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.
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