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After reviewing the tank ace abilities I realised that fluff wise I could count 2 tanks as Scion tanks (not rules wise don't worry) by making them gunnery experts and weapon experts and making sure they were tank commanders for Scion BS. This meant I could collect a Scion regiment without having to include any Guard fluff wise whilst still including 2 Leman Russ' for ranged anti-tank.
Being in Shanghai I am limited to what I can purchase and cut off from all my collections so starting anew.
The Army I am looking at collecting towards will have a Scion Battalion and a Guard Patrol.
Lambden Lions for the Scions (aside from one squad in the Guard Battalion) and weapon experts for the tank aces so they fit the theme. Due to the Patrol, the Progeny of Conflict to get back a Warlord Trait, the second Tank Ace and the second relic I will start with 7CP.

Lambden Lions Battalion (all weapons get -1ap)
Tempestor Prime
Keys to the Armoury, Kurovs Aquila, Command Rod
(This guy drops with the 2 plasma squads for the re rolls to hit and gets some needed CP back)

Tempestor Prime
Auto-reliquery of Tyberius, Command Rod
(Drops with the 3 melta squads from this detachment for a hard hitting melta bomb with rerolls to wound on 10 Melta guns)

Tempestor Prime
Command Rod
(Goes with the unupgraded units for the juicy FRFSRF on 72 st3 ap-3 shots over 2 squads)

Scions x10
4 plasma guns, Plasma Pistol

Scions x10
4 plasma guns, Plasma Pistol

Scions x10
Plasma Pistol

Scions x10
Plasma Pistol

Scions x9
Plasma Pistol

Scions x5
2 Melta guns

Command x4
4 Melta guns

Command x4
4 Melta guns

Command x4
4 Hotshot Vollyguns

Taurox Prime
Gattling Cannon, 2 Hotshot Vollyguns, Stormbolter

Taurox Prime
Gattling Cannon, 2 Hotshot Vollyguns, Stormbolter

Taurox Prime
Gattling Cannon, 2 Hotshot Vollyguns, Stormbolter

Taurox Prime
Gattling Cannon, 2 Hotshot Vollyguns, Stormbolter

Custom Patrol (Gunnery Experts for rerolls on amount of shots and Jury Rigged repairs for wound regeneration)
Tank Commander
Tank Ace - Weapons Expert (weapons have additional -1ap), battle cannon, 2 plasma cannons, lascannon, storm bolter

Tank Commander
Tank Ace - Weapons Expert (weapons have additional -1ap), battle cannon, 2 plasma cannons, lascannon, storm bolter

Scions x5
2 Melta
(Melta will be the gun least affected by these 5 not gaining the doctrine)

1999pts

I would usually be 100% on putting the unupgraded squads in the Tauroxes but the new disembarkation rules look dangerous so I'll have to see. Maybe move them halfway up the board, disembark then move. Space made for the Prime too.

Rules wise it's not pure Scions. Fluff wise it is. Not having to take any infantry squads whilst still having a ton of bodies is nice. What do you think?

Edit: I had been thinking whether it was worth losing 1CP for the extra relic to give orders to just 2 more Melta guns. Or keep the CP for 8 total and just go for 2 orders on the 2 4man Melta squads.

That's a thousand flavors of awesome, spoken as a scions list guy.
Read "gifts of the mechanicm" carefully, you have that strat set up.
Consider strongly the lambda warlord trait (an aura of reroll 1 to hit, just like a space marine captain, for any lambda unit, INCLUDES VEHICLES at present!) and the lambda relic (an aura of granting 5++ invulnerable saves, even to those same lambda vehicles.) I like to pair them together (screw the aquila) to make an armored transport pack that is surprisingly shooty and surprisingly hard to kill for being only T6 and 10W each.
Consider that your transports, if left unmolseted by the enemy, can blow up an enemy knight questoris every other round by rolling average.
(Or kill like 45 or so orks. Per round, dakkadakkadakka).

