Legio Cybernetica (30K)

[Son_of_D0rn]

I have decided that I cannot keep up with the constant stream of releases for Warhammer 40K any longer and instead focus my efforts (once my hobby backlog is sold off) on an army for 30K Horus Heresy. I still very much love the appearance and background of the Mechanicum so for me an army of the Legio Cybernetica is a fairly easy choice. So have been perusing the Forgeworld Website and stumbled across my starting point the Cybernetica Battlegroup.

 

So working through the models within this bundle I have been trying to write the basis of my army list which will form the core components of larger point value games, for a start I figure that a 1500 Point List will be suitable for a new player (such as myself) and would only require a small amount of further purchases, and let us face it the costs of an army between Games Workshop and Forgeworld is no longer as expensive as it once was.

 

Cybernetica Battlegroup

The Bundle that I am eyeing up comes with the following models from which I aim to build a start up force.

 

Magos Dominus with Rad Cleansor

6x Thallax with Lightning Guns

2x Castellax with Multi Melta

2x Castellax

Thanatar

 

Legio Cybernetica  Army List: 1170 pts

 

HQ: Archmagos Dominus – 225 pts

Cortica Primus, Cyber-Familiar,

 

Troops: 3x Castellax Class Battle-Automata – 330 pts

Mauler Bolt Cannons, Stock Chargers, 2x Bolters, Frag Grenades

 

Troops: 3x Thallax – 165 pts

Destructor, Lightning Guns, Melta Bombs

 

Troops: 3x Thallax – 165 pts

Destructor, Lightning Guns, Melta Bombs

 

Heavy Support: Thanatar Class Siege-Automata – 285 pts

Paragon of Metal  

 

This is where I become stuck as I am unsure of what else I want to add to the force (apart from a 2nd Thanatar) I had a look through the Age of Darkness Subforum but could not find a great deal of information about the Mechanicum during the Age of Darkness so hope to gain some insight here.

 

 

[Grand Master Laertes]

This post from MindOfMetal is a little old (no new content since 2014), but has great reviews of the units of the Mechanicum.

[Trokair]

Welcome to the Mecanicum blessed by the Omnissiah

 

From memory the Castellax with multi-melta model does not come with a spare Mauler Bolt Cannon, or the normal Castelax hands for that matter.

 

As for additions to your list I would go for a second magos to help keep the robots under control and then a unit of Vorax or Ursarax as they are both fast and should help you distract the enemy while the bigger robots march up the field. If there are spare points after this maybe a Domatar or more Castellax (with Darkfire (just so you have all the options)).

 

Some special weapon Thallax would also be worth considering. I Like the Plasma-fusil, especially as you are not taking any Myrmidons.

 

For the second magos, if you want something that looking different consider converting the 40k Dominus, the Datasmith (from the Kastelan box) or the new IG Enginseer.

[Son_of_D0rn]

This post from MindOfMetal is a little old (no new content since 2014), but has great reviews of the units of the Mechanicum.

Cheers for that buddy will have an in depth read of that later.

 

  

Welcome to the Mecanicum blessed by the OmnissiahFrom memory the Castellax with multi-melta model does not come with a spare Mauler Bolt Cannon, or the normal Castelax hands for that matter.As for additions to your list I would go for a second magos to help keep the robots under control and then a unit of Vorax or Ursarax as they are both fast and should help you distract the enemy while the bigger robots march up the field. If there are spare points after this maybe a Domatar or more Castellax (with Darkfire (just so you have all the options)).Some special weapon Thallax would also be worth considering. I Like the Plasma-fusil, especially as you are not taking any Myrmidons.For the second magos, if you want something that looking different consider converting the 40k Dominus, the Datasmith (from the Kastelan box) or the new IG Enginseer.

I know going to pick up another standard Castellax for the unit of 3. The two multi melta and saw Castellax will be an option for larger games

[Son_of_D0rn]

Apologies for the double post (and without any pictures) but what is a suitable size base for a Dominus? Obviously the Datasmith, Dominus and Enginseer all have different sized bases do they not?

