Xerxis, Fury of Halaak:
Focus/Fury 5 models are always very, very tricky to get right. Having such a low key stat comes with some significant downsides - smaller Control Area, lower ability to camp/manage resources, shorter spell list, inaccuracy on any offensive spells - so the model needs to have some kickass upsides to make up for it.
Xerxis2 has exactly what you need to make up for it: a solid suite of attacks and abilities, decent defensive stats (particularly for a warlock and in a faction with access to things like Paralytic Aura,) three excellent spells (two great buffs and one of the few offensive spells that'd be worth him casting,) and an absolutely fantastic feat (which cheats by ignoring his small Control Area for the duration of it.)
The only thing I can really dock Xerxis2 for is the fact that he's on a Huge base, which does come with some significant downsides. He can mitigate some of them and he's at least solidly mobile (especially with the right animi,) but it's definitely something he'll have to play around. All things considered, he's still made out like a champ.
Meta Bending: 4/5
I'm not sure that Xerxis2 really does anything new for Skorne, but what he does do he does very well. He's also decently general/flexible, so there's a lot of room for him to try out variant builds and solve different problems. He also has some inherent immunities thanks to his Huge base, so he's not worried about things like Knockdown or Stationary. Overall, he feels like a very solid, decently well rounded 'lock that can and almost certainly will break into the Skorne 'caster rotation and facilitate a number of different list approaches (which in turn may force players to have to adapt to the possibility of facing Xerxis2.)
Coolness: 5/5
He's a big tough dude on an even bigger, tougher rhino, with excellent rules to boot. What's not to love? When I was debating what my "dedicated" second faction would be, Xerxis2 was the model that got me to give Skorne serious consideration. Convergence won out in the end, but not for lack of excellence on his part.
Aradus Soldier:
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| Actual artwork, because Google wouldn't give me a funny beetle picture. |
The Aradus models, in my opinion, represent PP's design at it's best: more effective than you initially appreciate, with some cool new rules and/or ideas implemented.
Both Aradus models are AD, SPD 3 models, so they aren't terribly fast but they start up the table in a good position. They're also Pathfinders and Steady, so they're somewhat implacable, and their Carapace makes them quite durable against ranged attacks. All of that is interesting enough, and then each chassis brings it's own interesting twist to the table.
The Soldier shows up to chew up some faces. It brings three decent initial attacks to the table, with two of them having Reach and the ability to pull enemy models closer. Combine that with Carapace and it's AD ability and you have a melee model that is likely to survive the trip across the table and, with the buffs that Skorne can give it, do some very respectable damage once it gets there.
The Aradus chassis does have a few drawbacks, so I can't give it a perfect score. The low SPD is going to be an issue in some cases, even when offset with AD, and it's defensive statline is relatively mediocre. The Soldier also rates a little lower due to it's melee reliance.
Meta Bending: 5/5
Both Aradus models have been hailed as "game changers" for Skorne (the Sentinel moreso than the Soldier, but I think both chassis have plenty of merit) and I agree. The Aradus represent an entirely different way for Skorne to approach the idea of attrition - instead of having to bum rush across the table or brick up defensively (both approaches have issues, especially in the context of Steamroller scenarios,) Skorne can now start with a solid foothold on the table. A foothold that is very resistant to being shot off the table and, in the case of the Soldier, is also quite capable in melee.
Coolness: 5/5
This is the grand slam of releases: excellent rules, interesting mechanics, cool concept (we'll see how the model turns out in a year or two,) and it came out of absolutely nowhere to surprise everyone. One of my favorite releases in recent memory.
Aradus Sentinel:
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| Still no funny beetle pictures. |
Everything I said under the Solider applies here, with a few differences. The Sentinel trades out the Soldier's melee potency for an absolutely fantastic gun and a much more useful animus. Like the Soldier, I think the Sentinel has some weaknesses that will come up - very poor melee output for a heavy, SPD 3 - but overall it's an absolutely fantastic beast.
The Sentinel gets an extra half of a point for somehow coming in at an even lower point cost than the Soldier, despite having an very good ranged attack.
Meta Bending: 5/5
Again, everything under the Soldier applies here as well, and then some. Most of the discussion I've heard about the Aradus revolutionizing the Skorne game centers around the Sentinel and it's relatively easy to see why: it's a very good shooting model that is itself very resistant to shooting. It also ADs so it can get into scenario zones early, set up, and start shooting. Skorne can also offset it's very low melee damage to a degree, but I predict this will be the most consistent downside to the model. However, as it's not why you're bringing it (and you can easily back it up with Titans) I expect the Sentinel to be extremely popular when it finally goes on sale.
Coolness: 5/5
I actually like the idea of the Sentinel less than the idea of the Solider, but that's like saying I like chocolate cake less than I like vanilla cake.
Scarab Pack:
Efficacy: 3.5/5
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| I actually tried to get the art for these critters but work filters were an issue. Please instead enjoy this...rough approximation. |
The Scarab Pack enjoys the (currently semi-dubious) honor of being the best warbeast pack. They have similarly awful defensive stats and mediocre melee capabilities, but there are few key things that make the Scarab Pack much more potentially useful.
First: the Scarab Pack are a helluva lot more durable, despite having the same terrible defensive stats as the Blight Wasps but flipped, thanks to their 10 damage boxes apiece. They'll still likely die to any dedicated offense (charging melee infantry, weaponmasters, boostable attacks, etc,) but they're much more likely to survive ancillary, random attacks and POW 10s.
