Games Workshop - Warhammer 40,000 - Adeptus Mechanicus: Skitarii Marshall

Product Information

The Skitarii Vanguard, known informally as "rad-troopers," bring the baleful touch of the Tech-priests to the far corners of the galaxy. They fight in the most inhospitable conditions possible, for over the many civil wars waged by the Cult Mechanicus, the Vanguard have learned not only to endure baleful energies, but to weaponise them. Mindstate Secutor (Gamma) - The warrior wisdom of ancient and experienced Secutors is force-loaded into the Skitarii's minds. Each thrilling pulse of data gifts them knowledge of the most efficient way to despatch the foe at close quarters whilst retaining a reserve of strength for later use. The Red Planet's Due - In imitation of the ancestor cohorts that first ground their limbs to stumps upon the dunes of Mars, the Skitarii cut off their lower legs and replace them with bionic prostheses of inviolate alloy.

Specialised in directing their troops from the front line and leaving the important plans up to their masters, the Skitarii Marshal makes an excellent lieutenant for the Machine God’s armies and will ensure their Rangers make the most of every shot. The Forge Worlds of the Adeptus Mechanicus are the cornerstones of their technocratic empire. A single Forge World can provide war materiel sufficient to supply an entire sector. Polluted strata of industry belch smoke from every region not lost entirely to biohazard or schism. Indentured serfs go about their labour like worker ants in a planet-sized hive. CORE: All foot/jump/cavalry Skitarii, Ironstriders, Electropriests and (sometimes) Kastelan Robots. Notably, not Kataphrons.Sagitarii: These are the heavy weapon operatives. These only include dedicated heavy weapons squads, as heavy weapons attached to Hyspasist squads are still called Hyspasists. [32] Smoke Launcher - Some vehicles have small launchers mounted onto them that carry smoke canisters. These are used to temporarily obscure the vehicle behind billowing clouds of smoke, allowing it to cross open areas in greater safety -- although it does so at the cost of being able to fire its own weapons.

Adeptus Mechanicus have a few different Keywords within the army that govern who can benefit from various effects, and these are unusually selective in places so it’s worth calling out up front what they are. CORE also makes an appearance, further complicating the metaphorical spreadsheet: Transuranic Arquebus - The precision and inhuman efficiency that typify the Skitarii Legions are epitomised by these long-barrelled heavy weapons. Firing a shell composed of a depleted transuranium element, the arquebus can puncture a tank from one side to the other, the resultant pressure wave also pulping any biological creatures that may be sheltering inside. This weapon's high-calibre rounds leaves a trail of radioactive devastation in their wake. The effect on the enemy is threefold. The initial death-toll is horrific, thinning the enemy's ranks. The radioactive fallout that follows leaves the survivors weak and ill. The terror this spreads among the enemy's ranks is invaluable to the Skitarii and the Tech-priests' Quest for Knowledge.

Datasheets

This anachronistic combination is not due to the available materials or a desire for aesthetically pleasing weapons. Nor is it out of practicality; far from it. Trees don't grow on Mars (or any other Forge World, for that matter) and haven't for thousands of standard years. Technological advances have made bolt action rifles obsolete and the dynamos that power many Skitarii weapons have been superseded by more conventional power sources.

Eradication Beamer - The thin yellow beam fired by the Eradication Beamer widens as it projects outward from the weapon's distinctive muzzle. Those in the middle distance will be ravaged on a molecular level by its impossible technologies. Those close by are simply atomised, their physical forms scattered to the hot winds of war without a sound. This practice of using seemingly-outdated weaponry appears a little odd until one remembers the Tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus revere ancient technology. To them, the wargear and weapons designed during the Dark Age of Technology were at the pinnacle of their design and everything since is but a poor substitute. But these ancient weapons aren't just superior: they're vastly superior, inspired by the Machine God Himself and, as such, regarded as holy instruments. At least that is what the Tech-priests believe. To tamper with the design of one, even slightly, would be a terrible heresy. After all, who has the right to challenge the creations of a god?

Subfactions

Though the monotask servitor that steers each Ironstrider engine towards the foe is all but mindless, its rider is a tried and tested Skitarii warrior. Once the Dragoon has spotted his quarry, he will mark it with a bullet from his phosphor serpenta or radium jezzail. The Cataphractii were the Skitarii's armour units. The Skitarii made use of everything from small armoured personnel carriers like the Chimera and Rhino to heavy combat walkers and super heavy tanks such as a Baneblade. The Skitarii are the armed forces of the Adeptus Mechanicus, the faction that produces and maintains virtually all vehicles and engines of war in the Imperium. As such, in addition to peculiar Mechanicus vehicles such as giant land crawlers, the Tech-Guard has access to every type of vehicle used in the Astra Militarum, Navis Imperialis aircraft such as the Valkyrie, the Marauder, the Thunderbolt or the Vulture, and are known to have utilised the Rhino armoured personnel carrier. As eagle-eyed followers will have noticed, many of these units look like they’d fit in fine among the cursed inhabitants of Ulfenkarn. Warhammer Quest: Cursed City will indeed be your first chance to get your claws into the new Soulblight Gravelords, and it’s opening its gates very soon.