KoW Salamander Army Review

As I promised I'm doing a review of each unit in the Salamander Army so you can get an idea of what to expect and how to squeeze the most out of every unit.

+Salamander Primes

Salamander Primes are the core of the army, and they are probably one of the best infantry there is. I think they are designed to be fielded in hordes, let me explain why:

- Their attack progression is Troop/Reg/Horde - 10/12/25 so IMHO fielding a Regiment is not worth it, just two attacks more than a troop, better field other kind of regiments (Ancients come to mind quickly)

- They only hit on +4 so to hurt the enemy fast you need a lot of attacks, Ancients hit on +3 so their 12 attacks are much more efficient and they can't be wavered.

- The worst thing about hordes is their footprint, they are so huge that is really difficult to maneuver and most importantly charge without being hindered, that happens when you charge through difficult terrain of obstacles, rendering the charger -1 to hit. Salamander Primes have a rule called Pathfinders, they ignore difficult terrain to all intents and purposes. That is a HUGE advantage in KoW, specially for a unit the size of a Salamander Horde. They can March through difficult terrain, and best of all charge through it. This last thing is important for defensive purposes, salamanders are not fast so I would use them as a huge anvil, they perform as tar pits extremely well, just position them in a way that if the enemy wants to charge you they have to move through difficult terrain, or place them in the edge of a forest or any difficult terrain but leave some of the terrain in front, when the enemy charges you they will be hindered and won't do much damage and then you can countercharge in your turn an start grinding, with the advantage of not being hindered, which is a huge advantage.

You have the option to equip them with two handed weapons, they loose one point of defence but gain CS2. I think that they don't really need it, and in fact the role of the primes is to be a huge tar pit. If it suits your play style though, do it.

+Salamander Unblooded

This are supposed to be younger Salamanders, the only reason to take them over the primes is that you need the points. Other than that I would not recommend them. There are MUCH better options to spend your points in.

+Ancients

They are the elite infantry of the Salamanders, they can only be taken in troops or regiments sadly. You might be tempted to field a troop, seeing as you only get 2 more attacks for the regiment but don't do it. This guys are supposed to be grinding kings. They can't be wavered and Nerve 17 is quite good. Also they hit on +3 that is amazing, paired with their CS1 they can take out almost any enemy.

Once again they can be equipped with two handed weapons in the same manner as the primes. It really depends on what you are facings and how you plan to use them, but thanks to hitting on +3 it might be worth it.

+Corsairs

They are Pirate Lizards, there is no more cool things than that. Can only be deployed in Troops, so they are a support unit. They are really like Unblooded with Guns, having the Vanguard rule is really nice as they can be in the enemies face fast but not having pathfinders kind of spoils it for me.

They are an alternative to the Ghekkotah Hunters, a more fighty hard version, If you plan to field our special character, Firebrand, then they are worth it, other than that I personally don't like them.

+Ceremonial Guard

They are a better version of the Primes, equipped with Spears, that give them phalanx, and 3 more attacks. Mathematically their wound ratio is the same as the Ancients, but if you take into account a hindered charge or an enemy with ensnare things change. Also they have one point less of nerve and can be wavered.

They are only an alternative to the Ancients if you are expecting to fight against cavalry and in that case I would just equip my Horde of Primes with the Orcsbain’s Amulet of Thorns that grants them phalanx and laugh as my opponent tries to maneuver out of the way of that huge block. But if you feel you need more anti-cavalry or don't want to spend so much points in a unit then take them.

+Ghekkotah Warriors

Ghekkotah warriors are a very controversial unit for me, they don't seem very good, they are not pathfinders, they hit on +5 which is rubbish to be honest and their deffense is pathetic. Good thing is they are cheap, not cheap as goblin rabble which should be the equivalent in combat strength and that bothers me. Let me explain:

Goblin Rabble horde has this stats:

Unit Size Sp Me Ra De At Ne Pts
Horde(40) 5 5+ - 4+ 25 19/21 125

Ghekkotahs for 40 points more have:

• 1 more Speed
• 1 LESS Defence
  
• Same Nerve
• Vicious (They re-roll the natural 1s to wound)
• They are not Yellow-Bellied (When they charge they have to roll a die and if they roll 1 they cannot charge)
  
