Elysian Tactics - AM Codex Allies

As some of you may have noticed I am not posting as much lately, and this lesser rate of posts will probably continue till I start playing some games. But I will have enough painted to field a 2000pt force in less than a month by my calculations. Model choices will be somewhat limited to start with, but not overly so.

I could right now use a smaller force of Elysians beside my Cadians, but I don't really want to do that, not for club games at least. But that brings me to my topic for the next 2 posts, which is what non-Elysians look like they will work well in an Elysian force. I will not be covering using a small force of Elysian with other armies as that is not how I plan to run mine. Neither will I be covering elements too far from the guard codex, no matter how competitive they may be, such as custodes, because I am not going to run them that way, and I will only cover elements I am familiar with, starting with elements withing the AM codex. Note I will not be covering all options, just some that I have considered.

2nd Regiment

So first up is an allied detachment of a different regiment. This is a good choice, as you can use the allied guard as a firebase, and since only half your force can deepstrike there seems little point paying for the whole army to have the ability. I am not planning to run my Elsyians this way since I would rather use a pure Elysian force, but it is a very viable option. Either some Russes or Basilisks/Manticores would both work well with some screening infantry, and here is you chance to take more than 3 mortar squads if you feel so inclined as they are from a different datasheet.

Officio Prefectus

Elysians have less use for standard commissars that most guard armies, even with their recent price drop. This is partially due the the Elysians higher leadership, but mainly that Elysian officers grant morale re-rolls without having to kill one of your guys. Lord Commissars still have their place though, and while you can take an Elysian Lord Commissar, since the price drop you will pay 30pts more for a similarly equipped Elysian Lord Commissar over a standard Lord Commissar. I feel Elysian Lord commissars got overlooked when all the other Commissars got cheaper. The main use for a Lord Commissar is that he is a decent melee character for a cheap price, and helps to fill them HQ slots to open more detachments as he is now one of the cheaper HQ choices.

Adeptus Astra Telepathica

Psykers are still good, even with their price hike and the smite nerf. I wouldn't be going overboard one them, but having a few cheap astropaths strategely placed for deny the witch can really change the game against some opponents. And their ignore cover ability and psychic powers can come in very useful too. I find myself using Astropaths more than primaris psykers as I have never been a big user of smite, and their better smite is the main advantage that primaris psykers have over astropaths. However in an Elysian force Elite slots are more crowded than HQ so Primaris psykers are a bit more attractive.

Adeptus mechanicus

I do like Enginseers, but they are probably not worth taking in a Elysian force, simply because they will not be able to keep up with the fast moving vehicles. They could possible be useful for repairing flyers if you keep them in hover mode, but as a general rule there are probably better places to spend your points.

Adeptus ministorum

Priests are probably only useful if you take some Bullgryns. Also Uriah Jacobus, despite being in a different codex also has the Astra Militarum keyword so can also be included, but probably not worth his cost.

Militarum Auxilla

Quite a few options here, but Ogryns are outclassed by Bullgryns and ratlings are not as cost effective as Elysian snipers.
Now I haven't used Bullgryns yet as I am only assembling a unit now, but they sound very good, and should fit in well with an Elysian force if you load them into a Valkyrie, probably with a priest and a psyker for extra support. Once I have used them in a few games I will be able to comment more on them, but for now there is plenty of other info out there about them.
Likewise Ogyrn Bodyguards also seem awesome. Especially when combined with The Deathmask of Ollanius for that 2++ save on one of them.

Militarum Tempestus

In the fluff Militarum Tempestus seem to work more closely with Elysians than other regiments. However I see less use form them than some of the other options, in that standard Elysians can do the same job, maybe not quite as well, but certainly a bit cheaper.

Sly Marbo

And a special mention for Marbo, one of my favourite characters. I feel he would actually work out well in an Elysian force, despite having the Catachan Keyword. The Catachan doctrine has very little benefit for him so you are not really losing anything by taking him as one of your HQ choices. In fact I have just made an Elysian Marbo, and plan to use him. I am not sure if he is worth his points, but we'll see how he does.

So next time I will be discussing out-of-codex options, such as assassins and inquisitors.