M2E+Scorpius


 * The Scorpius, Arcanist minion**

=__Overview__= Proving quite conclusively that Ramos and Marcus can't play together, The Scorpius is the result of the Arcanists attempting to insert a logic engine into a lethal giant scorpion. The results weren't what Ramos hoped, but the project still created a deadly weapon for the Arcanists. In-game, The Scorpius has a focus on **Poison**. toc

=__Mobility__= Despite how many legs it has, The Scorpius is surprisingly slow with a Wk of 4. Its charge is a bit better than average, and it comes with a bit of extra mobility in the form of (0) **Creep Along**, which lets it move up to its walk towards a target friendly model in line of sight. Note that it is a move, not a push, so getting around corners is allowed, as long as it always gets closer to the target; and there is no cast range, which means your selection is effectively among all your other models in Line Of Sight on the board. Also note that this zero action competes against its other valuable zero action, making it quite an art to balance the mobility and damage output. Generally speaking **Creep Along** is best to be used in early turns to get into position, or to retreat out of engagement.

=__Offense__= The Scorpius has a decent Ml of 6, with a pretty standard damage track for its cost. It has a few triggers, including the built-in **Infect**. On a mask, it can prevent the target from using soulstones or (0) actions, making it quite effective at setting up an enemy master for an assassination run. Ml6 should put you on par with most master's Df, so for certain masters it can be worth throwing a high mask in to stop their defensive shenanigans and make that assassination attempt that much easier.

It also comes with a (0) attack action, **The Feeding**. While it requires a bit of set-up and is capped at a mere two damage, it's still nice to have an extra (0) attack for when The Scorpius is engaged and doesn't want to use its (0) **Creep Along**. Additionally, this has a built-in trigger that makes it rather more potent against **Slow** models.

Finally, its passive **Neurotoxins** ability forces any model within 3" who suffers damage from **Poison** to gain the **Slow** condition. 3" is quite a big aura considering its base, and giving an enemy **Slow** is never a bad thing.

=__Resilience__= The Scorpius features an odd mix of resilience. Thanks to Ramos's modifications it has **Armor +1**, and **Regeneration +1** as well. Its (0) action can heal it a bit, but with only 6 wounds in total it will fold fairly quickly if your opponent wants it to die. Your best bet is to keep using **The Feeding** if you want to keep it alive, and to keep it out of range of your opponent's more dangerous models. Don't forget that, as a construct and a minion, it will benefit from the **Regeneration** given by the Bleeding Edge Tech upgrade if you take it.

=__Tactics and Tips__= The Scorpius boasts a wide range of keywords to suit various masters, including being a construct and a beast. As such it'll be affected by many of Ramos's buffs such as Combat Mechanic, as well as playing well with Marcus and benefiting from his abilities. With its 50mm base, it can also be a good jump point for Mei Feng's **Railwalk**.

There are a fair few Arcanist models who can support The Scorpius by applying **Poison**, including the Razorspine Rattler, Myranda, Kudra, Poison Gamin and the Performer. For the most effective use, The Scorpius would love to attack an already **Slow** enemy. Since models who take damage from the **Poison** condition near the Scorpius gain **Slow**, it's best to try and **Poison** an enemy so that it will suffer **Poison** damage and gain **Slow** - ready for The Scorpius to attack with its **The Feeding** to force a decent amount of damage or the **Paralyzed** condition.

Since its melee attack has one crow built-in for Infect, you can potentially stack **Poison +4** on a model in one activation. This sets them up for The Scorpius to heal off with **The Feeding**, or - if you don't need it to heal itself - for a nearby Performer to lay some hefty damage on with the trigger on her **Siren Call**.

In games where models tend to clump up, such as Turf War, or against crews who like to stay close together, you can bring along some of the aforementioned models to hand out **Poison** to multiple enemy models, and then move The Scorpius up so that its **Neurotoxins** will affect as many as possible. This can apply **Slow** to potentially quite a few models, limiting what your opponent can do next turn.

With the release of Broken Promises the Scorpius gets a new life with Dr. McMourning in either the Resurrectionists or Guild as an added tar-pit. With the added benefit of **Catalyst** from either Sebastian or McMourning meaning that you no longer need to worry about timing applying poison and the enemy will always be Slow,

=__Playing Against The Scorpius__= Attacking The Scorpius from range is your best bet. It's Ht 3 and only Df 5 / 6 Wd, so even with **Armor** it shouldn't be too hard to take out. Since it has **Regeneration** and a way to heal itself, you're best off with a bit of focus fire to take it down quickly before it can recover. If you have anything that's immune to **Poison**, that will curtail most of its power and make it far easier to kill.

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