I figure I might as well go big or go home for Round 2 of 'Ard Boyz. Lord Mazdamundi on Zlaaq Skink Priest lvl 1 on Ancient Stegadon Skink Priest lvl 1 on Ancient Stegadon, Cube of Darkness 10 Skinks with Blowpipes 10 Skinks with Blowpipes 10 Skinks with Blowpipes 10 Skinks with Blowpipes 27 Skinks w/ 2 Kroxigor, Full Command 27 Skinks w/ 2 Kroxigor, Full Command 3 Terradons 3 Terradons 3 Terradons Ancient Stegadon Ancient Stegadon So 5 Ancient Stegadons to run in and crush stuff. However, it is susceptible to Cracks Call, Pit of Shades and Purple Sun. Lord Mazdamundi is resistant to Dweller's Below though. I'm not sure how many will be taking Death magic though when Life and Shadow are very good options as well. What I haven't decided yet is whether to take Lore of Shadow or Lore of Life. Some advice would be helpful. In both cases, Mazdamundi is able to throw all his dice at whatever 6 spell I need. I'm not concerned about miscast result 5 through 7, marginally concerned about 8-9 (blasting my skink priests), somewhat concerned with 10-12. His soul of stone should help me avoid 2-4. Lore of Life gives me Dweller's Below, great against HE (assuming no World Dragon banner), horde units in general, and will instant kill stuff that can't pass strength tests (war machines). Also, I get regrowth and healing for my stegadons. And of course, Throne of Vines. Lore of Shadow gives me Smoke and Mirrors/Steed of Shadows tricks, Pit of Shades, Occams' Mindrazor (S9 within 18 of the general), and the hexes. Pit of Shades can kill large targets that are generally unable to get Look Out Sir. It just can't kill infantry models as effectively. What would you suggest? I'm leaning towards Shadow for maneuverability but Life is such a game winning lore as well.
I have fielded a Slaan with Shadow before and it works extremely well since you can reduce your opponents toughness prior to shooting or combat (or hitting with EoG) and the mindrazor is fantastic for skinks. However, given the theme of big monsters in your list that rely on impact hits and thunderstomps at S6, reducing opponents S & T isn't nearly as important to inflicting wounds so I think the lore of life is the way to go. This will also give several advantages that are, IMHO, very important for your list as a "defensive" lore is better than an offensive one given the sheer volume of high strength hits and crushing attacks. 1. Healing wounded steggies with the lore attribute or regrowth. Nothing quite as frustrating for your opponent as having to do 10+ wounds to kill a single steggie 2. making a T10 steggie is awesome while T6 skinks are actually survivable in combat and won't give up too much active combat resolution. This is very important if you are trying to break someone as they will be steadfast against your steggies but the skrox can deny this if they stay alive and in large enough blocks. 3. Dwellers is one of the best spells going for killing hordes and it is very effective against wizards. 4. The first scenario has great potential to hurt magic reliant lists with the potential for miscasts. Soul of stone is nice but not having a miscast at all on a 2+ will really keep Mazamundi in the game. The one area where the list might run into problems is the blood or glory scenario. If Mazzie dies, the list is at the break point but if he dies, it is likely the game isn't going too well anyhow Finally, if you have the models, it might be worth trading in some terradons for chameleon skinks to go after war machines. With the new "true LOS" rules, I find terradons die very quickly and even with vanguard don't survive very well. Conversely, a unit of 10 chameleons can generally kill a war machine with shooting or fight their way through several in a row if the crew are T3. This is particularly important if you are facing skaven with warp lightning cannons as WLC don't allow armour saves and do d6 wounds - the skink priests could die really quickly.
haha, this is why I am thinking of bringing my Dwarfs for round 2, at least they have cannons! I dont think my LM list would stand much of a chance against 5 Stegos. Would love to see that list in action. My only thought would be to drop the Skink/Krox units and one unit of Terradons and run 2 large blocks of Saurus (points shoulds be close). I just find Saurus with HWS have a little more staying power than Skink/Krox; but that is just my personal opinion, I have just never had much luck with Skink/Krox.
As much as I like saurus, here's stuff I might be facing. 4 Hydra, 3 Cauldron, Crone Hellebron, 3 units of 30 witch elves. Army runs up and punches you in the face repeatedly with poisonous attacks. I suspect there's a lvl4 shadow wizard that is making them S10. 2 Grey Seer, Screaming Bell, units of 70 slaves, 3 Abominations, lots of shooting. Combo is double dreaded 13th to remove your general's unit. Teclis, Banner of the World Dragon, 40 white lions, sea guard, etc. Teclis sits in a unit of spears while the White Lion with T7 moves against you (every turn it has T5 or better through Throne of Vines and Regrowth). Skink/Kroxigor units are immune to thunderstomp, which is a very nice plus. Also, the Krox hit for S6 which can get through T5/T6. I understand that Terradons aren't as great as they used to be. Killing war machines is nice but I was thinking mostly for drop rocks and increased maneuverability. If I go Shadow, I'd rather have terradons. If I go Life, Chameleon Skinks may be the better substitute. My main spell in shadow is probably Pit of Shades, much like Dweller's Below for Life. As for the first scenario, if you read it carefully, it says that on a 1, you roll on the miscast table. That's not the same as miscasting, which can be avoided with Teclis or Throne of Vines or used with Cupped Hands. Soul of Stone however only refers to rolling on the miscast table.
