STRATAGEMS
Thenext few pages list Stratagems available to any battlegroup and those available exclusively to Traitor battlegroups. A Traitor battlegroup can select their Stratagems from any of those listed in this section as well as any Legio Specific Stratagems; further generic or Traitor specific Stratagems may be published in future supplements.
All Stratagems shown here have previously been published in an Adeptus Titanicus supplement, however, some may have been adjusted to reflect player feedback or rules changes. As such, the rules published here take precedence over any presented in earlier Adeptus Titanicus supplements, and should be used in place of those.
RANGED SUPPORT STRATAGEMS Stratagem: Artillery Bombardment (2) Play this during each Strategy phase. Place the 5" Blast marker anywhere on the battlefield, then scatter it D10". Any unit touched by the marker where it eventually lands suffers a Strength 8 hit, or two Strength 8 hits if the central hole of the Blast marker is entirely over its base.
Stratagem: Orbital Lance Strike (2)
Once per battle, play this during the Strategy phase. Place the 3" Blast marker anywhere on the battlefield, then scatter it D6". Any unit touched by the marker where it eventually lands suffers D3 Strength 10 hits, or 2D3 Strength 10 hits if the central hole of the Blast marker is entirely over its base.
Stratagem: Blind Barrage (1)
Once per battle, play this during the Strategy phase. Pick a unit on the battlefield. Any attacks that target it or are made by it suffer a -2 To Hit penalty for the duration of the round.
TRICKS AND TACTICS STRATAGEMS Stratagem: Warmaster’s Portion (3) ThisStratagem can be purchased by any Traitor player. Play this Stratagem in the Strategy phase of the first round. During the Movement and Combat phases of the first round, the player’s Titans can re-roll rolls of 1 when making To Hit rolls.
Stratagem: Gifts of the Dark Mechanicum (3)
ThisStratagem can be purchased by any Traitor player. Play this Stratagem in the Strategy phase of the first round. The player chooses one of their Titans. Each time the Titan Pushes its Reactor, the player can choose to place a token on the Titan’s Command Terminal instead of rolling the Reactor dice, gaining the benefits of Pushing the Reactor without advancing the Reactor track. Once the Titan has three tokens placed on its terminal, they are discarded and this Stratagem no longer takes effect.
Stratagem: Bloodthirst (1)
ThisStratagem can be purchased by any Traitor player. Play this Stratagem in any Strategy phase. For the duration of the round, the player’s Titans add 2 to any To Hit rolls made against enemies within 2" of them. In addition, the player’s Titans add 2 to their Command checks when attempting to issue the Charge order.
Stratagem: Living Armour (3)
ThisStratagem can be purchased by any Traitor player. Play this Stratagem in any Strategy phase. Theplayer chooses one of their Titans and a location on the chosen Titan that has suffered Structural Damage. Theplayer then rolls a D10. If the result is equal to or higher than the amount of Structural Damage suffered, all damage to the location is repaired. Otherwise there is no effect, but the player may retain this Stratagem and play it again next round.
Stratagem: War of Fates (1)
ThisStratagem can be purchased by any Traitor player. Play this Stratagem in any Strategy phase. Before the Movement phase, Damage Control phase and Combat phase, the player rolls a D10. If the result is an odd number, for the duration of that phase any D6 roll of 6 counts as a 1 and any D10 roll of 10 counts as a 1. If the result is an even number, for the duration of that phase any D6 roll of 1 counts as a 6 and any D10 roll of 1 counts as a 10.
Stratagem: War Lust (2)
ThisStratagem can be purchased by any Traitor player. Play this Stratagem in any Strategy phase. For the duration of the round, the player’s Titans add 2" to their Boosted Speed characteristic. In addition, the player’s Titans add 2 to their Command checks when attempting to issue the Full Stride order.
Stratagem: Noble Sacrifice (1)
A player can enact this Stratagem during the Strategy phase. To do so, they pick a Titan from their force whose structure has been compromised and roll a D6. Add 1 to the result if its Reactor Status marker is in a hole with an orange indicator, or add 3 to the result if it is in a hole with a red indicator. TheTitan suffers a Magazine Detonation on a result of 1-4, or a Catastrophic Meltdown on a result of 5-6 (see the Catastrophic Damage table).
