Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Imperial Agents

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In an interesting hiccup of fate, a little book called Codex: Imperial Agents have been bequeathed to use by the folks of Games Workshop. It contains within many factions and small detachments that an enterprising player (especially those of the Imperial bent) may wish to utilize.

Why Play Imperial Agents?

This book is better to be known as Codex: Allies. If you play using Armies of the Imperium (and even then if you don't,) Imperial Agents offer relatively cheap ways to fill in some of the holes in your lists.

• Rely on vehicles? The Engineseer Congregation gives you a direct means to repair and even buff them
• Lacking psychic oomph? Take the Astra Telepathica or the Culexus or the Grey Knights or the Inquisition
• Lack flyers? There's a formation that gives you flyers free of tax.

Overall it is quite funny to think about with it. Small detachments allow for a mess of an army. Which might not be the best on the min/max side of the game. But having it together with Inquisition and the, very cool, Divisio Military special rule can make you an army that is just oozing character. It is still a mess in some parts and missing some toys the Inquisition have in their codex.

Additionally, there are some more things to consider:

• This codex covers Inquisition, Sisters of Battle/Ecclesiarchy, and Assassins in a nice hardback format. If you already have these armies, you need this book.
• Many of the cloned units have either new formations or straight upgrades/alterations that make them better than other versions.
• So much conversion potential! Seriously, get out there you crazy modders.

Factions

This book lacks a unified Faction that is anything different than the generic Armies of the Imperium. Instead, there are several factions contained within that contain one or more formations that can be fielded.

This is particularly important with the newest ally ruling stating that Battle Brothers cannot begin the game embarked in an allied transport (Thanks a lot, Eldar). One of the largest downsides to taking these new units as allies is that they have to stay outside your transports turn one.

Cult Mechanicus

Somewhat noteworthy here in that it gives new(ish) units to an existing faction. The new formation is probably the best way to field them still, but it makes for an interesting addition to a cult force.

Formations

Enginseer Congregation:

• Requires:
  • 1 HQ, which must be an Enginseer.
  • 0-1 Elites, which must be Servitors.
• Units of this Formation gain Canticles of the Omnissiah

A simple formation, but a handy one. Hurt severely by lack of a transport, it nonetheless makes for a handy escort to slogging tank forces. If you're using an IG Armoured Company or a slow-walking Household Detachment, having a few of these guys helping out can really add some miles.

Special Rules

Canticles of the Omnissiah

If you have more units the buff gets even better. Also, when counting the number of units you discount any squads that are falling back, and the canticle remains at that power level even if units regroup or new ones arrive on the table and bring your total higher:

• Incantation of the Iron Soul: - Having 1-3 units gives them Stubborn, 4-7 gives them Stubborn and the ability to reroll failed morale, fear & pinning checks. Having 8+ units just goes stuff it and gives them all Fearless.
• Shroudpsalm: 1-3 = Stealth, 4-7 = Shrouded while having 8+ gives both rules.
  • This, right here, is great, especially with the Battle Congregation and its ability to recycle Canticles. Not only can you give all your Cult units a 4+ cover in the open (2+ if they're in any cover more substantial than razor wire) for up to two turns, thanks to the wording of the Stealth and Shrouded special rules, you can also give that to any non-Cult Battle Brothers your Dominus and/or Engineseer is chilling out with.
• Chant of the Remorseless Fist: 1-3 units gives re-rolls of one to-hit in close combat, followed by re-rolls of one and two at 4-7, then simply getting to re-roll all fails to hit if you have 8+ units on the tabletop.
  • For your Electro Priests, this is pretty meh, given that thanks to Zealot, they reroll all To Hit rolls in the first round of combat anyway, but the WS3 Kataphron Breachers suddenly got a lot scarier. Combat oriented Kastelans with this and conqueror protocols will be fucking lethal.
• Benediction of Omniscience: 1-3 units gives re-rolls of one to-hit while shooting, followed by re-rolls of one and two at 4-7, then simply getting to re-roll all fails to hit if you have 8+ units on the tabletop.
  • This is great for the turn that most of the enemy is in range and you have most of your guys still alive, around turn 2 is best time.
• Invocation of Machine Might: 1-3 = plus one strength, increasing to plus two at 4-7, then plus three at 8+ units.
  • This sounds like one of the least useful ones at first glance, but can be applied well, too. If you do not give your Castelans Power Fists, you can still ramp their strength up to 9 for the one round they need stupid amounts of attacks at high strength. Also works well to reach Instant Death thresholds.
• Litany of the Electromancer: Your dudes generate electricity; in close combat, for every model you have with the Canticle the enemy takes a S4 AP- hit at Initiative 10 that phase. Increasing to two hits at 4-7 squads, and three hits at 8+.
  • Now you know why the Electro Priests are overcosted. If they costed less, you could just field a hundred of them, send them into close combat and drown the enemy in S4.

