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I had another thread discussing how I would model this. I was looking through the new DE models and saw the Hellions, when I saw their hover boards it gave me an idea which developed into this, the rules given below are locked in. I just need a concensus on a points cost, thank you

Here is the fluff, if you guys have any suggestions for an alternate name I'm all ears. Hunter Scarabs is ok but I think there could be something better.

Though most Tomb Worlds are nothing but barren desert this is not always the case, through the passing of millions of years life can take root and even flourish. Evolution will take hold of what life remains and intruders who would seek to expand their realms would turn the sterile worlds of the Necrons into thriving ecosystems ready for the harvest. Periodically the command nodes of the Necrons will dispatch units known as Hunter Scarabs to evaluate the level of life present on the Tomb World. Be it indigenous or alien in origin.

Larger then their swarm cousins Hunter scarabs are incredibly fast, able to survey an entire planet in a matter of months. The edges of their armored limbs are honed to a razors edge and coated with limited disruption technology, this allows them to cut through terrain and even flesh with ease. Should significant intelligent life be detected the Hunters will return to the command node which will then dispatch the proper response in relation to the threat level.

In times of war the Hunters act as search and destroy units. Roaming ahead of the main force the Hunters will transmit the enemies location to the Necron Lord allowing him to better coordinate the legion. Should the Hunters be engaged they will use their own bodies as weapons, crashing into their targets with such momentum that very few armors can stand against it. Field reports indicate that so great is the speed of the Hunter Scarab that the only indication of an attack prior to the assault itself is a slight hum generated by their disruption fields. Should the enemy prove too strong to dispatch through conventional means the Hunters will self destruct in a last effort to destroy their target.

FAST ATTACK

Hunter Scarab Pts/Model ____

Hunter Scarab WS4, BS0, S3, T3, W1, I5, A2, Ld10, Sv4+

Number/squad: 5-10

Unit Type: Jump Infantry

Wargear: Disruption Claws

SPECIAL RULES

Disruption Claws: The razor edges of the Hunter Scarabs body and limbs constantly pulse with balefull energies allowing the Hunters to slice through any armor given enough momentum.

Any attack made by a unit of Hunter Scarabs during a turn in which they have charged benifits from the Rending USR. In addition when Rending is in effect any roll of 5+ to hit will automatically wound the target, this replaces the usual 6+ normally required when rolling to hit.

Seek and Destroy: The primary task of Hunter Scarabs is to search for sentient life and if needed eliminate it. As they roam the expanses of their Tomb World or range ahead of the main force they skim across the battlefield at incredible speeds.

Hunter Scarabs have the Scouts and Hit and Run USRs.

Self Destruct: Hunter Scarabs are programmed to prevent any news of their sighting at all costs. As such should the probability of eliminating their target fall too low the remaining Hunter Scarabs will trigger a self destruct sequence as a failsafe.

Should a unit of Hunter Scarabs fail a moral check caused by the loss of a combat they will not fall back. Instead each Hunter Scarab will begin its failsafe sequence, center a 3" blast template over a Scarab and every enemy model under it takes a single Strength 5, AP- hit. After hits are resolved the Scarab is removed as a casualty and the process is repeated with the next Hunter Scarab should there be any, this will continue untill either all of the enemy unit has been destroyed or there are no more Hunter Scarabs in the unit. The enemy unit need not take a Morale check should this attack inflict 25% casualties, as it occurs outside the normal sequence in which such checks are required.

1 question, If caught wouldn't the scarabs just phase back to base?
^ in regards to self destruct rule.

Overall i like the unit

If they where destroyed then yes they would phase back. But as a scouting force they would want to maintain the element of surprise for the main Necron force. So if they're surveying a planet for life and let's say they come across a PDF squad on patrol, if they wern't seen they would just phase back. But if they where then they woulden't want the PDF squad to report that they saw something which may put the enemy on alert so they would destroy the squad or try and take out as much of it as they could. And they don't need to actually return to the tomb to notify it of their findings.

Now if they're not surveying for life and are scouting during a time of war dosen't it make sense that instead of just phasing back to the tomb and letting whatever killed them wander about they would do everything they could to try and destroy whatever they encountered before phasing back? Does that answer your question?

perhaps give them the Bladevanes rule that the Dark Eldar Reavers have?

to represent there speed and sharp edged-ness ?

Seeing the amount of special rules, I5 and 2 attacks, I would assume that these are quite costly. Depending on the points cost, they could be OP or not, but I like the unit otherwise

Bloodhorror wrote:perhaps give them the Bladevanes rule that the Dark Eldar Reavers have?

to represent there speed and sharp edged-ness ?

I don't know what the rule is, but I thought I represented their sharpness fairly well?

@Lord Rogukiel: Like I said in the OP I almost think they have too many special rules and I may take something out, but there are quiet a few units throughout the armies with a huge amount of special rules and aren't overly expensive. Also besides their attacks and inititive their stats aren't really anything special and I believe they would be fairly easy to kill which I think balances out their attacking power.

If anyone has any suggestions on a points cost I'd like to hear it. I'm going to change a few things but I think most of the unit will stay the same.

