|
Let?s get right into it.
I see the Adeptus Mechanicus umbrella as containing the following distinct army lists:
- Adeptus Mechanicus Titan Legion
- Adeptus Mechanicus Planetary Defense Force (Skitarii Legion)
- Adeptus Mechanicus ?Knightworld? Force
I would also place them in that order of importance to Epic; Titans are one of the iconic staples of Epic, and whatever happens, the Titan-centric list should come first.
On a related note, I would consider my AMTL stewardship a failure if we produce an AMTL list that is balanced internally, yet we had failed to find a way to make some other configurations of titan balanced for use with other Imperial armies.
Of the three lists, there are some background challenges:
- The Titan Legions background will need a small amount of fleshing out, mostly this is all available from previous versions of Epic and shouldn?t be too hard to incorporate.
- The Skitarii Legion army list will require a moderate amount of new background, but again, it is fairly well established.
- Knights (As they were originally presented), on the other hand, in my opinion do not fit with today?s version of the 40k universe; ?Farm machinery copied from Exodite technology, later taken to war by a feudal society? will probably need a re-think.
A solid background that fits with the setting is just as important as having a balanced army list. Of the above three lists, Knights obviously need a minor re-jig? my first thought is that Knights could represent a half-way house between Titans and industrial machinery, that most of their time would be used on Forgeworlds in tending to industrial processes or even in helping to maintain the Titans, but that when called to war they would be refitted with offensive weapons and used as an auxiliary ?light Titan? menagerie. I would appreciate a discussion on this topic and will be opening a separate thread for its discussion.
---
So, the Titan-centric list will be coming first.
In my opinion, the AMTL 2.0 list had several failings, and although it has much that can be built upon, some aspects of the list will have to be discarded. This is inevitable if we want to split the list into three more focused lists in any case.
Firstly
My vision for the Titan-centric list is of a streamlined set of options; Whilst the AMTL 2.0 list had twenty-two different Titan weapons and six upgrade options, the prospective Titans list that I?ve been putting together has only fifteen weapon systems and three upgrade options. That isn?t to say that I?m intrinsically opposed to seeing more weapons / upgrades return later, but it does mean that we should be able to establish a modicum of balance fairly rapidly.
Secondly
I?ve kept a close watch over the various ?mounts?, ?barrels?, ?Titan sub-classes? and ?weapon class? systems that have been proposed over the last few months.
Almost every single one of these systems has been as an attempt to avoid assigning points costs to the various Titan weapons, and several of these systems have been very complex, moreso than the alternative option they were trying to avoid. With this in mind I intend to try using a Very Simple points cost system for the Titans.
I am not eternally wedded to this concept, but I would like to see it tested as it has not been tried before on a wide basis for this edition of Epic, and I believe that if we can make it work, it will provide more balance and more flavour to the Titan Legions.
?Standard Configuration? Titans will of course conform to the points costs we know and love.
Thirdly
After the usual initial flurry of theory-hammer updates, I will be incorporating updates to the army list(s) on a regular basis. Should I find myself unable to continue as army Champion for the Mechanicus armies for any reason, the ERC will step in and appoint a new army champion as a temporary / permanent replacement (Depending on the circumstance).
I do not want this important area of rules development to lie fallow for so long a second time, and if I?m not updating the list / keeping track of debates to your satisfaction, call me on it.
Finally
I recognize that assigning points costs to Titan weapons will be a controversial choice. Give it a chance and if you disagree with it in principle then please show me that the idea is broken either through theory or practice; As others have said my style of building an army list is consultative rather than dictatorial, so let?s see what we can create (Personally, I?m hoping for a Frankenstein?s monster that people will forever remember as a monstrous terror, but if we can?t manage that, a balanced army list should suffice).
- Ben S, Net:EA Adeptus Mechanicus Army Champion.
|
