STARTING AN ADEPTUS MECHANICUS ARMY IN 11TH EDITION: THE OMNISSIAH PROVIDES
The Adeptus Mechanicus are the priesthood of Mars: cybernetic Skitarii, striding war engines and robed magi trailing mechadendrites, in rust red, aged brass and pallid steel. This page covers the Skitarii box to start with, the second procession, and Cawl, Kastelans or a Dunecrawler.
Ten Skitarii teach the recipe
Start with the current AdMech Combat Patrol, which centres on Skitarii, the faction's rank and file, with a Tech-Priest to lead them. If you buy a single kit instead, make it the Skitarii box: it builds Rangers or Vanguard from the same frames, and ten of them teach the entire recipe of red robe, weathered metal and a glowing lens or two. Paint robes first, metals second, cables last. The palette rewards washes and drybrushing far more than a surgeon's hand, and the whole force is repetition done well: master three or four techniques and it snaps into coherence like a well-compiled ritual. Batch painting is the Machine God's own liturgy, and this is where you learn to chant it.
Rangers, Vanguard, Ironstriders
Once that first squad is finished (finished, not "mostly"), widen the congregation.
- A second Skitarii box built as the other variant, so you field both Rangers and Vanguard.
- Sicarian Infiltrators or Ruststalkers for something fast and stilted.
- The Ironstrider kit, which builds Ballistarii or Sydonian Dragoons and gives the army its unmistakable striding silhouette.
Recommended: Sicarian Infiltrators
Recommended: Ironstrider Ballistarii
Cawl, Kastelans or a Dunecrawler
Belisarius Cawl is the obvious crown, a vast baroque character who reads as a centrepiece despite being a single miniature. A pair of Kastelan Robots is the alternative, big clean armour plates that show off your metallics, while the Onager Dunecrawler splits the difference as a walking tank with real table presence. Any of the three, painted with patience, anchors every photograph of your army for years.
Recommended: Onager Dunecrawler
Lists online are snapshots
Points and datasheets changed for 11th edition, and starter boxes rotate on their own mysterious schedule, so treat any list you read online as a snapshot rather than scripture. Check the current points before a shopping trip. Buy the models you want to paint; the maths catches up.
Electro-Priests can wait
- Electro-Priests before your core infantry is done. The bare-chested fanatics can wait for the faithful.
- A third flavour of cavalry when the first has not been based.
- Forge World curiosities. The plastic range is deep enough to drown in.
- Duplicate characters "for options". The Omnissiah sees your shelf of shame.
The sacred inventory
The Mechanicus catalogue everything. Record each kit the day it arrives and record its state, boxed, built or finished. A backlog you can see disciplines a hobby budget, and a finished column that grows keeps a painter at the desk. The complete catalogue of units and their history is on the Adeptus Mechanicus faction page under Data.