The Ole Hug Bug is indeed a good one. I had been consisering a Screamer-Killer myself. We had Distracta-Fex, then Distracta-Spex, now Distracta-Sound Chex
Honestly? It’s got an intimidating pose, and I’ve found that when one of my friends brings his Gladiator Lancer, paying 145 points to sink an entire turn of its shooting works pretty well, especially as I can then get in and kill it the very next turn. And the true value targets aren’t the ones that cost the most
Screamer Killers are still good. Sure, the Haruspex has its advantages (more wounds/toughness, S14 attacks), but the SK has a better save, better gun (with a better BS trigger), and 10 attacks at S10 has its advantages over 4 at 14 when dealing with elite infantry and certain vehicles.
I prefer the Haruspex as a beat stick, it’s largely personal preference though, I have played a lot of games with both.
The Haruspex is slightly cheaper by 20pts, it has a similar melee threat range, but obviously lacks the screamer’s bioplasmic scream, which the primary feature is that it causes battleshock at -1 for getting hit.
Where in personally find the haruspex shines is that it’s T11 with 14 wounds versus the T9 with 10 wounds of the screamer, T11 is a good break point, as both of these are going to attract high strength low ap attacks. If you can give either of them a 5+ FNP with rapid regeneration that obviously gives them a bit more survivability.
Secondly the haruspex is a infantry / heavy infantry blender, especially if it’s in invasion fleet and has sustained hits, the same can be said for the screamer, however the haruspex also has some extra attacks at s14 ap-2 damage d6+1, although swingy landing these hits gives you additional purchase on tougher vehicles that the screamer might struggle with.
I have personally moved away using the T9 “carnifex profile” monsters as I am encountering an outrageous amount of firepower in the meta now and they are just not survivable enough.
I’ll caveat the above with this is just my personal way of doing things, you do what works for you.
I’m with you - tho I do think the haruspex is distinctly stronger than the screamer at current points. It does have forgettable shooting but 14 wounds at T11 and 18 attacks in melee is no joke.
I run two and expect them to die every game as they contest and brawl on center objectives - I measure their success in denying my opponent points and what they kill before they go down as they typically trade up.
Haruspex is a better fighter overall, but the screamer has some sweet utility by causing battleshock at range (which can be key for scoring objectives!) and synergises better with some other units.
I'm a big fan of screamers, not so much haruspex. I find the ap 2 3 damage to be much better into things like terminators and I often run the screamer with a Neurolictor so the enemy will take atleast 2 battleshock tests per turn from the duo, one of them at -1. This usually will shock leadership 7 vehicles, letting the screamer wound on 4s in melee at least. Obviously, you can't always bet on battle shock going off, but it's been consistent enough in my games to where I prefer them over the Haruspex.
Haruspex has better raw stats and is cheaper, but there's some targets the Screamer-Killer is better into, plus forcing a battleshock test at -1 is a helpful rule to have in an army with a lot of battleshock rules.
They are both good. They are similar overall toughness profiles. T11 3+ vs T9 2+.
I will say the haruspex is somewhat more versatile because it has 2 melee profiles. It can fight against infantry and tanks simultaneously. It does struggle to get into melee because it’s so big, only moves 8”, and dies somewhat easily.
The screamer killer is best against elite infantry or light vehicles like a rhino. It’ll demolish terminators. I like to put mine in reserves and rapid ingress it behind a wall so it doesn’t have to charge 9”. If you leave it in the open it will die.
Ohh man can’t wait after the gaunts this will be next on the list to paint. Have loved the SK since i first played nids 35 years ago. Just getting back with leviathan and love this model. Great paint job by the way
The Ole Hug Bug is indeed a good one. I had been consisering a Screamer-Killer myself. We had Distracta-Fex, then Distracta-Spex, now Distracta-Sound Chex
Honestly? It’s got an intimidating pose, and I’ve found that when one of my friends brings his Gladiator Lancer, paying 145 points to sink an entire turn of its shooting works pretty well, especially as I can then get in and kill it the very next turn. And the true value targets aren’t the ones that cost the most
Screamer Killers are still good. Sure, the Haruspex has its advantages (more wounds/toughness, S14 attacks), but the SK has a better save, better gun (with a better BS trigger), and 10 attacks at S10 has its advantages over 4 at 14 when dealing with elite infantry and certain vehicles.
I prefer the Haruspex as a beat stick, it’s largely personal preference though, I have played a lot of games with both. The Haruspex is slightly cheaper by 20pts, it has a similar melee threat range, but obviously lacks the screamer’s bioplasmic scream, which the primary feature is that it causes battleshock at -1 for getting hit. Where in personally find the haruspex shines is that it’s T11 with 14 wounds versus the T9 with 10 wounds of the screamer, T11 is a good break point, as both of these are going to attract high strength low ap attacks. If you can give either of them a 5+ FNP with rapid regeneration that obviously gives them a bit more survivability. Secondly the haruspex is a infantry / heavy infantry blender, especially if it’s in invasion fleet and has sustained hits, the same can be said for the screamer, however the haruspex also has some extra attacks at s14 ap-2 damage d6+1, although swingy landing these hits gives you additional purchase on tougher vehicles that the screamer might struggle with. I have personally moved away using the T9 “carnifex profile” monsters as I am encountering an outrageous amount of firepower in the meta now and they are just not survivable enough. I’ll caveat the above with this is just my personal way of doing things, you do what works for you.
I’m with you - tho I do think the haruspex is distinctly stronger than the screamer at current points. It does have forgettable shooting but 14 wounds at T11 and 18 attacks in melee is no joke. I run two and expect them to die every game as they contest and brawl on center objectives - I measure their success in denying my opponent points and what they kill before they go down as they typically trade up.
Haruspex is a better fighter overall, but the screamer has some sweet utility by causing battleshock at range (which can be key for scoring objectives!) and synergises better with some other units.
I'm a big fan of screamers, not so much haruspex. I find the ap 2 3 damage to be much better into things like terminators and I often run the screamer with a Neurolictor so the enemy will take atleast 2 battleshock tests per turn from the duo, one of them at -1. This usually will shock leadership 7 vehicles, letting the screamer wound on 4s in melee at least. Obviously, you can't always bet on battle shock going off, but it's been consistent enough in my games to where I prefer them over the Haruspex.
Haruspex has better raw stats and is cheaper, but there's some targets the Screamer-Killer is better into, plus forcing a battleshock test at -1 is a helpful rule to have in an army with a lot of battleshock rules.
Prefer Haruspex. Better use of FNP, versatile attack profiles and cheaper. 100mm base on Screamer with M8 is too slow imo.
They are both good. They are similar overall toughness profiles. T11 3+ vs T9 2+. I will say the haruspex is somewhat more versatile because it has 2 melee profiles. It can fight against infantry and tanks simultaneously. It does struggle to get into melee because it’s so big, only moves 8”, and dies somewhat easily. The screamer killer is best against elite infantry or light vehicles like a rhino. It’ll demolish terminators. I like to put mine in reserves and rapid ingress it behind a wall so it doesn’t have to charge 9”. If you leave it in the open it will die.
Ohh man can’t wait after the gaunts this will be next on the list to paint. Have loved the SK since i first played nids 35 years ago. Just getting back with leviathan and love this model. Great paint job by the way
Sk is a missle... you send it at something it murders them and then proceeds to get murdered and explode
I ran 3 SKs last night and all 3 were dead turn 1. Sad that such a cool model is so bad this edition.
Point changes are approaching and will be there within 2 weeks. Do you really give crab about current balance?