Stratagem: Outflank (X)
When this Stratagem is chosen, the player secretly writes down one of their units. Thecost of the Stratagem is equal to half the unit’s Scale, rounding up. Play this Stratagem at the start of deployment to set that unit to one side and state that it is outflanking (it is not deployed with the rest of its battlegroup). Write down which of the battlefield’s neutral flanks it will arrive on, but do not reveal this to the opposing player. While the unit is not on the board, it cannot be activated, and so cannot be issued Orders.
At the start of the Movement phase of the first round, the unit appears on long range auspex – reveal to the opposing player which neutral flank was chosen. During the Movement phase of the second round, the outflanking unit can be activated. When it is, it is set up so that the Rear arc of its base is touching the chosen flank. It cannot move any further during the phase.
If a player’s battlegroup contains any Squadrons, they can choose this Stratagem more than once, as long as each outflanking unit is part of the same Squadron.
Stratagem: Sabotage (2)
Play this Stratagem at the start of any phase. Pick an enemy unit which does not currently have Shutdown orders, remove its current Order (if any), then roll an Order dice – the unit immediately takes the Order shown. If it cannot be issued that Order, only its current Order is removed – no new Order is given.
Stratagem: ThermalMines (2)
Play this Stratagem immediately after an enemy unit finishes moving or making a turn. Roll a D6. On a 2 or more, that unit suffers D3 Strength 8 hits; a Titan takes these hits to its Legs. Shield saves cannot be made against the hits. On a 1, nothing happens but the Stratagem is not discarded and can be played again in a subsequent round.
Stratagem: Voidbreaker Field (2)
Play this Stratagem immediately after an enemy unit with active void shields finishes moving or making a turn. Roll a D6. On a 2 or more, the opposing player must immediately make a number of Shield saves equal to the number rolled on the D6. On a 1, nothing happens but the Stratagem is not discarded and can be played again in a subsequent round.
Stratagem: Experimental Weapon (2)
Play this Stratagem in the first Strategy phase of the game. The player chooses one of their Titans and places a marker next to its Command Terminal. Then,randomly choose one of the Titan’s weapons. For the duration of this battle, the selected weapon gains the Maximal Fire trait, though must always declare that it is using this Trait each time it fires. If the weapon already has the Maximal Fire trait, select another weapon.
Stratagem: Dawn Attack (3)
Play this Stratagem in the first Strategy phase of the game. For the first two rounds of the game, darkness cloaks the battlefield. Titans must roll (D6+1) x5 to determine how many inches they can see – only enemies within this range can be targeted. Titans that shot earlier in the round can be targeted, regardless of the distance an attacker can see.
Stratagem: Cursed Earth (1)
Play this Stratagem in the first Strategy phase of the game. The battlefield is heavily irradiated, making shields less effective. Titans must roll an extra dice when making Void Shield saves, while Knight Banners count the Strength of attacks as one higher for the purposes of working out their Ion Shield saves.
Stratagem: Vox Blackout (3)
Play this Stratagem in any Strategy phase. TheStrategy phase immediately ends and all Orders are removed, with the exception of Shutdown orders.
Stratagem: Auspex Bafflers(2)
Play this Stratagem in any Strategy phase. Theplayer chooses one of their Titans or Knight Banners. Until the end of the round, the chosen unit increases the To Hit roll penalty for being obscured by 1, i.e., -2 To Hit if at least 25% of the unit is obscured, or -3 To Hit if at least 50% of the unit is obscured.
Stratagem: Ablative Armour (1)
Play this Stratagem in any Strategy phase. Theplayer chooses one of their Titans and places a marker next to its Command Terminal. Thefirst Direct, Devastating or Critical Hit suffered by the Titan is ignored. Thendiscard this Stratagem.
Stratagem: Overcharged Cannon (2)
Play this Stratagem in the first Strategy phase of the game. Theplayer chooses one of their Titans armed with a weapon with the Maximal Fire trait. Place a marker next to the Titan’s Command Terminal and select one of its weapons with the Maximal Fire trait. Until the end of the battle, the Titan can fire this weapon on Super Maximal Fire. Thisworks in exactly the same way as the Maximal Fire trait, except that the weapon’s Strength is increased by 4 instead of 2.
