Renegade Infantry Platoon
Renegade Infantry or derogatorily known by loyalists as "Scabs" are the standard foot soldiers of the Lost and the Damned. These fighters are drawn from innumerable sources from renegade militia to traitorous Imperial Guard, to simple workers and misguided fanatics with stolen weaponry. Just as their origins vary, so too does their skill and dedication to Chaos. Their leaders often place little value on these warriors, spending their lives in battle with no remorse. They are not to be confused with Cultists as Renegade Infantrymen are often 'fresh' recruits and mostly come from Imperial Guard regiments, unlike Cultists who are much more steeped into Chaos worshiping and can actually have some useful buffs for allied detachments. Being as skilled and well equipped as your average Guardsman is actually a sign of Eliteness among the Lost and the Damned, probably because most Chaos Lords couldn't be assed to provide a proper training regimen for their troops, much less do boring shit like manage their logistics so everyone has properly fitted flak armor and is using the same marks of lasgun so Traitor Timmy doesn't load the wrong mark of power pack into his lasgun and make his lasgun explode because the Machine Spirit promptly threw a bitchfit in response.
So they aren't standardised, and their effectiveness usually depends on whether they hailed from an elite Guard academy to your literal backwater, cousin-fucking country bumpkins. If they came from the former, you can at least expect them to carry the standard issue Guardsmen Flak Armour, alongside a Lasgun, Combat Knife and Frag or Krak grenades as well as the occasional Incendiary Charge. If the latter, than they will most likely wear a literal t-shirt, alongside whatever primitive scrap they could get across like a Sling, Bolas, Flails, Swords, Axes, Warhammers, Spears/Halberds, Knives, Handbows, Bows, Crossbows, Flintlock Pistols, Muskets, Blunderbuss, Stub Guns, Shotgun Pistols, Sawn-Off Shotguns, Hand Cannons, Pump-Action Shotguns, Stub Rifles, RPGs, or more rarely, Autopistols or Autoguns. So yeah, their equipment varies a lot. So pray that your bag of disposable meat are NOT dressed for Comic-Con, or your Chaos rebellion is fucked ten ways to Sunday.
Needless to say, their life expectancy is pretty poor. In a setting full of cannon fodder whose existence is mostly to catch bullets and die so more important shit doesn't, the Renegade Infantry is among the lowest on the totem pole with literally no base armor, BS2 and WS2, and the courage of a bedwetting eight year old nerd challenged to a fight after school by the local bully. But hey, always more heretics to gloriously take bullets lest the traitor legions' thrice cursed power armor suffer the fate of having their most unholy paint jobs chipped by small arms fire right?
Renegade Infantry Veterans[edit]
Of a higher calibre than most warriors of Renegade armies, infantry veterans are often traitorous Imperial Guardsmen, highly trained private armies, or mercenaries. Such troops are irredeemably steeped in the vile influence of Chaos, given to foul practices and abominable rites intended to secure the favor of their Dark Gods. Which, given that you can count the number of named non-Astartes Chaos Lords who have appeared in canon with your hands probably doesn't happen very often.
Variants[edit]
In Darktide, Renegade Infantrymen were given a massive facelift and muscle lift. Rather than bed-wetting edgelords, these guys can be quite dangerous if underestimated. They come in multiple variants, which can be seen here:
Scab Shotgunner[edit]
The Scab Shotgunner is one of the most common special enemies you find in Darktide. As its name implies, these guys wallhug their shotties like there is no tomorrow. They were most likely former members of an Imperial Guard Scout Squad, although in Darktide, they were ex-members of the Moebian Sixth.
Shotgunners do heavy damage with their shotgun at close range, which can very quickly destroy your Toughness and Health bars. Fortunately, dealing with these idiots isn't too hard as they slowly advance towards your position....in the open, making them painfully stand out from the rest of the horde and easy to take out.
As such, despite being designated as 'special' enemies, they behave more like cannon fodder and are only truly dangerous if there is so much shit being spawned in your area that you may accidentally missed them and end up kissing the front-end barrel of their shotties. Still, a couple of them can be dangerous, especially if they somehow manage to isolate you and corner you in a hail of pellets.
Nevertheless, by themselves, they are really easy to take care of. They are only protected by Flak Armour and don't last too hot against concentrated fire or a stab to the face. The fact that, for some reason, refuse to take cover and stand out like an idiot makes dealing with them so much easier.
