The Necrotechs Workshop LIX The Primal Terror Problem
When I was first testing Scaverous, I was having a pretty good time into most heavy infantry. It was hard to maintain coherency and cohesion when models were getting Choking ashed, pulled apart by Black Ogrun, and other nasty effects. Now, though, there is a single strange problem that my list has to contend with that I don’t – right now – have an answer for. Let’s look.
The Problem
I’ve been playing the pair and tweaking the lists for a long while now, at least prior to lock and load, and likely even before that. It’s a pretty solid pair that does everything I wanted it to when I started using them. It has ranged and melee answers while also dealing rather well with armor and high defense. It has a number of answers and a number of problems it poses to the other side. There is one
Primal Terrors
Primal Terrors is the new sexy list in the meta. Tharn is set to come in and take its place as the newest, but it is unlikely to unseat it as the sexiest. Unfortunately, my list pair suffers, it’s not uniquely, but uniquely enough for Cryx, into the list. The berserk ability on the Ogrun, combined with Golabs no-tough aura and the Blightbringers’ ability to see through clouds shreds my defenses pretty solidly when playing Scaverous. The same list hits hard enough and is accurate enough with enough medium infantry that I don’t really want to play 9 Slayers into it either, run by Kallus or
I am afraid that his means that I will likely have to change one of the two lists that I am running to accommodate the mess that primal terrors are bringing to the game. Unfortunately, this means that I also have to keep track of the models and units I am good into and not push the list too far into taking out Primal Terrors that I remove its flexibilities. I am currently leaning into two ways to fix this issue.
Solution 1 – Change the Pair
This is the solution I like the least but honestly seems like the strongest play for me. It keeps the Scaverous list as it is, while it also continues to give Sloan a bit of a scare and makes Primal Terrors think twice before dropping in. While the Sloan Issue is still in flux – I’ve had a discussion on both sides of the argument that the below list can cut it, it is an interesting problem to have.
The Change would be to toss out Gaspy 3, and replace him with Skarre 3 and a list something like this:
This list has pretty strong game into Primal Terrors, the biggest play here is that the Kraken is a monster in that matchup, and can, if left alone, run the table while picking off Chosen and Blighted Ogrun. The trolls and the rest of the models run interference for the big guy while he sets up into position. Into Sloan, you can’t afford to play the long game, so you shove the army down the board as fast as possible, with the Kraken on the flanks. Commit to killing the Kraken, the theory goes, and you’ll be overrun, fail to take it out and it’ll overrun you.
As I mentioned, this has the upside of maintaining my Scaverous list, but it is at the expense of having a new pair and having to get used to a new casters and set of strengths and weaknesses.
Solution 2 – Modify Scaverous
This solution bothers me, but it plays – in my opinion, to the betterment of the list and the strengths of the pair fairly well. In this option, I carve up my Scaverous list and try for something a bit more long term in order to get a better matchup in the Primal Terrors pair. I would be using something like this:
This gives up a lot of the interesting, threatening, and dangerous parts of the Scaverous kit, and exchanges it for the sheer, brutal, beat facery. With the Boarding Party and the Kraken, the old vulnerability of armor becomes a thing of the past. The infantry clearing still happens with the Bloodgorgers and Gerlak, but I am missing in a few spots. I don’t have the every-day 8 focus on turn 1 and/or 2 from the Misery Cage, I don’t have pathfinder from Saxon, I lose my random heavy killing from both the Crow’s and the Scavengers, and I miss my assassination threat with both. Its a hard sell, but I do see that it might make the overall
The Decision Point
I’m not really sure which direction I want to take the pair in. I worry about changing my lists up just when I am starting to get a really good grove with them, but I have already qualified for Brawltimore, so experimenting with lists isn’t going to hurt me, and the next actual event I am going to worry about is all the way in March. It’s a stupid thing to hem and haw over, but I so rarely feel as comfortable with any caster as I do with Scaverous right now. I understand him strongly, and am having strong games with him in an amount of time that I am happy with. I’m not clocking myself, I’m maintaining Scenario presence, and I am threatening assassination almost all the time. Its a great list that supports my play style strongly. Changing it up now feels like a betrayal.
On the other hand, keeping the list with two big, open holes doesn’t seem like a much better idea. Getting trashed by a big Meta list seems foolish, and leaving a hole that a good local player can exploit seems just as bad. I’m not sure I know what I want to do, but I know I have to evolve as the rest of the meta moves forward. I’m definitely keeping Scaverous, but what iteration and what his pairing is, well, I just don’t know.
If you have an idea or a caster you think I should try either as Scaverous’ pair or a list that you like to run with Scaverous – preferably one that can take on Primal Terrors – Let me know and I’ll see what I can do to give the list a spin or two. I’m getting to the point that I’m definitely going to be trying new things, but I’m also looking for that list that’ll make me feel like I’m in the game.
Until next time!
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