Editing Warhammer 40,000/8th Edition Tactics/Adeptus Mechanicus (section)

==Unit Analysis==

===HQ===
*'''[[Tech Priest Dominus]]:''' Your <s>bog</s> ''cog''-standard non-Cawl HQ for those times you want to play as those other forgeworlds, no longer an "HQ tax" due to Enginseer changes. Akin to a <u>Captain</u> (''aura of reroll 1s to hit''), <u>Techmarine</u> (''repairs D3 wounds from any {{W40Kkeyword|AdMech}} model other than himself, or 1 for {{W40Kkeyword|Knight}}s'') and a bit of <u>Apothecary</u> (''his repair isn't restricted to vehicles, plus heals self for D3W each turn'') all rolled into one. And at T4 5W 2+/5++ this very tanky support character will require serious firepower to remove. Just watch out for enemy witches. His main concern is to boost and heal your firebase, whatever it might be (Vanguard, Onagers, Kastellan, etc.), but 24" guns allow him to be good at midrange since he doesn't give up shooting (BS2+ rerolling 1s) for repairs. A flexible loadout, it'll be defined by what you want him to do:
**'''Shooty''': Pick the Volkite blaster and the '''Phosphoenix''' relic for good and reliable volume of fire, its range fitting nicely alongside Vanguard. If the Dominus is instead boosting your longer ranged units, the '''Raiment of the Technomartyr''' will provide them better overwatch to delay melee a bit more, as well as a measure of protection against snipers trying to shut down those rerolls.
**'''Choppy:''' Go with the Macrostubber and the Eradication Ray, and give him '''Anzion's Pseudogenetor''' for an additional D6 S4 AP-1 hits on top of your 3 Omnissian Axe attacks and Pistol 5 Macrostubber attacks, the later which happen at BS2+ rerolling 1s. While '''Magos Biologis''' warlords do more damage, remember ''you're not alone in CC and half your army choices have melee rules''; supporting your infantry with '''Prime Hermeticon''' can give good results.
**'''Repairman''': Give him the '''Necromechanic''' WT so that he restores an additional wound every time he repairs something (doubling {{W40Kkeyword|Knight}} repair rate), and with  '''Autocaduceus of Arkhan Land''' relic you'll be healing {{W40Kkeyword|Mechanicum}} units very reliably. Fun to combine with the '''Tech-adept''' Stratagem to repair the same vehicle twice, repairing <u>up to 8 wounds per turn</u> that way, bringing an Onager back to full stats or keeping multiple Kastellans from dying.
*'''Tech Priest [[Enginseer]]:''' The Enginseer is now <u>the cheapest HQ available</u> for the army, making him a perfect cost-saving option to an army trying to make a battalion. With T4 W4 3+/6++ he's basically a squishier Techmarine, and has lackluster combat ability but that's ok because his main role is being a cheap repairman and HQ.
**'''Repairman:''' Can't repair Kataphrons and Sicarians like Domini can, but unlike them he can repair D3 from allied IG tanks (allies!). Very cheap, especially for a job that consists of "just stand near the thing". Though more cost-effective than non-Necromechanic Domini for repairing Knights, maybe it's a bit risky for them to be the warlord. That said, they can be the "warlord" while the Dominus is a formation's "Field Commander" wink wink.
**'''Relic Caddy''': They aren't champions like SM Captains are, but since most of their job is to stand around being available, they could just as well be useful by carrying army-boosting relics AFTER you gave the Dominus/Manipulus theirs.
**'''Buying advice:''' Enginseers are a must-have if you want to spam regiments and farm CPs. And they are pretty damn good at that, at only 30pts per model for a small, tough character that can heal vehicles. The only problem is that they cost $30 a pop, unless you go for the $11.50 metal ones from the webstore. An alternate solution to that starts with looking closely at the chaos cultists in the "dark vengeance" kit. The robed ones look remarkably like Enginseers, right? Hell, one has an axe that looks remarkably like a cog. You can buy them for 20 bucks on eBay and kitbash them with the ton of bits leftover by your Skitarii squads, techpriest Dominii and Onagers. A little work and you have your all the Enginseers you need for less than the cost of one. Another option would be the Forge World titan tech priest! A lot cheaper than the Enginseer, and Forge World quality too!
*'''Tech-Priest Manipulus''': A new HQ unit being released under the kill team brand. Described as being in between an enginseer and a Dominus in terms of power, the Manipulus carries meh to OK weapons with limited range and an ability of gimmick utility:
**At the beginning of the movement phase he can boost warriors' movement or weapons' range stats. +1" to movement isn't a lot, mostly covering positioning mistakes. +1" to charge, however, can be useful: get him in place with a Skorpius transport or Solar Flare or whatever, then infiltrate Infiltrators (lmao) or teleport Cybenetica Cohort formation Kastellans near his coordinates and use '''Power Surge''' for +4" total to charge range, aka success on a 5+ on 2d6. On the less gimmicky side, +6" to long weapon and +3" to short range weapons can allow nasty stuff like 11" cognis flamer overwatch and enable 42" range Protector Kastellan to reach pretty much anything they can see.
**'''Choppy:''' With Omnissiah Staff (S+2 AP-1 D2) and Mechadentrites (S[U] AP0 +1d6 A) on top of his base WS3+ 3A, this dude isn't biting his nails in CC like the Enginseer does. If you want him on melee on purpose, get him his Transonic AP-1 ''D2'' <s>cannon</s> flamer AND a relic. Perhaps Anzion's Pseudogenetor so he has 3+2d6 attacks, perhaps the Omniscient mask if you're using him with Skitarii Vanguard and Infiltrators. Maybe make him a Prime Hermeticon Warlord if you're using him with Electro-priests instead.
**'''Shooty:''' His charges are the shooty ones, his Magnarail Lance's 18" only grows up to 21" with his bonus. But Heavy 1 S7 AP-3 D1d3 grows to full 3 Dmg when stationary, which is the prerequisite for his Boost Weapons.
**'''Frontline Mobility:''' He is pretty good at accompanying one of your assault squads in a Scorpius Dunerider, be it Sicarians Ruststalkers or Fulgurite Electropriests. His aura will give assault squads needed +1 to movement and +1 to charge, which often results in making the charge. Sicarians will for example move wooping 12 on the turn they desiembark. He is fast himself, with Transonic Cannon he can always advance and move 8-13 inches a turn and help assault squads by cleaning screens. One of the better candidates for Omnissian Mask or Prime Hermeticon Warlord Trait. Sydonian Dragoons fighting around him will also benefit from mask and repairs. 
*'''Daedalosus:''' A hero and technoarchaeologist from the Blackstone Fortress game, this new, named character is a surprisingly useful addition to the Hq roster. Like the Secutarii,  he doesn't have a forge world but doesn't cost you your dogmas if you include him. Unfortunately, since he lacks both a {{W40Kkeyword|FORGE WORLD}} and the {{W40Kkeyword|SECUTARII}} Keywords, he can't take a transport, restricting him to babysit gunlines. His weaponry is unique for an Hq but nothing special; he carries a (Servo-) Arc Claw and the pistol version of the Eradication Beamer.  Instead, his real benefit comes from his special rules. Once per battle, he can use his Archeotech relic to deal 1d3 mortal wounds to an enemy within 3" or heal 1d3 wounds to an Ad Mech model (not just {{W40Kkeyword|VEHICLES}}!) with 3", no rolling needed.  Nice for when you absolutely need to push a Onager up a Damage Chart level or pick off a {{W40Kkeyword|CHARACTER}} that's getting too close.  The real reason you take him, however, is for his Omniscanner. At the beginning of the shooting phase, Daedalosus can pick a visible enemy within 24" and all Ad Mech units within 6" of him add 1 to shooting rolls that target that unit. Now THAT is a markerlight. Great against flyers, and for safe overcharging plasma, all without the need to spend CP each round, and affecting multiple units (but only one target). Eat your heart out xeno scum. This WILL affect electro-priests exploding on 5s and 6s when shooting.
**Always include this guy to your lists if you can get the model/a proxy. He'll dramatically increase the effectiveness of literally anything in your with the bonus to hit. This helps countering -1 to hit buffs such as flyerspam, Tau markerlights, plaguebearers, and psychic powers. Not to mention safe, cost-effective plasma and making lascannons not miss that knight barreling towards your gunline. Did we mention he's 50 points?!