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Scab and Dreg Shotgunners
Scab Trapper[edit]
The single most annoying motherfucker in Darktide and that's saying something when you have Mutants and Pox Hounds in the game. Like their shottie brothers, they were most likely members of a Imperial Guard Scout Squad, although in Darktide, they were ex-members of the Moebian Sixth.
Scab Trappers as their name implies, specialise in trapping, cornering and immobilising its target to be captured alive if possible. They carry around a specially modified Webber called a Net Gun that replaces the unorthodox webbing material with a cheaper and much easier to maintain and construct electrified net.
Their ability to immobilise players is already bad enough, but the electrified nets also slowly damages the player over time whilst he/she will get ganked by Poxwalkers and other cannon fodder. Moreover, these sneaky bastards are absolute pussies that would rather run away than directly engage in glorious melee combat, meaning that they are able to sneak up and immobilise the entire team.
Definitely one of those enemies that should have his anus shanked in the most righteous fury on first sight. Fortunately, they only wear Flak Armour, but nevertheless, fuck these guys in the ass on first encounters.
Scab Gunner[edit]
The 'vanilla' of the special enemies encountered in Darktide. Gunners are your standard rogue infantrymen which carry around Hotshot Volley Guns to put potshots at you in the game. They were most likely members of a Imperial Guard Infantry Squad; however, the fact that they are carrying Stormtrooper weapons seems to indicate otherwise. In Darktide, they were ex-members of the Moebian Sixth.
Gunners have one of the most basic AIs in Darktide. Their modus operandi literally just consists of them aiming and shooting from afar. Nevertheless, they ain't on the same levels as the sheer idiocy as their Shotgunner compatriots since they at least have the brains to fire from the backline in front of a horde of meatshields and are known to take cover from time to time. They will target players with rapid medium-range fire that can stagger you and does considerable damage, which can escalate into a serious problem if there are several of them outputting so much Dakka.
By far one of the more balanced enemies in the game, Scab Gunners offers just the right amount of lethality and difficulty to the players. Once you go up close and personal to them, they don't really last too long in combat, although they will try to defend themselves in CQC, so that makes them have more balls than their Trapper counterparts.
Like their loyalist counterparts, Gunners are equipped only with Flak Armour, so taking them down isn't too much of a hassle. But again, caution must be taken that they can fight back in close-quarters combat.
Scab Flamer[edit]
Do we even need to spell this one out? These guys carry around Flamers (Duh) and act as the shocktroops in Darktide. There is actually two variants of Flamers, the normal Scab variety and the Dreg Tox Flamers. They were most likely members of a Imperial Guard Infantry Squad or a Special Weapons Squad, although in Darktide, they were ex-members of the Moebian Sixth.
Scab Flamers act as aerial-denial close-range shock troopers meant to deter players from entering their field of view. They are quite heavily armed as their Flamers can deal serious overtime AOE damage and their flame effects removes all of your toughness, leaving you vulnerable to further health damage and staggering effects. Likewise, crossing the ground that has been lit on fire can also damage you if you cross over them.
Compared to the Dreg Tox variety, the Scab Flamer is actually less lethal as their flame effects don't last as long as the latter. Nevertheless, it is best to deal with them at a longer range unless you can sneak up on them. Alternatively, if you are a crackshot, you can target their fuel tanks and watch the fireworks.
They wear Flak Armour as per tradition, although their fuel tanks and heavier load mean that they actually resist damage better than usual. Still, not a unit to be treated trivially.
The more 'elite' variant appears in the Kill Team tabletop as a Blooded Traitor Gunner.
Scab Bomber[edit]
One of the most dangerous variants of renegade infantrymen in Darktide. Scab Bombers are your residential heretical grenadiers who really, really love their grenades. As such, they often strap themselves with 10kg worth of Frag Grenades and Incendiary Charges to throw at their enemies. Due to their armaments, they may have been former Breacher Teams that turned to the darktide, although in Darktide, they were ex-members of the Moebian Sixth.
