[Spector]

Written by: willadams33

Carrion - Birds of a Feather

Overview -

Carrion are the fastest unit avalible to a Khemrian general. With the ability to fly 20 inches per turn and the potential to fly 20 inches in the magic phase they can move further per turn than pritty much anything else in Warhammer. Carrion take up a special slot in you army roster but make up for it with 2 wounds and 2 attacks each.


Strengths.

-Speed. As has been meantioned, Carrion have the potential to move 40 inces per turn, which is quite frankly amazing. This means that they should never get charged if you don't want them to be, and more importantly, have the potential of a first turn charge! This is especially true in a list lead by a Liche High Priest, as the shere amount of magic you have to throw around means that your opponent will be hard pressed to dispel all of your first turn urgancy incantations on your Carrion unit. A list with a LHP, 2 LP's and a Hieretic Jar has the potential to cast this incantation five times with varying casting levels, which will take some stopping!

-Surivability. Two Toughness 4 wounds per model is good, and skirmishing is better. This means that carrion are far harder to remove than most flying units, and can be raised back again!


Weaknesses

Unit Strength 1. Carrion are only Unit strength one so if you want them to play an active role in the battle, you need a unit of 5 minimum to grant you the magic Unit Strength 5. However, even if you do this, only one carrion needs to die before this is removed unless you raise them back. The problem is, any more that 5 Carrion in a unit and the unit gets unwhieldy not to meantion expensive in terms of points and pocket.

Base Size On a 40mm base, they are bigger than most flyers, meaning that usually only four at maximum will see combat. Also it means that they are not as manouverable as other flying units.

Take up a Special choice This is annoying. The blessing and curse of Tomb Kings is that all our special choices are worth taking. As Carnifexus said, once you have the mandatory two Scorpions in place, that leaves only two slots left at 2k for Tomb Guard, Ushabti, Carrion and another Scorpion. “Choice…The problem is choice.”


Basic Tactics

Mage/War Machine Hunting This is a favourite of mine. Use their speed to get a charge in on no later than turn two. Against war machines crew you should get 3 carrion in combat, and against a wizard, two. Carrion should be a match for all but heavily armoured Dwarf Artillery Crew and there are very few wizards in the game that Carrion cannot eat up for dinner. The drawback is that your Carrion are effectively sacrificed because of crumbling after a turn or two, so think carefully before committing to this trade off. However, if you need to establish magical superiority as quickly as possible, or can’t let your chariots out while there is a cannon about, then this is a worthwhile trade.

Charging to ensure a hold reaction. This is another sneaky ploy. There is nothing worse than your big unit of death charging your opponents key unit, only to see it run away? Charge the Carrion into the same unit, and there is very little change of the unit fleeing, as even if they are a Cavalry unit, the Carrion will catch them and cut them down more often than not. The Key to this tactic is the order in which you announce your charges. Make sure that the Carrion’s charge is declared last, as otherwise the unit (assuming it holds as you know it will have to) will align to the Carrion first, leaving little or no room for your big combat unit.

Crossfiring.A new 7th Ed tactic works wonders! Sit the Carrion behind a large unit you intend your Tomb Guard/Chariots etc to charge. Assuming you win the combat your opponents should flee right through your Carrion, and as long as you have 5 Carrion in the unit, the fleeing unit will be automatically destroyed from crossfire, leaving your other units to pursue or restrain as you require.

Small missile Units.Be Careful here. Your Carrion will suffer less from stand and shoot than most units as they are fear causing skirmishers, but make sure you charge them into a unit they can beat, you don’t want your Carrion to be bogged down. Dwarf handgunner’s are a no-no, but apart from that you should be okay.

March Blocking.This is Carrion’s best ability. Against an army you need to slow down they are invaluable. Whether it is Manfred Von Castein or Grimgor Ironhide coming towards you, slowing them down is a must. Again, your Carrion will probably be slaughtered eventually, but normally this is worth it. Fly them in behind the opponent and let him crawl towards you, giving you maximum time to get your charges prepared, and giving your Casket, Archers and Catapults the maximum time in which to operate efficiently.


Conclusion Flyers are incredibly important in 7th Edition rules. Their ability to crossfire and their speed means that they are invaluable. Carrion are more expensive than most flyers but have 2 wounds each and a higher toughness and the ability to move magically. Their drawback is that for less points you can have a scorpion which is better at character hunting. However, I think that Carrion, with their potential US5 and extra movement are more flexible and reliable than a Scorpion (remember all those times you have rolled a misfire on ICFB?) Merely the potential of a turn one charge is reason enough to take the Khemrian version of the RAF!