So, which do I take? Slaan 275 3 Disc Rum Mast Cog DS Scr, Life 20 Temple Guard F/C Ban Et Flame 30 Saurus F/C 2 Salamander H-packs 5 Chameleons 5 Chameleons 10 Skink Skirms 10 Skink Skirms 10 Skink Skirms OR Slaan 275 3 Disc Rum Mast Cog DS Scr, Life 20 Temple Guard F/C Ban Et Flame 28 Saurus F/C Scar Vet Light armor+shield (with the Saurus) 2 Salamander H-packs 5 Chameleons 5 Chameleons 10 Skink Skirms 10 Skink Skirms I have the first list as my main one, the only difference is the scar vet in the second list to make the Saurus hit harder. I may have to deal with artillery (dwarves and empire) or regen monsters (DE and skaven aboms) so I am not sure which way to go. I figure its about buffing the troops keeping them alive until I get lucky in a magic phase and have a high PD pool. Thoughts?
I'd go with the second list. If you want some points for the Scar-Vet to have some magic items, consider dropping Mastery for the Plaque of Tepok. That way you still have 5 spells. You'll have to drop the Dispel Scroll to do that though. But at 1600 points you will probably be fine without it.
My big fear with doing that (plaque 5 spells vs. all 7) is that I might not get throne of vines, which is what a life Slaan's strategy centers around isn't it?
Yah, pretty much. That's the risk you'd be taking. Your chances of not getting it are pretty darn slim though. You roll for 5 spells out of 6 and if you get any doubles you can pick it freely. My advice would be to grab 5 dice and roll them a bunch of times. That way you can see for yourself how often you roll Throne of Vines or how often you don't get to pick. If you don't feel comfortable then I would just stick with the list as is. The Scar-Vet will add a decent amount of punch to the unit without any gear. Plus if you get Flesh to Stone on his unit he'll be T7 or T9. Not too shabby.
I would also be wary of only having one caster. Nothing is worse than miscasting on turn one and then not being able to compete in that phase for the rest of the game. You might want to add in a cheap skink priest...
This is me, I had to change my account. The point of the Life Slaan is that he is immune to miscasts due to throne of vines. I am wrestling with taking the cupped hands to compensate for smart dispells, but really if I took a Skink Priest he would be Heavens (lore) and be a waste of points. I see your point. I thought of getting rid of the Scar vet and putting the DS scroll on a skink. Then I would get rid of Becalming Cogitation and take the cupped hands. I am leaning toward this, that way I have more of a safety net.
I'd toss in an Iron Curse Icon for your TG Champion or Slann. Course I say that to everyone like a broken MP3 player. You mentioned you are expecting artillery and you don't have any Stegadons so your Temple Guard will attract most of their fire in all likelihood.