A 2500 point Betrayal only era Ordo Reductor force by SirDonlad
Ordo Reductor “Book 1: Betrayal” only (Part 1: Units & Strategies)
This was the first sniff of an official army list for the Mechanicum long before the Skitarii were introduced to 40K.
Technically it wasn’t a stand-alone army list; it was an appendix to the main army list to allow any Legion Marine player greater scope in what Lords of War and allies they could use.
Of course that didn’t stop us from just using the units there as a main army list, but it did lump the player with limited ways of playing “The Mechanicum”.
This tactica is for using that allied detachment in ’The Horus Heresy Book 1: Betrayal’ only as a full army list with the 40K 6th edition, 7th edition or 1st edition Age of Darkness main rule book (whichever core rulebook is to hand or cheapest to acquire) for battles set on Isstvan 3.
Later books expanded upon the units weapons and Wargear available to this list, but this tactica is for using ’Book 1: Betrayal’ exclusively (you and your opposition).
Abbreviations
AA – Anti-Aircraft
AV – Armour Value
CC – Close Combat
CotO – Curse of the Omnissiah
DG – Death Guard
DT – Dedicated Transport
DZ – Deployment Zone
EC – Emperors Children
FOC - Force Organisation Chart
HK – Hunter-Killer
HS – Heavy Support
LR – Land Raider
MC – Master-Crafted
MLR – Mechanicum Land Raider
OR – Ordo Reductor
SoH – Sons of Horus
TL – Twin-Linked
USR – Universal Special Rule
WE – World Eaters
ZM – Zone Mortalis
Changes Between Editions
This space is for noting any relevant differences in a USR etc between the editions
Interceptor: interceptor paired with skyfire to allow full BS shooting at all targets only in 6th edition.
Structure Points: Clarified in ’Book 2: Massacre’ but not the update documents – a Structure Point is equal to three Hull Points for all Super-Heavy unit profiles.
Unit Overview
Calleb Decima
Calleb Decima has fairly poor stats by later books standards but compared to the Vanilla Legion Praetor he’s actually fairly solid, just not as capable. His WS3 and BS4 are lacking, he’s down on, initiative and armour save but he comes with a 5++ which can be improved to a 4++ and whenever his attacks hit they hit hard.
He has 2 base attacks and an extra 2 from his machinator array which also have ’shred’ and ’armourbane’. It also lets him do 2 shooting attacks - this can be either his MC Bolt Pistol or the arrays Inferno Pistol and a flamer template.
The Macchinator Array boosts his Battlesmith repair rolls by 1 and grants Nightvision.
His Master of Destruction special rule grants him ’sunder’ and ’tank hunter’ which can be given to a nearby heavy or ordnance weapon instead by sacrificing one of his own ranged attacks (this has Titanic implications).
Melta bombs give his normal CC attack a little reliable strength against vehicles, structures and Monstorus Creatures because without them he’d be stuck with S6.
He has a party-piece: the ’Curse of the Omnissiah’ once-per-game 2D6 Haywire ranged attack.
He may take a MLR DT and a bodyguard unit of up to 5 servo-automata which have bolltguns and chainswords, but they cannot assist in repair rolls.
NOTE – He is not an “Independent Character” and cannot join other units in this iteration
Legion Techmarine Covenant
Up to 3 Techmarines, each counting as a separate unit from deployment onward. Each can also take a quartet of servo-automata and a Rhino DT.
Intended to represent heavy weapon-toting Myrmidon Destructors rather than walking vehicle repair-shops; the Conversion Beamer weapon upgrade gives your guy a S10 AP1 blast beyond 42” for 80pts total.
Unlike actual myrmidons they have the battlesmith rule and these guys act independently - they aren’t in a unit so getting rid of all of them in one go is going to most amusing to your opponent where massed bolter fire can only target one Techmarine at a time. Makes up for the rubbish statline, doesn’t it?
Because of their options list they do have other tricks they can pull for a points increase – their best upgrade being a Rhino DT because the Boss wants one..
Thallax
The Ordo Reductor being a nomadic faction can’t really be having a bunch of Skitarii loyal to Mars tagging along inside their own house and spying on all their business – so they created a version of Skitarii that were better; with Blackjack. And hookahs! And Jetpacks!!
Thallax are a troop choice with BS4, S5, T5, W3, 4+/6+++,a jetpack and Djinn-Sight.
They are WS3 and I2 so ranged attacks are their optimum tasking. If they do end up in CC their Ld8 and the stubborn USR will help them stay in the fight like an expensive inverse-tarpit.
’Thallax Augments’ are special tactical programming preceding ’Doctrina Imperitives’ later used in ’Codex Skitarii’ except Thallaxii Augments cannot be changed during a game.
One in every 3 Thallax may take a ranged weapon upgrade (unless using the Ferrox augment) and any Thallax can take two melee weapon options, one additional the other an upgrade.
Each Thallax cohort may take an MLR DT provided their cohort is 5 models or less.
Mechanicum Land Raider
Build your own Land Raider kit for a DT but with a catch – it’s not an assault vehicle.
The unit profile fails to mention how many access points it has so assume the side doors are your only access points. It also fails to provide the Blessed Autosimulacra rule which was later given in ’The Horus Heresy Volume 1: Betrayal Errata & Addenda – Version 1.1 Amended 8th May 2013’ and is reproduced in the MLR section later on in this tactica.
The MLR can do some fun things like upgrading to be able to outflank but the points start to add up very very quickly from the base price of 195pts up to a maximum of 390pts. (!)
