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Hello all,

Ever since the release of the Skitarii I've been pretty interested in starting up a force. I've played against them and read over the rules and they seem a very enjoyable army to use. I also want to get a force for fluff reasons, as I think a Legio Astorum force of Skitarii would look great with my Reaver and Warhound.

However, looking over the army lists on here, it seems that the only way to build such a force is to go with the War Convocation. Is this the one which gives free wargear to the units? If so I'd imagine you need a huge number of units to get this benefit, whereas I'm hoping to get a force of around 1000 points. Using Battlescribe I put together a force of 1500 which included 2 Knights but the overall army was pretty lacklustre, consisting of 10-man units of Vanguard and Rangers with upgrades.

I'd like to get the Start Collecting box to get me going, but I'm wondering what is a good formation/detachment/whatever it's called, such as the War Convocation that would be suitable for games around the 1000pts mark. In addition to this is the commitment to Cult Mechanicus forces necessary as well or is this more of an accessory?

Thanks

The 100% best way to get started with a Skiitari/CM army is 2x Start Collecting boxes, and 2x boxes of Battle Servitors

That gets you your 2x Skiitari troops, 2 of the excellent dunecrawlers, and 2 HQs for your CM. You can then build grav-servitors and use the Arc arms from the servitors to convert 3x arc rifles for your 2 units of skiitari.

That is a small starting army that can basically go in any direction you like (a unit of infiltrators would be a good addition for some extra anti-infantry power, maybe some Kastelans or your IK) with significant discounts on most of the troops.

People who say you have to run a war convocation or not even bother are not people I would bother listening to.

Skitarii and Cult work really well together, and I would agree that if you get the starting box to probably pick up some kataphrons too. They have extra arc rifles and also extra plasma guns, both of which you'll be starving for with your Skitarii. They're also crammed with bits to make your Skitarii sergeants stand out. At 1k points a getting started box and a box of kataphrons would probably be enough for a Skitarii CAD with allied mechanicus, and be a perfectly suitable jumping off point to further purchases.

Thanks for the input

Regarding the Dunecrawlers, after reading over the rules the Neutron Laser (S10 Ap1 one if I remember correctly) seems like the best option. I know some people are fans of the AA weapons but are they actually any good?

 Badablack wrote:
People who say you have to run a war convocation or not even bother are not people I would bother listening to.

To put it gently, the reason people will say "you have to run a War Convocation" is because of competitive play. Skitarii are a cool army, but they are lacking quite a bit when it comes to playing against 'The Usual Suspects'.

Skitarii and Cult work really well together, and I would agree that if you get the starting box to probably pick up some kataphrons too. They have extra arc rifles and also extra plasma guns, both of which you'll be starving for with your Skitarii. They're also crammed with bits to make your Skitarii sergeants stand out. At 1k points a getting started box and a box of kataphrons would probably be enough for a Skitarii CAD with allied mechanicus, and be a perfectly suitable jumping off point to further purchases.

Alternatively, you could just get two Start Collecting Skitarii sets and run them as their standalone formations to start with. The Kataphron bits aren't really compatible with the Skitarii without a large measure of work being done., so that's kind of a ridiculous suggestion.


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 Valkyrie wrote:
Thanks for the input

Regarding the Dunecrawlers, after reading over the rules the Neutron Laser (S10 Ap1 one if I remember correctly) seems like the best option. I know some people are fans of the AA weapons but are they actually any good?

The Icarus Array is pretty good, yes. It's also the only source of Ignores Cover within the Skitarii book. You have the Omnispex upgrade in your Ranger/Vanguard Squads which allow you to subtract a point of Cover from a target and Luminagen weapons will do the same, but their weapons do not have Ignores Cover outside of the Gatling Rocket Launcher on the Icarus Array.
If we see a change to the universal special rule "Skyfire" to match the new listing of "Air Targets" in Death From the Skies(Skimmers, Flyers/Superheavy Flyers, Flying Monstrous/Gargantuan Creatures, and Jetbikes are all considered Air Targets), the Icarus Array will become a MUCH scarier proposition against jetbike heavy lists.

Neutron Laser is kind of one of those "seems good on paper, can be good in the right situation, but be prepared to be failed miserably by it" choices. It and the Eradication Beamer can both be fairly solid choices.

Just don't take the Heavy Phosphor Blasters. Ally in a Cohort Cybernetica or an Elimination Maniple instead, the Kastelans are better platforms for HPBs.