It might seem that there's little to talk about when it comes to scarab swarms - most see them as little more than a really fast tarpit. However, they really have an incredible array of uses, and when paired with a Destroyer Lord with Lightning Fields, can be one of the most versatile and effective units in the codex.
Here are just a few of the ways you can use Scarab Swarms to destroy your opponent's plans.
--> Tarpit. This is the obvious one. Everyone expects them to be used this way, but they have good reason for it: Scarabs are extremely adept at tying up enemy units of any kind in close combat. Need some Dark Reapers to stop shooting at you? Throw scarabs at 'em. If the Scarabs don't kill them outright, at the very least the Reapers will be stuck bashing bugs for the rest of the game.
--> Assault denial. Slightly less common, but still a fairly well known tactic. Keep your Scarabs behind your lines for most of the game, and then, once a squad is threatened by an assault, turbo-boost them directly in front of the would-be assaulters and watch your opponent cry. This strategy relies on knowing when you're going to be assaulted, so it's a good idea to keep in mind how far your Scarabs can move in one turn and how quickly enemy assaulters can get into their positions. For example, you'd need to know that Orks in a Trukk with a Red Paint Job have a threat range of 27" for assaults (Trukk moves 19", Orks deploy out 2", then assault 6" because Trukks are open-topped).
--> Tank hunters. Scarabs are increasingly becoming the Necron commander's unit of choice for dealing with vehicles. For a small upgrade that brings a 10-Scarab squad to 160 points, you can cause scarabs to glance vehicles on a 6, as though they had the Gauss rule in assault, even though they're strength 3. Since said 10-base squad gets 40 attacks when charging, even a vehicle that moved at combat speed is looking at no less than 3 glancing hits - often 7 if the vehicle was stationary. This guarantees that the vehicle does nothing for the next turn, and even better, has a chance of permanently disrupting that vehicle by immobilizing it or destroying its weapon. Add a Destroyer Lord with a Warscythe here, and you have some real vehicle-killing potential (S 5 with 2d6 penetration on rear armor is nothing to sneeze at).
--> Objectives. Sadly, Scarabs can't hold objectives, but they can still contest 'em, or prevent enemies from even getting close to your own objectives. I've actually been in a position where a single 10-base squad of Scarabs was able to turbo-boost into all 3 objectives that my opponent was holding, stealing victory from the clutches of defeat. If you're expecting to use this tactic, it's best to hide your Scarabs away somewhere and deliberately do nothing with them for the first few turns of the game - I've waited as long as turn 5 before moving them beyond my initial deployment. If you make no mention of them and seem to pay no attention to what they should be doing, lesser opponents will often forget that they're there entirely, and won't take them into account for their strategy until it's too late.
--> Real assault unit. It seems silly to think of Scarabs this way, and really it only applies if you attach the Destroyer Lord I mentioned earlier to the squad. However, these guys can become real assault machines, especially against lower toughness/higher model count armies like Eldar or Imperial Guard. The Destroyer Lord can wreak havoc on almost any assault unit he encounters by ignoring their armor AND invulnerables, as well as being T6 with (ideally) a 4+ invulnerable save of his own... He really only needs to fear powerfists and the like. The Scarabs make a great escort him, providing ablative wounds for shooting (don't forget that a turbo-boosting Scarab Swarm has a 2+ cover save!) and millions of attacks in assault. The Lightning field makes them especially deadly if you throw them up against other assault units, like Berzerkers. For every unsaved wound that the attackers inflict on the swarms, they take a S3 hit back - essentially adding directly to the Scarab Swarms normal attacks. Again, though, it's important to remember that there's one thing this squad really fears in assaults...Power Fists. Don't send them up against a squad of Terminators, because every wound they inflict kills a full base, not just 1/3 of a base.
Looking back on this, most of it really isn't advanced tactics - experienced Necron players probably won't have learned anything new here - but it's still a good reference and helpful to newer players.
Anyhow, for the next article I think I'll change things up and talk about how Necrons can deal with specific game types.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
I'm back! And a short discussion on Destroyers.
It's been a while since I've posted, but I am now back in business. Recently upgraded my computer to Windows 7, and life's been throwing a lot of stuff at me recently, so updating the blog has been fairly low on the priority list. But now that I'm here again, I'd like to talk a bit about Destroyers.
Destroyers are the biggest heavy hitters in the Necron codex. At Strength 6 and with 3 shots per Destroyer, you get both high volume (15 shots per squad) and high return per shot (18% chance to kill a marine with each shot fired, or a 27% chance to kill a marine with each hit). What's more, their shooting is good against just about everything: The Gauss rule allows them to become long-range tank hunters for the zombie-robots, even if the target is above Armor 12, and they can annihilate almost any enemy infantry of any type. They're even great for picking out T3 characters, like the super-annoying Eldar Farseer on a jetbike. Then, when you add in the fact that they are jetbikes themselves and have a flat T5, making WBB denial extremely difficult, it's no wonder that these guys are relied on heavily by current Necron players: Many of them see the Destroyer as the only really good model left in the codex.
