i think stegadons are a mistake. when people talk thunder lizard they always have stegadons in their which i think is a waste for those exact reasons. they a slow, have a 4+ save and only have rend 1. Dracothians tail is, to be honest, using salamanders efficiency in cost to get the job done and falls down to high pressure as it always has without copious screens. Dracos tail list tend to want to play the long game and pick out a target to send sallies out at. Im all for the bastiladon thunder lizards. just 1 bastiladon with the right support can be one of the best points scoring units in the game. A hard to kill monster that has good, long range shooting damage. Also nerfs the monster meta by reducing damage by 1. So far i think these things make a well crafted thunder lizard a better option to get high scoring wins than a starborne list
If you just look at the hero and shooting phase then no probably not, but if you also consider the shooting you can do in the charge phase (both yours and your opponents) and the melee damage done by razordons, salamanders, and the EOTG it starts to add up. Is it enough to "win games"? I'm not sure yet, that will require significant testing. You're probably not going to be wiping your opponent off the board, but with summoning and teleporting you will own the board, which is a lot more valuable for scoring the primary objectives and Battle Tactics. I agree about regular Stegadons, they cost too many points and have too high of an opportunity cost when you account for all the support buffs they require. A Stegadon Chief in Thunder Lizard can do an absurd amount of damage. My TL list has EOTG + Bastiladon + Stegadon Chief + Salamanders and it works really well so far.
See ive gone for less monster heavy, just bastiladon and a carnosaur which allows for a good number of screens and full cast of support heroes to max out the potential of the monsters i do have
I personally wouldn't play endless spells as getting the range increase. 19.3 makes it pretty clear endless spells can't be affected by abilities and I think that stretches to the spell that summons them as well, especially considering the context of the older faq and that it's a single warscroll. If you and your opponent both read it as being able to get the range extended, by all means. But I wouldn't just spring that on someone and I certainly wouldn't play it that way in a tournament without getting a prior ruling from a judge. It also just straight up breaks a lot of spells, like shackles as you mentioned. To be on topic, I've been using dracos tail extensively and haven't been using kroak. I think miscast and his wound ability makes him a liability and let's you go leaner with the regular slann for more bodies. I think it just requires a certain amount of finesse because there's a lot that can go wrong and it's still relatively fragile.
So I was watching the honest Wargamer's latest tournament reaction and he had mentioned that Seraphon took 2nd or 3rd in three different tournaments where one was fangs, one was DT and one was TL. The point being that all three of the sub factions seem viable and able to do well at major tournaments. I really don't think one is so much stronger than the other, unlike last edition where fangs was just better than the others.
In regards to Endless Spells and our Astrolith Bearer, I play them as having added range for two reasons. One is, there is nothing saying it is not legal, the 19.3 part of the rules states "an endless spell cannot be attacked or be affected by abilities." which is vague and can be interpreted both ways honestly. The other reason is that, unlike in 2.0, 3.0 warscrolls for endless spells all use different wording for where they are put. Once you beat the cast value, you no longer place them within a range (as in 2.0 where the added range wouldn't work since it is not a cast range, but a placing range, plus it was directly answered later on) instead every single warscroll has the wording within the range of x". To me, it is clear, though I still clear this up with every opponent I play versus, or a judge at a local tourney (I'm small fish, nothing larger than a gaming club thing). Now, on to other things. I feel like trying out a list like this in my next weeks match versus Gravelords, on a scenario The Vice. I usually run KC lists, where I feel I'd be really pinned back all the time to prevent mass skeletons popping from graveyards, or knights ambushing, or flyers descending onto my points. While Scaly Skin is really good versus all the characters Gravelords has to offer, and the reduction of damage versus mentioned Knights is good, I feel that the threat of a teleport or two would go a long way in securing my board presence on a scenario like The Vice. Any tips versus a hero heavy list from Gravelords on such a map? Using the list posted first? EDIT: I'm fairly certain my opponent will run Neferata, Vhordrai, Coven Throne, some dogs, a unit of knights, a unit or two of Vargheists, and who some other random stuff.
Endless Spells cant be effected by abilities but that only applies once they are on the table. The core rules state that the spell to summon them is a normal spell for all intents and purposes. Since the summoning spells list a Range in their description, effects that boost casting range will work on them. I dont think there is any ambiguity here.