Ultimate flex: equipping an LR proteus like a standard Legion LR and painting it as a heavily damaged or burned out Sons of Horus/World Eaters/Emperors Children/Death Guard LR.
Legion Rhino Armoured Carrier
A Legion Rhino with every optional extra available at the full price. It can only be selected as the DT of a Legion Techmarine. It has a TL Boltgun standard but can be fitted with a second TL boltgun, a combi-bolter or a basic heavy weapon on a pintle mount.
It is essentially a semi-mobile bunker with aspirations to become an imperial militia heavy weapon team/poor man’s artillery piece. Its best use is in being commandeered by another unit.
Starting at 35pts, it can take a dozer blade, an auxiliary drive, extra armour, an HK missile and an additional pintle mounted weapon – maxed out it only costs 85pts.
The Auxiliary Drive roll happens once when an immobilised damage effect is applied – in any subsequent turns the Rhino can attempt its repair roll (6+ on a D6) to negate the immobilised damage effect but this costs being able to shoot any weapons that turn.
Power-move: Paint this as a heavily damaged/field Repaired Sons of Horus/World Eaters/Emperors Children/Death Guard Rhino
Imperial Avenger Strike Fighter
The humble Avenger Strike Fighter is the ’reasonably priced car’ of Lords of War choices.
Intended to be fielded in squadrons of 3 as a single Lords of War choice, it is 150pts of pure reasonableness.
Its front armour (12/10/10) is decent for a flyer but its sides and rear are a tactical concern.
The weapon upgrades can be expensive but have utility for certain in-game strategies; it won’t cost more than 220pts per model.
It’s the only Fast Attack choice for an Ordo Reductor force at this point, so enjoy taking up to three and a Lords of War choice.
Just don’t expect them to last too long…
Fortifications
Yeah we got to take Fortifications in the beginning – they make certain strategies possible to the point they are a must-take asset.
Initially limited to what was in the 6th edition core rule book this was expanded upon within a year by the Stronghold Assault book which also gave some updated points costs and rules for the existing Fortifications.
Warhound Scout Titan
The first ’proper’ Lords of War unit in the Ordo Reductor Army List Appendix.
Feildable by both sides and available from Forgeworld long before Imperial Knights surfaced in plastic kit form, this was the ’smallest’ God-Engine available at the time.
Requiring no extra points for ranged weapon upgrades - it has an extra void shield, +1 initiative and Night-Vision over its previous profile in ’Imperial Armour - Apocalypse’ and makes all Mechanicum units within 24” ’Fearless’ with the ’God Engine’ special rule.
You are in a 3000 point battle minimum to use this LoW.
Reaver Battle Titan
Also available to both factions, the Reaver was the ’largest’ Titan available from Forgeworld at the time, with players having to wait until Book 5 for it to be outdone. (Book 2 if you want to get technical because there was an Apocalypse data-sheet for an Emperor Battle-Titan)
Also requiring no extra points for ranged weapon upgrades, its profile is almost unchanged from ’Imperial Armour – Apocalypse 2’ – only the ’God Engine’ (all Mechanicum units within 24” ’Fearless’) and ’Night-Vision’ special rules are additional.
You are setting up a minimum 5800 point battle to use one of these.
Castellan Reductor Tactics
HQ
Calleb Decima
The first named Mechanicum character with an official model. Ignore that the model was the titan tech-priest Forgeworld already sold; it was genesis.
This character needs the Cyber-Familiar upgrade and some kind of metal box to hide in.
Macchinator Array
The Machinator Array allows him to make two shooting attacks. Or two battlesmith rolls? Or one shooting attack and one battlesmith roll? Check with your opponent because it’s a case of “is ’a’ singular or general?”.
The Machinator Array wording conundrum means you should be able to confer the Master of Destruction rule onto another model and also use his MC bolt pistol/Inferno pistol/Flamer/emplaced weapon on something close by.
Be aware that his CotO ability specifically words against doing any other shooting attacks in the same phase which lends weight to the notion that ’a’ is in fact singular.
Servo-Automata Bodyguard
They cannot assist with battlesmith rolls.
Taking a Bodyguard of 5 Servo-Automata for 60pts is advisable for ablative wounds if you plan to disembark/bail from his ride.
They have a boltgun and chainsword as standard but with WS3 BS3 and I1, their weapon upgrades can be avoided without much regret - power fists or rotor cannons cost as much as the servo-automata themselves.
All the weapon options are situational - they will frequently get deleted by the enemy before that situation can occur. If you believe they will end up shooting or in CC with the enemy it is best to only take one or two weapon upgrades (a pair of flamers have their uses, discussed below) at most since most of them will get deleted before doing much more than catching bullets.
Note that only the bolter is replaced – they are stuck with chainswords.
Placement/coherency is the core decision with the servo-automata – Decima at the front to utilise his 3+ armour and 5++ refractor field (4++ with cyber familiar) or Decima at the back to force the opponent to chew through the servitors with 5+ armour and no invulnerable save?
Master of Destruction
Calleb Decimas best special rule. Giving Sunder and Tank Hunter to another Heavy or Ordinance weapon within 6” is probably making you think of Legion Medusas or what the best hull weapon for an MLR DT is or possibly how frequently that conversion beamer gets to fire at maximum range.
But the ultimate use of this ability is giving it to a nearby Titan – specifically the Vulcan Megabolter – which then becomes the single best way to down the Void Sheilds of an opposing Titan regardless of scale. (best=/=most reliable)
This strat applies to Reaver Titans too since the carapace weapon is a Warhound arm weapon.