Second: the Scarab Pack have good secondary rules. It has an animus that helps to protect it on the approach. Being able to give themselves Cover is a big deal, and that combined with Advanced Deploy should allow them to play fairly aggressively, effectively. The Scarab Pack also have Snacking and Critical Paralysis, both of which will be neat when they come up.
And finally: they're in Skorne, so it's much easier to jack up their offensive output. The Scarab Pack has a similar faux-Gang to the Blight Wasps (though their ability also includes any Aradus warbeasts that happen to be engaging the same target.) With just that and Enrage the unit hits at P+S 14, which isn't too shabby, especially with boosts.
Meta Bending: 3.5/5
I could see the Scarab Pack becoming a thing. They're fairly uniquely positioned to benefit from warbeast buffs and unit buffs, both of which Skorne have in droves. Skorne can also bring enough Paingivers to possibly Enrage them all, if you're really going for that, or at least enough Paingivers to comfortably manage all their beasts plus some Scarab Packs via Condition. And there's is a lot to be said for getting 40 damage boxes for 5 points, especially when that may not be trivial to chew through (depending on animus use or other buffs available.
Coolness: 4/5
If these things were anything other than weird beetles with faces, I'd be less jazzed about them. However, they are in fact weird beetles with faces, which is fantastic. They also lucked into having a good rule set, so they'll be decently fun to use (if a touch bland.)
Praetorian Keltarii:
I like these guys. They have a decent set of melee stats with CMA and Reach. They also have some nice supplemental rules that should help them get across the table and really get stuck in. I think the absolute best thing they have on their card (other than the always-awesome Reach) is Parry; it's hard to appreciate just how potent it can be to just walk out of combat whenever you want.
Meta Bending: 2/5
All that said, I understand why the initial reaction from the Skorne player base for the Keltarii has been a resounding "meh." They're a fine base unit, but the game has evolved way, way past base units (i.e. units without a UA and/or supporting solo) so the Keltarii feel very lightweight.
The Keltarii also suffer from an in-faction meta problem: Skorne already have a ton of solid infantry choices. Praetorian Swordsmen are actually rather great for their bracket, and when is the last time you saw them on the table? And all Skorne infantry is unfortunately stuck in the shadow of the extremely good Nihilators.
I agree with what Trevor from Chain Attack said in his evaluation of the unit: they're a good UA release away from being amazing. And I think that's when you'll start to see them; until then they're very likely to be overshadowed by other Skorne infantry options, or just more warbeasts.
Coolness: 3/5
I've always been partial to the general design of the Praetorian models, and I like the silly-cool double blades staves they have going on. The models also have a pretty good set of poses, though I can't shake the impression that the unit leader is howling at the moon.
Tyrant Zaadesh:
Zaadesh is probably the most outright potent of faction lesser warlocks released in this book. He has two very useful spells - Perdition will be hard to use with Fury 4 but is neat to have, and Tag Team could lead to some crazy numbers - and the absolute best defensive mechanic of any of the less warlocks. He's also potentially pretty capable himself in melee, assuming you can get him the Tag Team bonus.
The biggest thing Zaadesh has going for him is that his battlegroup is completely unrestricted, so feel free to go crazy with him and all the possible combinations.
Meta Bending: 2/5
This may be controversial, but I don't see Zaadesh making much of an impact on Skorne lists, or on people planning to play against Skorne. Zaadesh is perfectly effective and useful, but I feel that he is also very redundant in the context of the faction.
More hitting power is nice, but Skorne isn't exactly a faction that has been hurting for melee output. Perdition may enable some shenanigans, but you're still working with Fury 4 for accuracy and the need to damage the target (making it a 3 Fury spell most of the time, with the real possibility of wanting 4.) And his ability to be a separate Fury pool is irrelevant in light of Skorne's absolutely fantastic Fury management.
All that said, I do think Zaadesh will be played, and he may have some very solid synergy with Scarab Packs that will be fun to mess with.
Coolness: 2.5/5
This one is kind of unfair, because it's based on something I can't get out of my head: the artwork for Zaadesh is damn slick and the model throws all of that away to give us one of the most generic, "Hassan chop!" models ever. It feels like a complete waste of a solo sculpt (especially a character, so you can go a little crazier with it,) and it's doubly irritating when the concept art gave them a fantastic alternative.
Skorne Overall Release Rating: 4.5/5
Skorne didn't necessarily get anything super powerful in this release cycle (though Xerxis2 is damn good,) but they did get a number of faction changing models that will likely alter how they fit into the meta. And it's hard to be anything less than excited about a release cycle where even the worst releases are "good, but kind of redundant."
However, I have to deduct half a point (at least, it probably should be more) for the crippling realization that it is probably going to be a loooooooooong time before the Aradus models actually show up (which, in turn, means they functionally don't exist until then.) PP has unfortunately not had the fastest turnaround on new heavy kits - see: the complete lack of Warmachine: Vengeance warjacks currently available - which is going to be very frustrating for Skorne players.
Hopefully I'm wrong and the Aradus make it out relatively soon, but it's probably more realistic to just settle in and hope that they show up before the next Hordes book releases.
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And with that, we're at the final faction. Check back next time for a review of the Minions models released in Hordes: Exigence. Huge things are in store!
...I'm sorry.
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