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Steel and Balefire - Scorpions or Banshees? - Fuji | |
| I've been playing Eldar for a while, and one of the most common arguments
I've seen over the army (aside from my constant pushing of Scatter Lasers
over Starcannons), is whether Scorpions or Banshees should be used. The
natrual reaction of most players, I've noticed, is to use Banshees because
they have power weapons (just like they use Starcannnons because they're
AP2, pah!). But, in my experience, I've found the green-clad warriors are
much, much better. In this article I shall show you, gentle reader, the
correct application for your valiant Scorps. If you really want the best out of your Scorpions, you're going to need two things - a Wave Serpent, and a Farseer. Yes, yes, I know, you like keeping your Farseer to guide your War Walkers/Dark Reapers/Wraithlord, but this cause is far nobler. You don't even need to kit out the Farseer much - CCW, Shuriken Pistol, Fortune, Ghosthelm and Runes of Witnessing are all you need. The Wave Serpent should either have Starcannons (for infantry) or Lances (for tanks), and should always have Vectored Engines and Spirit Stones (Guardsmen really hate those things, giggle). If it's a bigger game and you're going to send your Scorpions off in an anti-infantry role, you might want to give your Farseer Spirit Stones, Mind War and a Witchblade, but NEVER drop Fortune. 3+ save with a re-roll? Yes, that'll do me. And don't let any silly Imperial tell you you can't case Fortune while you're in a vehicle. The squad, if going for tanks, should all be given Plasma and Haywire Grenades (best anti-tank weapons EVER), and the Exarch should have the Scorpions Claw and Crushing Blow if you can afford it. The general idea, I'm sure you understand, is to rush up the table 24" on the first turn, then jump out the next turn and blow up that annoying Battle Tank/Whirlwind/Basilisk/Monolith. A good idea, I would say, is to attack from behind the vehicle and hide behind the wreck afterwards, as there is no Resolution from a vehicle. The Farseers Witchblade can also come in handy here for extra paazaah. If you're after infantry - sorry, a character - then you can forgo the grenades (but they can still be handy), and make sure your Exarch has the Biting Blade and Crushing Blow. Seriously, I've put Terminator Captains to the death with that combination, and he's less than fifty points. He'll also usually go first, being I6, and against T3 characters like Guard Officers and Sisters, he is death incarnate while his squad chops up the survivors. Okay, if the big nasty power-weapon-and-bolt-pistol character is left alive he's toast, but you have to take that chance. Mind War can be useful here to soften up a character, and even if you kill him the Exarch can usually make a mess of the squad. Just remember that just because a character only has 2 wounds, you can cause more - don't let your opponent say different. In application of this theory I've caused around 31 wounds on a Canoness. Cloak of St. Aspiria? HA! And after the combat you can jump back into the Serpent and go find some other hapless schmo to kill! A note, though, my young Seers: Scorpions are still only T3, 3+ with reroll save or not, so don't be too hasty with them. Throwing them into a massive sprawling combat with several squads involved is generally a bad idea (unless it's a horde of crap things and they have some backup, such as 'nids or Guard), but limiting them to small strikes against specific targets is where the excel. Remember this, and you will find their services invaluable. | |
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