Playstyle
Using Calleb Decima can take two modes – sit him somewhere denoting his Master of Destruction buffs onto another models heavy or ordinance weapon, or picking a target which will suffer to his CotO special rule and driving him within 18” of that target.
Essentially you have to choose – extra-crispy recipe and possibly give away a victory point for slay the warlord; or play it safe and feel like you’ve wasted his weapons and abilities if there isn’t a Titan duel going on.
Outflanking MLR
The most extra-crispy recipe one can go for is Calleb Decima in his exploratory augury web equipped MLR DT with a full unit of Servo-automata - all given flamer upgrades for 6 templates total in the unit. Outflank into the enemy DZ or use the scout move on turn 1 to cover no-mans land and then douse a unit of footsloggers. The inevitable counter-charge then has to run through your wall of death to reach you. (they will shoot you instead)
CotO Assault
The main problem with the CotO special rule is it is a Heavy weapon and Calleb doesn’t have the Relentless special rule.
It also has the Gets Hot! rule so it can be a liability to use – if you snap shoot this you have an equal chance to hit or trigger Gets Hot!. It is 2D6 Haywire shots but you have to not move, roll to hit, save any wounds it does to you; then take a round of enemy fire afterwards, and maybe get assaulted too.
It may seem that the best option is a blend of the two, but this has some complications. Advancing in a Mechanicum Land Raider DT forces you to disembark then wait until your next turn to not move and use the ability at his full BS4...
Or you can steal the DT of a Legion Techmarine (see below) and embark in a Rhino on turn 1 - It’s quite the armour downgrade, but it beats walking through no-mans land or standing in the enemy DZ for a complete turn while the target moves away..
Castling
As mentioned above, you could take a trick from the world of chess and do some Castling – Take a legion Techmarine without a conversion beamer or servitors and a Rhino DT. Give Calleb Decima at least a pair of servo-automata (two with flamers) and an MLR DT and deploy them behind each others DTs. Embark the Techmarine in the MLR and Calleb Decima in the Rhino on turn 1. This way Calleb can fire off CotO from the top hatch without disembarking in front of whatever you were trying to kill and the DTs can remove the passengers from the board (or at least try to) afterwards. Any servo-automata he has can do overwatch out the top hatch if your opponent decides to assault the Rhino. With this strategy Calleb can still buff a weapon on the MLR on the move from the rhino top hatch.
Also, drive the MLR DT just in front of the Rhino DT to give the Rhino the ’hull down’ effect.
Buffmander Decima
He has a greater calling though – as previously mentioned, the Master of Destruction rule can be granted to a nearby Heavy or Ordinance weapon which can also be a Titan Grade Weapon. See the Titan sections later in this tactica for details.
Most of the time you’ll sit him behind hard cover within 6” of a legion artillery unit of medusas or a cohort of Icarian/Photon-thruster Thallax. You could be a hilariously funny guy and deploy those units maxed out on a Shielded Skyshield Landing Pad since this isn’t the Matrix of Ruin FOC and you can take a fortification… (dick move though - Rules for the Skyshield Landing pad can be found in the 6th edition 40K big rulebook, page 115)
Steal a Rhino from a Techmarine to hide in while you doll out the buff from the top hatch if you think deep-striking enemies will appear.
Elites
Legion Techmarine Covenant
This unit is clipped straight from the Legions Astartes Army List but with the Legions Astartes rule exchanged for the Stubborn rule. Otherwise he has a typical Legion Marine statline.
The Techmarines in a Covenant can replace their servo-arms for a conversion beamer and this is their optimal role for the OR.
They can take a rhino to hide in; firing out of the top hatch but beware that simply moving the rhino as well as crew shaken or crew stunned results from damage forcing embarked models to snap-shoot. So it will make them immune to bolters and flamers but that does come with complications that a piece of area terrain or fortification doesn’t. Besides, they are much more useful to the HQ choice.
Each Techmarine can take up to 4 of the same servo-automata as Calleb Decima which can be used to boost their T4 to T5 for wound calculations by taking just 1 – again no need to upgrade their weaponry as their main value is in being a tough sponge or area denial. Taking more than one is a personal choice because taking more may complicate unit placement in area terrain and generate extra hits from template weapons.
The cyber-familiar is much less useful than Calleb Decimas because it only provides a 6++ for the 15pts.
Fortification strategy
If you are taking 3 Techmarines with conversion beamers then the combined cost of cyber-familiars for them would be 45pts so by getting a Skyshield Landing Pad instead costs you 30pts more but gives your conversion beamers an elevated position to fire from, partial cover from return fire, a difficult to assault position as well as giving them and their servo-automata a 4++. This strat makes servo-automata useful beyond tough-sponge duty; filling the space left on the Skyshield to make enemy deep-strikes on the shielded landing pad suitably risky. Also, you can take Rhinos for Calleb to use if you are using the Castling strat.
The Techmarines can take augury scanners for +5pts per model which is must-have equipment to patch up any gaps in your array of “no infiltrators” bubbles (see the Thallax entry below) – these gaps usually appear in the corners of your DZ which is where a Conversion Beamer wielding model should be. The augury scanner will also allow the servo-automata to fire at enemy units that do teleport onto your landing pad.
Ride-Along Repairman
As a ride-along Techmarine in an MLR, weapon upgrades shouldn’t be necessary - a graviton gun and some flamer servitors can be a sweetener when the MLR has died but the servo-automata are a point-sink when crucial upgrades like Phased-Plasma Fusils for Thallax are 10pts each.
Troops
Thallax
Glorious Thallax!! Jetpack troops when the best the Legions can do is Jump-packs.