Stratagem: Strafing Run (2)
Play this Stratagem during any Strategy phase. A squadron of fighter-bombers scream across the battlefield, attacking everything in their path. Choose one of the four edges of the battlefield and pick a point on that edge. Thenpick a point on any other edge of the battlefield and draw an imaginary line 1mm wide between the two. Any unit under this line, or within 2" of it, takes D3 Strength 6 hits. Thearc from which the hits originate is determined by the direction the line is travelling. Determine which arc the first chosen point is within for each unit hit and resolve the hits against that arc.
Stratagem: Scatterable Mines (2)
Play this Stratagem during any Strategy phase. Place a marker anywhere on the battlefield then scatter it D10". Thearea within 6" of this marker counts as Dangerous terrain. Remove the marker at the end of the round.
Stratagem: Static Rain (3)
Play this Stratagem during any Strategy phase. Place a marker anywhere on the battlefield. Any Titan within 12" of this marker must immediately make D3 Void Shield saves. Knight Banners within this range cannot make Ion Shield saves for the remainder of the round, even if they subsequently move out from the marker’s radius of effect. Remove the marker at the end of the round.
Stratagem: Earthshaker Mines (2)
Play this Stratagem immediately after an enemy unit finishes moving or making a turn. Roll a D6. On a 2 or more, that unit suffers D3 Strength 6 hits; a Titan takes these hits to its Legs. Shield saves cannot be made against the hits. In addition, the unit is then moved D6" in a direction determined by the Scatter dice (this may result in a Collision – see the Adeptus Titanicus rulebook). Thisdoes not change the unit’s facing. On a 1, nothing happens but the Stratagem is not discarded and can be played again in a subsequent round.
Stratagem: Quake Shells (2)
Play this during any Strategy phase. Place the 5" Blast marker anywhere on the battlefield then scatter it D10". Any unit touched by the marker where it eventually lands suffers D3 Strength 6 hits, or D6 Strength 6 hits if the central hole of the Blast marker is entirely over its base. In addition, the unit is then moved D6" in a direction determined by the Scatter dice (this may result in a Collision – see the Adeptus Titanicus rulebook). Thisdoes not change the unit’s facing.
Stratagem: Haywire Barrage (2)
Play this during any Strategy phase. Place a marker anywhere on the battlefield then scatter it D10". Roll 2D6 for each Titan within 6" of the marker. If the roll is equal to or greater than their Scale, they take 1 point of Critical Damage to a random location, ignoring shields. If the location is a weapon, it is disabled. If the location is a disabled weapon or already has 3 points of Critical Damage then the barrage has no effect. Knight Banners hit by a Haywire Barrage take D3 Strength 7 hits that ignore ion shields instead.
Stratagem: Dusk Attack (2)
Play this Stratagem in the first Strategy phase of the game. During the End phase of Turn 3, the First Player must roll (D6+1) x5 to determine how many inches every unit on the battlefield can see for the remainder of the battle – only enemies within this range can be targeted by an attack. Units that have made an attack with a weapon without the Melee trait previously in a round can be targeted, regardless of the distance a unit can see.
Stratagem: False Intel (1)
Play this Stratagem after all objectives have been deployed. Pick any objective on the battlefield. Move that objective D6" in any direction – this can take it outside its normal deployment area. Theobjective cannot be moved off the board, nor can it overlap with a piece of Blocking terrain.
Stratagem: Reactor Surge (2)
Play this Stratagem when activating a friendly Titan in the Combat phase. If the chosen Titan has a Shield level of X, this Stratagem is immediately discarded. Otherwise, increase the Titan’s Reactor Status level by any numbers of holes – you cannot voluntarily advance it further than the end of the Status tracker. For each hole the marker is moved along the Reactor Status level, repair the Titan’s Void Shield level by 1. Thiscounts as the Titan’s activation for this round.
