Our best
HQ by far - giving rerolls to hit for all models within 6". Cawl is the core of our army, and an integral part of the "CawlStar" (Kastelans, Cawl, Datasmith, and a screening unit). Very much worth his pricetag for what he does.
His armament is hardly to be laughed at, but is very much secondary to his utility usage. The Solar Atomizer's short range makes it a semi-decent
CC monster deterrent (it will generally do significant damage to Carnifex sized creatures), but it being in range signifies that you're in a dangerous position. Kastelans being locked in combat generally spells doom for our army, if we cannot resolve the situation quickly.
Now that we have Enginseers to serve as a cheap
HQ, the Dominus isn't particularly useful. Unless you're unable to run Cawl (say, you're playing mono-Stygies or mono-Lucius), I would advise skipping him. The TPD is simply not effective enough for his high price. The Cerebral Techno-Mitre, however, gives him some value, as well as the limited reroll aura.
Tech-Priest Enginseer
Not particularly useful, but he’s cheap, and can repair Dunecrawlers and Kastelans. Mostly serves the purpose of saving 70 points on an
HQ slot in Battalion detachments, or as an
HQ in Stygies lists when you don’t want to take a Cerebral Techno-Mitre.
Skitarii Vanguard
Controversial. Mathematically, they put out an incredible amount of damage, but are hamstrung by slow movement and low range on the Carbines. Now that they’re 8
ppm, they can have more of a role, especially in Graia armies. According to the mathhammer, Vanguard actually have more firepower than Neutronagers against pretty much anything but Terminators. Plasma Calivers could possibly be worth it, because of high damage.
However, Vanguard are quite fragile, and tend to die in droves due to low leadership, T3, and a 4+ save. Mechanicus has limited ability to mitigate leadership, with Onager data-tethers being close to the only way outside of expensive data-tether upgrades. Mass Vanguard with the Graia forgeworld dogma is potentially viable if Mechanicus ever gets defensive auras or mobility options for Skitarii infantry.
Gambling unit. For 17pts per model you have a little bit overpriced glass cannon, but if you meet certain prerequisites you get underpriced murder machines. They have normal movement(6”) and decent
WS(3+), okay
LD(8) and two attacks with crazy good weapon.
They can give mortal wounds at rate making Death Guard jealous. First giving at charge on 6 per model, and then in combat on 6+to wound d3 mortal wounds instead of normal damage. That thing can drop any tough target down, even superheavy, and if you would need to, you can repeat this electropounding with 3cp.
But there is a catch. They are only T3 W1 with 6+/5++/5+++. It wouldn’t be bad if they were not so high in target priority of your opponent. And here comes twist. If you wipe unit in fighting phase, they get 3++ for the rest of the game. Suddenly you have quite sturdy unit that punches like hammer. You want to use stygies stratagem to place them in optimal range from your opponent (9”+from enemy if first, somewhere in midfield behind
LOS blocking terrain if second). If you went first, GG they probably single handily won you the game, if second you need to use them carefully since they are probably in unit size of 10+ and you don't want them to evaporate under enemy fire and morale loss.
You can also use Lucius startagem, but I saw to many failed 9” charges to add even more gambling to this equation.
Hordes are their weakness, since they deal multi wound damage, but not so many hits. Also, 2+ wound damage, since it almost nullifies their
fnp. Never aim their first charge at something that they couldn’t destroy in first take. If you multicharge, activate them first. Vehicles, monsters,
MEQ and
TEQ are their preferred target. They are in destructive potential probably on par with Kastellans, but much trickier to pull of. Once they are in SuperSayan mode, they force your opponent to dedicate tremendous power to stop them from rampaging through their back line, giving rest of your army easy time. High risk, high reward unit.
Corpuscarii are relatively cheap, not troop’s level cheap, but 14 pts/model isn’t much for power they offer and for role they are going to do. They aren’t super durable since 5+
inv and 5+
FNP is just barely better (55% vs 50%) than 4+ on 1D attacks. You can’t bump their defense by cover or Shroudpsalm, since their normal save is 6+, and T3 doesn’t help either in world where bolters are common. And you would need every bit of defense since their weapon range is only 12”.
Now, their weapon is 12” assault 3 shots s5 ap0 and D1 exploding 6+ on hit rolls giving you 3 instead 1 hit AND 2 attacks in melee with the same stats. That is a lot of daka averaging with 33,(3) hits of 10 man shooting. It’s bit better than storm bolter in rapid fire range. What they lack in range, they add up to their value in melee averaging on 17,(6) hits on 10 man unit. That’s 50 hits in one round.
Their role is to get in front of your gunline with vanguard, catch charges and deny your opponent from deepstriking and fast attack units, preferably holding objective at the same time. They want to do that on high power opponents, like
TEQ with plasma, scions with plasma, harlequins etc bikes. Preferred unit size is 5-10, anything over that will suffer from morale rolls. Look for places with
LOS blocking terrain and hold that. Only horde type troops can reliably reclaim objective from them, since other ones won't stand chance in 1v1.
