The Adeptus Mechanicus Codex has many strong units and synergies that make this army look like it will be one of the strongest in competitive 40k. From Ironstriders getting the Core keyword to the absolute steal the new Marshal at 45 points is, Admech are in a really good place after receiving their new book. Some 40k commenters even mentioned they feel Admech may be a worse problem than Drukhari. Thankfully, GW, using their superiors game design skills (I’m going to pretend they did this on purpose), attempted to balance out the strong rules and units in Codex Admech with some Faction Secondaries that don’t seem to be very strong. While there are some situations where the Admech specific Secondaries can be chosen they will require proper planning before a game to maximize their Victory Points.
The first Adeptus Mechanicus specific Secondary is Accretion of Knowledge. This Purge the Enemy Secondary scores 3VP at the end of the battle for each model with a Relic, Warlord Trait, or vehicle with a wounds characteristic of 14 or more that the Admech player destroys. This may not seem like a bad choice at first. Especially since finding that third Secondary that is not in Battlefield Supremacy or Shadow Operations can be a tough decision. Unfortunately, Accretion just puts too much control into your opponents hands. Unless your opponent’s Characters with those Relics and Warlord Traits need to expose themselves to Admech firepower your opponent can make getting these points extremely difficult, and a savvy opponent is going to make getting these points cost more then they are worth. While it is possible to get a solid 9 points from this Secondary by killing 3 models, it is also possible your opponent denies any opportunity to score these points.
Not to say that this Secondary is terrible and should never be taken. More and more Codexes are getting the ability to hand out Relics and Warlord Traits like candy. The new Admech book is the perfect example. Getting 3 points for killing unit leaders who are able to buy a Relic or Warlord Trait could be an excellent counter and make your opponent think twice before throwing their units into your army. Just compare this Secondary with things like No Prisoners to see which is the safer option before committing to Accretion of Knowledge.
Next, we will cover a Secondary that should never be taken. Hidden Archeovault is so bad I laughed when I read it. 2 points AT THE END OFF THE BATTLEROUND for controlling an Obective YOUR OPPONENT CHOOSES?! My opponent picks the objective (not in their deployment zone, wouldn’t want Admech players to never be tricked into taking this!), I get less points then the average 3 for doing some Secondaries, and I need to survive on a mid-table objective that my opponent knows scores me points. Nope to all that.
Oh, and this is in the Battlefield Supremacy slot. Every single one of the Battlefield Supremacy picks from Chapter Approved 2021 is better then Hidden Archeovault. I suppose if the Admech player is going second they could get their 2VP by getting onto the chosen Objective, but why wouldn’t they just pick Domination to get 3VP?
Ok, back to a Secondary that is actually worth an Admech player’s time to read. Eradication of the Flesh scores 3 points at the end of the Battle Round if the Admech player killed more infantry units than the opponent killed vehicle units. As long as the Admech player has a vehicle on the table this Secondary can be scored. While not an automatic pick, this Secondary can be an easy 9-12 points against most armies in the game. Things like Drukhari, Sisters, or Guard all can give up a lot of these points, and this Secondary comes outside of the easier to choose Battlefield Supremacy or Shadow Operations categories. Just make sure your opponent can’t remove all of your vehicles until you have had a chance to score this for at least 3 turns, or this Secondary will not be worth the trouble.
Finally, we come to Uncharted Sequencing. This objective scores 3VP at the end of the Battle Round if you control a specific objective on the table. You choose these objectives before deployment and before you know who has the first turn. This can be an extremely effective Secondary if you are going second by allowing you to walk an ObSec unit onto the chosen objective and score 3VP, but if you are taking the first turn it may be hard to score more then 6VP (assuming there are 2 objectives in your deployment zone). This risk, along with the Secondary competing with things like Domination or Engage on All Fronts, makes this Secondary too risky for my taste.
Every Faction not getting a Secondary like Oaths of Moment, or any of the Dark Angels’ silliness, is not a bad thing for the game overall. Actually, Faction Secondaries should not be easier to achieve then the Secondaries from the Chapter Approved, or we could run into situations where some armies have locked in Secondaries before their games even happen (oh, wait). The Adeptus Mechanicus are not as lucky as their power armored allied, but that’s ok. It is better for the game of 40k this way.