Stratagem: Partial Shutdown (1)
Play this Stratagem at the start of any Movement phase. Choose a friendly Titan to initiate Partial Shutdown. Thechosen Titan is immediately issued Shutdown orders, replacing any Order previously given. Thevoid shields of a Titan that has initiated a Partial Shutdown do not collapse. In addition, a Titan issued Shutdown orders as part of Partial Shutdown Stratagem reduces its Reactor level by 1 instead of 2 during the Damage Control phase and Reactor rolls can be made for the Titan if forced to do so. Barring these exceptions, a Partially Shutdown Titan follows all other normal rules for the Shutdown order as described in the Adeptus Titanicus rulebook until the Shutdown orders issued by this Stratagem are discarded.
Stratagem: Tactical Assessment (2)
Play this at the end of the deployment phase, before rolling to see who is the First Player. Theplayer may immediately discard their current objective and determine a new one by rolling two D6 on the Mission Objective table as described in the Adeptus Titanicus rulebook.
Stratagem: Last Ditch Effort (1)
Play this Stratagem when a friendly Titan falls due to the Laid Low or Wild Fire Catastrophic Damage effect. Thecontrolling player may choose the direction the Titan falls, rather than determining it by rolling a Scatter dice. If, for whatever reason, both players are allowed to choose the direction the Titan falls, randomly determine the direction as normal and discard this Stratagem.
WARP TRICKERY STRATAGEMS Stratagem: Localised Warp Storm (3) ThisStratagem can be purchased by any Traitor player. Play this Stratagem in any Strategy phase. Place the 3" Blast marker anywhere on the battlefield, then scatter it D10". Any unit touched by the marker after it has scattered takes D3 Hits as if attacked by a Warp weapon that has successfully hit.
Stratagem: Warp Displacement (2)
ThisStratagem can be purchased by any Traitor player. Play this Stratagem in any phase. Theplayer chooses one of their units and rolls 2D6. Models within the chosen unit move that many inches in a straight line in a direction chosen by the player, ignoring any rules for movement such as Dangerous or Blocking terrain when moving. If the unit would be placed in a piece of terrain, other than Blocking terrain, the unit suffers D3 S7 hits to its Body, bypassing void shields, and the terrain is destroyed. If the unit would be placed in a piece of Blocking terrain, the unit is destroyed. If the unit would be placed overlapping the base of another unit, the unit stops at its base and suffers a collision. Thisdoes not change the unit’s facing and a unit cannot move off the battlefield – if it would, place the unit at the battlefield’s edge.
Stratagem: Wails of the Damned (2)
ThisStratagem can be purchased by any Traitor player. Play this Stratagem during any Strategy phase. For the remainder of that round, subtract 2 from the result of any Command checks made by enemy units when issuing orders.
Stratagem: Profane Blessing (1)
ThisStratagem can be purchased by any Traitor player. Play this Stratagem in the first Strategy phase of the game. The player chooses one of their Titans or Knight Banners and places a marker of some kind next to its Command Terminal. That unit may choose to re-roll one or more dice for a single roll; for example, they may re-roll a Command check or all failed Hit rolls from a single weapon attack. Discard the marker after the re-rolls have been resolved. ThisStratagem can be taken multiple times.
Stratagem: Unhallowed Ground (2)
ThisStratagem can be purchased by any Traitor player. Play this Stratagem in the first Strategy phase of the game. Thebattlefield is infused with tainted warp energies harmful to any who linger upon it. At the end of each Movement phase, any unit that has not moved, voluntarily or involuntarily, in the Movement phase suffers D3 S6 Hits, ignoring void shields and ion shields. Titans suffer these Hits to their Legs.
Stratagem: Aetheric Infusion (2)
ThisStratagem can be purchased by any Traitor player. Play this Stratagem in any phase. Theplayer chooses one of their Titans and rolls a D10. On a 3+, immediately make a Repair roll for the Titan, adding 2 to their Servitor Clades for that roll. On a 2, the Titan takes D3 Devastating Hits to its Body. On a 1, the Titan immediately suffers Catastrophic Damage.
TACTICALSUPPORT STRATAGEMS Stratagem: Concealment Barrage (1) Play this Stratagem at the start of any Strategy phase. Place the 5" Blast marker anywhere on the battlefield. Any part of the battlefield underneath the template blocks line of sight. Remove the Blast marker at the end of the round.
