First Look: Skorpehk Destroyer Analysis!

Can I make a whole blog post of extrapolation from a single data point? You bet I can!

Hello chaps and chapettes, we're back in the classroom to look at the latest reveal from Warhammer Community, and vastly overthink a single stat block to predict the future. I know it feels like we never leave the classroom, and that's because updates come thick and fast in this Warhammer world.

Here's the fella in question:

Intimidating, and wielding a very big glowing sword. On three legs. War of the Worlds meets Breath of the Wild!

I very much like the design, but we're here to think about how this is going to affect your game. We have a nice stat block to look over too, which will tell you everything you need to know about this guy.

Ouch.

No seriously, ouch. 

That Hyperphase Reap-blade effectively a Thunder Hammer wielded by a Guardsmen, and that's assuming the base model is strength 4. With a build like that we could easily be looking at a base strength of 5 for that guy, meaning that's a Str 7 Thunder Hammer.

I'm not saying you should be scared, but I think some measure of concern is warranted. 

Clearly this is a very heavy melee hitter, and the only saving grace is that the Necrons are notoriously slow in movemen-

What’s more, as one would expect from a Destroyer, the Skorpekh is tough, yet despite not drifting into battle like its kin, it’s still wickedly fast as it skitters forwards.

Ah.

Okay, things to expect:

• Movement 8-10 inches
• Strength/Toughness 5
• Wounds 3
• Attacks 3 

... basing off of the older Destroyer model with some tweaking for assault specialisation. 

So lets explain then.

The old destroyer is Movement 10-inches, but since this is a ground pounder then there may be a little less movement. 8-inches is the standard "quick but not vehicle quick" speed, and just like the old destroyer had a rule allowing it to move and fire heavy weapons without penalty, we might see some other mobility option for these guys. My guess would be something akin to the Reivers where they ignore vertical terrain for movement purposes giving you a reliable assault unit.

Wounds 3 is fast becoming the standard for elite infantry, so it makes sense for them to be at that level. Reanimation Protocols makes it unlikely for them to be tougher than that, and Destroyers were at that level already. Happily (as someone planning to take these guys out) I can't see evidence of an invulnerability save or other native defence, so we should be clear on that front.

Damage wise, with a weapon like that we can usually expect a -1 To Hit. There's two ways this can go; the strength could be kept at 6 and no penalty, or up to 7 with a penalty. I'm inclined to think this particular weapon would have a -1 to Hit because of this guys friends:

These three buddies field a classic trifecta of weapons: big and choppy for vehicles and monsters, dual big and swingy for hordes, and shieldy on the last guy.

I'm inclined to say the big and choppy will have a -1 To Hit on it simply to balance out the different weapons. 3 damage and 3 attacks (plus whatever extra mechanic to make them more efficient in combat) is enough to scare all but the toughest of vehicles. With that weapon you're really counting on the quality of strikes that hit over the number of times you hit... not to say that being accurate isn't good, it's just that you don't mind the misses so much because you can get your job done with only one strike going through.

Big and swingy weapons will most likely have extra attack rules, such as attack twice with each attack or something along those lines. Hard to say, but they may even be over the top in power and have Damage 2 for effective Primaris chopping. It depends how much Games Workshop want you to like these models. 

The shieldy ones are an absolute guess on my part, but the weapon placement on the side of the army suggests a more defensive weapon variant. I think this might only be applied in combat, like some of the Aeldari Howling banshee buffs, with most likely a -1 To Hit against them in combat. That makes it very powerful, but with the reap-blade being what it is, I think you can expect some seriously cheesy weapons on these guys.

Huge amount of conjecture on this, but judging from they hype and the one piece of information we can extrapolate a lot about these new models. There is also a Lord version of these guys which needs to be discussed, but I'm late for a lesson and need to wrap this up. 

There's only one last thing to consider with this unit. If fielding all the same weapons then this unit becomes intensely strong. The reap-blades turn them into premier elite infantry and light vehicle hunters, with even heavier vehicles being under threat. The dual blades make them horde and troop choice buzz saws, and the defensive weapons will probably make them the world's deadliest speed bump. 

But if the unit is weapon locked to one of each per unit, then the overall effectiveness of it is muted and probably heralds a change in how 40K can be balanced. In Age of Sigmar some units (such as Kharadrons and Skaven) have weapon locked load outs. This is partly done in response to available kits, but also to make balancing very powerful weapons easier. They make them much less attractive to the tournament crowd, so we'll see if the pattern is repeated here or if GW wants to keep that competitive edge in 40K.

Oh boy I'm late.

Until next time!

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