Scab Bombers are your game's cover denialer, specialised in committing acts of Squad Broken and breaking up the cohesiveness of a unit. As aforementioned, they have a hard-on for grenades and are known to stay their distance to chuck either frag or incendiary charges at you. For frags, it is designed to break cover and deal explosive damage, but you should look out for their molotov cocktails incendiary charges which can cover a wide area in flames; dealing aerial denial and moderate damage. In a wide-open area, you can get away with prioritizing other targets if needed, but in more enclosed spaces, they can be very dangerous and should be prioritized.
They wear Flak Armour making them easy to take out. Fortunately, their grenades glow like fucking moon slime, so picking them out in the middle of a horde frenzy is pretty easy. Blow their brains out on the first sighting, as they can get incredibly annoying to deal with.
Their more 'elite' counterpart is the Blooded Traitor Brimstone Grenadier.
Scab Sniper[edit]
BOOM HEADSHOT! One of the most dangerous renegade infrantrymen in Darktide. Scab Snipers used to be part of a Sharpshooter team for the Imperial Guard before they defected, although in Darktide, they were ex-members of the Moebian Sixth. They are all armed with Long-Las to blow your god damned brains out.
In a combination of their range, ridiculous accuracy, insane damage and their habit of camping out in the furthest parts of the map, Scab Snipers are one of the most dangerous mooks you can encounter in the game. These Sam Fisher lookalikes behave somewhat like the Trapper, but unlike the Trapper, he has a good reason to run away when you get close. Once he believes he is in a safe enough position from you, he will aim sniper shots at you. Fortunately, you can see where he is aiming from his laser sight, so the game can avoid the unfortunate situation that plagued Halo 2 vis-a-vis Jackal Snipers on Legendary. This gives you a short window to dodge the shot. If he lands a hit on you, you will take massive damage - on higher difficulties, a couple of these shots can be enough to take down a player.
As such, these guys are a priority target to be taken down. Fortunately, they don't wear Flak Armour so they are as strong as tissue paper, unfortunately, as aforementioned, they like to camp in faraway places so one of your friends needs to be a good crackshot (and likely running Veteran Sharpshooter) to take them down as fast as possible.
Their more 'elite' variant is found on the Kill Team tabletop as the Blooded Traitor Sharpshooter.
Scab Mauler[edit]
The god damned Berserkers of the team. Scab Maulers are melee specialists designed only for RIP AND TEAR. They do not seem to be part of any member of the Imperial Guard as the Guard don't typically have melee specialists unless they are Ogryn. Although their Carapace Armour may indicate their past as former Stormtroopers, although in Darktide, they were ex-members of the Moebian Sixth. They all carry a Chainaxe for combat.
As aforementioned, these guys love melee, immediately giving more testicles than the Scab Trappers. Whilst their attacks are relatively slow allowing you to dodge, if they hit, they hit HARD, immediately taking a chunk of half your health in a single attack. Fortunately, these guys seem to share the same level of intelligence as their Shotgunner brothers, which is simply slowly walking in front of the player and ignoring all cover. Unfortunately, this also means that they are a wonderful form of a DISTRACTION CARNIFEX as more than one usually appear in a wave and are tough enough to actually close-in on you due to their armour.
Therefore, concentrated fire is needed to take them down due to the aforementioned Carapace Armour they wear. On the other hand, they do have an odd weak spot on the chest, so any strong swing from a melee weapon can easily take them down in a few hits.
Tabletop[edit]
A Renegade Infantry Platoon simply consists of 3-5 Renegade Infantry squads (one of which will serve as the command squad), which are fairly sub-standard infantry (WS/BS2 guardsmen). These squads are incredibly flexible, can be taken in squads of up to 20 models (30 for the Master of the Horde), and are dirt cheap to add to (3 points), can be upgraded to WS/BS 3 at a flat rate, which ends up being 1/2 point per model on a 20-man squad. One per 5 can take a special weapon, or a Vox-caster or Chaos Sigil. The Sigil is a must as it’ll keep your unit on the board no matter how bad their LD ends up being, so after that you’re probably good to start stacking up special weapons. One per 10 can be upgraded to a heavy weapon team giving them even more guns.
The Infantry Veterans are priced the same as Disciples, but are Troops and lack the Fanatics rule. They cannot take any heavy weapons, but for every 5 models, you can get a meltagun. 10 in a Chimera with 2 Meltaguns is 45 points more than the infantry squad above, and instead of being BS4 like Disciples, they’re WS4, meaning they want to get in combat, but in the end, they’re still only getting two S3 attacks.