Older faqs are completely ignored, the endless spell is the model itself and they each have a spell on the warscroll to summon then. Being a spell it can therefore be affected by things such as range increase
You can find it on tabletop.to, release the beast event. but the list is this Allegiance: Seraphon - Constellation: Thunder Lizard - Grand Strategy: Prized Sorcery - Triumphs: Inspired Leaders Slann Starmaster (265)** - General - Command Trait: Arcane Might - Spell: Stellar Tempest Saurus Astrolith Bearer (150)** - Artefact: Fusil of Conflaguration Saurus Scar-Veteran on Carnosaur (215)** - War Spear - Artefact: Amulet of Destiny (Universal Artefact) Skink Priest (80)*** - Universal Prayer Scripture: Heal Skink Starpriest (130)*** - Spell: Hand of Glory Skink Starseer (145)*** - Artefact: Incandescent Rectrices - Spell: Bind Endless Spell Battleline 5 x Saurus Guard (115)** 5 x Saurus Knights (110)*** - Lances 5 x Saurus Knights (110)* - Lances 5 x Saurus Knights (110)* - Lances Units 2 x Salamander Hunting Pack (240)* - Reinforced x 1 Behemoths Bastiladon with Solar Engine (235) Endless Spells & Invocations Geminids of Uhl-Gysh (80) Core Battalions *Hunters of the Heartlands **Warlord ***Warlord Additional Enhancements Artefact Artefact Total: 1985 / 2000 Reinforced Units: 1 / 4 Allies: 0 / 400 Wounds: 100 Drops: 12
Out of curiosity, why did you choose Rectrices as an artifact for your Seer? Might Ixti Tendies on your Slann be a better option for some more insurance on miscast, failed unbinds etc.?
Then it can also be cast through spell portal. And I think "endless spells can't be affected by abilities" is ambiguous enough to refer to both the spell and the entity. But can definitely see it both ways, which is why I hope it's faq'd. In the mean time, it's just not an interaction I'd feel comfortable using at the table and definitely one I'd get clarity on for a tournament. I understand old faqs are gone.
No, you still have to set them up within range of the caster. Unfortunately you can't use vassal casting or a spell portal to summon endless spells further away than the setup range, since those abilities just allow you to measure distance and visibility from another point but don't change the location of the caster. The spell to summon an endless spell is not the endless spell model. Abilities that increase casting range do not effect the endless spell, they effect the WIZARD using the spell to summon the model. As per the sidebar in section 19, "The spell used to summon an endless spell is still a spell for rules purposes". Since it lists a range characteristic in the summoning spell, and since the summoning spell is a spell for rules purposes, the range is increased.
"Range, visibility, and effects can be measured to the endless spell not the caster." I mean, i can definitely see what you're saying, but it's about as clear as mud. And that would be why for the time being i'm not using the range extension. That's so ridiculously complicated and unintuitive it's ripe for NPE. There's also the added layer of GW going out of their way to qualify some abilities that reference "spell" as not impacting endless spells. I'm not trying trying to start an argument. I'm just saying I think it's a pretty gray area from a raw standpoint, and grayer if you try to take intent into account. If both players are cool with it, that's all that matters. But it's certainly not something i'd just spring at someone on the table or plan on using in a tournament without previous clarification. Just my opinion/how i'm going to play the game. Was literally thinking of bringing this exact list to an upcoming tournament. You're enjoying it, it sounds like?
Got reroll from the trait and i want the starseer to have a chance at life, it offers a choice for my opponent rather than it being taken out and having a decent knock on effect on the army
I will start off by saying that I am having trouble fitting Kroak into my list for numerous reasons (points, death mechanic, realmshaper limits). That said, I don't think he is that vulnerable to miscasts IF you get even one reroll on him for casts each hero phase. I am still wishing I owned a vanilla slann, or at least an old model of Kroak that I can proxy in, though...
Eh I dont fear or respect the miscast. It will happen and it sucks when it does but something we all had to learn in WHFB is that the opportunity cost of a miscast is less than the benefit you gain from having that wizard on the table. And this was back when WHFB would kill your wizard and straight up summon a demon to eat you. I kinda feel the same about kroaks wound mechanic. It will happen and it will suck, but its a dice roll. Play well, dont throw him out to die, and he will do far more good on the table than his chances to die or miscast. Especially in DT where he is a big damage source to support salamanders and aid in summoning more. I dont sweat it. I just keep doing my thing and if it happens it happens.
i have, i lost the game but it was winnable. went after him with sallies and bastiladon when archon has lost buffs, the bastiladon alone got about 6 wounds rolls through and archaon made all 6 4+ saves. happens in a dice game but that pretty much put me on a losing path in the game