===Troops===

Our army is two 7E armies finally fused together, and here's where it shows. Try to strike a balance between the small Skitarii and the big Kataphrons that works well with the rest of your army, as they complement each other nicely: Kataphrons can clear the ground from afar and hold objectives, Skitarii can go and storm them. And with their new transport, storm them they can. Skitarii can also tie up enemies for Kataphrons to finish, and Breachers can bar access to your Ranger snipers. Try to guesstimate what any unit can endure, lest your lines crumble and leave your expensive heavy guns exposed to the enemy. And with the recent points drop this just got easier.

'''Skitarii'''<br>
In 8th edition, table control is paramount to victory, more than it ever was now with non-scattering deepstrikes and double-fights to pile in multiple units. Enter reliable and spammable Skitarii. Unlike your regular Imperial GEQ, their 4+/6++ give these T3 dudes a chance of survival, and they're cheap enough that they can be used to control the field while your other units, like the much heavier and damaging Cult Mechanicus troops, clean up said field. Despite their status as light mortal infantry, they carry enough BS3+ firepower that it matters. <br>
400pts can get you up to 50 Vanguard models. There are two main ways of using them: naked MSUs of 5 for body blocking and filling up battalions, or fully equipped squads of 10. Units of 5 basically ignore morale, but squads of 10 can hide their special weapons behind regular guys, and are a better use of CP as Enhanced Data-tethers not only patch their vulnerability to morale but enable them to pull stunts like ''advancing with safe supercharging Plasma'' Calivers or ''still hit enemies with -1BS on a 2+''. An Omnispex can be used instead to ignore cover, a bonus that doesn't require CP and that is ever-present.

*'''[[Skitarii]] Rangers:'''  Their 30" Galvanic Rifles have enough range to contribute to fights and the S4 needed to be a bother, which makes this squad great at garrisoning backfield objectives and ruins. While they put less volume of fire than Vanguard, their guns' better range, strength, and AP-1 on a 6+ to wound make them more effective against single-wound infantry than Rad carbines. All in all great value from the cheapest unit in your army. Unless you are sitting on backfield objectives (which our HS are normally doing) vanguard will often be better considering the difference is 1pt a model.
**Transuranic Arquebuses are THE special weapon this squad should take, as if your taking rangers they should be backfield and their awesome 60" range doesn't waste Galvanic Rifle range as the other guns do, and with actual stats (S7 AP-1 D1d3) on top of regular sniper rules there will always be targets of opportunity for them to attack. Dealing 2D to vehicles, even flyers, from your deployment zone isn't too hard to do, and is actually pretty comfy coming from a troop unit whose job would usually be to just stand back and bodyblock rear line deepstrikers. However you need a surprisingly high number of these to consistantly snipe characters.
**This unit struggles as vanguard are only a pt more expensive and better in all circumstances except sitting on backfield objectives and half our army do that really well.

*'''[[Skitarii]] Vanguard:''' Vanguard are your Skitarii frontliners. Their 18" Assault 3 Rad Carbines let them advance and still hit on a 4+, and their rate of fire is such that their 2D on a 6+ to wound can proc enough times to be a concern to heavy infantry while still dealing lots of hits to the smaller ones. With their Rad saturation aura (-1T is better than +1S), they can also help as melee support to Sicarians and Electropriests and melee soup allies.
**Statistically speaking they are actually some of your best anti-tank when within 18": A couple of failed 6s is already chunk of a vehicle gone, and is more than what a cheap troop like them has any right to do. Tl;dr they have enough dakka to actually do chip damage to a vehicle, so if there are no better targets it's not necessarily a waste of firepower.
*** The not good against vehicle case. If you're relying on chip damage, its not anti-tank. Its solid mass fire but against vehicles you're hitting on 3s, wounding on 6s with no AP. So, sure, you'll chip two wounds off whenever a shot goes through, but math says (assuming no re-rolls) a squad of 5, is 10 hits per turn, 1.66 wounds, (assuming all vehicles have at least T6), against most likely a 3+ save, meaning, on average: .55 shots will get through. that means for every TEN vanguards you fire into that rhino ONE shot will reliably make it through. Congratulations on dealing 2 wounds on a 67 point rhino with 80 points of skitarii. There's an argument that 80 points of infantry dealing two wounds to a model worth more than them is worth it.
*** The good against vehicle case. Your probably taking 6 units as a tax for CP anyway so that's 30 models we don't need objective holders backfield as our HS choices are sat on them. Sure a single 5 squad doesn't do much but you use the 6 tax vanguard squads as one or two blocks of firepower assumming RR1's because thats pretty consistant in our army with dominous and canticles thats 7.77 wounds on a T8 3+ armour save model ( The previous example uses a poor comparator due to its cheapness and theres no loss of efficiency when vanguard fire  at beefier targets like knights and leman russes). Sure shooting infantry is going to be more efficient but in comparison to 30 rangers in RF range that do 1.94W to a knight the vanguard show there flexibility (almost 4 times the output). Not all lists have low T targets and when you hit that skew list this is a strong supplement to our HS choices. In addition as of engine War 3 of the new warlord trait auras buff vanguard fire adding ap or extra hits. Also by comparison the neutron laser on 3 onagers with RR1 only deal 6.22W to 4++ knight.
**Rangers may be a tiny bit cheaper, but Vanguards lend themselves more for bubblewrap duty: enough ROF to trigger overwatch, and their Rad aura gives you the option to commit Breachers to deal with weakened enemies. Having options is nice.
**Unlike Rangers, Vanguard find themselves in melee more often. It's worth noting that you can upgrade the alphas however with only 2 attacks and a 4+ Ws it doesn't seem worth the pts however if you do take them you only need to kill 1 or 2 models a game to recoup the cost.
**Pistols are actually surprisingly useful on vanguard squads, since most of their weapons have 18" range anyway, its not that outlandish for them to make it within 12" and get to take an arc pistol shot for 1 point more, but you have to sacrifice an extra radium carbine to do it, so its really your call. 

