The glow of irradiated weaponry and luminous eye lenses penetrates endless clouds of toxic smog, joined by the rhythmic thudding of feet and the static drone of machine cant. It’s not the hit new sound sweeping the 41st Millennium – it’s the tell-tale signs that the dogmatic cults of the Adeptus Mechanicus are marching to war.
Looming above the processions of Skitarii Vanguard and trundling Kataphron Breachers, a curious figure makes its first appearance.
The Sydonian Skatros is a sinister sight – stalking into position on its stilt-like legs before standing deathly still, a living cyborg watchtower that scans the battlefield for targets. It’s a perfectly engineered sniper, and little escapes its all-seeing achillan eye and fine-tuned elimination protocols.
Equipped with either a radium jezzail for popping INFANTRY or a transuranic arquebus for penetrating the armour of VEHICLES and MONSTERS, the Skatros is an exemplary marksman. Its Achillan Eye zeroes in on vulnerable quarry, providing re-rolls for Wound rolls against its favoured targets.
Counter-sniping this elevated assassin is a futile effort. The Stealth and Lone Operative abilities will keep it alive and kicking – and with legs like those, kicking is a real threat.
The Syondian Skatros will be released alongside Codex: Adeptus Mechanicus, a tome of sanctioned and sanctified machine learnings, and your primary source of information for the Cult of the Omnissiah in the new edition of Warhammer 40,000.
Like any good conclave of fanatical worshippers, the Adeptus Mechanicus cannot agree on how best to worship the Machine God of Mars, and their many sects each have their particular way of veneration through the act of war.
Five full Detachments – each with their own Enhancements and Stratagems – feature alongside 30 datasheets, supported by lashings of lore, painting tips, galleries of beautiful miniatures, and new tech-hunting Crusade rules.
The new Skitarii Hunter Cohort is an ideal pairing with the Skatros, sharing all the sensor-baffling tools you need to sneak your entire army around the battlefield. It grants all your SKITARII INFANTRY and MOUNTED units (plus your Ironstriders) the Stealth ability, and also provides the Benefit of Cover to all SICARIAN units targeted by ranged attacks from more than 12” away.
Once your army has tiptoed into position, Binharic Offence lets two SKITARII units attack a prime target with unthinking synchronicity, their lockstep assault improving their Armour Penetration by 1. Pin down an enemy with a Skatros sniper, then blast through their vulnerable spots with a Skorpius Disintegrator or a squad of Rangers.
On top of that, the existing Rad-zone Cohort receives revisions increasing the efficacy of its Rad Bombardment, and the new Explorator Maniple sets its sights on acquiring rare archeotech from the battlefield, no matter the cost. The Cohort Cybernetica provides you with seriously powered-up Kastelan Robots, while the Tech-priests of the Data-psalm Conclave exhort the Cult Mechanicus to eradicate their foes.
There are plenty of tweaks and changes to datasheets and rules in store for the Adeptus Mechanicus, so hook your data-tethers to Warhammer Community to get the latest previews from the Codex in the near future. Head back to the Preview hub to check out the rest of today’s reveals.
