Dark Age: Unboxing the Skarrd Starter
Today I have another unboxing article for some of my favorite gencon minis: the new Skarrd Faction Starter for Dark Age
Centuries ago the ancestors of the Skarrd were were transformed by experimental chemicals they unearthed in a long abandoned research facility. The unnatural strength and savagery they gained from this exposure is today augmented by grafting: a cybernetic technology forbidden by the puritanical Forsaken.
All the models come sealed up in bubble wrap baggies – very useful to keep them from rattling around and scraping them into each other.
Buzzblades
Let’s start with the new Buzzblade sculpts. These the most basic trooper for the Skarrd.
I’m really impressed with the Resin these guys are cast out of. It can hold a lot of detail. As you can see this guy is covered in cool straps, stitches, tubes, and grafted augmentations. Those pick weapons also look nice and brutal.
Here’s a larger shot, angled to see the face a little better.
The musculature on this model is also incredible. It’s something they keep doing great on Dark Age models whether they be Skarrd, Outcast or Dragyri.
Here’s our next Buzzblade.
The reverse.
This one comes with head options.
Last up we have a female buzzblade. She might be the most interesting of the bunch. Her spiked arm is nice and creepy but her hair is totally on point.
That’s just a leather strap, nothing to see here folks.
And here are all three of them assembled and primed. Make sure to click and zoom in to get more detail.
Harpies
Next we have the Harpies. I don’t think there were any models in the game I’m more happy to see resculpted than these. The proportions are so much more natural now, and their demeanor has changed from screeching psycho to more calm and detatched killer.
Here’s our first Harpy. I like how the claws are now elongated fingers instead of thresher blades.
I don’t mind the bricks she’s perching on but I know some people tend to get annoyed with basing details like this that can’t be easily removed.
The new wings might be the most interesting touch.
Here’s our next Harpy. I love how their faces almost look innocent.
The reverse.
More of those long grabby claws. The folded wings help create some variation between the harpies. Although I have to admit I don’t find them to be quite as awesome as the unfolded ones.
Our final Harpy.
Seen from another angle.
It’s just folded wings for this Harpy. I think her claws are my favorite though.
Here they are assembled. I messed with the exposure a bit since their wings were shadowing some of their detail which is why this picture looks more blown out than usual.
And the reverse. Folks, I don’t mean to overstate but this is definitely the most important article involving Harpy butts you’ll read this week. I’m not the biggest fan of battle thongs, if for no other reason than that they seem like an uncomfortable distraction. Nonetheless these Harpies are dressed a lot more sensibly than their old sculpts. If the thongs bother you it’s easy enough to paint them as if they’re wearing tights.
Tribal Father
Here’s the new Tribal Father. Like the Harpies he is another huge improvement on an older sculpt.
The reverse.
Here he is assembled.
Warhead
Last up in the set is the massive Warhead. He’s the only one in the box that isn’t a brand new sculpt.
I’ve always liked this Warhead. His over-exaggerated pose makes for a really fun model. Nonetheless, I’ll always wonder what a new resculpted Warhead would have looked like. Oh well. I’m sure they’ll get around to creating a new one eventually. Then I’ll have two Warheads and I have no problem with that.
Here is the big guy all put together and primed.
I continue to be impressed with the new models CMON has been releasing for Dark Age. This resin holds a lot of detail and is much less brittle than you might expect. That’s not to say it won’t break if you apply enough pressure to it, but there was no unwanted breakage during assembly.
The full set adds up to a nice even 500 points, so for $60 you can get right into the game with a full sized army. The rules and cards are free to download if you want to have a look at them before you buy anything. Here are a few tips if you want to use this starter set to get into Dark Age.
Tips for Using the Starter
The harpies can deploy anywhere, which I think makes them the most important pieces in the set. Learning where and when to place them will be a big part of how successful you are with this force. They don’t hit that hard but if all of them attack the same target they can put a bit of hurt on. Have them pick on really annoying pieces hiding in the backfield like medics or ranged units.
The Tribal Father is a Psychogenic Invoker so he can pick two psychogenics. He has eight he can choose from which can get a little overwhelming. I would suggest Cataclysmic Aneurysm to put Panic Counters out there. Then take Horrific Visage so your opponent can’t remove the Panic Counters. Not only are Panic Counters annoying but your Buzzblades will hit much harder against models with them.
The Warhead is a monster who can dish out a lot of damage so he will be the anchor to your force. He is tough to kill but not invincible. You will need to “feed” him enemy models as often as possible so he can heal himself with the Fueled by Combat ability once per round.
Of course that’s just a very basic overview. The helpful folks on the Dark Age: Samaria Reborn Facebook Group can help give you more info.
This article first appeared on my own blog toomini. Follow it to get a look at these articles before they show up on BoLS. There are also a lot of great painting articles there that haven’t made it here yet
~Hope you enjoyed the article! What do you think of the Skarrd?
