I’m Getting Into Stalking

My alien rams close on their foe

The grating clash of metal on concrete rings sharply as I move up the alley, the shadow cast by the dark alley obscuring me from my chosen victim. As the rain lashes down onto my carapace, I slowly edge forward in anticipation of the kill. Making sure as not to spook my target, I ready myself before preparing to spring. The intense feeling of energy heating inside for my weapons almost causes me to surge forward, and I use all my will to restrain myself. I can see it now; the gleaming metal hull shining resplendent in the dusk, its sheen emphasised by the storm. I realise it doesn't know I am there, and with glee pounce out at my victim internally screaming:

“STOMPSTOMPSTOMPZAPZAPSTOMPZAP!!”

Warning systems blared out at the Odin pilot, and while twisting the hull of her warmech 180 degrees to face the alien she chuckled condescendingly as the impending ‘threat’ emerged from the alley. Hitting the mental trigger she let loose her Railgun into the bulbous body of the Stalker, reducing it to nothing more than a smouldering wreck within seconds.

Such is the life of a Stalker. You spend an age hidden in the dark preparing and scheming and deciding when to pounce, only to bounce off your opponent. It is an un-rewarded, painful existence really. As far as units go, you’re not really anything special, and will very rarely earn any accolades for heroics. You do however, bring something entirely different to the warzone…

Since I first posted on using the Stalker I have at least eight games under my belt with it and feel I have a good understanding off the unit. I have even developed a strong like for the unit, and it is in fact in my current tourney list! So, let’s run through its good and bad points, starting with the bad.

What’s not so great about Stalking?
In a nutshell, it is what you think it will be when looking at the stats. The threat range is quite frankly awful, and due to their short move getting into position is also awkward. This will result in a lot of dropship hopping, which can be dangerous depending on what kind of AA is in front of you. It is the closest a Scourge will ever feel to being PHR! They are also very one dimensional; they kill tanks, and that is it. They are bad at killing infantry, completely impotent against buildings (which is a huge selling point for the Hunter, who are excellent at it), and average versus skimmers.

One larger issue for me, more so than the lack of utility, is their points cost. I would rather have a 40 point unit with 2 DP for one simple role: focal point grabbing. I’ve said it before, but it is so important that I’m going to say it again! A squad costing a mere 81 points sounds great on paper but is inefficient at securing FP’s. This is such an issue because the Scourge need more units to grab FP’s. Outside of Ground Control we have a hard time contesting these objectives, and only a serious amount of planning (and a lick of luck) can give us a chance. Yehyeh, I know that’s a major part of the game, but even PHR are good at this task, and that’s saying something… So what is great about Stalking?

I’ve made a pretty convincing argument as why not to use them, right? Well I have secrets to tell you, whispers and tellings that no one but Scourge players should know… I’m going to assume that
players for all other races have now gone, as we have lovely honest listeners, so let me lean into your ear and tell you my sultry secrets…

What is great about Stalking?
Stalkers are worth taking for every reason that you don’t see on their stat line. Let me lean in a little closer and explain. Stalkers don’t have range and that is a fact. It is a fact that everyone knows, especially your opponent. This means you will typically end up with two situations; the enemy come a little bit closer to the unit, or just ignore them completely. Either of these maneuverers will suit you, assuming that you have set up to take advantage of this. Opponents deploying units close to yours is always beneficial for a Scourge player. Even if your Stalkers are out of range you are likely to have a smorgasbord of nasties knocking about (Reavers, Oppressor, Hunters, etc…) that can take advantage of your enemy being four or five inches closer to you. Because of their weak effective range, the Stalkers can often lure your opponent into a false sense of security which can then be taken advantage off. If however your adversary decides to ignore them they will pay in blood (well, grease and metal). I noted before that Stalkers will only kill tanks, but dear lord do they do it well. This post is being written at Critical Engagement (in a refereeing lull), and whilst I have been typing Mega Mike’s Stalker squad just took out Oppressor in one round of shooting. An Oppressor! That kind of firepower is a UCM’s wet dream!

In addition to all of this they also give the Scourge a bit of a backbone, and if your enemy decides that they do want to get rid of them they have the ability to soak up a fair amount of firepower. To kill three Stalkers your opponent will have to commit at least a couple of squads to it which occupies them from other, perhaps tastier targets.

I am a fan. They work wonders with the Oppressor (I haven’t tried them with a Desolator, but I think Hunters would work better with her) in that they will draw targets away, or can help by laying down the hurt along with it to take out those big targets. In regards to deployment, I would advise parking them within their threat range of your opponents units but behind a building out of LOS. This will make your foe either react or ignore them, and then plans for your future turns can be built around this. The rest of your army will be fast enough to react to however your enemy perceives the threat level of the Ram-Crabs. You will lose them every now and then, but typically it is going to be a worthwhile sacrifice. If you don’t own any pick some up and have a go, they will rarely let you down!

My original post also featured the Slayers, and this post will be coming soon my friends. In the meanwhile if you have any experiences of your own with Stalkers or any questions please comment below!