Warhammer 40K: This Week’s Meta Hotness – Serberys Raiders
Let’s take a look at a unit that’s been riding rings around the opposition as one of Warhammer 40K’s top units, Serberys Raiders.
In the ever-shifting meta of 40K, armies rise and fall. We’ve spent a lot of time talking about armies that are hot or not, but a lot less time looking at units that are running the show. Today let’s take a look at one of the hottest units currently running around the tabletop.
The Unit
Serberys Raiders are an Adeptus Mechanicus light cavalry unit. They function as quick forward skirmishers, with short ranged guns. Despite the relative short range of their weapons, they also double as anti-character snipers. This melding of man and machine is far more deadly than it appears at first.
Why They Are Good
For a relatively simple unit these guys have a lot going for them. First off they are a fast unit, they move 12″ and get a pre-game move. This makes them, at any size, ideally suited to grabbing objectives or prime positions on the table. At T4 with 2 wounds and a 5++ save they aren’t the toughest unit around, but they do take some killing, and with all the buffs Skitarii can get, they are surprisingly hard to remove.
Weapon wise they aren’t anything super special. A 2 shot S4 Ap -1 isn’t bad at all. However, even a larger unit won’t do all that much damage to most targets. For Serberys Raiders it’s all about picking the right target. The Eye of Serberys rule allows them to freely target characters, and suddenly their weapons are much more deadly. A full unit can put a lot of damage onto most characters with impunity. Meanwhile, even a minimum sized unit of 3, getting 6 shots, can ride around picking off weaker support characters with ease. They are especially deadly to glass cannon characters, such as those favored by Drukahri. At an affordable price point, 48 pts for 3 currently, this unit won’t smash the enemy line straight up, but can perform a number of useful functions.
A Sample List
Saying a unit is hot is all well and good, but let’s take a look at how players are using it. Serberys Raiders have shown up in a number of Admech lists sweeping events in the past weeks. One list that highlights them is the list that Nick Antzoulatos ran to take 1st place at the Waaaagh! Fest WH40K GT 2021.
++ Battalion Detachment 0CP (Imperium – Adeptus Mechanicus) [42 PL, 840pts, -4CP] ++
Forge World Choice: Lucius
Stratagem: Artefactotum [-2CP]: 2x Artefactorum
Stratagem: Mechanicus Locum [-2CP]: 2x Mechanicus Locum
+ HQ +
Skitarii Marshal [3 PL, 45pts]: Relic: Raiment of the Technomartyr, Warlord, Warlord Trait (Codex 5):
Firepoint Telemetry Cache
Tech-Priest Manipulus [6 PL, 110pts]: Logi, Mechanicus Locum, Relic (Lucius): The Solar Flare,
Transonic cannon
Tech-Priest Manipulus [5 PL, 95pts]: Artisans, Magnarail lance, Warlord Trait (Lucius): Luminescent
Blessings
+ Troops +
Skitarii Rangers [8 PL, 170pts]: Enhanced Data-Tether, Omnispex
. Ranger Alpha: Galvanic Rifle
. 19x Skitarii Ranger: 19x Galvanic Rifle
Skitarii Vanguards [8 PL, 170pts]: Enhanced Data-Tether, Omnispex
. 19x Skitarii Vanguard: 19x Radium Carbine
. Vanguard Alpha: Radium Carbine
Skitarii Vanguards [8 PL, 154pts]: Enhanced Data-Tether, Omnispex
. 17x Skitarii Vanguard: 17x Radium Carbine
. Vanguard Alpha: Radium Carbine
+ Fast Attack +
Serberys Raiders [2 PL, 48pts]: Serberys Raider Alpha
. 2x Serberys Raider: 2x Cavalry Sabre, 2x Clawed Limbs, 2x Galvanic Carbine
Serberys Raiders [2 PL, 48pts]: Serberys Raider Alpha
. 2x Serberys Raider: 2x Cavalry Sabre, 2x Clawed Limbs, 2x Galvanic Carbine
++ Outrider Detachment -3CP (Imperium – Adeptus Mechanicus) [61 PL, 1,159pts, -3CP] ++
Forge World Choice: Lucius
+ HQ +
Skitarii Marshal [3 PL, 45pts]: Relic: Exemplar’s Eternity, Warlord Trait (Codex 3): Programmed
Retreat
+ Fast Attack +
Ironstrider Ballistarii [24 PL, 450pts] . Ironstrider Ballistarius: Twin Cognis Lascannon
. Ironstrider Ballistarius: Twin Cognis Lascannon
. Ironstrider Ballistarius: Twin Cognis Lascannon
. Ironstrider Ballistarius: Twin Cognis Lascannon
. Ironstrider Ballistarius: Twin Cognis Lascannon
. Ironstrider Ballistarius: Twin Cognis Lascannon
Ironstrider Ballistarii [20 PL, 325pts] . Ironstrider Ballistarius: Twin Cognis Autocannon
. Ironstrider Ballistarius: Twin Cognis Autocannon
. Ironstrider Ballistarius: Twin Cognis Autocannon
. Ironstrider Ballistarius: Twin Cognis Autocannon
. Ironstrider Ballistarius: Twin Cognis Autocannon
Pteraxii Sterylizors [8 PL, 190pts]: Pteraxii Sterylizor Alpha
. 9x Pteraxii Sterylizor: 9x Phosphor torch, 9x Pteraxii Talons
Serberys Raiders [6 PL, 149pts]: Enhanced Data-Tether, Serberys Raider Alpha
. 8x Serberys Raider: 8x Cavalry Sabre, 8x Clawed Limbs, 8x Galvanic Carbine
++ Total: [103 PL, 1,999pts, -7CP] ++
Using the Unit
This list makes use of 3 units of Raiders. Two of them are minimum sized cheap 3 “man” units, while the 3rd is a full-sized 9 Raider unit. The small units are great throw-away units that can be used to grab objectives and score points with little downside if they are killed off. They are also great at sniping out light support characters. The larger unit presents a real issue for players. It’s hard to kill, and puts out enough damage to hurt almost any character, while also being able to shot up normal infantry units. Thanks to being Lucius the Raiders go to a 3+ save vs D1 attacks, making them pretty hard for small arms to kill. They also gain 3″ range on their shorter ranged guns, not a bad buff. Stratagems also allow them to advance and fire without penalty, or run away when charged. With the large unit able to move 12″ pre-game, then another 18″ on its first turn, then shoot out to 21″, a threat range of 51″, it’s pretty hard to hide from them. They act as a fast and deadly support unit for the large blocks of Skittari infantry and Ironstideers that make up the bulk of the army and can get the job done.
Let us know what units you think are hot right now, down in the comments!
