Scourge Loadouts

[TrawlingCleaner]

I've got 2 units of Scourge to build and I'm trying to figure out what loadout might be best for them.

With the amount of good AT DE can now muster on Transports, Ravagers etc and the cahnges to most weapons becoming heavy leaves Scourge in a bit of a weird spot for me.

Ranged Anti-Infantry is actually kind of lacking, there's loads of Close combat Anti-Infantry but Poison rifles only go so far.

I'll likely magnetise them but has anyone got any loadouts they'll definitely go with?

 

My main opponents are Orks, Guard, sisters and Marines so I'm thinking I'll likely go with Shredders. They're pretty suited to most of these opponents even against marines, Strength 6 is nothing to sniff at, -1AP means their saves are down to a 50/50 chance. With blast they'll chew through Orks and Sisters blobs, I can even Fire and Fade them back to make sure they survive turns/hold objectives.

 

If for whatever reason I'm lacking AT, I think Blasters are a decent shout. Haywire is great now but the Heavy means they're wanting to stay still (the opposite of what Scourge want to do generally), although maybe Splinter Cannons could be a shout? Potent Metalloxins means they're able to swing into Vehicles reasonably effectively.

[WarriorFish]

I think I have three or four... My first squad went Haywire but given these were built a very long time ago and I of course have more to come this is something I need to sort. I really like Scourges and want to use them, so I'm very interested in hearing about ideas.

 

I think they can work well as a roving anti-infantry squad especially with their stock weapons, so gearing up to hunt more elite troops seems like it has potential? Mobility is one of their key points so it is best to make use of this, but that said going to a 4+ to hit isn't the end of the World especially with multiple weapons to shoot to help your chances? In particular if you're hunting an enemy unit with some form of negative to hit, they could make for good armour chasers?

[TrawlingCleaner]

Bare bones units with no upgrades are actually quite a good shout, 60 points for 15 poison shots at 18" is pretty tasty. Dropped on an objective and they can definitely clear put the work in. But then I look at Shredders again and for 80 points you get 4D6 Blast, Strength 6, -1ap shots. they're worse vs Monsters but way better vs hordes. Definitely down to personal preference  though, 20 points is another Incubi, Hellion or Reaver!

 

Haywire is definitely a good option too, their damage output is way better now and with a decent roll they can ruin vehicles. Its the same for Dark Lances and Heat Lances.

That's one of the great things about this codex is that there's no "right" option or bad choices, pretty much every unit, weapon etc have uses and are good

[Halandaar]

Agree that having mostly Heavy weapon choices on a ostensibly mobile unit with no way to mitigate the hit penalty feels weird/bad, but as mentioned, 4+ isn't the end of the world, especially if you can get a re-roll near them (they're Core, so a Realspace Raid Archon can give them re-roll 1's to hit). Shredders do feel like a good choice if you need something to clear big infantry blobs at range and I'm probably going to build up one of my units with some.

 

If you do need AT though, don't write off Heat Lances. Unless I've completely borked my maths, the change to D6+2 damage means they're better than Blasters even if you've moved and are at -1 to hit, and they're significantly better if you're stationary, all for the same points cost (plus they look cooler and the novelty factor of nobody having used them for years). And as interesting as Haywire looks with a potentially outrageous damage ceiling, even when you factor in invuln saves and Haywire's mortal wound output, on average they are worse than Heat Lances at pretty much everything and only better than Blasters against T9+ vehicles. 

[Snazzy]

Throwing behind Shredders.  Most of us are built to take on Space Marines, or tougher.  80 points for something that can put a dent in a horde is just fine.  The increased range also allows them to drop into terrain on turn 1 and take up station with more choice of targets than before.

 

I'm not sold on Haywire Blasters.  Even used stationary, they don't have the damage output needed.  Maybe i can see them used if you are targeting something close to being bracketed or killed.  I feel the same way about Potent Metaltoxins.  It costs too much to do too little.  If you needed to kill a vehicle in a pinch, sure.  It just feels like a failure of planning when you have to pay 2 CPs to inflict a few wounds.

 

 

Don't forget the close range opportunities that come from Scourges.  They have the Haywire Grenades keyword, their Solarite can take a Blast Pistol, and they do have melee options that could be important in a pinch.

[Plague _Lord]

I think I'm going with haywire blasters - nearly everything has the means to get an inv save these days and haywires have the means to bypass them. Shredders look interesting aswell, the high rate of fire and strength means they can finish of a vechicle if there are no better targets.

