fuck out for Instant Death weaponry, even more so than the rest of your high-point army. While it's rare you do not want any 250 point model (base) to suddenly die because Mortarion teleported right next to him then kicked his ass in assault, or failing that any Dark Angels consul with a jump pack and Terran Greatsword. Another guy who can do this is Alpharius who has an even sneakier way to get close and can charge the turn he is revealed. This is too huge problem to the point that if you know your opponent is using one of these Primarchs, consider not even fielding Thallax. There's other ways to ID it too, like a Praetor with a Combat Augment Array who made their Paragon Blade roll a six and beheaded your Thanatar (somehow, or more likely impaled its cortex, the Mechanicum didn't bother giving them necks). Be really really careful. ''So keep them screened with tech-thralls, even in a Legio Cybernetica list. ''

*'''Thanatar-Calix Class Siege-Automata''': This is the guy who puts the "Siege" in "Siege-Automata". the mortar is replaced with an S10 Lascannon (yes, a single, one-shot-per-turn lascannon, unfortunately) but this Thanatar gets an additional Graviton Ram in return, which can be used in shooting as a moderately effective template weapon with Haywire or in melee as an S10 AP 1 armourbane weapon which gets bumped up to str D against buildings(!) However this guy is a whopping 295 points, so make those potential str D hits happen or you're not getting those points back.
**Never, ever let him be assaulted by infantry (and don't be dumb enough to charge infantry with him). The template weapon forces a strength test instead of rolling to wound - in HH most infantry are S4, so you're going to need 5+ to wound and they can still make 3+ saves. However, against weak tarpit units with low strength, it could work quite well - morale checks caused my this template are taken with a Ld -2 modifier, so you can scare off potential tarpits. a S10 AP1 close combat attack is mostly wasted on infantry, being not at all any more effective than the base S8 AP2 that a normal Thanatar would have.
**This Thanatar is a death sentence against vehicles. If it can get close enough, a single turn can see it firing a S10 AP2 Lascannon and a haywire template, then charging in with 3 S10 AP1 Armourbane hits in melee. (Don't charge transports unless you've got something else to engage the occupants with in CC - it can't be stressed enough how tremendous a waste this guy is in melee with infantry.)
**Where this guy really takes the spotlight is in attacks on Fortifications. against those, it can do the same as to vehicles (minus the haywire) but DEALING STRENGTH D HITS instead of S10. With the monstrous number of hull points fortifications can have (looking at you, Primus Redoubt) this can be a huge help, and really, that strength D hit is where your points are going to, so you'd better make some of those hits.
**This guy is 300 points. He moves 6 inches a turn and cannot run. His target is a building on the other side of the table. If you plan to get this guy in your army at all, he'll have to be the Paragon of Metal. First off, he's going to draw a lot of fire - no, really, a lot. at T8 W4 2+5++, he can tank a good number of hits but you'll want the chance to regenerate because there is a solid chance he may never reach his target otherwise. Secondly, this guy is going to be headed straight for the toughest part of your opposing forces, and while he's tough as nails, most cortex-controlling units don't can't withstand nearly as much. An enemy could easily kill this Thanatar's controller and drink your tears as the Thanatar runs off to charge at infantry. While most automata can function reasonably well without cortex control (either they stay way back and don't get distracted by nearby enemies, or it doesn't matter because you want them to attack whatever's convenient), a focused, controlled beeline to fortifications is what this guy needs to do, and if you lose control of him that's essentially 300 points down the drain.
***Plop a group of equally slow Tech-Thralls in front to screen him from charges. Plop a unit of what ever Tech-Priest Auxilia you feel like (Any other combos will actually do alright) behind it and get ready to make battlesmith rolls.
***Annoyingly this thing suffers a notably less-chronic case of "Secutor Syndrome" in that it has a similarly-priced cousin (once kitted out) that's X times more effective: Knight Errants. Of course those are LoW's and this isn't. The Calix has some edges other it: the fantastic range of its S10 Lascannon and the haywire template will likely knock off Hullpoints; both however will eventually need to make the crunch and the Errant can actually deal with a multitude of issues and moves a shitload faster... though its Meltacannon is subject to Armoured Ceramite. Nor will it be nearly as harmed by Flare-shielding as it has no-blast weapons; there for the Errant will have to rely almost entirely on its melee, where as this doesn't have too. Issue is though most of the time you can "rely on the D", especially when it travels so damned fast.

*'''Thanatar Cynis''': Once upon a time, the Magos of Estaban III were wondering if they could make cheaper Thanatars; they failed and Ryza was really upset. It results in the marginally more expensive Thanatar-Cynis; you ever wanted a giant plasma shotgun? You now have it! You were wondering where that Gets Hot was? It's here! This baby has '''two''' Plasma Ejectors: 18" (It's Mechanicum), S8, Ap2, Heavy 2, 3" blast, Plasma wave (with gets hot)... and a Mauler-Bolt cannon. It's short range may make it awkward to use, but correctly deployed it will ruin whatever squad is unfortunate to stand before it.
**Though expensive, it could be used against cheap-infantry blobs in a pinch by dint of sheer spammyness, though this obviously wastes its power. It's better used against TEQ and MEQs.
***Vulkan has a squad of these to bathe him each morning. Keep them the hell away from him, but against every other Primarch start giggling; especially Angron as he cannot even use his standard save vs the Mauler-bolt cannon!
**The Rite of Destruction is ludicrous when used with this Automata, EIGHT STRENGTH EIGHT AP2 BLASTS! (And 6 Mauler Bolt Cannon shots) But you better have something ready to guard it while it cools down, as it will be unable to shoot for the next turn. So make sure that when you use Rite of Destruction on your nearly 300 point model that it's on something that you absolutely, positively '''must''' destroy.

*'''Krios Battle Tank Squadron''': Farmer Joe's angry Tractor. These sex bots are 13/12/10 3HP with a flare shield. Aww crispy biscuits yeeeaaah!! They're fast and can be taken in squadrons of 3. Start off at 125, and can take a Pulsar Fusil for 25 extra points. (So turn your s7 ap3 large blast marine eating lightning gun into a s9 ap2 ordnance 4 tank killer. Weapons can be mixed in squadrons.) They also have Autosimulacra and access to Anbaric claws and Volkite sentinels. With Mauler Bolt Cannons, Irradiation engines, the 3-shot battlecannon on the paladin, and more anti-MEQ, I would almost always go Venator.
**If you're taking the Venator (as you should), never forget to upgrade your tanks with one or two Volkite sentinels. Just having the Pulsar Fusil leaves them extremely vulnerable to Weapon Destroyed results if you get penetrated. Trust me, having one of these tanks without a weapon is not fun. They just become worthless tractors.
***Alternative view,take em naked and cheaper,take at least 2 estra armor if you make a squadron of em. Volkite sentinel are useless,would have been a cool and cheap TL bolter for 5pts but 15 pts for a volkite gun are too much, on 3 krios are 45-90 pts wasted (conversion is still cool),considering that often thank to the flare shields they will be wreked with glance hits,and rarely a penetrating one,that often have less than the 16% of chance to cause damage destroyed weapon.

*'''Macrocarid Explorator:''' The "Build Your Land Raider" construction kit™. Starting at 195 points you pay for a basic Land Raider chassis, which being Mechanicum comes stock with Blessed Autosimulacra and Extra Armour, Anbaric Claw and placeholder weapons (2 Lascannons and a Mauler Bolt Cannon, none of them twin linked). Then you can choose any of the dozens of options to kit it out, some of the options have been removed with the release of the Taghmata Army list book. You can make any and all type of pre- and post-heresy LR's (except Terminus Ultra, Ares, Achilles or Redeemer) and even some homebrew patterns that [[Heresy|don't exist on any sacred blueprints]] (you filthy Heretek). Explorator's can't be take as Dedicated Transport (for now). So you have to make the choice between [[Dakka|customized firepower]] or the Triaros with ability to tank shock, re-reroll Dangerous Terran tests and 15 points of frontal armor.
**You seriously have a broad range of options, though being limited in capacity you'll gravitate to make your Macrocarid as tough as possible and the Explorator Augury Web takes away yet another precious transport slot. Instead, take Armoured Ceramite and Flare shield base: A neat tactic with the Macrocarid is to use it as a mobile wall for Thallax, pop out, shoot, then use your assault move to dash behind it again and grab popcorn as you watch your enemy try to deal with what effectively is AV15/AV16. As for your weapons, you'll need to decide what kind of enemies you want to target and how specialized or tactical you want your Macrocarid to be (e.g. Multi-melta + <s>Flamestorm</s> able to tackle both Fortifications and their Marine garrisons). You can't take pintle weapons, that's heresy too.
***Irradiation Engines are worthy of special mention here, the Macrocarid being one of only two units in the entire Heresy that can mount them. You can equip the sponsons with these murder-projectors for a cheeky 40 points. Watch entire Marine formations wilt when given a double rad-shower, even when hidden in the heaviest of fortifications. This poses a couple of limitaions to your firepower, no AP2 and short range. You can fix this by mounting an equally exotic Gravition Imploder in place of the bolt cannon, and if used in the fire-support transport role you won't mind the lack of reach.Torrent must remain inside the 45° of the arc of fire(?)if so the irradiation engine are very limited in use. <s> No, the Irradiation Engines are sponson, not hull mounted, see the newly released Age of Darkness rulebook for better clarified fire arc diagrams.</s>new diagrams do not help to explain anything,they are effectively sponson mounted BUT they are not free to move as LR sponson,they have ~ 45degree of freedom more or less,as usual by rules you have to put the start of the template inside the weapon fire arc,but now you can go outside of it with the template withthe restriction that the template body cant be nearer to the Macrocarid than the tip of the template.
***Against ''light infantry blobs'' you can Upgrade the Mauler Bolt Cannon to a Volkite Culverin (Heavy 4|S6|''Deflagrate'') for free. Too bad it's not twin-linked. Phased plasma fusils being TL+AP3 will also deliver. <s>As for sponsons, you can mount [[Land_Raider#Crusader_Pattern|Quad-Heavy Bolters]] or [[Land_Raider#Redeemer_Pattern|Flamestorm cannons]] ''absolutely free'', the former being a little better for being twin-linked, having more range and being able to fire them even at Cruising speed - 12 TL shots having to hit something. This means you'll either park it and shoot or dash it forward and burn stuff, Armored Ceramite making it fear nothing.</s> These are no longer options.
***Against heavy infantry, namely ''Marines'', the best weapons are the TL Phased plasma fusil and sponson TL Mauler Bolt Cannons, all those being AP3 and wounding on 2+. <s>Vs ''Terminators'', grab the Plasma cannons and don't move any faster than Combat speed. None of your hull weapons shoots enough AP2 to be a menace, so aim at something else.</s> Plasma cannons are no longer an option.
***Against ''armoured targets'' your hull weapon will be either the tried-and-true Lascannon (long range S9), Conversion Beamer or fort-killer Multi-melta (forts can't get Armoured Ceramite). As for sponsons, it's TL Lascannons which are valid options at 20 pts.
****Best way to use macrocarid,as gun platform is a bit wasted but can but a great amount of VP3 at short range,best units to put inside are oviously myrmidon of both tipes(love destructors with irradiaton engine),peltast with arch rifle(so you can melt tank with em and then riddle the inside occupants with macrocarid graviton/mauler/laser,can make the same with secutors)

*'''Myrmidon Destructors''': Similar to Myrmidon Secutors, but have Preferred Enemy (Everything!), which is pretty great at BS5, though they can only pick 1 weapon. Also their models are freaking awesome. Their options are all more specialized to targeting a specific type of enemy and as such it's best to give them all one type of weapon rather than picking and choosing between several (with the exception of Irradiation Engines). They also can take a Triaros for delivering RAD-PHAGE. Note that their grav gun has been replaced by a Graviton Imploder (AP2, but without Haywire).
**Give them all '''Volkite Culverins''' to watch Orks and Guard (or any 5+ save unit) cry all day long, on average without cover saves you'll actually kill more models than you shoot.
**For 2+ saves, '''Photon Thruster Cannons''' are good at forcing even Primarchs to take a lot of saves and chip away at Terminator squads thanks to their AP2 and incredible range.
**'''Graviton Imploders''' use 40k grav rules. So five of them regularly will kill a spartan one turn due to stacking hull point loss from immobilized. Just don't ever use them in a friendly list. With preferred enemy and wounding on 2's against 2+ armour, they can remove primarchs in two turns. Also 4 shots per gun. Truly brutal.
**'''Irradiation Engines''' are your Marine removers, giving the whole squad these is overkill (remember that Torrent weapons can be placed differently to a standard Flamer and they have PREFERRED ENEMY EVERYTHING,fleshbane rerollable to-wound), and considering how much 2+ armour there is in 30K it's better used alongside the Photon Thruster, either to remove the 2+ Sergeant before nuking the squad, or using it to wipe the squad and exposing the Sergeant before shooting him.
** Lastly '''Conversion Beamers''' are only really the optimal choice if you're up against other Mechanicum where you'll likely be facing a lot of high Toughness monsters and the S6 from the Photon Thrusters doesn't quite cut it, but at that point you're better off with a Thanatar.
***An important question to ask, especially within a Taghmata list is "why isn't an Enginseer squad doing this?" - hence you will often not have a Conversion beamer Destructor squad unless you're absolutely terrified of scatter and want to reroll to wound.
**Something to keep in mind is that despite the Powerfist the Destructors don't do all that great in assault, this is because they're locked at 2 attacks base and not in a way that they can be boosted to 5 like the Castellax, they're not bad, as in they'll hold their own against tactical squads and the like, but dedicated assault units will mulch right through them and dedicated tarpits will render them useless.
***Heavily consider putting your Magos in with this squad; <s>it will grant Preferred Enemy to them and they can help the squad in assault. </s> they have preferred enemy everithing! no need it but it is a good suggestion,reductor fit really well with em and also the various prime mostly becouse is hard to find a good bodyguard unit and eventually he can tank low VP ID hits(2+ 3++ hardened armour paired wih R6 can help against some storm cannon/knight gatling or random phosporex/scorpius against the unit,even medusa and basilisk).
****destructors with culvelin or i-rad are the way to go against the solar auxilia(remember the S.A-first-turn-combo aegis+shrouded invalidate most of the wound/damages inflicted),you can ignore they aegis defence lines with RAD or rape from turn 2 the infantry with the culvelin

*'''Karacnos Assault Tank''' :Basically a Triaros without transport capacity and with some guns slapped on. The Karacnos trades the armament of the Triaros for 2 Lightning-Blaster sentinels and a Karacnos Mortar battery and a larger explosion result if it goes kaboom. The Lightning-Blast sentinels can fire separate from the mortar and snap shot at bs2, their basically short range autocannons with worse ap that are heavy 3 shred rending. Decent vs light Armour. The Mortar is a R60 heavy bolter with barrage,small blast,fleshbane,radphage,Ignores cover, and pinning which seems good on paper but with the majority of targets getting armour saves this mostly equates to a longer range :AM: wyvern, im not sure this tank is good enough for its price tag which is just 25 shy of a stock thanatar,for 100 point less and in squadron it would have been good

===Lords of War===

* [[Imperial Knight]]s
** Knight Errant: Identical to GW rules, minus the ability to mount additional Heavy Stubbers
** Knight Paladin: See above
** '''Knight Lancer''': A good character and monster killer, though its cost is right up there with the Primarchs, it'll take on nearly everything you send it at and come out on top aside from the aforementioned Primarchs (and it can still do very well against them if they're Init 1 or S6-7 since it's Strength D).
** '''Knight Acheron''': Just as excellent at wrecking armour as the Castigator is at wrecking infantry, though in the Taghmata dealing with armour isn't that much of an issue, and you have to close in and assault the enemy to deal with the armour effectively, leaving the Acheron a giant target. It also doesn't benefit from many of the bonuses you can offer, isn't as good at character/monster hunting as the Lancer (thanks to no close combat Invuln save) and the Styrix has better guns to deal with Infantry. It isn't a bad choice on its own but your own units can usually do what it does just as well, if not better.
** '''Questoris Knight Styrix''': The long-ranged Marine remover, it's not such a great idea to take this over the other knights if you want to assault the enemy (admittedly a non-competitive way of playing) but it can be awesome in a gunline. Any Marine squad it hits it'll wreck thanks to Deflagrate and AP3, boost it with a Djinn-skein and mathematically it kills 6.365 Marines with that one gun per turn. It also packs a grav gun for slowing the enemy down when they close in, though the siege claw can be skipped as you have other ways of dealing with Armour and the Rad Cleanser is unlikely to make its points back unless you're up against Tyranids or Orks.
** [https://www.forgeworld.co.uk/resources/PDF/fw_warscrolls/Acastus-Knight-Porpyhrion.pdf '''Acastus Knight Porphyrion''']: The new knight on the block, and a big, beefy, shooty one at that. It weighs in at 495 points and has BS5, 14/13/12, and 8 HP as standard. It also comes with Blessed Autosimulacra in a Taghmata list. It's main weapons are a TL Magna Lascannon (72" S10 AP2 Ordnance 2, Large Blast) on each arm, and an Ironstorm Missile Pod (72" S6 AP4 Ordnance 1, 7" Blast) on its back, which can be swapped with Helios Defense Missiles (60" S8 AP2 Heavy 2, Skyfire, Interceptor) for free. It's secondary weapons are ''not'' a heavy stubber, but ''two'' autocannons, which can be individually upgraded to Irad cleansers or lascannons. Clearly this thing is built around tearing down vehicles or Monstrous Creatures, though it can be used in wiping away infantry one pie plate at a time.

