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Hello everyone,

As some of you might know from an earlier thread, I am building a Centurio Ordinatus 30k army using the Leviathan detachment. The dilemma is, however, what kind of troops would go with an Ordinator Archmagos on one of his weapon tests. The troops must be singular and must be compulsory, to be used as an Allied Detachment for a Leviathan and to escort an Archmagos Ordinator around on a battlefield. The Ordinator will have a photon thruster as his primary weapon, among other upgrades.

1) Adseculari Covenant: It is unlikely that a Forge World's called up levy would be considered sufficient bodyguards for an Ordinator Archmagos; it is likely that an Ordinator Archmagos would have access to his own, in-house bodyguards under unbreakable protocol controls. Additionally, given the nature of the Ordinatus engines, it is unlikely that random levy troops would be permitted near the borderline-heretical superguns. For these reasons I have largely vetoed this option, though I am always willing to listen to fluff!

2) Thallax Cohort: This one originally was a shoe-in for me and I already have the unit. However, upon reflection, there is one major negative. Positives: With their own Photon Thruster and Tank Hunters, this unit meshes well with the long-range tank-busting firepower ethos of the Centurio Ordinatus, and on the tabletop represents both a tough bodyguard and source of Tank Hunter for the Ordinator. Negatives: The Thallaxi are constructed by either the Ordo Reductor or martial Forge Worlds for their own Taghma. Since the Centurio Ordinatus is neither the Ordo Reductor nor a Taghma, how precisely did my Archmagos come to possess a unit of Thallaxi as bodyguards?

3) Scyllax Cohort: These are the Magos bodyguards in the fluff - tough, well-armed in close combat, and deadly to anyone in immediate proximity who isn't heavily augmented. That said, this unit has significant fluff and tabletop drawbacks. Fluff drawbacks: It is a close-combat oriented, radiation-bathed defensive unit; this doesn't seem to mesh well with the Centurio Ordinatus's philosophy of long-range destruction of large enemy vehicles and emplacements. Tabletop Drawbacks: It does practically nothing for the Ordinator, and doesn't even help him that much in combat for if I take a reasonable long-ranged weapon to take advantage of the Ordinator's Armourbane, then I debuff myself in Close Combat with the Rad Furnaces.

Any input is appreciated!

Go Scyllax anyway. You're playing 30k, son. Fluff > competetiveness.

Besides, you have the Ordinatus. That thing gives the most competetive 40k armies a run for its money basically alone. In 30k you don't really need anything more to run roughshod over people.

We trade Thallax for deals/resources so they could have come from a deal to show up somewhere to shatter/burn a hole through a mountain?

I thought that scyllax were always going to be the gaurdian robots for huge machines like the Ordinatus, so i'd be tempted to use them if it were me
Or...
Tech-thralls, masses of Tech-Thralls!! i have great fun with waves of reoccurring Thralls already. It would mimic some artwork i saw years ago depicting macro-engines at war, each with a sea of dudes all around them for defence. epic.

 SirDonlad wrote:
Or...
Tech-thralls, masses of Tech-Thralls!! i have great fun with waves of reoccurring Thralls already. It would mimic some artwork i saw years ago depicting macro-engines at war, each with a sea of dudes all around them for defence. epic.

Same opinion. Bubblewrap it with Thralls . They are cheap. Save the Thallaxii and the Scyllaxii for more important things.

See, I figure the art depicting Ordinatus engines always depicted them supporting other forces. I am trying to make a Centurio Ordinatus army, not Cennturio Ordinatus supporting some Taghma or whatever.

So I guess it's Scyllax.

Remember that to function you don't have to join the Scyllax. Scyllax protocols need you to be near a character, not with them.

So your allied detachment could be your archmagos with a unit of tech-priests (enginseers or Myrmidons to taste) with a defensive mob of scyllax hovering nearby to intervene if anything threatens him.

Oh good point. I will see what I have points for!!!

Whats all this about 'scyllax protocols'?

I don't remember anything about scyllax needing to be near anyone for anything - are you confusing them with vorax which have a cybernetica cortex and need shepherding by someone with a cortex controller?

The Scyllax have "Guardian-Servitor Protocols."


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And my only concern is lack of a Rad Furnace on my magos and insufficient points for any other units


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locarno24 wrote:
Remember that to function you don't have to join the Scyllax. Scyllax protocols need you to be near a character, not with them.

So your allied detachment could be your archmagos with a unit of tech-priests (enginseers or Myrmidons to taste) with a defensive mob of scyllax hovering nearby to intervene if anything threatens him.

So my concerns were not unjustified. I have 85 points for other units after the Archmagos and Scyllax and 3 Ordinatus engines, so I won't be able to attach the Archmagos to anyone but the scyllax, which is regrettable.