Cadian Recon Squads aren’t just confined to Kill Team – you can also use them in Warhammer 40,000, and today we’re showing off their rules.
Shock Troopers who survive long enough to become veterans have a wealth of experience in different kinds of warfare, and those predisposed towards reconnaissance and infiltration might join one of the many elite Recon Squads available to Castellans. Extra stealth training and specialist equipment allow them to deploy far ahead of their comrades, streaming a steady flow of intelligence to their commanders and ambushing the enemy vanguard.
The result is an extremely flexible squad that performs admirably when separated from the rest of the army – a rarity for the Astra Militarum, which usually prefers to weave an interlocking web of Orders and support abilities. Recon Squads can use the Infiltrators ability to seize advantageous positions when deploying, but aren’t left high and dry without supporting Officers, as the Independent Operatives ability lets them carry the last Order they received across multiple turns.
Codex: Astra Militarum
Cadian Recon Squad
10 models, 80 points
It’s not even that hard to get an Order out to them when they’ve deployed ahead of the front line, as the Vox-relay Beacon ability makes sure they start the battle with an Officer in their ear, while the Master Vox in Command Squads can broadcast out to 24” once they’ve moved ahead of their beacon. Of course, if you want to really fit the theme, Gaunt’s Ghosts* can also Infiltrate alongside them, and pass off an Order before slipping away to another part of the battlefield.
The obvious choice is to run them as part of a Recon Element Detachment, as they’ll usually be nestled behind cover anyway, and thoroughly enjoy the tag team of -1 to Hit from Stealth and a 3+ save while hunkering down in terrain.
They also offer some vital advanced deployment and screening for other infantry-focused Detachments like Grizzled Company, where the heavy focus on Orders suits them just fine as they hold onto theirs turn after turn. Combined with Take Aim!, the Ruthless Discipline Detachment rule means they’ll spend most of the game hitting on 3+ and re-rolling 1s to Hit – pretty impressive for a squad of Guardsmen running off on their own.
DETACHMENT RULE
GRIZZLED COMPANY:
RUTHLESS DISCIPLINE
The officers of this company are wily, iron-willed veterans both respected and feared by the troops under their command. At their barked orders, even the weariest soldiers redouble their efforts.
Add 1 to the number of Orders each ASTRA MILITARUM OFFICER model from your army can issue, as stated on their datasheet.
While an ASTRA MILITARUM unit from your army is affected by an Order, each time a model in that unit makes an attack, re-roll a Hit roll of 1.
At the end of the day, all of these tricks and abilities won’t amount to much if the squad can’t throw a mean swing when the las bolts fly, and their veteran status gets them access to some rather fun toys. One trooper can choose between a plasma gun and a meltagun while another can pick off priority targets with a long-las, but by far the most enticing option is to have two squad members form a missile launcher weapons team, giving your Recon Squad the tools to crack some seriously tough targets.
At 80 points, they sit between a 10-man Cadian Shock Troops squad and the Kasrkin, offering more abilities than the former, and not quite matching the raw killing power of the latter. The sheer flexibility of the Cadian Recon Squad means that most generals will be able to find a use for them in their army.
You can get your hands on this specialist squad of reconnaissance experts when Kill Team: Terror on Devlan goes up for pre-order on Saturday.
* When you think about it, Recon Squads would make really good stand-ins for the Tanith First and Only…