*'''[[Ordinatus|Ordinatus-Minoris Macro Engine]]:''' Comes in two flavours, and If you ever run them against someone, they're probably not your friend. Each Ordinatus comes with three Volkite Culverins, Blessed Autosimulacra, Anabaric Claw, Armored ceremite and a Ordinatus Dispersion shield. Oh and 14/13/13 with 14HP and is a super heavy. But if it explodes anything under will probably die as it utilises it's own destruction chart which every one of the results always has a Destroyer hit. The Dispersion shield is the big thing on this machine. Basically it's a super Flare Shield that loses effectiveness overtime but will always have an affect. Turn one :-3 Strength to shooting attacks and rolls on the D chart, Turn two: -2 Strength to shooting attacks and D Chart and Turn three and subsequent turns -1 Strength to shooting and D charts. Basically don't shoot it with D as you'll never be stripping off those hull points.
**''Ordinatus Sagittar'': Because fuck that model (or that unit), it didn't deserve to be on the table, even at that distance. A 180" Strength D weapon with an Apocalyptic Blast that royally fucks over vehicles might seem OP, but that's because it is, though at its extremely expensive cost it will need some protection, though if you fight Marines often, and combined with its dispersion shield, it can easily make its points back by turn 3 so long as you keep its guns pointed where they belong, at the priciest unit within 180".
**''Ordinatus Ulator'': The one displayed from FW Open day, This big ass sonic projector will have people kicking you in the nuts every time you shoot it. 72" Range Strength X AP2 Pinning Armourbane Instant Death Ignores Cover Ulator Sonic Wave. Place down a Massive blast template(7") at the edge of the hull. Direct it at an enemy (Has to be enemy first and can hit friendlies) and draw a straight line using the Massive blast template. Anything that gets partially touched by it takes a hit from the following Table. (This also includes Flyers. Yes. Even Flyers.)
***The Ulator is one of the few things in the game that is effective against everything that isn't a Primarch (or that has Eternal Warrior). You can effectively use it to fill in any hole your army develops, lost Anti-tank? Strength 8-10 with Armourbane at AP2. Hordes got you down? Strength 5 ID Massive Blast template will thin them out. Air defence gone? Just shoot those fliers down. Your opponent brought their Baneblade(s) (or their variants)? You shoot them with Strength D, and on top of all of this, you literally CANNOT miss a single shot you ever fire. Also note that it is incredibly potent against Gargantuan Creatures, as it removes D3 wound per wound suffered because of Instant Death, surpassing their Feel No Pain as most lack Eternal Warrior. Useful against that prick who thought he could curbstomp with Wraithknights in a 30k game.

*'''[[Warhound Scout Titan]]''': The same Titan as the Ordo Reductor, it has one extra void shield and night vision for the same price as post-heresy one Warhound, Even though 6-th edition nerfed D-strength a lot (no more +1 on damage chart), take a DB TLD for dealing with Terminators and Characters, and a Vulcan Mega-Bolter boosted with a Djinn-skein for the squads as on average against 3+ marines you'll kill 10.416 Marines per use of the Mega-Bolter.

*'''[[Reaver Battle Titan]]''': Again, The same Titan as the Ordo Reductor, it's the Warhounds bigger, tougher, meaner and slower brother. Destroyer blast spam is still the preferable weapon loadout (especially with the points level you'll be likely using this guy at), but in 30K there's nothing wrong with choosing Gatling blaster (because fuck Marines) or a Melta cannon. Curiously it can take a Vortex support missile for a carapace weapon, you lose a lot of your average firepower, so compensate by getting something with more blasts instead of going all Strength, but the missile is capable of one-shoting any other lord of war (besides another Reaver) by removing D3 SP from super-heavies or just insta-killing any other model (yes, even Primarchs) with no saves of any kind allowed, but it is one use only, so use it wisely.

*'''[[Warlord Battle Titan]]:''' 2750 pts for quite possibly the hardest damned motherfucker out there; 30 HP, 15/15/14, 5+ Invuln, haywire immunity, Armoured ceramite and 6 void shields and it pretty much ignores anything in melee besides other titans. It is bristling with Anti-aircraft firepower atop it with its Ardex (Essentially Cognis) Mauler boltcannons and TL Lascannons. Now some notes on the meat of it!
** If you're taking this to spew D weapons, you're in for a disappointment as 2850pts total would "only" fire 8 D blasts; 2 Belicosa volcano's and 2 Reaver Laser blasters, though the former weapon will produce 2 10" reroll 1's on D table. If you wanna spam D, take a Reaver, it will work out cheaper in every single way.
**What this is good for however, is abusing its World Burner rule to turn the battle field into a charnel house where only true Titans, the lucky, and those with Flare shields may live to wretch in the ashen pork world that was left behind. This rule lets you use your Blast based weapons (all bar melee effectively) against whatever the hell you want: Baptise them in fire!
***Of course, you'll need the right tools for the job. Standard are two aforementioned '''Belicosa pattern volcano cannons''', a very good all round choice and in the event you don't have worthy backup against other Titans, stick with these. Other arm mounted weapons include '''Sunfury plasma annhilators''', PW4, Apoc barrage, force rerolls on cover,at S9AP2, remember Apocalyptic Barrage follows all the rules of regular barrage and thus would hit side armour and having two would effectively up you to having a PW8 profile. '''Mori-Quake cannons''' are similar to the regular quake cannons (D to 9 to 6), at AP3 they're kinda lackluster but it makes for it via making units move far slower (Half movement, no running/flatout/charge, all movement is dangerous terrain for next turn), a Direct hit with this will likely heavily delay a Spartan from reaching its destination in time, which could be extremely important. '''Saturnyne lascutters''' are fun, they double as a melee and hellstorm weapon. The Latter is S9, AP2 Instant death, making it perfect for mulching Mechanicum, the former it will possess a D, Machine Destroyer (Reroll 1's on D table) and ID again, which is relevant against Gargantuan creatures (Each D wound scored will inflict D3 wounds.). Next up is the '''Arioch Power Claw''': D Melee, +1 attack Machine destroyer; at least you'll look rad *New upgrade revealed at the 2016 Horus Heresy Weekender: splash out 75 pts and slap on a Vulcan Mega Bolter so you can smash and shoot! This then just leaves the '''Macro-gatling blaster''' looking a bit out in the woods: PW6, 5", Pinning at S10 AP3. It's really for just completely removing Marines from the board.
***Next up are the Assortment of carapace weapons (minimum 24"). These are all taken in a pair (the Ardex weapons cannot be changed). Standard are two Apocalypse Launchers, shrug.... wait a second. The Apocalypse Launchers have uses: the Barrage 4 firepower and AP3 allows you to kill Marines in cover quicker than standard blast weapons and then there is Titan dueling. If you are playing massive Apocalypse games with ranges over 100" these are perfect for smashing down other titans void shields and exposing them to your Belicosa Volcano Cannons: those Laser Blasters are no use if out range and will lose the extreme distance battle to the launcher-equipped Warlord everytime. Then come in the DL-Turbolasers, TL-Vulcan Mega bolters, and Titan Plasma blastguns, for free. The Reaver-greade weapons are all 100 pts: Laser blasters, Meltacannons (which will look real fucking stupid with all this AC around) and Gatling Blasters. Then some uniques come in: 2XVortex missile banks for 150 pts, which essentially let you fling out a total of 4 of these missiles throughout the game (its the "Eh" 40k version). And 75 pts Incinerator missile banks: PW10, No cover, Apoc Barrage, one use each at S6 AP3; for when all the marines must die turn 1.
***You can probably tell now, the resultant purpose of these Titans is destroy any supporting forces as quickly as possible, before destroying other super heavies in a barrage of unrelenting firepower across a number of turns and slugging it out, where as the Reaver is probably just blasting down enemy super heavies. In either case you may wish to sit down, take a look at your bank-statements and wonder how on earth you are going to be reasonably transporting this to the secret Drug-Cartel hideout where they fight each other with Titan Legions.

==Legio Cybernetica Unit Analysis==

The Legio Cybernetica is a Taghmata variant that focuses on robots. Every slot's gotta have robots! Like the Ordo Reductor, Legio Cybernetica draws from the main list of Taghmata units and receives a number of benefits and penalties.
*'''Unique HQ - Archmagos Dominus:''' An exclusive HQ choice for Legio Cybernetica detachments.
*'''Rule of the Dominus:''' Your Compulsory HQ must be a Magos Dominus, Archmagos Dominus, or one of the two special characters: Inar Satarael or Anacharis Scoria. In addition, if your primary detachment is from Legio Cybernetica, your opponent gains +d3 Victory Points if they manage to remove all your Cortex Controllers.
*'''Legion of Steel:''' Your Compulsory Troops MUST be 2-strong Castellax units each (keep in mind these are still [[Derp|not scoring]]). The first Fast Attack and Heavy Support choices MUST have the Cybernetica Cortex rule; once you have a robot in there, you're free to buy whatever else you desire. But what you desire is more robots anyway, right?
*'''Enhanced Cyber-control:''' What truly defines Legio Cybernetica. Your Cortex Controller and Cybertheurgy ranges is increased to 24" from 12". In addition all models with a Cybernetica Cortex in the detachment have +1 Iniative to their profile.
The main advantages of Legio Cybernetica is that their robots can be spread around without fear of losing control and the increased Initiative has the potential to radically alter the outcome of your close combats. Vorax will strike before most marines, Castellax and their ilk will strike at initiative, and in mirror fights they will all strike first. The penalty is that you are forced to buy four Castellax just to make a legal list. Castellax recently got a 20 points increase, making them a very costly affair. And if you lose your Cortex Controllers, the opponent gets free victory points; at lower point levels it's likely that you will only have one in your list...

===HQ===

*'''Archmagos Dominus:''' Everyone can field normal Dominus, but only you can bring their boss. You pay for what you get, and that's a lot. However, he does the same thing a normal Dominus does: use Cybertheurgy and Battlesmith instead of shooting all day long, but now at Ld10. His WS4 and I3 makes him mediocre in CC for his huge cost. Don't get us wrong, he can succeed by dint of sheer resilience when kitted up properly - [[Chapter_Master_Smashfucker|T6 W4 IWND FnP(5+) and six S5 AP2 attacks]] (2 of them Shredding Armourbane) is great in anyone's book...but you could have brought 2 Castellax for that. ''Then why use it?'' Because only he can properly use the Cortica Primus relic, making a unit of [[Deathstar_Units|3+ Battle-automata]] (otherwise not worth it) live up to their Monstrous Creature names and unleash the might of the Cybernetica! ''But that's always too costly''. Think again: 5 Voraxes cost less than 10 Termies. Use [[Rage|Rite of Fury]]. Now your enemy is in for [[Anal_Circumference|'''30 S6 AP2 attacks at I5''' + HoW]], not to mention the opening salvo, all delivered by [[Tarpit|15 T6 worth of Fearless wounds]] that don't need a transport and can [[Rip_and_Tear|pry open]] Land Raiders. Yes, you just [[Just_as_planned|both Nope'd a Primarch's retinue AND tarpitted him]]. And the Archmagos [[Troll|doesn't even need to be with them]] because of the 24" Controller range!
*'''Anacharis Scoria:''' Anacharis can be your Warlord in a Legio Cybernetica detachment, and really that's where he shines. [https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Mechanicum:_Taghmata_(30k)#HQ See the Taghmata section].
*'''Inar Satarael:''' Also a Warlord for Legio Cybernetica. [https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Mechanicum:_Taghmata_(30k)#HQ See the Taghmata section].

==Ordo Reductor Unit Analysis==

We've gone from the Mechanicum list with the least options to the one with the most in one book!

The Ordo Reductor's initial list, main troop choice and dedicated transport was in HH1: Betrayal and is a campaign allied detachment list when playing an Isstvan 3 re-enactment. At first there was only a unique HQ unit but then the Magos Dominus from book two became available to the Ordo Reductor (called Magos Reductor) and has been updated since. With the release of the new Red book for Mechanicum we have now the best and most varied tanks of the Mechanicum, alongside some exclusive options, like the <s>new</s> old Minotaur. The new list makes Ordo Reductor list extremely viable, capable of some OP/borderline stupid combinations (12 PHOSPEX MEDUSAS!), becoming like a powered up version of the Legion Rites of War. The Iron Warriors are the best at siege? Pfft! ''Amateurs!'' Mechanicum sees what your legion does and cranks it up to 11!

'''Bonuses:'''
*'''Walkers in Ruin:''' Any unit in this detachment is immune to Pinning by enemy fire and is also immune to Difficult and Dangerous terrain (Rubble, Ruins, Minefields and Trenchworks). No more tanks fucking themselves in terrain - ''You can bring enough Phosphex to cover substancial portions of the battlefield and leave only the 4 previous terrain types unscathed, a reasonable counter against faster armies.''
*'''Engines of Destruction:''' Allows us to take Minotaur ''batteries'', Artillery batteries and (Arch)Magos Reductor - ''Coupled with the Matrix of Ruin you can shove down 12 Phosphex shells a turn to be truly obnoxious.''

'''Restrictions:'''
*'''The Master of the Covenant:''' Compulsory HQ Choice has to be (Arch)Magos Reductor or special character Caleb Decima.
*'''Patterns of Force:''' Must take Thallax Cohorts as the compulsory Troops choice ''unless'' you bring a titan (Warhound and above) when you can bring the titan guard. Furthermore, a Reductor list may not contain more Battle-automata or Siege Automata units than half the total number of units in the detachment regardless of the detachments type (e.g.: if a primary detatchment force made from an Ordo Reductor war covenant comprises a total of six units, up to three of them can be Battle-automata) - ''Thallax are one of your best options, so not much of a downside there.''

===The Matrix of Ruin===

*'''Compulsory:''' 1 HQ, 2 Troops, 2 Heavy Support.
*'''Optional:''' 1 HQ, 3 Troops, 2 Heavy Support, 2 Elites, 2 Fast attack, '''2''' Lords of War.
*'''The Unfetted Wrath of the Machine:''' All Tanks are scoring in the enemy deployment zone in Age of Darknes missions, aka 30k, OR gain Objective Secured in Maelstrom of War missions instead - ''Bring an Archimandrite for sweet IWND on your scoring, dangerous terrain-ignoring tanks''.
*Can't take Fortifications or allies - ''You're a destroyer, not a builder. Thus, Macroteks are less useful for you.''

This OPTIONAL Reductor-exclusive version of the Onslaught FOC can be seen as a RoW within a RoW. A small modification to the FOC but a significant one none the less, it exchanges versatility for sheer firepower, but unless you bring the right units the loss of versatility can become a major problem. Compared to the Onslaught FOC (HH:LACAL p.10), which is available to all 30k, the Matrix of Ruin gains 1 Troop choice and better Tanks without relinquishing the ability of going first, but at the cost of 2 Elite slots and a higher minimum cost. Compared to the normal Age of Darkness FOC [[Fail|you lose 1 HQ, 1 Troop, 2 Elites, 1 FA, Fortifications and Allies]], but [[Derp|gain 1 HS and 1 LoW]]. But it truly shines in 40k - OS Triaros were difficult to deal with, try dealing with [[OP#Overpowered|OS]] Krios Venators.

===HQ===

*'''Magos Reductor:''' ''Who needs Decima?'' Forget about his Book 2 incarnation, the update has improved this guy big time giving him IC (but not Precision Shots) and better stats than the average Magos. He can be upgraded to Archmagos gaining Relentless, the option to choose "-1 to a piece of cover" as his WT instead of rolling for it and getting a 5 in WS, BS, S & T. Even a campaign Archmagos Reductor OC has little room left for stat-improving (so he can get extra rules faster!). ''Ahem'', the new book also tinkered with his wargear adding exclusive options like Phosphex Bombs and Breacher charges, losing the Jetpack and moving around certain options; little modifications that radically change [[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Mechanicum:_Taghmata_(30k)#Magos_options|this Magos' builds]]. He can get a '''retinue''' of Reductor Techpriests or Scyllax and all his attacks have Sunder and a +1 on the Vehicle and Building damage tables. Most importantly, he can grant this buff to a nearby Heavy/Ordnance weapon if he doesn't shoot himself and can be combined with Mechanicum WTs, specially Perfected Targeting. Thatatar Calix's single shot S10 not good enough for you? Buff it so it becomes Twin-linked, Sunder, and Explodes them on a 5+. But his best buddy is the Ordinator: an Armourbane + Wrecker + Sunder + extra table damage weapon can kill [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3oGbGlcQh0 pretty much anything], so put them together and buff his bombardment attack.