Note that weapons expert only! affects the TURRET main weapon, so only the battlecannon is ap-1 extra on those two tanks. Still nice, but wouldn't it be interesting if they were both -1 to all incoming damage? Suddenly, its a real effort to kill them, the 4 taurox are not as easy as they look either, that's a solid little tank corps that will be around a few turns to keep firing. For a scions leman russ, I would do that, and give the main turret a plasma gun, I think, for that "more ap than a usual battle cannon" feel. But now its an elite, harder to kill, tank commander with plasma and plasma sponsons, to augment the plasma and melta of the scions.

When using lambdas, I use the reroll 1 relic to try to give all the meltas ... reroll 1, so that you can then ALSO give an actual order (elimination protocol sanctioned) to reroll all woudns against vehicle or monster. That's a terrifying combination, you will hit, you will wound, its ap-5 for the enemy vehicle, and massive, massive damage is just seconds away....

Final note, remember you can still pass orders to the two meltas in the custom regiment from any tempestor prime (even non lambda ones). That's really all they need. If you were to consider the relic "laurels of command" it would be the (in theory) only way (properly on a scions tempest with a command rod) to give TWO orders to the meltas in the leman russ patrol, but it seems a lot of effort to order 2 meltas to reroll 1 and then to reroll all wounds. Probably that .. well, might also be worth it if you give similar effects of a double order to someone else (get back in the fight pairs nicely with firstrankfiresecondrankfire AND gifts of the mechanicum, for example)

Thanks for the reply again Duke.
Yeah my Tempestor Prime Warlord is going for the reroll 1s tohit WL trait there. Wouldn't that be more valuable on the Plasma over the Meltas?
Good point on it applying to vehicles too!

Damn - overlooked the part about it only being the turret for weapons expert. I think you're right about Master Mechanic being stronger than weapons expert then and it syncronises well with jury-rigged. I suppose gunnery expert will still make them damaging enough.

I've skipped the Lambden specific relic as I was thinking that the only weapons it will benefit against are -2ap or better and if they are shooting my scions with those weapons then fair play if they go down. I suppose that it could work well instead of the auto-requinery and put it on the TP who's riding in a Prime for when he gets out.

The other option is to go for is Laurels of Command. I'm thinking the gifts of mechanicum strat is going to work incredibly well on 36 FRFSRF hotshot lasguns that get to rerolls to wound with elimination protocals and cause mortal wounds on a 6. Only problem is that it'll only work on a 4+. If it does though you are looking at around 8 mortal wounds on a Knight or any other invuln save model - from 9 guys with lasguns.

Loving the look of Point Blank Efficacy and Killing Zone too.



Automatically Appended Next Post:
Was looking in particular at Point Blank Efficacy on the Pure lasgun units. With FRFSRF, using this strategem, each Scion will almost have the equivalent of 2 safe plasma guns each when within 9". The only difference being a slightly different wound roll.
4 shots each hitting on 3s. Same ap as normal (non Lambden) plasma
T3 wounds on a 3+ same as plasma
T4 wounds on a 4+ compared to plasma 3+ so only 25% less effective
T5 and 6 wounds on a 5+ compared to plasma 3+ so 50% less effective (but double the shots so realistically equivalent)
T7 wounds on a 5+ compared to plasma 4+ so 33% less effective.
T8+ wounds on a 6+ compared to plasma on a 5+ so 50% less effective
Granted plasma can go overcharged but when a hotshot lasgun is almost the equivalent of a non overcharged plasma gun, you're laughing.

Killing Zone is even better but requires that first wound. So first squad gets PBE then all others benefit from killing zone as long as it's not a single model unit. The strategem will completely live up to its name at that point.

So, you inspire me (and that I have recently bought a death fields raumjager group to make a tiny stormtrooper grenadier battalion) to describe a DIFFERENT scions list, riffing, I admit, quite heavily off of yours.

