Hi guys An old player here returning to the game. I have been a lizard player for a long time, and i have an almost entirely metal 5th edition army. Im coming into AoS having played a few games, and i quite enjoy it. I have a tendency to play with the models i like, and since i both like dinosaurs and dislike the mostly derpy saurus models, i am planning on going with a skink heavy army. I've come up with the list below, I know it may not be the most competitive but i would like it to be a reasonably strong army. My regular (probably only) opponent plays wood elves, and is tactically pretty good (no sylvaneth except for a treeman and dryads). I typically play pretty aggressively, and so i think a generally alpha strike style suits me. Heroes Skink Starpriest Skink Priest (trappings) Saurus Astrolith Bearer The theory is that the starpriest and priest will help to buff the cavalry/rippers/troglodon in the alpha strike attack, with the astrolith to provide additional support. I was contemplating whether 2 starpriests is better than a startpriest and a priest. Battleline 2 x 5 saurus cavalry (spears) 10 saurus (maybe 10 skinks instead or 5 saurus guard) I really like the old skink horned one riders, and so the plan is to convert skinks to be riding the dark elf cold ones because the lizardmen ones are terrible. the cavalry will head towards a medium toughness target, to take advantage of the spear charge and the priest buffs to stick around a bit. the idea behind the saurus is to provide a defensive bodyguard around the hero cohort, which is why i am considering whether 5 guard might be a better option. Monster Troglodon Bastiladion with crystal I already have a bastiladon painted and i think its a pretty sweet model. It also provides me one of the few ways i have to crack tough models. and with its defense i plan to shoot down tough enemies while holding a flank. The troglodon is also an awesome model (not painted so changing to a carnosaur is possible) and since it is actually viable in AoS id love to play it. Ive seen people say that it cannot compete with the carnosaur but is it really that bad? I plan to throw it at the blendiest targets, wherever they may be. Other 2 Salamanders 3 skink handlers 3 ripperdactyls The Salamander models were my favourite from 5th edition, and while i dont like the current ones as much they still hold special memories. It should be obvious that they will be going after the toughest enemies, as they always have, with a few handlers to help. The rippers will be going after those hard to reach squishy targets at the back, or opportune targets in the frontline if they present. Unfortunately i havent found a place for two of my favourite units (kroxigors or stegadons), but as i dont have the models but already have pretty much all of the above i can add them later. That is unless i find a way to squeeze something else out to add them in. the rippers could be replaceable, but the finecast kroxigors worry me. As i mentioned earlier, i will be playing pretty casual and wont be going to any tournaments, but id like the army to function pretty well and be reasonably competitive. Any suggestions will be welcome. Cheers.
Welcome aboard! Looks like a decent army, I think the Astrolith is kind of wasted here, not completely mind, it's a great unit, but with only a single one spell caster, I think you would be better off going with a scar-vet on cold one for your saurus knights and warriors. Not a tournament list, but you should still have a close game. As far as trog vs Carno for 200 points the trog is absolutely worth it. They serve very different functions so a straight up comparison isn't too helpful, but in my opinion the Trog is worth the 200 points.
Thanks for the comments. I take your point on the astrolith bearer. If i wanted to keep the astrolith would it make sense to swap the priest for another starpriest given they are the same cost, or is doubling down not a good idea? Another idea could be to change to a saurus on cold one as you suggested. I could then drop the skink priest which would give me enough points to bring in a unit of kroxiger. I dont know whether this is leaving me too hero/magic light though. My opponent usually plays with a unit of sisters of the thorn and a spellweaver, so theres not a lot of magic flying around.
Two starpriests isn't bad, as you can use 1 for mystic shield and the other for starlight. However celestial rites can't be countered. I guess it would cone down to what you find more useful. The kroxigor would be a fun option there as well. They will do alright against the sisters, though they are better against 1 wound hordes they should be able to take some cav.