===Troops===

*'''Scyllax Guardian-Automata Covenant:''' While they can be taken by everyone (and they're no longer compulsory Troops), there's a synergy the Reductor have with the Scyllax that should be given its own entry. A balanced melee-ish squad, having 2 attacks base that generate an extra attack on a To wound roll of 6. In addition, they can exchange all their attacks (even the extra one for charging) for a Dismemberment attack: [[Rape|+3S AP2]] Unwieldy. They also get some decent firepower in the form of Kraken bolters as standard, one of the longest ranged infantry weapons in the whole Mechanicum, AP4 to boot. Nice. WS3 coupled with Relentless, Move through Cover, Night Vision and the usual Mechanicum stats (T5|2W|I3|4+ save) and the possibility to have up to 16 models means the unit is more than just a tarpit unit. [[Rage|Too bad they cost as much as Terminators]]. Also, like the Servitors they are, they become Fearless when they're within 24" of a Magos...but have to test on their Ld7 to move when away from them, so keep Magi nearby [[Tyranid|to herd them around]]. ''Then why take them?'' Because they come equipped with a '''Rad Furnace''', which means anyone in base contact with them suffers -1T, while they themselves are immune to it, as well immune to Rad grenades (''so they're different/[[Anal Circumference|THEIR EFFECTS CAN STACK?!]]'') and Poison & Rad-phage [[Mortarion|only affects them on a 6+]]. ''What does this mean for your Reductor army?'' That you should either stick a Rad grenade, Abeyant-equipped Archmagos with them since they will be able to Instant Death MEQ's with their regular attacks and attack the nearest foe with your Relentless, Move through Cover unit that [[meme|doesn't afraid of anything]] (Fearless). Alternatively put Calleb in one since at S6 he won't even need the Rad Grenades to ID MEQ's (''at last, a good unit for him to hang with!'') Terminators on sight? Pfft, Rad Furnace + Dismemberment will finish them off, even if they have [[Grey_Knights|2 Wounds]]. Just remember your Magos isn't immune to Rad, so keep away from Precision strikes and Challenges and buy a Machinator Array. Like all Mechanicum units, they have numerous weapon options, but keep your eyes on the points price.
**If Assault is your ideal strategy, then load up on '''Flamers''' (available to all) and '''Rad-cleansers''' (available to only one in four, sadly). Template weapons can help whittle down a lot of blobs real fast (having that much Wall of Death doesn't hurt if you get counter-charged either).
**If you opt for ranged combat, you'll want the '''Rotor Cannons'''. Sure they're weaker in strength than the '''Volkite Chargers''' but they put out more shots the Volkites and your regular Bolters do, Relentless meaning you get to fire 4 shots at full 30" range. And they're the cheapest option! Even if you're up against 4+ saves, the heightened volume of fire means you'll inflict more wounds than Kraken Bolters.
**As for the other "1-in-X can equip Y" items, they're pretty self explanatory. '''Graviton guns''' help with slowing infantry and dealing with vehicles that got too close, '''Plasma guns''' help with taking out 2+ saves from range (handy if a player puts their Artificer Armour Sergeant in front), and '''Melta guns''' are good for leaving at home because your opponent bought Armoured Ceramite and you have better things to deal with vehicles and 2+ saves.

===Heavy Support===

*'''Ordo Reductor Artillery Tank Battery''': The main reason for going Reductor, now we can take artillery Batteries from the legions and field them with impunity. 1-3 Artillery Tanks. Cheaper than the Legion variants, they start as a Whirlwinds with Vengeance and Castellan missiles that can be swapped for Hyperios missiles for free, becoming your best source of anti-air. But that would be a waste because they can upgrade their guns and pretty much become any artillery tank you need and then more, which makes the unit incredibly versatile. All models in the unit must have the same equipped primary weapon. In addition to the usual vehicle options, ours can also get a Machine spirit, Blessed Autosimulacra (or IWND with an Archimandrite) and upgrade to AV13 on the front. That's right, the Ordo Reductor can use its artillery tanks ''to assault'', essentially getting cheaper better Vindicators, so [[Commissar_Dan|charge, you pig fuckers!]]. Or you could also extend the life of your Medusas by running away 12" while still firing on the enemy and let your Krios Venators do the assault job. The weapon options are:
**Demolisher Cannon
**Quad Lascannon
**Dual Melta Cannon (a 3" blast Twin-linked Multi-melta)
**Earthshaker Cannon
**Medusa Cannon (with access to both Phosphex and normal shells by default)
**Mars-Colossus Bombard [S7|AP3|Concussive Pinning Massive blast with 12-72" range]

*'''Ordo Reductor Minotaur Battery''': Up to 3 Minotaurs forming a battery. It's not a Superheavy anymore, but a Heavy Tank (so it can score). Much better than the IA Minotaur by having an enclosed cabin, Autosimulacra, Extra armour, BS4, the chance of having 3 as one HS choice and it's 70 pts cheaper. Like the IA version it has AV14 on the rear by virtue of its rear-facing Flare shield, it's hit on its AV12 side on assaults and can't level its Massive Blast Twin-Linked Earthshaker cannon for direct fire, so it has a 24" blind zone that deep strikers will try to exploit. For that it has access to Armoured Ceramite to whithstand melta blasts, a pintle mounted <s>marine woodchipper</s> Phased-plasma fusil and the Anabaric Claw, which zaps those melee attackers at I10.

===Lords of War===

*[[Fellblade#Falchion |Legion Falchion]]

==Allies (This covers all three flavours)==

===Battle Brothers===

*'''Sons of Horus''' Troop Reavers make excellent scoring units (you took Maloghurst, right?). Just keep them backed up with Castellax and Thallax.
*'''Iron Hands''' They don't really offer us much we don't already have. They do, however, soak up bullets very well, so consider them for forward objective capture.
*'''Salamanders''' Resolutely meh for us. Iron Hands and Iron Warriors capture better.
*'''Iron Warriors''' Tough fuckers who don't mind getting shot. Consider a few drop-pod fulls for capturing forward objectives. Or use them as heavy support whilst using thallax and castellax for clearing up dug enemies. Altogether the best legion alongside mechanicum
*'''Raven Guard''' With their ability to infiltrate infantry, they can sneak a vox anywhere on the field to guide in deep striking thallax/ursarax. Consider if that's your play style, otherwise they don't bring us much we don't already have.
*'''Knights''' What's better than two knights palling it it up with your dudes? MORE KNIGHTS! Think this one through though, since we can already take them as lords of war. '''[[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Questoris Knight Crusade (30k)|Knights]]'''

===Fellow Warriors===
*'''Alpha Legion''' 20 strong Tac Squads that infiltrate on point? Yes please! This said, unless you're looking to take some armor as well, Raven Guard does it better, since they can call in deep strikers. Really it all comes down to how badly you want to field that Sicaran/have a Dreadnought Talon broing it up with your Castellax.
*'''Emperors Children'''
*'''Night Lords'''
*'''Death Guard'''
*'''World Eaters'''
*'''Word Bearers'''
*'''Custodes'''
*'''Sisters'''
*'''Imperial Army''' May act as objective-bench warmers; possibly bring ordnance onto the field?
**Though with the increased squad size of Tech-thralls, this may not be such an issue now.
***[[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Solar_Auxilia_(30k)|Solar Auxilia]] If you're taking these, you'll probably drop Tech-Thralls immiedatly; 100pts (Lasrifle section) for 20 man squad, BS4, Rapid Fire 30" or Heavy 2 36", overwatching on BS2, likely to get WS4 and 4+ save is pretty good in anyone's books. Though it has LD8/7, being able to always regroup is pleasant. Also, Lasrifle Sections come stock with a nuncio-vox, which can help your Thanatars and deep-striking Thallax/Ursarax a lot, freeing up your cyber-occulari to focus on their other forms of mischief, or saving you the trouble of getting the djinn skein altogether, if that's what you were planning to use those for. Alternatively Veletaris offers you some pretty nice potent short range fire power, but any variation of Mechanicum is hardly lacking in that. What you want from an allied choice is most likely cheaper barrage/template options than the Thanatar. The Rapier battery can see this pretty well, with the Quad mortar option filling this best: 60pts for small template spamming with pinning, uniquely possessing a shorter ranged direct fire option which rerolls armour penetration. This takes an elite slot, but you would not be missing anything else in this, probably. The Artillery battery, though durable, is pricey compared to Vanilla guardsmen options (presuming Imperial-Army vanilla will use Chimera based Artillery).
***Alternatively you may consider the Malcador. Yes a Superheavy as a heavy support option, and a fast super-heavy at that! It costs 5 points less than the Thanatar, you get 13/13/12 HP6 and 3 autocannons (Multi-laster and Hv.Flamer is free) alongside a Leman-Russ cannon, so you could leave it at that. If you feel like dropping 30 points you could get a Demolisher cannon and a Battlecannon firing at the same time (though, you would have to convert either Lascannons to a battlecannon or a hull gun to a demolisher if you're not performing a complete scratch build). If you wanted to fork out 10 more points you could the drop the fast property and ram your self up to front 14, you could then ram Flare shield and Armoured Ceramite, totaling up to 320 pts for vehicle that will take ALOT of shit forward facing and at 6 Hull points you'll be taking that for a while.
***[[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Imperial Militia and Cults (30k)|Imperial Milita and Cults]] have a dizzying array of options for you to take. You can make Pesudo-Skitarii with a combination of ''Survivors of the Dark Age'' and ''Cyber Augmented'', or even get some cultist support if you're playing Dark Mechanicum. Generally they seem to be similar to the Imperial Guard from 40K, in that they have a large number of expendable soldiers backed by tanks, so take them if you want more bodies on the ground. Seriously consider which Provenances of War you give them, generally you will be wanting them to stay in place and camp objectives, so Abhuman Helots with Discipline Collars will work wonders, and if they have Cyber-Augmetics then they count as Sworn Brothers!

==Tactical Discussion==

'''As Allies:'''
Real talk. Legion troops cost a lot. Tactical Squad? 10 bolter marines for 150 points. Buy them a rhino or max them with an apothecary? 200-350 for 1 troop choice with only bolters. When you start looking at non-compulsory options like terminators or tactical support squads they break the bank even worse.

Enter Mechanicum (from book 2). The best way of getting cheap fearless troops into a legion army:

*'''1: Cheap scoring units''' –The cheapest ally option. A naked Magos Dominus and two units of fearless Tech-Thralls runs around 165 points. That’s two fearless objective campers and a guy who can repair tanks. Now with Taghmata, even cheaper and more blobby!

*'''2: Troop Deathstar''' –A Magos Dominus, some upgrades, and two scoring Castellax runs around 275 points. That’s ten majority toughness 7 wounds. If you take lance weapons, you have up to 6 48-60” S7, AP2, heavy 2 lance shots (which you can fire TWICE if you don’t roll like a 13 year old with a superiority complex on xbox live). Make them melee oriented and you have an all-around MC hunter or tarpit unit. Or just march it alongside your tactical blob- blow up tanks with your lances and then fury of the legion the assholes inside. If it’s still alive, charge in your MCs.

*'''3: Skimmer + Objective Hunter''' – Thallax Cohorts are fast and their best feature is reducing cover saves by 2 points. 200 gets you a cohort and a Magos Dominus kitted into a support role. Use the Thallax to uproot objective campers in cover or hunt all those pesky jetbikes, skimmers, and light vehicles. Jink saves against the 2 S7 AP5 and 3 S6 AP3 shots? Bitch please.

Here's something to try:
Make a Myrmidon Destructor squadron, four-strong. Pack two with Conversion Beamers and two with Irradiation Engines. Have them joined by the ArchMagos, pray you get the "Free Twin-Linked for a unit within 6"" trait, park in a tower and snipe to your heart's content. Everything comes at you gets cancer, everything that stays away gets Beamed. Be sure to reinforce with Castellax to toss head first at the enemy lines to give them something to keep shooting at.

As for Mechanicum allies; Ally LC with Taghmata, or vice versa. This is primarily to get the Archmagos for the Castellaxs and the Magos-Prime for the Thralls and the IC.

== Magos options ==
There are so many different setups for Magos of any kind it deserves it own section - if only to avoid cluttering the normal entries for Magos and Tactics.
*'''Magos Prime'''
**'''Photonman'''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkLvpt9Z3fA]: The core of this build is a Myrmidax with two Photon Thrusters; with no other upgrades, that comes to 180 points. You'll be spewing out, at 48", 4 AP2 Blind shots - woe betide any Terminator that dares to enter your line of sight.
***Even with all that firepower, you've still got your hands free - you could keep him cheap, with the default power weapon and serpenta, or kit him out for melee as well if you're shitting points.
***Of course you've got the full range of Magos-buffers to make him invincible: the Machinator Array, Abeyant, and Cyber-familiar.
***The biggest benefit to going Arch- is probably the point of BS, but the boosts to the rest of your stat-line certainly don't hurt.
***Just don't look at how many Photon-Thrusting Destructors you could buy for the same points, or all of this will start to look like a really dumb idea.
**<s>If you just want to piss your opponent off, give your Magos/Archmagos the following: Nanyte Blaster, Phase Walker, Contagium Mechanica, Void Shield Harness, and a jetpack plus whatever else you might feel like taking, like an abeyant or cyber-familiar. every turn, simply pop up exactly at 12" from vehicle or infantry blobs and have at it with the appropriate relic fuckery, then jet out of charge range in order to continue fucking around next turn. as long as you don't get into close combat, you could completely decimate the entire enemy army with this one douchebag. Also could be useful for taking whatever objective you need in Maelstrom games, but that's mainly just the Phase Walker. </s> They're relics, you're not taking more than one.
**Archmagos Radfucker: Do you want to win at melee combat? Well for a small payment of '''285+ points''' you can do that all of the time! First take the standard abeyant, cyber familiar and machinator array combo to give him T6 W4 IWND and 2+/3++ and Hardened Armour as well as providing extra weapons. Make him Malagra of course for that extra WS and attack as well as prefered enemy (characters). As for your main weapons take a master crafted chainfist and a power fist to get the two specialist weapons bonus attack. Now he hits 4 times at S8 AP2, with a re-roll for master crafted and two more at S5 AP2 and all these attacks re-roll ones to hit on characters. But we're not done yet,give him rad grenades and a rad furnace for the radioactive cherry on top, that will give enemies -2 toughness on the charge and -1 toughness if they survive any longer. Since you've taken a rad furnace, there's no reason not to give him a Scyllax Automata bodyguard unit since they wont fuck up each other's toughness anymore. Congratulations, you now have a warlord that can tango with [[Chapter_Master_Smashfucker|'''Smashfucker''']] and has nothing but instant death weapons to fear.
** Alternative opinion: the red Taghmata book only allows ‘one option’ under Rad Furnace and Machinator Array - you can only take one but not both. Also Rad Grenades are Reductor-exclusive.
*'''Magos Reductor'''
**'''Support (i.e. Naked)''': Because not everyone can be a Chapter Master and Ordo Reductor [[Derp|lacks Techpriests]]. The cheapest build, focusing instead in bringing more siege engines and herding your Thanatars around, which are too valuable to have them melee at stuff. Don't even think about getting him guns - his shooting phase will be spent repairing shit, and if he isn't, you're [[DISTRACTION_CARNIFEX|not trying hard enough]]. Too frail? Give him an Aurugy scanner to deny infiltration and stick him in a Thallax bodyguard instead of an Abeyant, maybe give him a Machinator for good measure (+1T, +1 Battlesmith). This means not only he gets some dudes to take hits for him, but you can also bring ''yet another'' Macrocarid DT, kited with Lascannons so it can function as another siege engine. ''A LR on the front, two Thanatar at each side, Thallax at the back and the Magos in the middle. [[Get_shit_done|That's your Ordo Reductor list right there]]''. And if you have models in Reserve, you can give the LR an Explorator Web. Doesn't look that cheap, but take into account that you were already going to bring LRs and Thanatars, so ~95 pts total.
**'''Melee:''' Fortunately, you can make your Magos a 4W T6 3+/3++ monster. Model-wise, this is the most expensive loadout, but it's a good way of using the Reductor's exclusive Rad grenades, Phosphex and Breacher charges (10 pts a piece, ouch). Make him an Archmagos with the obligatory Machinator array so you don't have to worry about the breacher charge either scattering or insta-killing you. ''Only 125 pts so far, suck on that Caleb!'' Add invuln for that AP3 weaponry. Maybe also an Abeyant for +1 Wound and sweet IWND. And don't forget the Rad grenades. No guns here, the Machinator's meltagun and flamer are more than enough. However, you can fire the meltagun and another weapon, so throw a Phosphex bomb. Or a Rad-cleanser. And a Breacher charge to treat challengers with non-Unwieldy S8 AP2. Look again, your model now costs ''~205 pts'', not to mention he still needs a retinue, which cost as much as Terminators (but Ferrox Thallax hit hard and Scyllax are customizable and outright scary). ''Srsly, why are you meleeing in a siege list?'' Because Archmagos Reductors are the only Archmagos to end up with WS&S5. Plus it's fucking fun.
**'''Ranged:''' A normal Reductor with a Photon Thruster/Conversion beamer and Augury Scanner is an interesting tactic and definitely one to consider for your Thanatar-Calix shepherd. It's cheap, makes you durable, and can help bring much needed high Strength/low AP firepower to the field, protect your side from deepstrikers and heal your Thanatar when it needs it, without being unreasonably expensive. You could put this guy in a unit of scyllax when rounding up your Thanatar because he will make them fearless and then their bolters can then fire at deepstrikers as well as the Magos's heavy weapon. ''Just ~100 pts there.''

