Theme - Operating Theater

	Theme - Operating Theater Mercenary Theme Force Flame in the Darkness - Hammer Strike - Llaelese Resistance - Operating Theater - Soldiers of Fortune - Strange Bedfellows - The Irregulars - The Kingmaker's Army - The Talion Charter

Legacy ... sort of This mk3 Theme Force is somewhat similar to the mk4 Legacy Army "Dark Operations". If you're planning on starting a mk4 Dark Operations army you may get some use out of this article, espcially the In a Nutshell, the Theme Weaknesses, and maybe even the List-Building Tips sections.

The inscrutable Cephalyx tirelessly perform diabolical experiments on their captives deep below the earth. Masters of powerful psychic energies and advanced surgery, these alien beings shape both the minds and bodies of lesser creatures to create heavily modified laborers and warrior slaves to suit the sinister agenda of their vast underground hives.

Theme Rules

For the core rules on how Theme Forces work, see this article.

Theme Restrictions

An army made using the Operating Theater theme force can include only the following Mercenary models:

• Cephalyx warcasters
• Non-character monstrosities
• Cephalyx solos/units
• Non-Cephalyx units with Cephalyx Dominator command attachments
• Asphyxious the Sanctified and Annihilation Servitors
• Void Archon solos

• This army can also include Bloat Thrall, Machine Wraith, and Pistol Wraith solos. These solos are considered to be Mercenary solos instead of Cryx solos.

Full Model List

The models allowed in Operating Theater are:   [Show/Hide]

This list was last updated: 2020.02   (Edit)

Warcasters

• Cognifex Cyphon
• Exulon Thexus

Monstrosities

• Subduer
• Warden
• Wrecker

Warjacks

• Cephalyx warcasters cannot take warjacks.
• Asphyxious4 can take warjacks.
• MacHorne1 plus a Cephalyx Dominator can take a warjack.

Solos

• Bloat Thrall
• Bloat Thrall Overseer Mobius
• Cephalyx Agitator
• Doctor Stygius
    (Warcaster Attachment)
• Machine Wraith
• Pistol Wraith
• Void Archon

Units

• Asphyxious4
    ("Junior Warcaster")
• Cephalyx Mind Bender & Drudges
• Cephalyx Mind Slaver & Drudges
• Cephalyx Overlords
• You can also include any non-Cephalyx Mercenary unit(s), as long as they are led by a Cephalyx Dominator

Requisition Points

• Two Cephalyx Agitator solos
• One other Small- or medium-based Mercenary solo with a point cost of 5 or less

Theme Bonuses

1. Operating Theatre is a Cephalyx theme (and therefore fulfills the requirements of Selective and Limited Employment)
2. Monstrosities gain Hyper-Aggressive.

   Hyper-Aggressive - When a model with Hyper-Aggressive suffers damage from an enemy attack at any time except while it is advancing, after the attack is resolved it can immediately make a full advance directly toward the attacking model.

3. Drudge models in the army gain Rise

   Rise - If a model with Rise is knocked down at the beginning of your Maintenance Phase, it stands up.

4. One Cephalyx Mind Slaver & Drudges unit gains Ambush.

   Ambush - You can choose not to deploy this unit at the start of the game. If it is not deployed normally, you can put it into play at the end of any of your Control Phases after your first turn. When you do, choose any table edge except the back of your opponent's deployment zone. Place all models in the unit in formation completely within 3" of the chosen table edge.

Cephalyx Unique Rules

Refer to Cephalyx Rules.

Thoughts on Operating Theater

Operating Theater in a Nutshell

This theme force is used to field the inscrutable forces of Cephalyx. Most Cephalyx models can play in this theme only.

