Editing Warhammer 40,000/9th Edition Tactics/Adeptus Mechanicus (section)

===Elites===
===={{W40Kkeyword|Cult Mechanicus}}====
*'''Cybernetica Datasmith''': The herder for your robots. Quite competent as a fighter in its own right, with a Terminator stat line, complete with a 2+/5++ and a power fist, as well as a pretty scary pistol that can reliably one-shot Primaris marines - but its main purpose is to tend to your Kastelans and provide an extra relic and/or WL caddy for your patrols/battalion.
**Keep in mind that the protocol change takes place on your next turn ''after'' you've declared it. Consider what you're up against and structure your game plan accordingly - since your opponent knows what you're up to a turn in advance, you'll have to play the rest of your army around your Kastelans to get the most use out of them.
**You can use the 1CP stratagem '''Binharic Override'' to change the active protocol for a unit immediately and lock your robots into that protocol for the rest of the game, but Command Points are generally worth far more than the Datasmith's measly 45 points.
**Your Datasmith can carry a WL trait without using an HQ slot - if you want to save CP in ninth.
**Don't miss the fact that it's got 6" Move to the bots' 8".
**Generally speaking, it'll make back its cost in points if you've changed Protocols at least once with it. If you also manage to get it in melee and take some wounds off something, you've already got more than what you paid for.
**As of the 9E codex, these guys become even more vital to your bots. Not only do they not take up an elite slot if taken with some Kastelans, they also can exclusively repair them and have a 3" aura that grants them the {{W40kKeyword|Core}} keyword. While you won't be expecting much from any WTs that can buff them, there are plenty of stratagems that suddenly open up just by keeping this cyborg nearby. It also counts as a {{W40kKeyword|Doctrina Assembler}}, meaning that it can pull double duty and keep an eye on some skitarii as well.
*'''Tech-Priest Enginseer (Astra Militarum)''':What's this? Two Enginseers? Well the thing is the Guard Version of the Enginseer also has the keywords Cult Mechanicus and Forge world, same as your codex Enginseer. They lack adeptus mechanicus keyword instead haveing the Astra Millitarum of course, but RAW: so long as every unit in your detachment has either Cult Mechanicus Or the forge world keyword (And every unit has that last one) then: yes you can take the gaurd uof the Enginseer since the whole detachment share's a faction keyword.* There are some quirks to this however, namely since the keyword used to give your army Objective Secured is Adeptus Mechanicus, if you put a Astra militarum Engineseer in, your detachment will lack Objective secured, see next paragraph.  So with the legalese of why you can take the Guard Version of the Enginseer, why would you want to? At a full 20 points cheaper then normal Engineseers they have, worse gun, worse bionic save, can't take holy orders and, the death blow, can't benfit from Canticles of the Omnissiah and prevent the whole army from benfiting from them since they lack Cult Mechanicus. What they do have to make up for it is that they have a more expansive list of target vehicles they can repair, a list that includes Forge world vehicles, Astra Miltarium, or '''Questor Mechanicus''' Knights. Normal enginseers can only repair forge world vehicles. As such these guys have a clear use case: only take them if your all ready planning to ally with guard or an Imperial Knight formation beyond just a single Free Blade and as such would lose canticles anyway. In fact since the Engineseer would make you lose Objective secured there better for small Admech Forces allied to larger detachment's of Knights or guardsmen as a way to get extra repairs in and also squeezing in a few Admech support unit into the detachment, knights in particular would like this since they can give repairs and a few supporting options. If on the other hand you have a primary admech force, you'll have to keep them in there own Detachment separate from main 'bulk' of your admech army, and in that case you'll need at least 3 detachments for this to make sense, your primary admech, the Astra Admech and the guard or knights, which can be prohibitive in CP and number of detachments you can even take. Bottom line:  losing access to Canticles make them a hard pass in an admech army, but if you want to put a small admech force to support a larger Knight or Guard Detachment, espically knight's since they don't have access to repair's natively the way guard can, then they might be considered as option.
**This logic also extends to guard servitors as well, but since there objectivly worse then your own were not even going to dignify them with a unit entry.

*'''Electro-Priests:''' The blue man group fit within an interesting niche in that they're utterly flimsy with only T3, but then they have a 6+/5++/5+++. Their shining point is that they're able to dump mortal wounds at close range on the charge. Of course, the issue is actually getting them there because they're just people.
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<tab name="Corpuscarii Electro-Priests">
*'''Corpuscarii Electro-Priests''': Same cost as Fulgurites and not as killy in close combat (they can only put out mortal wounds with their Voltagheist Field charge, which inflicts a mortal wound on a 6+ for each model in ''one'' unit charged). They also can't buff their V-field, which means they'll be stuck with a 6+/5++/5+++. However, their Electrostatic Gauntlets deserve a special mention. They have two profiles, either Melee 2 WS4+ or 12" Assault 3 BS3+, but both are a flat S5 AP-1 D1, with any nat 6 causing '''3 hits instead of 1'''. Congrats, you functionally have taser goads at 12" range ''and'' melee. Sure, they're ugly models, but that's an awful lot of firepower from 5 little guys.
