Scorchilla is an aggressive Green-red unit which can produce large amounts of attack every 3 turns.
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Strategy[]
Scorchilla is an aggressive unit that deals a lot of damage, but with a long (3) Build time and cooldown through 3 Exhaust. It can be used two common ways as a primary (synchronized) attacker: either alongside other attackers such as Tarsiers to merely increase breach pressure on the on turns, or to go the full mile and buy only synced Scorchillas so as to deny 67% of absorb. Either way, a burst from enough synchronized Scorchillas can be all but impossible to defend against without efficient random set soak such as Polywall.
Scorchilla's efficacy comes from being a 3 attacker, but with 2 extra attack being upfront, which cuts opponent's tempo, roughly matching the extra cost over a 3 constant attacker, that being about 3.5 in . The attack being Click then gives a large advantage early, and against lifespan and very inflexible defense as well.
The problem with going full-synced Scorchillas (ie. deny absorb by having no other attack) is that this makes it innefficient to buy Scorchillas every turn, as two-thirds of them will have to wait 1-2 turns before attacking. So how do you fix that problem? The answers comes through other units in the set. Combos are listed below.
Combos[]
Most effective
- Protoplasm - Provides powerful prompt defense and deals controlled burst damage. Excellent to buy on the turn before your Scorchillas fire. One of the main enablers of the fully-synchronized absorb-denying strategy, as you can buy Scorchillas for two turns in a row and then buy a Protoplasm when the first ones are about to fire, forcing out a lot of defense, but then hold back both the Scorches and the Protoplasm while buying another Protplasm, denying absorb and threatening even massively more damage next turn. The opponent will likely crumble before the onslaught of sudden pressure.
- Gaussite Symbiote - Aside from being an efficient way to get both constant attack and the you need for your Scorchillas, the click ability of Symbiote becomes much more powerful in a Scorchilla set, so much so that when you have a few synced Scorchillas and you detonate all your Symbiotes at the same time it's not hard to have 30+ damage out of nowhere, which is usually impossible without The Wincer.
- Endotherm Kit - You get to buy this at the time your first two Scorchillas hit 1, which is really nice. It's a single-time buy, which is a downside, and it's possible to lose to a faster kit or a high econ build that features something like Hannibull. However, a 28 damage (counting the freeze) threat around turn 11-ish is both very doable and very powerful.
- Nivo Charge - Something to buy just before a big synced Scorchilla turn. Pressure in Prismata only gets better the more you already have, and Nivo is one of the most brutal sudden pressure units in the game.
Medium
- Frost Brooder - Another brutal pressure unit, but not a bursty one as it needs time to reach full value.
- Cluster Bolt - Same notes as Nivo Charge.
- Tia Thurnax - Scorchilla + Tia is actually kind of awkward to use, but both units are bursty. This one is more of a "If you plan to go Tia, might as well throw in 2 Scorchillas" type of deal. It does enable you to not sync Scorchillas and have them still be good purchases, which is nice.
- Perforator - You buy Perforator on the turn you can't by any Scorchillas. You attack one with the Scorchillas. And then when you need to buy more Scorchillas, you leave Perf back to die.
- Frostbite - Works well with Scorchilla, and can be conveniently bought on the exhaust 2 turn and come into play on time.
Least effective
- Arka Sodara - A well timed Scorchilla allows you to outmanuever your opponent and buy Arka first without an Arka in response. Powerful when it works, but not a Scorch sync supporter.
- Cryo Ray - Costs green, and isn't that bursty. However, strong unit is strong.
- Feral Warden - Yes, it's an attacker. The unit is really good, and gives you defense without using B.
- Immolite - Different clock from Scorchilla, but a fairly good bursty attacker that you get to buy on the 1 turn. Not great, but effective enough.
Counters[]
- Xaetron is the only absorber that gets full value against fully synchronized attack strategies. It essentially absorbs for 11 by healing during the off turns. Even if you don't go the full mile and mix in unsynced attackers, having less damage on the off turns makes it much easier for the opponent to absorb on something other than Xaetron and thus get extra value.
- Mahar Rectifier, Omega Splitter, Arka Sodara. Efficient attackers and defenders that are limited only by the fact that they have to pick which one they are doing. This limitation is very minimal against Scorchilla, since you defend on the Scorch turn and attack on other turns, thus the absorb denial is less painful than if your absorber is a pure defender like Energy Matrix. Doomed Mech and Chieftain are a risky proposition against Scorchillas as even if you time them to die on the right turn the opponent can hold back all the Scorchillas for one turn and deny tons of absorb if your units are on 1 lifespan.
- Hannibull, Infusion Grid - Efficient defense that needs to be prepared in advance. Scorchilla gives you this time.
Openings[]
In low and mid-econ Scorchilla sets, the following opening is very common for Player 2:
- DD
- DDC
- DA
- 2x Scorchilla + 8 gold
You can spend your red on 2 Tarsiers the turn after, preventing your opponent from getting any absorb until the first Scorchilla hit.
This, however, avoids the Absorb denial. A better play can be buying 2 Scorchillas the turn after, holding 1st pair to block on one's Fragile body.
Player 1 may outvalue rushing with High Econ:
Player 1 High Econ burst. Vivid Drone (1).
- EE1
- 11
- DDDD
- CA1
- Scorchilla +TCD
- 2x Scorchilla +AD
- TTTT
- R...
This produces a large Attack burst.
Player 2 High Econ burst. Vivid Drone (1).
- EE1
- DD1
- DDC1
- CA11
- 2x Scorchilla +CA
- 4x Scorchilla +D
- TTTR
- RRRF...
This produces a burst of 23+ Attack if unimpeded. Player 1 will lose if going for Turn 4 Scorchillas. Perforator improves the opening, Protoplasm wrecks it.
Player 1 Auric Impulse (1) rushing.
- 11
- CCA
- x2 Scorchilla
- x2 Scorchilla
Needs an Absorb and Defense enabler, such as Perforator.
Player 1 Auric Impulse (1) delay rushing.
- DD
- D1
- CC11
- AA11
- x4 Scorchilla
- x2 Scorchilla +1
Needs a Red sink, such as Perforator, Gauss Charge.
Change Log[]
- September 18th, 2015
- February 15th, 2015
Replays[]
- Kru5h vs York, win through Endotherm Kit, Wincer and Scorchillas synchronized.
- mrguy888 vs terranimba, win through synchronized Scorchillas and Nivo Charges burst freeze.
- Redrame vs Awaclus
- OMGBentley vs Redrame
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