Air scions detachment lambda lions battalion
These guys are all
3 tempest prime (my usual warlord/relic, and 3 command rods. One has the laurels of command, and one has the autoreliquary of tibery)
3 command squads of 4 plasma each
2 x 5 man squads of 2 plasma each and 1 plsama pistol
2 x 5 man squads of 2 melta each and 1 plasma pistol
1 x 5 man squads of 2 hotshotvolleygun
1 x 10 man squad of base equipped scions
3 valkyries with hellstrike and twin heavy bolter and single lascannon each
3 gatling / 2hotvolley/ stormbolter tauroxes
So that's a solid little pack, I think, BUT.
DKOK grenadiers fluff out as the scions assigned to gaurd / work with the tank scions. So this patrol, its all about the most scion-y tank I could imagine.
1 dkok marshalls with hotshotlaspistol and chainsword
leman russ master mechanic plasma tank commander with executioner (how scion does THAT sound an executioner plasma cannon for those days when you want to execute stuff) plasma cannon and dual sponsons plasma cannons and because its dkok, I believe I can even stick a plasma cannon in the front of the thing for a crazy amount of plasma with my plasma. and stormbolter.
engenseer
squad of 5 stormtrooper grenadiers with 2 plasma guns and 3 hotshotlasguns (casue the sarge can carry those in "tanker scions" apparently) = 358

What this does? Well, it sneaks in the air alphsa strike capability -- you can move forward all your stuff, precision drop out a 10 man squad on turn 1 right beside the enemy, hand it FRFSRF and gifts of the mechanicum. That's a nice anti-screen surprise for the enemy, when you also add in the 34 inch threat ranged tauroxes and the "anything on your board is mine) 3 flyers. Since heavy bolters are about to go to +1 damage, those 18 shots are much better at chewing through certain popular army infantry if its not in cover.
-- but its MUCH harder to kill 6 transports (3 of them -1 to be hit flyers of higher toughness with 14 rather than 10 wounds) than 4.

I think its a VERY scions in a tank sort of tank, the plasma. Using DKOK is a lot like using scions, only that little squad of 5 with the tank in the patrol, they are marginally cheaper than scions and can be done up very easily by simply putting no backpack on the scion body, if you can't get the raumjager where you are. Instant carapace soldiers with hotshotlasguns and plasma guns!

I concede the point about melta being a better fit there, though, except of course that my own army actually exists, and my new shiny (still unpainted) raumjagers have plasmas, not meltas, in their very inexpensive kit.

This isn't my usual list, I confess. I prefer to sprinkle in an inquisitor and a psyker to back up my scions in a pinch, a commisar and an astropath. but I DO like this list, a lot, may I steal .. .er .. adapt .. your idea? Although I am simply laughing as I think of all the plasma that one tank can put out with its (dear god) against a 10 man unit? 2d6 on the turret (minimum 3) and 9 more shots (cause min of 3 x 3). = lots of dead marines if they bunch up.

Love it!
I've never used a Valkyrie and they look pants on paper but seem to be used effectively all over the place from what I've read up on. The flyers I always used to use were BA Ravens that have a considerable amount more firepower than a Valk so I'd have to get my head around their completely different use. I do appreciate that they allow your Scions to set up within 9" of the opponent when they arrive which is a huge benefit to Scions more than anyone.
Back in the days of mid 7th I was debating between collecting a Renegade army or a DKoK army and went Renegades, so I know a little about DKoK but will have to check them out again. Totally didn't realise that they got access to hotshot.
I would love an executioner but all 3 shops I've been in only sell the normal LR kit not the Executioner/Punisher one.

So you would prefer the MSU approach and advantages over the larger units for orders and strategems advantages?

I have always run my scions MSU because that feels right to me, I can divide them out to pick off individual things or to saturate the board's four corners multiple times with tiny units.

its rare that I need all my orders that badly, since the reroll aura gives a lot of the most critical units their "order" to reroll 1. Its also rare that all my units live past 1 turn, so I have suddenly paid a lot of lost bodies if the enemy can increase their shooting efficiency by firing into bigger packs of scions.

So I tell myself, anyway