**As expensive as it is. A squad of 20 will put out 60 dice rolls. It would take three Leman Russ Punishers with one upgraded for three Heavy Bolters to exceed it. With that much firepower your likely to kill or heavily wound anything short of a Super Heavy.
**Can't benefit from the {{W40Kkeyword|Lucius}} or {{W40Kkeyword|graia}} dogma or Shroudpsalm at all, but a great choice for tactical reserves.
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<tab name="Fulgurite Electro-Priests">
*'''Fulgurite Electro-Priests''': Get them in close combat and they'll dump Mortal Wounds on people. Of course, getting them to close combat is the trick. If you footslog them, they will die. Fulgurites are ideal if you're running Movement stratagems and transports. Always field these guys in squads of 10 or bigger. At just 2 attacks per model, they simply do not attack often enough to really take advantage of the mortal wounds you can get off the staves unless you attack with enough models, and you NEED them to kill something in close combat as quickly as possible to get that sweet, sweet 4++ save. Still, the Voltagheist field is nice for some pre-combat mortal wounds if you charged, and with Fanatical Devotion, you ignore any wounds taken on a 5 or 6, which is nice.
**Despite the desire for large units of these guys, and the steep cost to deep strike many units of them remember, pulling off a deep strike charge is only feasible when you maximize how many attempts you're making.  Don't field just one unit and expect it to make that critically important charge roll - field at ''least'' '''three''' per thing you want charged, so you can get your odds of at least one getting the charge off to above 50% (in this case, 62.33%). (As of engine war if your deepstriking your Lucius and you can always solar flare a character forward to get them in range of a reroll charges aura from amongst the new warlord traits (with +1 to charge on a manipulus). This potentially makes them viable again.
**9th hits these hard - they need to be in big enough units to get that critical unit kill, but then they become vulnerable to blast weapons (against which their saves mean fuck all).
**The big problem with these is that while they are superb after killing a unit they are weak if they haven't, so they ''need'' to wipe an enemy unit on the turn they get into combat or risk getting wiped when they hit back. Use transports or strats to get them close to a weakened unit before you charge them.
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*'''Servitors''': Your cheapest unit, often a point filler and objective sitter. A poor ranged unit equipped with free melee weapons. While a unit of 4 servitors are 30 points with free servo arms; there ''are'' worse melee units for the cost. Also helping matters is that they won't take up a slot when taken alongside a Tech-Priest of any kind - Expect to spam this mercilessly considering how a dominus and manipulus can already grab a technoarchaeologist or enginseer without taking an HQ slot or how Datasmiths can be taken with Kastelans.
**These guys are stupidly cheap infantry and as such can perform actions without any waste to yourself. They wont stay alive if shot at, but they will waste a unit's shooting if they want to get rid of them, so its a win/win.
**If you would take a Plasma Cannon unit for 42 points, take Plasma Culverin Vanguards for 55 points to do the same job, better (for a single unit with one plasma weapon).
**If you would take 2x Multimeltas in a unit for 60 points, there admittedly isn't a better ''infantry'' option in-faction for the same role, but Onagers will do the same job, better.
*** With the buff to meltas (half range is damage D6+2), and "strategic reserves" being based on PL cost, two units of servitors with meltas and a tech-priest, dropping 9" away on turn 2/3 would put out 8 melta shots, hitting on 4s in their buffed profile. For extra lolz, make sure you are in the reroll 1s canticle, have that tech-priest be Dr. D, who then could put a +1 to hit on the thing you want melta'd, so you are hitting on 3s rerolling 1s. For best results, shoot a thing that has T7 or so, no invulnerable save: average 4d6+8 damage!

===={{W40Kkeyword|Skitarii}}====
*'''Secutarii <sup>Forge World</sup>''': The Titan Guard are Super-Skitarii, but with a downside. Their Secutarii special rule means they don't benefit from any {{W40Kkeyword|<Forge World>}} dogmas or stratagems. However, they don't keep the rest of your army from benefiting from the dogma if they are Battle-forged, though they can still enjoy Doctrinas. This introduces some unwelcome hurdles for using them. They don't benefit from the auras of Cawl or a Dominus since they both specify a {{W40Kkeyword|<Forge World>}} unit. [[What|This is because apparently, being assigned to guard Titans means you immediately lose all Forge World specific equipment and training, despite the fact that Titans are both drawn from specific Forge Worlds and the fact that the Codex specifically states that the Titan Guard is drawn from a Forge World's 1st Macroclade]]. In exchange, they gain the niche ability to heroically intervene any enemy within 6" that charges a friendly titan sharing the same {{W40Kkeyword|<Titan Legion>}} keyword.
