Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hi guys, here's a list I wrote recently, that contains most of the models I own. I recently got the new Battleforce box and so I could add its models to my list, which was full Skitarii before that. Now that I had a closer look at the Cult Mechanicus codex I decided to put some of it in my lists, filling a tanky role and adding some flamers to my army (plus, the Kastelan Robots are way too beautiful, I need them).

I'll be playing friendly battles with it at my local store for now, maybe some tournaments at the same place, I'm just looking for a fun list to learn all the mechanics, as I only played like 5 Kill Team matches for now, so, still learning !

HQ:
Tech-Priest Dominus 105 pts

Troops:
10x Vanguards, Alpha with Phosphor Pistol, Taser Goad and a 5++, and 1 Plasma Caliver 150 pts (He's the Warlord)
5x Rangers with 2 Arquebi and Omnispex 125 pts
5x Rangers 65 pts
3x Kataphron Destroyers with Gravcannons and Cognis Flamers 180 pts

Support:
1 Onager Dunecrawler with Neutron Laser 115 pts

Fast Attack:
1 Sydonian Dragoon with Taser Lance and Phosphor Serpenta 55 pts

Elite:
5x Sicarian Infiltrators with Taser Goads and Flechette Blasters and Omniscient Mask 205 pts

They will be in these formations:

Skitarii Maniple: Vanguards, vanilla Rangers, Infiltrators and Dragoon. They'll all have Crusader and Scout, and the Vanguards have Preferred Enemy in bonus.
Dominus Maniple (from the Start Collecting box): Techpriest, sniper Rangers and Onager. They have twin-linked against a enemy unit within 18" LoS of the Techpriest at the start of each shooting phase.
The Kataphrons will go free I guess.

So is this list realistic to face various threats ? I never played a 1000 pts game so I don't know what to expect. I have my Vanguards that should stay close to the Kataphrons to deal with infantry and heavy-infantry, while still being half-menacing in melee, the sniper Rangers that should pretty much just kill stuff from across the table, the other Rangers to capture objectives, and the Infiltrators to assist for the melee part and the debuffs. I may let them stay close to my naked Rangers. As for the Dragoon and the Onager, I guess they'll just shoot up any vehicle they come across.

An also, is this list legal as of the formations ? I still don't quite grasp the formations concept so I don't know if I can have a unit of Kataphrons just going around by themselves.

If that can help, I currently own these models: 10 Rangers/Vanguards, 1 Techpriest, 3 Kataphrons, 1 Dragoon, 5 Infiltrators, 1 Onager and 2 Kastelan with their Datasmith (too expensive for this list I'm afraid). I also have 5 Electro-priests but they ain't assembled yet and I don't like them at all so I guess I'll never play them ever. I prefer cyborgs and robots.

Thanks in advance !

Just in regards to the legality of your list: no, not legal.
The Destroyers are just sitting by their lonesome. You need to put them into some sort of detachment, like an Allied Detachment, a Cult Mech Maniple, or a Formation that has Destroyers in it.

As of now, you're Unbound, which while not illegal is usually frowned upon.

What exactly do you not grasp about formations? Explain and we can help!

Ah that's what I thought ! Well what I don't grasp is, does ALL your units need to be in a formation ? I guess the answer is yes then I think I read somewhere that a same unit can't be in two formations at once, but it's not the case in this list.

As of in-game, does the units of a same formation needs to stay close in any way or can they wonder off ? I'm thinking about the Sicarian Killclade with 3 Ruststalkers and 1 Infiltrators, are they treated as one big unit or can they be split across the board while still beneficing from the formation bonuses ?

So I'd need, to place my Kataphrons in this list, to have a second unit of them and the Techpriest have them both in his own Cult formation ? As I require one HQ and two Troops choices for the basic formation. That would mean I can't have the Elimination Maniple and so I'd have to place all my other Skitarii units in the Skitarii Maniple.

Problem is, I don't know how to place another unit of Kataphrons in there, they're quite costly and I need my other guys :/

All your units have to be in a detachment. In a Combined Arms Detachment, the requirement is 1 HQ and 2 Troops. These units can then move wherever they want.
Formations are a special type of detachment. They have restrictions on specifically what units you must take, and give bonuses when you take them. Some formation bonuses do require the units to stay close to each other, but you don't need to worry about it unless your formation specifically mentions it.