[[Category:Warhammer Tactics/30k]]

Sword

2017-12-29T15:23:32Z

2601:147:4200:6280:CD84:9D92:D635:D321: /* Worldbuilding Considerations */

[[image:gladius.jpg|thumb|300px|right|A Roman gladius (Pompeii Variant), one type of sword]]

Swords are probably the most commonly used weapon in Fantasy, especially by main characters. While certain fantasy races have certain specific weapons associated with them (Dwarves and Axes, Elves and Bows), all of them will make use of swords at least on the sidelines.

Real life shit: A '''sword''' is a melee weapon comprised of a long, sharp blade and a hilt to hold it with. In the real world, the blades of swords normally range between 50 to 150cm long and typically weigh between 1 to 4 kilograms, depending on the size and composition. Numerous variants of swords exist and have been employed since some ancient Mesopotamian metalworker decided to make the blade of a dagger much longer than usual.

== Love and Hate ==
There are various types of sword related retards.

*'''Sword Wankers''': Overly romantic morons who believe that the sword is the be all end all weapon until people got good with guns and tragically ended that. Buying into all that chivalry/Bushido nonsense.

*'''Anti-Sword Wankers''': People who respond to the sword wankers by going too far the other way. Seeing swords as worthless weapons that were only carried by overly romantic morons. Sword blades would always shatter on impact with plate armor and ten swordsmen would easily die to one guy with a spear.

*'''Nipponese Wankers''': People who claims that [[Katanas are Underpowered in d20|Japanese swords are THE BEST]], magically sharp and indestructible because the metal has been folded a thousands times, able to cut through a Tank's armour and pierce steel plate. Western swords are, by comparison, unsharpened metal slabs used by hairy barbarians.

*'''Western Wankers''': On the opposite spectrum, these guys think that katanas are at best crude baseball bats that stands no chance against GLORIOUS EUROPEAN PLATE, and that by comparison European swords are the best thing around in therms of technology, sharpness and usability

[[Skub|All of them are stupid]]. Swords were not the be-all end-all of medieval warfare. Other weapons did have their advantages. [[Mace]]s did concussive damage even if someone was wearing heavy armor and could break bones. [[Spear]]s had a longer reach and were better against cavalry. Halberds could deliver a devastating chop at range. This did not mean that swords were worthless. They were versatile -- short swords were excellent as a fallback weapon. Double-handed Zweihanders could be devastating. Nevertheless, morons who think in bare basic binary believe that they are either the weapon of the gods or worthless rubbish. There is a reason why any civilization that developed metalworking (and a couple that didn't) eventually came up with swords in one form or another.

In the same way, people comparing western and eastern swords should take in account that while Europe was and is a big place with lots of trade and plenty of steel, Japan was not. So European swords faced lots of tough metal armour, and there was a sort of "arms race" where swords became increasingly good against armour, that in turn became better at stopping swords and so on. This got to a point where people stopped carrying [[shield|shields]] around because armour was just that good, and swords became increasingly narrow and quick because slashing or piercing plate armour was totally ineffective and your best bet was stabbing weak points.

Japan on the contrary had a lot less metal around, so there was less armour and good quality metal was rarer and costly. So there was just no point in developing pointy (AH!) uber-piercing swords, and they had to use the metal they had in a smarter way. This does NOT mean they were worse: they were perfectly good for use in the role they had in the place they were, and developing European-like swords would be pointless. This is discussed below in greater details.

== So why are swords so popular? ==
Swords generally have five major advantages over other weapons:
* '''Ease of carrying''' - Almost all types of swords come with a sheath or scabbard and are generally compact and light enough to not cause any discomfort when carried on person. If you have a sword, you can keep is as a backup weapon for when your main one is at major disadvantage, is damaged or lost. You can also comfortably carry it out of the battlefield as a self-defense weapon.
* '''Versatility''' - While most battlefield weapons are specialized in chopping, piercing or crushing people, swords can generally do anything, if a bit worse than any weapon specialized in it. Even if the sword is specialized, like the thrusting rapier or the slashing sabre it still gives you more options than say an axe or a spear.
* '''Reach''' - Swords are good at a wide array of ranges, most importantly at extremely close range, where most other battlefield weapons suffer badly. If you're stuck in a close melee, fighting indoors or in the narrow streets, sword is your friend.
* '''Defense''' - Swords are made of metal, are generally quite long and most have crossguards or some other hand protection, which means that aside from the shield no other weapon is as good at parrying enemy blows.
* '''Lethality''' - Swords generally don't cut well through padded cloth or leather armour and don't cut ''at all'' through any kind of metal armour aside from the cheapest shittiest chainmail types, but thankfully most combatants through the history didn't wear full sets of armour, and in the hot regions it was quite common for people to not wear any armour into battle even in late medieval, and against unarmored opponents swords are among the best weapons you can pick.

Considering all fo this, sword was mostly used on the battlefield as a backup weapon, as while most soldiers through history went to battle with something way more specialized, almost anyone who could carry the sword would, often even choosing it over better armour if he cannot afford or carry both. Out of the battlefield it held the title the best self-defense weapon up until revolver pistols were invented.

That being said, swords are weapons and weapons only. You cannot use them to cut firewood like battleaxes, construct the camp or set field fortifications like warhammers, or use them as carving knives like daggers and have you ever heard of people going hunting with a sword? Going against a bear with a sword is generally a fucking stupid idea, even more so if you face things like battle elephants; you need either pole-arms or ranged weapons against them unless you have a death wish.

Considering all this, it's strange that swords are the go-to weapons of your average melee [[murderhobo]]s in any fantasy setting where they are supposed to fight giants and dragons on a daily basis. Though this may partly be the fault of unimaginative game designers or GMs, as the majority of magic weapons tend to be swords, or else you need to specialize in order to train with another weapon even if said weapon would realistically require less training in real life. Then again, murderhobos almost exclusively fight in duels and smaller skirmishes rather than large formation warfare, where bringing a pike or other main battlefield weapon would be stupid in comparison. The close confines of the average dungeon also rule out the use of polearms in most cases, to say nothing of the ability to carry a sword and still leave the other hand free.

== Dissection of swords in battle ==
Because swords are so versatile, it's best to go over a few of their various benefits to the user and why they're so commonly used:

*'''Balance:''' To start off, most combat swords have their center of mass near the handle. This means you have much better control over their movement than with any other weapon, able to stop it or change the movement angle much faster. However this same balance has a double edge, thanks to their good balance a sword can't hit as hard as an unbalanced weapon since you have less weight and mass at the point of impact. It's why relatively untrained axemen and halberds are still a strong threat, the heavy weight of the head means that when you hit, you hit hard, even if it is hard to change your blow's speed or angle and it's why swordsmen need more training than with other weapons.

*'''Defense:''' Swords also offer more protection than most other weapons - most swords are one handed, so it's easy to use a shield with most types. You can also use them to parry other weapons if you're really desperate, however parrying anything but another sword is generally difficult and/or dangerous. Spears, pole-arms, and other weapons designed for thrusting (including some swords) are hard to parry, weapons that have gathered huge momentum, such as axes or maces, would have a high chance of damaging either your weapon or your hand, or throwing you off your balance and flails (at full speed) can hardly be parried at all, but that's to be expected given it's their main shtick. However the sword shines in attacking first before they build up the momentum which the sword's superior agility can allow. Or, if you are skilled enough, you can try to redirect their momentum so their weapon misses you instead of parrying it head-on with your edge and then counter-attack while they are trying to recover. Most swords also usually include crossguards to protect the hands of anybody using them unlike... pretty much every other common weapon.

*'''Training Time:''' One of the worst things about swords, they require more skill than most other close combat weapons, and while untrained militiamen with spears, halberds, or axes still could be a threatening foes, untrained men with swords possess a danger mainly to themselves. While high skill floor is a definite disadvantage, skill ceiling with a sword fighting is also much higher than with most other weapons, meaning if you can dump a lot of time into training sword training would give you more result - one more reason for it to be a staple weapon of warrior/noble classes in most culture. Additionally, a sword is just a sharp metal stick with a handle, so if you manage to master it, most of the core swordsmanship skills and martial art basics in general transfer well to other long, shafted weapons like axes, spears and quarterstaves, if you decide to train in using them.

*'''Space:''' One-handed swords require much less space to build momentum, so you can effectively use them in a tight shoulder-to-shoulder formation (unlike axes, maces and hammers), even two-handed swords will usually have a Ricasso (an unsharpened part of the blade immediately above the crossguard) which can be used to allow them to fight better in close quarters and even if they don't, they still don't require nearly as much space as great axes or two-handed warhammers and if you're really hard pressed (let's say somebody comes at you in armor), a fighting technique of the time was to just use the pommel at the end of the grip and just clobber your opponent with it (a German technique called "mordhau"); after all, this is the origin for English word "pummel". Or you could hold the sword in the middle (even though it's sharp, it's okay if you use gloves; it's called half-swording) and use it like a makeshift short spear, doing quick jabs with its point or trying to wrestle your opponent to the ground by using your sword as a lever. All of these are fairly good techniques for very close quarters combat.

*'''Availability and Reliability:''' Swords ran the gamut between very cheap and very expensive, more so than pretty much any other weapon of the time. Using England in the middle ages as an example, a sword could cost between 3 pence and thousands of pounds. A line archer made 3 pence a day on average while a professional archer made around 10. This means that the cheapest of swords were extremely affordable for pretty much anyone who actually needed them (remember, mythical beasts didn't tend to run around in real life), even if the sword was of lower quality it was still a tool of war and useable. Depending on the period of time and region, swords were legally made "nobility only" weapons of status, though in practice many people got around this through rule lawyering, most commonly by simply calling a particular type of sword a "big knife." Fun-fact: the rapier (commonly thought of as a nobility-only dueling sword) was an extremely common back-up weapon for soldiers.

*'''Lethality:''' How a sword kills is entirely dependent on the type of sword that it is (this will be covered more later). The main types of damage they inflict could be divided into three categories:
:*''Slashing'' deals huge, extremely painful and bleeding wounds. The pain alone would incapacitate most foes, leaving them to the finishing blow, and if you didn't finish them, they would just bleed to death in a matter of minutes. It's effective against opponents with partial armor, prevalent through most of the history, as limb hits are just as painful and lethal as body hits, and limbs are usually more exposed, and if your opponent happen to have no chest piece, disemboweling becomes a nice effective option. Two main issues with slashing is that pretty much any armor renders it completely useless, and that opponents with high enough pain tolerance (Berzerkers and Mameluks did it through painkiller drugs) can continue fighting for minutes even with their lethal wounds, taking their killers (and likely more people) with them.
:*''Stabs'' from a sword on the on the other hand can be instantly fatal since if you hit someone pretty much anywhere on the torso you are almost guaranteed to hit an organ that's full of blood like a liver or a kidney, and then have the blood pour out of the big hole you just made in them. The issue with stabs is if your opponent wears any kind of metal armor on his torso (like all soldiers worth their salt before the age of the musketeer), your stabs generally cannot do shit unless you manage to get that sharp point between the gaps between the plates.
:*''Half-swording'': grabbing your sword by the blade. It may seem utterly retarded at first, and you need a bit of practice not to cut off your fingers, but works surprisingly well against armoured opponent. If you encounter an enemy in full plate or even chainmail or a padded gamberson, you'd better forget about hitting him with a blade, as it would only serve to damage your weapon, as swords don't cut through metal. Like at all. You'd be far better with ''bashing'' him with a pommel, or yet better use half-swording known as "deathblow", holding your sword by the blade, and bashing your enemy with a pummel or a cross-guards like a makeshift mace or warhammer respectively. By the end of the Medieval period, when plate became widespread, pummels and crossguards became arguably more important than the blade itself, especially if you want to [[Meme|End Him Rightly]]. And if you hold your sword with the main hand on the handle and the off-hand on the blade close to the tip you get a short spear or a dagger with a very long handle, that you can jam between the plates of your opponent's armour. It was also a good way to use the Zweihander agains pike and halberd formations: you used the long blade to cast the pikes aside, and when you're inside the ranks you switch to half-swording and started slashing and stabbing around.

== Types of Swords ==
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">

Unlike, say, the [[spear]] or the [[mace]], which were pretty much the same all over, swords, being essentially jack-of-all-trades weapons, came in a bewildering array of shapes and sizes to fit the needs of the people using them. This is not a complete list (nor should it be, go to wikipedia), but it should give you a good introduction.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
===The Ancient Days===

A fair number of early bronze age swords look like big knives, because that was basically what they were. Societies figured out bronze working or learned it from someone else, found out that they could make serviceable bronze knives like their older rock ones, then began enlarging the shape. They also were composed of just a blade with a handle (or hilt) bolted on, rather than having a tang, Others were simply a single piece of bronze with maybe some leather or cloth tied around the handle to make it easier to hold. While bronze is quite easy to forge and shape, it's relative rarity compared to iron and it's softness means that bronze wasn't an ideal cutting material; swords made of bronze can't be too large or they'll bend after a strike, and they can't hold an edge as well. Later societies moved to iron, and then steel, once they mastered the smelting techniques necessary.

[[image:Khopesh.jpg|thumb|300px|right|An Egyptian Khopesh, a serviceable first draft that would be overshadowed by latter models]]

*'''Khopesh''': One of the oldest varieties of sword with a distinct sickle shape. Originally of Egyptian design, this weapon's distinctive blade allowed it to cut, hook shields, and even thrust. It was fairly good for its day in the bronze age, but in that day armor better than leather or padded cloth was a rarity. Its time was done once [[mail|chainmail]] and scale armor became common in the iron age. Despite most fantasy depictions of khopeshes having them as long as longswords, these blades were fairly small at 50-60 cm, since anything bigger made out of bronze tended to get bent easily.
*'''Kopis''': An ancient Greek short sword from the age of Hoplites, about 50-70 centimeters long. It curved inward and was a single bladed weapon on the inward curve. This did limit flexibility in slashing attacks somewhat when compared with swords with blades on both sides, but meant that a sharper edge could be put on the edged side, which was important since at this point the Greeks only had bronze to make weapons, which does not hold an edge very well. A similar sword, the Falcata, was used by the Spanish, which also featured a knuckle guard.
*'''Xiphos''': Another Greek short sword, this one was double-edged and the blade resembled more of a leaf shape, giving it some extra heft toward the point. A secondary, cut-and-thrust weapon.
*'''Gladius''': The standard sword of the Roman Legions, a short sword about 60 to 80 centimeters long. This sword was the (main?) weapon for the average Roman legionary. As one of the smallest one handed swords of its time, the gladius was decent at chopping and slashing, but excelled at stabbing; combined with Roman shield formations and the bash-step-stab-block move, this gave it a deceptively large effective range surpassed only by [[polearm]]s. The fact that Roman legionnaire maniples were able to crush Macedonian phalanxes in melee should tell you a lot about their effectiveness (though outflanking the formation helped). It was later phased out in favor of the longer spatha (a cavalry weapon adapted by the infantry, mainly as a reaction to increasingly mounted adversaries), which was itself a precursor to the viking sword, and by extension arming swords and longswords. (Historians are actually still divided on whether the pilum, a cross between a javelin and a spear, or the gladius was the legionnaire's main weapon. What is know is that each legionnaire carried two pilii and a gladius, but whether they were supposed to throw both and engage with their swords or keep one to engage in melee and only draw their sword later is unclear, with surviving evidence hinting at both tactics being used.)

===Medieval Times===

As a rule, during the Middle Ages in Europe most peoples settled on straight double edged swords for the most part.