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<tab name="Secutarii Peltasts">
*'''Secutarii Peltasts:''' Ad-mech Dark Reapers. 5++ makes them slightly sturdier than Vanguard. Their Galvanic Casters have 2 firing modes: 18" Assault 3 S4 AP0 D1 and 24" Heavy 1 S5 AP-2 D1, making them worse than Vanguard at killing almost everything in the game. Once per game they can give themselves -1 to be hit instead of shooting. Maybe not worth the cost of the models now, but multiple shenanigans ensue. Unlike other Skitarii the Alpha carries the special equipment and can't take both an EDT and a melee weapon. 
**Do not give the Alpha a pistol, ever. None of our pistols are worth giving up the ''free'' Galvanic Caster. Melee is not good for them at all.
**Their Blind Barrage can only be used to protect themselves, not a different unit as they could in previous editions. [[Fail|It's also shittier than the free Dogma you get from being Stygies VIII, which Peltasts can't use]].
***Generally, Peltasts are best left to fulfil a scouting and objective-sitting role. They perform quite well against most basic infantry targets regardless of their immediate circumstances, and their lack of {{W40Kkeyword|<Forge World>}} synergy means that they can be sent out independently without really missing out on any buffs.
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<tab name="Secutarii Hoplites>
*'''Secutarii Hoplites''': Budget Skitarii with budget TH/SS. These guys melt to massed low strength firepower but can hold their own against a charge from a knight gallant. They are very strong in melee especially when buffed with the omniscient mask. They are also very points efficient for what they do, so don't underestimate the shooting of a large blob of arc lances. At S6 AP-1 per shot, or melee S+3 (S6) AP-1 hits that both do 1 damage each or changes to D3 vs vehicles, hoplities are the perfect unit to tie up vehicles and even infantry in melee combat. Anything short of Terminators will fear a charge from Hoplites.
**S6 AP-1 D1d3 isn't going to scare many t7 vehicles, ''but'' those light vehicles you are good against are usually (land speeders, etc) absolute death to Admech troops. The other decent targets are things like Ogryn, Kataphron Destroyers, Grotesques, and the like. This makes hoplites decent because they come with decent durability to start but not as good offense as other choices. Kinda niche, but also much cheaper than our other elites.
**At only 1 pt more than Vanguard, these guys make for great cheap bodyguards. In addition to a flat 5++, they have a shield that gives them a 4++ against melee and reflects a mortal wound back on the attacking unit on any unmodified saving throw of 6 in CC. Arguably the best meatshields we have, especially against melee-focused infiltrators and other meatshields.
**Hoplites benefit massively from access to a Termite, and it provides them with the only guaranteed way to get into charge range without getting shot off the table.
**Put them into combat with vanguard to wound MEQs or lower on a 2+
**While they lack a '''<Forge World>''' keyword, Hoplites can still benefit from '''Acquisition at any Cost''', making them pretty good at contesting and holding mid-board objectives.
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*'''Sicarians:''' The spindly droids are a decent bit are a good bit more mobile than the electropriests. That said, they're a lot less shared between the two. Both of them have a 4+/5++ save and 3+ to both WS and BS as well as 2 wounds at T3. 
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<tab name="Sicarian Infiltrators">
*'''Sicarian Infiltrators''': The taser variant that used to destroy hordes has been weakened, the power sword variant that wrecked marines hasn't changed. They have even freer reign on starting positions than even the rangers. Their aura now deals a -1 to leadership within 3" as well as denying re-rolls to hit and to wound on any attacks made against them within 12", severely hampering the value of HQs they'll be fighting. Just remember to keep them in cover until you're ready to charge them because they still suffer from T3 and only a 4+.
**Flechette Blasters outperform Stubcarbines against T5 or less and T8 or higher, and while Stubcarbines will absolutely do better against T6 and T7, you're still attempting to scratch paint - against a Rhino, for example, a minimum unit shooting expects to deal 0.93 wounds with the Blasters and 1.11 wounds with the Stubcarbines. Flechette blasters with 50 shots make superb (if high variability) Wrath of Mars strat targets.
**In melee the Power Sword's increased AP relative to the Taser Goad mean that it will outperform it against the targets you'd expect it to; the taser goad was nerfed to only add hits on natural 6s, greatly weakening its combat effectiveness as the conqueror doctrina imperative no longer multiplies hits.
**Following Engine war this unit is in a bit of an odd place its most commonly fielded variant has become less efficient in CC while its existing rivals in the corpuscarii became more efficient. Equally, the new pteraxii are competing with it in terms of deepstrike firepower. While not out for the count, expect less of them.