'''Kataphrons'''<br>
The big guys of the Cult Mechanicus are closer to tankettes than they are to people: their Ogryn-sized T5 frames make them difficult to remove from an objective, and with 3W your HQs can actually repair them. Their long ranged firepower doesn't suffer the penalty for moving; like a Russ tank group, they ARE the gunline wherever the enemy finds them. This comes at the penalty of advancing only d3"...which you don't really care much about: the only maneuvering they need is usually just to get a line of sight to the enemy. GREAT firepower coming from Troop units. 

*It's worth noting that these puppies can be a huge fire magnet. A smart opponent will point medium weaponry at these guys and frankly, they're not quite as tough as they seem. Point efficiency and multiple wounds don't mean a lot when a punisher cannon can delete a 3 man squad in one round of shooting. 
*To compensate, provide them with the Stygies VIII Dogma to increase their survivability considerably.
*Or take in units of 6 in agripinaa to bring the full squad back from the dead if one model survives. With CP to burn this is horribly good on breachers.
*Or take as Ryza plasma destroyers hoping you'll play a knight list and can make your points back in one round of shooting accepting their won't be a second round.
*Or Lucius and deepstrike them in guaranteeing destroyers one round of fire.

*'''Kataphron Destroyers:''' Dedicated anti-MEQ gunships. As they trade a measure of protection (4+/6++) for amazing firepower, they will be a prime target for your enemy so they have to be defended.
**'''Guns:''' Heavy Grav Cannons are reliable; Heavy ''5'' AP-3 deletes infantry, and D1d3 against anything with a 3+ save melts heavy infantry and can even dent monsters and tanks. Plasma Culverins are also good. They have better 36" range But are more expensive , and  Heavy d6 shots are unreliable. They shine when supercharging, becoming able to deal with anything...but they can also blow up. ''Now that's balance!'' Luckily, <u>you can spend CP to get safe plasma:</u> '''Elimination Volley''' (needs nearby Kastelans), '''Noospheric Mindlock''' (needs to belong to a '''Servitor Maniple''' formation) and '''Plasma Specialists''' (needs to belong to {{W40kKeyword|Ryza}}). Neither option will really disappoint, but plasma is CP-hungry. A new solution that only costs 50p and no CP would be Daedalosus, who can give +1 to hit but needs to be a bit closer (24") to the front line, and can only designate one target.
**'''Sidearms:''' Their Phoshor Blasters are the budget option to use against targets of opportunity. However, Cognis Flamers give Destroyers protection against melee at mere +1pts. Bubblewrap units are still great, but with flamers their overwatch becomes nasty; their main guns already have enough RoF to proc overwatch hits and the stats for it to matter.
*Plasma culverins are high variance over grav cannons. Their D6 shots make them unreliable and absolutely undercut their usefulness over the grav cannons, even with their higher strength. (High variance can be both a strength and a weakness depending on how well you accept risk.) Anyone running plasma destroyers will be useing one of the many ways to add +1 to hit cited above so risking 1's is not a concern. Plasma is 2pts more (negligable on such small expensive units). Don't let the T5 with 3W and 4+ with shroudpsalm to get a 3+ fool you: these guys are glass cannons and prime targets for anything that mulches heavy infantry. Anything with decent strength or a point or two of AP will turn these guys into spare parts in one go if you don't do something to protect them, even with shroudpsalm. My personal advice is to abuse the {{W40Kkeyword|[Acquisition at any cost]}} stratagem to get them to 2+/5++ saves on an objective and hope they can weather the storm with enough guns still intact to do their job, OR (and my personal favorite idea) consider running them as {{W40Kkeyword|[Lucius]}}, as the immunity to AP1 is absolutely fantastic on them (and its pretty solid overall) and the ability to pay a CP to hide a 6-9 man unit of kataphrons in deep strike is worth its weight in gold, as they have more than enough range to be confident that they can drop in somewhere they can hit their target, and you can even give your dominus the Lucius relic to teleport him to the kataphron gunline without losing his support for the footsloggers turn one, or paying the CP to deep strike him. Also, for 50 points you should never ever not take Daedalosus, especially when you're taking these guys (they're only BS4+ after all).

*'''Kataphron Breachers:''' Trades some firepower for 3+ armour but, most importantly, ''at discount price''. Enough to be heavy speedbumps yet disposable, do the comparison: Space marines pay 13pts for T4 3+ save wounds, Breachers pay 10pts. Intercessors pay 85pts for 10W and their guns are restricted to anti-infantry; Breachers bring 9W for 90pts and their Heavy Arc rifles  (36" Heavy 2 S6 AP-1 D1d3) are not only basically anti-infantry autocannons, but also tear D1d6 chunks out of vehicles, so they can even help your overworked Onagers. And unlike Destroyers, Breachers aren't defenseless in combat, with three WS4+ attacks using Arc Claws (S6 AP-1 & D1d3 vs vehicles). With those stats, they are a screen by themselves. If you NEED an objective to be positively, absolutely defended, activate '''Acquisition at Any Cost''' and they'll be very difficult to remove, with ''4A'' and a 2+/5++ save. (Alternate take if supported by vanguard S6 Ap-1 still wounds marines on 2's and a unit of 6 will kill 3.75 tac marines) their not gonna touch a dedicated melee unit but can still give a bad day to enemy troops or small characters) and now we have unlimited warlord traits prime hermeticon increases their melee output by 50%
**Torsion Cannons are hard to defend. S8 AP-4 is nice but they cost a lot, ''are single-shot'' and D1d6 is somewhat unreliable. Likewise, Hydraulic Claws are like power fists...but with only AP-1 like Arc claws they will struggle to go through their targets' armour Sv, and Breachers aren't ''dedicated'' melee units, could throw one into maybe kill Vehicles and Monsters in melee.
**Agripinaa breachers are really strong if you have a huge amount of CP as a 6 man squad can potentially bring 5 back from the dead and relocate if just one survives. Which considering their tankiness is quite possible. Do this a few times and count the firepower you've soaked.
***The clue is in the name for these guys though; the above chap is absolutely correct in his analysis for the average game, but GW covers bases for more narrative games too: Fortifications & other Immobile units are auto-hit so when you need to <i>breach</i> through some Fortifications you have at least 9 S10 -1AP auto-hitting hydraulic claws vs the S6 of arcs, and that's 9 lots of 3+ rolls instead of iffy 5+.

