Scarabs

Scarabs are a common Nod "infantry" unit in Command & Conquer: Rivals. They are bug-shaped suicide bots which normally walk, but in order to attack, they fly into the air to gain momentum and ram their target.

Background
Scarabs are a result of Nod's experiments with Artificial Intelligence and will launch themselves without hesitation at enemy formations. These impacts tend to destroy both the Scarab and its target. Ambush enemies with pre-placed Scarabs, as their light armor makes them poorly suited for frontal assaults.

Abilities

 * Immune to Tiberium fields.
 * Dies upon attacking, creating fire that damages any ground unit.
 * Dies upon attacking, creating fire that damages any ground unit.

Game unit
A unit like no other, Scarabs are an infantry squad whose members turn into projectiles once enemy units move in too close. Before attacking, they take time to set up. They are able to effectively target both ground and air, and only the most sturdy armor can survive attack of both Scarabs. The splash damage they deal is especially devastating to squad units. After the attack the Scarabs leave a fire patch on the target tile which makes it difficult for the opponent to move their units into the strategic points even when all Scarabs have already attacked. This gives time for the new squad of Scarabs to reinforce the defense line. On paper, Scarabs are the ultimate unit.

The most useful role for Scarabs is guarding pads and harvesters. They can also be used to rush a double harvester opening, since a pair of Scarabs will take down a harvester. Even if the harvester manages to escape, the Scarab will be able to disrupt the Tiberium income.

Although Scarabs are strong against all types of units, they have a lot of weaknesses. Any long range unit will be eventually able to take them out. Since they are effectively a pair of projectiles, any two units, even a pair of wounded War dogs, will be able to get rid of them by provoking an attack on themselves. If an anti-infantry unit catches Scarabs before they set up, they will be able to destroy Scarabs with ease. This makes Scarabs near useless in the early game if the opponent is scouting early.

Scarabs themselves are not able to push into defending units, so they rely on other units to gain ground so they can set up.

In the late game the value of Scarabs increases as the population cap becomes more relevant and sending two cheap units into scarabs becomes exceedingly difficult. The scarabs defend the pads from sudden flips by Repair drone, Drill pod or Jump jet troopers. When only one member of the squad remains, it should be pushed to the front lines to free up a population slot for the next Scarab unit.

Scarabs damage all the units that are on the target tile, therefore if an enemy unit is flying over a friendly ground unit when the scarabs hit it, both units will get damaged in the explosion.

Although they can destroy structures like Minigun turret and the Obelisk of Light, Scarabs are not suited to attack the base, since it would be very difficult to get seven Scarab squads over the whole map unchallenged.

If Scarab attack speed is boosted, the second Scarab in the squad will start attacking the same target as the first one, even before the first Scarab reached the target. If the target has low health, the sacrifice of the second Scarab will be for naught.

Changelog

 * 2018-07-25: Vision range increased to 2 (was 1)
 * 2019-07-31: Cost increased to 40 (was 30)

Trivia

 * Scarabs emit electromechanical sounds.
 * This type of unit is not found elsewhere in C&C universe.

Videos
Scarabs baited to attack friendly units