*'''Arming Sword''': Also known as the side-sword, this was a one handed weapon about 70 to 90 centimeters pretty much carried by every decently equipped man-at-arms/archer/spearman/knight ever. This was also the sword that developed the cruciform crossguard, which would be used by nearly every European sword design due to its defense value and versatility. Often carried with a shield of some sort, it can also be used if your main weapon breaks or happens to be too long to use in corridors. The standby weapon of knights, it retained some degree of use even after the advent of longswords due to their greater degree of adaptability. When most people think of the classic sword-and-shield combo, this sword is what most often comes to mind. Often incorrectly called a longsword in games and other fiction.
:*'''Viking Sword''': Often considered the progenitor of the arming sword, the Viking swords featured ornamental hilts, and many had unusually high-quality steel for their time, particularly the [[wikipedia:Ulfberht_swords|Ulfberht swords]].
:*'''Messer''' A straight single-edged sword, this German weapon basically became the poor man's sword because, according to the law, [[rules lawyer|its construction meant]] [[wat|it counted as a knife]]. Besides its association with shady criminals and brutal gang violence, It also featured an early knuckleguard called a "Nagel", or nail, which became very useful for parrying blows.
*'''Longsword''': A 90 to 120 cm long knightly sword, befit of any self-respecting knightly individual, it's your two-handed or hand and a half go-to man killer with multiple functions such as sword(duh), crowbar, spear, and hammer. Though there are dozens of techniques to use the longsword, two of the most common and useful styles are the Italian and German styles. The Italian longsword technique allowed wielders to strike and parry quickly, greatly emphasizing on using the general physics of a longsword combined with well planned footwork. The German style of "half-swording" (gripping the sword with the right hand on the handle and the left on the percussion point of the sword) this technique allowed the wielder to use the sword like a crowbar and fight armored opponents more efficiently in close quarters, the objective being to use the sword to catch and topple opponents, leaving them vulnerable to follow-up attacks through gaps in their armor. It is also good to note that the longsword strikes faster and harder than the arming sword because two hands are used to wield it (though it could be wielded with one hand in order to use a shield in the other, albeit not quite as effectively).
*'''Falchion''': This single-edged sword almost resembles a great machete, designed to combine the advantages of a sword and an axe. The blade is much wider in order to increase its weight, giving it better chopping power at the expense of balance and thrusting ability. Interestingly enough, there is very little information on how falchions were used in combat, though it is theorized that it was used with a shield (quite unlike the common fantasy depiction of a big two-handed fuck-off machete).
*'''Cinquedea''': Literally "five fingers", this Venetian blade straddled the line between a short sword and a long dagger (about 18-20 inches). One noteworthy feature was that the blade was obscenely wide, being as wide as five fingers, hence the name. It was a civilian weapon used in narrow streets, and frequently pimped out with etched blades. While the wide blade won't do much good against armor, it can give an unarmored opponent a pretty nasty wound.
*'''Estoc''': When plate armor became more common, some men carried the Estoc, which was basically a longsword with no sharpened edges but a very sharp and narrow point. The edges were left unsharpened, partly because a slash does no good against most armor, and partly because the actual blade wasn't flat and wide, but thick and narrow, reducing flex and making it more rigid for dealing with heavy armor. The blade could be triangular, square, or even hexagonal.
*'''Greatsword''': Or Zweihander, is a mighty 120-150 centimeter blade that appeared somewhere around the 15th century which was mainly carried by fuckhuge men with fuckhuge biceps and fuckhuge balls whose jobs were to run forth as the vanguard and hack enemy pikes, pikemen, swordsmen, and occasionally cavalry to meaty chunks or to guard vulnerable flanks. Greatswords bear many of the same qualities as the longsword, though it was a bit slower and struck harder due to the weight, and also require even '''more''' training. One unique ability of the Greatsword was that it could be wielded like a short spear, featuring an extra handguard past the primary hilt. Good greatswords were some of the most expensive close combat weapons in medieval Europe, and good [[landsknecht]]s were the most expensive foot soldiers, but for the good reason, as they combined the devastating killing blow and armor piercing capability of the axe, speed of the sword, and were also able do chop through tough spear or halberd formations (and mind you Swiss pikemen, and later halberdiers, were the deathstars of this era). This, however, comes at a great risk, as while a highly skilled landsknecht can swing the zweihander pretty fast, he cannot react fast enough to reliably block enemy strikes because of the fuckhuge momentum of his sword, leaving him vulnerable to counter-attack if something survives his swing - even while they usually wore heavy armor, landsknechts were known to die young.
:*'''Claymore''': Scottish variant of the Greatsword. The claymore is distinguished by its forward-sweeping hilt ending in [[wikipedia:quatrefoil|quatrefoils]]. Not to be confused with later basket-hilted swords of the same name.

===The Far East===

Like in the West, the peoples of East Asia made use of a wide and diverse variety of swords which evolved on their own lines. Here are a few of these.

*'''Katana:''' The unstoppable God-weapons that can cleave through tanks, cut through time, and cure cancer. ''No wait, come back!'' That's all bull and no one who isn't stupid disputes this. ''But'', they were perfectly functional swords for their place and time. Japanese blacksmiths didn't have access to the quality of iron that their European counterparts did, neither did they have proper smelting techniques to filter out most of the slag out of steel, so they had to develop techniques to get the most out of what they had, including folding the billet and laminating steel of different hardness together. Because of this, the katana was made using heavier steel with less carbon, using uneased hardened steel wrapped around a softer core to give the blade a strong edge while the core could absorb more force than a blade made of a single grade of hard steel. As a result, Katanas were harder and held the edge better then European swords, but were way more vulnerable, prone to chipping and bending (it was fairly common for BOTH opponents' swords to bend when parrying, hence why Japanese martial arts avoided parrying whenever possible), and being made of very inflexible steel types it was less prone to vibrate at wrong blade alignment, which actually lowered skill requirements a lot - in other words it trades reliability for the ease of use, which is, in all truth, a strange trade, considering that it was mostly used by very skilled swordsmen that usually don't require something of that nature (however it IS partially responsible for katana fanboyism, as it's actually an OK weapon in the hands of complete amateur, unlike most other swords). Katanas were pretty good all-around weapons that excelled at slashing - as you might expect from a relatively short (60 to 73 cm long - a longsword would be 89 to 109 cm long), thick, heavy, curved blade with a long handle, and was still decent at stabbing - being thick means that it didn't flex much and so the energy of the blow was transferred very efficiently. You didn't swing it like a baseball bat (though of course you don't swing any sword like a bat), you pull inward as you swing so the blade cuts as it goes. Historically, it was often kept with a shorter sword called a wakizashi, which was commonly used as an alternative to the katana in situations where the longer blade would be a hindrance (e.g. indoor fights). While in most circumstances, only one of the pair was used at a time, at least one school of martial arts (the Niten Ichi-ryu) exists that teaches a swordsman to wield both swords at once (Note, however, the school commonly teaches one to use a SHORTER blade in the off-hand, as carrying two swords meant for carrying with both hands is kind of, well, stupid). Katanas and similar swords were used by the Koreans and the Chinese to some degree. Contrary to popular belief, the katana was not the main battle weapon of the samurai, that was the bow or the naginata, a glaive-like pole-weapon. They were, however, pretty valuable status symbols as only the samurai class was allowed to wield them.
:*'''Tachi''' - The katana's predecessor was between 68 to 79 cm long and had slightly more curvature, though direct visual comparison would be difficult. The real difference is how the blade was signed by the smith and the way it was worn (edge down) compared to a katana (edge up), even the word "''Katana''" means "''Sword that is different from a tachi''." The additional length and the extra curvature made the blade more suitable for cavalry, which was the primary role of the samurai at the time. The later katana was shorter and straighter which was more practical for a footman or a duelist.
:*'''No-Dachi''' ''(or O-dachi)'' - Translates as "Fuck-Massive Tachi" which was the Japanese version of the greatsword. Made famous to the west by [[/v/|Sephiroth]]. They had a blade usually 120 to 150 cm length and was a weapon intended for infantry, though the shortest could also be used on horseback, though it then focused on downward cuts rather than side to side slashes which could rape hordes (Samurai prefered to use bows or Yari (Sengoku) and Naginata (prior Sengoku) when on horseback, since it did a better job than making one's Tachi longer). Some of the biggest Nodachi include ''Tarômaru'' (Nagasa 180cm, Zenchô 262cm, 7.2 kg, forged in Kamakura period, widely considered to be the golden age of Nihontô), ''Nenekirimaru'' (Zenchô 324cm, Nagasa 215cm, weight unknown, forged in Nanbokuchô period) or ''Tarôtachi'' (Nagasa 220cm, 4.5 kg, total lenght around 3m). The latter belonged to a Sengoku period General, [[Gabriel Seth|Makara Jûrôzaemon Naotaka]], who actually [[Kor'sarro Khan|wielded it on horseback]]. Such swords are the longest, biggest and highest quality blades around. Generally got banned by the Tokugawa Shogunate when they legislated how long a samurai's swords could be, so most of them got cut down or relegated to ceremonial duties. A lower quality version of the Nodachi called Wodao (Japanese Sword) was used by the Chinese after a Kage-ryû manual got [[looted]] by the Chinese Imperial army, who then mass produced it to use against northern barbarians in [[Landsknecht|specialized units]], unlike in Japan where only specialists individual fighters used them (contrary to popular Shogun Total War induced beliefs).
::*'''Legendary Blades:''' So you might have heard in RPG's of the the Masamune and Muramasa blades, but in real life these actually refer to specific swordsmiths (though Japanese swords are often called by the name of their swordsmith) of which Masamune is the most famous, being lauded as one of the greatest sword-smiths of all time and his swords are held as national treasures even today. Muramasa came 200 years later and produced swords during the Muromachi period. In modern fantasy fiction, Masamune's blades are far more elegant and the mark of a more refined warrior while Muramasa's blades were considered to be bloodthirsty and were even banned by the Tokugawa Shogunate. Though directly comparing them is unfair, as they were both the greatest masters limited only by the processes of their time. Masamune's era had less technical knowledge to process the impurities from iron creating brittle metals, but Masamune worked this disadvantage into his blades as an artistic expression, causing crystals of impurities to form making his swords appear to sparkle. By contrast Muramasa most likely had all the same technical knowledge of Masamune in addition to 200 years of engineering development and probably suffered a bad reputation because his blades were far more utilitarian.
*'''To''': Korean sabers were 60 to 86cm in length and have a very similar appearance to Japanese katanas, though straighter and often with a shorter handle, making them primarily one-handed which is more suitable for its function as a cavalry saber. In fact, many katanas could have been converted into ''To'' by cutting down the length of the handle, but considering the shape of most surviving Korean swords, it is unlikely they did it a lot. Contrary to popular belief on both the Western and Eastern side of the Internet, caused by K-Pop propaganda, the [[Tau|Koreans]] DID NOT had traditional schools of swordsmanship, Muyedobotongji was published in 1790. This is because Korean had a mainly Confucianist society dispising violence under the Kingship of the Joseon dynasty, and as such had no martial culture. Before the Invasion of Korea by the Toyotomi clan's Hosts (1592 - 1598), they used mostly Chinese style Jian, which the Korean wore hung diagonaly from a waist or a shoulder in back to front. This is because the only traditional martial art of Korea was archery. Because of those reasons, the Imjin war was initialy a huge success for the Japanese Samurai armies ; on the land it failed in the end for logistic and strategic reason rather than tactical ones, and on the sea it failed due to very recently developped Korean warships (ironicaly, based on the Japanese warships), as it is often the case (for exemple, in the Satsuma rebellion during the Meiji era, the samurai rebels killed twice their numbers, but lost because they were outnumbered and lacked guns, artillery, munitions, comfort, support...). Even after the war, the Korean used mostly blades who were abandoned / forgotten during the Japanese retreat, or low quality replicas of Nihontô. All those swords were often rusted, because unlike the Japanese, Koreans didn't knew how to maintain them healthy. Some other exemples of the [[Derp|low quality of ancient Koreans replicas of Japanese swords]] include the absence of ''Kogai'' (kind of stylet) and thus the uselessness of holes in Korean ''Tsuba'', the absence of ''Shinogi'' (or only 1 sided Shinogi) or the use of hardware to keep the blade inside the sheath (while the Japanese Sword do have a Habaki that will fit the Saya perfectly). Those latter Korean swords' sheath were not kept hung by the swordsman, but thrown away as to not be bothersome, and indeed, none of the many illustrations of Korean ancient martial arts books are shown wearing a sheath, and does not mention the sheating process (unlike Japanese ''Iaijutsu'' and ''Battôjutsu''). One might hence wonder from where does come from Haidong Kumdo, Taekwondo, Hapkido and others. Those were in fact derived from Japanese Martial Arts taught to Koreans by the Japanese for purposes of cultural exchange and peaceful cohabitation through sportsmanship, mostly during the occupation in the Shôwa era, which is why they use Japanese inspired clothing, weapons and techniques, but also have controversial stories when trying to pass as older as they really are (mostly for [[Edgy|Nationalistic purposes]]).
**Of note, you might have heard of the '''ninja-to''', a fictional weapon invented by Hollywood to be used as props for movie [[Ninja]]s and perpetuated by RPGs and video games (including D&D). Well the Korean ''to'' is probably the closest physical analogue to the ninja-to as there has never been any historical evidence of ninja-to's as a ninja would never be stupid enough to carry a weapon that would identify him as such. Save for the Japanese Historicaly acurate ''Shikomizue'', which came in a variety of forms, some easier to hide than others (similar to the European cane sword).

[[File:Chinese_Dadao.jpg|thumb|300px|right|The Chinese 29th Division all carrying dadao against katana-wielding IJA troops.]]

*'''Dadao:''' A Chinese sabre meaning "Big Knife" in English. It has a thick, long, curved blade, and often has a handle half-as big as the blade itself, much like a very thick falchion or großemesser two-handed sword. This made the blade extremely durable and tough. During World War II, the Chinese Nationalists used them for defending Chinese territory against Japanese invaders. To just about everyone's surprise, was actually fairly effective in deterring any Japanese troops from getting too close, which was very useful when your foe likes to bayonet charge when they run out of ammunition. One highly specialized division, the 29th, (Ershi jiu jun) specialized in the dadao and became infamous for their beheading cavalry raids.

===Other places===

The guys outside of east Asia and Europe did some swordsmithing of their own, here we acknowledge their contributions to the world of swords.
*'''Ida''': A sword design native to Sub Saharan Africa (specifically Nigeria). There were a fair number of several types of swords used by sub-Saharan African peoples, some of which being similar to Middle Eastern scimitars, a few of which having a fairly common straight sword shape more commonly associated with European swords and others had rather exotic shapes. The ida is notable for having a straight blade which bulges towards the point.

*'''Macuahuitl:''' Some would dispute this weapon is a sword, but it still deserves a mention. The macuahuitl is from Central America and was used by the Aztecs and such civilization. Basically, imagine a paddle with grooves in the narrow faces that hold sharpened obsidian to make the cutting edge. Shards of obsidian can get really really damn sharp, sometimes having a monomolecular edge. As such a macuahuitl could cut through flesh and bone like nobody's business. But obsidian is volcanic glass, which means when a macuahuitl went up against metallic armor (such as, for example, the breastplate worn by a Spanish conquistador), said bits of glass would shatter, leaving its wielder helpless against the wearer of the aforementioned armor. The Spaniards, though, feared the Aztec warriors, who could almost behead their horses in but one swing.

*'''Scimitar:''' A family of swords of Middle Eastern design, including a number of offshoots such as the tulwar or shamshir, the scimitar was a curved single bladed sword, but could be one-handed or two-handed depending on its function or region of manufacture. Was made extremely popular by [[Drizzt]], who was famous for fighting with two of them on foot, though historically they were far more suited for fighting from horseback as the curved blade allows for fly-by attacks without the blade getting caught in the victim's bodies and pulling the rider off his horse. These blades were lighter than European counterparts (such as the sabre and the falchion) and had limited flexibility (since they only had one edge), but they were remarkably quick and sharp. Scimitars are one of the few blade weapons still in actual use today, with some Middle Eastern nations using them for executions of criminals. Fantasy scimitars and real scimitars are often two entirely different beasts. Fantasy scimitars tend to look like thinner, slightly more curved sabers while real scimitars were usually very thin and had such an extreme curve it was essentially impossible to stab with them.

*'''Yatagan:''' An inward-curved sword, popularized by Turkish Janissary, and adopted by many nations that fought against them or were conquered by them. Legally counted as a knife (seeing a trend here?), since Janissary being slave-soldiers weren't allowed to wield swords which were weapons of free people. Notable by being the least skill-demanding sword in the Middle East and later Balkans and being not as terrible at fighting people in armor as most other swords.

===Sword and Shot===

The age of the sword did not end the second someone worked out that a combination of a strong tube with one end sealed off, some black powder, and some pebbles could be used to shoot one's enemies. Swords and [[Firearm|guns]] coexisted for nearly a thousand years. The following latter day swords arose and were used alongside (and sometimes by) arquebusier, msuketeers, dragoons, and riflemen

*'''Flamberge''': Not actually a sword but a technique for making a blade meaning "Flame Bladed Sword" which was a primarily decorative single handed blade usually used by officers who practiced rapier forms. While it could be said that the blades caused more damage due to the curves on the edge giving a saw-like motion with each swing; remember that rapier forms were practiced during the gunpowder-era where there were much easier ways to kill a man, and to properly utilise this in combat would require a very different form that required swinging rather than thrusting. Therefore the flamberge's REAL benefit was that anyone who attempted to parry a strike from a waved blade would catch their sword on the curves and unbalance their hold on their own weapon or make their arms ache. This is all theory, of course, as the minor discomfort from parrying a flammarded blade would only really build up over time... and personal combat doesn't last that long.