At this point, you might want to cut the Destroyers and make up the points in upgrades to the units in your current formations. Take more plasma! Give your Priest a relic!
Or you could move the Rangers from the Dominus formation into the Maniple and just have an Allied Detachment of Cult Mech with the Priest, Destroyers, and Onager.

Additionally, Formations don't really care about the battlefield role of the unit. Organize your list like this:

Skitarii Maniple, 475pts
10x Vanguards, 1 Plasma Caliver, Alpha with Phosphor Pistol, Taser Goad and 5++, 150 pts (Warlord)
5x Rangers 65 pts
5x Sicarian Infiltrators, Taser Goads, Flechette Blasters, Omniscient Mask 205 pts
1x Sydonian Dragoon, Taser Lance, Phosphor Serpenta 55 pts

Dominus Maniple, 345pts
Tech-Priest Dominus 105 pts
5x Rangers, 2 Arquebi, Omnispex 125 pts
1x Onager Dunecrawler, Neutron Laser 115 pts

If you put your tech priest in an allied detachment with the destroyers and everything else in the maniple you should have a legal bound list. At least if I'm reading everything correctly.

As a side note, I don't the codex in front of me to verify but I don't think the vanguard alpha can take a plasma caliver.

Elric Greywolf wrote:All your units have to be in a detachment. In a Combined Arms Detachment, the requirement is 1 HQ and 2 Troops. These units can then move wherever they want.
Formations are a special type of detachment. They have restrictions on specifically what units you must take, and give bonuses when you take them. Some formation bonuses do require the units to stay close to each other, but you don't need to worry about it unless your formation specifically mentions it.

At this point, you might want to cut the Destroyers and make up the points in upgrades to the units in your current formations. Take more plasma! Give your Priest a relic!
Or you could move the Rangers from the Dominus formation into the Maniple and just have an Allied Detachment of Cult Mech with the Priest, Destroyers, and Onager.

Additionally, Formations don't really care about the battlefield role of the unit. Organize your list like this:

Skitarii Maniple, 475pts
10x Vanguards, 1 Plasma Caliver, Alpha with Phosphor Pistol, Taser Goad and 5++, 150 pts (Warlord)
5x Rangers 65 pts
5x Sicarian Infiltrators, Taser Goads, Flechette Blasters, Omniscient Mask 205 pts
1x Sydonian Dragoon, Taser Lance, Phosphor Serpenta 55 pts

Dominus Maniple, 345pts
Tech-Priest Dominus 105 pts
5x Rangers, 2 Arquebi, Omnispex 125 pts
1x Onager Dunecrawler, Neutron Laser 115 pts

Aah thanks for the answers, I have the rules in French so it's difficult to translate the right words sometimes concerning the rules.

The Onager is from Skitarii codex though, so I can't have it with a Cult detachment consisting of the Techpriest and the Kataphrons. I'd have to get a second troop choice from the Cult (so, Kataphrons) to make my list legal, with the Techpriest coming in with the two units of Servitors. And the Skitarii would be in their own groups then.

Fhionnuisce wrote:If you put your tech priest in an allied detachment with the destroyers and everything else in the maniple you should have a legal bound list. At least if I'm reading everything correctly.

As a side note, I don't the codex in front of me to verify but I don't think the vanguard alpha can take a plasma caliver.

I'd need to have two Troop choices, so two Kataphron units to go with the Priest.

And the Alpha doesn't have the Plasma Caliver, he's going with the pistol and the Taser Goad. The Alpha indeed can't have a special weapon, but is allowed to bring melee weapons and pistols.

EDIT: Okay I just gave a read at the Rulebook and I now get what you were saying with the 1 HQ and 1 Troop as allies ! So if I have them in my allies, I can just use my standard Skitarii Maniple that requires just two Troops and can include the rest of my Skitarii units as my main Detachment, is that right ? Then I just need to organise them in another way.

 Aaranis wrote:
EDIT: Okay I just gave a read at the Rulebook and I now get what you were saying with the 1 HQ and 1 Troop as allies ! So if I have them in my allies, I can just use my standard Skitarii Maniple that requires just two Troops and can include the rest of my Skitarii units as my main Detachment, is that right ? Then I just need to organise them in another way.

Correct. It prevents you from making the tech priest as your warlord, but you weren't planning to do that anyway.