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So I am making plans to build a Myrmidon Cult army, but I don't really know where to go with the Magos Myrmidax. His abilities seem to be literally everywhere, with improvements to CC (Hatred), improvements to shooting (Deathly Aim and Fullisade Attack), improvements to both (Relentless) and a debuff (Lumbering Advance).

Unlike the Ordinator, who meshes well with a Photon Thruster (armourbane and Lance woo!) or a Malagran who meshes well with a paragon blade (+1 WS and Attack!) there seems to be no obvious niche for the Myrmidax. What should I equip him with?

Close Combat is nice, but not really what you want to be doing - a magos can fight, but is generally better shooting dudes (Malagran aside).

I would suggest the Myrmidax is best at ventilating medium-to-heavy infantry; a guy with BS5 and two plasma-fusils can erase a 5-man astartes squad before they can blink.

The problem is that Myrmidon Secutors do that job better for cheaper, and Castellax do it with more durability.

The Mechanicum list has plenty of anti-Marine woodchippers; I want to find a niche or use that makes my Myrmidax more than a Myrmidon Secutor with +1 wound and invuln.

True, but (a) neither fills a compulsory slot, and (b) neither has deathly aim. That's probably their big party piece.

Thinking about it, I might suggest a photon thruster + graviton imploder: maximum rate of fire with weapons lethal to those artificer armoured dudes you tend to find lurking in space marine blobs. Six shots should net two precision shots... which should give you a failed look out sir and let you nail the dude in artificer plate or take away feel no pain before you let rip with phased plasma or mauler rounds.

Can't a Myrmidax take a jet pack?

 Zuul wrote:
Can't a Myrmidax take a jet pack?

Why would they? Relentless is one of the rules they get. I'd rather have a Machinator Array or possibly Graviton Imploder.

 Unit1126PLL wrote:

 Zuul wrote:
Can't a Myrmidax take a jet pack?

Why would they? Relentless is one of the rules they get. I'd rather have a Machinator Array or possibly Graviton Imploder.

Speed, namely, especially with the relativley short range of mechanicum weaponry

I'm wondering if it was included to allow you to convert a myrmidon secutor into a wysiwyg magos HQ choice. I accept that it's also as fluffy as a bunny rabbit sat on a van der graff generator.
I recon that weapon choice is target subjective - photon thrusters for terminators, phased plasma for marines and other troops.
Meltaguns for contemptor dreds, vehicles and MC's possibly?
I like the jetpack move-shoot-move dynamic, the only negative is it feels a bit 'eldar-ey'

Mine only uses an array, if he stays back and snipes stuff. With Photon Thrusters.
Most of the games, he rather has a Jet-pack and a Photon Thruster + Plasma. In a squad of 6 Thallax.

A myrmidon with jetpack, photon gauntlet, and photon thruster shoots 4 S6 AP2 shots with blind.

Put him in a squad of thallax with another photon thruster and this unit will cause serious problems for terminators and battle automata. With the jetpack it's highly mobile and with 4 precision shots on a 5+ will be able to allocate 1 wound to pesky sergeants or apothecaries hiding in the larger squads.

The total squad is still around 350 points, and at that cost you could get 3 Myrmadon destructors with grav or Irrad engines, but those are not nearly as mobile and will attract lots of fire.

The thallax unit instead can pull off the old tau pop up attacks and pull infantry out of position to chase them. Add some chain blades and suddenly they can go after light vehicles like artillery too.

Durandal wrote:
A myrmidon with jetpack, photon gauntlet, and photon thruster shoots 4 S6 AP2 shots with blind.

Put him in a squad of thallax with another photon thruster and this unit will cause serious problems for terminators and battle automata. With the jetpack it's highly mobile and with 4 precision shots on a 5+ will be able to allocate 1 wound to pesky sergeants or apothecaries hiding in the larger squads.

The total squad is still around 350 points, and at that cost you could get 3 Myrmadon destructors with grav or Irrad engines, but those are not nearly as mobile and will attract lots of fire.

The thallax unit instead can pull off the old tau pop up attacks and pull infantry out of position to chase them. Add some chain blades and suddenly they can go after light vehicles like artillery too.

You could instead give it 2x Photon Thrusters instead of a photon gauntlet, so they're str 6 instead of str 5.

Maybe I'm just being thick bit how is he equipped with a jet pak or joining units of thallax? I thought only a magos taken as part of legio cybernetica can join only units of monstrous creatures? And where does he get the jet pack from?

Thallax are infantry.

 ColdSadHungry wrote:
Maybe I'm just being thick bit how is he equipped with a jet pak or joining units of thallax? I thought only a magos taken as part of legio cybernetica can join only units of monstrous creatures? And where does he get the jet pack from?

Jet packs are normal options for magi.

So they are! I'd never noticed as I never looked past the machinator array as my choice in that category.

As for thallax being infantry, I'm aware of that but the magos doesn't have the independent character special rule so can't join units. Only the legio cybernetica allows this and even then it has to be a unit of monstrous creatures. Is there another rule somewhere else that changes this?

The Dominus is not, but the Prime is.

It says the domius can join a unit of mc, not infantry so how can any magos join thallax?

Because the Arch/Magos Prime is not a Dominus.

A Dominus cannot be a Myrmidax at all, in fact!

Yeah, that's why I'm confused about how it can join a unit. I'm hoping there's a rule I've missed somewhere...

 ColdSadHungry wrote:
Yeah, that's why I'm confused about how it can join a unit. I'm hoping there's a rule I've missed somewhere...

The Magos Prime has the Independant Character special rule.

The magos prime on page 26 of the red taghmata book is just a character, not an independent character. Where is the rule that gives him independent character?

Rad grenades, photon thruster and graviton imploder. He has his power weapon already so bam, he's good to go.

Ran one line that this weekend and he wrecked face

 ColdSadHungry wrote:
The magos prime on page 26 of the red taghmata book is just a character, not an independent character. Where is the rule that gives him independent character?

I can confirm you need new optical sensors, fully functioning examples can be requisitioned from your nearest forgeworld (mars).

Your current sensors are not achieving lock-on over the 'special rules section' of the magos prime unit entry; 'independent character' is the first listing in that section.

 ColdSadHungry wrote:
The magos prime on page 26 of the red taghmata book is just a character, not an independent character. Where is the rule that gives him independent character?

Under Special Rules on that Page.

Oh my! I can't believe I'd missed that this whole time! I was just looking at unit type expecting it to be there and not noticing it under special rules at all!!

Thanks for giving me a metaphorical smack around the head everyone XD

Now I'm going to revisit the list I'm putting together.

 foto69man wrote:
Rad grenades, photon thruster and graviton imploder. He has his power weapon already so bam, he's good to go.

Ran one line that this weekend and he wrecked face

This build is just taking the Myrmidax for Fullisade Attack at this point - the ability to take 2 of the otherwise limit 1 weapons seems pointless.

Still, I like it a lot.

This build is just taking the Myrmidax for Fullisade Attack at this point - the ability to take 2 of the otherwise limit 1 weapons seems pointless

As noted, it's Fusilade Attack plus Deathly Aim. Precision Shots are not common in the Mechanicum lists, and 5+ precision shots with 6 AP2 shots can gut non-independent characters out of their squads quite easily. That's a useful tactical function right there.

Plus, the configuration does good supporting duty as medium-weight antitank, and is especially effective against Leviathan and Contemptor-pattern walkers armed for close assault (due to the graviton imploder's immobilized effect), which is very important for Myrmidon-heavy armies - you cannot afford to let a S10 power fist in amongst your expensive T5 multiwound models....