*'''Flambard''': Forget what you think you know from fantasy books and video games, flambards are the two handed versions of flamberges. Unfortunately the terminology has been confused mostly by fanboys and collectors in the same manner as katanas have been. Just like a zweihander blade, flambards were meant to be heavy and the blows inflicted by them were absolutely lethal, so you could easily chop lumps out of dudes stupid enough to get close to you. On the other hand, the waved blade served a different purpose than the flamberge, of focusing force in a smaller area, thus increasing cutting power in a similar way axes do. This allowed it to cut through shields and armour almost as good as great axes (and don't get stuck inside them as often ass axes tend to), while retaining the speed and versatility of the zweihander. Flambard got a really bad reputation, due to ragged wounds left by it's waved blade having a nasty tendency of catching a gangrene (as this factors in ''after'' the battle it ''does not give the wielder any advantage'', maybe aside some psychological pressure if his opponent knows about this effect), so people assumed the blade itself was "wicked", "cursed", or even "demonic" - during the Reformation wars people carrying ones were often blamed as Devil-worshipers by Catholics (who banned it as unholy weapon) and subsequently BLAMmed, which naturally meant surrender was not an option for flambard-wielding protestant landsknechts. In a way this reputation had partially carried to modern days, where flambards are often carried by villains and outright demons in fantasy or even historical fiction. Once again, this is all theory and there has been no proven advantage to having a flammarded blade. In fact, many historians lump the flamberge style weapons in with the flambard style weapons as it is simply that, a blade style.

*'''Kriegsmesser''': A single-edged rigid top-heavy balanced longsword (sometimes slightly curved, sometimes not), favored by many German and Swedish mercenaries during the clusterfuck the 30-year war was. Basically what katanas should have been if Japanese swordsmiths had all the technology Europeans stole from Arabs (who stole it from Indians) and all the juicy high-quality iron ore - it had the same benefit of easy cutting even without much training (very useful for a merc), but made with a spring steel it was quite resilient to bending and chipping, and of course it had cross-guards and a pommel, unlike it's eastern analogue. Despite the benefit of ease of use, however, the main reason mercenaries used kriegsmesser was because in some of the German states it was illegal for a commoner to own a "knightly" longsword. It was mostly used as a sidearm alongside some-pole-arm or a musket, and later fell out of use in favor of much cheaper arming swords.

*'''Cutlass''': A European broadsword from the age of Enlightenment. Cutlasses had a point which went off to one side and were often slightly curved, but were usually double bladed. A very effective weapon for chopping and cutting. The stereotypical user of this sword is a pirate, which is not an exaggeration as it was commonly used by sailors and pirates during the age of sail, though it also saw use on the ground in the hands of infantry. Cutlasses were still used into the first world war, although they had largely been superseded by close-combat firearms.

*'''Rapier:''' As firearms became more prominent, swords became relegated to the purposes of self-defense and dueling rather than full-fledged military warfare. Unlike most swords, rapiers possess long, thin blades (commonly about a meter long and 2.5 centimeters wide) with a sharpened point- useless for cutting, but perfect for thrusting. They were frequently made with elaborate hilts meant to guard the wielder's hands more effectively, preventing them from being disarmed (both figuratively and literally). Over time, the rapier evolved into the small sword; as the name suggests, the blade was made shorter and the hilt was simplified. At this point, they served more as status symbols than weapons in their own right, as duels to the death (at least with swords) had become increasingly frowned upon. While often portrayed in media as light and flexible, real life rapiers were nothing but: they were about as heavy as an arming swords and about as stiff as technologically possible, and given they where longer then arming swords, fighting with a rapier was actually more taxing on the wielder's strength, contrary to "go-to weapon for [[-4 Str|girls and feminine guys]]" reputation they have nowadays. Rapiers were actually extremely common as infantry weapons and were not the sole purview of the nobility.

*'''Pistol Sword:''' In the 1600s, someone got a bright idea that seemed ingenious at the time: what if you stuck a [[firearm|gun]] barrel onto the side of a sword so you wouldn't have to fumble around changing your weapons in the middle of a battle? Unfortunately they were born well before they could make this into a videogame weapon, and much like most things in real life, the answer was not as cool as it sounds - instead of getting a weapon that could be used both as a sword and a pistol, you got a sword that was unbalanced and a pistol that was too heavy to aim with (and was also too expensive to mass-produce). Needless to say, they weren't all that popular, and remained more of a curiosity than anything else.

*'''Saber:''' The last type of sword to see any type of major military use. After firearms became the dominant battlefield weapon, sabers were still primarily used by infantry officers and cavalry up until WWI, when cavalry was finally made obsolete by machineguns and trench warfare, and more portable short-range firearms such as revolvers and submachineguns were readily available. Some officers still carry sabers today, such as those of the US Marine Corps, though for purely ceremonial purposes. While both cutlasses and sabers are curved weapons, the saber is distinguished from a cutlass in that they were mostly derived from the Middle-eastern Mameluke sword, being longer and more slender than the thick and short cutlass. The extra reach was more useful for cavalry while the weight of a cutlass was unnecessary for attacking at a full gallop.

*'''Shashka:''' When Russians conquered the Caucasian mountains, they banned locals from owning swords because they tended to rebel all the time and because it was a good excuse to prosecute undesirables. Apparently Russians weren't paying attention to German and Turkish history, and predictably the Caucasians made a saber that by legal definition counted as a big knife and named it (you guess it) "A Big Knife", or Shashka in Adyghe. It's heavier and straighter than a proper saber and lacks a guard, so it's a bit worse at drive-bying people from a horseback, but better at slicing them open when fighting on foot, being a bit of an all-rounder well suited for a region that favors cavalry that can fight on foot (because of all that mountains and valleys). Naturally, Russian cossacks that handled the brunt of peacekeeping/oppressing (depending on your view) work in the region found out it was a damn fine weapon for the task and adopted it to the point it quickly became their hallmark weapon. Later shashkas became so popular in Russia they almost pushed out sabers from the military and civilian use and by the late XVIII century only hussars and high nobility were still using sabers instead of shashkas. Modern Russian Cossacks still wear them, but nowadays they're mostly ceremonial.

*'''Machete''': Somewhere between a short sword and a long knife, the machete is, like the bayonet, still with us today. Essentially a short one-handed blade with a curved edge, it is mostly intended for cutting through undergrowth in tropical climates in the modern era. However in parts of Latin America and Western Africa "machete fencing" is still practiced.

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== Sword related stupidity ==

There is oh so much of it...

=== Carrying a sword ===

For some reason, everyone in fiction carries their sword on either the left hip or on the back, from the right shoulder to the left hip. The latter we will come to in a moment, first we will discuss the hip-holstered sword.

While it is certainly true that carrying a sword on the hip opposed to one's sword arm, one has plenty of room to dramatically unsheathe their sword. In the Middle Ages and earlier though, this was not done like that for a few practical reasons. First up is the shield: when one is in formation and wants to draw their swords having a raised shield in one hand means that one has to keep their shield hand out of the way when drawing their sword, compromising their defense. If one is mounted on a [[horse]] (like a [[knight]]) however, the sword is not carried on the opposing hip for a different reason: drawing one's sword form the opposing hip would mean either pulling the sword past the reins or the horse's neck, which might very well result in cutting the reins or the animal's neck. These two problems for both mounted and pedestrian soldiers was solved in a very simple way: the sword was carried on the same hip as one's sword arm. This limits one's drawing distance, but unless one is a [[C.S.Goto|deformed munchkin]] you should be perfectly fine drawing a one-handed sword from the same hip as the sword arm. The katana on the other hand were carried on the opposite hip, but this was because the Katana was a slashing weapon as such you could turn your draw motion into a cut.

The second point is back-mounted sheaths. Unless you are Dhalsim from Street Fighter or are armed with knives you are not going to be able to draw a single-handed sword from your back. Doing so would involve over-stretching, pulling the sheath down with your shield arm (giving up your defence, a big no-no) and a short sword. Go watch a movie featuring someone with back-mounted swords: you never see them draw their weapons on-screen. And two-handed weapons are right out. Though it is true that for transport purposes weapons were sometimes carried on the back, to and from the battlefield are NOT such situations. Soldiers armed with large two-handed swords carried them into battle much like their [[spear]]-wielding colleagues; [[Dwarf|held over the shoulders as the soldiers sung songs of war and victory.]]

===Sharpness===
There are two misconceptions about swords - one is that combat swords were rather blunt and relied on the power of impact, and another that they were sharp enough to shave with and could cut padded cloth with little to no effort. The truth as always in the middle - blunt blades are obviously stupidly impractical, while extra sharpness leads to extra brittleness making the edge extremely vulnerable to chipping. Sure, in some cultures swordsmiths could get away with razor sharpness if metallic armor, shields weren't widespread and fencing styles developed in ways to avoid parrying, but really it only lasted for long in Japan. Now with ''modern'' swordsmithing, using modern materials and techiques it's quite possible to make the blade both resilient and razor sharp, but even then most HEMA practitioners prefer reasonably sharp swords, because they last fucking FOREVER when made with top-grade modern steel, while razor-sharp ones made from the same stuff would ''eventually'' wear down from use.

===Cutting off limbs and heads===
Possible, but heavily impractical and dangerous (to one attempting it). The reason is swords are really bad at cutting through solid hard materials, and one of such materials is bone. You can cut through a bone with a sword, but it needs excessive force, meaning either excessive speed of a swing or mass of a sword itself, to a point it becomes hard to control the sword and can lead to a dangerous overswing that lives you '''dead''' open to counterattack. And because sword blade isn't magically immune it '''would''' blunt, chip, or even break in contact with a human bone. Worse even, it could ''stuck'' in the bone, effectively disarming you. And the best part is, cutting ''to'' the bone most times does as much damage as cutting ''through'' it - a man with his neck arteries and veins cut is just as dead as the one with his head chopped off, and an arm or leg with severed muscles and strings is just as useless and painful as the one cut off clean. And don't even start with cleaving people in half. Machetes are better at damaging bone because they are meant to chop hard material such as wood and sugarcane, though at best it would cause a compound fracture. There are a few varieties of swords created for untrained peasants that were made to be both heavy and cheap, hoping to cause a single limb or head cut.

=== Parrying all day long ===

If you have a sword and your enemy has a sword, one thing that you can do is use your sword to stop the enemy's blade. This is called Parrying and it is a valid thing to do in a sword fight. However, in fiction (especially visual fiction) sword fights will often involve each side constantly slashing each other for minutes at a time hitting nothing but the opponent's blade. In real life this did not happen. Usually a sword fight is over in a few swings, especially one on a battlefield. Even in a "pure" sword duel (No shields), opponents do not slash and parry continuously like how they're stereotypically portrayed in media and instead only attack in short intervals before retreating and attacking again or until one of you suffers a fatal wound. This was the case for three reasons: 1. Eventually, you will suffer from fatigue and make a mistake, costing you your head if you don't take a few seconds to catch your breath and your rational opponent will be thinking the same. 2. Dodging the attack completely is preferable to parrying as it leaves your sword intact and actually leaves your opponent open for an attack. 3. Unless both of you have Slaaneshi-tier reflexes and are telepathic, it is nearly impossible for any sword fighter to match their opponent's moves in that magnitude for minutes-on-end that doesn't involve the duel being choreographed like a play (even if you were trained by the same teacher). A real sword fight, is NOT parrying all day, as seen [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQMqlFY7T64 here]

The first reason why this is the case is simple, the objective in a sword fight is to get your sword to hit the enemy, not his blade. The second reason is (if you have one) a shield is better suited to staving off an enemy blow than a sword. The third is that in a battle situation, you are vulnerable to another attacker if you are occupied in endless parrying. The fourth is that swords are not magically immune to other swords. If you parry a blow, your sword gets damaged, which is why the sort of "edge-to-edge" parry you always see in movies are questionable. It would dig huge divots out of the softer sword, if not both of them at once. Sword fighters of some schools tended parry with the flat of the blade unless they're using a specialized weapon with flanges or notches to catch and disarm or break the other weapon, while in others edge-to-edge was considered an acceptable move, since it provided better grip, more reliable block, better use of cross-guards and inevitable blade damage could be repaired later, while your cracked skull could not. It was a matter of [[skub]] both when sword-fighting was relevant and in modern HEMA community.

=== Swords and dual wielding ===

If you go to battle with a one-handed sword, you'd generally want some other weapon in your off hand as well. Ideally it should be a shield or a buckler, but lets face it: if you're going to battle sword is probably your sidearm, and your main weapon is likely to be two-handed or incompatible with shields in some other ways, and if you use a sword for self-defense against bandits or assassins on the town's street, chances are you didn't bring a huge-ass shield as part of your civilian outfit, and the only other weapon on you would likely be a dagger. So you grab your ''other'' sidearm, like a dagger or a small axe, or maybe even a mace or warhammer. Why not another sword? Well, wielding a single sword requires a lot of skill and attention to do it properly, and operating two requires ''more'' than twice of both, since you use the other sword with your off-hand, which by definition is weaker and less dexterous. That's not to say, master swordsmen didn't try it - some of them did, often with quite a success on tourneys and duels, but none of them was crazy enough to go to war with double swords when sword and something less skill-intensive is so much more sensible. Once you got two weapons in your hand you ''do not'' get to attack twice as often, like it's normally portrayed in traditional or video games - a good attack move requires muscle effort from a whole body, but by attacking with both hands simultaneously (like with showy "scissors" move movies and video games so love) you can only use your arms and to an extend shoulder strength. What dual wielding is really about, is attacking with one weapon and defending with another. This allows you to parry an enemy attack with one weapon and simultaneously retaliate with another, or attack with one weapon without compromising your own defense (much). So contrary to how it's normally portrayed in media and games, dual-wielding is a defensive technique rather then offensive one. And you'd need that extra defense, since with one-handed weapons you would have lower reach. This is also the reason why people didn't block enemy attacks by both their weapons crossed, which is another showy but extremely impractical move popularized by media - one weapon is almost always enough to deflect a blow, and using both you'd just throw away the immediate counter-attack feature, which is the prime selling point of double-wielding. Now double-wielding might look to you like a poor man's sword-and-shield style, but there is one more thing: your options for attack angles are doubled with two different lethal weapons no less, which makes defending against your attacks hell of a lot more difficult for your opponent. Sure, shields and bucklers could and would be used for bashing people, but it's nowhere near as lethal as dagger or axe to the face.

Now, in the Renaissance there was such a thing called the main-gauche or "parrying dagger," but these usually required special training to use effectively, and some models came with specialized designs to aid in parrying; for example, "swordbreakers" had notches to catch the enemy blade and twist it out of their hands, while the trident dagger had spring-loaded sides that could also catch the blade. However, daggers were not used to attack unless the wielder was able to lock blades and close in... which would put you in range of the other guy's dagger as well.

=== Cutting arrows and bullets ===

If hit straight-on, a sword will cut a bullet in half in mid-flight. Sometimes you'll see this as evidence by the Katana-cultists (see below) that the Katana is a uniquely sharp/strong weapon, but ''any'' blade will cut through a fast-moving block of lead, even a butter knife. The problem with this is that you are standing right behind where the bullet is going, meaning that unless your sword is shaped in such a way that it causes the bullet to split in a wide angle (This is usually done by shaping the sword's blade like long, flat diamond/parallelogram.), you are now shot twice. If you're not standing right behind where the bullet is going... why are you bothering cutting it in half? The same goes for arrows, but there is likely more batting aside involved (sort of like it goes in [[Star Wars]] with lightsabers and blaster bolts). The thing is, if you can move so fast that you can deflect incoming projectiles (the projectile from a decent [[Bows and Arrows|bow]] can easily go faster than your car does at close range) you should be able to just dodge them instead of bothering with looking fancy. But no human being is capable of dodging a battlefield's worth of arrows/bullets because those thing are just too fast and you do not (or even cannot) see them coming. So unless you're precognitive or have some kind of [[Weeaboo Fightan Magic]] you're not going to do well stopping projectiles with your sword. Oh, and this damages your sword of course.

=== Pistol and Sword ===

40k is in love with combining a sword in one hand and a pistol in the other and as far as 40K weapon stupidity goes, Games Workshop actually gets it almost right this time. In ye olden times, pistols were slow to reload and inaccurate so it only made sense to have a melee weapon along with the pistol. Pirates were partially famed for this combo. Rather than shoot at range and run the risk of missing, they would close to melee range, deflect the enemy's sword, then stick the pistol in the enemy's gut and pull the trigger. Afterward, they would either drop the gun and draw another or flip it round and hold it by the barrel to use it like a club.

