We have been getting bits and pieces of the Ad-Mech with the Horus Heresy, and the direction of the Adeptus Mechanicus is one of those topics that draws my attention and that of many in the hobby. Welcome to the Grim Dark of 30k and the Horus Heresy, and check out what Forgeworld has in waiting for us.
Please remember that these are rumors, and are from a conversation at Games Day UK with Mark Bedford and John of the blog CoreHammer. This is not the entirety of the article, but just the highlights. Please head over the CoreHammer for more details.
http://www.corehammer.com/adeptus-mechanicus-beyond-the-imperium/
via John over at CoreHammer
Discussion about the Mechanicum Forces at Games Day UK with Mark Bedford and Rob MacFarlane
-Trying to Capture the Adeptus Mechanicus of early Blanche artwork
-Will be the closest thing to a Necromatic Force in 30k
Imagine the victorious Tech-Priests scouring the battlefield clean for any useful parts, both organic and machine, to recycle into new troops and upgrades. The wounded and recently deceased being lobotomised, cleansed of all individuality and conscious thought and raised anew as Thralls to be controlled remotely by a Magos.
-The idea with the Magi is to move away from the reliance on physical armour and instead be protected by technology (power fields and the like) whilst literally controlling vast swathes of thralls as cannon fodder.
-While the Thralls give the guard equalivants, the Skitarii will be closer to Marines. There is a lot of Black Library books that describe these, and they will resemble what you find in the novels.
-Myrmidons are a unit straight from Book II and were on display in cabinets. These guys are the elites. Trusted to carry experimental weapons to battle more advanced than those available to Astartes. Bedford was very much of the opinion the Mechanicum wouldn’t give away their best toys.
-The Ad-Mech will come in piecemeal with each Heresy Book, as allies, so that by the time they reach the Schism on Mars, they can concentrate on the Dark Mechanicum. Where Mark wants to bring the darkness back into the model range with Ad-Mech and their advanced weaponry the Dark Mechanicum will be even more extreme and twisted after opening the Vaults of Moravec.
-Current anticipation is the Mechanicum will have access to machines of all sizes, right up to Titans and everything in between (yes including the much hoped for knights). However like weapons their machines will be different.
-All this is based off personal discussions with designers. None of this is officially confirmed or mapped out, just the direction these guys are considering taking the Mechanicum at the minute. Given we’ve been spoiled now with announcements of books III, IV, V and VI with release aims of 6 months for each we’re talking 2 years partially mapped out already for the Heresy tomes.
