Unit of the Week: Skorpekh Destroyers

[Daimyo-Phaeron Lenoch]

 

Welcome to the Unit of the Week Series!

 

Each week a different unit will be highlighted for discussion until we have amalgamated a full list of our available options and their relevant tactics as 9th edition evolves. This will include not only matched play, but free play considerations as well as Crusade, as these methods of play are just as relevant and exciting.

 

Please keep in mind this isn't to lament the status of featured units or compare them to others but to try and find their potential for all types of gameplay.

 

This week’s unit is:

 

Skorpekh Destroyers

 

As a loose guide, here are some thought-provoking questions to consider and cogitate as we discuss this week's unit(s):

• what unit sizes do you think are best? Are max units useful for reanimation protocols purposes (or in spite of it), or are minimal units that are more easily hidden better?
• Do you find the risk of a Plasmacyte worth the benefits of being extra-choppy?
• Is character support worth the investment, or do you fire-and-forget, so to speak?
• How do you use this unit in your listbuilding process?
• What are overall strengths and weakness of this unit?
• Which stratagems synergize well with this unit?
• Which specific Crusade benefits best suit this unit?

The floor is yours, honored Nobles and Crypteks!

[Captain Idaho]

I absolutely love this unit! So much I speak about them

!

 

Skorpekh Destroyers are very offensive. They get a decent number attacks per model and good weapons, though the unit does come in somewhat limited numbers so of course melee against hordes needs to be considered carefully.

 

More positives of the unit - fast moving and tough. Not just wound a toughness value of 5 but combined with a Strategum called Whirling Onslaught and a bit of obscuring terrain, they become a very difficult unit to eliminate. -1 to wound is very strong as it means small arms only wounds this unit on a 6.

 

Points cost is okay and certainly it's possible to fit more than a single unit in your list without any issues.

 

Reanimation Protocols is notably poor. Bringing back 3 wound models is going to be hard since you do so per unit attacking and most attacks against this unit will only kill 1 of 2 models a turn. Don't plan your game around it at all.

 

When it comes to character support, either of the Destroyer Lord variants work well and will make the unit powerful on the table. Chronomancers give a crucial Invulnerable save to the unit as well as a reroll to charges, which is something to consider.

 

I think this unit can work in just about any Dynasty list, since they can provide even counter charge or attacking potential to Dynasties that might otherwise focused on shooting, for example.

 

The only negative to the unit in my eyes is they only have 3 different models which means 3 different poses.

[Captain Idaho]

Oh, regarding Plasmacytes... rolling a 1 is a very frustrating situation. Losing a model in a small squad is very damaging. My advice is to use one very carefully. If your squad doesn't need to do maximum damage, definitely not.

 

If there's 1 Marine left then let him fall back or continue the fight in his Fight Phase. Don't risk losing a model unless the pay off is greater than the risk.

[01RTB01]

I've only seen skorpekhs in use once by myself. 3 charged a Gravis captain, chapter champion and primaris lieutenant. My attacks bounced...

 

Hoping to have more success when gaming recommences!

[Captain Idaho]

Yeah you'll need a bit more games to get the best from them. Sounds like a large amount of bad luck there.

[Miek]

What unit size do you prefer; MSU, 5 or 6? I have the 3 from Indomitus and might get 3 more. But with reanimation being wasted on them anyways, is there any particular reason to run them in bigger units (ex.: Are the unit buffs worth it)?

 

I'd lean towards 5 or 6 if I field a chronometer, otherwise 2x3.

[Captain Idaho]

I like a big unit of 6 since they're an aggressive, spearhead type unit in my army. I'm getting another 6 too for my theme.

 

I'm into a larger unit because benefits from Plasmacytes and characters to Skorpekh Destroyers are collected neatly. I also appreciate keeping the charge rolls down to a minimum.

 

Also, 6 Skorpekh Destroyers get to use Whirling Onslaught. 2 units of 3 means 1 gets shot, you use Whirling Onslaught then boom they target the other unit.

[Get Thokt]

Seen several go for 5 to avoid blast, but feel 6 is really needed to get the second Reap-Blade

[Captain Idaho]

I'd prefer blast weapons to be targeting Destroyers over Warriors, since most blast weapons are going to be distinctly anti-infantry. Most people focus on non-blast weapons anyway - Grav Cannons vs Plasma Cannons, for example.

 

I wouldn't worry about Blast being a problem, really.

 

And as you say, the 2nd Reap Blade is big.

Edited December 9, 2020 by Captain Idaho

[Anticontrarian]

I'd definitely agree with Get Thokt here-the Blast vulnerability is marginal at best compared to the improved efficacy of having two Reap-blades.

 

Especially once they've taken a few casualties, having Reap-blades means that even only having a pair remaining leaves them a very big threat.

 

I'd definitely consider them MSU or max, running 5 to avoid a couple of Blast weapons averaging one extra hit just doesn't seem worth it to me. After all, they'll be down at five or less remaining soon enough!

Edited December 9, 2020 by Anticontrarian

[Captain Idaho]

Yeah, the Reap blade is a very nice weapon.

[Bonzi]

From the games I've played, blast weapon worries going from 5 to 6 models are silly. I have only see it matter once in several games. In general a 3-4 is what I expect a player to roll on blast weapons regardless of unit size. When you go over 10 it matters a great deal, but at 6 models you are at most giving your opponent 2 'extra' shots if they roll a 1.

[Frostglaive]

My first few games with them, I tried the 2x 3-man units. And like others have said, Whirling Onslaught on one then my opponent just focuses on the other unit instead. They tended to die a lot faster when I did that.

 

Unless I'm running a smaller game, I'll almost always go with the max sized unit. That 2nd Reap Blade has been huge for me every time, and Blast weapons haven't been that big of a deal against me anyways lately (they're mostly focused on my phalanxes of Warriors anyways lol)

 

In game, they've always had 2 jobs for me: run forward to scare my opponent, and kill Space Marines. And they do both wonderfully. I've learned not to heavily rely on them surviving, because the guys I normally play against know just how disgusting Skorpekh can be. I tend to use them as a Distraction Carnifex. And if they happen to survive to turn 2, then lucky for me because my opponent is about to get mulched by 3-legged angry murder bots.

 

Haven't tried a Plasmacyte yet. The risk of flat-out losing a Skorpekh always worried me slightly. Plus I just never seem to have the spare points for one. I'll have to try one out next game.

[Get Thokt]

From the games I've played, blast weapon worries going from 5 to 6 models are silly. I have only see it matter once in several games. In general a 3-4 is what I expect a player to roll on blast weapons regardless of unit size. When you go over 10 it matters a great deal, but at 6 models you are at most giving your opponent 2 'extra' shots if they roll a 1.

At this moment in time yes, however the options are there for them. I'd certainly watch out for those Inceptors.

 

Factions may start leaning into blast weapons once horde armies get their codex (Orks, Genestealers, Tyranids).

 

Though even if the meta goes heavy into blast weapons, I'd still be comfortable running 6 since the -1 to wound strat works as a great counter to it.

[Plague _Lord]

I used 3 a few days ago in a 1k match vs tau. I used the 6" move and rad weathered dynasty traits and they did take out a riptide. I kind of don't know what to target with them - they won't take out a knight for example, so I guess medium infantry and light tanks (ie no inv save, t7).

 

I want to try 6 alongside a skorpekh lord, buffed by a chronomancer.

[Tyriks]

I've used them a few times (in Crusade games) and I definitely prefer them in larger squads.  Three did nothing of note most of the time but increasing the squads makes a big difference