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I am planning starting a Elysian army. I currently run a pure footslogging, sentinal backed list, so it seems that the Elysians fit my play style even better. A few question:

1. Are the rules in IA8 or the new IA3 2nd edition?

2. I would like to order up my elysians and the appropriate IA book in one go rather than two separate and delayed orders. I should note that money, per se, is not an issue, but I hate having stuff that I will never use or need. I already own a unit of Storm Troopers and a bunch of Cadians. I know I can continue to use the Stormtroopers as they can deep strike as well ... should I keep the Cadians or just dump them? I was thinking of getting some Elysian heads with the masks and put them on my cadians to represent carapace armoured veterans. Would that fly (pun intended)?

3. I know that I will order the following to start my army, but I have no idea what special weapons or heavy weapons to order, given that I can't take a look at the appropriate IA until after the order. So, in addition to the following, what should I order from Forgeworld, infantry-wise?

1 command HQ Squad
2 Platoon command squads
4-6 Drop troop squads (to be split into w platoons of 2-3 squads)
3-4 sentinels

What else is recommended? What special weapons? What heavy weapons?

Also, are elysians allowed to start the game on the field, or are they all drop podded? I have some modded catachan models and snipers that I was thinking of using as an "advanced recon" platoon that arrives in advance of the Elysian strike force. Would that be doable in an elysian list or would i have to have them "deep strike" as well. In other words is there a place in the elysian list, using their rules, for a non-dropped element that could be represented by my catachan models?

Also, I should note, the end goal is to use the elysian drop pod rules for my own IG regiment creation.

Thanks in advance for your help.

If you want a pure elysian list then sell you cadians. Thats what I did when I started me DKok army. I kept the tanks tho.

See the think with elysian is that they are air cav. so I think you should do this.

1 command HQ Squad
1 Platoon command squads
2-4 Drop troop squads
1-2 sentinels
1-2 Valkyries
1-2 Vendettas
1 Vulture w/ Upgrade kit.

Edit. I think there have a updated list in IA8 but i,m not sure .

The way you say footsloggers backed by sentinels fits your play style doesn't really make sense, that sounds more like Catachans. I thought Elysians were supposed to be drop troops with lots of flyers? Anyhow, that doesn't matter. I'd say keep the Cadians and convert them a bunch to your liking. Especially if you don't want a regiment that is exactly Elysian. You could buy a few squads of FW Elysians to use as veterans though.
The above list is pretty good, so you should probably go for that, regardless of how you buy your troopers.

The most current Elysian list is in Taros Campaign Second Edition.

There's nothing wrong with putting Elysian heads on Cadian bodies, they won't look too strange.

Things to actually order - Elysian weapons kits to swap out your lasguns for Accatran patterns and give you enough special weapons to outfit an army (and sell the excess grenades and snipers)., Valkyrie Sky Talons (because they are awesome - the firepower of a missile pod valkyrie for the price of a normal one), a Tauros Venator or two, and a Vulture or two. The Avenger Strike Fighter is also nice.

Elysian infantry squads don't carry heavy weapons, by the way, so any heavy weapons you want (they only use mortars, missile launchers and heavy bolters) have to go in Command, Veteran or Heavy Weapon Squads.

It's worth investing in a Ground Scanner or two, although they're easy enough to scratchbuild from spare parts.

Thanks for the replies and help. Very useful information for thinking through this.

With regard to head and body swaps, its actually the elysian bodies I like and not necessarily their heads. So, I think I will probably get rid of the cadians. Though, I didn't think about it until reading it, but I will need to get enough Elysian weapons as well for the ones that I decide to keep. That should really help with making them a cohesive looking force. Good points, Miko!

In terms of "footslogging," I meant that I tend to prefer infantry heavy forces and less tanks. The valkyrie and its variants are not a problem.

With regard to special weapons and such ... go with meltas? mortars? a mix?

Thanks.

Do consider the respirator heads - much better in my opinion.

@Scott ... Ah nice. yeah. those are much better!