7th Ed. 2250 MSU-style Tournament List

I do like the looks of the krox & skink units but I don't find them all that effective. Anything that strikes back will rack up a ton of combat resolution on skinks, and while 6 move is nice they can't make a turn manouver which actually makes them very limited in their movement phase.

I will probably playtest them and see how they perform, sometimes stuff looks bad on paper but performs well on the table (and vice versa). I'll probably go for 1 krox & 11 skinks with no command. While the unit can't deal with ranked inf or heavy hitters of any kind its still great vs both large targets (several high S attacks + poison shooting) and fast cav that goes on the flank. It also only costs ~100 pts so if I loose it it won't give up many pts.

 

Yeah... I hear that a lot about striking back getting lots of combat res. But if you hit them in the flank... how much do they really have? Static 1 (banner) MAYBE 2 (if they outnumber). This unit has a static 6 if you get the banner and outnumber them (including the flank bonus). So lets just say 5 and assume they outnumber. That means you have to wiff all your attacks (kroxigor is going to kill something) and then they have to deal 3 wounds back. With 4 models on a flank that is statistically improbable. Since these guys are support you wouldn't want to charge them in alone, so if you have hit them in the front with saurus you're more than set.

What can deal enough damage to get crazy combat res back? Spearmen and anything with 2 or more attacks. Chaos Warriors do that, but usually people run those in groups of 12 so in all actuality you're attacking 2 on the flank. 4 attacks, assuming you don't get any wounds on them first. Spear men in a 5x4 are more menacing as they get 8 str 3 (empire) attacks since they fight in two ranks. If they pass their fear test, they get 4 hits. 2-3 of those wound and you might save one of those on a 5+. So, they have 4 or 5 and you have 5 or 6... but it doesn't matter if you have your saurus unit of front or anything else for that matter (stegadon, carnosaur, CoR, another skrox...). They might be somewhat hard to wheel but you only need them to turn a little as they're charging and then they can move 12 inches! 50% more than our M4 compadres and 20% more than skaven and elves. That's at least a 'free wheel' which turns you enough to hit the flank. Again, if you understand what to use them for they can be great.

They're fast and can travel with your heavy hitters (CoR, stegadons, carnosaurs) and have static combat res to make up for their lack of combat ability (somewhat... you're still getting 5 str 3 attacks and 3 str 6 attacks which is good for a lot of armies). Toughness tests will get you every time so watch out for those. Other than that... I feel like they are underestimated in a lot of ways.

If anything, 124 is not enough to really notice if they take casualties. 124 points for 14 wounds with 5 static combat res. 120 gets you 8 with terradons with no static combat res while 175 gets you 5 wounds with the CoR with no static combat res either... All of these models have a purpose and, while the skrox might not roll in and crush everything in their path, they can win that key combat for you and that's important.

 

It is true that if you get a flank charge with that unit, they will most likley win unless they fight really big elite units. You cant really count on getting a flank charge tho, a smart opponent wont let that happend easily. Also wiffing 3 attacks that hits on 4+ isn't very uncommon.

You cant fight with 2 ranks with spears if you get flanked attacked, just as you dont get parry save. Also wheeling has nothing to do with a turn manouver. The fact that they can't turn means once you deploy them, they are fairly limited in where they can go, even if they can reach wherever they are going pretty quickly.

The problem with the unit is that if it cant get into a flank because they have a unit in front of them or get charged by cav, the skinks are free combat resolution. WS2 and T2 makes them as tough as zombies. They are also not 124 pts for 14 wounds, they are 110 for 14 wounds (not sure if you like command on your units but then it comes to 132 and is worth 232 VPs). They can be a great versatile flanking unit indeed, but when they don't get an opening they can' really do much else. Their biggest strenght to me (purely theorycrafted tho as I havne't tested them) is their low cost and the fact that they are still hard enought to threaten flanks, if your opponent ignores them or underestimates them they will hurt.