Scarabs II - moving vehicles

In a previous installment we looked at how many scarabs it takes to destroy a stationary vehicle. Now, lets look at the effect of increasing the target speed and the hit roll required.



Two things are immediately clear: scarabs still do nasty things to vehicles while needing a 4+ to hit, but equally, requiring a 6 to hit starts to really slow them down.



Needing a 4+ to hit against an opponent, who is perhaps hoping to do some shooting with his vehicle, can still be managed with limited squad sizes. 6 Scarabs have a >90% chance of fragging an AV10 vehicle moving 6" or less; remember that since melee attacks hit rear AV, this is most vehicles in the game! Even 5 scarab bases have a >80% chance of blowing through such a vehicle, meaning a full squad of 10 can easily take out two such vehicles at a time, assuming sufficient proximity. Each extra point of rear AV roughly equates to an extra scarab base required for the same probability, easily achieved within the 10 base limit per force org selection. Death to the parking lot!

Therefore, there are two courses of action for opposing players trying to protect their vehicles. First, drive around at cruising speed or flat out, and they will find it a bit more challenging to hit you. Secondly, my favoured option, kill the bastards. 5 unsaved wounds from a S6+ blast will toast the whole squad. Of course, if for some unaccountable reason you run an army that can't do both at the same time, then its decision time.

I think there is also a salient point for necron players in this. Namely, huge swathes of scarabs are overkill! We've all heard about the impossibly huge spyder/scarab congo line, but when you only need 6 to virtually guarantee a toasted vehicle, what's the point? If your opponent has been rudely spreading his vehicles out to restrict multi-charge options, or your colossal swarm has made the mistake of walking into 5 specialist assault units at once, you are shit out of luck. Is it worth it for only a minor improvement to an already excellent chance to roast anything with an AV that comes near you?

Oh, sure, if your opponent is impolite enough to field Eldar of some variety and zip around at 12" shooting you, while your poor scarabs can't get a hit in, it'll suck. But hey, break out some tesla and stun them. Not moving next turn? Scarabs are hungry, tank is fodder. Bye-bye!

So whether you plan to run scarabs, or hide from them, be aware of their potential. And keep an eye out for those blasts!