Toughness 5 means these things can take a melta weapon, lascannon or earthshaker cannon to the face and not suffer instant death.
Djinn Sight
Their most interesting function is their Djinn-Sight which worsens cover save values by 2 (see the Icarian Thallax Augment below) and stops infiltrators being set up within 24” of any Thallaxii model during deployment.
In practical terms you can deploy two units of three strategically on foot and negate any form of infiltration in your DZ and most of the no-mans-land area regardless of line of sight. All the while hiding them from the enemy behind their MLR DT, popping out from behind it to shoot and ducking back in with the thrust move. Which your opponent will find hilarious.
Deepstriking
Their jetpacks also grant them deepstrike which is a thallax units other prime role – dropping a unit of 3 behind a vehicle works a lot of the time and synergises very well with the Destructor augment.
If you keep the cohort to groups of 3 the centre model can be in base contact with an obstruction which would trigger a deepstrike mishap in a larger unit, but you will still be able to place both remaining models without doing so and thanks to thelow model count it could even land in the crook of a corner without consequence.
Remember that because your cohort has jetpacks you can use the jetpack move to bail 2D6 into cover after deepstriking and shooting. Again, your opponent will find this ’tau ’ impression most entertaining.
Thallax Augments
Augments all have the same points cost in Book 1: 25pts each which simplifies selection.
Deepstriking cohorts should have ’Destructor ’, any photon-thruster/infiltrator-blocker cohort should have ’Icarian’ and any cohorts which are doing the heavy chainblade dance should be ’Ferrox’
Destructor – tank hunter special rule. Works rather well with the basic lightning gun but also works nicely with Phased-Plasma Fusils. Rescues the reputation of the Photon thruster vs vehicles and makes pens almost inevitable for a Multi Melta (you’re not going to deepstrike outside of 12” from the rear of a vehicle with that are you?). This also pairs well with some emplaced weapons available on Fortifications.
Empyrite – gives the unit deepstrike in zone mortalis. It’s pointless to take in normal games, but when you decide you really need to deepstrike a cohort in a zone mortalis game what else are you going to do?
Ferrox – gives Rage and makes all their CC attacks rending making heavy chain blades and melta bombs rather interesting. 4 attacks per model when charging makes a good first Impression.
Icarian – the cohort gains the skyfire rule for its ranged weapons by staying stationary in the movement phase; find a way of giving this cohort the Tank Hunters special rule (Master of Destruction?) and they become a genuine concern for flyers due to Djinn-Sight negating the jink special rule with the -2 to cover save rolls. A cheap light AA unit that fits in a Troops slot.
Melee Weapon Upgrades
Melta Bombs – If you combine a Melta Bomb with the Ferrox augment you have two chances to trigger your extra D3 toward armour penetration, but combining it with the destructor augment to re-roll failures is the better option because if you have rolled a 6 to trigger rending with a Melta Bomb you’ll have already penetrated the rear armour of a land raider. Bear in mind that if you’re using 6th or 7th edition rules only one model in the cohort can use a Melta Bomb but you can still give them to more than one model in the cohort as an insurance policy against attrition. If you’re using the Age of Darkness rulebook then all models with one can use it – only issue with that being an almost guaranteed Explodes result which may harm your cohort. That explosion also clears what could have been hard cover for your cohort to consolidate behind.
Heavy Chainblades – These give a Thallax S7 in CC and pair well with the Ferrox augment, which give each model two bonus attacks for charging and the rending special rule regardless of weapon used. They cost the same as Melta-Bombs, so these will be desirable for all the other models in the cohort. CC attacks against vehicles hit the rear - for rhino chassis vehicles that will be AV10, Caestus Assault Ram has AV11;storm eagles, drop pods and Fellblades are AV12 and land raiders and Spartans are AV14. So if you think you’ll have to try to stop a land raider in CC without Melta Bombs you will want to take these in conjunction with the Ferrox augment mentioned above.
Choose which side you assault from carefully because the D6 consolidation move may not be enough to get behind the wreck and out of LoS of the rest of their forces.
Ranged Weapon Upgrades
Multi-Laser – without an official model to represent it, this option was rarely (barely? never?) used. At 5 points it’s the cheapest option but a Phased-Plasma Fusil is just better. The Multi-Laser exchanges AP for range but 12” extra range is a poor benefit when it only has AP6. At this stage the lowest armour save in the game is the 5+ of Servo-Automata.
Phased-Plasma Fusil – An excellent choice, costing only 10 points and boasting S6 AP3 and no Gets Hot!, It is the thinking person’s plasma weapon. As a salvo weapon Thallax can fire these as though they were stationary giving 3 shots at 24” range. They make great bait for Marine players.
Irrad-Cleanser – Costing the same points as the Phased-Plasma Fusil, this template weapon is a sleeper – S2 AP5 but has Fleshbane and the Rad-Phage toughness drop will make wounding characters with lesser weapons easier afterwards. It also provides a persuasive argument not to assault the cohort to avoid the D3 auto-hits. In theory this weapon is best used against Thallax to drop their toughness each time they suffer a wound, but this concept is of limited worth due to the way wound allocation is performed. Some players still swear by them though.
Multi-Melta – Paired with a deep-striking destructor augment cohort it will be a serious concern for your opponent. They will likely take steps to stop you getting into a rear arc which may give you opportunity elsewhere as your opponent compromises their deployment. They may decide to spend points on Armoured Ceramite to handle it though.
