mechanicum allied detachment

[andres]

Really like the look of the admech units (scitarii and the like).
Does anyone have any experience of bringing mechanicum as an ally for guard?

Could you suggest any ideas for a useful battalion to bring as allies?
Thank you in advance...

[RedsandRoyals]

I do. Your best bet is to bring the Onagers. The Icarus launcher and a pair of neutron lasers do a lot the Guard doesn't at a very efficient price. An Icarus onager is arguably the best AA in the game, but also excels at punishing heavy infantry and light vehicles due to the number of shots. True, it hits at Guard BS when firing at ground targets, but at worst that's comparable to the rest of your army, and at best, you can buff it to hit on a 2+ still thanks to a strategem (and if you keep it near a techpriest dominus, you reroll 1's). The neutron laser variant hits tanks EXTREMELY hard, wounding a Russ on a 3+, denying an armor save, and guaranteeing 3 damage at least. With heavy stubbers, the Icarus variant clocks in at a very appealing 112pts, while the Neutron laser wraps up at 119pts. Both are cheap for what they do and very effective.

The Dominus and regular techpriest can both fix your regular Guard vehicles. The Dominus is the better choice if you're running 2-3 crawlers in 1250+, but the techpriest is the best solution if you want a cheap detachment. The infantry is a mixed bag for allying in. Vanguard aren't appreciably more durable than Guardsmen unless they're in cover and don't spam plasma as well as our Vets or rifle shots as well as a guard squad with FRFSRF. The Rangers have the advantage of being 5pts cheaper for a squad than our guard, but that's about it aside from their slightly better weapons. 30in range bolter statlines aren't that impressive. The sniper rifles are good compared to other snipers, but snipers in general are a mixed bag. You're better off with a command squad full of them as Guard (since they will get lit up turn 1 anyway, so you may as well keep them cheap), or taking a Vindicare (who can hide thanks to the character rule).

Nothing else in the list is worth taking over Guard alternatives, in my opinion. Infiltrators are solid at horde blending, but Hellhounds and mortars do that much better without having to get into melee. Dakka bots lay down a lot of shots, but so do much tougher Punisher Russes. The Electropriests are too squishy without a delivery vehicle. People are starting to like the Kataphronds, but your heavy weapon teams do more damage for cheaper (Hell, your Russes are cheaper). Sydonian dragoons are good if you run Stygies, great if you pop off Chant of the Remorseless Fist when you charge, but the models are extremely expensive and difficult to assemble. I'd pass on them unless you like them a lot.

For best results, I'd say run a cheap battalion with a Dominus, Techpriest, 3 squads of Rangers, and 2-3 Onagers. In a lower point game, a Spearhead with a Dominus and 3 Onagers won't go amiss.