Shrine of the Black Scorpion
Everyone knows that the bulk of most Eldar armies are Guardians (ordinary civilians who take up arms during wartime) and Aspect Warriors (elite fighters who specialize in certain combat styles). Codex: Eldar tells us that Aspect Warriors are affiliated with a particular shrine within their Craftworld. Craftworlds have their armies, but wouldn't it make sense for each Aspect Shrine to have its own small army--say, about the size of a detachment? 

Each Aspect Shrine army would be a dedicated fighting force that supported its Aspect Warriors and Exarchs on the battlefield, complementing their strengths and mitigating their weaknesses. If an Aspect Shrine was located on a planet instead of in the safety of a Craftworld, its army could also guard the Shrine and defend it against attackers.

As an example, I've created such an army for the Shrine of the Black Scorpion, organized, of course, around Striking Scorpions. Note that this army faithfully follows the rules in Codex: Eldar so you can use it anywhere, anytime. You could also easily use some other Aspect Warriors instead of Striking Scorpions. Perhaps a "Shrine of the Blue Phoenix," affiliated with Dire Avengers? A "Shrine of the Red Wyrm" with Fire Dragons? I think you get the idea. 

You could also do something similar using the rules for the Biel-Tan Swordwind Army from Codex: Craftworld Eldar. However, when creating new army ideas, I prefer to use the base or "vanilla" codex (in this case, Codex: Eldar) rather than a sub-codex (want to know why?). 

Background
The Shrine of the Black Scorpion was found within Craftworld Tezcatlipoca (destroyed) and is now based on the seventh planet of the Veda system along with the Screaming Jaguars. There may well be other Shrines of the Black Scorpion on additional Craftworlds; certainly the Eldar are unwilling to say.

In his time spent learning about the Shrine, Fighting Tiger Librarian Persah Aggarwal witnessed several battles of unbelievable ferocity between The Black Scorpions and the Kabal of the Ozone Scorpions, with neither side taking prisoners or allowing defeated foes to escape. He theorized that there was some ancient connection between the two groups, but in the centuries since Aggarwal's death, no Scorpions from either side have supplied answers, even (in the case of captured Dark Eldar) under ritual torture. 

Philosophy
The Striking Scorpions within the Shrine's army are dedicated to the ideals of striking first, striking hard, and standing firm against the enemy. The supporting units serve the Striking Scorpions in a number of capacities but all are willing to die for the good of the Shrine.

HQ
Ideally, the army should be led by Karandras; however, if points or your opponent don't allow the Shadow Hunter (he is a special character after all) you can use a Farseer, imagining that he is a senior priest of the Shrine. The Shrine army would never include Warlocks or the Avatar.

Elites
Only Striking Scorpions, of course! They would probably be led by Exarchs and, if you want, ride in Wave Serpents.

Troops
Only Guardian Storm Squads (no Warlocks). The codex says that these squads "are formed from Eldar who were once warriors from one of the close combat Aspect Shrines such as the Striking Scorpions": what could be more appropriate than that? Guardians would be used to supplement the Aspect Warriors' numbers and to distract and weaken the opposing army as the Striking Scorpions attack.

Fast Attack
Only Guardian Jetbike (no Warlocks) and Vyper Squadrons. These vehicles would scout ahead of the Shrine army and provide covering fire as the Storm Squads and Striking Scorpions close in on the enemy.

Heavy Support
Only Falcons and Wraithlords. Falcons, of course, can transport small Aspect Warrior squads in addition to providing covering fire. Wraithlords can be imagined to be heroic Striking Scorpion Exarchs who fell in battle and continue to fight for the Shrine.

Modeling and Painting
Models should be painted in the same color scheme to emphasize that they are all from the same Shrine. As befitting their name, units from this army should wear lots of Chaos Black ("What? Striking Scorpions not wearing green? Heresy!" Hey--don't be afraid to try new ideas).

General Tactics
This is definitely an assault army. Move across the board as fast as possible and get into hand-to-hand combat before the enemy's firepower whittles your force down. Once you get the Striking Scorpions and Wraithlords into close combat, you should be able to win most battles.

Related Pages
Black Scorpion Mini-Army: Example of a 1000-point force
The Kabal of the Ozone Scorpions
Other Eldar Themed Army Ideas
 

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© Copyright Kenton Kilgore, February 2000. 
 

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