• +5 Attacks

They are not bad by any means but I think there are better options to spend 165 points, combat wise. The thing is in KoW to be able to field Monsters (and trust me with Salamanders you want them) and heroes yo need to unlock them, works like this:

HORDE Unlocks:

• 1 Hero
• 1 Monster
• 1 Warmachine
• 4 Troops or irregular units

REGIMENT Unlocks:

• 1 Hero OR 1 Monster OR 1 Warmachine
• 2 Troops or irregular units

So what Ghekkotah are really good at is unlocking the juicy options for a lot less that using Salamanders. I play a thematic Ghekkotah army so I use Ghekkotah Hordes to unlock a lot of options for a small amount of points, and a unit with 19/21 Nerve and 30 attacks can be used to hold a unit for a couple of turns or kill some small units, I use them in combination with Hordes of Tyrants (Kroxigors) and they are amazing to hold big hordes on the front and flank with the tyrants or viceversa.

But Ghekkotah warriors shine when fielded in Regiments, they cost just 100 points, deliver 20 attacks and are quite expendable. Use them to flank units that are being hold by your anvils and watch the enemy stop laughing at them when they do 40 attacks or to capture objectives or hunt units or clear out chaff.

+Ghekkotah Hunters*

I like the hunters a lot, I have the problem though that every time I have choose something shooty to spend 100 points in, if I have the space I go for a lekelidon.

They are really fast, and vanguard is amazing on them. If you want your opponent to have some extra trouble with them, make them chameleons for 10 extra points and just annoy the enemy shooting units. I wouldn't go for the bows though, too expensive and you can't really move and shoot, and that is the whole point of them.

Another amazing use is to screen your Rhinosaurs, they move at the same pace and if they are charged they will be killed, leaving your amazing Rhinosaurs a free run and its no big deal as they are cheap. Not the cheapest chaff out there but its almost the only thing we have really.

+Fire Elementals

I wasn't hoping much from them, as I prefer my Tyrants. But with surge they just performed really well when I tried them, the key here is that you need Surge for them to be really good, and Surge is a 35 point option on the Mage-Priest, It can get expensive.

Great option when there is a lot of difficult terrain or you are facing a lot of flyers or a very fast and manoeuvrable army, but to get full advantage of them you need Surge. Other than that just take Tyrants, they are much better for just 10 points.

+Tyrants

Amazing unit, they can withstand a terrible punishment in combat and still fight back. They are your can openers, they can take down the hardest unit the enemy has. You need to protect them, not that they are flimsy but they can be overpowered if you leave them alone, specially againts units with high nerve that can lock them for a lot of turns.

+Ember Sprites*

I like thins things, they can't hold a charge but they are not meant to. They are a really cheap source of Breath attacks, and they have vicious. Nice.

+Kaisenor Lancers

I really like them, I would like one more point of defence or have nimble if I'm honest but they pack a punch are not expensive. They are fast and with CS1 on top of the TC1 they can grind better than most cavalry units. Take them in regiments.

+Ghekkotah Skyraiders*

I loved the terradons back in the day and I love this guys now. They are fun to play, but be aware that if they get charged by almost anything they will be killed. They should move to the rear of the enemy and clear out war machines, individuals or attack to the rear for triple attacks. They shooting is quite nice, I like them in Horde mode If I have the points, if not I prefer the Skylord for the same amount of points. But if you don't have the space to field another hero a Regiment can do the trick nicely.

I hoped to be able to field a heavy flier list but then I realised they are irregular (*) so they always count as a troop for the purpose of army building, sad day that was.

+Ancients on Rhinosaurs

This guys are probably one the best Large Cavalry units you can field, not many attacks but my god they are good. CS2 plus TC2 means that you will be wounding ANYTHING on +2. In a Horde charging they deal 18 attacks that hit on +3 and wound on +2, I like the sound of that. On top of all that goodness they are Brutal, Oh I like them very much. Pricey but amazing, just don't let the enemy get them disordered and you will be routing a unit a turn if used well. Just imagine charging the front of that defence 6 dwarf regiment and completely destroying it in one turn, I love it.

+Komodon

Our version of an artillery weapon, I tried it but it's just not reliable enough for me, you need at least two focused on the same unit to do something useful and those are just too much points and too much monster slots, and that is where you hit the critical point here. Monster slots are very precious for us and there are things that just don't make the cut for me, if they counted as war machines I would field them for sure.