**A notable thing to consider is their new capability to actually infiltrate, unlike before, meaning they can start anywhere on the board outside on 9" of the enemy's deployment zone. This is a massive boon as you can either hide these guys turn 1 out in the field to scan for octarius data, or take a massive brick of 10 with the temporcordia to threaten a turn 1 charge if you go first, or hunker down with the defensive doctrina and shroudspalm (Mars is great for these guys), and bait your opponent into trying to kill them. Then they've overcommitted, blast them away with your chickens!
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<tab name="Sicarian Ruststalkers">
*'''Sicarian Ruststalkers''': These guys are your Mortal Wound sources for Skitarii-heavy armies. They're faster than fulgurites on the whole, slightly tankier than a pre-kill fulgurite due to their 4+ save and natural invuln, and have better AP than the fulgurite staff with their blades. However, they lack their 4++ invuln after a kill and can't consistently put out as many mortal wounds. 
**Always buy the Princeps the Blades as it's now free and it doesn't have to give up its chordclaw.
** You can have a full unit of 10 infiltrate post-deployment for 1CP; this is incredibly cheap for the ambush potential they provide. Note that since you can drop 9" away from ''any'' battlefield edge and enemy with this, you can let your enemy advance then drop a unit of rusties with the Eyes of the Omnissiah WLT and Temporcopia relic into a piece of cover in or near the enemy DZ. They should now have a +2 save against ranged attacks and the ability to force a charging enemy to fight last, making them a bit more difficult to shift prior to their charge into the enemy's rear.
*** The above stratagem (Circuitous Assassins) also lets them serve as great action monkeys and VP scorers for more shooty armies, particularly with secondaries like Repair Teleport Homers, or Linebreaker/Engage On All Fronts. Infiltrating them into the opponent's DZ then triggering an action is an entirely legal strategy, as is using it to get them out of combat.
** 2CP for two strats gives them +1 to attacks and strength for the fight phase, so a full blades-equipped unit goes up to 41 S6 AP-3 melee attacks at WS+3. This is incredibly nasty against MEQs and kinda good against TEQs.
*** Assuming we go with a Terminator statline, let's do some mathhammer. 3+ WS gives you a 2/3rds chance of hitting, or 0.66. 41 attacks * 0.66 chance to hit is 27 hits, with a 1/6 or 0.16 chance of a MW (27 hits * 0.16 chance of a 6, so 4.32 MWs on top of regular damage). S6 vs T5 means we're wounding on 3+, so a 0.66 chance of wounding, which gives us 17.82 wounds. If their invulnerable save is a 5++, we lose (17.82*0.32) 5.7 wounds; if it's 4++, we lose (17.82*0.5) = 8.91 wounds). The result is, respectively, 12 and 9 (rounded) wounds, which will take out most of a 5-man termie unit before it has a chance to hit you even once due to the relic.
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===={{W40Kkeyword|Adeptus Mechanicus}}====
These units aren't Skitarii or Cult Mechanicus due to coming from an older edition.
*'''Larsen Van der Grauss:''' {{W40kKeywords|imperium|Adeptus Mechanicus|tech-priest}}, and {{W40Kkeyword|Mars}} mean you can field this guy just fine, but bear in mind he ''isn't'' in the Cult Mechanicus.  He's also largely pointless: M6 A2 WS4+ S3 BS4+ T3 Sv4+/5++ W2 Ld8 with two guns: 6" Grenade 1d3 S3 AP0 D1, +1S and +1D against targets within 1" of terrain, and 12" Pistol 1 S5 AP0 D1, unmodified 6s to hit explode twice so you hit 3 times, and he can ride any of your {{W40Kkeyword|transport}}s.  Larsen is from the Rogue Trader Kill Team in 8E but has no 9E rules discussing him (9E only has Astra Cartographica rules, which he isn't a member of), but he does so very little for you it's doubtful your opponent will be bothered if you take him.
*'''X-101:''' The named servitor from Blackstone Fortress. It comes with a Grav-gun, a hydraulic claw, and a 5+ BS and WS. Has the standard Mindlock ability regular servitors have with a minor upgrade - it goes up to WS/BS 4+ and Ld9 while close to a {{W40Kkeyword|Tech-Priest}} ''without'' caring about {{W40Kkeyword|<forge world>}} - and gets a further +1 to hit if it's targeting a {{W40Kkeyword|VEHICLE}}. Unfortunately, since it lacks the {{W40Kkeyword|CHARACTER}} keyword, it's just going to get popped the second it steps out into the open. And since it can't take a transport, you can't even really kamikaze it. Even at 25 points, still not worth it.
** Its lack of {{W40Kkeyword|CHARACTER}} keyword is actually a boon for performing actions, but for only 3 points more you could take an actual unit of Servitors, so just don't take this robot.