May I ask why the 2 EoTG? Did you consider using a Skink Chief BSB on an Ancient Stegadon instead of the basic Priest? This might help in three ways: 1) it's worse than just having to worry about losing Mazdamundi in scenario 3, if you lose one of the Skrox units before you break your opponent, then you give up victory points, and the BSB would add one more (still have to worry about Mazdamundi dying to a cannon shot or two, but it's a little better), 2) even Cold Blooded lets us down on leadership tests every so often, so it doesn't hurt to be able to re-roll some of them, and finally 3) The extra Ancient Stegadon shooting from the Skink Chief's Howdah seems peferrable to me over the redundancy of a second EoTG. Also, if you drop a unit of Skirmishers, and add a Brave to one of the remaining 3, you can fit a unit of 5 Chameleons in with the Skink Chief BSB I think. Outside of that concern, it looks like a very fast and unique list that would fluster a lot of opponents. I've never tried or played anything like it, but definitely see the wisdom of having 3 units of Terradons with the build (either shoot them instead of the Stegadons early or have them take out Warmachines if you're facing them, and be a pain the rest of the game). Just watch out for magic ruining your day (Pit of Shades, Purple Sun, Crack's Call, Curse of da Bad Moon, Cloying Quagmire, and even a Brass Orb or the new Tomb Kings' Stalker shooting attack could really hurt). EDIT: As a side note, the three armies you mentioned (or a close variation), seem to be common in a lot of locations. I played a Dark Elf list with that basic build in the first round of the prelims and a Teclis (using Shadow) list with 40 White Lions and two 40 blocks of Spear Elves (minus the Banner of World Dragon) in the third round. The Skaven seem to be a lot more variable, but the double Grey Seer (one having a Power Scroll) with a Warlord General or Thanquol + Grey Seer with a Power Scroll seems popular.
I can't take a BSB on the Chief because Mazdamundi counts as a BSB. As for the two Engine of the Gods, using two Burning Alignments can allow me to do damage without getting into combat. That or at least a 5+ bubble save. However, the switch to a Skink Chief would give me Initiative 6. For the 25 points it frees up, I would take (1) the Charmed Shield, Spear, and Other Tricksters' Shard; (2) Blood Statuette of Spite (for Teclis); (3) Potion of Speed and Luckstone on the Priest, Spear and Charmed Shield on Chief; or (4) Dawnstone for the Chief (re-rolls 2+AS). The Potion of Speed is insurance against Purple Sun, Cracks Call, and Pit of Shades. Going up to I7 gives me protection. Option 3 might be the balanced option. Option 2 is the gambler's route. It's a big win if Withering first goes off. But if I drop down to a Dispel Scroll instead of Cube of Darkness, I can take the Statuette, Spear, Potion of Speed, and Luckstone (or Charmed Shield). As for the armies, Life and Shadow provide very different styles. With shadow, I can do teleportation tricks, such as casting Pit of Shades and then teleport out with a skink priest or chief. That can save me from Cracks Call. Life is the use of brute force of course. So perhaps if I go with Shadow, I'll switch to the chief. Withering/Statuette is quite an impressive combo. If I stay with Life, the Priests might still be more useful.
I didn't realize Mazdamundi was a BSB. It sounds like you've got most of the logistics for the list worked out though. Definitely let us know how everything goes. It sounds like there are a lot of us in the semis, so hopefully some of us make it through to the final round. We've already got 18 confirmed at my location in May from what I hear, so it should be interesting.
IMHO, Lord Mazdamundi is a crap load of points for a level 4 wizard on a mount that gives you 2+ armour and gives you Ruination of Cities. That Ruination spell is nasty and I would love to have it, but to trade it for the ability to actually get spells off. You could very well put a slann in a block of Temple Guard and he has the ability to get a free power dice every attempt. So that helps when you roll that wonderful 5 on 2D6. So I am running a big stegadon army as well in round 2. The only thing I think your missing, is running your salamanders. Skinks/Salamanders are an Aboms worse nightmare same with the hydra. Anyways I would love a lot more discussion on this as I think we could easily put a very devistating list together to ruin someones day.
I thought that the skinks could be stomped. Does the entire unit get the immunity to stomp and thunderstomp? If so, where is that rule. I would like to have that information handy. Thanks
It is a mixed unit with some being monsterous bases. since you cannot stomp monster bases you cannot stomp that unit.
Bad Mojo, I was asking why you chose Maz over your standard slann in a block of TG? Also when you take terrodons and they drop rocks onto warmachines. You still have to randomize between the crew and the machine, correct? If so, I like my chances of 6 double shot chameleons rather than 3 D3 rocks coming down on them. Plus you will bet shot a lot prior to your arriving at there warmachines.