 

Anyways, barebones are fine as well if you are taking deploy scramblers.

[TrawlingCleaner]

It definitely feels a bit odd that there's no way to mitigate the Heavy Penalty, I personally would have liked to have seen it included in the PfP table or maybe a strat. Either way, 4+BS for reliable AT is still great. Heat Lances are also great and I can see why they're Heavy from a balance perspective, what would be the point of Blasters if Heat Lances were Identical but add 2 DMG.

 

That's also a great point about Haywire, everyone and their mums have invulns these days, slapping some mortal wounds through would certainly help

 

Even though Dark Lances are 15 points each, they still have a place I'd say. If you wanted a couple of turns of Castling with a Black Heart Realspace Raid Archon, they would be pretty great.

 

 

As I have 2 squads, I think one will be my Shredder squad and then the other will be a magnetised AT squad and I'll take whichever unit I feel like I need.

Edited April 1, 2021 by TrawlingCleaner

[Snazzy]

The other consideration is where to put your guns.  Black Heart and Obsidian Rose are going to make better use of Blasters and Dark Lances than Shredders just by virtue of having 1 reroll per unit.  Of course, now my mind is going to Trueborn Obsidian Rose Shredders and locking up with all that math.

 

Scourges do seem like a decent candidate for Prey on the Weak.  They may not get rerolls to wounds.  But, having the mobility to move around and reroll 1s/all to-hit is handy for 1CP.

 

Castling with Dark Lances is an interesting idea, though.  Between cover and their Ghostplate they can resist a good amount of firepower while putting out Dark Lances.  A unit deployed in woods would get -1 to-hit, 3+/5++ and have the option to go to 2+ for 1CP.  Such a unit might even be worth throwing in a few bodies to eat up wounds.

[Lord_Ikka]

Shredders, blasters, dark lances- in that order for me. My stuff is different given that I run Drukhari alongside Harlies with Harlies providing the main force, so I usually have anti-tank covered with a ton of fusion pistols. The shredders give me some anti-horde weapons, the blasters are a good back-up for the fusion pistols, and the dark lances allow me to have a backfield unit that can just sit and snipe at high-value targets.

[Snazzy]

I could see Blaster Scourge in a Blackheart led Realspace Raid, with Writ.

[Angel of Death]

You can always magnetise your cannons if you decide to take ravagers. That way you can choose what weapons to have, even for WYSIWYG.

 

In my opinion, ravagers are the way to go. If you can get 3 dark lances behind heavy armor,

its gonna be better than 5 dark lances behind 5+ save that die like flies.

[Snazzy]

Increasingly i am drawn to 4x Heat Lances.  They just hit so hard, even with the -1 to hit penalty.

[Angel of Death]

I've got 2 units of Scourge to build and I'm trying to figure out what loadout might be best for them.

With the amount of good AT DE can now muster on Transports, Ravagers etc and the cahnges to most weapons becoming heavy leaves Scourge in a bit of a weird spot for me.

Ranged Anti-Infantry is actually kind of lacking, there's loads of Close combat Anti-Infantry but Poison rifles only go so far.

I'll likely magnetise them but has anyone got any loadouts they'll definitely go with?

 

My main opponents are Orks, Guard, sisters and Marines so I'm thinking I'll likely go with Shredders. They're pretty suited to most of these opponents even against marines, Strength 6 is nothing to sniff at, -1AP means their saves are down to a 50/50 chance. With blast they'll chew through Orks and Sisters blobs, I can even Fire and Fade them back to make sure they survive turns/hold objectives.

 

If for whatever reason I'm lacking AT, I think Blasters are a decent shout. Haywire is great now but the Heavy means they're wanting to stay still (the opposite of what Scourge want to do generally), although maybe Splinter Cannons could be a shout? Potent Metalloxins means they're able to swing into Vehicles reasonably effectively.

if you want ranged anti-infantry, venom spam is the go to i would say.

you get dirt cheap vehicles that are not actually that easy to kill

and you can either load them with kabalites or just have them empty as fast attack choices.

the venom ship in itself IS a valid fast attack choice, clocking in at 60 ~ points and giving you 12 poisoned shots [2 splinter cannons].

you can also load them with trueborn and add 2 additional splinter cannons inside, with splinter racks giving you reroll.

this is the way to go against orks and horde armies, i have faced so many of them where i boardwiped everything except the armored vehicles.

tyrranids, orks, imperial guard, this in unbeatable. I would maybe also like to debate your anti-armor, why you dont just take ravagers instead, but thats another story.