Adepticon released the draft mission packet here.

Below are our initial impressions of the missions as well as some tips for building a list that can be successful at Adepticon. Please keep in mind that these are draft mission rules, so they are subject to change as Adepticon draws near.

Three things stand out about the Adepticon Missions.

There is a strong emphasis on objective control The objectives mostly lie out in open ground outside of deployment zones Missions are all 5 rounds

Objective Control

This is all about objective control. A perfect Adepticon score is 42 victory points. 24 of these revolve around the primary mission, which is hold an objective (1 VP per turn, hold at least 2, and hold more than your opponent. At a minimum your army should be designed to hold at least two objectives (worth a total of 3 VP per turn), while your main goal should be to hold more than your opponent (worth 6 VP per tun assuming you also have at least two objectives). With a perfect game at 42 VP, we can use our unit analysis of VP/100 pts as detailed in our article here: https://www.grimdarkfilthycasuals.com/earning-more-than-your-points-back/



There is an indirect incentive to killing units in the primary, as objectives are score at the start of your turn, so shooting units off of objectives is an effective strategy at denying your opponent the ability to hold. There is a secondary for solo kill, which is worth 2 VP if you kill something and your opponent fails to.

Open Ground

Mobility will be very important in this mission. Being able to get onto objectives early, and replace losses as the game progresses will be key to scoring well in the missions. Transports can help a lot here as they can get your troops to an objective, and if your opponent manages to destroy them you can still have objective secured units hop out to continue claiming it. Missions like Strategic Advantage uses a modified Vanguard Strike that actually puts you 32.2” away from the opponents deployment zone. Get ready to move!

Infiltrating units will also let you start the game holding more in every single mission. Gaining an early lead in holding more can easily put you in a strong position to win the game and force your opponent to start making plays.

Mobility is also critical with linebreaker bringing 2 VP every game and massive secondary points going to holding objectives in/behind your opponents deployment in Mission 3: Breakthrough.

Armies can also control the board by holding the center objective and leveraging firepower. The following table shows you the required threat range for each mission.



Figure 1: Required Range for Objective Control



Mission Number Threat Range to Control a Majority of Objectives 1 21.2” 2 33.9” 3 23.3” 4 27.3” 5 14” 6 16”

A lot of this is mid range firepower, some of the most effective firepower versus troops.

Adpeticon is fairly unique in that the terrain is placed around the board by the players pre-game, with them alternating turns. This will be something you need to practice and will make a difference to your games.

5 Round Missions

Not only are missions 5 rounds, but a lot of the objectives don’t start scoring until round 2. Of the 5 rounds, you can score the primary in 4 of them (turns 2 – 5). If you can outhold your opponent in 3 of those turns, you will be at a 18-9 VP advantage going into the final round for the primary alone. Durability on objectives will be powerful. Being able to control objectives is key to winning Adepticon.

With only 5 rounds anything that can provide durability to your army for a turn or two is huge. Armies need to be looking at mechanizing their forces and/or utilizing deep strike. Especially as GW introduces more and more tools to operate from deep strike reliably.

In summary, your army should, at a minimum, aim to hold two objectives and kill one unit per turn with the main focus being to hold more than your opponent.

Personal Thoughts from a Space Wolves Player

The game has become incredibly lethal. Having ways to protect your troops to score objectives throughout the game has become even more important. This puts a high value in mechanized lists and the ability to deep strike. Being able to keep units off the board to give you the ability to score late game is huge.

These considerations have me looking very strongly at Reivers for my Space Wolves, that can come down turn 2-3 as well as benefit from powers like shrouding to protect them as well. Stalker Pack from the Vigilus Defiant book also gives them more reliable charges from deepstrike to help root out units on points.

Impulsors have also been MVPs in my list, and an Impulsor spam list can be very strong. They are very fast for getting on objectives, and the ability to move 14”, get out 3”, move and advance another 7-12” can let a troops unit easily deny a hold for your opponent without ever having to fire a shot. The ability to move a transport on the point, and still have troops hop out if its destroyed can be a strong way to guarantee hold a point.

Phobos units are also incredibly strong, with infiltrate giving early board control and powers like shrouding and temporal corridor bringing some survivability and mobility. One of my favorite tricks for controlling points is moving an Impulsor with Incursurs in it onto a point. Hop the Incursors out onto the objective, throw a mine if you got ‘em, shroud them, and then charge the impulsor into the nearest enemy unit.

Overall the missions for Adepticon are very cleverly crafted. The focus is on movement and objective control, but killing units is still important. You are punished for arbitrary list choices in ITC (7+ PL, 3+ wounds, etc, looking at you Talos). There is also a lot of opportunities for high utility units to shine. Swooping Hawks will be amazing, being able to hop off the board for an almost guaranteed linebreaker is amazing, as 2 VP/65 points is incredible value. Abilities like cloud of flies, shrouding, and the Yncarne being able to pop up onto objectives you otherwise would have lost. I also think there may be something to hordes of fearless Hormogaunts with a 6++. If you can’t remove them from objectives by turn 4, you may be in trouble in a 5 turn game.

Overall I think there are a lot of ways to win these missions, and the mission design lends it self to a wide variety of lists and I couldn’t be more excited to see what people bring in March!

What are your thoughts on the Adepticon Missions for 2020? Comment below to let us know your thoughts and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for all the latest content and releases from the GDFC team as we continue to prepare for Adepticon!