Playing as a Cephalyx player is like playing as the dealer in a game of three card monte. Most of your Cephalyx Drudges and your monstrosities are awful, but some are going to be outstanding. And you get to decide which ones. Which of your heavies becomes the arc node for the turn. Which of your Cephalyx Drudges leaps from a poor MAT and decent attack power to an amazing MAT and attack power. And which of your Drudges gets turned into a walking bomb or spray. But there is one way to "win" a game of three-card monte as the punter that's illegal in the real world. Punch the dealer in the face. In your case it's not just your Warcaster; you need to keep your unit leaders safe. The death of the Mind Bender or Mind Slaver leave you with awful troops who need to huddle together. If your Cephalyx Dominator dies your mercs run away. And your Cephalyx Agitator and Cephalyx Overlords are the key to actually hitting. Everything else is disposable.

For really heavy armour you can use one of the Mind Bender's tricks and a Combined Melee Attack well to give Drudges in the Slaver unit a MAT in double figures, and a P+S just short of 20. This is not something even the most extreme ARM-skew lists are going to survive if they make contact. Defensively, Thralls have all the DEF of a heavy warjack, and ARM high enough to make blast damage not much of an issue (although they die to any direct hits). Oh, and they are tough. As, thanks to the Dominator, are any mercenaries you brought along (always assuming you didn't shank the Dominator on turn 1 so that your opponent couldn't take your mercs out of the game on turn 3). This means that a Cephalyx list is basically a massive wave of tough, almost blast-immune infantry that excels at breaking heavy armour. And gets destroyed by enemies with good spot-removal abilities.

Theme weaknesses

The Cephalyx have fallen far behind the power curve and only rarely gets new models, having received only four since inception (Cyphon, Stygius, Void Archons, and Gaspy4) besides Dominator-attached units. They never really caught on with the players and are likely to languish for some time due to unpopularity.

List Building Tips

• Drudges are effectively an all-or-nothing proposition. Awful troops but sometimes quantity has a quality all of its own and many lists simply can't kill 60+ points split between Drudges and Alexia Ciannor & the Risen fast enough. This works out at just over a point per model for tough troops (with Alexia recycling the killed drudges for even more annoyance).
• Spamming Monstrosities can work pretty effectively. They are cheap, tough and with a Cephalyx Agitator hit hard.
• A duo Agitators should always be your first equisition option. You need them to run your Monstrosities at maximum potential. bring even more if you plan on spamming Monstrosities. The Warden is especially spammable at 10 points.
• Machine Wraiths are essential as cheap flag campers and also to mess with enemy jacks. Against something like Devastator spam they are a godsend.
• It is the only theme where you can essentially field all the merc units together, so long as you bring the attachments.
  • Alexia1 - A very good addition to a drudge spam list, as she recycles fallen drudges into risen and thrall warriors.
  • Press Gangers can either ambush or advance deploy giving you an important scenario edge. Fallen unit members fuel Alexia and can be Shanghai'd back by the remaining Press Gangers.
  • Croe's Cutthroats work very well with ambushers as the enemy has to turn around to deal with them, exposing their back arcs. Thexus can also turn models around telekinetically.
  • Lady Aiyana & Master Holt - Aiyana is a damage buff on a stick and Holt is a nice shooty quasi-solo, which is rare in the theme.
• Mobius is a good shooting solo on it's own. He doesn't need Bloat Thralls in the list to justify himself.
• Pistol Wraiths are Incorporeal flag campers and double the price compared to Machine Wraiths. The two extra points are supposed to be justified by their short range guns and soul collection mechanic. It's debatable if that is indeed true.
• Asphyxious4 - An auto-include, providing a cloud wall, an easily applyable damage buff and the man himself has the same output as your average combat heavy.
  • A Toro under him is a real work horse and gives you access to:
    • Princess Delores Graciela - She is an entire gun platform on her own and thus synergises with Thexus especially.Use the feat and TK to line 'em up, then have her unleash fire on them, Hex Blast strips pesky upkeeps.

Starting a 25 point Brawl list

In 2021.03 Phillip Melvin, one of the LOS authors, put together this list for the Brawlmachine format. It was then updated for the 2021.10 errata. He even wrote about its playstyle and expanded it beyond 25 points, which you can read here.

