Mars has split asunder in civil war as we see the Rise of the Dark Mechanicum. Using ancient and forbidden lore buried deep beneath Mars by The Emperor himself, the “New Mechanicum” loyal to The Warmaster bring about the Death of Innocence and the fires of the Horus Heresy to the red planet. In Rise of the Dark Mechanicum, up for pre order today, we learn about this conflict, while also gaining access to 4 brand new army lists for games of Legions Imperialis.

Massive thanks to Games Workshop for sending us over an early review copy to check out on the site. If you would like to support the site then why not order your copy through our affiliate Element Games and save yourself some money too?

In this review, we’ll be taking a look at the Rise of the Dark Mechanicum supplement and checking out what is contained within it’s pages, and investigating the new formations and detachments. We also filmed a full unboxing of the Mechanicum Battle Group Box too, which you can see just below or over on YouTube

We’ll be taking a look at the new kits from the Mechanicum Battle Group later on in the review too, along with painted photos of all the miniatures in the box!

So without further ado, let’s investigate the Rise of the Dark Mechanicum!

Rise of the Dark Mechanicum Review

I think it’s safe to say that a lot of people are very excited for this one. The Dark Mechanicum have been discussed in the lore for years, and some of the daemon engine successors have appeared on the tabletop. But we’ve never had true Dark Mechanicum models produced for any Games Workshop game.

The latest supplement for Legions Imperialis is dedicated to exploring the same Civil War that we saw in the recent Horus Heresy Supplement The Martian Civil War, but where that book gave us rules for some old resin daemon engine kits, Legions Imperialis does things a little differently by giving us full fat Dark Mechanicum with no punches puled. This is very exciting for larger scale Heresy players too, as with the recent plastic Mechanicum releases for Horus Heresy (and no doubt more to follow) then that also sets things open for Dark Mechanicum kits for Heresy too (And I’m pretty sure numerous photos in this book are based on the larger scale models too…)

It’s not just the Dark Mechanicum that gets love here though, there’s actually 4 full army lists in the book covering the Mechanicum and Dark Mechanicum, but also a full Titan Legions list along with Knights – we’ll be looking into those a little later on, but first let’s take a look at the lore and campaign content.

Rise of the Dark Mechanicum – The Lore

Like with the other Legions Imperialis, the first half of Rise of the Dark Mechanicum covers the lore of the events leading up to the conflict in quite some detail. For the last few Heresy releases, we’ve seen some parallel across the content of the books for both scale games, but I have to say I think the Legions Imperialis release wins out here, with a real focus on the formation of the Dark Mechanicum and the secrets locked away in the Vaults of Moravec. The Death of Innocence has been covered in multiple books now, but here we see the formative steps of the Dark Mechanicum and the Stalkers they deployed during the battle for Magma City.

I loved the sections detailing initial reactions to the stalkers – with them acting like animals and having somewhat of a hive mind due to the presence of the Noospheric engines. it sort of makes them feel a little like the old Epic Tyranids

Rise of the Dark Mechanicum – Campaign Rules

In Rise of the Dark Mechanicum we also get quite a bit of new campaign content for playing through linked games. The core campaign rules are reprinted here along with the rules for “standard” Warfront campaigns (A group of players fight a series of battles over a fixed number of weeks, with players able to spend requisition to add additional units to their forces) and the rules for Escalation campaigns (Where the points value of the armies used gradually increases over the course of the campaign.

This gives players a couple of options for running their campaign, even if they have not picked up any of the other campaign books. While reprinted rules may be frustrating for people who have already picked up all the books, this does mean that for players interested in just this supplement and not the others don’t then feel if they are missing the core campaign rules locked behind other books. It also means that if you are running a campaign you dont necessarily have to bring a small library of books with you either!

We also get 3 new Flashpoint missions and a new Grand Clash mission. These are really fun with some cool mechanics – One for example has a river bisecting the battlefield and the armies deployed either side of it. There’s only two bridges over the river and points scored for getting across the river and into the enemy deployment zone and holding the bridges themselves. This is really fun, and leads to some interesting games as you decide on focusing on holding both bridges and stopping the enemy getting across, or instead rush to the other side before them and try and overwhelm with numbers.

For this campaign, each Flashpoint grants a different bonus in the Grand Clash too – making winning the Flashpoints a very valuable thing!

The Grand Clash itself is somewhat of a meatgrinder, with both forces trying to hold 4 designated parts of the battlefield that represent the various areas of the city. The defenders get to dig in and set up their forces where best suited, with the attackers rolling in from a board edge – but to represent the endless waves of attackers, any destroyed units for the attacker get made up into new waves of Formations that can enter the game in future turns. With a nicely put together city board you can have some really epic games here, no pun intended!

