The Shrine of the Black Scorpion Mini-Army
The driving force behind choosing and using each mini-army is the scarcity of points: 1000 maximum, with little room for expendable troops, fancy wargear, or unnecessary vehicle upgrades. This also means that units you take have to be as flexible as possible to deal with whatever foe they face. I assembled this mini-army using the Standard Missions Force Organization Chart, which requires one HQ unit and two Troop units.

The army’s major strength is its close combat ability; accordingly, it will move toward the enemy as fast as possible to launch an assault. Its greatest weakness is its typically Eldar fragility. To counter this, the army presents lots of tempting targets (Karandras, the Falcon, the Wraithlord) that the opponent will have to choose among. If he splits his strength, he is unlikely to take out any of these units: Karandras is well guarded, the Falcon is elusive, and the Wraithlord has an obscene Toughness. If he concentrates his strength against one target, the other two move forward unhindered.
 

	Unit	Points
HQ	Karandras	165
Elites	Two Striking Scorpions Squads	267
Troops	Two Guardian Storm Squads	160
Fast Attack	One Guardian Jetbike Squadron	140
Heavy Support	One Falcon; one Wraithlord	265
	Total	997

HQ
Though I could (and probably should) take a Farseer, it would be more in character to take Karandras. This means, of course, that I won’t be able to use this army against someone who doesn’t like Special Characters, but players like that are few and far between.

Tactics: Karandras will accompany Striking Scorpion Squad #1 and, of course, they will always try to advance on the enemy and get into hand-to-hand combat as soon as possible. If circumstances permit it, they will infiltrate and try to set up near an enemy flank; if circumstances don’t permit it, they will use the Guardian Storm Squads as a skirmish screen.

Elites
Striking Scorpions of course! If I could I’d take three full units, but as I’m severely limited on points, I’ll take two. Squad #1 numbers 10 Scorpions. Squad #2 numbers 5 Scorpions, one of whom is an Exarch. If the squad is facing an infantry-heavy army (Orks), then the Exarch will use a Biting Blade and have the Crushing Blow ability. If the squad is facing a tank-heavy army (Imperial Guard), the Exarch will not have the Biting Blade or Crushing Blow, but the whole squad will have plasma and haywire grenades.

Tactics: Squad #1 will accompany Karandras. Squad #2 can advance behind the Guardian Storm Squad but is meant to board the Falcon and attack an enemy flank.

Troops
Ordinarily I would take lots of Troop units but again, points are short and this army, after all, is meant to feature the Striking Scorpions. To fulfill the two Troop unit requirement, I will take two Guardian Storm Squads, each numbering 10 strong and armed with shuriken pistols and chainswords.

Tactics: Guardians, as everyone knows, are cannon fodder, but many players underestimate basic troopers and tend to ignore them in favor of “big guns” (HQ, Elites, and Heavy Support). My admonishment for every 40K player is “Don’t sweat the big guns, sweat the little guys.” Should my opponent be so foolish as to not follow this axiom, he may well find that 20 Guardians, each with two attacks (three when charging), have used their Fleet of Foot ability to swiftly cross the board and get in his face. They might not singlehandedly win the game, but they’re sure to cause problems for a careless opponent.

Fast Attack
Four Guardian Jetbikes.

Tactics: Like the Guardian Storm Squads, the Jetbikes are to hassle the opponent’s army, darting here and there and drawing attention away from the Falcon and the Wraithlord. They can also escort the Falcon if it is carrying Striking Scorpion Squad #2.

Heavy Support
A Falcon with a pulse laser and scatter laser and a Wraithlord with a brightlance.

Tactics: The Falcon primarily serves to transport Striking Scorpion Squad #2 into assaults, but it can also take out enemy tanks and whittle down large infantry units.

The Wraithlord, a fallen Striking Scorpion Exarch, steadily advances on the enemy, marching behind the Guardian Storm Squads and firing on Heavy Support units whose firepower would swiftly pulverize the Shrine’s infantry. The Wraithlord is also meant to draw enemy fire away from the Falcon (bearing Striking Scorpion Squad #2) and Karandras.

Related Pages
The Mini-Army
Shrine of the Black Scorpion Themed Army Idea
 

Like what you've seen? Then vote for the Jungle in the "Top 100 40K Sites"

© copyright Kenton Kilgore, February 2000.

Top