If you are fighting against a high defence army, you can consider them instead of the lekelidons. One thing I like about him is that not being a war machine if the enemy gaings threatens you rear you could charge him with the Komodons on his rear, 9 CS1 blast attacks sounds good to me.

+Greater Fire Elemental

I fell in love with this thing the first time I used it, not as hard hitting as the hordes with just 8 attacks but his high nerve and his crushing strength 4 make him a real killer, specially against high defence units. You will wound everything on a +2, amazing punch.

Also as a bonus he has a 6 dice Breath Attack.

+Lekelidon

You have to like this Monster, I like to take them in pairs and concentrate their fire power. Just don't field them opposite to your enemy shooting units or they will not last long.

+Fire Drake

For 160 points you can have an amazing Breath (16) weapon that packs a punch on the charge and won't be destroyed easily. Who doesn't like that. When I use it I almost never charge, you can deal much more damage just toasting things.

+Ankylodon Battle Platform

I like him in paper, but I find it hard to get into combat with the unit I want, he was outmanoeuvered every time. My mistake is usually deploying him on a flank with hopes of controlling it, and it does in the end with his shooting but it just seems like a waste of points sometimes.

That being said it's almost immortal if you take care of it. Just don't place it in a place where he can be charged by units with high Crushing Strength. I will be fielding it again this time trying to make better use of his huge defence in the centre of my line.

+Clan Lord

Standard Inspiring hero, he is nice and hits hard. You can have him mounted on a raptor for speed or a Fire Drake to create a real beast. If you are going to do it, invest in it, take him with wings always and if you can put the Ensorcelled Armour on him to create a devastating Defence 6 killing machine.

+Herald

Once again a very typical standard-bearer. Cheap source of inspiring. A trick I do is to use him a a cheaper alternative to a Mage-Priest with Inspiring. Just put the Diadem of Dragon-Kin on him and voilà you have a 20 points cheaper Mage-Priest wannabe, you just loose Elite. If you need the points its nice.

+Mage-Priest

Nice wizard, comes with Fireball as Standard which is nice and can get Heal, Bane Chant and Surge. He is Elite, and that is amazing.

+Battle-Captain

One again a standard non-inspiring hero. The only point of using him is to mount him on a Rhinosaur. Other than that a bit pointless.

+Ghekkotah Clutch Warden

A very expensive (for me), kind of explorer hero. Its only usefull if you field a lot of Hunters so he can go with them and give them inspiring. Other than playing a stealthy list I can't see a place for him. For that points I just prefer a Herald with the Diadem or the Healing Charm.

+Ghekkotah Skylord

He is in my opinion our best hero, points wise. He is quite cheap, flies, can shoot very well, can fight quite well too and he is usually really annoying, I just love it. If you have the space for two just take them.

Just don't be a fool as I am and charge the first thing you can see.

+Firebrand [1]

If you take her (yes it's a HER) you are obviosly planning on taking a lot of corsairs. She grants Fearless to any corsair Unit within 6", that means that while they are there they cant be wavered and being also inspired they turn to be a very hard nut to crack indeed.

Thanks for reading!!

 

Brilliant, can a mod sticky this for us

 

You are too kind

 

Just one thing that I'm stuck on, got the rule book but all the units you mention are not in the book, is there a pdf I'm missing?

 

No just the 2nd edition rule book, so do I need "The Uncharted Empires" book?

 

I would say you don't really need it. Its just army lists in there not much more. You can use, as almost everyone does the online builder. That's what I do, I have the book and apart from reading it once I haven't even touched it.

 

Ok treat me as dumb, do a run through of the army builder I've looked at it but not gone into any depth with it, I spent 2hrs last night measuring movement trays and trying to assign them to "Troop", "Regiment" etc

 

I will do it today in the lunch break if I have the time. I'm having a lot of work lately, not that I'm complaining seeing how the economy is here...

 

I love it, but I'm always cautious when I have to spend so much points in a single model. The problem is thinking that it can go head to head on a combat against other dragons out there, and the truth is it can't. He is strong but not the strongest hero out there, just don't go mad with him.

Also, take the wings and go for the ensorceled armor for defence 6, that will help a lot.