The other and somewhat more relevant reason that 40K uses pistol and sword was because this was a common weapon combination of the assault troopers in World War I; if you look at the Imperium's other tech, they take a lot of "inspiration" from WWI (several tanks are blatant ripoffs of real world tanks of the era). As the war progressed, commanders realized that defending a trench from an oncoming wave of men was handled sufficiently with bolt action long rifles supported by static machine guns, but these were useless when assaulting a trench. Thus, after discussing with the men who had the most experience in taking enemy trenches, gave them the weapons they requested: small, handheld, easy to use weapons, especially pistols, trench knives, clubs, and sharpened shovels. These were much easier to handle in narrow, muddy trenches where the rifles of the defenders were much harder to maneuver. Officers in WWI were also equipped with a sword and pistol as standard, and they weren't just for show, they'd get used both to direct their own troops and to clear trenches, both theirs and the enemy's.

Also, there are several additional reasons why it makes perfect sense in the 40k or 19th century context:
* A sword can never jam or run out of ammunition. Handy when you are engaging [[Tyranids|a swarm of enemies]]. Though you still need to sharpen and repair it from time to time, this isn't nearly as much of a problem as it is for earlier firearms.
* A sword can parry. If you are fighting in melee against [[Orks|an opponent who prefers hand weapons]], and are armed with just a rifle or a pistol, you can only hope to hit your enemy and incapacitate him before he chops you down. Good luck doing that to an Ork. On the other hand, having a sword means you can at least try to defend yourself against other melee weapons. Makes sense now why a sword continued to be an officer's and nobleman's weapon well into the gunpowder age?
* A sword is not that noisy compared to firearms (or bolters, for that matter). Sure, a melee fight isn't silent, there are bound to be clangs and screams, but it's not nearly as overt as an unsuppressed firearm discharge which can easily reach an ear-shattering 130 dB. There is a reason why people need to wear ear protection at gun ranges. Never mind it also produces flash and smoke, more so if you are using non-smokeless powder. So if you, say, managed to take an isolated enemy position within a wider front line [[Kayvaan_Shrike|with melee weapons only]], there is a good chance the enemy won't know about it for a while. Granted. you can [[Raptors_(Chapter)|snipe from afar using advanced suppressed rifles and scopes]]- but you don't always have the luxury of doing that.
* 40k has [[Power Armour]], which can only be reliably threatened either by melee [[Power_weapon|Power Weapons]], or goddamn anti-tank guns. And unless you are a Space Marine yourself, you can't just fasten a [[Lascannon]] onto your belt and call it a day, so if you don't want to end up facing a Space Marine or [[Tyranid_Warrior|a similarly armored xeno monstrocity]] with just a lasgun, grab that power sword. Also, in fluff, power swords are remarkably good at breaking enemy non-power weapons while parrying, adding to their value in defense. Two reasons why they are very popular amongst officers and champions alike.
**This means there are gradations in weapon/armour interaction; [[Flak_Armor|flak armour]] defeats weaker [[Autogun|firearms]] and [[Lasgun|lasguns]], but falls to [[Bolter|bigger]] [[Shuriken_Catapult|and]] [[Gauss#Necrons|scarier]] [[Plasma#Pulse_Weapons|advanced]] guns, which are nigh useless against [[Power_Armour|power armour]], which can't protect against [[Power_weapon|power weapons]] or [[Plasma_gun|advanced]] [[Meltagun|anti-tank]] guns. So unless you happen to have the latter either [[Incubi|on very fast elite melee units]], on [[XV-8 Crisis Battlesuit|sufficiently mobile weapon platforms]], or simply [[Aspect_Warrior#Fire_Dragons|in abundance]], when Adeptus Astartes come for you, you are beyond screwed, just as in fluff.
**While [[Terminator]] armor does protect against most common power weapons, the aforementioned advanced anti-tank guns still have a good chance at hurting them anyway and the greatly reduced speed puts them at a disadvantage against enemies that are either faster than they are or can hit them from far away. And while they do have Power Fists equipped as standard, they're slow enough to give an appropriately geared opponent the chance to kill them before they get a chance to use said power fists. So it all works out...unless you're dealing with Assault Terminators, that is. In that case, you're screwed if you're stuck in melee with them if you're not a Dreadnought or something equally big and nasty.

=== Unsheathing fun ===

Quick: what sound does a sword (or any blade weapon) make when you unsheathe it? If your answer is something along the lines of SHWING!, think about how a sword would make this sound upon being drawn. It has to be dragged against other metal, but this can causes a whole series of engineering nightmares: if your sword is dragged alongside its sharp edge it blunts, which is obviously not desirable. If you draw it against it flat (or its non-sharp edge if your sword is single-edged) the engineering involved would have to be so precise that the sound is produced, but this would create such a narrow fit for your blade that it would be very difficult and heavy to draw and sheathe, and when temperatures cause the metal to expand or contract your sword gets either stuck or dangles loose in its scabbard. This is obviously not desirable as well.

A more accurate reproduction of what sound a sword makes is to pull up the sleeves of whatever shirt you are wearing: a soft "ffffp"-esque sound. This is because sword sheathes were often made out of wood or leather, with sometimes some kind of fur inside of it. This held the blade snugly in place, would prevent it from falling out if held upside down and would not provide more wear on your sword than combat would.

And whatever dumbass thinks he's 2cool4sheathes will soon learn that cutting his furniture/legs is a very good reason to start wearing a sheathe for his sword.

=== How not to make swords ===

[[image:Conan sword casting.jpg|thumb|300px|left|How to make a sword shaped ingot of pig iron which is of less value to you in a fight than a nice heavy stick]]

Making a sword from steel is a fairly complex and tricky process. Generally it was done by specialized swordsmiths once societies got big enough to support them. Village blacksmiths could make swords, though not good ones. Making a steel sword involves taking a form of ferrous metal (be it an ingot of iron, a hunk of scrap metal or a sandwich of different types of steels) and heating it until it got soft, gradually hammering it into a sword shape, re-heating periodically as it cools during forging and then getting reheating it again to temper it and quenching in oil to give it strength. A sword does take a fair bit of time to make. As it's a tricky job, swordsmiths did not live alone in isolated workshops but rather worked together in guilds to help train new swordsmiths, while whole families (male and female) were involved in the process of making swords one way or another. They were also not adverse to using mechanical assistance such as water powered trip hammers to help them get things done quickly and efficiently, though forging by hand did allow them to be more precise about things.

[[image:Chinese_Trip_Hammers.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Trip Hammers, for when a smith does not want to use his muscle for all the hammering]]

In any case, as it gets the hell beaten out of it during forging what you start with does not look like what you get when your done. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8E6TzT0eCYs What a medieval swordsmith would not do is cast a sword shaped form of Pig Iron (the type of liquid iron which you can make with pre-industrial technology, which is full of impurities and carbon), wait for it to cool into a semi-solid form, hammer it on an anvil for a bit and dunk it into water.] If you try that and it does not shatter on the anvil or shatter after being dunked into water due to cooling to rapidly, it will shatter after the first blow. Note that casting was a legitimate way to make one type of sword; the ones made of bronze, although bronze swords do not match up to the performance of an properly-made iron sword.

Also, nobody ever quenched a blade by thrusting it into a living guy's chest. That is an obvious bit of often repeated embellishment and rumor about Damascus Steel blades (which were made with the previously mentioned sandwiches of steels) which wormed its way into folklore and you're a moron if you think otherwise.
Firts there's a, let's say, logistical problem: a sword is a meter long or more, and you need to immerse it completely to get a proper quench - and the supply of people at least a meter thick is quite unreliable... Or did they use elephants and walruses?
Then there's the metallurgical problem: when you quench steel you want it to cool in a quick, controlled and homogeneous way to avoid warping and having differtial hardening where you don't want differtial hardening. Flesh is not a good at dispersing heat, so your sword will probably not harden at all, and even if this gruesome process did somehow work, you'd need an army of clones to get repeatable results.

=== Folded a thousand times ===

''Ah, Glorious Nippon Steel, Folded Over 1000 Times....''

This is, as you might expect, bullshit, even if it contains a (small) grain of truth. Japanese swords were created by combining three types of iron alloys, which (if you drop weaboo names) were basically low carbon steel, high-carbon steel and extra-high-carbon pig iron. The limitations of Japanese smithing techniques made it so smelting of those alloys happened below their melting point temperature (or, in other words, they became soft and malleable but not liquid), hence they were unhomogeneous and contained lots of impurities. So it was ultimately plain common sense to "knead" the mix (like you would do with bread) to get an homogeneous bar by stretching it on an anvil, folding it back, forge-welding the 2 parts together again. Repeat, repeat and repeat until (almost) all of the impurities were driven out.

This process, called lamination, was meant to spread the carbon content in the steel and remove inclusions by bringing them to the surface where they could be hammered away as slag. It also created layered laminated steel with layers of hard but brittle high-carbon steel and soft but plastic low-carbon steel (actually pig iron and high-carbon layers initially, but by the time laminating was done enough carbon would burn out of them to change their type) which combines the strong points of both, so the blade could be almost as sharp as hard steel and almost as flexible as soft steel. (You have to give it to them, the Japanese swordsmiths did a pretty good job, all things considered the limitations they had to work with.) This was however an horribly time-consuming process (and thus costly), not to say prone to errors. And even if everything works correctly, the very act of working the steel means you lose some every time you work it: external layer of steel burns off, slag detaches from the workpiece, small pieces fly away with every hammer strike - so you would try to keep work to a minimum. Keep in mind that the number of layers of your sword doubles with every fold: 2-8-16... and so on, so after 10 folds you get 1024 layers, and after 20 your steel is as homogeneous as it can get due to having over a million layers that blend in each other, losing all the sexy benefits of laminating. One thousand folds would theoretically get you more layers than there are atoms in the perceivable Universe (it's 302-digit number in case you wonder), you'd also end up with only a small fraction of steel you started working with, and almost all the carbon in it would burn out long before you reach 100 foldings, leaving you with almost useless soft iron. Katanas weren't folded a thousand times (perhaps a dozen, if even that), however they did possess over a thousand discernible layers in there structure.

Other nations also used techniques similar to folding (welding) to get over impurities and make layered steel sandwiches, but then one day some smart Indian smith invented crucible smelting to make much purer steel right of the bat, and after that another Indian smith invented tempering that was both cheaper, easier and more effective then laminating. Some enterprising Chinese and Arabian traders spread these techniques all over Asia and Europe, so people there immediately stooped folding/welding their Glorious Steel and adopted the better (mostly less time-consuming and hence cheaper) technology. All, of course, except for fucking Japan that decided to isolate itself from the rest of the world and only found about these technologies when Commander Perry gently knocked their front door off.

A huge chunk of the reputation of Japanese swordcraft comes from the fact that, by the time Europeans forced their way into the island, swords had became largely a ceremonial part of officer's uniforms in the Western militaries and little attention was given to their crafting that their quality had become quite poor, not even half as good as they were made but a century before. Low-tech Japanese swords, on the other hand, were still crafted for actual battle and killing people rather then pointing at the enemy to inspire your troops, so they were of the highest quality their technology allowed. Naturally westerners were amazed by the quality of Japanese swords compared to their own stamped pass-produced junk, and here's where Glorious Nippon Steel bullshit took its origins.

None of the swords the IJA used were Katanas but were actually Guntō. [[what|Most of them were made by a Japanese railroad company.]] While effective against mass produced bayonets and better than the Katana before them. The Guntō proved to be inferior to the Kukri used by Gurkha, their British commanders and National Revolutionary Army(China) soldiers armed with Dadao. Weapons that are variants of the machete. So for a small cost. Anyone with some cash to spend can have a better weapon than IJA swords.
So anybody who says that they got a Katana from killing a Japanese soldier from WW2 or that their grandfather picked one off the body of a dead officer are full of shit.

== Swords in Fantasy ==

Swords are probably the most commonly used weapon in Fantasy, especially by main characters (the characteristic of the sword listed above makes it symbolic for a leader). While certain fantasy races have certain specific weapons associated with them (Dwarves and Axes, Elves and Bows), all of them will make use of swords at least on the sidelines.

Alongside the usual racial variants, many fantasy universes has some kinds of sword you wouldn't see in the real world.

===Busters===
Named after the "Buster Sword" from [[/v/|Final Fantasy VII]]: these are basically unrealistically huge greatswords. By unrealistically huge; we mean that a Buster Sword is about as tall and wide as a fully-grown adult human, with the weight being a dozen or more kilos. Depending on the make, it's either shaped and used like a giant greatsword used to chop unfortunate enemies with extreme prejudice or it can also be a heap of metal affixed to a grip where it can be used to bludgeon targets with maniacal glee. There's no strict criteria on what exactly qualifies as a buster sword, but if its almost as tall and wide as its wielder (or larger); it gets lumped into this category. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cHqPYnnLpo Much to the joy of neckbeards everywere, somewhere in Martha's Vineyard there's a guy who makes real Buster Swords and similar insane weapons for a living, and he's as awesome as you'd expect.]

Realistically speaking: busters would be unsurprisingly unwieldy to use. Its heft and size makes would make it nearly impossible to be wielded effectively during a confrontation where a more agile opponent can simply avoid the first swing and attack while the wielder takes their time readying the damn thing for another go, it'd be like trying to swat a fly with a tree trunk. Not to mention because the weight of the sword isn't focused on single point (like how the weight of a battle axe is largely focused on the axe head instead of all over itself), trying to damage armored opponents would be an incredibly tough, if not impossible affair (Plus a blade this large would have to be hardened to withstand the heavy damage done by its attacks; so this also isn't counting the blade doesn't outright shatter under its own weight after striking plate armor).

That also isn't counting that your wielder would have to rival the strength of an Olympic body builder in order to even bring it to bear in combat in the first place([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BIfrA6CIIk and using it combat is another problem due to the weight])], something an army would not bother with, given the tons of better, much more cost-effective alternatives - most appropriately battle axes. When you swing a top-heavy heavy object in one direction with all your might; the inertia of that is incredibly hard, if not impossible to, stop mid-swing for a normal human being (if you do, your joints and muscles will pay the price), so unless you happen to be a heavily augmented super-strong cyborg or blessed with inhuman muscular bulk to put most strongmen to shame; you will either only be doing vertical downward slashes (which isn't really that effective, unless your opponent is stunned in place) or spin around like an out-of-control top while swinging it horizontally (in which case, you might get one lucky kill before you collapse from dizziness and someone else gives you a good stomping).

In fantasy, however, the rule of cool takes over and the lore can make up a proper explanation for why that particular universe need these fuckheug weapons. Busters in fantasy (or really any impractically large weapon) are typically used in settings where they make a lick more sense; a fantasy world populated by giant creatures. You see, if you were to bring something like a claymore or a gladius to your ho-hum fantasy setting; chances are that they'll lack the mass to cut through monsters the size of city buses and beyond. With a sword as big as a human being, however; the weapon's size and weight plus the user's presumably augmented strength and the fantasy's general disregard for inconvenient things like realism and physics, allows them to cleave through thick materials like scales, bones, armor, muscles...etc, with ease. Its not the most practical way to go about it, but then again this is fantasy; your imagination and sanity is the limit.

More examples of Busters could be the [[Iron Kingdoms]], who have a type of sword called "Caspian Battleblades", very heavy, dull swords with a head that spikes out to either side broader than the blade, made crucial for warfare because of all the [[Warjack|heavy armour]] walking about, and tend to have lots of cut-outs in the blade's center to reduce its weight. [[Berserk]]'s Guts also wields an ordinary Buster Sword, though he's super-humanly strong, has a mechanical arm, and regularly battles giants and demons. Curiously 40k of all settings managed to make its two busters more or less reasonable or at least usable: Eviscerators are outfitted with their own anti-gravity propulsion systems, throwing most issues with busters out of the window, and Incubi Klaives ares made out of light materials and have extra grips, so they can be used like polearms despite looking like giant swords.

===Gunblades/Pistol Swords===
As mentioned before, they were an idea that started in Ye Olden Times of the 16th century, where a flintlock or revolver pistol was given a blade or bayonet attachment to so that the user could get the benefits of two weapons in one system- only to get the drawbacks of both weapons in just the right way to make it worthless as a sword ''or'' a pistol. It evolved from the idea of mounting daggers on pistols, which had a bit more practical sense in comparison.

[[/v/|Final Fantasy VIII]], however, took it a step further and made a sword with a fucking pistol-grip for a handle, a revolver's chamber built into the hilt, and a long, rifle-like barrel welded to the flat side of its one-edged blade. Though, this is offset by the fact that the weapon isn't meant to be fired in the traditional sense at all; all bullets fired by a gunblade are blanks, intended to [[What|set the blade oscillating such that it cuts through monsters and other opponents better, like a chainsaw.]] (See also: Oscillating Blades.) Which begs the question: if it doesn't even deal damage by firing a projectile, why build a gun mechanism into the sword at all?