===Dedicated Transports===
*'''[[Skorpius Hover Tank|Skorpius Dunerider]]:''' No longer do Infantry have to footslog. Movement 12”, 12 wounds, S&T 6, and a degrading statline like any vehicle. It has 3+, so it has ok survivability. It has four Cognis Heavy Stubbers and a Broad-Spectrum Data Tether. Its special rule, Hover Platform, means that you suffer no penalties for moving and firing heavy weapons unless you advanced. It carries almost any 10 {{W40Kkeyword|Secutarrii}} or {{W40Kkeyword|<forge world>}} {{W40Kkeyword|Infantry}}  models. It can't carry Cawl or kataphrons of either type.
*'''Terrax-pattern Termite Assault Drill (Forge World):''' Forge World finally decided to hand over the rules for a transport so now we'll have to begin removing organs just like tech-priests to pay for them. For a long time it was the only transport the AdMech had and is good if trying to run an assault list. For a base 134 points you can have access to a Deep Striking transport that can carry up to 12  {{W40Kkeyword|Secutarii}} or {{W40Kkeyword|Forge World}} {{W40Kkeyword|Infantry}} models, except for Cawl and Kataphrons. It's kitted with weaponry to match its purpose, with a mandatory Melta Cutter (an Assault D3 melta) and a choice of two each of storm bolters, heavy flamers or Heavy 4 15" S5 AP0 D2 volkites missing the standard volkite Mortal Wound rule. The scariest thing this thing can do, however, is following its payload into melee - it's pretty shit with a WS of 4+, but if any of the 6 attacks S14 AP-4 D3 you get with it connects and doesn't kill something, you get to chain roll for extra mortal wounds on the survivors until you fail. Charge it into literally anything and you're guaranteed to have it at least partially reimburse its point cost in kills before it goes up in smoke (which it will, considering it's the only AdMech vehicle <s> that lacks an invulnerable save of any kind </s> Not anymore, since the Skorpius models don't have invul either).
** Storm Bolters are the default and cheapest option. Volkite chargers are the cheaper anti-horde option. Flamers cost double, but work effectively as a deterrent to anything that tries to charge your mole machine.
** You can still opt to deploy via {{W40Kkeyword|Stygies VIII}} Cladestine Infiltration stratagem instead of deep striking, if you wish. This largely defeats the point of having a Deep Striking transport, as you could just use the stratagem on the actual unit you're having it carry to move the same distance, but would permit you to deliver your guys to midfield and have them somewhat protected inside the Terrax until they unload on the second turn and do whatever nefarious thing you've got planned for them, so decide for yourself if your strategy calls for it.

You do still have access to all Fortification options. While immobile, they do provide an extra layer of defense that AdMech can greatly benefit from.  However, the limitation on Fortifications to one unit plus any number of characters limits their usefulness as firebases, since only half the embarked models can fire out.

===Elites===
*'''Larsen Van der Grauss''' See Elucidean starstriders in the imperium tactics thread - this character cannot be taken in an admech detachment but has the Mars and Admech keywords so if taken with us can use admech strategems and warlord traits.
*'''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 either 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 3++ 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.
**What 15-techno-smurfs CAN do however is bubble-wrap units against storm-shield protected deep strikers. Any units that attempt to fight through fifteen electro-priests will take losses. You will too, but you will either kill the attacker and get a 3++ for the rest of the game ("thanks for the storm shields plebs") or they will fall back...and no longer endanger the unit the priests were guarding.
**The problem with these is that while they are superb after killing a unit they are weak if they havn't.
*'''Corpuscarii Electro-Priests''': 2 points per model cheaper than 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 AP0 D1, (can't be modified by Invocation of Machine Might) with any 6+ roll causing '''3 hits instead of 1'''. Congrats, you 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 over 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. Now has a stratagem to gain AP2 making them dangerous.
**Can't benefit from the {{W40Kkeyword|Lucius}} dogma or Shroudpsalm at all, so probably best under {{W40Kkeyword|Stygies}}, which can protect them on the approach, unless you want to deploy them using Lucius’s Deep Strike stratagem (with their volume of firepower why wouldn't you).
**{{W40Kkeyword|Graia}} used to be the best Forge World to help them on the front line. However, the 6+ Refusal to Yield has been FAQ’d as not stacking with their FNP.
**Put 11 of these motherfuckers from Mars in a Termite Drill with a dominus for rerolls. Deepstrike and pop out, flick the switch on the Wrath of Mars stratagem and watch your target drown in mortal wounds.
*'''Cybernetica Datasmith''': The herder for your robots. Quite competent as a fighter in his own right, with a Terminator statline, complete with a 2+/5++ and a power fist, as well as a pretty scary pistol that can reliably oneshot Primaris marines - but his main purpose is to change protocols on your Kastelans and cheaply fill an Elite slot for your detachment needs while at it. As such, consider him inseparatable from the bots.
**Keep in mind that the protocols change take place on the next turn after you've declared and rolled for 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.
**The alternative to bringing one along is to use the 1CP stratagem to change the active protocol immediately and lock your robots in them for the rest of the game, but Command Points are generally worth far more than the Datasmith's measly 41 points and leaving you unable to adapt means that your bots might very well end up useless past the turn you pop the override, so thing long and hard before you decide to drop him from your list for another skittle squad.
**Your Datasmith Can carry a WL trait without useing an HQ slot - if you want to save CP in ninth.
**Alternatively, consider that a single 'smith has the same statline and costs barely more than one model of a Space Marine Terminator, while also having more wounds and being a character. You could cheaply fill the Elites slot of a Brigade.
**Don't miss the fact that he's got 6" Move to the bots' 8". You can advance quite liberally though, since he doesn't really have much to do outside of maybe popping his pistol on anything in range.
**Generally speaking, he'll make back his cost in points if you've changed Protocols at least once with him. If you also manage to get him in melee and take some wounds off something, you've already got more than what you paid for.
*'''Servitors''': Your cheapest unit often a brigade filler and objective sitter. A poor ranged unit equipped with free melee weapons. Costing 40 points for 2 servo arms and 2 heavy bolters, you should always prefer Rangers or Vanguards for those same points when you need some bodies down the field. Servo-Arms are now free, while the servitors are 5; there ''are'' worse melee units for the cost.
**If you would take a Plasma Cannon unit for 52 points, take Plasma Culverin Vanguards for 68 points to do the same job, better.(now 36 and 51 respectably for a single unit with one plasma weapon)
**If you would take a Heavy Bolter unit for 40 points (probably as a cheap meat shield), take Arc Rifle Rangers for 39 points to do the same job, better.
**If you would take a Multimelta unit for 64 points ('''why?'''), there admittedly isn't a better ''infantry'' option in-faction for the same role, but Onagers will do the same job, better.
** A bare-bones servitor unit is 20 points and this can be useful in the new Vigilus detachments as spare parts for your kataphron destroyers. although a heavy bolter or two might be useful when waiting for them to be needed.
**Note that you can take the Astra Militarum Servitors if you want - they're the same unit plus the Astra Militarum keyword, with no downsides, so there's no reason not to, but not much of a benefit, either, outside of certain specific allied lists (e.g. if you were allying with Yarrick or Celestine, anyway).
**(Note: This unit had its points changed in Chapter Approved 2018)
***These guys are now 20 points a squad, before ranged weapon upgrades. 2 Heavy Bolters will run 36 points for a squad; 2 Plasma, 40; 2 Melta, 62. Servo-arms are free now. Still, the guns are not why you should take these guys; being able to get Power Fist attacks for cheap, and to trade them out for Kataphrons when you need to, is a better reason to take such an [[What|elite]] unit.
** The actual use for Servitors with Heavy Bolters is if you're building a Brigade and you need to fill an elite slot, in which case they can hang out in the backfield, take pot shots at whatever is in range and block deep strikers. Not terrible for 36 points.
*'''Sicarian Infiltrators''': One of the only units debuffed in engine war. The taser variant that used to destroy hordes has been weakened, the power sword variant that wrecked marines hasn't changed. They can deep strike. Their debuff aura got a punch in the cogs in the change from 7th, and is now merely a -1 to Leadership within 3". 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 blasterswith 50 shots make superb if high variability Wrath of Mars strat targets.
**In melee 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 in Engine War to only multiply hits on natural 6's. Greatly weakening its combat effectivness as 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 it's existing rivals of corpuscarii became more efficient. Equally the new pteraxii are competing with it in terms of deepstrike firepower and serberys for speed. While not out for the count expect less of them.
*'''Sicarian Ruststalkers''': They have some utility at dishing out Mortal Wounds, and are faster than Fulgurites, but still not a great choice when compared to your other elite options without support; the primary problem is getting there, as they need a transport or stratagems to reach CC reliably.  See below for more, but you're usually better off buying Fulgurites for melee footsloggers that will live longer.
**Because the Blades cost you the Chordclaw ''and'' more points on the grunts, they're only worth it against T8 and T9 with a 4+ save or worse, which does not exist (actually, see Ork Gunwagons/Bonebreakas), and T4 or T5 with a 5+ save or worse, which does - it includes Ogryn, for example - but that's very niche.  You ''should not'' buy them the Blades.
***Always buy the Princeps the Blades as it's now free and it doesn't have to give up its chordclaw.
**Assuming you were competent and took the R+C combo all around, each Ruststalker should swing for 4/9 of a mortal wound, the ''same'' as a Fulgurite (they effectively have two Chordclaws, for this math - but bear in mind their non-mortal wound output is very significantly better, and they can deal even more mortal wounds on the charge), but for 3 points more, which primarily buys you different defenses (+1W and 4+/6++ instead of 6+/5++/5+++ means that the former will live longer to lasguns but the latter will live longer to overcharged plasma, for example); notably, unlike the Fulgurites, Shroudpsalm will help protect these guys.  Leadership is also a point lower, and the Conqueror Doctrina Imperative is less efficient on them than Divine Chorus is on Fulgurites, with the former buying you 3/27 of a mortal wound per CP, and the latter buying you 4/27 of a mortal wound per CP, since Ruststalkers can't take tethers - plus, since the Priests have higher Leadership, they scale better to larger unit sizes, which is important for using Stratagems that target 1 unit at a time efficiently, while the Ruststalkers prefer MSU, to have more Attacks from the Princeps.
***The tl;dr here is that Fulgurites will outperform the Ruststalkers, per point and per CP, against almost everything in the game (there are some niche exceptions, such as the Fulgurites being charged by Bloodletters/Horrors/Daemonettes), offensively; defensively, it depends on what they're being attacked with, but the Ruststalker advantage evaporates quickly in the face of better AP or Damage on incoming shots.  Ruststalkers are 2" faster on the Move, though.
**If you're taking these, then it's probably for the cool factor of having spindly tin ninjas with sound weapons. From this perspective, the transonic blades are perfectly complementary to their battlefield role. If you're paying for style anyhow...
**This unit gained a stratagem to let it outflank mid game in Engine war. Its still not great as a melee unit but given its a lot more points efficient and mobile than it started out this edition it could see some play.
*'''Tech-Priest Enginseer''': You can take the Astra Militarum Codex entry for this guy; he'll lose Canticles, but he was already a Character, so he'll mind less losing Shroudpsalm.  He'll retain his Forge World and Cult Mechanicus, but lose Adeptus Mechanicus, which will cause potential problems for his Detachment.  The primary reason to shoehorn him in like that is that he'll be an Astra Militarum model, so he can bring you Astra Militarum Relics - for example, he can carry the Dagger of Tu'Sakh, letting you use a relic slot to deep strike an Infantry unit, regardless of Forge World.
**Really, this model is just a cheap repairman for your Dunecrawlers and a good way for you to synergize with any IG allies.
*'''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 (goes up to WS/BS 4+ and Ld9 while close to a Tech-Priest) and gets a further +1 to Hit if he's targeting a {{W40Kkeyword|VEHICLE}}. Unfortunately, since he lacks the {{W40Kkeyword|CHARACTER}} Keyword, he's just going to get popped the second he steps out into the open. And since he can't take a transport, you can't even really suicide run him. Even at 22 points, still not worth it. 

