Tutorial Dinosaurs in the Desert, a Lizardmen vs Tomb Kings Tactica

I would rate the stalkers at XXXX. In the last week I have played 8 games against tomb kings and my opponent took them all but one time. Even though math says stalkers shouldn't do that great, they do great. Even though our monsters are protected by skinks, they die easily. The stalkers seem to work just like sallies, they either misfire or hit just right (and by just right I mean 20-30 hits). And with 20-30 hits it's easy to roll 5 sixes. They are also good at sniping solo slanns. The shooting is magic attacks and they are quite good at hitting just right. The only ways I have found of dealing with them is magic and a unit of skirmishers.

 

How many of them did they run in a unit? 20-30 hits seems like a lot, i would like to see averages on that. I guess you could run 6, but that makes It Came From Below even more precarious for them. Or do they just deploy them and shuffle them forwards? Once again, this is the only unit in the book i have never played with or against, so this is the hardest one for me to review. I did do a lot of math on them, and i cannot really see how they can that dangerous.

 

I may have been over exaggerating on the 20-30. It was probably more like 12-18. My opponent usually had 2-3 units of 3. But even with just 12-18 hits it is easy to roll lots of 6s.

 

Hm yeah ok, sounded like that as well. If you have a unit of 3, you average on 5.5x3=16.5 hits. That equals 16.5/6= 2.75 wounds. It is pretty annoying, and only really strong against the solo scarvet and the solo slann. If they start shooting at TG or other Sauri, you just kinda laugh it off and are ok with it. Let's get back the ratings i made for units:

XXX: Moderate. These are the mainstay units in a TK list that will have to do at least some damage to mitigate their points cost, and often enough they are more than ready to do just that in a battle against LM. From this threat level onwards you should note where your opponent deploys these units and react accordingly.

XXXX: Strong. Expensive, or crucial units in a TK list that are either really good at what they do or that are often part of the core of the enemy strategy.

With these calculations in mind i still think they belong in the XXX category. They are not really good at what they do ( i mean, there are other units in the game such as cannons or bolt throwers that are a lot better at character sniping, i would consider those really good at what they do) and they are not core of the enemy strategy in most armies. I do not see lists build around them like i do with the Sphinxes or Snake Surfers, and losing them is never that big a deal for the enemy. They in my eyes still belong in the XXX category as they can do some damage to mitigate their points cost and that you should keep not where your opponent deploys these guys (or more like, look at where they could pop up with It Came From Below) and react accordingly, ie, i would put my Scarvet in a unit against these guys in some cases. You could get that crazy RNG rolling 6 6s to wound killing something like a Carnosaur, but on the other end of the spectrum your opponent could also roll a lot of Missfires kiling his own dudes in the process, so i think that these extremes cancell eachother out pretty well .

Also, i am really glad that i put explanations with my ratings, ratings are pretty pointless unless they specifically mean something i guess!

 

To be honest I think this spell is deserving of a XXX. It effectively negates 33% of wounds taken and that can really swing a battle. Also, as you mention, it can be bubble cast, thereby potentially swinging multiple combats. Additionally, it triggers the lore attribute. Drop in a King/Prince for WS bonus, cast this spell and all of a sudden that squishy skeleton unit isn't all that squishy.

This spell may also be a worthy candidate for a XXX rating. Spells that mess with enemy movement can be game changers. Casting this spell on large units of slow infantry (Saurus or Temple Guard) can have a huge effect. Taking D3 off of movement 4 is pretty big. While it can be ignored, I wouldn't say that it can be easily ignored. Remember that every member of the moving unit must take a dangerous terrain. Losing 1/6th of a large unit can have a pretty big effect.

I think you are correct in this rating. Sepulchral Stalkers can be very good, but they are also very unreliable. Some games they can be MVPs but in other games they won't even show up and give free victory points to the opposition. They are great against certain units (low initiative, high armour, expensive) but not so good against others. I don't think they are quite as dangerous as the units you listed as XXXX.