Lord Slaan w/ Cupped Hands, Focused Rumination, Lore Master, and BSB (Life) Heroes Skink Priest w/ Dispell Scroll and Iron Curse (I'll stick him in the block I feel most likely to get hit by warmachines) Scar Vet w/ Halbred, VotFF, and Armour of Fortune (goes with Saurus) Core 1 X 30 Saurus Warriors w/ Full Command 3 X 10 Skink Skirmishers Special 2 X 6 Chameleons 1 X 21 Temple Guard w/ Full Command Rare 1 X Ancient Stegadon 2K on the nose. The Skink Priest can go in which ever block needs the Ward Save against Warmachines (I play Dwarfs pretty regularly now) I deploy the TG/Slaan center with Saurus and Steg on each flank. The Skinks are set up to deflect and harass and the Chameleons hunt WM and lone models.
Looks ok, though a little too many skirmishers for my taste. Would rather go with 2x24 Saurus, the Chamo's are so much more effective at shooting then the Skirmishers anyway.
which lore do you plan to use? if you ligth you dont really need the iron curse, just cast the boosted version on phas protection to protec both units from warmachines (warmachines shots are lost on 4+) im also worried about your flanks. except for your skinks skirmishers, you dont really have any defence so you will propably be outflanked finally, with 30 strong saurus you dont really need a scar-vet to support them. i would trade him for a pair of razordon (4 artillery dice as stand and shoot will guarantee your flank remains safe.) but your srategy will greatly change depending on what magic lore youll use, so inform us all ill give you more feedback
i might have missed it to but anyway, since your going to use life you dont really need cupped hands, since throne of vines (obviously the first spell cast) will negate any miscast on 2+. you really have big blocks of troops for facing dwarves, so maybe reducing your saurus unit from 30 to 25 and use the spare points on either a flank protector or a flanker to support your saurus. kroxigors would do the job, since str 6 will crush the heaviers dwarf armored units.
I agree with dropping the Skink Priest and the Cupped Hands, not that you're 100% safe from miscasts with Life, its just a lot of points to be spending on something that is unlikely to happen. Should your opponent dispel Throne of Vines just cast your spells with 1 maybe 2 base dice + Rumination and miscasts become very rare. Other than that I think its a quite good list. Except that I would still prefer 2x24 Saurus instead of some of the Skirmishers. Squeezing in atleast 1 Salamander might be a good idea aswell.
Dropping the Scar Vet is an idea I may play with. Salamanders were good but since I've been playing at 2K they just seem to have lost their luster. Cupped Hands is my safety net and I also use it to snipe enemy Wizards as much as protect mine. 45 points to force an enemy to roll on the miscast table is worth it to me. If I IF Dwellers on a unit then drop the miscast on the same block there is a good chance the unit will no longer be their.
Yeah I guess its a matter of style with Life and Cupped Hands. I like to cast as many spells as possible to maximize Rumination and run a very safe style, just relying on Cogitation to deal with enemy wizards within 24" instead of Dweller's. Not that I don't cast Dweller's, but typically not without Throne of Vines. Dropping the Scar-Vet would mean 0 magical attacks, might give you a real problem against VC.
i`m just wondering. Why do you use an halberd on your scar and not a great weapon? You alway`s strike last, but with our low In. you will do anyway.