Also note that the buffs only apply to friendly models that have the Canticles of the Omnissiah special rule as according to the rulebook, special rule held by independent characters do not confer unto squads unless specifically noted and vice versa, so you can't attach a Dominus to a space marine squad and make them electrical or boost the accuracy of guardsmen. The only ones that apply to allies would be Shroudpsalm and The Incantation of the Iron Soul, which provide USRs that can confer to attached squads.

Units

General Tactics for both are here.

HQ

• Techpriest Engineseer: Exactly the same as the Astra Miliatrum Engineseer. However, you are giving away orders and intra-codex synergy for effectively no limits in how many you can take and Canticles of the Omnissiah. If you were going to take Engineseers, this probably the preferable manner because Canticles are flat out worth it. Since Engineseers are Independent Characters, they can give their attached units stealth/shrouded/both to their attached squads one turn per game, for instance.

ELITE

• Servitors: Same deal as the Engineseer. Arguably benefit from Canticles even more. Normally milquetoast, the ability to get temporary re-rolls in shooting/melee as well as buffs makes servitors much more valuable.

Aeronautica Imperialis

A good faction to ally in wherever you need a little extra air support or transport with no strings attached, Aeronautica Imperialis also has the added benefit of being the only faction that bypasses the usual restriction on embarking allies. Thanks to the most recent FAQ, "Transports from this Faction can transport Astra Militarum, Militarum Tempestus and Inquisition units as if they were all of the same Faction." Also, since this specifically applies to the faction as whole, that should include Forge World units like the Aquila as well, for whatever that's worth.

Formations

Imperial Navy Section:

• Requires:
  • 1 Fast Attack
  • 0-1 HQ
• You may re-roll Reserve rolls for this detachment. Combined with a fleet officer, your air support is pretty much assured to arrive turn two.
• Must be of the Aeronautica Imperialis faction

Units

HQ

• Officer of the Fleet: Here's the gist for this fella. Add in, too, that he's now an awesome boon for anyone who wants to manipulate their reserves. Sure, you need to pony up for a Valkyrie, but in order to have access to him outside of the Astra Militarum you'll be getting those Valkyries anyway. Do make sure to park him with your objective campers or anywhere he'll feel safe until he does his job.

Fast Attack

• Valkyries: More on them here. You want to get these if you lack flyers, transports, and/or AA and do not want much else. Sure there are other units that do those duties better, but these are more accessible and can save you some well-needed points.

Forge World While they may be difficult to fit into a proper list, many Forge World fliers do have have the AI faction. These include the Marauder Bomber, Thunderbolt Fighter, Lightning Fighter, Aquila Lander, Vulture Gunship, Arvus Lighter, and Avenger Strike Fighter.

Adeptus Astra Telepathica

Formations

Psykana Division:

• Requires:
  • 1 HQ
  • 1-3 Elite
• Must be of the Astra Telepathica Formation
• HQ harnesses warp charges on 3+ when 5+ Wyrdvane Psykers from the same formation are within 12"
• If your army doesn't rely heavily on transports, like blobguard, you can add any number of Primaris Psykers or Astropaths to your forces. The extra leadership, useful psychic punch/defense, and, for the Primaris the melee boost, can add a great edge for a fairly minimal cost investment.

Units

HQ

Both units can be found here When taking this formation, you have to choose between the Primaris Psyker and the Astropath.

• Primaris Psyker: Knows Pyromancy, Biomancy, Telekinesis, and Divination. All in all not a bad secondary character.
• Astropath: Cheaper and weaker than the Primaris Psyker. Lacks a force weapon and needs to purchase the refractor field. Also only knows telepathy and telekinesis. The trade off is that upon any successful casting of a psychic power by the Astropath, you may re-roll any of your reserve rolls on your next turn. So consider taking this one if you want general psychic ability and have reserves you want to bring in somewhat reliably.

ELITE

• Wyrdvane Psykers: Read up on them here. Of note, however, is that these guys can't take a chimera as default, which severely limits their utility. As with the IG version, there's very little reason to buy larger-sized squads, but without the transport they tend to die quickly whenever they close enough to use their psychic powers.