====Titan Guard (Forge World)====
The Titan Guard are Super-Skitarii, but with a downside. Their Titanguard special rule means they don't benefit from any {{W40Kkeyword|<Forge World>}} dogmas (auras such as Cawl's or a dominus) or stratagems. But doesn't keep the rest of your army from benefiting from the rule. if they are Battle-forged, but it does create 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]].

*'''Secutarii Peltasts:''' Ad-mech Dark Reapers. 5++ makes them slightly sturdier than Vanguard. Note that they start at 10 men, so an enhanced data-tether is more vital here. Their Galvanic Casters have 3 fire modes: A Rapid Fire 2 Strength 3 24" for blending GEQs, an Assault d3 18" Ignores LOS for tactical tomfoolery, and a MEQ killing 30" Heavy 1, s4 ap2. Once per game they can give themselves -1 to 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. 
**They tend to have a bit of overlap with your Vanguard troops, who have a similar Anti-GEQ role that focuses on volume of fire over pure stopping power. Vanguard also have access to several Special Weapons that let them perform better against MEQ and TEQ targets in a pinch. Additionally, your Vanguard can benefit from {{W40Kkeyword|<Forge World>}} perks and stratagems while the Peltasts don't. However, Peltasts as a whole unit are considerably more flexible than Vanguard offensively (factoring ''all'' the models, not ''just'' the special weapons), especially now that you can choose which firing mode each model is using instead of the entire unit. Against GEQ targets, Peltasts will outperform Vanguard as long as they're consistently within Rapid Fire range, and are able to contribute firepower towards any targets regardless of line of sight. Combined with an Omni-spex, this can make them particularly effective at dealing with enemies that rely heavily on cover and LOS for defense, such as Eldar or Tau infantry. Additionally, Peltasts are slightly more durable than Vanguard are, making them a bit better suited to tank shots compared to Vanguard.
**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.
**Alternate opinon: Stay the fuck out of Rapid-Fire range. Their ld is crap and they are automatically FORCED to be a large squad. Considering this basically makes them hybrid Vanguard/Rangers with no special weapons is really crap. If you have them you own an amazing horde blender. If not you really lose nothing. 
**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 fulfill 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.

*'''Secutarii Hoplites''': Budget Skitarii with budget TH/SS.vThese guys melt to massed low strength firepower but can hold there 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 and don't understimate the shooting of a large blob of arc lances. S6 AP-1 shot, or melee S+3 (S6) AP-1 hits that both do 1 damage each or changes to D3 vs vehicles. A perfect unit to tie up vehicles and even infantry in melee combat. Anything short of Terminators will fear a charge from Hoplites.
**S6 Ap1 Dd3 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.
**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.

