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Hello! I have just bought a little necron army of a friend. Included where 8 scarab swarms with just 3 scarabs per base (the reasoning was that they represent each wound, fair enough!) now i havent been playing all that long, but most players seam to use 4 per base. is there actually any kind of rune, official, unwritten or otherwise. is it ettiquet to take a certain amount per base?

How many scarabs/ rippers/ nurglings do you put on a base?

I don't know that it matters. A friend of mine has some ripper bases with one lonely little ripper sitting on each base. That's an amusing sight in my opinion...

There isnt a specific number you are supposed to use. Its purely modler's discretion! Typically the more you have the swarmier it'll look.

What i think would be badass though would be to put 3(or 4 depending on wounds) and magnetize them so you can remove one each time it takes a wound


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Or you know if it gets insta deathed you could put a tiny firecracker in the middle of the magnetized guys and watch em go flying lol

I always wanted GW to make special "swarm bases" with a bunch of the little swarm models actually sculpted into the base, so you get the true ground covering swarm effect.

 dementedwombat wrote:
I always wanted GW to make special "swarm bases" with a bunch of the little swarm models actually sculpted into the base, so you get the true ground covering swarm effect.

Like the new Nugling Bases, yes, i would love this for all swarms too, FW does an AMAZING set of Ripper swarms, but they are so expensive for what they are in game.

Really love the idea of reoving one model per wound the base takes, that would be pretty cool.

Scarabs are kinda bulky, 3 fills out the base nicely so i think i will stick with it for now.

I have two or three on mine, but they're the old-school scarabs which were considerably larger...

3 is the bare minimum for the new ones, IMO, just because any less looks sad. There is no specific rule, though, other than the model assembly instructions. You could make a claim that the model isn't assembled correctly with less than 4... but it makes no real practical difference in game, and so nobody cares enough to make that claim.

IIRC, it gives you enough scarabs to fill each base with 4 but there's no "formal" and "must be done" way when you have swarms. After all, Scarabs have 3 wounds, so you can use Wolfnid's sugestion for wounds.

Just a word of advice: Never use the "stick" things they come with... at least IMHO it looks so much better when they are "walking" towards you.

 TheDraconicLord wrote:

Just a word of advice: Never use the "stick" things they come with... at least IMHO it looks so much better when they are "walking" towards you.

*sarcasm warning*
Modeling for advantage hacks, they're the incorrect height. Why don't you just model all your warriors as heads looking out of foxholes while you're at it ...

I like that look much better (even if scarabs actually do fly in the fluff, the sticks are dumb since they're bigger than the scarabs), although you know if TFG loses against you he's going to start saying that.

Local GW manager told me he had been told three was a fair minimum, but that is hardly official!

I think 3 is the minimum i would expect an opponent to have, and 2 just isnt nearly a swarm at all. i would prefer fo have about 10 on a base, like the FW rippers, but it just doesn't work so well with scarabs.

 stargasm wrote:
I think 3 is the minimum i would expect an opponent to have, and 2 just isnt nearly a swarm at all. i would prefer fo have about 10 on a base, like the FW rippers, but it just doesn't work so well with scarabs.

I respectfully disagree

I have always known it to be 3 min. That's how it was when I started back in '97 and that's what I've seen ever since.

I'm not saying it's a rule. I just call 'em as I see 'em.

 TheDraconicLord wrote:

 stargasm wrote:
I think 3 is the minimum i would expect an opponent to have, and 2 just isnt nearly a swarm at all. i would prefer fo have about 10 on a base, like the FW rippers, but it just doesn't work so well with scarabs.

I respectfully disagree

Thats pretty darn kool.

That coming at you,would be intense! Thats pretty sweet! How many scarabs are on those things??? I count around 15....lol

The question was minimum number, not maximum.

I agree that three is probably a good number. You want to convey the idea of a swarm, and anything less just isn't going to get that. How you base your model will affect the number needed as well. If you base your scarab swarms with more scarabs, it goes a long way... When I was putting together swarm bases for my WHFB armies, I aimed for 4-5 per base.

I'd allways go with the minimum the same as the wounds.

Also though, its nice to see decorative bases, in which you can use less so it looks less crowded.




Or just a simple swam look works for me:




Or a mix of both really works:

 Jackal wrote:


Or a mix of both really works:

Any idea where these came from? those are awesome bases! I love the different looking scarabs with the green orbs on their backs.

DeffDred wrote:I have always known it to be 3 min. That's how it was when I started back in '97 and that's what I've seen ever since.

I'm not saying it's a rule. I just call 'em as I see 'em.

*cough* That's bull. When Scarabs came out in '97 they weren't swarms. Scarabs didn't become swarms until the 2002 codex.

I've always put 5 rippers per base. They look kind of lonely when there's less of them...

 stargasm wrote:

 Jackal wrote:


Or a mix of both really works:

Any idea where these came from? those are awesome bases! I love the different looking scarabs with the green orbs on their backs.

Micro Art Studios under the "Special Bases"

http://www.shop.microartstudio.com/mecano-swarm-base-round-40mm-p-696.html