40k

Adeptus Mechanicus

All armies · Adeptus Mechanicus · Necrons · Adeptus Custodes

Rules: Mechanicus reference · Cheat sheet · Core rules

• Status: owned, about half painted.

Current list

• Size: 1,980 / 2,000 pts, Strike Force, 11th edition.
• Warlord: Belisarius Cawl.
• Detachment: Lords of the Forge (2 DP since the September 2026 balance update).
• List: New Recruit. Latest export: 2026-10-15 (ros).

Units

• Tech-Priest Dominus (TL-4Ø9) + 10 Skitarii Rangers
• Skitarii Marshal + 10 Skitarii Vanguard
• Tech-Priest Dominus + 10 Skitarii Vanguard, in a Skorpius Dunerider
• Tech-Priest Manipulus + 3 Kataphron Breachers
• Cybernetica Datasmith (Vingh’s Wafers) + 2 Kastelan Robots
• Belisarius Cawl
• Sydonian Skatros
• 10 Skitarii Rangers
• Ironstrider Ballistarii (autocannon)
• Onager Dunecrawler (neutron laser)
• Onager Dunecrawler (eradication beamer)
• 5 Pteraxii Sterylizors
• 3 Serberys Raiders
• 3 Serberys Sulphurhounds
• 5 Sicarian Infiltrators
• 5 Sicarian Ruststalkers

Collection notes

• Recently bought: a Combat Patrol box with a Manipulus, Vanguard, Pteraxii and Serberys.
• Build plan for that box:
  • Manipulus with transonic cannon. Magnetise the arm to allow the lance if he’ll lead the spare Rangers.
  • Vanguard with every free special, the Alpha combat weapon and an omnispex.
  • Pteraxii as Sterylizors.
  • Serberys as whichever of Raiders or Sulphurhounds I don’t already own; Sulphurhounds by default, with the blast carbine.
• Open question: is the new Manipulus a second one, or does it replace a proxy?

Plans and ideas

Detachments

Adding Cohort Cybernetica (1 DP) as the third DP is the natural move. Necromechanic (20 pts) fits the spare points. Suggested, not yet decided.

Upgrade tiers

These were proposed in October 2026. All of them add Cohort Cybernetica. Prices are US list prices.

• Low (~$60):
  • Add Hastarii Fusiliers.
  • Cut the Skatros and Ruststalkers.
  • Add Necromechanic.
  • Total: 1,985 pts.
• Medium (~$128):
  • Everything in Low.
  • Add a second Ironstrider with lascannons.
  • Cut the Sulphurhounds and drop Necromechanic.
  • Total: 2,000 pts.
• High (~$270):
  • Everything in Medium.
  • Add Thulia Ghuld (she becomes Warlord) and a Servitor Battleclade (from the Kill Team: Battleclade box).
  • Cut the Kastelans with their Datasmith, and the Raiders.
  • Total: 2,000 pts.

None chosen yet. Medium is the best value.

Other candidates

• An Enginseer.
• Lascannons on the existing Ironstrider (+10 pts).
• Breachers up to 6. Breachers + Manipulus is a key damage unit.
• Kataphron Destroyers aren’t needed.

Meta notes (Tabletop Battles, September 2026)

• Ironstriders with double Doctrinas appear in almost every competitive list, even though they’re considered overpriced.
• The Servitor Battleclade was nerfed.
• Hastarii Fusiliers are now the cheapest S12 shots.

Paint

• Scheme: Mars red.
• Done: about half the army is painted well in red. Cawl and one Onager are the reference models to match.
• Orange models: some are painted orange and need repainting red. Paint over them; don’t strip.
• Unpainted: everything else.
• Paints owned: see Paints.

Working recipe

This is a suggestion built from the paints I own. Compare it against Cawl before committing to it, and record any changes here.

