Editing Warhammer 40,000/7th Edition Tactics/Skitarii (section)

==Why Play Skitarii==
The Adeptus Mechanicus have finally been given a presence in core 40k in the form of the Skitarii (or "Tech Guard" for those of you not in the know) as well as the [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Cult Mechanicus(7E)|Cult Mechanicus]]. This is NOT the same as the Horus Heresy Mechanicum army or units, but you can take some super-heavies as Lords of War (see below.) Also, Forgeworld seems to have plans to incorporate 30k Mechanicum units into 40k Mechanicus in one of the upcoming Imperial Armours.

Every infantry unit has Feel No Pain (6+ for the Troops, 5+ for the Elites), a BS of 4, very good leadership (8 for regulars, 9 for Alphas)with several options for a leadership boost. Vanguard and Infiltrators can debuff enemies by proximity facilitating even better melee for your Skitarii. Their gear choices are among the best and incredibly versatile so that few of your units when equipped properly will feel absolutely useless. Their Dunecrawlers are incredibly strong (if short-ranged), especially when taken in a group of three (can you say 4++ on a VEHICLE?) and even better than those are your warlord traits, with Emotionless Clarity being the bane of horde armies ([[Dark_Angels|Can you say BS4 on OVERWATCH?]]). 

However, there are some notable drawbacks; their infantry is only T3 with a 4+, so be ready for more than a few Instant Deaths. For all their good-quality and aggression-based abilities, they have a hard time capitalizing on them due to their lack of flamers and a notable lack of synergy; most of their anti-vehicle abilities are mid-range weapons, which no enemy commander worth their overpriced models would DARE get close enough to your steampunk soldiers to give them that opportunity. Here's hoping those Ruststalkers don't get shot up.

The Skitarii have a decently well-balanced army: There are four kits, making a total of 7 distinct models, including shooty radioactive infantry, shootier not-radioactive infantry, assassin men with knives, assassin men with cattle prods, shooty/stabby gimp-powered scout walkers, shootier  gimp-powered scout walkers, and a spider-tank. They work pretty well as a solo army and do better than [[Sisters of Battle|certain]] [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Militarum Tempestus(7E)|other]] [[Harlequins|armies]], but they'd suffer from lack of flyers and transport. Even then, for a foot-slogging army they are pretty mobile with an easy to acquire Scout move as well as Crusader USR, all units not needing to worry about movement impeding their shooting and charging abilities, and not to mention that half of the army has Dunestrider. The alternative is to ally them with any other Imperial force for their nasty guns, because seriously, they have some NASTY guns.

===Reasons for playing Skitarii===
*You've wanted Adeptus Mechanicus units in 40K for a long time.
*Everything is surprisingly mobile. Crusader and Scout USRs, Dunestrider for +3" to all movements for select units, relentless or the equivalent thereof so static gunlines are not a necessity. Not quite the same thing as transports, but it helps.
*Long robes and paradoxically archaic and futuristic gear and weaponry no one else is allowed to have.
*Their troops occupy the middle ground between Guardsmen and Astartes in terms of individual power level, on par with the Sisters of Battle or Tempestus Scions, while getting better support.
*One of the least played (not shit-tier) armies in the game; never feel bad about being mainstream again!
*Easy access to Precision Shots. Fuck their characters. From 60", no less.
*An incredible amount of ways to manipulate your ability to shoot and stab. From the flat-out bonuses from Doctrina Imperatives, to the Warlord being able to give BS4 Overwatch alongside the near constant Preferred Enemy USR, your army will be spending most of the time hitting what they see and forgetting that missing is a statistical possibility.
*The nature of the Mechanicum allows for more lee-way when doing conversion work.