Adepta Sororitas

This is a side-grade of the already extant Codex: Adepta Sororitas and does not replace it. Rumor has it that a true 7e SoB codex is in the works, substantiated by the confirmation of plastic SoBs and a new model for Saint Celestine

Formations

Ministorum delegation:

• Requires:
  • 1 HQ which must be a Ministorum Priest
  • 0-1 Elites
• All units must be of the Adepta Sororitas faction
• All units gain shield of faith, perfect for MSU command squads or small battle conclaves
• Like the Psykana Division, this gives you an excuse to add a priest to *every single* unit in your army. Zealot alone makes this worthwhile, but your prayers, AM, and the option for an eviscerator or plasma gun is fantastic, as well.

Vestal Task force:

• Follows the same structure as the Combined Arms Detachment except this excludes Fortifications and Lords of War
  • Once per game re-roll failed saving throws of 1 for one turn until your next turn
  • Re-roll for Sisters' Warlord Trait on the Sisters Table.
• You're better off taking the normal Combined Arms Detachment unless you really plan on having a turn that requires making many saves.

Ecclesiarchy Battle Conclave:

• Requires:
  • 1 Ministorum Priest or Uriah Jacobus
  • 3-10 units of Arco-flagellants, Crusaders, and/or Death Cult Assasins
• All units become one single unit and gain Shield of Faith.

Units

Follow the general Sisters tactics here. However, the Adepta Sororitas of the Imperial Agents book have been slightly modified.

Differences:

• Saint Celestine is not in the codex, but can instead be found in the Fall of Cadia supplement.
• Priest is now an HQ.
• Ecclesiarchy Battle Conclave has become the aforementioned Formation rather than a free HQ slot. However, you can field dedicated units of Crusaders, Arco-flagellants, and Death Cult Assassins as generic Elite slots that do not require Priests.
• Sororitas Command Squad now takes up an Elite slot but no longer requires a Canoness.
• Also the Acts of Faith do not end at end of a phase, now they are in effect till the End of the Turn. Which is a slight buff.
• If you are used to priests from the IG or Inquisitors faction, these guys are far superior. Aside from AW from the formation, they also have the option to take power weapons, evicerators, combi-weapons/condemner, reliques including a deamon-slaying mace, and is a full independent character.

Deathwatch

Formations

Deathwatch Kill Team

• Requires:
  • 1 Troops
• Must be of the Deathwatch faction
• Non-vehicles of this formation re-roll armour penetration and to-wound rolls of 1. This, combined with Mission Tactics, acts as Preferred Enemy. Not bad at all if you're taking them as a single "assassin" unit.
• Squad Donatus and Squad Crull are Deathwatch Troops and therefore qualify for the formation.

Special Rules

Yes, Deathwatch Kill Teams still get their Mission Tactics

Units

Troops

• Veterans: See here

Fast Attack

• Corvus Blackstar: Can only be taken as a dedicated transport for your veterans. Know how to be found here.

Grey Knights

Formations

Daemonhunters Strike Force

• Requires:
  • 1 Fast Attack OR 1 Troops
  • 0-1 Heavy Support
• Start reserve rolls on turn 1 for units in this formation that are deep-striking with 3+ being a successful reserve roll. Also, deep-strikers may shoot and run on the turn they arrive from reserve.

Units

Not really changed from their base book. So head there for tips.

Troops

• Terminators:
• Strike Squads (not included in the book):

Fast Attack

• Interceptor Squad:
• Stormraven Gunship (not included in the book): Yep, you can drop as many of these in your army as you like.

Heavy Support

• Nemesis Dreadknight:
• Landraider:
  • Basic:
  • Redeemer:
  • Crusader:
• Purgation Squad (not included in the book): For putting in the Stormraven.

Legion of the Damned

Formations

Spectral Host:

• Requires:
  • 1 Elite
  • 0-3 Additional Elites
• Must be of the Legion of the Damned faction
• All units of this Detachment start as Deep Strike reserves but may choose to automatically pass or fail their reserve rolls.
• Aside from tournament faffing, there is no special reason to take the other elite choices from this formation versus taking multiple formations.

Units

Elites

• Damned Legionaires: See tactics here.

Officio Assassinorium

Formations

Assassinorium Operative:

• Requires:
  • 1 Elite
• Gain 1 additional Victory Point if enemy warlord was killed by an assassin from this detachment. Better for some assassins than others, but pretty much the only way to take assassins (other than unbound or with an Excecution Force, below).

