Having a little friendly tournament in a week or two with some friends and am returning to my Lizzies after starting a Skaven army (boo, hiss, I know). The list is CC-heavy with decent magic and enough annoyances to get my units into the fight fast. My usual list is very character orientated but after watching them all die horribly to a lvl4 HE Death mage, I'd like to break the mould! What'd'you think; L: Slann (Light), Mystery, Focus, BSB, Banner Discipline, Protection of the Old Ones H: Priest, Dispel, Cloak of Feathers C: 20 Saurus, FC C: 20 Saurus, FC C: 10 Skirmishers C: 10 Skrimishers S: 20 Temple Guard, FC R: 5 Chameleons R: 5 Chameleons R: 1 Sallie, extra snack R: 1 Sallie, extra snack It's a simple list with a symmetrical set-up. The priest stays well out of sight and bounces where I need him to get off the low-range Light spells. After his Dispel Scroll is used up and my army is in CC he becomes useless and if he dies getting off a rear charge for some extra combat res points in an important fight, so be it. I've gone against Scar-Vets in the favour of more bodies, do you think it'll work? Thanks in advance!
A fairly balanced list overall. My only comment on the slaan is that the plaque of protection is wasted. He is in the 2nd rank and already has a 4+ ward and look out sir protection so anything else is overkill. IF the skink priest is just a scroll caddy and focus point for MM, I think the points for 2nd level and the CoF can be dropped and used elsewhere since it can march 12", which gives the skink pretty good mobility. This could buy a magic banner for the TG plus a couple more troops. Also, since you are facing HE, a unit of skrox might be a good option to replace a block of saurus. They move fast and have extra shooting which can really hurt high elves. While the skinks give up combat res like crazy, I have found that I have been able to get them into flanking positions thanks to their extra movement, which makes them quite effective with saurus or TG over the front.
Thanks for the tips. The Slann actually has the protection from miscasts item, cupped hands, not the protection from missiles plaque. My bad. The priest is a lvl 1, but I hadn't really thought about his march movement. The cloak is probably a little overkill. Which banners work well with TG? Flaming (for grave guard)? Nothing else really jumps out... I've tried Skrox, but I find that the skinks are just too squishy and they end up running away more often than not. I do wish I could squeeze a few more skirmishers in for the HE but the little units of chamos will cause havoc I'm sure! If I did drop a saurus block, I could bump the remaining group to 24 and maybe put a unit of 16-20 skinks + 2 Krox on the table. Do you think that would work well against VC too?
Given that the point level is only 1800, two large blocks of tough infantry is likely to be sufficient. The skrox do well against HE and, in my experience, are decent vs vamps as well if you use them in the flank or to take on varghulfs, corpse carts or skellies. Worst case, I have tossed skrox under the bus with a suicide charge to kill a vamp caster to help with the magic phase (6x S6 attacks usually does in a vamp thrall). Alternatively, you could drop one block of saurus, boost both the TG and remaining block and then use the excess points for more skirmishers. Ghoul hordes are the biggest threat I have found in a vamp list, especially when backed by the helm of command and corpse cart for ASF. Another idea would be to drop the skink priest and give your slaan cogitation to improve magic defence. This frees up even more points for other things and there is nothing like stealing 6s to ruin your opponent's magic phase!!
Modified list (because the ethereal slann has really been working for me recently!); L: Slann (Life), BSB, Cupped Hands, Higher State, Mystery, Focus, Potion of Speed (5 spare points, if I think I see a dwellers/pit of shades coming my way; I drink the potion) H: Priest, Dispel Scroll H: Priest, Cube of Darkness C: 24 Saurus, FC C: 24 Saurus, FC C: 16 Skinks, 2 kroxigor, standard, musician C: 10 Skirmishers C: 10 Skirmishers S: 5 Chameleon Skinks R: Sallie, snack R: Sallie, snack The solo slann floats around giving Ld-boost where needed and getting off the better life spells. Priests shut down enemy magic phases (If I could afford an extra 50pts on my lord I would give him cogitation to do the skinks job better. Unfortunately, I can only afford 3 gifts and I can't convince myself to give any of them up! Comments? Advice?). 3 solid blocks of infantry (Skrox run as flankers), plenty of stuff for my Slann to hide behind and some sallies to keep the flanks clear. It's not as balanced a list as the one before but I think it should still stand a good chance! I know for a fact that I won't be facing hordes of ghouls so the pressure is off vis-a-vis the VC Will the HE's just tear me to pieces? *EDIT* Right, I just read the text on the potion of speed. Only lasts until the end of my turn, not the beginning of my next so it's a tad useless. Anyone got a better place for 5 spare points?