Getting the best use out of the Arachnid Swarms

[The Happy Anarchist]

It would seem like the best option is to advance them as individuals, hugging cover and taking advantage of a high natural defense (higher if Ramos can keep up with them and a defensive screen, admittably unlikely)
Then you have several of them advance and do what needs to be done. Then you have one or two that hung back advance up, hit the combination button and then you have a whole new arachnid swarm ready for killing, with 1 action and 2 melee expert actions left to go! For more fun, if you stoke the last one you can reactivate for another 1+2 melee actions? You can even use it's 0 action to heal itself of any wounds the individual spiders took on the way up!
This also leaves you more flexible to respond to opponents turns and with more opportunity to send expendable models forward earlier rather than later.

Am I getting this right? Is there any reason to start off with arachnid swarms rather than individual spiders?

[Wombats]

I keep mine in swarms so they can heal themselves...only break up if I need to scatter for Reconoiter, do a bombing run or two swarms are hoeing into a master and Latch On / spell casting debuff is required (very rare).

The swarm will get the jump on many models due to Arachnid and Height 1 - you don't see them 'til they have double walked and Melee Mastered something. Next round split to get your Slow activations in and maybe detonate.

I really don't like running them solo as they can be one-shotted at range.

There is a lot to be said for having a pair of spiders in combat, get their full actions, move another up with 1AP spare and make a Swam who then makes 3 attacks...but remember your opponent is doing activations in this time, you'd better get it right.

[eruletho]

a real fun use is getting the brass arachnid to Stoke a swarm, then on that swarm's turn it uses is melee mastery attacks then splits. Now you have 3 slow spiders with reactivate, and the slow is only for their first activation, so over the course of 2 activations each they get 3AP to attack with. All told, if the swarm is already next to your target, you get 3 attacks with the swarm and 9 with single spiders... nasty

[Wombats]

Yeah, always save that final AP and consider if you'd put more hurt in by splitting.

I love the way spiders have enough Evasion for them all to survive (providing you split at full health) and explode / attack.

There is a lot of fun you can have with spider / swarm ability inheritance.

If you Link In to the swarm with Ramos, you can then activate all the spiders in the activation step...its obscene and totally legal :)

[archangelq]

Breaking up for reconnoiter doesn't work. Check the wording on the insignificant rule.

As for how to advance them up, I'm fond of starting joined, and then splitting fairly early on. Because of how the summon on them currently works, you get them a bit up field that way. That particular ruling is due to be rewored though, afaik. Not sure what the intent is at this point.

[Raintar]

The best way is to keep it swarmed move move (or move attack if you can) melee expert, split, latch-on attack, latch-on attack, latch-on attack. It's pretty sweet.

[eruletho]

you can only move once, it's (1) Ap to split.

I love swarms for distractions. Sure they are 9ss, but they are disgusting. I like their ability to start off unengaged with anything and by the end of their turn they have paralyzed 2 separate targets by moving up to one, melee experting it with the paralyzing trigger, moving to the other and melee experting again.

[Wombats]

Breaking up for reconnoiter doesn't work. Check the wording on the insignificant rule.

Whoops, got to start reading the tops of card.

That really changes things...mind you, what cheaper / more survivable alternatives are there for Arcanists? Molemen?

I guess the answer is to keep Ramos pumping out spiders in Reconoiter.

[eruletho]

gamin are a decent alternative for only 4ss. They have armor 1 with 5 wd and are immune to morale duels, have a decent enough pair of attacks, and shatter if destroyed in melee. Also, as they are constructs, I believe they can be healed by Ramos and drop scrap tokens for him to use.

[The Happy Anarchist]

My main concern is that you are giving up on 2 points of defense when in swarm form. This would seem to make them much more vulnerable to enemy ranged. Also more vulnerable to being pounced on by a murdermachine and killed in one turn.
Using the action to heal is a decent idea, but then you are moving much more slowly up the field.

[Massaen]

i could have swore the self heal is a (0) action for the spider swarm...

[TheBugKing]

Sure is.

[Nutcase168]

My main concern is that you are giving up on 2 points of defense when in swarm form. This would seem to make them much more vulnerable to enemy ranged. Also more vulnerable to being pounced on by a murdermachine and killed in one turn.
Using the action to heal is a decent idea, but then you are moving much more slowly up the field.

repair is a zero action so it doesn't slow them down.

[The Happy Anarchist]

Huh. Should have looked a little closer. So it moves as fast while healing 1/2/3. Does that make up for the 2 extra defense?

[archangelq]

Between the 2 def, and the protection of being multiple spiders so no one murdermachine can kill them, and the activation control you get by having them scattered, I'm going to have to say 'no'. I prefer to advance them upfield on their own until they have a juicy target.

[CrazyBones]

Breaking up for reconnoiter doesn't work. Check the wording on the insignificant rule.


So you did learn something from our game? ;)

[archangelq]

Oh, I knew it was that way for for the 'area' victory conditions. The bit I learned from our game is that they can't sabotage because of insignificant.

~/Tellin' all y'all this is sabotage/~

[Raintar]

Oh, I knew it was that way for for the 'area' victory conditions. The bit I learned from our game is that they can't sabotage because of insignificant.



Hah, that's a funny one. Learning the hard way is awesome, cuz then I hear about it and find out the easy way :P.

[paperbag4]

When you swarm up or split up, the models are summoned within 6" right?

Is there something that I'm not seeing that would let you move your swarm once, split up (within 6"), use one of those spiders to swarm up (within 6"), move once, split up (within 6"), etc., until you've moved where you want to be and then keep doing that using the extra actions for attacks?

Because if that's legal then once your opponent has activated all his models, you could move around and kill all of his. Which would totally defeat the purpose of even playing the game.

[archangelq]

Read swarm together and the split up ability more carefully ;) The resulting, summoned model can't do the other action this turn. The game designers already thought of that infinite loop, and closed it.

[paperbag4]

good, like I said, it was a random thought without a book anywhere nearby.