Stratagem: MIU Link (1)
Play this Stratagem in the first Strategy phase of the game. Theplayer chooses two of their Titans to link MIU. For the remainder of the game, when making a weapon attack, you may measure from either linked Titan for the purposes of determining the Accuracy value for Short or Long range. If either of the linked Titans suffers the MIU Feedback Critical Damage effect, both Titans suffer it and the MIU Link Stratagem is ignored for the remainder of the game, even if the damage is repaired.
Stratagem: Augmented Servitor Clades (2)
Play this Stratagem during the first Strategy phase of the game. Theplayer chooses one of their Titans to have a Senior Enginseer aboard. Increase the Servitor Clades of that Titan by 1 during each Damage Control phase for the remainder of the battle. Note, this does not affect Repair rolls made as part of the Emergency Repairs order.
Stratagem: Veteran Princeps (1)
When this Stratagem is chosen, the player chooses one of their Titans that is not a Princeps Seniores’ Titan to be commanded by a Veteran Princeps. Add 1 to the result of any Command checks made when issuing an Order to the chosen Titan. This Stratagem can be purchased multiple times, but any Titan can only benefit from this Stratagem once.
Stratagem: Shock Mines (3)
Play this Stratagem immediately after an enemy Titan has finished moving or making a turn. Thatunit suffers D3 S5 hits to its Legs. Shield saves cannot be made against these hits. If that unit suffers any Direct, Devastating or Critical Hits from this Stratagem, the unit discards any Order it has and is immediately issued a Shutdown order. ThisShutdown order is removed in the End phase of that round.
Stratagem: Tracer Cloud (1)
Play this Stratagem at the start of any Strategy phase. Place the 5" Blast marker anywhere on the battlefield. A player may re- roll Hit rolls for attacks made against any unit underneath the marker. Remove the Blast marker at the end of the round.
EXPERIMENTAL WARFARE STRATAGEMS Stratagem: Homing Warheads (2) Play this Stratagem in the first Strategy phase of the game. The player chooses one of their Titans armed with an Apocalypse missile launcher or paired Apocalypse missile launchers, so long as that Titan does not already have an upgrade affecting that weapon. Subtract 3 from the Dice Value of the weapon (to a minimum of 1). For the remainder of the game, attacks with that weapon do not suffer negative modifiers when attacking an obscured target or when attacking a target out of line of sight via the Barrage trait.
Stratagem: Enhanced Coolant (2)
Play this Stratagem during any Strategy phase. Theplayer chooses one of their Titans; for the remainder of the game, roll a D6 each time that Titan would increase its Reactor level. On a 5+, increase the Reactor level by one less hole than normal, to a minimum of zero holes (e.g., if two symbols were rolled on the Reactor Dice, a 5+ would increase the Reactor level by one, not two). If an effect results in multiple increases, such as rolling multiple 1s while using the Maximal Fire trait, roll individually for each increase.
Stratagem: Redundant Systems (2)
Play this Stratagem in any Strategy phase. Theplayer chooses one of their Titans; the first time Critical Damage is suffered by that Titan it is ignored – do not move the marker up the tracker. Any other effect, such as loss of Structure points, still occurs. If a Titan is forced to move the Critical Damage marker more than once for an attack, move it one fewer space. Then, discard this Stratagem.
Stratagem: Experimental Locomotors (1)
Play this Stratagem in the first Strategy phase of the game. Theplayer chooses one of their Titans; for the remainder of the battle the Titan may use its boosted Speed characteristic without pushing its reactor. During every End phase roll a D10 for this Titan. On a 1, the Titan suffers a Devastating Hit to its Legs and this Stratagem is discarded.
Stratagem: Override Signal (1)
Play this Stratagem when a Titan (friend or foe) within 12" of a friendly Titan suffers Catastrophic Damage, before rolling on the Catastrophic Damage table. When rolling on the Catastrophic Damage table for the chosen Titan, add 4 to the result.
TERTIARY OBJECTIVES Stratagem: Dark Pledge (1) ThisStratagem can be purchased by any Traitor player. Play this Stratagem in the Strategy phase of the first round. The player chooses an enemy Titan or number of Titans with a Scale of 10 or more to mark for destruction. If, at the end of the battle, these marked Titans have been destroyed, the player scores 10 Victory points. If all or some of the marked Titans have not been destroyed by the end of the battle, the player loses 10 Victory points.