• Primer: black spray, or Wraithbone if it’s the spray. Paint Mephiston Red straight over the old orange; the orange underneath only warms it.
• Robes and armour plates: Mephiston Red, two thin coats. Shade the recesses only with Army Painter Red Tone. It deepens the red without browning it. Strong Tone also works for a dirtier look. Tidy up with Mephiston Red. Edge highlight with Evil Sunz Scarlet; add Wild Rider Red later for a finer top edge.
• Metal (bionics, guns, hulls): Leadbelcher, then Strong Tone for a warm, grimy steel, or Nuln Oil for a cleaner, cooler steel.
• Trim and cogs: Retributor Armour, Nuln Oil in the recesses, then a Liberator Gold edge highlight.
• Cabling, leather, wood: Rhinox Hide, then Strong Tone.
• Bone, parchment, purity seals: Zandri Dust, washed with Strong Tone, then highlighted with Wraithbone or Corax White.
• Lenses and power glow: Baharroth Blue, with a Corax White dot.
• Black parts: Corvus Black, with a grey edge made by mixing in some Corax White.
• Bases: match Cawl and the Onager if they already have a base style. Otherwise, apply Martian Ironearth thickly and let it dry fully (it cracks as it dries). Wash with Strong Tone, drybrush Zandri Dust, and paint the rim Rhinox Hide or Corvus Black.

Battle-ready plan

Goal: every model in the list primed, with at least three colours and a finished base. That’s Games Workshop’s “battle ready” standard and what most tournaments ask for. Highlights and gold trim can come later.

Fast recipe (batches of 5–10 models):

1. Prime black, or Wraithbone if it’s the spray.
2. Mephiston Red on robes and armour plates. Old orange models need two coats.
3. Leadbelcher on metal.
4. One detail colour: Rhinox Hide on cabling, or Zandri Dust on bone.
5. Wash: Red Tone on the red, Strong Tone on everything else (metal, cabling, bone). If you’re short on time, Strong Tone over the whole model is fine.
6. Mephiston Red again on the raised areas of the red. Keep this step, so the batch doesn’t look darker than the models that are already done.
7. A Baharroth Blue dot on lenses.
8. Base: Martian Ironearth, Strong Tone, a Zandri Dust drybrush, and a black or brown rim.

Upgrade to match the finished models later: Evil Sunz Scarlet edge highlight, Retributor Armour trim, Nuln Oil in the metal recesses.

Order:

1. Bases on every model, including the finished ones, so the army matches.
2. Infantry blocks: Rangers and Vanguard, ten at a time.
3. The new Combat Patrol models, as they’re built.
4. Characters and vehicles.

Progress:

• Kastelan Robots: red basecoat done. Still to do: faceplate and details, then a recess wash, then tidy and highlight.
• Current batch (2026-10-15): primed black, then Leadbelcher airbrushed all over. Next: block in the Mephiston Red, details, wash.
• Other units: not recorded yet. List them here.

Reference look (Cawl): matte, lighter and dusty red, not deep and saturated. To match it:

• Wash: Strong Tone in the recesses only. Skip Red Tone on anything that should match Cawl, because it deepens the red further.
• Lighten: mix Mephiston Red with a little Zandri Dust (about 3:1) and drybrush or sponge it over the raised areas of the panels. Evil Sunz Scarlet gives a brighter, less dusty lift.
• Dust: lightly drybrush Zandri Dust on the legs and feet, fading out going up.
• Finish: matte varnish to remove wash sheen.
• Test first: try it on the back of one Kastelan and compare with Cawl before doing the rest.

Kastelan tips: the faceplate is a glass visor, not metal. Paint it as glass over the existing black: Baharroth Blue in a curve along the lower half, a thinner, brighter band of Baharroth mixed with Corax White near the bottom edge, then a small Corax White glint in the top corner. Keep the wash off the visor. Paint the visor, metals and gold before washing. On the big flat panels, put the wash only into the recesses and panel lines; an all-over wash leaves tide marks.