Of course, there is one fairly major problem with Destroyers, and it counts double against Necrons because of Phase Out: 50 points per model, and only squads of 3-5.
Even with the Destroyer's awesome firepower and mobility, I often find it hard to justify taking large amounts of them (by that, I mean more than 5) in anything under 2000 points...They just hurt the Phase Out number too much, especially if you plan to also use things like the Deceiver or a Monolith. So when you're limited in how many Destroyers you can efficiently field, how do you prioritize targets for their shooting? Well, there are a few ways to go about it.
--> Long range: Destroyers have 36" range, more than anything else in the codex. Therefore, it's often a good idea to use it. Because most 'Crons have an optimum range of 24", they're often forced to take down immediate threats only, dealing with things as they come into range and hoping that one or two volleys is enough to at least slow it down. Destroyers, on the other hand, have the luxury of planning ahead - not only can they help you take down an immediate threat, but if your other units have it under control (tip: resolve Destroyer shooting last in most circumstances to optimize target priority), they are some of the only units in the codex that can actually eliminate a threat before it becomes dangerous - giving the rest of your units time to focus on other things.
--> High value target: Sometimes, there's a unit that simply has to go down now. You might have other troops in the area who could deal with it, but it would be more effective for them to target a different unit - Say, Warriors able to shoot at some nearby Hormagaunts rather than the rampaging Carnifex about to crash into them. Destroyers are clearly the better choice for wounding the 'fex, wounding it on 4's rather than 6's, and their presence also allows the Warriors to soften up the Gaunt squad rather than feebly attempt to destroy the more pressing threat.
Last but not least, never forget the Destroyer's mobility. Moving as a Jetbike is a precious thing in our codex, where movement is a key weakness. Do not hesitate to jump them forward 24" to contest an objective when turn 6 rolls around - unless there's a power fist nearby, they can probably handle any troop squad nearby until the game ends.
Next week I'll go into more detail on Scarab Swarms, and talk a bit about the Destroyer Lord as well.
Destroyers are the biggest heavy hitters in the Necron codex. At Strength 6 and with 3 shots per Destroyer, you get both high volume (15 shots per squad) and high return per shot (18% chance to kill a marine with each shot fired, or a 27% chance to kill a marine with each hit). What's more, their shooting is good against just about everything: The Gauss rule allows them to become long-range tank hunters for the zombie-robots, even if the target is above Armor 12, and they can annihilate almost any enemy infantry of any type. They're even great for picking out T3 characters, like the super-annoying Eldar Farseer on a jetbike. Then, when you add in the fact that they are jetbikes themselves and have a flat T5, making WBB denial extremely difficult, it's no wonder that these guys are relied on heavily by current Necron players: Many of them see the Destroyer as the only really good model left in the codex.
Of course, there is one fairly major problem with Destroyers, and it counts double against Necrons because of Phase Out: 50 points per model, and only squads of 3-5.
Even with the Destroyer's awesome firepower and mobility, I often find it hard to justify taking large amounts of them (by that, I mean more than 5) in anything under 2000 points...They just hurt the Phase Out number too much, especially if you plan to also use things like the Deceiver or a Monolith. So when you're limited in how many Destroyers you can efficiently field, how do you prioritize targets for their shooting? Well, there are a few ways to go about it.
--> Long range: Destroyers have 36" range, more than anything else in the codex. Therefore, it's often a good idea to use it. Because most 'Crons have an optimum range of 24", they're often forced to take down immediate threats only, dealing with things as they come into range and hoping that one or two volleys is enough to at least slow it down. Destroyers, on the other hand, have the luxury of planning ahead - not only can they help you take down an immediate threat, but if your other units have it under control (tip: resolve Destroyer shooting last in most circumstances to optimize target priority), they are some of the only units in the codex that can actually eliminate a threat before it becomes dangerous - giving the rest of your units time to focus on other things.
--> High value target: Sometimes, there's a unit that simply has to go down now. You might have other troops in the area who could deal with it, but it would be more effective for them to target a different unit - Say, Warriors able to shoot at some nearby Hormagaunts rather than the rampaging Carnifex about to crash into them. Destroyers are clearly the better choice for wounding the 'fex, wounding it on 4's rather than 6's, and their presence also allows the Warriors to soften up the Gaunt squad rather than feebly attempt to destroy the more pressing threat.
Last but not least, never forget the Destroyer's mobility. Moving as a Jetbike is a precious thing in our codex, where movement is a key weakness. Do not hesitate to jump them forward 24" to contest an objective when turn 6 rolls around - unless there's a power fist nearby, they can probably handle any troop squad nearby until the game ends.
Next week I'll go into more detail on Scarab Swarms, and talk a bit about the Destroyer Lord as well.