Cognifex Cyphon [+29 WJP]

• Doctor Stygius [Free] (4 pts)
• Wrecker [14 pts]
• Subduer [11 pts]
• Warden [10 pts]

Cephalyx Agitator [2 pts]

Machine Wraith [2 pts]

Cephalyx Dominator [1 pt]

• Kayazy Eliminators [4 pts]

Cephalyx Mind Slaver & Drudges (Max unit) [10 pts]

For more Brawlmachine list ideas, see Category: Brawl List

Other

Trivia

The very first theme force released in mk3, it actually had its rules written into the core rulebook.

Cephalyx came out the year after Convergence, and while they had enough models to become a mini faction, PP decided to make them a Mercenary theme force instead, which turned into a failed experiment as players did not want to buy into Mercenaries to play them at the time.

This theme force does not represent the race of the Cephalyx in its entirety. There are multiple hives spread in the undergrounds of western Immoren, that are all more or less hostile to each other. Operating Theatre represents the hive that hid under the Thornwood forest, which Aspyhxious struck a deal with to give Cryx a foothold on the mainland.

Other Mercenary models

• Category: Operating Theater

Rules Clarifications

Rules Clarification : Hyper-Aggressive      (Edit) Because you must move directly towards your attacker, you cannot change facing after completing your Hyper-Aggressive move. HA can be triggered more than once per turn.

Rules Clarification : Ambush      (Edit) If you attach a WA or CA to this unit, and the attachment doesn't have Ambush, then they all get to Ambush anyway. (Locked Thread) Ambush and Apparition both occur at Step 5 of the Control Phase. However, Ambush specifies the "end" of the Control Phase so you cannot use Apparition on a model that Ambushes. (Infernal Ruling) Declaring Ambush: Choosing whether a unit deploys normally or ambushes needs to happen before deployment. So it goes: do the starting roll, Player 2 chooses sides, Player 1 declares Ambushes (if any), then Player 2 declares Ambushes (if any), then Player 1 starts deployment. (Infernal Ruling) If you have both Prey and Ambush, then you declare your Prey target at the normal time (even though the Prey-er isn't currently on the table). (Infernal Ruling)

Rules Clarification : Rise      (Edit) Rise occurs before Continuous Fire/Corrosion. (Infernal Ruling)