===Fast Attack===
*'''Ironstrider Ballistarii''': A very  mobile twin lascannon or autocannon platform. It has a 10 inch move, and it has a 48 inch range and can fire after advancing with a penalty. Doesn't have the dragoons -1 to hit and so is pretty vulnerable given its low armour save and T compared to our other vehicles. If taken in a large unit it has potential as two stratagems as the doctrina strategem can make them +2 to hit negateing -1 to hit defences and the engine war let them gain +1 wound. Downside is large units lack the durability for their points compared to other options and individual models while great at holding a backfield objective are not worth the CP to buff.
*'''Sydonian Dragoons''': Solid weapon (2 Damage, 8 Strength, AP-1), good mobility, surprisingly tough (Incense Cloud), cheap cost. Often seen in units of 3-4. as only one model needs to make contact with the enemy and the others will all be within 1" of it. A unit of 6 dragoons with Conqueror Doctrina Imperative is rolling 18 attacks, hitting on 2's, dealing 3 hits on 4's - that's 33 strength 8 hits on average. Against a T8 foe that's about 17 wounds and against 3+ saves that's 9 failures, for an average of 18 damage. Without buffs such as canticles or the omniscient mask, can murder a Knight in CQ, almost wipe an entire squad of 40 boyz in a single charge, and butcher marines by the squad.
**Combine with '''Stygies VII Shroud Protocols''' to give your Dragoons a massive -2 subtraction on enemy To Hit rolls, giving them exceptional survivability against shooting and a stratagem to get them into position to charge T1 on a lot of deployments. Best deployed along a flank if able to maximise the -2.
**The Radium Jezzail is hindered by its lack of any AP. Not a bad gun, but it lacks the brute force of the Arquebus and any volume of fire. Basically, you will be fishing for 6s to do just that mortal wound plus another one if you luck out on the opponent's save. Arquebuses will have an easier time penetrating armor and deal enough damage to be threats in their own right, except now it has a -1 AP. Wahey!
***Alternate take: By the time you take a unit of 6 your looking at a similar cost to a knight which might add more shooting utility. 
*'''Serberys Raiders:''' Serberys Raiders are Skitarii Rangers that are mounted on cybernetic dog-mounts. The first thing to understand about them is that, on a point per wound basis, they are extremely cheap and efficient. They clock in at just under 5 points per wound and 3 wounds per model. To get the same number of wounds in a unit of vanilla rangers, you would have to pay about 20 points more. The raiders are also fast, with a free scout move at the beginning of the game and a 12" move standard. However, they are something of a distraction carnifex. They are not great in melee, have a mediocre WS of 4+, and three attacks per model, all at strength 4 with barely any ap. They can snipe characters, causing mortal wounds on a wound roll of 6, but a bare minimum squad will only be popping off a mere 6 shots at 18 inches. Lastly, despite riding a giant, cybernetic greyhound, they have the same toughness and armor save as their troop counterpart. Overall, the raiders function best as a harassment unit. They are too fast for your opponent to fully ignore, lest they go after vulnerable backfield support characters and small units, but also so cheap that losing them doesn't hurt you much. 
** Alternate take: These are competent vs screen units in melee (with the right support). Large units supported by a Stygies character- make sure to give him the Omniscient Mask and Learnings of the Genetor Warlord Trait. Pre-game move him to keep up with your high-speed Raiders. They now hit around 75% of the time, and on model with 3A that will have AP-3 Sabres and AP-2 Claws Limbs on 6s to wound, they can be surprisingly deadly.
** Ryza's canticle will give them an additional bit of AP. You can also get additional AP from the Custom Forge World Dogma from the Expansionist Forge World, which is a bit more reliable over the course of the game. You can also stay in that Expansionist Forge World tree and get the ability to Advance and Fire their guns with no penalty. Ryza Canticle when Charged/Charging/HI plus the Metallica benefit where it matters? Pretty good. As Skitarii they also can get +2 to hit in Melee, which is always nice.
** None of which is to say it is a melee unit by design. It has enough utility but it is best to think of them as a unit of snipers that are running around and are tough to remove (comparatively). They can put out enough shots to threaten mortal wounds against any realistic target and put the hurt down against screens and chaff. Fast, tough for their cost, able to threaten a variety of infantry targets and too threatening to be left alone (while also not being so threatening that they are guaranteed to die off before they do anything).
*'''Serberys Sulphurhounds:''' Fast-moving Skitarii Vanguard gunslingers riding cyber-dogs that breath fire. Identical in stat line to the Raiders, but with different special weapons and rules. Basic models are equipped with dual phosphor pistols (same stats as the Phospor Blast pistol but strength 4 instead of 5.) as well as a sulphur breath (same stats as the phosphor pistol, but 8", Pistol D6, and auto hits.) The Alpha carries a single Phosphor Blast Pistol and a power maul, neither of which can be swapped out. Finally, one model can swap a phosphor pistol for a Phosphor blast carbine (24", Assault 4, strength 5, AP -1, 1 damage with all the usual phosphor rules). Their Pistoleers' special rule allows them to advance and fire pistols, and they share the rad-saturation rule with the Vanguards.  As with the Serberys Raiders, the Sulphurhounds are a skirmisher unit that is cheap, though not as cheap, fast, character sniping or ranged as the raiders.
*'''Pteraxii Skystalkers:''' Flying drop troops that vomit shots. ~Like~ Better Eldar Swooping Hawks, Thermal Riders give deep strike, and Soar Away lets them return to reserve to deep strike again.   However, they have three movement abilities, not two, and there's no way to combine them: deep strike, leave the table to deep strike later, and have each model have a 1/3 chance (2/3 against a vehicle) to drop a mortal wound on anything the unit passed over while moving.  
**Expect your opponent to blow them out of the water the turn after they drop - they're fragile glass cannons, and no savvy opponent will let them live.
*'''Pteraxii Sterylizors:''' Close range Pteraxii, with a 12" Flamer that ignores the cover bonus (that's in deep strike range). Then if they charge, they each make 3 S5 Ap-1 attacks, and the Alpha makes 4 S4 taser goad attacks. Unfortunately, the alpha is forced to carry a substantially worse gun than the rest of the unit - it'll land fewer shots at worse S and worse AP, and that's assuming you can shoot it, as he's the only guy in the unit that can't shoot after advancing.
**2pts more than infiltrators for an ap -1 flamer making their firepower equal to infiltrators - these are glass cannons like skystalker,s don't expect them to survive to fly off again or have a second shot - I'd stick with your infiltrators for efficiency, but it's close.
** With the Deeply Sunk Talons stratagem to stop a fallback on +2, they can have both survivability and suppress enemy non-flyer tanks/artillery. It can be kept in combat for the next turn and if the enemy you were engaging is no longer important, you can make it soar to the skies, even if stuck in combat range, to descend in deep strike the next turn.

