Thoughts on Corpsethief Claw and Scalpel Squadron?

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**MechaEmperor7000**

I was thinking of adding a Corpsethief Claw formation to my DEs because the Skaven Stormfiends look like the perfect basis for Talos en-masse. While talos are usually slow, given that they have just so many wounds and their Scout Move, they might actually be a creditable threat.

The other one is the Scalpel Squadron. 2 Wrack units in 2 Venoms. This seem just a wee too easy since usually there'd be some kind of tax. Having first turn deepstrike also sounds too good. Is there any reason people aren't spamming these?

Have any of you guys had experiences with these, and how do they hold up?

**jade_angel**

The biggest problem the Scalpel Squadron has, is that it's not super-killy, and its gimmick is gaining extra victory points if it scores first blood.

That said, where it can utterly rock face is against an opponent with a 3-4 wound MC kicking around, given all that poison shooting and the Ossefactors/Hexrifles.

The Corpsethief Claw is great in theory. I never see it simply because it's kind of expensive cashwise and not small pointswise either, but I think it has serious potential.

**MechaEmperor7000**

The reason I was drawn to Corpsethief Claw is because normally it'd cost somewhere in the neighbourhood of 275 canadian to field it, but the Stormfiends look like perfect fodder for converting up walking Talos (hey, nothing in the rules say they're hovering). at 75 bucks for 3, they're drastically cheaper than individual Talos and can possibly look better too.

**MilkmanAl**

Corpsethief is one of the most intriguing formations in the game to me. With huge multi-assault potential and the extra VP per unit kill, it's about as close as you can get to a hard counter for MSU marines. It's also a board control nightmare for your opponent. It's a rock-hard unit that'll mash up just about anything it gets close to.

That's where the catch is. Despite the potentially huge unit footprint and the ability to Scout, Taloses are freaking slow. Unless the rest of your army can herd your opponent towards your Corpsethief, chances are they're just going to kite you and pick off the more valuable portions of your force. The Corpsethief itself, while certainly no slouch, is pretty benign in terms of offensive output for the points. It focuses more on being damn near indestructible to make itself worthwhile, so simply avoiding it isn't going to cause your opponent much angst.

Overall, I like the Corpsethief a lot, but you're going to have to be pretty slick to get it to work to its maximum efficacy.

**jade_angel**

You can probably use the Covenite Coterie Detatchment with a pile of Grotesques in raiders plus, if you really have points to spare, the Dark Artisan formation to herd the enemy... Actually, the Scalpel Squadron might fit in fairly well too.

**Drasius**

CTC can be absolutely brutal against the right opponent (and ther's a fairly wide range that this applies to!). Free points just for killing things or double points for killing stuff in kill points? Yeah, I'll take some of that action! Also works really well with Dark Artisan since the only thing worse than a T7 MC with FNP is a T7 MC with a 4+ FNP.

TL-Haywire can be of great use to open transports so you can get at their gooey centre and ichor injectors are win against other MC's and GC's or any multi wound infantry. It's not always wise to take both, but they do come in handy. Even naked that Talosi are a huge threat.

Scalpel squad to me is something you take if yuo want to run a reserve heavy army, or at least, if you wan to have the option to reserve everything, since it allows you to go 2nd and null deploy. The extra points on 1st blood is kinda like the blind on warp talons, it's there, but it doesn't mean you should use it. Spamming boats? SS makes for a nice addition IMHO since it meshes well with the army and also gives options, and that flexibility is nice to have.

**Gamerely**

I've run scalpel a few times and I like it. Great distraction force right in your face. The first time I fielded it I got first blood AND a warlord kill. It was fantastic albeit not reliable to happen in every game.

**Tinkrr**

I think Franky from the ITC said "why do I play DE instead of just Eldar with a Corpse Theif Claw allied?"

The formation is solid and can offer a lot of power, though as others have said it's not the fastest moving.

**MechaEmperor7000**

I guess they suffer from the same issue as the Helbrute Murderpack; a huge lump of slow-moving big things that can only assault one enemy at a time.

**Jimsolo**

MechaEmperor7000 wrote:
I guess they suffer from the same issue as the Helbrute Murderpack; a huge lump of slow-moving big things that can only assault one enemy at a time.

Why can they only assault one enemy at a time?

OP: The Scalpel Squadron can be fun, but it's chance to get extra VP is a gamble. I think the best reason to take it is to get access to total null deployment.

The CTC has drawbacks (slow movement, primarily) but the huge footprint can compensate for that, as can Scout. I'm a fan of running it next to a Warlord-bearing Dark Artisan formation for the rerolls to FNP 1s and the +1 to FNP. Since I run Freakshows, I'm also a huge fan of running a pod of Eldar Bikes with a Farseer nestled among them for Shrouding or Invisibility.

**Tinkrr**

MechaEmperor7000 wrote:
I guess they suffer from the same issue as the Helbrute Murderpack; a huge lump of slow-moving big things that can only assault one enemy at a time.

Kind of, not really.

The thing is, the Hellbrute formation only gives you special rules for the formation to make the Hellbrutes better. The Corpse Thief Claw on the other hand has a rule that makes it better for the army as a whole and allows you to potentially do something that breaks the rules of the game, and thus gain a much greater advantage.

In other words, it's nice to buff a unit of stuff, but it's even better to just gain something that impacts the game as a whole. As such, even if the Corpse Thief Claw only kills one unit, and gains one victory point, it can potentially win the game for you if all other victory conditions are equal, the Hellbrute formation can never do this as it's only ever as good as the models themselves preform. So yea, there's quite a bit of difference between the two.

Edit: Listening to the latest Signals From the Frontline: "You start a Dark Eldar list, and you go 'well I can take a unit of Eldar, and another unit...' and before you know it you're playing Eldar with a Corpse Thief Claw..."

**Frozocrone**

I've used Scalpel Squadron a few times and you really need to go first or take multiple which ends up being more than the 230 you pay for it. That's before you take the VP bonus into account.

Claw is great. Can be used as a distraction Carnifex in larger games or a pillar to build around in smaller games. Don't underestimate the free VP

**Sarigar**

I have a buddy who runs the CTC in his Eldar list. He can gain board control and puts pressure on opponents from the onset of the game. With Splinter Weapons, they put out a good amount of shots and Eldar can always aid in this. Between cover saves and FnP, they are a bit durable as well.

I think cost for the unit is why you don't see them much as they really have great utility.