I think the self destruct rule is OP. Maybe str 3 but nowhere near 8. If you think about it a vehicle going boom (ammo or fuel explosion) is only str 4 when the the inhabitants are trapped inside. Str 8 (the str of a standard anti tank missile) to me seems like a suicide bomber not a recon scout.

yeah but vehicles (most at least) aren't designed to self destruct, they exploding on accident. A unit that has the intention of exploding under the certain circumstances is going to have a more powerful blast then a vehicle exploding due to damage. And you make it sound like they can't be scouts AND suicide bombers

Plus they only self destruct if they lose a combat and fail their Ld 10 moral check which is going to happen as everything does in the game but it's not like it's going to happen EVERY turn, plus the blast has no AP so even the weakest units would be able to take an armor save. I won't make it S3 but I'll think about lowering it maybe to S6

I like the unit in general, but I'm just wondering, did you get the Self Destruct thing from the Tau Failsafe Detonator (I think that's what it's called)?

I didn't get the idea from it but I did use some of the wording in how I wanted it to work, whenever I make a unit I like to keep their rules as close to actual rules (either from codices or the rulebook) as I can.

I'm glad everyone is liking the unit so far there are a few things to tweak but then again most custom units have those.

6 would be better but to be honest Id put it at 5. Strong enough to wound marines on 3s but not enough to cause instant death vs guard/eldar.

Hmmmm I'll think about it, or better yet I'll play test both strengths and see how it works out.

basically it's a fragile CC unit?
self destruct- make it similar to GK's holocaust. (3" blast, S5, AP5)
points per model?
20 points. they may be A2, I5 rending jump infrantry, but they are also IG when it comes to W, T and S.

i'll be honest... i can see people just taking 10 of these and throwing them into a unit of... well Anything really...

10 Str 6 hits is never to be sniffed at...

shrike wrote:basically it's a fragile CC unit?

Yes

self destruct- make it similar to GK's holocaust. (3" blast, S5, AP5)

No

points per model?
20 points. they may be A2, I5 rending jump infrantry, but they are also IG when it comes to W, T and S.

Yes, I'll wait and see what others say they think should be the points cost. But the unit is intended to be fast, deal alot of damage but not be able to take alot.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Bloodhorror wrote:i'll be honest... i can see people just taking 10 of these and throwing them into a unit of... well Anything really...

Yet you can't fail a Ld 10 moral test on purpose, you have to lose the combat and given you can pump out up to 20 power weapon attacks in the first turn that probably wont happen often and given the fragile nature of the unit chances are there will never be 10 Hunter Scarabs left in the unit for every one to explode especially if they've lost the combat.

10 Str 6 hits is never to be sniffed at...

Again self destruct is not voluntary, you can't just choose to use it. And you will never have 10 scarabs when it happens. Since the biggest problem people have had is the strength of the attack (which in my opinion was balanced out by the fact that anything with an armor save got to take it since the attack has no AP) I dropped it to 5 but it won't be going any lower

okay, no to holocaust. I meant it as in not having X S6 hits, but 1 S6 3"blast.

No I knew what you ment I hope I didn't seem dismissive but I just don't want the self destruct to be a template.

oh, right. I thought you though that I meant every scarab causes a 3" blast.

Nope I knew what you ment

I like the unit! Thenspecial rules are good, except for the self destruct rule. I like the concept, but the execution is overcomplicated. I think instead of resolving an attack for every model in base to base contact, you may choose d3 Hunter Scarabs and center a blast template over them. Or something.

I don't see how it's overly complicated?

Definately offset the power weapon thing with the loss of their bonus attack for charging. The self destruct seems a step too far, they already have a load of special rules. A suggestion would be remove scouts and hit and run (if they exterminate living creatures why on earth do they run away?) and replace it with 'move as jetbikes'. I think my tweaks would make 'em beween 15-20 points each, as they stand probabaly about 25 (more than a reaver jetbike) which is a bit silly..

I completly forgot about the extra attack from charging, I agree I'll negate that. That being said how exactly is having 3 special rules (without adding self destruct) having a load of them? Especially when I can go through just about every codex and find units with at least if not more then that.

The rule may be called hit and run but a unit moving away to charge again isn't "running away". And the Hunter Scarabs do not eliminate living creatures, they kill when they need to to maintain the element of surprise but they are primarily a scouting force.

And how is the Self Destruct ability a bit much exactly? it would be better if you expanded on why this S5 (can't instant kill anyone) attack with no AP (everyone with a save gets it) that only happens after losing a combat (it can happen but with 20 possible power weapon attacks on the charge it probably won't happen at least not in the first round) and failing a Ld 10 moral test (again it isn't voluntary) is a bit much? Especially when the unit is fairly fragile and can be killed at range fairly easily which negates the whole effect as it is (I play tested them yesterday).

I'm sorry but some of these suggestions are trying to take the unit too far away from my original concept and I hope it dosen't seem like I'm not open to ideas but they won't be happening.

Good unit, self destruct is fine, i really like it, makes me want to start crons.

Just curious but did we ever settle on a points cost for these guys? I'm writing up datasheets and I thought we had a cost but coming back to the thread we didn't

Not bad! They are maby too powerful to be scarabs who are weak, even if they are super hunter elite scarabs. They could be somekind of new unit type, something else than scarabs.

Jone96 wrote:Not bad! They are maby too powerful to be scarabs who are weak, even if they are super hunter elite scarabs. They could be somekind of new unit type, something else than scarabs.

You do realise that these aren't the same thing as Scarab Swarms right? It even says it in the fluff I made.

I like them. the idea that the would have a fast shock/scout unit is great one and really seems to stick in with the fluff

Well I'm glad you like them

So what 20 points per model sound reasonable?

sounds good...but only one way to make sure- playtest it.