Photon Thruster – S6 AP2 Heavy2 with the Lance and Blind special rules this is the most expensive weapon upgrade but also fantastically useful thanks to its 48” range. It’s a little wasted against vehicles (needs a 6 to glance AV12) because its best feature is forcing blind checks and bypassing both artificer and terminator armour. When shooting with a cohort with this weapon at a typically set up Legion Marine unit dish out the wounds from this first to get rid of the inevitable artificer armoured Sargent before doing the lightning guns. It has Gets Hot! though so it’s not all Darkshine and Rainbows.
No Upgrade – The humble lightning gun is surprisingly effective when paired with the destructor augment and is more effective than a Multi-Melta against vehicles with AV14/14/14 and Armoured Ceramite due to the rending special rule. S8+6=14 compared to S7+6+D3=14/15/16. Its flaws are being single shot, AP5 and only 18” range. The shred special rule can seem a bit pointless at times but re-rolling any 1s should be useful if you use GW dice.
Opponent Psychology
Have a mix of Phased-Plasma Fusils, Photon Thrusters and Multi-Meltas among your cohorts just to give a marine player a headache during force selection; but go majority Phased-Plasma Fusil for the AP3. Its only 10 points per weapon after all.
Take at least one Multi-Melta in one of your Thallax cohorts just to lure your opponent into going for the Armoured Ceramite on their LR and LR Spartan - then DS a destructor Cohort without any weapon upgrades near them instead.
Dedicated Transport
Mechanicum Land Raider
Lacking the assault vehicle rule you can cart your Thallax around (why would you want to?) in safety but when they pile out they are “shooting and scooting” with their jetpacks.
Take more than one so it can be used as a smokescreen for your opponent (which MLR has the HQ choice in it?) or as a pseudo Heavy Support choice.
If you do decide to carry a unit with one, be sure to use it as a wall to hide your disembarking unit from the enemy units they aren’t shooting at.
You have an interesting selection of weapon upgrades but in base specification it features a single hull mount heavy bolter and two sponsons with single lascannons.
Weapon Upgrade Combinations
Here are some curious weaponry upgrade combinations.
TL Heavy Bolter O’clock (+5pts) – hull mount TL Heavy Bolter and Quad Heavy Bolter sponsons
Basic Lascannon platform (+20pts) – hull mount lascannon and single Lascannon sponsons
Plasma-boat (+30pts) – hull mount TL Phased-Plasma Fusil and single Plasma Cannon sponsons
Space Marine LARPing (+45pts) - hull mount TL Heavy Bolter and TL Lascannon sponsons
Sacrificial Heavy Assault (+50ots) – TL Lascannon sponsons, HK Missile
Legionnaire LARPing (+55pts) – hull mount Volkite Culvarin and TL Lascannon sponsons
Melta-boat (+55pts) - hull mount Multi-Melta and TL Multi-Melta sponsons
Achillies-lite (+65pts) – hull mount Graviton Cannon and TL Multi-Melta sponsons
Equipment and Wargear
The special rules and Wargear are what really sets this unit apart from other Land Raiders – the highlights being Flare Shield, Blessed Autosimulacra, Anbaric Claw and Explorator Augury Web.
Flare shield – reduces the strength of an incoming shot in the front arc by 1 or 2 if it’s a blast/template weapon. (AV15 front arc in practice)
Anbaric Claw – once per player turn; when being assaulted, rammed or conducting a ram attack, you may trigger this device and automatically hit any exposed unit (friend or foe!) with D6 S5 AP4 Melee, Rending attacks per unit within 1”.
Explorator Augury Web – gives an MLR Scout. Also can cause a -1 on enemy reserve rolls or give re-rolls for your own (Book 1: Betrayal page 219 for details). The number of MLR DTs with this has no further effect other than each one invoking the spirit of Creeeeeeed! Remember That the Scout Special rule also gives a model the Outflank Special Rule…
The highly customisable nature of the Mechanicum Land Raider means Wargear and weaponry selection is down to individual preference but a flare shield and an HK missile are must-have items. Its only 35 points for those and both will have utility.
On the flip-side, Frag Assault Launchers are never-have items because the Mechanicum Land Raider is not an assault vehicle.
For when its necessary there is also Armoured Ceramite, Auxiliary Drive and Dozer Blade available.
Missing Rules and Features
Blessed Autosimulacra – If your MLR has lost hull points roll a D6 at the end of your turn. On a 6 result restore a single previously lost hull point.
Access points are not specified in the unit entry – probably due to the rule writers not wanting to stop players using either the LR Proteus or the LR Phobos but the lack of the assault vehicle rule, the singular weapons specified as standard and the availability of an Exploratory Augury Web (all features of a Legion LR Proteus) suggests you are expected to use LR Proteus as the base chassis which has a single access point on either side. When using an LR Phobos, disregard the front ramp and for either chassis use the two side doors as access points.
Your opponent may be cool with using a LR Phobos front ramp as an access point which will benefit your units by giving them less distance to walk to get in shooting range and Calleb Decimas extra-crispy flamer routine maximum coverage. After doing that once, your opponent may not be so cool with it again..
Legion Rhino Armoured Carrier
For space marines the vehicle equipment is worth considering to keep it moving but as the temporary bunker of a Techmarine LARPing as a Myrmidon, this thing should not be moving (non-relentless Techmarine trying to fire a heavy1 weapon out the sunroof) and do not require the dozer blade or auxiliary drive. Extra armour is also pointless since both crew stunned and crew shaken results cause snap-shooting forcing blast weapons to stop firing out of the hatch. The HK missile and Havoc Launcher is a solid choice for weapon loadout.