The Collegia Titanica

The first of the 4 new army lists in the book is the Collegia Titanica. This is finally a full primary army list for the Titan Legions. So yes, as your primary force you can now take nothing but titans. Yes, this does have some downsides such as not being able to score with Objective Control or capture Objectives, but it does open you up to take some allied armies that can do those jobs.

It’s also a great way for people who collected Adeptus Titanicus to get into the game, as your existing Titan Maniples port over pretty cleanly. Add a box or two of another army for some scoring units and you’re all set.

The majority of units do not count as strategic assets, and such as you’re not limited in how many points you can spend on them or how many you can take as long as they are from the following list: Dire Wolves, Warhounds, Reavers, Warbringers, Warlords, Warmasters, Questoris Knights, Cerastus Knights, Acastus Knights. As you can see this gives you lots to play with, with only more obscure stuff like Psi-Titans being limited with Strategic Assets.

Army construction is similar to normal armies, with the Titans getting a number of new Formations that mirror some of the popular maniples in Titanicus:

Axiom requires a Warlord, a Reaver and a Warhound detachment, with optional Reaver and Knight slots for example

Or a Purgigatus Heavy Maniple is made up of a required Warmaster, and then can have an optional Warmaster, Warlord and up to 2 Warbringers.

There’s lots of variety here across a load of different engines making it really easy to put a force together (Especially if the long awaited Titan Battle Group box finally gets re-released alongside this book), but its worth noting that you cant take any of these as allies, so if you want to go Titan heavy you’re going to have to go all in and take the vast majority of your force as engines.

The Questoris Familia

Just like with Titans, we also get a dedicated Knight primary force in Rise of the Dark Mechanicum! This works much the same way with a number of dedicated formations. So for example the Barony Guard Lance has a compulsory Cerastus and two Questoris, and a single model gets upgraded to a Baron for free (Giving them +2 CAF and an extra wound).

Armigers are no longer an upgrade but instead get their own slots in formations too (Most likely to better control their numbers). Due to this a new pair of Armiger Detachments exist for use with these new formations with standard ones at 180 points for 3 and Moirax at 200 for 3.

Like with the Titans, these can only be taken as a primary force, but I have to admit I’m very tempted to put together a massive banner of knights supported by some Solar Aux for objective duties!

Mechanicum Taghmata

With the Mechanicum Taghmata, we get to one of the new model ranges for Legions Imperialis. There’s a few new rules, and some that will interest fans of Titans and Knights. A lot of the Formations allow you to take Titan or Knight choices as part of the formation itself. These are counted as part of the Mechanicum Taghmata list and thus don’t count towards your Strategic Assets, allowing you to fit a lot more titans into your armies!

This also doesnt stop them taking Titans and Knights as strategic assets either, so you get the best of both worlds here

There are a few new rules that relate to the Cybernetica Cortex – this essentially represents the Automata units that are programmed to fulfill a specific purpose. From a gameplay point of view this means that they are only able to be given the specific orders listed on their profile. To get around this, some units have the Cortex Controller rule, which allows them to override the restrictions on orders as long as they are within 9″ – making them very handy for babysitting those units with those restrictions. It also specifically calls out that they dont have to be in the same formation either, which is handy.

So let’s take a look at the new units before we check out the formations.

Mechanicum Taghmata Detachments

Archmagos Prime (Foot or on Abeyant)

For HQ we have access to an Archmagos Prime which can be taken on foot or on an Abeyant for an extra 20 points. The Abeyant version gives you extra movement, 1 extra CAF and an additional wound, but also has a Melta gun for a little high AP anti tank.

This is very much a support unit, having Battlesmith and a Cortex Controller to mitigate any incoming damage and get the most out of your Automata, and also has a 5+ inv save to keep him kicking a little longer.

Tech Thralls

The first Core choice is dirt cheap, costing the same as a lasrifle unit for 4 bases. They are terrible in combat with a CAF of -1, however they do not have a morale value so can never withdraw, making them a great way of holding up units with cannon fodder.

Armed with las locks with only a 6″ range and hitting on a 6 these are not going to be killing much,but their job is gumming up enemy detachments to buy time for your heavy hitters.

Thallax

The Thallax are a more elite option for your core choices, they have movement 7 and jump packs making them a little more mobile, and some better weaponry than the thralls, but with a big detachment can start pumping out some decent damage.

Tech Priest Auxilia

In the support section we have another cheap option for battlesmith and cortex controller, again I’d take a few of these scattered through your lines to get around any order limitations on automata.

Myrmidon Secutor Host

Now we get to some heavier hitters! The Secutors have a CAF of +6 and Implacable, making these one of the better close combat units in the book.