===Heavy Support===
*[[Onager Dunecrawler|'''Onager Dunecrawler''']]: Your best bet at dealing with heavy armor, and with plenty of solid options. a 3+ 5++, and their '''Emanatus Force Field''' allows them to reroll 1s on invuln saves if another Dunecrawler is within 6 inches.  They can no longer squadron, so taking a few will eat your Heavy Support slots.
**While the Skorpius Disintegrator may have greater shooting utility, volume, and consistency, the Onager has the durability, due to the disintegrator lacking an invulnerable save.
**'''Turret:'''
***'''Neutron Laser''': Never leave home without one. Heavy d3 48" S10 AP-4 Dd6 and treats 1's and 2's on damage rolls as 3's. The most expensive weapon option, but two or three Neutron Lasers will cripple or destroy even the strongest vehicles. Do note that the option to take a Neutron Laser is '''Neutron Laser and Cognis Heavy Stubber''', which gives you both weapons (paid for individually points-wise), with the stubber mounted under the laser itself. Note that the way the rules are worded, a Neutron Laser Dunecrawler with a Cognis Heavy Stubber can purchase a second Cognis Heavy Stubber as well, giving you 6 s4 shots to pop off besides your big gun. A worthwhile investment. In a pinch you can use 1 CP for Protector Doctina Imperatives and have this nuke a flyer out of the sky on a 2+ (only if you have the broadspectrum data-tether, but why would you not)?
***'''Icarus Array''': It slices, it dices, it makes everyone cry. If you field more than one Dunecrawler, always field one of them equipped with an Icarus Array and a '''Broad-Spectrum Data Tether'''. 10 shots at BS2 against anything that has the FLY keyword (hint hint: skimmers, jumppack/jetpack infantry, fliers, etc) means it will handily rip and tear anything apart, or take a good chunk out of it. Particularly brutal against Tau and Eldar of all flavors, since most of their vehicles are skimmers. It hits other targets on 4's, however, With the '''Protector Doctrina Imperative''' Stratagem, the Icarus Array transforms into a terrifying anti-infantry gun with 5 S7 shots and 5 S6 shots hitting anything on 2's. 
****Alternate Opinion: Unless you have a full brigade you might wanna save your command points. Especially since your vanguards and infiltrators are far better against the conscript/boyz/gaunt-blobs that are so strong in 8th. Your onagers are better used taking out actual fliers or tanks. (It does hit on 4s naturally anyway. No need to get greedy with your Icarus BRRRRRRT Array.)
****Alternate Alternate Opinion: If you're ever aiming it at conscripts/boyz/gaunts you are doing it wrong. When not aiming at flyers it's best at shredding medium to heavy infantry, light vehicles and "monster" units. Basically anything that falls between T4 to T6 with multiple wounds on it.
****Very good with Mars. Cawl's full re-roll makes the -1 to hit against non-FLY units a minor inconvenience, and it gets great utility out of moving from S7/S6 shooting to S8/S7 with the canticle.
***'''Twin Heavy Phosphor Blaster''': 6 shots at S6 AP-2 ignoring cover is good for deleting MEQ units, not a bad choice by any means, but it's outshined by the '''Icarus Array'''. Not the wrong choice if your meta is filled with MEQ, but vs hordes the Kastellans can pack 3 of these per unit against one Dunecrawler, before doubling their shots.
****The Icarus array packs a Gatling rocket launcher that is basically the same gun minus one shot with four extra autocannon shots but hits on 4s instead. 
****The Dunecrawler kit also isn't super magnetizing friendly to the Icarus array, so between building this or a I.A; you're probably better off magnetizing the I.A. and placing the little cover on the side instead of the missiles and proxying it. 
***'''Eradication Beamer''': D6 shots is quite random, but on average it will fare decently well against both vehicles and infantry. S8 means it will wound t4 targets on a 2+, and t7 vehicles on a 3+ (Same as the Neutron Laser). The difference is in the AP, which is only -2, and it only does D3 damage per shot unless you're in 12 inch range (Which you never want to be in, anyway). A good deal cheaper than the '''Neutron Laser''', but it will always feel like you're shooting an inferior version of it.  
****Best used against {{W40Kkeyword|Necrons}} as their special shielding rule tends to be ineffective on D2/3 damage rolls, and  wearing down your opponent is better than having the damage ignored altogether.
**'''Emitter:'''
***Sadly, you want to take two of these for the Emanatus, but the tethers don't stack (only making the bubble bigger), the doctrina stratagem targets a specific unit, and these models can't squadron..
**'''Smoke Launchers''' gives enemies shooting at your Crawler -1 to hit for one turn, but you have to give up shooting. It's extremely situational and not recommended. Stacks with the Stygies dogma.
**'''Cognis Heavy Stubber''' is a straight-up addition, coming in at 2 points for a 3-shot bolter that can be fired on the Advance at a -2 (though why you would want to Advance the measly 1d3" your Crawler gets is beyond me). This is the one that the Skitarii is firing from out of the hatch, and is separate from the Neutron Laser weapon option (which includes another cognis stubber). Just buy it, at 36" range it will rarely be out of targets, and removing a single wound of literally anything in game earns back its points several times. You're mounting it on a t7 3+/5++ chassis that has easy access to repairs, as well as numerous other defensive buffs, it will last a while to get its shots off.
*[[Legio Cybernetica #Kastelan Robots|'''Kastelan Robots''']]: More slot-efficient than the Dunecrawler, as you can get 6 in a unit. (Spamming them is a trap though, since they're extremely vulnerable in the Fight phase; 2-4 is enough.) They still have the same Monstrous Creature statline, and can reflect guns back at their shooter (for a Mortal Wound now), but are now faster and cheaper.  Fully shooty is actually the cheap option now. Go full phosphor and enter protector mode for 18 S6 AP2 shots per robot. Yes, a full unit of 6 will fire 108 bullets... In protector mode becomes twice as good as any unit we have. Beware combat with this option though, as without the Fists, you don't have any AP in close combat.  AdMech now has fewer ways of dealing with high Toughness, and Kastelan Fists in Melee will punch holes in virtually anything, so consider fists if you are lacking in Dunecrawlers.  It's recommended if you are going shoot, deck them out with 3 Heavy Phosphor Blasters, or if you are going punchy, get Fists and the Incendine Combustor.  Don't mix the Combustor and Phosphor options together, they don't synergize well.
**Protector Protocol is great for shooting, but don't underestimate the other modes.  Aegis Protocol will make your Robots even more tanky, with 2+ Armor and a 4+ Invul, and Conqueror Protocol lets them attack twice in combat and just fisticuff anything to death.  In general, Fist Kastelans will prefer either Aegis or Conquerors, while Shooty ones will want to stay in Protector Protocol as much as possible.
**It would be great if the reflection worked like in 7th edition (where *any* saving throw of 6 reflected), but now it is only Invulnerables of 6, and the Cover Bonus from Shroudpsalm only increases the armor save.  Unfortunately, the Aegis Protocol Trolling of the Index is now gone, so you will only reflect a Mortal Wound on a Invul Save roll of 6, after re-rolls but before modifiers.
**A critical difference here between {{W40kKeyword|LUCIUS}} and {{W40kKeyword|Stygies VII}} when deep striking is that the former deep strikes in after it's too late to change Protocols outside of Binharic Override (costing a second CP for the unit), so unless you're willing to shell out the CP, you'll be in Aegis Protocol on the turn you arrive.
**Speaking of Binharic Override, if you are running shooty robots, it may be a good idea to just use ASAP to get your Kastelans doubling their rate of fire on the first turn, rather than having to wait until turn 2.
***Be certain if you do this that they are where you need them to be for the rest of the battle, as they will no longer be able to move.
**The amount of overwatch shots and natural 6 STR is probably enough to keep most CC units away, even more if you're screening.
**They do make incredibly good [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX|Distraction Canifex]].
**If you still feel like you need avoid CC at all costs, switching the shoulder phosphor weaponry to Incendine Combustors can be a valid option : as Protector Protocols works during any phase, 6 robots doing 12d6 S5 AP-1 hits to a charging unit, + the 72 shots of Phosphor Blasters should stop most charges in the game. However, don't let that Rhino or Knight charge you, m'kay ?
*'''[[Skorpius Hover Tank|Skorpius Disintegrator]]''': If it’s mobile firepower you’re after, you’ll want the Skorpius Disintegrator. It comes baseline with 3 Cognis heavy stubbers and a prow-mounted disruptor missile launcher that packs a highly explosive wallop: 36” Heavy d6 S7 AP-2 Dd3. Random attack numbers and damage make it unpredictable but it is a ''decent'' weapon nonetheless. It also comes with a broad spectrum data-tether and canticles, as well as ignoring heavy weapon rules unless it advances. It has the exact same stats as the Skorpius Dunerider, except for an additional point of toughness (T7). Probably the most critical difference when deciding between this and the Dunecrawler, is the invuln save, or rather lack thereof on the Disintegrator. So in summary, the Disintegrator has better firepower for the cost than the Dunecrawler but is less durable, which means it can be shot off the board dishearteningly fast. 
**'''Turret:'''
***'''Ferrumite Cannon''' 48” Heavy 3 S8 AP -3 D3. An excellent option for reliably blasting chunks from enemy vehicles, monsters or elite, multi-Wound infantry, thanks to no randomness in shots or damage. As stated in the Dunecrawler section, this weapon does statistically less damage than the neutron laser against enemies of >T9, but fails to account for the missiles, which can even out this damage loss. If your opponent fields a lot of really tough things pull out the dunecrawlers, but otherwise the disintegrator and its cannon will do fine to kill whatever it is you want, as the points cost is nearly the same (116 vs 117--crawler with two stubbers and laser).
***'''Belleros Energy Cannon''' 36” Heavy 3D3 S6 AP -1 D2 and can hit things out of LOS. A decent amount of shots make it a good contender for medium infantry killing and the LOS capability means you can park behind obstructions and hide from tank killers while still remaining mildly effective.

