.jpg)
Nick speaking,
I took a look at Destroyers in a previous New Necron Codex Review post. Destroyers and Scarab Swarms are currently the two best Necron fast attack choices available at the moment. In this post, I want to take a closer look at Scarabs Swarms and see why they compete so much with Destroyers!
Scarab Swarms are fast and move like jetbikes, but also they have the ability to ignore terrain. You do have the option to line them up in front of your phalanx, giving your Warriors and the like cover saves. You could even use them just to speed bump any incoming units.
One of the major plus factors of the current Codex is the Scarab Swarm entries that say they are 'small Targets' giving them +1 to any cover saves, plus they have the 'Swarms' special rule, also giving them +1 to any cover saves. So at the moment when in terrain or after turbo boosting , they are little mini terminators with a 2+ cover save. This is something we have to take advantage of.
Join a Destroyer Lord to a unit of Scarabs Swarms and send them out as a delivery system for the Lords still fantastic Wargear. Turbo boost them out on turn one, get into terrain on turn two and pop of Nightmare Shroud on as many units as you can. Use the Scarabs and Lord to draw fire, taking advantage of the 2+ cover saves. Get into the back ranks and de-mech those objective holding tanks with the Lords Warscythe!
Scarabs currently cost 12 points each or 16 points with the disruption fields. Ideally these guys should be about 10 points each to keep in line with the Codex creep, but more importantly I would love to see them in the Troops section to make way for other Fast attack choices. Why not make them troops that are not scoring, just like Tyranid Ripper Swarms?
So what do you think will happen to Scarab Swarms in the New Codex?
The small targets/swarms combo is largely irrelevant, since Turbo-Boosting gives you a 3+ cover save; with either of the bonuses, this yields a 2++ when they jet forward.
ReplyDeleteScarab Swarms are far and away the best unit in the Necron codex right now. I think they're fine at 12pts, although Disruption Fields are not much of an upgrade- they definitely need some more options there.
Hiding a Lord (or two, if you can risk not getting WBB on your Warriors) in a squad of Scarabs can be pretty dangerous, depending on the opponent's melee defenses. IG or Tau that don't have proper screens are good targets, and with a Warscythe a lot of other things (like slow/immobile tanks) can go down easily this way as well.
I am also a big fan of scarabs turbo-boosting together with a des lord. Never thought about using them with the Nightmare Shroud though, it's a good combo. I am afraid I would still take 3 x 5 Destroyers though.
ReplyDeleteFor the next codex, as you said, I would like them to be non-scoring Troops as well. I would also like scarabs created by Tomb Spyders to be able to break off a la Tervigon style. Not sure about the point cost though.