Welcome to the forums!
I don't know much about 40K. I do not believe that GW is planning to axe Lizardmen in 9th edition. I would not be surprised if 9th edition did things we did not like or if the Lizardmen got a new book late, but I have not seen what I view as a credible source stating that Lizardmen are going away. Four out of five books into the End Times, the Lizardmen are still here but we lost a few luminary special characters, but so did everyone else. I doubt GW wants to invalidate so many of their models. If they pull out the axe, then for better or worse, the Lizardmen are going to be one of many victims.
In the unlikely Games Workshop axes Lizardmen in 9th edition. This forum will continue with it's 8th edition goodness and IMMEDIATELY begin collaboration on a fan-made 9th edition Lizardmen codex much like the Chaos Dwarf fan base did before Tamurkahn came out.
After we establish a codex we will refine it via play testing, something GW does not do with released products, and eventually incorporate fluff and artwork. Rikard is tentatively looking towards the possibilities of releasing third party reptilian miniatures if GW drops Lizardmen.
So, GW is probably not dropping Lizardmen. Even if they do, the Lizardmen will live on in a new form. Make of that what you will. I do not know how much money you have to spend, what your local meta looks like or where you live.
Lizardmen are a good versatile army. Without artillery, we don't have everything, but only Empire can really boast more versatility than Lizardmen and Empire has the disadvantage of being human (with their soft statlines). Lizardmen give you more palate options for painting than most armies and we have dinosaurs.
Let us know if you have any questions about the Lizardmen army. Sadly I (we) can't really give definitive answers on the future of 9th edition, only educated guesses tempered by hopes and/or fears.