If it’s being a bunker, place it in the corner of the board such that the rear armour is closed off from view.
Car-Pool DT
This unit may be used in a Castling type manoeuvre with Calleb Decima – Deploy the Techmarine and Calleb Decima in between this Rhino and an MLR – on turn one embark Calleb Decima into the Rhino and the Techmarine into the MLR.
In this situation you should take every available upgrade to keep that thing rolling – it can stop when Calleb uses his CotO ability.
Given their low points cost it can pay off to have multiple Rhinos moving forward together so if your opponent blows up the one Decima is in he can embark in one of the other ones in your next movement phase.
Fast Attack
Imperial Avenger Strike Fighter
When entering from reserves come on from your own board edge on the far left or right so you can shoot things in the 45 degree front arc then swing round to move along the enemy front line in the next turn – not showing the side facings to the enemy is crucial to their survival though so consider flying straight on and straight off again over the opposite board edge..
The Avenger Strike Fighter seems to be intentionally weak with BS3, 2 hull points and AV 12/10/10.
Strafing run boosts it’s to hit rolls by +1 on ground targets only but its weaponry set is more suited to firing at infantry because despite having the Tank Hunter special rule and two lascannons they aren’t TL and the closest additional weapon to them are the pair of missile launchers for +40pts (yes, forty)
At this stage of the game (no Kraken Penetrator Missiles yet), it is best to leave the tank hunting to ground units (Legion Medusas, Destructor Augment Thallax, Techmarines with conversion beamers) and go after infantry with the Avenger Strike Fighter; its lascannons being crucial to removing an artificer armoured seargent so the AP3 Avenger Bolt Cannon can do the same to the rest of their squad.
Weapon Selection
If terminator armour infantry are prevalent take the two Multi-Lasers (+30pts) for 6 extra shots giving the Avenger a total of 13 shots at S6 APirrelevant.
A potential use for Tactical Bombs is if you move the Avenger off the board in the movement phase you can still drop bombs on any unit it has passed over in leaving the table but this is personal preference because it stops you taking more useful weaponry. It feels a little wasted spending 40pts on six one use only S6 AP4 small Blasts unless you’re facing Thallax opposition (how did that happen?!?)
Equipment selection
Chaff Launcher is must-take equipment – any kind of save from damage which isn’t Jink is worth it with a flyer this fragile and a 4++ invulnerable save against missiles works against every ground-based AA enabled unit in the Betrayal Book.
Infra-red Targeting is not essential equipment as it’ll usually be within 24” of whatever its shooting at anyway, but for 5pts it’s the sort of thing you purchase with any spare points left over.
Battle-Servitor Control is for when you have decided to try and kit these out for vehicle hunting – beware that you’ll only be able to harm light vehicles reliably with it. It has utility when firing at enemy flyers so take it in your army list and have a plan for what to do with the 15 spare points if the opponent doesn’t have a flyer and you can do a last minute change.
Missing Rules
Hellstrike Missiles: Range 72” S8 AP3 Ordnance1, one-shot
Armoured cockpit: If Crew Shaken or Crew Stunned effects are applied to the vehicle, roll a D6 – on a result of 4+ either of these effects are ignored.
Heavy Support
Legion Artillery Tank Squadron
Another snipped-in legions Astartes unit; the Legion Whirlwind is the base spec but can be upgraded to a Legion Basilisk or a Legion Medusa.
The dozer blade, auxiliary drive and extra armour can be avoided since these shouldn’t be moving and crew shaken results stop the main weapon firing just the same as crew stunned results would. That can be mitigated though – see squadrons below.
Weapon Selection
The medusa option is the best – why would you want anything less than the S10 AP2 5” pie-plate with phosphex frosting?
For 150 points of base-spec Whirlwind, you too can emulate the Storm Eagle Vengeance Launcher with more inaccuracy and less armour plating…
If you’re trying to save points and choosing to do so with your heavy support choices (get help, seriously – don’t cheap out on your HS) then the Basilisk is a classic S9 AP3 5” blast but with minimum range considerations for a totally-not-worth-it 15 point saving.
Equipment Selection
Naturally you should take the pintle mounted Bolter bare minimum because weapon destroyed results are a thing and also the HK Missile option for the same reason. Weapon Destroyed results are randomly determined so base spec it’s a 50/50 it’ll be your main weapon (Noooooo!), improving to 1-in-4 with both options.
Squadrons
If you do have to put three into one squadron the command tank upgrade is worth it. Getting to roll to ignore the damage chart results of crew shaken on a 4+ can keep ordinance weapons firing – be sure to fit them with extra armour if this is your plan because counting crew stunned as crew shaken makes it subject to the rule too. Keeping them firing despite damage is a tactical necessity for this list so the command tank/extra armour upgrade combo gives a reason to put three in a single squadron.
The unit has Barrage on all its weapons so park these out of LoS, maybe behind a building or within some kind of power field..
Fortifications
These are the Fortifications featured in the 6th edition core rule book – they are available to anybody. Enjoy having the Fortification slot, it’s gone when the Matrix of Ruin becomes available.
Aegis Defense Lines
A basic fortification for too many points. The Imperial Bastion does everything this does but better for only 25pts more. The only reason you’ll be taking this Fortification is because it’s the only one you have to hand. It does afford you an AA weapon upgrade option that can be fired instead of a Lightning gun … (destructor augment added to a skyfire, interceptor weapon)
But just spend the extra 25pts and get a Bastion.
