I love my Old Blood and I don't want to put him up. What are some strategies and items I could use to make sure he is still a force to be reckoned with on the field?
I would take a dawn stone, tricksters helm, sword of swift slaying with shield and light armour giving him a 1+ re-rollable save with re rolls to wound him. Or occasionally I'll run him as my bsb but that does make him a rather large target for your enemy.
Here's what I'm planning on using: The Duelist: Cold One, Fencer's Blades, Glittering Scales, Aura of Quetzel Enemies need a 6 just to hit him in combat, then have to deal with his 1+ armor save. His six attacks will most likely hit on 3's. The Cold One could be dropped at the expense of armor if you want him to go with the infantry. Pairs well with Lore of Life, if you're running a Slann too. Dragon Slayer: Carnosaur, great weapon, Armor of Destiny, Dawnstone, Other Trickster's Shard 1+ rerollable armor, 4+ ward, and the enemy has to re-roll their ward against the nine S7 attacks headed their way. The Carnosaur isn't likely to be in contact with any friendly characters, so your own characters should be safe from the shard. Lore of Light would give great benefits in a larger game.
For anti-unit I like to take the common magic weapon which gives you +3 attacks, Maiming shield, LA and Carnosaur. For anti-armour (knights) I like common magic item that gives you +3 Strength, Enchanted shield, LA, Dawn stone, Carnosaur. Anti-character is usually take either the directly above list or I'll swap the +3 Str. weapon for the Lizardmen weapon that gives +1 Str and no armour saves.
For either of these I'd say "Embrace the Great Weapon"; With an initiative of 4 you're going to be striking last against (almost) any character or knight unit regardless of Always Strike Last rule. Against Toughness 5 (or less) you'll be wounding on 2's if you're S7 or S8 And with a mount you can easily get a 1+ Armour Save without needing a shield. So the extra 48pts for the Giant Blade over a Great Weapon gives you a nothing but a further -1 Armour Save modifier (which is already at -4 for a Great Weapon) Same for the +1 strength, no armour save weapon. A Great Weapon will still give a hefty -4 armour save modifier, but will wound T5 opponents easier than the blade of Tzunki (on a 2 rather than a 3) So embrace the Great Weapon, and spend your 50 points on some nice armour, trinkets, enchanted items, or some such
You do not get an additional AS when riding a monsterous mount. So shields become an item which is nice. And IMHO if your going to throw a character as expensive as an OB on Carno into a unit (even if supported by another unit) I would want to give him as much protection as I can. And your OB does have a half decent initiative which means that unless your facing elves you'll strike simultanious or perhaps even first in some cases. If you take a great weapon your assuring yourself your striking last no matter what. I ALWAYS try to give my guys a decent amount of protection and especially so when they are on a shooting magnet like a carnosaur. Do not also forget that a GW is mundane and so can not deal damage to characters or units which can only be hurt by magical attacks. Since your carnosaur doesn't have magical attacks you'll be hoping to deal wounds by combat resolution alone...which isn't gonna happen.
To solve this I take a great weapon along with venom of the firefly frog to make his attacks magical just for that very reason, nice easy 10pts and also if you roll 6's you dont have to worry about rolling to wound, even though you are most likely wounding on 2's anyway
However you still fall under the catagory that your ALWAYS striking last. This means your giving meanial troops a chance to strike you down. Especially since your defenses are lower and they'll have an easier time getting through your armour. This is really a matter of opinion and play style. I see very clearly the reasoning behind taking a great weapon. It's sound and has a very good point. But I just can't justify IMHO giving my (likely) General and huge point cost a weapon that makes always strike last and lessen my protection.
I don't think it actually makes a difference unless you are in a challenge against a character, in which case they probably will go before an old blood anyway. Remember with stepping up, if he charges in and kills 10 men they will still get two full ranks to attack back. Doesn't matter if they bounce a few attacks off him before or after he starts the massacre. Unless, of course, if they mamange to kill him, but thats not very likely against most units. Should keep him away from great weapon weilding units.
Actually, now in 8th edition you get +1 AS for riding a monster. You can no longer join a unit at all though.
Yes I've been so corrected and I'm glad that it was pointed out! However I still retain my point that when taking a great weapon your decreasing your AS because you don't get a shield in hth. Plus you can take an enchanted shield for +2 to your armour save for only five points which you won't get if you take a great weapon.
Since Lizardmen have an Enchanted Shield in our Army Book, I think we have to use that cost rather than the Basic Rule Book cost. So no cheap 5 point shield for Lizards. What can work well with a Great Weapon is a Dragonhelm. It's not as good as an Enchanted Shield, but its as good as a regular shield (better with the flaming Ward Save) and it doesn't take a hand. It won't be enough to get to 1+ Armour Save without a mount, but it helps.
I've been using an Oldblood with Carnosaur, Sword of the Hornet, Armour of Destiny, Potion of Strength and Dragonbane Gem. Only my second battle using him but he seems to be doing well. Doomwheel, Ghorgon and unit of Centigors down, more to go hopefully!
Oldblood's can't be the BRB. Only Scar-vets, Chiefs and Slann can. I used (when I do actually run mine) an Oldblood with Fencers Blades, Glittering Scales Canosaur, and Other Trickster's Shard. I was thinking of chucking in a cheap ward, but then realised I could actualy run the build that was already suggested (the one using Aura of Quetzel, too). He has yet to make game, though.