Execution Force:

• Requires:
  • Vindicare Assassin
  • Callidus Assassin
  • Eversor Assassin
  • Culexus Assassin
• All gain Preferred Enemy (Warlord)
• Gain 1 additional Victory Point if enemy warlord was killed by an assassin from this detachment. Generally a little overkill for anything short of Apocalypse. The Vindicare really, really likes having PE, however.

Units

Really, just look here.

Elite:

• Vindicare Assassin:
• Callidus Assassin:
• Eversor Assassin:
• Culexus Assassin:

Inquisition

Much like the Adepta Sororitas, the Inquisition of this book do not replace that of Codex: Inquisition. As another side-grade, they gain certain things and lose others. Differences will be noted where applicable. General tactics are here.

Formations

Inquisitorial Representative: Resembles the Inquisitorial Detachment but keep in mind several things. First of all, in order to take another Inquisitor: you have to field another one of these which isn't bad at all. Secondly, with this you cannot field mobs of select models. Acolytes are the only Elites choice that can be fielded in units of more than one model. All others are solitary unless taken in the following formation. You lose direct access to the Arco-flagellant, Ministorum priest, Death Cult Assassin, Psyker, and Servitor.

• Requires:
  • 1 HQ
  • 0-3 Elite
• One Inquisitor from this detachment may generate a Warlord trait even though they are not the Warlord. For the sake of the Warlord trait they count as a Warlord. Honestly fantastic for grabbing an extra Tactical Warlord trait.
• All must be of the Inquisition faction

Inquisitorial Henchmen Warband:

• Requires:
  • 1 Inquisitor of any type, including Unique Characters
  • 1 Acolyte unit
  • 0-1 Ministorum Priests
  • 0-1 Crusaders
  • 0-6 Daemonhosts
  • 0-1 Arco-flagellants
  • 0-1 Death Cult Assassins
  • 0-1 Tech-priest Engineseers
  • 0-6 Jokaero Weaponsmiths
  • 0-1 Astropaths
• All units/models (excluding the Inquisitor) combine with Acolytes into one large squad
• One Inquisitor from this detachment may generate a Warlord trait even though they are not the Warlord. For the sake of the Warlord trait they count as a Warlord.
• Depending on your Inquisitor, you may field an additional unit at cost:
  • Ordo Malleus and/or Inquisitor Coteaz may purchase a Grey Knight Terminator Squad
  • Ordo Hereticus and/or Inquisitor Karamazov may purchase an Adepta Sororitas Battle Sisters Squad
  • Ordo Xenos may purchase a Deathwatch Veterans unit.
• Everybody gains the Inquisition faction, including the allied units. If you have another Inquisitor, they can start embarked in one of the above unit's transports.
• The warband may take a Chimera, Sororitas Rhino, Land Raider (basic, redeemer, or crusader), or Valkyrie as a transport
• Because your allied units are now Inquisition faction, they can start embarked in an allied AI Valkyrie. This is especially helpful for Sisters who otherwise lack a flying transport.

Wargear

• No servo-skulls
• Price of carapace and power armour for acolytes are half what they are in Codex: Inquisiton. Price of Power Armor is also 3pts cheaper for Inquisitors.

Units

HQ

• Inquisitor Coteaz:
• Inquisitor Karamazov:
• Ordo Malleus Inquisitor: You can dual-wield daemon swords, with the description telling you which effects affect the bearer and which the blade.
• Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor: Loses access to Malefic Daemonology (aw, what, aw c'mon, boo).
• Ordo Xenos Inquisitor: The plasma siphon reduces BS to 1 rather than just shutting off plasma and also no longer have access to Malefic Daemonology.

Elites

• Acolytes: A full-sized squad with melee weapons costs less than 50 points. While they don't have the numbers of chaos cultists, they are the cheapest melee units the Imperium can muster.
  • Available Transport Options:
    • Chimera: Has the ability to take Truesilver Armour or "better than multilaser" Psibolt Ammo.
    • Sororitas Rhino: That's correct. 5 points more than Codex: Inquisition but now with a 6+ invulnerable save and Adamantium Will
    • Land Raider Variant:
      • Basic:
      • Crusader:
      • Redeemer:
    • Valkyrie:
• Daemonhost:Now they have the "Daemon" special rules.
• Jokaero Weaponsmith: The effects of 6+ on their table are changed, letting you pick which two effects you want and generally making them more reliable overall.

Heavy Support

• Chimera:

See Also:

• Adepta Sororitas Tactics
• Astra Militarum Tactics
• Deathwatch Tactics
• Grey Knights Tactics
• Inquisition Tactics
• Officio Assassinorum Tactics