Myrmidon Destructor Host

While not as good in combat, the Destructors have a couple of decent choices for ranged firepower, either a high AP longer range conversion beamer, or short range and high volume fire with deflagrate

Arlatax Battle Automata

An amazing unit now, the Arlatax is quick with Movement 7 and a jump pack, good in combat with CAF +6, pretty resilient with a 4+ save, 2 wounds and has a 6+ inv save. He also has a reliable assortment of weapons. As an Automata he can only advance or charge unless in range of a cortex controller through.

Domitar Battle Automata

The Domitar is similar – it doesnt have the jump pack and CAF is a little lower, but it does have the Wrecker rule on its weapon. It’s also armed with a missile launcher giving options on what to shoot at. It can only Advance or March due to its Cortex

Castellax Battle Automata

Another great unit, with 4+ save, 2 wounds, a 6+ inv save and Armoured (Which the previous mentioned Automata also have) they are hard to shift without dedicated firepower, and can also put out quite a volume of fire per base, Cortex rules on these only allow them to March or Advance

Ursarax Cohort

On to the Vanguard picks and we have the Ursurax. These are basically Thallax who hit a little harder in combat and have Volkite weapons for Deflagate.

Vorax Battle Automata

This is a nice jack of all trades unit that has Forward Deployment and a nice mix of weapons with quite a bit of Light shooting (with a total 5 shots per base) and rend in combat. With their Cortex they can Charge or March.

Vulturax

The last of the Vanguard options is the Vulturax – this is a decent skimmer with 2 wounds and outflank, and pretty speedy with movement 9. It’s weapon has Neutron Flux, giving it armour bane and shred against other models with a Cybernetca Cortex (which we’ll see lots more of with this book coming out!)

Thanatar Siege Automata

The iconic Mechanicum unit returns in tiny form, and has a couple of different weapon options. Base it comes with an AP-3 demolisher mortar, or can be upgraded to have an armourbane longer ranged heavy las and also a close combat wrecker weapon. With cortex he can advance or first fire – which makes this easier to leave away from your main force and first fire away as needed.

Triaros Armoured Converyor

We get a dedicated transport choice here, with a pretty reliable large transport holding 4 bases, and a 3+ save. It also boasts quite a bit of close range firepower too!

Battle Tank Detachments

While they are not part of the Mechanicum Battle Group Box, there’s also a couple of new Battle Tank Detachments, which I assume will be getting kits soon after launch.

The Karacnos is a two shot barrage tank that ignores cover, it also has Wrecker in close combat too!

We also get three versions of Krios across 2 different detachments – the Krios Battle Tank can be outfitted with 22″ AP2 lightning cannon, or swapped to the Irad Cleanser which is shorter range but hits better. There’s also the Krios Venator which is a dedicated Anti Tank AP -3 that is a great option for dealing with enemy armour.

Mechanicum Formations

So what formations exist to let you field this units? Let’s take a look!

Autokratorii Regiment – This is based around armoured elements. Compulsory are three Battle Tank detachments, with one vehicle able to be upgraded to have a Cortex Controller. You can also take an option extra Battle Tank, a HQ, a Tech Priest and 2 support and 2 transports. Where things get interesting is the optional slot allowing you to take a Titan (any titan whatsoever) or a pair of Knight Detachements. This is something we see in these Formations allowing you to go very Titan heavy if you want!

Legio Cybernetica Cohort – If you like big bots and cannot lie, then this is the formation to go for in order to go robot heavy. Every slot must be filled with models with Cortex or Cortex Controllers, but in exchange the range of Cortex Controllers is larger, giving you more control over orders here. Compulsory is 1 HQ, 1 Core and 1 Support, then you can take optional 2 HQ, 2 core, 2 transports, 1 support and 1 transport, with an additional 2 optional support or vanguard and finally an optional titan

Taghmata Sub Covenant – this is your “standard” Mechanicum formation and unlocks all infantry or walkers to take dedicated transports. Compulsory is a HQ, 2 units of Thralls, and 2 support. Then one of each slot is optional (Allowing you to fit in a nice mix of units) and an optional Titan or 2 Knight detachments

Ordo Reductor – as the best way of fitting in as many Thanatars as possible, the Ordo Reductor formation allows you to take 1 HQ, 1 support and 2 Bastions (Thanatars currently fill this role). And then another 2 support, HQ, battle tank and bastion can be taken along with a Titan or Knight.

The Dark Mechanicum

It wouldn’t be the Rise of the Dark Mechanicum without the title faction – and again we get an interesting force here.