Fortress of Redemption
A good contender for Calleb Decimas optimum non-titan buff recipient. Stand him atop the battlements and have his servitors man 4 emplaced heavy bolters while you choose if he should give his Master of Destruction buff to the TL Icarus Lascannon or the Krakstorm Missile. Or forget the servitors and Heavy Bolters and just hide him in the fortress and let Thallax man the battlements – Calleb can buff the Krakstorm Missiles from inside the bunker.
A range 18”-96” S8 AP3 Large Blast now with Sunder and Tank Hunter rules is pretty good. It’s a very scary proposition for enemy flyers though – it’s a truly viable anti-air option for the OR since it costs about the same in its basic form as a fully tooled Avenger Strike Fighter, but cannot be shot down. Better still, the TL Icarus Lascannon is an emplaced weapon meaning a Thallax Cohort with the Destructor augment will have it doing BS4 TL S9 AP2 Interceptor, Skyfire, Sunder, Tank Hunter shots with Djinn-Sight negating Jink saves.
In 6th edition this shot can be taken at ground targets without penalty if the flyers don’t exist.
With the Krakstorm Missile upgrade it costs 250pts which is usually less than an upgraded MLR DT for Calleb.
Imperial Bastion
For 25pts more than an Aegis Defence Line you get AV14 all round, 4 Heavy Bolters, a raised battlement and access to all the same upgrade options at the same points costs. The biggest negative with taking this Fortification is it isn’t a Skysheild Landing Pad or a Fortress of Redemption; but if points aren’t easy to come by and you need an AV14 immovable box that a unit can fire out of, it’s a good option.
Skyshield Landing Pad
Choose to have no deepstrike scatter by leaving it Unfurled, or have it Shielded and use it as a shooting platform. You can switch between them during the game as long as no enemy units are in contact with it.
In ’Stronghold Assault’ (released 2013) this Fortification gains a small increase in points and an upgrade rule called ’Ready For Takeoff’ which allows a flyer to start the game on the pad provided the pad is fully inside your DZ which is useful if you are using a certain Allied force combination (see the ’Allies ’ section below)
All units atop it in Shielded form gain a 4++. ALL UNITS. Yes, Titans too. So your Void Shields would get a 4++.
The unit entry says it is open ground which implies that the struts, ladders and hatches are ignored and in fact any unit can move straight up onto it from anywhere underneath one if they have enough movement to do so (difficult terrain).
Lords of War
If you’re in a game where you can bring a Titan you have to expect the other side to be bringing a Titan of their own…
The Ordo Reductor Advantage
You have Calleb Decima as an HQ choice and his Master of Destruction buff (giving a nearby Heavy or Ordinance weapon the Sunder and Tank Hunter rules) can be given to the Vulcan Megabolter which is now capable of withering away all the void Shields on any Titan by itself in one round.
Able to be fitted to the Carapace of a Reaver and the Arm mounts of a Warhound, this looks fluffy and has a reputation of being a bit worthless/unreliable but your opponents will soon realize it’s an amazing anti-shield tool with Calleb Decima buffing it. (insert art of Calleb furiously polishing a Warhound Megabolter mid battle here) Seriously; a Warlord Titan only has 6 Void Shields and a single Vulcan Megabolter with Callebs elbow-grease can shatter the lot in one round.
Damage Control
When using 6th edition Weapon Destroyed and Immobilised results on the damage chart could affect a Titan – So at the beginning of your turn remember to do Repair rolls! You get to roll one dice for each full structure point it has remaining. Getting a 5+ allows you to remove damage effects (weapon destroyed, drive damaged, Immobilised) but not to restore Hull Points.
Given that you will be missing Hull Points if you have damage effects do this roll and then use any enhanced mobility to get it over to a Techpriest for repairs during the shooting phase so the Titan will have as many rolls to restore its Void Shields as possible at the end of your turn
Void Shields
Void Shields – counting as AV12, these collapse with any glancing or penetrating hit. They are effective against any shooting attacks originating more than 12” away.
Unlike the Void Shield Generators available to buildings and fortifications, these do not offer protection to other ground units inside the Field effect – only the Titan itself can benefit from its protection.
If your opponent has placed other units around the legs of their Titan, target them instead – if the template is large enough, you should hit the titan as well but then the Titan Void Shield won’t cause the entire template to be discarded - its effects can still be resolved against the initially targeted units.
Restoring Void Shields
Collapsed Void Shields can be restored in 6th edition by rolling a dice for each structure point the titan has remaining – each result of 5+ restores a single void shield – this version makes it much easier to restore a single or two lost Void Shields because if undamaged, you are rolling multiple dice regardless of how many need restoring (This was eventually changed to one per collapsed Shield).
The sting with this is when you have suffered damage its ability to restore its Void Shields is diminished with it. An opposing Warhound with twin Double Barreled Turbo Laser Destructors has a decent chance to make that happen with a single round of shooting.
NOTE: Removing a Structure Point Requires the full 3 hull points to have been removed to count as a lost Structure Point.
Warhound Scout Titan
Getting the first round of shooting in is the key to bringing down a Warhound Titan with your own Warhound but the Ordo Reductor just do it better.
Weapons
Double-Barrel Turbo-Laser Destructor – In base 30K this is the best weapon to fit to a Warhound Titan giving two 5” blasts at strength D. But if there is another Warhound Titan on the table you require two of these – you only need to bring down 3 Void Shields at AV12 so why risk having to roll for it? D weapons collapse void shields automatically upon hitting so this option is guaranteed to take down two per weapon per turn. If you enjoy rolling to take out Void Shields and want to maximise potential damage afterwards then one of these and a Vulcan Megabolter is your choice. (see below)
Inferno Cannon – If you really really want to remove entire units of power armour at close range (hellstorm template within 18”) this does okay. Ignoring cover ensures any models with a 3+ save disappear but the ’artificer armour seargent’ strategy can ruin the immersion a bit here. Cheer up, it can’t scatter and if your opponent has buildings this weapon does D6 hits on any units inside that are applied to the basic members of a unit, not the seargent, apothecaries or Independent Characters.