[Trokair]

From Memory:

 

The Forgeworld Dominus model comes on a 40mm base, while the Archmagos comes on a 60mm for the Abeyant and 40mm for the stand in space on the Abeyant.

 

The 40k Dominus comes on 50mm base while the Datasmith and Enginseer come on 32mm (and the old metal Enginseer come on 25mm).

 

All three should be fine on 40mm bases though, the Dominus might stand over a little but no more than the 30k Dominus and his forward leaning body.

[CommodusXIII]

Then there's the draft FAQ for 7th Edition that says you can use any base you want. So, you're not necessarily bound by the stock models. There's such a wide range of wargear and other customizable options that it can take pretty much any form.

[Reclusiarch Darius]

If you're playing Legio Cybernetica I would recommend going all robots. It's the strength of the list. Any points you spend on non-robots wastes the bonuses the list hands out. Also these days Thallax and Ursarax have a rough time due to the S10 AP2 Large Blasts in a lot of lists (Legion Medusas, Ordo Reductor artillery, Solar Auxilia Dracosans/Malcadors etc). 

 

Regarding your list, its actually illegal under current rules. You need a minimum of 4 Castellax (2 squads of 2), as they're your compulsory Troops in Legio Cybernetica. Which means dropping out the Thallax. 

 

I find running multiple Domini (you have 3 HQ slots after all) better than running one expensive Arch-Dominus. It lets you cast multiple Cybertheurgy buffs and don't forget that one of the drawbacks of Legio Cybernetica is if the enemy kill all your cortex controllers, they get an extra VP. Also your robots become a lot less reliable if they revert to Programmed Behaviour. so you want to avoid that for as long as possible. 

In larger games, Scoria is a better choice because he's so difficult to kill and he can actually take on enemy Praetors and Primarchs without dying horribly. Cortica Primus can be amusing but you may not be allowed to use it. FW have stated its strictly for the narrative missions (ie the Relic mission etc) from Book 4. So you'd need opponents permission to use it. 

 

I'd highly recommend upgrading your Castellax to Darkfire cannon. Mauler has two unfortunate drawbacks, its only range 24" and AP3. Legion armies tend to field a fair bit of 2+ save units (Jetbikes, Terminators, various veteran units), not to mention artificer Sergeants are commonplace to tank damage. Darkfire also becomes very handy at dealing with medium to high AV targets due to S7 and Lance rules. Blind is also pretty handy when it triggers. Enhanced Targeting Array is pretty handy as well, hitting on 2's is fantastic and the -1 to enemy cover helps a lot against Jink, Stealth and Shrouded targets. 

If you want to really buff your Castellax, take an Aegis Line with Ammo Dump as your Fortification. This gives them a 4+ cover save, and if you can get them within 2" of the Ammo Dump they re-roll 1's to hit. This helps avoid Gets Hot! on the darkfire shots and they're essentially twin-linked now. 

 

Regarding the Thanatar, I'd drop the Paragon upgrade in favour of giving it Enhanced Targeting Array as well. It buffs the twin mauler cannon a little bit, but its especially nasty on the hellex mortar due to Barrage and the plasma wave rule. 

 

Finally I'd consider some cheap Tech-Thrall units to hide and camp objectives. The enemy is unlikely to pay them much attention, and your robots can't score due to Machine Creature (I kinda wish they'd given Implacable Advance or scoring status to Domini to make up for it, but whatever). 

[Terminus]

For Cybernetica the generic Archdominus can't get the best upgrades, so I'm not fond of him as a choice. Skoria is effectively a Primarch, so he's an exception.

 

I do think the Mauler/double flamer Castellax unit has quite a bit of game. Yeah, they are short-ranged and foot-slogging, but anything in that range is screwed.  These units are prime candidates for a Dominus. I like mine with at least an augury scanner (infiltrate) and photon gauntlet (AP2.. can even mastercraft this).  Machinator array is also a good addition here, because it makes the Dominus T5 so now powerfists don't punch out both wounds, they get a total of 5 S5 AP2 axe attacks in melee, and can add an inferno pistol to that photon gauntlet (or another flamer).