View source for Blighted Nyss Scather Crew

{{Legbox|{{Legion}} {{Blighted Nyss}} {{Weapon Crew}} {{Unit}} }} [[Category: Model]]
{{4P|Ravens of War}}

''Rather than shatter walls or unleash explosives, scathers deliver dragonblight itself as a deadly liquid poison. This substance can dissolve metal, putrefy wood, or crumble stone as easily as flesh and bone. Even a few drops will inflict searing agony on a man before granting the sweet release of death. Nothing will ever grow again on ground struck by the scather.''

=Basic Info=
{{Infobox-Model
| name  = {{PAGENAME}}
| altname = Gunner{{/}}Grunts
| image = scather-crew.png
| base  = Large{{/}}Small
| spd   = 2{{/}}4
| str   = 
| mat   = 5
| rat   = 5
| def   = 13
| arm   = 11
| cmd   = 5
| hp    = 1
| size  = 1&nbsp;Gunner 2&nbsp;Grunts
| cost  = 3
| fa    = 2
}}

===Abilities===
* '''''Gunner
** {{Officer}}
** {{Man-Sized}}
** {{Mobile Artillery}}
** {{Take Up}}

* '''''Grunts
** '''None'''

===Weapons === 
* '''''Gunner
{| class="wikitable"
{{Ranged|Scather Catapult|15|13|aoe=3|
* {{Corrosion Damage}}
* {{Arcing Fire}}
* {{Minimum Range|6}}
* {{Scather}} }}
{{Melee|Sword|0,5|3|7| }}
|}

* '''''Grunts
{| class="wikitable"
{{Melee|Sword|0,5|3|7| }}
|}

===Theme Forces ===
* {{Children of the Dragon}}.


=Thoughts on {{PAGENAME}}= 
==={{PAGENAME}} in a nutshell===

The Scather Crew is a long ranged light artillery unit. They basically do the daily job of a [[Ravagore]], however, rather sloppily. The gun has 1 less POW, less mobility, and a small AoE rather than a 4" one. Since [[Children of the Dragon]] allows complete access to the faction's warbeasts, you'll likely to choose your flesh and blood artillery over these guys if you need convincing ranged firepower. 

To make things worse, even if you can take this weapon crew as a free card, it has to compete with way more capable choices for the available slots, the [[Incubus|Incubi]], the [[Blighted Nyss Warlord|Warlord]], [[Craelix]] or the [[Blighted Nyss Swordsmen|Swordsmen UA]] among them.
  
Scather crews have an odd mixture of special rules, which might occasionally come very handy, but you can regard most of those occasions as corner-case scenarios at best.

* Theoretically the AoEs can function as a board control tool, like the covering fire template of the [[Trencher Chain Gun]] crews. However, a scattering AoE is not nearly as reliable as a placed wall template and can pose threat to your own troops as well. If you just need a couple of Scather template from a unit, the [[Virtue Host]] and the [[Virtue Champion]] can both do that - and even at longer range if you wish to Assault with them and without the Minimum Range restriction. 
* Arcing Fire is also a good ability, especially to snipe out important support models behind their jacks, like the Choir or Arcanist Mechaniks. However, enemies with even a modicum of experience will likely keep most of the support pieces out of the reach of the Scather Crews. Also, unless you plan to spam Legionnaires this theme rarely presents tightly packed infantry formations where you could use Shield walled / Wall of Steel'd units of your own to screen your artillery. The Tactician theme bonus makes this ability even more redundant.
* Finally, the acid rounds of the catapult cause Corrosion damage but not the corrosion continuous effect, meaning that blast resistant or dug-in enemies will have to worry less about the rounds. Due to the working of the Scather template ranged units with access to Reposition may still sacrifice their movement to aim, fire, then steer clear of the AoE even if they started their activation within the template. The aforementioned Virtues can also corrode opponents, having the change of damaging/killing them before their turn begins.

In short, Scather Crews usually have 1 or 2 turns to do any meaningful on the battlefield before the armies reach each other, which means the same number of small AoEs, scattered around the battlefield. Once your troops clashed, they're usually destined to make pot shots against the enemy - if your crew is still alive, that is. Even with their low price tag or as free card players will likely spend their resources to something that has greater impact on the battlefield and works more reliably.

===Combos & Synergies===
If you're a faction completionist and actually have one or two of these, you might have some fun with one of these ideas:

* Scather crews are highly autonomous platforms that don't really warrant direct outside support. Placing them near the flanks or your nearby zone might enable them to run up to contest or score on scenario elements, but their low speed and lack of pathfinder can make it challenging. Consider their initial position carefully as it is unlikely they'll move far away from there.
* [[Lylyth2]] - The Scather is still a gun, thus it loves Pin Cushion on its target. With her feat you can also throw around a few templates of "your single wound dudes will not walk here" circles. [[Lylyth1]]'s Parasite is also a universal ARM fixer.
* [[Kryssa]] - her tough aura is probably better than any arm buff vs small arms fire. 
* [[Blightbringer]] - This requires a bit of forethought, but landing a scather AoE in the Blightbringer's no-tough template (or even its aura) can seriously deter single-wound models with Tough.
* [[Spawning Vessel]] - They can use the gunners' corpse when shots start to fly around, even if you used Take Up.
* [[Feralgeist]] or [[Gremlin Swarm]] - If you don't want to rely on scattering to deliver the AoE, use these models as "spotters" for your template. Shoot them in the back, while staying Incorporeal, the damage roll won't hurt them. They'll eat up your "one minion solo" slot though.
* [[Blight Archon]]: Since its aura shuts down corrosion immunity the Scather Crew may cause damage for enemies who thought themselves safe due to their immunity.

===Drawbacks & Downsides=== 
* Standard weapon crew weaknesses: flimsy defense and low mobility.
* Marginal usefulness in its theme force, and there are much better free card choices.

===Tricks & Tips===    
* It is man-sized, meaning that it can hide behind any of your models. You can also use them as Incubi vessels, but only if you don't use Take Up (in case of Take Up the model is destroyed by this ability, which won't trigger the Incubus placement).
* Feel free to blind-fire with these guys from turn 1 into choke-points, where you suspect enemy infantry approach.
* Arcing fire allows you to ignore only intervening models, not terrain pieces.
* Take-up caveat: always have at least one guy for Take-Up. This unit has no use if you lose the gun. Also be on the lookout for RFP effects, since in such cases there will be no Take-Up. Place the Grunts all the time in such fashion that a single 3" AoE won't kill the whole unit. If the enemy shoots a 4" AoE upon them, you probably spared it from your more valuable models.

=Other=
===Trivia===
Released in [[Hordes: Evolution]] (2007)

===Other Legion models===
{{Index Legion}}

===Rules Clarifications===
{{RC Corrosion Damage}}
{{RC Arcing Fire}}
{{RC Minimum Range}}
{{RC Scather}}

{{RC Officer}}
{{RC Man-Sized}}
{{RC Mobile Artillery}}
{{RC Take Up}}