You could also drop them in size of 20+ with Lucius stratagem delivering nasty amounts of daka, but that may quickly backfire with morale rolls. Use with caution to sweep enemy backline objective holders on turn 2 or 3 and lock or distract artilery.
Their best Dogmas are Sygies and Graia(boost defense), then Metallica. They don't benefit from Lucius. They lack serious synergy since we don't have any way to give them +1to hit. There are few stratagems that we can use them with, mainly Wrath of mars, Acquisition at any cost, Legio teleportarium, Clandestine Infiltration and Zealous Congregation, of which three are Forge World specific.
Not bad unit, but overshadowed by other that can do its job better(Sicarian Infiltrators, Dragoons) pushing priest to semi-vanguard role, even harder since codex came out.
6,5/10
Dragoons are the fastest unit in the Adeptus Mechanicus codex aside from Mechanicum Knights. Despite their speed, they are a surprisingly durable unit, due to T6, -1 to hit from Incense Cloud, cover in the open from possible Shroudpsalm, and no damage table. Dragoons should always be taken in a Stygies detachment, which grants it a monstrous -2 to hit past 12" making it impossible for Ork-level shooting to damage them, and causes supercharged plasma to explode 50% of the time. Stygies also grants a stratagem to allow Dragoons to infiltrate, which forces your opponent to adopt a more defensive posture--a situation in which you as a shooting army are clearly favored.
They have two weapon choices. The first is the Taser Lance, which allows AdMech to take a unit that is capable of fighting. It is the preferred option. Although 5 points cheaper, the Radium Jezzail suffers greatly from a lack of
AP, is inferior to the Transuranic Arquebus, and is not recommended in any situation.
The primary role of Dragoons is to serve as a screening unit to prevent enemies from getting into close combat with your shooting units. They can also skirmish to tie up enemy screens and other shooting units in close combat, and grab objectives cleared by your artillery. Finally, they may act as shock cavalry to destroy T6-7 vehicles, especially transports and artillery. The size of a Dragoon unit dictates its usage, as the Dragoon's large 105x70mm base causes issues when piling-in--both for yourself and your opponent.
A unit of 1-2 is ideal for screening, as the unit can be deployed at maximum coherence without ever fearing being unable to pile-in correctly. The proper formation is a wall, with the Dragoons' sides facing the enemy. This wall should move sideways toward the enemy and should pile-in so that enemy models cannot fit in between the two Dragoons. Without any additional screening units, two units of 2 is considered ideal for a 2000 point army.
A unit of 3-4 is ideal for a shock cavalry role. With the Conqueror Doctrina Imperative stratagem, a unit of Dragoons becomes a battering ram. Normally mediocre Taser Lances explode on 4+, which in a unit of 4 translates to 24 S8
AP-1 D2 attacks that hit on 2+. A unit of 3 can be expected to consistently kill any T6 transport (such as Taurox Prime), and a unit of 4 any T7 transport (such as Razorback). A unit in this role should always be the last in your army to deploy, as you must position it as far to the opponent's flank and rear as possible. The proper formation for a unit of 3 is a wedge, with two Dragoons following a lead Dragoon facing the enemy, and the proper formation for a unit of 4 is a square, with two parallel lines facing the enemy.
When charging as a large unit, move your Dragoons together as far to the target's side as possible; the enemy should be on the immediate left or right of your Dragoons, a hair's breath under 1". After fighting, you may consolidate an addition 3". Use this to move further past and behind the enemy, being sure to end the consolidation move less than a hair's breadths under 1". The goal here is to get within 1" of as many shooting enemy units as possible. This "sliding" technique is essential for two reasons: 1) Tying up additional enemies without having to take Overwatch. 2) Allowing you to penetrate into the enemy rear by falling back past the enemy the following turn.
This is good unit. Durable, mobile and brings firepower. Priced either 75pts/model with Twin Cognis Autocannon or 95pts/model with Twin Cognis Lascannon which is good price.
They lack -1 to hit them of their Dragoons brothers but that isn’t big deal. Solid in every way.
The real question is how do they compare to other similar units form Ad mech army.
Vs Dunecrawlers;
They bring higher density of high power daka vs Neutronager and Similar vs Icarus Aray and Eradication Beam per point, as three Lascannon Balistarii cost more or less same points as two Onagers depending on equipment. Less durable, but don’t have damage chart and won’t lose power with accumulated wounds.
Vs Kastelans;
Significantly less power with a bit less durability. Have slightly higher range but can buff Leadership of friendly nearby <FORGE WORLD> models and again have superior mobility.
Both Kataphrons are overshadowed by them: better durability, mobility with comparable power.
Take them if you need flexible unit that can fit in different play style, maneuver on battlefield to utilize
LOS blocking and hunt appropriate targets. Utilizing
LOS is clue of this unit so if table don’t have appropriate terrain you won’t be able to utilize them to their full potential. If you don’t want to just castle up they are for you. They will be good screen and area denial unit vs
DS, although Dragoons are better for that. Very good in Mono Stygies and Lucius armies, since Cawll is not factor there. Less favorable for Mars but still good. Occasionally you can explode them for 1cp when they die if 1MW would make difference.