In other works of fiction. This problem is solved with [[Necron|advanced technology]]. Starting off with the most well known [[/tg/]] example. From Warhammer 40K. We have the Sentinel Warblades used by the golden BFFs of the [[Emperor of Mankind]]. The [[Adeptus Custodes]] put the short barrel equivalent of a [[Storm Bolter]] with a halved range on their massive swords. Since Custodes are larger than a Space Marine on average. They might as well be full sized guns. They also have direct energy weapons on their Guardian Spears. Which is a better option than a projectile weapon. As the user won't have to reload as often. Reduced range are not much of a problem for the Custodes. There won't be many survivors left after they are hit with [[Anal_circumference|Melta Beams or Adrathic Destructors.]] After a few volleys, the Golden Bananas will charge the unlucky bastards who weren't vaporized.

The transforming variant from gun to blade or vise-versa is often used in Japanese Media. Mostly [[/m/|Tokusatsu]]. The earliest example examples are from Kamen Rider 555. One is a primary weapon of the main character, Kamen Rider Faiz. Toei unlike a [[Games Workshop|certain model making company]]. Likes to stretch a budget and tries to out do themselves as technology advances. Many Kamen Rider and Super Sentai who will take too long list will have transforming Gunblades just about every other season. Some bigger or more detailed than the last. Usually if the Sentai Team or Kamen Rider of the season has tech based powers. Most often, these Gundblades fire lasers or some other form of energy beam.

Special Police Dekaranger has a strange example in the form of the D-Sword Vega. A sword that was used as a ranged weapon on two occasions. [[What|The special effects imply it is both a blade and a direct energy weapon]]. The primary user, Doggie Kruger. Typically [[awesome|shoots lightening]] out of it as his finishing movie. However, since the Space Police in the show have more advanced technology than a typical terrestrial officer. Who have their own direct energy firearms. The D-sword Vega itself is a century or more ahead of anything in IRL or most works of fiction have.

So TL:DR. Gunblades, while possible to turn into a useful weapon sometime in the future, will require advancements that have yet to be made and are likely to require incorporating directed energy weapons rather than solid projectiles. While fixing the gun part will be easy enough, another problem is the blade itself, which can't be easily replaced on the user end. If and when this becomes possible. In practice, the sword part would still be of questionable use compared to the gun part, and we already have bayonets for that.

=== Lightsabers and their issues ===
Oh yes. These things. Specifically, their weightless blades. Because light weighs pretty much as low a mass as you can get not counting your dick (oh snap!), the center of balance of the blade is likely somewhere near the end of the blade (going by that's where the battery is, and that they likely weigh more than the blade projector). The problem with this is that you are essentially wielding a lever which will, upon being hit, flop all over the place because your hands function as a hinge. This might be less the case when used in two hands but when used in one your sword will go all over the place when it is struck. There ''is'' some in-story stuff to justify this, mostly based around how the arc-waves that form the blade do have a kind of mass that balances it correctly, but this is mostly hand-waving the issues.

Another point is the double lightsaber. Based on a variety of unbladed [[pole-arm]]s like the Gun or the Bo, it has a double-sized handle with the laser parts coming out from both ends. The problem with this style is that it gives the wielder only a limited surface to work with without burning their hands off. Maybe this can be discredited as training in the Force and all that jazz (plus, Ray Park is REALLY good at what he does), but this would still involve swinging a large dangerous rave stick very close to your body, and a good number of these styles involve holding the weapon near the end to gain great striking power at the tip of the weapon like with a [[pole-arm]]. With a lightsaber this is not possible, though not needed since it can just cut through anything by touching a target and letting the plasma do all the work.

And the lightwhip and all other kinds of outlandish lightsabers can go right fuck themselves. And don't use the Force argument, if someone focuses on holding a plasma whip properly they will get shot because, super powerful or not, you still have to think. The "lightcrossguard" on the lightsaber of Kylo Ren certainly looked silly, but for one: they gave him an edge in close combat letting him use them to burn his opponent in a bind, and secondly expanded material say they are vents required because his lightsaber is unstable. You'd think that his boss might fix that problem for him, but that would be using logic.

===Oscillating blades===

Also known as: "vibraknives," "high-frequency blades," et cetera, these are blades made so that they vibrate at such extreme speeds that they weaken the molecular bonds of the material being slashed, translating into the blade being able to cut things that a normal sword would snap against and making them nearly indestructible in the process. These actually have a real-world counterpart in the form of electric knives and jigsaws, which are saw-toothed and cut a variety of materials, but not to the degree or speed that proper HF blades can. Completely relegated to sci-fi stories and vidya. One of the most famous examples thus far is Metal Gear Rising: [[Derp|Revengeance,]] featuring a psychopathic weeaboo cyborg with a high-frequency katana against the world. The HF blade is depicted as being capable of slicing through everything, except materials capable of withstanding HF weapons. Against these, they have to be weakened enough that the HF blade can chop it into mincemeat.

The science SEEMS sound, but they don't ever explain how the extreme vibration needed to electrically sever molecular bonds doesn't shake apart the human wielder's skeleton or the sword itself, which is why even if it was possible to make them, they'd likely never be used in real life. After all, Newton's third law is still in effect. You can test this yourself and try holding any vibrating appliance for a few minutes; your muscles will start feeling numb from all the vibrations. They also state that the power of an HF blade is determined on how the original blade was forged before being modified, meaning that higher-quality blades yield better HF blades, as the HF technology only augments the properties sword. Though Jetstream Sam, a Brazilian samurai in the game, wields his own master forged high frequency blade, which is so good that it could slice pretty much anything, even the megalomaniac final boss ''who manages to block and snap Raiden's sword in half with his bare hands''.

While his blade is apparently made from a well-forged katana that has been passed down in Sam's family since the 16th century; they don't ever really elaborate on how the blade's quality affects the transition into an HF blade, especially when Raiden's modern-forged blade is somehow of lesser quality than a genuine Japanese katana made of low-quality steel folded in forging to work out the heavy impurities. The only way this makes sense is if the Katana was reforged with more durable materiel. As even the best weapon will break down with regular use.
It could have been explained better by stating that HF Blades have Monomolecular edges and are built with Carbon Nanotubes like the cyborgs themselves. So it seems that Platinum is ignorant about how swords are made like most [[Fail|fan fic writers]].

===Mechanically-powered weapon===

This basically means that the sword is powered by an external power source, like motors. The [[chainsword]] for example, is common in sci-fi worlds that have close combat, as it's basically a chainsaw in sword form and the motor helps the sword do more then if it was just a sharp chunk of steel. Realistically speaking, power weapons would be bottom heavy, making them awkward to use, and if it goes the chainsaw route, then it would be hilariously impractical to use at all in combat situations; things softer than wood or ice tend to get caught in and gum up the teeth of a chainsaw, flesh being one such material. So, your custom chainsword would be rendered useless almost immediately, and in fact would be rendered less useful than an ordinary sword against whatever you were trying to [[RIP AND TEAR]] at the time.

One could argue that the chainswords in 40K are made differently from actual chainsaws in that they're designed for cutting people in mind; the teeth are mono-molecular and are shaped like knives rather than the thick, axe-like notched blades of real chainsaws (which are designed to chew away at thicker and harder materials, like wood); allowing them to nick through flesh more cleanly than your everyday chainsaw. The motor would have to be more powerful than a car's engine, yet light enough to be carried in one hand, allowing it to run the blade at speeds that it the teeth won't get caught, while still making it as maneuverable as a standard sword. But that's technology in the grim future, as trying to make a chainsword with today's technology and engineering would make for a very impractical weapon.

Impracticality aside, there's an argument to be made that in the 40k universe that chainswords and their non-imperial equivalents have a well-established purpose in the setting, analogous to the Buster swords 40k generally eschews. Beyond rogue humans or possibly Eldar (for which any sharpened stick should be a more sensible weapon), most opponents of the imperium pack incredibly tough flesh, extremely heavy armor, sheer mass enough to ignore grievous wounds, or any combination of the three. A chainsword, for all its downsides, can inexpensively provide some measure of response to any of these. The additional power yielded by the engine would exacerbate physical trauma, blowing physical injuries way out of human proportion. The sharp teeth provide concentration of force beyond any sword and can scrape through or catch in the gaps and seams inherent in any armor designed to move. The added motion and dimensions of force applied would help the wielder cut through limbs or body parts far too thick to slice apart for the same reason a chainsaw can gouge through thick tree trunks. All in all a chainsword gives the imperium a cheap one-size-fits-all answer to killing up close, with the acknowledgement that the weapon must be wielded not like a sword but like a saw. For all its technological improvement, the downsides are largely the same as they would be today: the wielder gives up grace, balance, most ability to parry, and accepts that they will be wounded by almost anything they fight. To take it one step further, it's an apt metaphor for the imperium itself: capable of grinding down anything through sheer low-tech single-mindedness, but always at grim cost in blood and lives.

===Magical materials===

In folk lore you can make weapons, typically swords since they are the weapon most associated with nobles in most cultures, out of any of a number of different types of special materials that have properties that grant it magical properties. A few of the more common examples are:

*'''Treasure Steel:''' the legendary super-steel from the Slavic and Norse mythology. Legends attribute it with extreme durability and ability to cut through "lesser steel". It was for a long time thought completely fictional or just the name for an Iranian Bulat steel, but eventually historians found out the stories were based on the early steel-age forging techniques. IRL it was just an alloyed high-carbon steel in the early age of very low-quality unhardened steel. It was made with a very wasteful process that included burying a huge steel ingot into the ground (aka "Treasure"), letting it rust for few years and reforging the remnants - then repeating the process several times each time the ingot loosing a sizeable percent of it's mass to the rust and smelting burnout. As iron corrodes faster then natural alloys found in the ore and carbon, repeated treasuring and reforging increased alloy and carbon concentration resulting in a a great metal for it's time. Needless to say, only the nobility could afford to waste so much iron, so it also became a trademark of warlords and their champions.
*'''Thunderbolt Iron''', which is a fancy term for weapons made from meteorites. In fantasy space iron swords tend to have magical properties or are treated as some kind of super steel: in D&D they are the source of adamantine. In real life, this was for many civilizations their first experience with iron and for some civilizations, a lump of iron-rich meteorite could be many times purer than what they could naturally forge and smith. That is if they could even make iron at all: the otherwise Bronze Age Egyptians managed to get a meteoric iron dagger into King Tutankhamun's tomb. The problem of course is the term "iron-rich" and many meteorites are either very small or made of rock or nickel that can't actually be forged; there is a good reason why Tutankhamun had a dagger and not a sword. Additionally, many meteorites have [http://xkcd.com/1114/ impurities that weaken the blade]. Still, bad iron is better than no iron and we do get plenty of big meteors to make swords out of. The late [[Discworld|Sir Terry Pratchett]] famously [[Awesome|forged his own sword out of a meteorite when he was knighted]].
*'''Cold Iron''', On the other hand, just being made out of iron by itself was enough to grant magical properties, as Rudyard Kipling said, ''"But Iron — Cold Iron — is master of them all."'' Iron, and by extension steel, have strong folklore traditions perhaps because that blood smells and taste metallic due to its iron content, or perhaps the "mystical" attraction of a lodestone to iron. In folklore, you could use iron scissors to ward off changelings, nail an iron horseshoe to your door to give luck, while an iron knife buried under the entrance to your home would keep witches away. In the modern "sci-fi approach," fantasy iron weapon's "magical" abilities are sometimes explained by its magnetic properties that can disrupt "magical" being's senses and abilities based on electromagnetism, and in some instances can cause them great pain or even instant death just from a physical contact or even being near. ''"All well and good,"'' I hear you say ''"but what does this mean for swords?"'', well honestly not much. It does mean your best weapon against things not weak to some other magical material like silver, such as fairies or demons, is a steel sword, but you were going to use that anyway since steel is better than any material not from the future. The importance of iron as an anti magic weapon only becomes important in settings where iron as a weapon is rare. The "cold" part is often a point of contention and it can mean that the iron has to be cold forged, i.e. never heated, or that it's just not hot now, or sometimes it's just a poetic term for any iron, Room-temperature metals feel cool to the touch because, when held, they conduct heat out of the skin more readily than air does, the same way we use the term "Hot Lead". Changeling: The Lost defines it to mean 'anything called iron', no steels, no oxides, no alloys, just pure iron. While iron in general has adverse effects on anything touched by Faerie, the most potent kind of all is "cold iron" (that is, iron that was never worked using any kind of heat). This means iron fresh out of the ground does the most damage (but is obviously just a rock so using it is hard), and Meteoric Iron (see above) since it's never been heated by man, but re-entry smelted it making it easier to work with by comparison. On the other hand, weapons of pure iron tend to be less sharp and durable when compared to steel and other alloys- and are consequently much trickier to find outside of an antique collection. You're probably best off breaking off a piece of a wrought iron fence and making it into a weapon, and even then it's not guaranteed it'll be pure enough to have any special effects.
*'''Silver''', unlike iron and meteoric Iron, doesn't work as weapon material in real life. Cost aside, silver is softer, heavier, and dulls much easier than a steel blade, but silver's tradition of magic goes further back than iron and in settings with werewolves a silver sword may be your best friend. The reason why Silver's magical tradition likely goes back further then iron (at this rate may as well make a page for magical metals) is because of a a unique property of silver: [http://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Silver_as_an_Antimicrobial_Agent water in silver pitcher takes a lot longer for it to get scummy, as silver ions damage bacterial DNA and enzymes]. This led to it having reputation for healing and since healing is good (duh), for being holy. This trait of silver is also why we get the reputation for why vampires can't cast a reflection: old timey mirrors used a silver backing to get a clear reflection, and since vampires are unholy, they wouldn't cast a reflection in the holy silver. As for werewolves, in olden times it was thought werewolveism was also like rabies, hence the whole 'you become a werewolf if bitten by one', bring to mind rabid animals hence silver against werewolfs stems from it's anti microbial, and so healing, property's. In modern times though the logic behind silver and werewolves tends to be that since silver is the same color as moonlight and werewolves are empowered by the moon, it would suppress their powers or otherwise weaken them. In fantasy settings, silver weapons often do less base damage but deal more damage against, or are the only thing that can hurt, unholy monsters like ghosts. It is also possible to [[Grey Knight|coat your realistic steel blade with silver]] (or gold, for that matter) without dulling it too much, and keeping it dangerous for supernatural creatures weak against silver. Although given silver and iron lie on the opposite sides of electro-activity scale you'd better keep your silver coated blade very clean all the time, least it rusts down in a matter of months or even weeks, effectively being a huge-ass chemical battery only waiting for electrolyte to work (this is even worse with gold coating BTW).

===Super Sword===
Super Swords are a broad category of fictional weapons includes weapons made with advanced technology (Lightsabers, Necron Phase swords), Magic (Shardblades from Words of Radiance), divine origins or just are the product of super duper swordsmithing abilities (your memetic Katana). What they have in common is the fact that they can cut through basically anything with minimal resistance. They'll cut through armor and steel like nothing. Generally another super sword can resist them and maybe a few special items, but they'll go through a boulder like nothing.

==Worldbuilding Considerations==

One further point, if you're doing worldbuilding: Swords, due to their versatility, will always be important in military contexts '''until''' four weapons appear, each of which absorbs a lot of the sword's unique functionality:

# The decline of the sword will usually begin when guns start appearing; the obvious combination of guns and spears to protect them quickly moves combat ranges to the point that swords are almost never needed in planned, open field combat outside of full-on charges. At this point, they still have a role in unplanned or close-quarters combat and will probably still see civilian use, although that will diminish as gun technology improves. The US army is issuing metal Tomahawks and Machetes to solve this problem in the Pacific. Though that is a side effect having to navigate annoying bamboo fields. Using a sword for that job would just cause it to break.
# Reliable repeating handguns finish removing the sword from civilian contexts, as they are both easier to learn to use, more comfortable and less difficult to repair than a sword. As you don't have to be an expert armorer with thousand of dollars worth of equipment to fix a firearm.
# [[Shotgun]]s and sub-machine guns are superior to swords in the field of close quarters fighting; as soon as this is realized, that's another major area the sword vanishes from. Hallways are called "death tunnels/corridors" by the military for a reason. So there is little room for fancy maneuvers such as deflecting or dodging bullets.
# Reliable machine guns prevent open field charges, which is usually the last vestige of military value the sword has.

Equivalent weapons work just as well in absorbing the sword's usefulness, so long as they remain ''reliable''. As each of these show up, expect the sword to vanish steadily from importance; the last stop before vanishing entirely will probably be as a symbol of office for officers in Empires where that still implies "nobility" in the "born a lord" sense.

Superswords, or shielding that interferes with guns but not short range weapons are necessary for swords to reappear. Keep in mind if you overdone to the point of wankery. You could have a potential [[Mary Sue]] on your hands or a whole cast of them. Pissing off your intended audience.

In more advanced settings a Plasma or Laser weapon could plausibly emulate an energy blade or create a [[Meltagun]] style burst.(i.e. the Plasma Gun from Doom 2016 does the latter.) While serving as a close range armor/door/wall breacher at the same time. Again making swords redundant.

{{MedievalWeaponry}}