Last time we covered everyone’s favorite technology-worshipping monks, the faction had won the 40k World Championships. Yes, the faction with arguably the worst codex this edition, whose core faction gimmick required multiple rewrites in a year and a half—that faction. What pushed Admech ahead was a major change to their only Epic Hero: Belisarius Cawl. Cawl, for a meager sub-200pts, provided the entire army with another faction’s mechanic, in what was functionally the Space Marines’ Oath of Moment; suffice to say, stapling one of the game’s stronger army abilities onto an entire force was quite potent. Siegler managed to run what amounted to maximum numbers of Sicarians, bolstered by the Skitarii Hunter Cohort’s Detachment Rule, and access to a 5+++ Feel No Pain, and made quick work of his competition. We knew Admech was too strong, and in spite of this being the first day we’ve spent in the Martian sun since Covid, this time of plenty wouldn’t last forever. With that in mind, the nerfs have arrived in the December Dataslate—how did we make out?
Via Siegestudios
In short: It could have been worse. Cawl went up a staggering 35pts, but as every Admech player will tell you, that’s honestly about right. Finally, our Primarch-equivalent costs about as much as a Primarch. The real casualty was in terms of our Sicarians, the main factor in Admech’s victory (when you discount the fact that Cawl is going to be in every list). These each received a tailored nerf that sees them each rise 5pts for a 5-man, but 15pts for a 10-man. For the two most played detachments, Haloscreed Battle Clade & Skitarii Hunter Cohort, this is rough; each of these hedged 2-5 blocks of Sicarians as fast, reactive threats and screening tools. For lists taking Infiltrators as the requisite Infiltrate unit to fight against Scouts, this is fine, and I expect to see more Rad-Zone play as the next main detachment to rise up. Rad-Zone also enjoys taking 2-3 5-man Rustalker squads to pull from Strategic Reserves, so while it’s still a nerf, these units won’t go unplayed.
Via Warhammer Community
Ironstriders going up 10pts is also expected, although I doubt it removes the model from the table. Dedicated ‘Chicken’ lists are a thing of the past, so while Autocannon Ironstriders have been in vogue, it wouldn’t surprise me to see a shift back towards the Skorpius as a primary anti-tank chassis. Finally, there’s Skystalkers, and for 5 models they’re now only 25pts below a Callidus Assassin; there’s a good argument to swap over for basically everything that isn’t Hunter Cohort, given how potent its Vect aura is.
On the whole, if anything’s going to be the nail in the coffin for SHC, this should be it. Haloscreed can adapt, given it can buff anything in the army, but with nearly every viable Skitarii-tagged unit going up in points, I fully expect to see it vanish from tournaments. That is, unless…
Via Reddit
See, the thing is, Admech has an absolute plethora of units that didn’t see a rise in points, so while most of the best lists went up 50-75pts, tweaking things around could still make previous list philosophy function. Namely, we still have some of the best Battleline in the game, and I would absolutely love to see blocks of 50 Vanguard streaming across the field once more. Rangers also see a reasonable uptick in viability, especially given they’re not often led by Marshals (for whom Cawl’s rerolls are redundant). The best units we have left, though, are the ones with Sustained Hits 2: Dragoons & Corpuscarii Electro-Priests. Cawl makes their math absolutely ludicrous, more often than not ending up with more Wound dice than were rolled to hit. Lists that can flex these powerful tools, especially Rad-Zone & Haloscreed, should have a great time as we see Rustalkers dropped for their mounted cousins, and Taser Goad Infiltrators exchanged for shock-gauntleted priests.
Via Reddit
In terms of lists whose viability rises in absentia of SHC’s position at the top, I’ll of course be trying to make Data-Psalm Conclave work, swapping a spare Technoarchaeologist for Cawl’s point rise. Fulgurites are now officially the best melee threats the army has, now that 10-man Rustalkers went up dramatically in price, and they even have Devastating Wounds; players comfortable with jamming damage through saves will enjoy the math presented, if they can learn to stage for the fragile threats.
Meanwhile, Kastelan Robots look surprisingly competent now, as the meta we’re in really doesn’t like their sheer damage check. If you can catch some Victrix Guard with twin-fist robots, they will go down (even if they’re still undercosted). I feel the point hike to Ironstriders means that actually running Cybernetica Cohort isn’t in the cards anymore, but running 4-8 Kastelan in Haloscreed could be the new anvil, now that Rustalkers have met an untimely demise. I do mean that—taking the standard 2x10 Rusties alongside Cawl in Halo seems untenable, you’d just lack the necessary bulk to make up for how fragile they are in the detachment.
Via Wordpress
Overall, the ‘must haves’ for an Admech army will now cost you a cool 40-45pts extra, and that’s honestly not a terrible rise to reckon with, given most lists had that amount kicking around for a Skitarii Marshal or Technoarchaeologist whose job security is now thoroughly threatened. You still won’t leave home without Cawl, and cannot forgo the minimum 1x5 Infiltrator (as to not be boxed in going second), and most lists also will take Skystalkers if you’re not melee focused enough to warrant a Callidus. As for the rest, 5-man Razor-wielding Rustalkers in Rad-Zone will still mulch Marines & Terminators, and you can replace Ironstriders with Skorpii (or simply cut down, which is more probable). I think Games Workshop realized that the larger issue of Admech’s power came almost exclusively from the fact that new Rustalkers could deliver 30+ Devastating Wounds halfway across the board at the drop of a hat, with the anti-tank of Ironstriders close behind. If you weren’t playing exactly that list, the faction feels a helluva lot better now but not broken enough to threaten the zenith of power across all factions.
Via Reddit
Our status as one of the game’s best is over, but don’t count Admech out just yet. Builds leaning more into Kataphrons and Skorpii have done well, and these changes still leave room for lists playing maxed MSU Sicarians in something like Rad-Zone to live out the glory days once more. Not only that, but with Cawl still giving the faction a reasonable dose of lethality it lacked previously, there’s still wiggle room for those who want to make the sillier builds of Admech work in competitive play. All I can ask for now is that, at some point, they make the Onager Dunecrawler remotely competitive for its points—I have a pair of sweet conversions I’ve been wanting to put on the table, with little justification to do so presented thus far in 10th edition.
Have you felt the point nerfs so far with Admech following the December Dataslate? Given SHC saw a hike of ~200pts, how will the detachment innovate? Have you found a list that doesn’t need Cawl now that he’s properly expensive? What’s your sleeper pick for the faction? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