Rules Clarification: Theme Forces     (Edit) Themes that change a model's Faction   [Show/Hide] Many themes swap which Faction a model counts as. They're slightly inconsistent with how exactly this is worded. Despite this inconsistency - whenever a model is considered a different faction to normal, it will not be its original faction. (Infernal Ruling) For instance Lukas stops being a Crucible Guard model when taken in an Infernal army, and as a consequence he cannot take Toros or Vanguards in Infernals. (Infernal Ruling) Rerolling the starting roll   [Show/Hide] You cannot use the theme benefit to reroll if it is a draw. Instead both players reroll until there is a loser, and then the loser can use their reroll benefit (if they have it). (Infernal Ruling) If both players have a reroll, first the original loser uses their reroll. If the original loser still loses, fine. If the original loser now wins, the other player can use their reroll. If it is now a draw, both players reroll until there is a loser. Then the player that hasn't used their theme benefit reroll can still use it, if they want. Warjacks/Warbeasts with bonds   [Show/Hide] A warjack/warbeast with a bond can always be included in a theme force, whether or not they're in the list of allowed models, but only if they're controlled by that bonded model. This applies even if that bonded model isn't a full warcaster/warlock (changed as of 2018.06). Including Mercenaries   [Show/Hide] Number of Mercenaries If your "up to one Merc" ... ... can take warbeasts/warjacks, then you can add warbeast(s)/warjack(s) (without exceeding your "up to one" allowance) ... comes with a Companion model, then you'll get that Companion (without exceeding your "up to one" allowance) There is a bug in Warroom that allows you to not only take one Merc solo/unit, but the entire FA of that Merc solo/unit. It's a bug. Mercenaries and Ranking Officers Adding a Ranking Officer to a Merc unit doesn't increase the number of Merc units you can take. Other See also the section on Partisans Including Partisan Mercenaries   [Show/Hide] Partisans & Theme Forces (Edit) Partisans are Mercenary/Minion models, so there are two ways you can add them to a theme force: Freely: If the Partisan is on the list of allowed models, then you can take as many as you want plus another Mercenary unit/solo. (Infernal Ruling) They can be explicitly allowed (for example Jaws of the Wolf allows "Kayazy models/units" so Partisan Kayayz can be used freely). They can be implicitly allowed (for example Scourge of the Broken Coast allows "living Cryx models/units" and Partisan Cephalyx fit that criteria, so they can be used freely). (Infernal Ruling) Limited: If the Partisan isn't on the list of allowed models, it does use up your "Up to one Mercenary/Minion" slot, so you can only have the one. Whether you used option 1 or 2 above, once they're in your theme force they count as a Faction model and so: They can be taken as a Requistion Option (if they fit the Requistion description). For example Lanyssa can be taken as a free solo in the Legion of Dawn theme. (Infernal Ruling) They will get any theme benefit that they fit the description for. For example Storm Division gives all Cygnar models Immunity Electricity, so Partisan Mercs in that theme get immunity too. For example Nemo4's Mechaniks get Reposition [3] in Heavy Metal. (Infernal Ruling) Requisition Points   [Show/Hide] You can choose the same Requisition option as many times as you like, as long as it doesn't put you over a FA limit. You can't mix and match models from different options. Say one option allows 3 Machine Wraiths and another allows 3 Necrotechs. You can't use your Requisition Point to get 2 Wraiths and 1 Necrotech. If you have an option that allows one other solo, you can't use it to get something already on the list. For instance, Ghost Fleet allows 3 Misery Cages (which are FA 4) for one Requistion Point, and it allows 1 other solo. That "other solo" can't be a 4th Cage. If your theme allows "3 weapon attachments" as a Requistion Option, you can spread them into different units. (Locked Thread) Models with the Man-Sized rule count as small-based models for the purposes of being a Requistion Option. (Locked Thread) Free models and Specialists (ADR)    [Show/Hide] If your theme only allows one merc solo, you can't have one in your main list and a different one in your specialists. Unit Attachments   [Show/Hide] If a unit is allowed in a theme, any-and-all of its attachments are allowed too. Exception: Ranking Officers are not allowed unless explicitily mentioned. If the theme force gives a benefit to a specific unit, any-and-all attachments to that unit will benefit too. Even if it is a "generic" attachment like the Void Leech. (Infernal Ruling) For example, a Trollkin Sorcerer will gain Serenity if its attached to a Dhunian Knot unit in a Power of Dhunia theme force. If your theme allows "3 weapon attachments" as a Requistion Option, you can spread them into different units. (Locked Thread) A non-character unit with a character attachment (i.e. Captain Karli) still counts as a non-character unit. (Infernal Ruling) When to apply theme benefits   [Show/Hide] With reference to special abilities that themes give to models, Ranking Officers, adding new models, and/or taking control of models: Theme force benefits are applied when you construct