With newly improved Armour Penetration on their profiles, they’re now even more of a blast to use and make Skitarii Rangers and Serberys Raiders absolutely electrifying. The first Sydonians settled a vast cratered area of Mars swathed in dense acidic mist. In the schisms that haunted Mars' past, those with stilt-augmetics could stalk these mists and yet live, their elevation allowing them to escape the worst effects of the acidic fog whilst remaining hidden from the enemy.

Enhanced Data-Tether - Seen as mouthpieces of the Tech-priests, who in turn are prophets of the machine God himself, those honoured with carrying an Enhanced Data-Tether are obeyed without hesitation by their reverent Skitarii comrades.In return they receive doctrinal sacrament with every new day of war, and they are grateful for it. Every battle is a chance to feel the holy Motive Force enter into them, possessing every synapse and engram and slaving them to a higher consciousness. Relics of Mars - Relics of Mars are items of terrifying power that are sometimes bestowed upon a Skitarii Alpha or Sicarian Princeps by a senior Tech-Priest for them to field test. Whatever their faults, Skitarii commanders are able to process a daunting amount of battlefield data. Each knows the military capabilities of his cohort -- and those of the foe -- to an obsessive degree. This savant-like wisdom makes these leaders fearsome foes indeed, for they have often won the battle before the first shot is fired. A Forge World's Skitarii Legion is divided into a number of macroclades, which are in turn broken down into cohorts and maniples. The vast majority of Skitarii War Cohorts are not borne into battle by armoured machines or aircraft, but simply stride to the front line without stopping, even should they have to start the journey solar months in advance of their allies. The Tech-priests of Graia and their Skitarii forces accentuate the deep crimson of Mars with the bright red of spilt blood. Their detractors believe this is because Graian warriors take an unhealthy interest in each spray of gore that jets from their victims. Wearing fully-sealed battle raiments and electromagnetised cybernetics, the Skitarii of Graia have fought space battles across the silvered exterior of their masters' spaceborne metropolises. The warriors of Graia bear the icon of the solar cog. The rising sun at its heart signifies the dawn of a new age, while the cog that surrounds it shows that the Tech-priests of Graia intend to be its masters.

Due to their extensive modification, the Skitarii can excel in almost any environment. Each legion hails from a hyper-industrialised Forge World -- extreme doses of radiation are nothing to those who have trodden the toxic wastes of Mars. Even in the time-ravaged fringes of the Halo Stars the Skitarii Legions march onward. They have painstakingly conquered worlds across the breadth of the galaxy, and whatever perils they face, their march falters not. The new codex represents this by making cognis weapons improvements that suit their eager machine spirits. Flamers? More shots, plus the same range increase as other flamers. Autocannons? More shots. Heavy stubbers? You guessed it – more shots. After all, when in doubt, just fire more shots.Tools of Conquest - The weapons of the Skitarii are ancient and revered in form. They are all modified either to fire advanced ammunition types, or to harness the most baleful power sources yet discovered. Collectively, they have fought alongside the Astra Militarum, the Adepta Sororitas, the Adeptus Astartes, and even the Primarchs of legend. Throughout the millennia the Skitarii Legions have fought with impeccable skill and discipline even when the colossi and ravaging daemons slaughter them in droves. In doing so they have assimilated a functionally infinite amount of information for their masters. As with so much of the Cult Mechanicus' business, the truths of the Skitarii's creation are kept a close secret. Some are vat-grown or cloned, whilst others are repurposed from mind-wiped convicts or warriors handed over as punishment for failure or desertion. Regardless of origin, all find a fanatical faith in the Omnissiah soon after their inception. It is then that their true transformation begins. Though it would never even occur to the Ballistarii to boast of such kills, their Tech-priest masters ensure their deadly accuracy is well known across the Imperium.