Having seen their stats, I have to say, the skitari are preeeeetty strong. Think of them as fire warriors for ranged combat, which don't suck in CQ. They also run the first sentinel variants I've ever seen that are actually good for something beyond looking pretty.

better or worse than a basic Necron?

AdMech kicking ass looking fancy as always and attracting a whole bunch of guys that do not even care for the faction at all just because It receives a new codex with "super awsome looking thingies".

I get grey knight vibes here.

Probably better because it's unlikely they'll be 1 Init.

AdMech kicking ass looking fancy as always and attracting a whole bunch of guys that do not even care for the faction at all just because It receives a new codex with "super awsome looking thingies".

I get grey knight vibes here.

Not quite as bad as GK or Space Yiffs(I don't think anything ever will be...). Their standard line troops are very strong, solid alrounders, though, which is kind of what skitari are supposed to be, so I'm not bothered by it.

Mostly, I like the arsenal additions they made in the skitari codex and the harlequin codex. Galvanic rifles and plasma grenade bolas are things I definitely will port into the RPG because they're hilariously cool and very much 40k.

The Minis seem to be a real pain to paint and I wonder if they actually pull of so much detail on them without screwing it.

After taking several close looks at the walkers I finally cant say anything else beside that they are pretty ugly and do have a rather stupid design idea behind them. Nothing on them makes any sense at all.

As for the Troops they seriously dived into the steampunk aesthetic and seem to cash in on that market/appeal too.

There is nothing inherently wrong with that yet it takes some self-convincing to be taken seriously.

Imho I would have preferred a much more streamlined design. WH40k is placed in a strange timeline where the past was actually more advanced than the present and so I would have liked a more "modern" design on the weapons that reflects pure functionality over visual appeal. A flask with a tiny joint is not a magazine type that would pass the super advanced STC-Times. Same goes for wood etc.

I acknowledge that these weapons do not have to reflect STCs yet it more looks like they are carrying whatever prototype or transitional weapon-design they found in their vaults. For a Tech-Priest that might seem right though Skitarii were more or less rank and file with a few special individuals among them. So on the one side I would have appreciated a strict and less individual design for the core troops and yet, as others said, a rather "barbaric" appeal that, in some parts, dates back to the techno barbarians and would reflect the other side of the medal with those combat-brutes that were mentioned in other material.

As with the more combat focused role of the skitarii I do not have much of a problem. The AdMech always conducted its own operations and even though it is often considered a pain in the ass by the Imperium they still have their very special rights that ultimately date back to the treaty of Olympus/Mars. They might now be allowed to conduct huge operations on their own for this is, by imperial decree, the domain of the navy and guard yet they do have their internal struggles and I would not be surprised if Skitarii regiments, aside of their extreme combat heavy duty among Titan Legions where they have always been, are pledge to imperial forces that may liberate fallen Forge Worlds just to keep everything in check and make sure that those imperial idiots do not fire at the wrong thing or open the false vault. Also explorators do heavily rely on them.

In that regard I expect them to be portrayed as military presence of these explorators justifying their presence literally everywhere in skirmish sized battles and bigger. As for the really HUGE battles they will be simply implied as being there and not being mentioned before. Their presence can be taken for "granted" everywhere the AdMech deployed its huge machines for you simply cant trust Astartes or Guardsmen to keep your shiny Cannons safe.

Yet I'll wait what else might come and I hope their vehicles don't follow that completely stupid route their walkers took.

I mean... gnaaah!

A: "We are the AdMech, we need some mobile weapon platform to support our units. What do we do?"

B: "Make it a walker?"

A: "Great!"

B: "Like a Sentinel?"

A: "Nah, must be shiny. Also no Box, we add some force field... maybe..."

B: "And what if a shot gets through?"

A: "Dont you know? The omnissiahs force fields cant fail!"

B: "That is not..."

A: "Silence! Have you seen those knights of ours? I want those walkers to be knights too! Make them like a mount and sit something with a lance on it!"

B: "That would be a serious weakspot."

A: "But it looks like something!"

B: "We also have already integrated a servitor, how about another servitor for the weapon handling?"

A: "I SAID I WANT A KNIGHT, NO PEASANT LOOKING SERVITOR!"

B: "Alright... so shall we protect that knight with armor plating?"

A: "NO, NO, NO! I WANT A KNIGHT RIDING A SERVITOR ASSISTED WALKER WITH A HUMONGOUS LANCE THAT IS EXPOSED TO LITERALLY ANYTHING AND SAYS: 'SHOOT ME!'"

B: "Alright Fabricator-General... your specifications have been passed through."

A: "Now lets talk about a Tank without Armour plating."

Oh yes, the models themselves wouldn't be my first pick either. Fortunately, forgeworld has a few alternatives. I was speaking more of the walkers' statlines in my above post than how they actually look (I have yet to get my hands on one). What I do like, though, is that GW seems to be returning to what I enjoyed most about 40k back in the day, namely over the top, awesome stuff. The admech (and harlequin) arsenals have chainsword appeal. It's ridiculous, it totally is. Those weapons are a danger to the user as much as to the enemy, if we go by realistic terms, but on the other hand,a very nerdy part of me is going "radiation guns and plasma bolas, muahahahahaha!YES! YES!". They have what I call the chainsword factor. It's something that I've missed for quite some time and it is a somewhat different take on fluff that goes away from the high tech, and more towards the "ships run by slaves in treadmills" aesthetic that does fit the tone of the setting. I'm not entirely sure the admech, per se, were the best choice to employ that on, but as a general tendency I think it's a good thing.

The Eldar warwalker* also had it's pilot sort of hanging of the front end of the thing (It did have some sort of forcefield)

* Did anybody ever use those things? Every eldar player I know just went for eldar dreadnought/wraithlord instead.

Aye,

One of my friends used to field 2-3.

So, I got the WD with the Mechanicus melee-oriented unit.

Holy crap on a stick....6s on wounds are AP2, but only the first round of combat...as the others, your weapons ARE AP2 base value.

4+/6++ with Feel no pain...T3 to compensate that

Got a bound, legit AdMec army? Well, everyone in it gains scout AND crusader, AND your Warlord gains Preferred enemy.

Bitz wise...man that Skitarii box is chunk full of martian goodness! Can't wait to work on them..after I'm done painting my 100+ models in a decade or three...