Hordes: Skorne Exigence Preview

Exigence is finally here, and once again Skorne got some sweet releases! Take a look!

Let’s go through a quick rundown of what Skorne players can be looking forward to as the releases from this book trickle in.

Warlock: Xerxis2

Let’s be honest here. Xerxis is riding a giant armored Rhino. He would have seen table time unless he was absolutely awful. Even if he was the new Morghoul2 someone would play him just because he looks sweet.

Luckily, he’s actually quite good. This is now the third book in a row with a really strong warlock for Skorne. I don’t think he’ll be as game-changing as Hexeris2 or Makeda3, but he is definitely playable. He has a little bit of everything, which I like. You can draw some comparisons with pMorghoul, Xerxis1, the Makedas, etc. He does a lot of things without having a heavy focus on just one thing. I really like that kind of design in Skorne.

Looking at the abilities this guy brings to the table, what more can you really ask for? He has a a damage buff, a speed buff with pathfinder, one of the better nuke spells and a feat that actually increases his control range and hands out signs and portents. The only downside is that huge base. Luckily his natural armor is really high, we have Kreas and good shield guards in faction, and he can totally be repaired by a one-point solo.

Beasts: Ardus Soldier and Sentinal

I’ll group these guys together as they share a lot of rules. I’m sure we’ll be digging into them in more detail in the future once the models come out.

They are definitely very slow, but I think that’s ok in a faction with so many speed buffs floating around. They have good mat and arm which is important, and AD to help with the speed problem. They also have access to a new rule that gives even more armor vs shooting attacks and free strikes. With a krea these guys are super tough on the approach. They both have decent animi that will see a lot of use. Interesting to note that swarm totally stacks with ashen veil for a -4 to hit rolls for models within 2″ of the affected model.

The soldier fits in almost the same slot as most of our titans, which may restrict his table time. Reach with drag is nice, and plays well with Train Wreck, but otherwise it’s just another Skorne heavy that hits like a Skorne heavy.

The Sentinal on the other hand… this guy is going to be the one to watch from this book. Probably the MVP this cycle. At 8 points we get a great shoting beast with the highest RAT in faction along with good mat and a sweet sweet gun. Poison on an AOE is really good. Living warbeasts are going to get hurt bad before they get to melee. Clusters of troops are going to get dissolved. Black spot with these guys is going to be huge. Out of the blue Skorne can now do a gunline. Raiders, Incindiarii, Sentinals on either Xerxis2 or Hexeris2 are going to be surprisingly effective.

Beast Pack: Scarab Pack

I’m still on the fence about these guys. on one hand, that’s a lot of boxes. 40 boxes for 5 points is tough to beat. Unfortunately, they have terrible def/arm. Losing one lessens the effectiveness of the unit. they do have a ncie gang-like ability, they can dig in, and they can heal themselves. Also, they count as a unit, so can be brought back into play with Revive and Makeda1’s feat. Then heal up with snacking. It’s an interesting unit, we’ll see how much they get used.

Solo: Zaadesh

I’ve already written about Zaadesh when he got released, but here’s the summary: gang on a battlegroup is great. Reverse shield guard is cool. He can be used to spam a good animus like rush or lightning strike, or can run a unit of beasts. Put him in with a scarab pack and reptile hounds to get the most out of tag team. For those doing the math at home, that’s 12 points for 71 damage boxes. I barely even care if they kill things at that point. But it’s skorne with layered buffs inherent in the unit.t hey’re going to kill things.

Unit: Praetorian Keltarii

I like this unit a lot. They will compete for that same 8-point infantry slot with Nihilators and Swordsmen, but they have some nice uses. They seem best with casters that can double down on their natural def buff vs ranged, so either Defenders Ward caster, Hexeris2 for ashen veil, Mordikaar for the feat, etc. reform and parry are great for getting up in the way. I especially like them with Mordikaar. I am looking at dropping them in to replace my Swordsmen as the Hollow target in that army. I like the design of these guys. they’re different enough from the other two units that I think they will see play, without actually replacing the roles filled by the others.

Minions

There were a couple of minions releases we can use as well. Their battle engine is outright better than ours (you could say that about any battle engine in the game though). The Efaarit may see use. Maximus is fun but maybe not needed in Skorne.

What has your experience been with the new models? Anyone else been proxying some sweet new Skorne bug armies? any good stories about Xerxis2 tearing it up on his pet rhino? Share in the comments!