The Balance Dataslate is finally out, and its impact on the warriors of the Adeptus Mechanicus is surprisingly massive! On top of receiving a brand-new unit in the Servitor Battleclade, several of our rules were updated, and points shifted to boot. Notably, while Admech did get some much-needed help, it's unlikely to radically shift the faction's winrate with respect to its peers; a lot of the armies surrounding Admech's winrate were also buffed, meaning we don't necessarily come out ahead. Regardless, however, new units and a new way to play Kastelan Robots is something to celebrate, and I'll be breaking down what the new changes mean for the faction, and how to best make use of them!
Via Scarhand Painting
First and foremost, let's talk about the points. Our various Ironstriders got small points off, potentially reducing the burden on so-called 'chickenspam', but I remain skeptical. 5pts off of units you were taking ~9-12 of in dedicated lists will make an impact, but gaining 60 or fewer points doesn't do much for you, given the detachment you're in (Skitarii Hunter Cohort). Will an extra Raider unit be the difference between a win and a loss? The far more impactful change comes in the form of 10pts off of our best anti-tank, the Skorpius Disintegrator. Now, literally every list aiming to be competitive took 2 of these, and many took 3, so this feels like Games Workshop throwing us a bone. We'll take it, though, and being able to swap up from utility pieces to more Battleline with the spare points is going to feel great! My main concern stems from the comparison drawn between the Disntegrator and its peer, the Onager; in every single facet, now, there is not a reason to consider the crab in anything but casual play. Finally, the Transoracular Dyad Wafers enhancement went down to only 15pts, but there's a very good reason for that.
Via Juan Sanz Elminiaturista
For the robotbros in the audience, your time has come. Kastelans now have the army rule, and while not a massive upgrade if we're being completely honest, the key aspect is that it makes them far less clunky as a midboard anvil, and opens up Cybernetica Cohort to a new detachment rule. That rule...rules, in fact, with Kastelans therein getting an extra 2" of move and 1 extra OC, meaning they're liable to get onto objectives earlier, and hold them longer. While I don't think this moves the needle on SHC & Haloscreed being the two best detachments, there's now several options jockeying for the coveted third place, and one of them is indeed Cybernetica. Strong stratagems and an overwhelmingly good tool in Necromechanic helps them use things like Disintegrators better than other detachments, and their middling secondary play is now offset by the other big change to Admech, the launch of the Servitor Battleclade.
Via Warhammer Community
This is our long-awaited promised unit, debuting in Kill Team: Typhon, the Servitor Battleclade. It's not as good as I hoped, but better than I expected, which is a reasonable spot to be for an army treated so cynically in this edition. The big ticket item here is the fact this unit can always Advance, Shoot, and perform an Action, effectively making them slightly slower but tankier Raiders. Raiders will explode if looked at wrong, but the extra ablative wounds here definitely help. Not to mention, they're a mere 60pts, meaning lists with tight budgets can slot them in readily. I have a hunch that purely in their utility and toughness they’ll see play.
Speaking of, the three detachments vying for third all meet that criteria, and unlike Haloscreed or SHC, get no extra benefit from Raiders as a sidegrade. In Cybernetica, they form a fantastic secondary play core with 2x10 Rangers, and in Rad-Zone, they're a great tool to stick on your home objective, perhaps instead of a Technoarchaeologist. That being said, if you've read any of my other articles, you know what my next point is—it's time to discuss their use in Data-Psalm Conclave.
My favorite detachment has a new toy, and you'd be shocked with how relevant they are, and not just for stratagems. In DPC, coupled with Citation in Savagery, you're putting out 29 3+/S5/-1/1 attacks in melee...for 60pts. Layering on **Chant of the Remorseless Fist**, that's killing 5 Marines, 4 Chosen, and even putting ~5 wounds on a Dreadnought. For 60pts. This has prompted initial speculation from various Data-Psalm players on the dreaded 'all trades' list, playing maximum MSU Fulgurites, Corpuscarii, Servitors, and Breachers, with Cawl as a means to provide Battleline. This needs testing, of course, but I'll be the first to get my 27 Servitor models onto the tabletop, if it means Data-Psalm Conclave might scratch the surface of playability.
Via Reddit
Given the general pricing of things this edition, I frankly expect the Servitors to have an immediate place in lists not taking Skitarii Hunter Cohort as their detachment. 60 points in Admech is less than any of our other objective play pieces, barring Raiders (and the Technoarchaeologist, if you count it), and their ability to actually hold their own against other cheap units, and do so while scoring, is exceptional. In Haloscreed, you can also boost them with Advance & Charge to truly make them multifaceted, and in Data-Psalm, they represent a shocking amount of attacks that wound on 3s against MEQs.
Beyond that, I fully expect we’ll see the triple Disintegrator reign supreme from here on out, as even though not every map has enough space in its firing lanes for 3 tanks at a time, having a cheap spare allows you to tankfight better, something Admech has issues with otherwise. 3 Breachers is a mere 5pts behind a Disintegrator now, and that should put it into perspective how dirt-cheap these hovercraft are, for what they accomplish.
With all that said, there’s a wrap on Admech in the new season! I am feverishly converting my own Servitors as we speak, as I cannot wait to get them onto the table beyond TTS! Are you excited to see the new unit? Are Kastelans finally good? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