your list or put a new model into play. A model already in play will not lose or gain any theme benefits mid-game based on any changes of faction status or otherwise. (Infernal Ruling) However, if the theme gives a benefit to models "at the beginning of the game" (such as Devourer's Host letting models begin the game with 1 corpse token) then this benefit does not apply to new models that are put into play mid-game. (Locked Thread) Example 1: Sons of the Tempest says "ATGM units in this army gain Pistoleer". If your opponent takes control of one of them, it keeps Pistoleer while under their control even though it's currently not "in the army". Example 2: Storm Division gives Immunity:Electricity to "Cygnar models in the army." If you include a Mercenary unit with a Ranking Officer, they will get the theme benefit and also keep it even after the Ranking Officer dies. Example 3: Stange Bedfellows gives solos Swift Vengeance. If Nemo4 creates a new solo mid-game, that solo will have Swift Vengeance. See also these Theme-Specific Rulings   [Show/Hide] Rules Clarification : Black Industries      (Edit) The entry which allows "Cephalyx models/units" only applies to Partisan Cephalyx. That's because the theme's rules start off with "this army can only include the following Cryx models"​. Partisan Cephalyx are the only ones that fill that condition. The Cephalyx Agitator also works for Cryx and can go in Black Industries but, because it is not a Partisan, it will use up your Mercenary solo slot. (Infernal Ruling) Rules Clarification : The Creator's Might      (Edit) ​Elias Gade is allowed in Creator's Might. (Infernal Ruling) You can spend the "Two Vassal solos" requistion option on one Vassal Mechanik and one Vassal of Menoth. Warroom has a bug and tells you that you can't. (Infernal Ruling) Rules Clarification : Flame in the Darkness      (Edit) You can take any number of Mercenary jacks. You can also select two additional jacks from Khador and Cygnar in any combination you like. Character warjacks with a bond don't count against this limit of 2. (Infernal Ruling) There is a bug in Warroom that allows you to take two Cygnar and two Khador jacks. Morrowan Battle Priest: If your warcaster is a Cygnar model that makes every unit you take a Cygnar unit, and Battle Priests can be attached to any unit. Warroom has a known bug where it doesn't allow this interaction. If your warcaster is a Mercenary or Khador model, though, the only units the Battle Priest can attach to are the Morrow ones. If you attach the Battle Priest to The Devil's Shadows Mutineers then it can be returned via Blood Bound. (Infernal Ruling) Rules Clarification : Llaelese Resistance      (Edit) It is 2 Cruicible or 2 Cygnar or 2 Menoth. You can't take more than 2, and you can't mix and match from multiple Factions. (Infernal Ruling) You can have a non-character unit with a character attachment (i.e. Captain Karli). (Infernal Ruling) Rules Clarification : The Talion Charter      (Edit) The 3rd benefit is "Sac Pawn [Sea Dog trooper]", not just any Sea Dog. (Infernal ruling) Rules Clarification : The Bones of Orboros      (Edit) Una1 cannot be taken in this theme (yet) due to the conflict between the theme's "Only Construct warbeasts allowed" and Una1's "Must take warbeasts with flight". There are no construct warbeasts with flight (yet). But if/when there is, then Una1 can be taken in this theme. (Infernal Ruling) Rules Clarification : The Devourer's Host      (Edit) Bradigus1 is not legal in this theme. The theme only allows living warbeasts, his rules only allow construct warbeasts, and you can't just 'skip' his battlegroup - you have to spend your warbeast points. If you create a new model mid-game (ie with the Well of Orboros and that model can have corpse tokens, that model does not enter play with a corpse. Because it's not the beginning of the game. (Locked thread) Rules Clarification : The Wild Hunt      (Edit) The animus benefit doesn't apply to enemy warbeasts. (Infernal Ruling) The animus benefit doesn't stack with the Druid Wilder's Herding ability. (Infernal Ruling) When it comes to other things that alter COST (such as Lamentation), follow basic maths: Double/halve first, then add/subtract. Rules Clarification : Oracles of Annihilation      (Edit) Kallus1's feat doesn't stack with the Minion bonus rule in Oracles of Annihilation, because one triggers at disabled and the other at destroyed. (Locked Thread) Rules Clarification : The Exalted      (Edit) If a Construct model loses the Construct advantage mid-game, it keeps the theme benefit anyway. (Infernal Ruling) Rules Clarification : Band of Heroes      (Edit) Boomhowler2 uses up your Minion slot. His Fell Calls ability is not enough to make him a "Fell Caller model/unit". (Infernal Ruling) Boomhowler3 does not use up your minion slot on account of having the Champion keyword. Rules Clarification : The Blindwater Congregation      (Edit) Void Leeches attached to a Gatorman Posse will gain Snacking, but they won't gain extra hitpoints. (Infernal Ruling) Rules Clarification : Magnum Opus      (Edit) If Mosby is attached to a Mercenary weapon crew unit, they would gain 3" reposition and would not lose it if Mosby is no longer in the unit. (Infernal Ruling) Rules Clarification : Hearts of Darkness      (Edit) Lukas can't take Maker Marked warjacks in Hearts of Darkness. (Infernal Ruling)