We’re coming to the close of this year, and it’s been a shock to see how far the Adeptus Mechanicus have risen since their anemic start in the edition. Given the army’s track record of sitting in the low forties at best, when it comes to winrate, few could have projected the recent swath of changes to have this vast an effect. Anyone who’d been playing Admech knew it was a mistake, though—giving actual lethality to the army whose core identity was lacking it was bound to cause issues. It’s actually been a bit since I’ve played in a tournament, being too busy to jam on weekends, but I’ve been keeping my Auspex tuned to what’s been going on in the Admech space, and worriedly wringing my hands about the next balance change. Will a slaughter of the army be well-warranted? Unlikely, but as we’ll cover below, something’s got to give.
Via Reddit
As a brief bit of history, Admech has been a consistent bottom third army this edition, and at many points one of the three worst available. This is due in large part to an anemic Index, followed by one of the most conditional Codices of the past 3 years. If you could meet every criteria, with Admech, and spend upwards of 1,500 dollars on the top list of 18 Ironstriders and more, you could find success in spite of the army’s failings. The Battleline-centric gimmick, coupled with purely Skitarii Battleline, also meant that a full half of the army was without a great independent home, with much of the Cult Mechanicus forces taken as spicy single units in otherwise Skitarii-dominated lists. In short, the army was financially irresponsible, underpowered even with its conditionality, and critically not very fun—for most. I started Admech during 10th Edition, and I’ve actually bucked the trend and greatly enjoyed myself throughout, finding legitimate success with Data-Psalm Conclave, although that too required ~7 boxes of Electro-Priests, not something you’d want to purchase.
Via AFS
This changed when our army’s mechanic did, with Games Workshop finally relenting, and giving us the capacity to be more than a 4+ to hit army: +1BS in Protector, and +1WS in Conqueror. This seems like such a core part of the army now, that a few people have so soon forgotten it came a year after the Codex dropped. This, coupled with some modest rises on points, led to a golden age for the faction, and while we weren’t immediately competitive, it dragged the faction towards a 50% winrate, with multiple weekends at exactly 50%. All this time, though, there had been the push & pull of the faction’s unofficial identity as a scoring & jailing tool, given we lacked the firepower to compete with the slow creep upwards of 10th Edition’s lethality. Whether it came in the form of Pteraxii, Sicarians, or more, the Skitarii Hunter Cohort could swamp the opponent with Stealth T4 4+/5++ bodies, with an easily-accessible 5+ Feel No Pain. Admech could, funny enough, survive better than even armies like Death Guard, and max both Primary & Secondary most games. This wasn’t enough, however, and following the release of a well-appreciated but underplayed new unit in the Servitor Battleclade, Games Workshop had one more knob to turn.
Via Coolminiornot
The entire Edition, Admech had never been in a truly ‘good’ spot. It was either underpowered, too expensive & difficult for the average player to enjoy, or otherwise required managing auras that fell apart at a moment’s notice. No longer. This past September, they gave Belisarius Cawl what amounted to an Oath of Moment, and the die was cast to see Admech win Worlds. Oath is a profoundly good rule to have, and a skilled player knows exactly what needs to die each round, and which units have the capacity to make that happen. To fasten that to a unit we were already taking in most of our lists is absurd.
Regarding Siegler’s actual list, as one of the most well-known Admech players of all time, it’s of course a masterpiece. Maxing both Sicarian Infiltrators & Ironstrider Ballistarii, and coming close to doing so with Pteraxii Skystalkers, this was a return to the traditional jail lists of earlier 10th Edition…now bolstered with a capacity to actually take down key targets. No longer would he have to weather the storm of bullets or chainaxes bearing down from a frustrated opposing force—now, those chicken walkers had real teeth (in the form of Twin-Linked, as well).
Via 7th City Collectables
By no means am I discounting the profound skill Siegler displayed this year, as he’s been about as close to an Admech messiah as we could ever ask for, but this result amidst countless other tops speaks to a reasonable concern that the faction is going to be pushed back down the stairs when the next Balance Dataslate arrives. The good news: There wasn’t a single non-Cawl Cult Mechanicus unit in this list, nor really in most lists we’re seeing perform well at the tournament level. This means the half of the faction I personally enjoy, and see success with, is probably safe. The bad news is that, when I remove my biases, the ‘best list’ is taking close to the maximum of each of three essential Admech units, and I’d be kidding myself to say that all three won’t be point hiked soon. Even outside of a dedicated Skitarii Hunter Cohort list, Infiltrators & Skystalkers are a vital single squad used for objective play and denying Scout-heavy armies, as well as fighting the Infiltrate war. If you don’t play any units with Infiltrate, you’re far more likely to get boxed-in if you go second, so playing minimum 1 is a great start to any list, in any army. If ours get more expensive, that’s a brutal tax on otherwise unaffected lists.
Via Reddit
Moreover, there’s the question of Cawl: He’s the reason we’re sitting pretty, and I see him hitting at minimum 200-220pts, which still might be a reasonable-enough price to pay for getting Oath of Moment. Games Workshop has struggled to make Cawl both worth his points, and expensive, yet this current iteration may satisfy both. If they’re keen to make this Primarch-sized model feel like Admech’s Primarch, the path is clear, albeit painful to see him rise ~50pts or more.
What I think is more worrying is what I believe will happen to Skitarii Hunter Cohort: Their 5+++ is likely doomed to being adjusted up to 2CP. SHC has been the best detachment in the army since it saw print, and even with the power behind Haloscreed Battleclade, the detachment that’s clearly been pushed to be the best option, SHC jail won out. That’s not a great look, even if it’s a list which requires excellent fundamentals (and therefore attracts high-skill pilots). Still, it may be time for the detachment that makes Sicarians stickier than basically anything else for their points to see its martian sun finally set.
Via Goonhammer
What I’ve discussed today is neither wishlist nor prophecy, but a realistic eye given to a faction I love dearly. Seeing Admech actually win Worlds in the edition it’s struggled to even break a 50% winrate within is surreal, and it goes to show that with the right player, right list, and right balance shifts, anything is possible for a 40k finish. A huge congratulations to Siegler, Art of War, and anyone painting up units that won’t get point hiked (please don’t touch my Electro-Priests)!
With that said, what do you think Games Workshop will do to balance out Admech following Worlds? Do you think they deserve a heavy nerf, or can a lighter touch work out? Is the faction able to survive a world where Cawl costs an eighth of your list?. Now that the dust has settled, what else in Admech needs a buff? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
