Hello all, I am new to the forum and I was directed here from reddit. I am planning on starting Seraphon and I was wondering if the Starclaw Strikehost, the Start Collecting box, and a Slann would be a sufficient start? Or should I skip the SC and buy more skinks and a Stegadon/Engine of the Gods? Also is the Troglodon on the making the most out of SC thread legal in most tournaments? It looks cool and I want to build it that way but I am worried about players not considering it as a Troglodon model. Also is there a good batch painting recipe for skinks using only shades/inks? Sorry for the barrage of questions.
Welcome to Lustria! The Battleforce and a Slann would be a great start. I would skip the SCbox for the time being. The Knights and Warriors are not optimal. As you suggested, Skinks and an EotGs would be much more useful. The Trogs legal status would depend on the Tournament. Most LGS would probably allow it.
@LizardWizard Thanks for your answer. In line with that, what units would you recommend I build with the Starclaw Strikehost? Coming from Ironjawz, the unit options are pretty overwhelming for me haha. I was considering building every flying model as ripperdactyls and build the troglodon and oldblood on foot. I am lost on what is the best option for the skinks and the bastiladon.
Most ppl do build 6 rippers from the flying side; you can build units of 3 ripper + 3 terra for the variety but the sheer damage of 6 rippers makes it kind of hard to argue for building anything else. The trog/carno kit is kinda wide open imo; all 3 are fairly equal that said most build it as one of the carnos due to the sheer hitting power and strong command abilities of both those units. The trog isn't poor exactly just slightly the 'weakest' of the 3 from the kit re skinks & basti Skinks: Boltspitters + Shields. The more melee combos just aren't worth it as skinks can't kill much of anything in melee. Best use of skinks is to close into around 12-14 inches. Hit things with Boltspitter (16" range) then use wary fighters to stay out of melee if counter charged/attacked. Their more of a screen/distract unit than a melee powerhouse one Basti: Bit more open but most build the Solar engine version for the longer range wound potential
Skinks with blowpipes and shields are the most generally usefull variant and easiest to use. Bastiladon: take the solar engine first. The ark is a decent option, but more niche. Rippers and Terradons can both work decently enough with rippers being the more popular option. Unless you desperatly want to optimise your army just pick whichever you like most. For the oldblood on foot my preference goes for the warspear. It has the highest volume of attacks of the rend options, allowing it to average out more reliably. The actual average output of all weapons is the same though. As for the SC, it might be a nice box to get for some summoning options given that you already have a slann. Might not be optimal, but it is a fairly cost efficient way of fleshing out your army a bit more, especially when relying on summoning. Depends a bit on how much money you have to burn though
The old blood on foot is such a poor character and crazy expensive points wise, can never recommend him in any way, he is not even part of any battalions. Getting a Carno from the christmax box is the best deal with the current rules from a gaming perspective, as it is decent but not great and all the other stuff is our best units, while the SC box as mentioned has a bunch of underperforming units. Going for warriors requires huge horde units to become anywhere near useful, and building and painting 40 man blobs is rarely super interesting when starting out, compared to paining dinos. If it was me right now, I would wait with painting the skinks for the release of contrast paints, that should allow you to get them playworthy super fast!
So, are the roles of Ripperdactyls and Terradons just different, or are Terradons just overshadowed by Ripperdactyls completely? I like the look of the Terradons more, and though I wouldn't be making any lists for more than casual play, I wouldn't mind winning sometimes haha
They fullfill (roughly) the same role. Rippers have better stats, both offensivly (especially near a toad) and defensivly (shield vs no shield). Though the difference isn't extremely big. The terradons are supposed to rely on two things to make em stand out compared to the rippers - ranged attacks - Their boulders However, their boulders are unreliable at best. The maximum output is quite good, but they average only 1 mortal wound/terradon and have a 50% chance of just not doing anything whatsoever. It makes them a rather risky option. Their ranged attacks are a bit better, they're not super powerfull, but it is enough to be a threat. This used to give them the ability to threaten a hero hiding behind a screen. A squishy hero would've needed to stay out of their range or risk accidently dying to a couple of Lucky attacks. However, now that they've changed ranged weapons so that you can no longer shoot at far away enemies while in melee they've lost this utility. So neither of their two "advantages" really stands out anymore. And already being a tad weaker than the rippers to begin with people tend to prefer the rippers. Also it helps that rippers are pretty much only used in a shadowstrike host so they'l nearly Always get to fight under optimal conditions near their Toad. Makes em look a lot better than they actually are Having said that, terradons should be fine in a casual game. It's not like they're a broken unit or anything of the sorts. It's just that rippers near their toads are rather good and that works well in a shadowstrike host.
Rippers are combat only and have a high volume of attacks. They are only at their strongest when accompanied by a Bloat Toad. Terradons are flexible with decent short ranged missile weapons and moderate combat stat lines. Instead of being tied down by a Bloat Toad they get a once per game Mortal Wound bomb. Both are great units. Both act as fast attack flankers and are mobile threats. Rippers preform better in the Shadowstrike Starhost, but Terradons are normally what I summon with my EotGs after turn one.
Same here. I never used Rippers and I still win most of my games. If you like them better and don't go to tournaments you should build them IMO.
Rippers are a great choice if you are willing to pour a lot of buffs and spells on them. they are crazy good if used right