Dark Angels Review: Techmarine and Servitors

One of the most crucial things to realize about techmarines in the Dark Angels codex is that they are not trusted.  At least not like the techmarines of Guilliman's descent.  This is reflected in the fact that techmarines and their servitors do not use up a force organization slot.  Instead, a techmarine can be purchased for every "normal" HQ choice that is taken.  Hence up to 2 techmarines can be bought if the player takes (for instance) Belial and Sammael. 

There are several roles that we could think about assigning a techmarine.  Firstly, they could be part of a vehicle strategy to keep vital hardware alive (landraiders, whirlwinds, vindicators, dreadnoughts and the like).  Given that each servitor with a servo arm grants a +1 to the repair roll, we can guarentee that repairs are successful -- even when embarked. 

We can also consider a more shooty variant, with servitors and techmarines kitted out like a pseudo-devastator squad.  This has interesting options, particularly when coupled with an Aegis defence line, or bastion even that the techmarine can bolster the defences of.

Let's have a look at a few potential builds.

Techmarine, servo-harness, 3 servitors (105 points)
This is a base level "fix everything" build.  With 3 servo-arms and a harness, the repair roll gets modified by +4.  Hence even a roll of a 1 will result in a successful repair.  Although they could hide behind a whirlwind and keep it shooting all the time, I'd be tempted to place them inside a land raider and create an uber vehicle of never tiring death myself.

Techmarine, 5 servitors, 3 plasma cannons, 2 multi-meltas, Imperial Bastion with quad gun (305 points)
Maybe this is slightly more expensive than one is willing to pay, but here is a tough nut to crack. An AV14 building (I thought I could have a bolstered defence from the techmarine, but we can't - it has to be another none-purchased building).  The servitors act as a devastator squad, the plasma cannons are there for their AP, the multi-melta's for the snap shot ability and as a vehicle deterrant.  The techmarine himself mans the quad-gun.  Place an objective on the roof of the bastion and sit there the whole game taking pot shots.  Better yet, have a second unit *inside* the bastion firing the heavy bolters and ready for a counter-assault.  A truly nasty combination built for a defensive play.

Techmarine, servo-harness, space marine bike, displacer field, digital weapons (130 points)
This is a cheap, lone wolf style, ravenwing concept.  The idea is to zoom along on the bike and engage the enemy at close range with the servo-harness weapons before charging in to melee (remembering that the servo arms both have AP1).  The displacer field is for an invulnerable save.  The only fault with this guy is he has 1 wound.  Hence he's pretty expensive for such a vulnerable character.  He might want to forego the lone wolf concept and join a ravenwing squad for an escort if played along with Sammael.  Along the way, he can (of course) also attempt repairs to vital ravenwing machines.