Aradus Scarab

Scarabs are enormous, ravenous insect-like creatures native to the Trembling Waste. Skorne beast handlers drive scarabs mad with hunger, then loose them onto the battlefield in advance of a main force to consume any living thing in their path. The terrifying sight of these voracious beasts swarming over defenses has caused even veteran soldiers to flee for their lives.

Basic Info

Abilities

• Template:Carapace
• Template:Hunting Pack
• Template:Steady

Weapons

Mandibles
File:Sword icon.jpg		RNG				POW				P+S
		0.5				5				10
Template:Critical Paralysis

Animus

{{Category: Template:Scuttler }}[[Category: Template:Scuttler ]]

Theme Forces

• Template:Disciples of Agony
• Template:Masters of War
• Template:The Exalted
• Template:Winds of Death

Thoughts on the Aradus Scarab

Aradus Scarab in a nutshell

The Scarab is a missile resistant lesser warbeast. Unless you have a caster that can mitigate its low threat range it is mostly a 3 point animus bot and transfer target that may make it into the fight in the second wave.

It has a lot of rules on its card, but most are hampered by poor basic stats. As a result it likes a caster with a field marshal or passive Warbeast buff - of which there are plenty in Skorne.

Combos & Synergies

• Agonizer - probably the best recommendation for the Scarab as the Scarab can have the Agonizer dig in
• Archdomina Makeda - each of these little bugs becomes a shield guard with Carapace. It almost feels like cheating against gunlines...almost.
• Tyrant Zaadesh - His Tag Team stacks with the Scarab's own mini-gang.
• Lord Arbiter Hexeris - his Field Marshall-Channeler turns each beast into an arc node. In addition, Scarabs have several aids to channeling with both Dig In and Carapace making them resistant to shooting and magic. While they die in melee by droves unless enjoying Ashen Veil, if the opponent runs to engage to prevent channeling, then Carapace gives the bugs a slight chance at sucking up the free strike and channeling anyway.
• Lord Tyrant Zaadesh - They can use Battle Charged to engage channelers and ranged attackers, if they are lucky they may even paralyse them. They can enable the Flank of Zaadesh. Zaadesh can sacrificial pawn ranged attacks to them. Under the feat, they hit notably hard for such cheap models. All in all, a lot of utility especially if the battlegroup contains Aradus Warbeasts.
• Terrorizer another great animus target
• other Aradus warbeasts to stack Pack Hunter - this is easier to use in conjunction with Zaadesh2 or as a semi effective way to clear chaff infantry from your more expensive beasts before they activate
• Xerxis Fury of Halaak his field marshal is great on any beast and his feat let’s you choose the dice you want to drop so you can crit fish a bit easier

Drawbacks & Downsides

• Slow. Rush is remarkably ineffective on them
• Very low base MAT and P+S. You need to stack bonuses, including hunting pack, to make them worth their point.
• Fragile in melee. Charging infantry almost always kill them in two shots, and killing in one charge attack isn't exactly hard.
• this does not affect their gameplay in any way - but they are very frustrating to assemble as miniatures due to lots of very small parts

Tricks & Tips

• You can have them run and have someone else cast Scuttler on them.
• remember that although it’s a spell Dig In lasts until you move or are engaged it does not expire
• They are the cheapest souls you can buy with warbeast points.
• They are pretty good charge lane blockers when dug in. Removing them with magic or ranged attacks is often obnoxiously hard because they will be 15/16, and sending melee models without interfering with the charge can be a headache. Especially because they often require two models to be removed reliably.
• Never put your hopes too high with them. They are significantly cheaper per model than elite infantry for a reason.
• Remember you can use dig in on the agonizer or the Terrorizer you can also cast it on a Reptile Hound if you are a masochist and choose to field 1 and a Razor Boar if playing in disciples of agony.
• 3pts makes 1 a cheap enough investment that it can just be kept back as an animus bot and transfer target if you have spare points.

Other

Trivia

Released in Hordes: Exigence (2014)