===Flyer===
*'''Archaeopter:''' The brand-new dragonfly planes. Though seemingly unremarkable, they benefit from being hyper-maneuverable by pivoting before moving, and being able to hover as well. You also have the option of either a Command Uplink, which lets friendly {{W40kKeyword|<Forge World>}} units within 6" use its 9 Leadership, or Chaff Launchers for reducing any damage it takes from shooting by 1 to a minimum of 1. With only 10 wounds at T7, that'll be necessary, moreso after factoring in the damage track influencing your BS and movement scores.
**'''Transvector:''' The transport option, though its capacity of 6 Skitarii, Secutarii, Techpriest or Electropriest models is weak.  Its armament is rather meager with two Cognis Heavy Stubbers and a Twin Cognis Heavy Stubber. These ones will absolutely benefit from Chaff Launchers, as it gives you a slightly better chance at withstanding the anti-aircraft fire so you can drop your pack. The Command Uplink would also see use as you'll already have this at the front lines. Note that secutarii are minimum units of 10 so good proofreading GW.
**'''Fusilave:''' The bomber. Your guns are improved negligibly to four separate Cognis Heavy Stubbers, but you also get the bombs. Every turn after moving, you get to roll up to 10d6 worth of dice on any enemy units you flew over (with monsters and vehicles acting as 3d6), with every 4+ resulting in a mortal wound. It is actually much more of a support and board control unit than a pure damage dealer platform. It will allow you to control enemy movement, deal a few mortal wounds here and there, and later if that thing does survive, grab an objective in hover mode. 
**Avg 1.5 mw on a vehicle, 2.5mw or a 5 man squad make this hard to justify sure 5mw on a 10 man Intercessor or Custodes squad. It could be good but many lists wont have that level of target.
***Good thing about this bomb is that isn't one use and have a nifty trick to halve enemy mobility with a stratagem. You can chose enemy squad that is closing with your shooting units and likely it wont charge, while you shoot them with impunity. Bomb itself will deal solid 5 MW to a unit of monstrous creatures like Necron Wraiths. Target of stratagem and target of bombs may not be the same, you just have to fly over. Maxiumum effect of stratagem will be on fast land targets, like bikes, dragoons, rhinos, all land transports, daemon engines, large squads of advancing infantry like ork mobs.
**** Also best candidate out of three for Electro-Filament Counter Measures, since you are going to be close and personal anyway. May turn off enemy defenses from auras like Dark Shroud, Lions helm, or debuff enemy warlord traits, abilities and artifacts, that are auras...
***** With the changes to flyers in 9th, RAW means you can fly over the top of units and straight off the table, dropping your bombs without giving your opponents the chance to shoot back. As you get 1CP back every turn, you can effectively cripple one unit of your choice every turn with the strategem and bomb pretty much any unit(s) you want with a free pivot before flying straight off the board again. Going to cause a bit of butthurt if its not FAQd!
**'''Stratoraptor:''' The dogfighter. Your Cognis Heavy Stubbers are complimented by two Heavy Phosphor Blasters and a Twin Cognis Lascannon. Indeed, the weapons are all made to wipe the floor with any priority targets in comparison to the Fusilave's carpet bombing. You'll certainly want the Chaff Launchers on this, since you are bristling with a lot of guns. Alternate take this is the best allrounder flyer as it is not dependent on your opponents list like the Fusilave. As taking the command uplink allows access to the strat that turns off auras which seems strong in certain matchups. Consider that this strat works on units while they are within 6", so if the plane goes down your CP's are wasted, but it is only 1 CP so it may be worth it as a fire magnet albeit a flimsy one...
*** Sadly outside of hover mode, it always fire at -1 BS, because it lacks any rule that will allow it to move and fire without penalty. The ways to mitigate this is the base codex stratagem for ignore movement penalties (1CP), the new stratagem for +1 to hit rolls against non-FLY enemy units (1CP), or the Mars specific canticle.
**** Looks like the changes coming in 9e will address this, by removing hit penalties for vehicles using Heavy weapons.

===Lords of War===

See [[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Imperial_Knights(8E)|here]] for an in-depth discussion of Knights on their own; what matters to you is that Cawl, Domini, and Enginseers can fix {{W40Kkeyword|Questor Mechanicus}} Knights, and any of the three or a Datasmith can propagate the Knight of the Cog stratagem onto them (they also have access to a new stratagem from our Codex, Rotate Ion Shields, but they can do that without any assistance from us at all).  If you want to maximize the impact of this:

*Datasmiths are the cheapest of the four options to propagate the Stratagem, but Enginseers are the cheapest that can both propagate and repair.  In either case, none of your relics are directly relevant, and neither are your dogmas, but Monitor Malevolus will somewhat reduce the cost of maintaining Knight of the Cog, Chorister Technis will exponentially improve your ability to guarantee the Canticle you want (especially easy, as always, with Cawl on hand), and Necromechanic will greatly improve how reliably and quickly you can repair the Knight, which is one of the big reasons to bother with this combo in the first place.
*The best Knight to take is the Crusader, since that's the only one not forced to take a melee weapon on one of its arms.
**By default the Crusader is the best take because of how much firepower and anti-horde it wields. The only reason not to bring it is because the enemy is fielding some really, '''''really''''' tanky units that want to go toe-to-toe in CC, at which point you either want to bring the Atropos for titan-killing or some Armigers to wear your enemy's heavies down before your valuable stuff finishes them off.