Another tricksy factor of the Inferno Cannon is that it can fire overwatch at units charging it; giving you D3 automatic hits using the weapons standard profile.
Plasma Blastgun – The utilitarian choice with two firing modes. Not as potent as the Turbo-Laser but does give a 10” blast at S10 AP2 so you will likely hit whatever you are shooting at and Terminators melt on contact. The alternate firing mode would be “good for removing Void Shields”, but is outclassed in nearly every important respect by the Double-Barreled Turbo Laser Destructor.
The 10” blast has a larger area than two 7” blasts (just over 1.5 square inches more) so you’ll only need to use the weaker type of shot if you…. Ah… You’ll only need to use the weaker type of shot when… um…….
Vulcan Mega-Bolter – 15 attempts to hit and then roll a 6; getting three removes all the void shields of the opposing Warhound. All the other weapon options can only ever take off two void shields per turn per weapon at best, whereas the Vulcan mega bolter can take down all three with even mildly lucky rolling. You also get to fire it in overwatch if the enemy charge your Titan, one of two weapons for the Warhound which can. It benefits hugely from Calleb Decimas Master of Destruction rule as any dice which don’t give a 6 for armour penetration against the Void Shield can then be re-rolled. Even Reavers are vulnerable to having its shields completely stripped this way.
With Calleb Decima on hand it is possible to face off a Reaver Titan with a pair of Warhounds (Possibly just one Warhound), It just depends on who goes first. If the Reaver goes first it will take out one of your warhounds in its first round of shooting and possibly have enough firepower left over to remove all the shields of your second; damaging the Reaver in return then relies on having a Vulcan Megabolter re-rolling for 6s (and getting four), its Double-Barrel Turbo-Laser Destructor and some lucky rolls on the Destroyer Chart.
If you get to go first then clearing the Reavers Void Shields is trivial and you should get to armour with your best weapons from both.
Reaver Battle Titan
Facing off a Reaver with your own Reaver makes weapon selection tricky for traitors: judging how much damage a particular weapon can inflict for how many shots etc…
Not so for the Ordo Reductor - fitting two Laser Blasters to the arm mounts and a Vulcan Megabolter to the carapace is the optimal loadout.
The same logic follows for facing pairs of Warhounds but the task of Void Shield removal is even easier with only 3 to remove before you reach armour plate. The survivor might be able to bring down all your shields but it won’t survive the next turn. If it had a Calleb Decima of its own it would still be a worry..
Watch out for the opposition Reaver having the Vortex Missile which they may do if this is the second time you’re facing off like this.. The blast is 10” so make sure Calleb Decima is exactly 6” away behind it to reduce the risk of him getting caught in the blast.
Weapons
Reaver weaponry is best suited for floorhammer like titan walks where you might actually have 15 feet+ of no-man’s land.
Carapace Weapons
Your best option as an OR player is as previously mentioned, a Vulcan Megabolter buffed by Calleb Decima. Indeed, any Warhound Arm weapon can be taken instead, just be aware that the minimum targeting rage limitation (18”) of the Reaver carapace mount stops the Vulcan Megabolter from firing overwatch but still allows the Inferno Cannon to do so (!?)
Apocalypse Missile Launcher – The minimum range of 24” is restrictive for normal sized tables. You would have to have a gaming area larger than 30 feet to have a chance of being out of range of this thing. Its range is sadly its best attribute – if you’re at a Titan walk you’ll get to fire it multiple times before you get into Vulcan Megabolter range. Its purpose is as a prayer to the dice gods that you’ll have brought down enough shields with them in the time it takes for the two sides to get into main weapon range for the arm weapons not to be completely wasted on Void Shields.
Arm Mounted Weapons
Gatling Blaster – Six shots at a slightly better strength than the Apocalypse Missile Launcher. The fact it is comparable to a carapace weapon (read as Warhound weapon) says a lot. Outranged by the Laser Destroyer, it serves a purpose if you… Ah…. It serves a purpose if….. um… oh!, if you aren’t the Ordo Reductor you might need it to strip Void Shields?
Laser Blaster – The workhorse of the Horus Heresy; when you want to remove one target in particular this weapon hits like a train three times. You will want at least one of these normally but the OR deserve two.
Melta Cannon – For the Fluffy owner this is the shortest ranged weapon which can be taken on a reaver arm mount along with all the drawbacks of being a non-destroyer weapon. Useful if your situation has limits on D strength weapons.
Volcano Cannon – In a floorhammer scenario this has a purpose – it may only have a single D blast but it is able to use it sooner thanks to its nearly doubled range in comparison to the Laser Blaster.
Vortex Missile – A one use weapon but it removes Structure Points instead of Hull Points.
This one really hurts the Primus Redoubt because models and terrain features touched by its blast marker are just removed from the game with no way of saving it. Ouch. And it’s a 10” Blast too, but no vortex rule keeping the blast on the table. And it would be the longest ranged weapon in the game if it weren’t for the HK Missile, the Seeker Missile and the Tachyon Arrow.
Titan Close Combat Weapon – The shortest range arm mounted weapon – unable to hit anything other than Super-Heavy Walkers and Gargantuan Creatures.