Swiss Knife type that will be useful in every game, just not as good at certain tasks as dedicated units.
Sprinkle units of one to fill up brigade fast attack slots or get little more anti armour and area covering.
Bring unit of 3+ to fill gap in your list, gaining durable daka, freeing your robots. It is also worth of mentioning that for 1
cp they bring way to shoot Culexus assassins on 4+ if Assassin lists prevail in meta, being one of few ways in Army to deal with character shenanigans.
Mechanicus Knights are super-heavy Lords of War. They are the fastest, most powerful non-character units in the Adeptus Mechanicus codex, if not the game. However, because they lack the <Forge World> and Adeptus Mechanicus keywords, they are denied key synergies with the rest of the codex. Thus, you will often be fielding Knights with AdMech in support rather than the other way around.
Weapons
For melee weapons, Feet are your best option for everything up to
TEQs (surprising, I know). Beyond that, the Gauntlet is optimal; the mortal wounds from throwing vehicles can really build up. Chainsword is only better than Feet against low toughness, high wound targets (such as Tau Commanders), and only then just barely.
For ranged weapons, Avenger is surprisingly strong against a variety of targets, from
GEQs up to
TEQs and Battlesuits. Thermal Cannon (
TC) is your best shooting option against tanks T8 and above, but underperforms otherwise. Rapid-fire Battle Cannon (RFBC) is slightly more consistent in the T6-T7 range, but it is very expensive and finds itself in an awkward spot. You see, in order for a Knight to make its points back, it NEEDS to get into melee combat, but most of what you're paying for in the RFBC is its range.
As far as carapace weapons go, Stormspear is the best choice in every case. Don't bother taking the Meltagun; it's overpriced for what it does.
Knight Setups
1) Warden with Gauntlet and Stormspear (516)
The standard to hold all other Knights up against. Feet and Avenger are the strongest anti-infantry. Gauntlet and Stormspear are the strongest anti-tank.
2) Crusader with
TC (512)
A more shooty option, which is useful against Conscript blobs and Green Tide armies that can deny almost the entire backline. Feet and Avenger are the strongest anti-infantry, and
TC performs anti-tank. Don't be afraid to get into close combat with this unit! You can always fall back and shoot, as I will explain below.
Add a Stormspear for a bit more anti-tank, but be wary of over-investing.
If you want to use an RFBC, you would use it here. However, as mentioned above, you will be wasting points.
3) Errant with Gauntlet and Stormspear (480)
A dedicated tank-hunter and the cheapest competitive setup. Feet perform anti-infantry, while the rest of the setup is just brutal anti-tank.
Don't bother with the Gallant. It's cheap, and you get what you pay for. It's still WS3+ and A4 like the other Knights, and the Chainsword is redundant. A waste of points. The Paladin is also subpar because it ties a long-ranged ranged weapon to a melee weapon; if you want an RFBC, opt for a Crusader instead.
As for how to build an army, there are two simple choices: two Knights or three? If two, you can have a sizable AdMech Battalion with Crawlers and Kastelans to diversify your army. If three, you will still have an AdMech Battalion and an additional 3
CP, but the Battalion is strictly for screening only.
Strategy and Tactics
When using Knights, you always employ a dominant strategy: kill everything that kills Knights, then table your opponent. Of course, this plan is at its most vulnerable early on. You will want to screen it from alpha strikes, especially melta squads. However, despite your best efforts, being shot at is inevitable, so spam Rotate Ion Shields if your opponent aims anything with more than
AP-1 at your Knights. Each turn, you should also be repairing with your Enginseers; Tech-Adept allows you to repair 2 wounds (4 with Necromechanic), and if any of your Knights go under 13 wounds, use Resurgent Machine Spirit; it's worth it.
When maneuvering your Knights, always be looking to get a charge in. You deal terrifying damage in
CC, and most things that threaten you aren't good at fighting a Knight. When positioning yourself, you want to do these things:
1) Keep your Knight between the Enginseer and the enemy. This is especially helpful early on, but not an absolute must.
2) Cover up your legs if possible. No, seriously. You don't ever want to use Knight of the Cog, and +1
Sv for standing behind something is useful.
3) Tying up as many enemy units in fighting as possible with your consolidation move. Basically, after you make a charge, move within a hair's breadth under 1" of your enemy. After fighting, consolidate 3" to move less than a hair's breadths under 1" from the enemy. The goal here is to get within 1" of as many shooting enemy units as possible. This "sliding" technique lets you tie up additional enemies without having to take Overwatch; remember, the more enemies falling back, the less shooting you take.
4) Being in the ideal place for the next charge. You want to consider where you will be moving next turn. Nothing can really outrun an Imperial Knight, so you may want to move "through" enemy units using the Super-Heavy Walker rule to be closer to the next target. You also want to take advantage of terrain and
LOS whenever possible.
To bring it all together, every turn, you can fall back 12" to a hair's breath under 2" from the enemy on any side, shoot, then charge back in under 1", pile-in 3", fight, then consolidate 3".