The Dark Mechanicum get access to a lot of standard Mechanicum units, but not all of them, Essentially they can take everything on the standard infantry sprue (archmagos, tech priest, thralls, thallax, myrmadons, and Ursurax) plus all the tanks and transport – this does mean a lot of the stronger Automata are not available to them – but they make that up with stalker constructs.

A lot of their Stalkers have Construct Shields – these are basically void shields that can not be reignited. Finally they have Networked Anima, this rule gives stalkers additional formation specific rules as long as they are in range of a Noosphere Controller.

Let’s have a look at the units:

Scintallax Cyclops Noospheric Stalker – This is a Noosphere Controller and stalker HQ option, so often wanted in your forces to trigger the Networked Anima abilities of your other units. It’s quick with movement 7 and Nimble, and can take a hit with a 3+ save and 2 wounds, plus a construct shield. You can give it a very close range anti tank and bunker buster weapon, or swap it out for a little more range and a weapon more suited at infantry.

Errax Butcher Assault Stalker – Your core choice and is pretty good! Quick with a 4+ save and 2 wounds along with a construct shield. You can build them suited towards one of 3 roles, anti tank, anti infantry or bunker busting

Harpax Swarmer Scout Host – This is interesting, a cheap 4 base infantry squad with jump packsin the vanguard slot, but armed with 10 inch weapons with shred or swap them out for 4 inch las cutters with anti tank and bunker buster.

Tenebrax Archer Battle Stalker – Filling the Light Armour slot is the Tenebrax Battle Archer, this comes with a 3 shot shieldbane main weapon but can also be given one of 3 secondary weapons allowing it to lean into shred, deflagrate or point defense, giving it a nice mix of roles it can be taken for.

Serperos Overlord Heavy Stalker – the final unit in the book is the Overlord Heavy Stalker. This rocks a 2+ save, has 2 wounds and 2 construct shields. It’s got a range of weapon options. One gun can be a 3 shot bombard with bypass, ignores cover and shred, or a 5 shot Light AT with rapid fire and Shieldbane for stripping voids. For it’s other weapon it can take a shortrange anti tank and engine killer or a longer range high AP gun for taking out elite infantry units.

Rise of the Dark Mechanicum contains 4 formations for the Dark Mechanicum

Terror Protocol increases the movement speed of all Networked units in range of your Noosphere Controllers. You have to take a HQ, Vanguard and 2 Butchers, and can optionally take 2 core, 2 vanguard and either a Warhound pack or a Knight detachment.

Purge Protocol is all about your larger stalkers. Requirements are a Heavy Stalker and 2 Archers, but you’re going to want to take some of the optional choices (HQ, 2 Battle tanks, an additional 2 heavy stalkers or light armour plus a Titan) as your Cyclops can mark a target to give your other units a reroll of 1s to hit.

Swarm Protocol lets your Swarmer units Infiltrate, and in addition any can be upgrade to have Noosphere Controllers and gain a 6+ inv save – this makes them a little more expensive but able to act ahead of your lines much easier. 3 Vanguard are required, with another 3 optional, plus 2 light armour and a detachment of Knights.

Dark Taghmata Sub Covenant is basically a Dark Mechanicum formation allowing you to take the standard Mechanicum units with some Dark Mechanicum stalkers mixed in. A great option if you want to pick up a few Mechanicum kits to go with your stalkers. Can also take an optional Titan, which is always handy.

Rise of the Dark Mechanicum – Summary

So what do I think of Rise of the Dark Mechanicum? Is it worth adding to your collection? For me, this is one of the most exciting releases for Legions Imperialis so far. The game has been out for around a year now, and this book alone adds 4 new usable armies in addition to the two we already have. In the same way that we have seen the Astartes and Solar Auxilia armies expanded through the supplements over the last year, I suspect the next few books will do the same for the Mechanicum too. Having a full primary army list for both the Titan Legions and the Knights is also another big surprise, and a welcome one. In fact, the fact that Mechanicum armies of both flavours can take lots of Titans also makers these armies some of the most accessible armies to get into as you don’t need to paint 3000 points of tiny units, but can instead fill a lot of points with some impressive big models.

6 full armies also means theres now a lot more flavour to armies, and we’ll start to see a lot more variety in the game going forwards.

I was worried that we wouldn’t see more armies for a while after comments made during the roadmap show, so I’m glad that this isnt actually the case. It does leave me a little confused as to why this wasn’t given a big fanfare back then, and feel that maybe GW should start to show off the future a little more than they currently are to make sure the community is left engaged and excited for whats coming.

I highly recommend picking up this book, and I can’t wait to be able to build even more diverse armies!

Rise of the Dark Mechanicum is up for pre order today and is released Saturday 2nd November

Games Workshop provided Sprues & Brews with free copies for review purposes.