AoS Constellations for the Thunderquake Starhost?

Hey everyone,

First of all, I had a great match yesterday with my Thunderquake army I went against the player whom I had my first match with (he is much more chill these days), and his Tzeentch army. We got pretty "even", though all I lost was my two units of 40 Skinks, while he lost most of his birds on disks and his big bird (that is how we called him, he is basically the big herald dude you also see in Warhammer Total War). So overall I think I got out ahead I had the advantage of my Bastiladon rolling well, and being able to tank most of his attacks (I love that dude! <3).

However, there were some things which I felt might help improve things, and I was brainstorming just for fun for a Constellation that might help boost my army idea at the expense of points, while involving the Thunderquake Starhost. And I was wondering what people would think about it.

The story behind it is basically that the Slann is a follower of Sotek named Tepepe'Tikek, while all the other Slann find its worship second to following the great plan. As a pro active fighter against the Skaven back in the day, he had to rely on Skinks due to small amount of Saurus Spawns. However he appreciated his Skinks more, due to both their number and ability to tame the wild beasts of Lustria. When fighting alongside his Skinks, their shows of bravery remind him of his old comrades and the battles they fought together. Allowing him to summon more members to their ranks. His War beasts were also known to be more independent fighters, attacking key positions. And his Kroxigor, Salamanders and Razordons were handpicked by him and trained to be the best of the best. Giving him a army that combined the large numbers of the Skinks with some key elite combatants.

Veterans of the Southlands (100 points)

Requirements:

1 Thunderquake Starhost
1 Slann Starmaster
3 or more units of Skinks battleline units
Any additional Seraphon units


Bonusses:

-Any Skinks battleline units under this batallion that has to make a battleshock test and rolls 3 or lower does not lose any models and instead gains D6 models. Provided your Slann Starmaster is still alive.
-The required range for the Thunderquake Starhost’s abilities increases by 10”. In addition, you may also declare the stance of The Creator's Will at the end of the set up phase.
- The Kroxigor or Razordon/Salamander unit from the Thunderquake Starhost gains the Bastiladon’s Impervious Defence. Additionally it gains a bonus based on the unit you choose. The Kroxigor may activate its Jaws like a Steel Trap ability on a wound roll of 4 or higher. The Salamander gains +4” range in the shooting phase and its “It burns!” may stack on same target. The Razordon gains a bonus -1 rend on its attacks in the shooting phase.

The reasoning behind this was the following:
1) I love how the Skinks have good leadership, but any decent attacker will deal so much damage that it won't matter since they tend to lose quite a few models, even though they have so many options to reroll battleshock tests. The idea behind this was to reward you for rolling well, so that not only you don't suffer additional army losses, but you may even get some brave and inspired Skinks teleporting back in. Similar to how many other Daemon armies have such an ability.
2) The second one allows your Thunderquake Starhost members to be more mobile while enjoying the bonusses. Plus you can pick a stance at the end of the set up phase based on who goes first.
3) The 3th bonus gives your frail and short ranged Razordon/Salamander unit some survivability, while making your Kroxigor much more viable for their cost.

How does this sound? Yay or Nay?

 

It's a cool idea, but you are getting a lot of OP stuff for 100 points there

 

Well the first two options are to both make sure the Skinks don't die that fast (well, not as fast as usual ^^; ), as well as just give more ranged to your 4 elite units to operate under. The third one is also just a buff to a single unit. A strong one mind you, but nevertheless one unit

What would you ask for the point cost then? 140 points or something?

 

Good analysis ! I agree with you. And this battalion would be, like you said, a very powerful one !

 

I actually think this to be way too much OP. It just takes the only disadvantages of many of our units and turn them into broken mechanisms
Still a fun making !

 

Alright, thanks for the feed back everyone

It was more just discussing my ideas, but I agree that it would be a bit powerful.

I'm already pretty happy with the Thunderquake Starhost in combination with the Skinks. Now I can fill in the gaps of elite units with some fodder

 

Just for the fun of it though, what would you think would be a fair constellation that does include the Thunderquake Starhost?

Say, I want the cost to be 100-160 points. But I also want to let the Skinks gain a bonus based on a good Bravery roll,to make the Slann Starmaster's his own spell (2 rolls on bravery, you can use the lowest) more useful. As well as more range on the Thunderquake's Starhosts abilities.

Say the constellation would include #2 of my original idea (with or without the additional effect of choosing the stance in the set up?), and then something involving rewarding good bravery rolls for Skinks.

What kind of fun ideas would you guys have for that? And what would you ask for its cost?

 

It's a great idea that you have here. I quite like it !

 

Oh that definately sounds like a fun idea! Would that be for 100 points?

I like the flavor it has, though a half decent unit will still destroy it due to the battleshock test. Perhaps it also allows it to count as having at least 20 models until the beginning of your next turn for the Cohort bonus? Just tossing some ideas out there.

Also I like the idea of the javelin throwers on top of the Skink monsters getting a better bonus to hit.

 

Well how about something like this?

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Chicxulub's March Constellation (120 points)

Requirements:
- 1 Slann Starmaster
- Thunderquake Starhost
- 0-1 Shadowstrike Starhosts
- 3+ Skinks battleline units
- 0-3 units of Kroxigor, Razordons or Salamanders in any combination
- any number of additional Skink units

Abilities:

More than ever
The presence of their Slann master makes the Skinks and Kroxigor more eager to fight and avenge their fallen comrades instead of fleeing. As long as their Slann Starmaster is alive, when a battleshock test result for a Skink/Salamander/Razordon/Kroxigor unit from this constellation is 3 or less, they don't lose any additional models and gain +1 to their wound rolls in the following turn.

Loud Thunderquake
When marching in this huge constellation the great beasts of the Seraphon make the ground tremble. Add 10" to the range of the Thunderquake Starhost's "The Creator's will" ability.

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I added a buff to the More than ever so that it prevents further model loss (which is good for the Skinks, and makes sense constellation wise), and allows you to gain a bonus to your Kroxigor/Salamander/Razordon as well. The latter I feel is just fair to give something to the Kroxigor/Salamander/Razordon unit as well, because otherwise it would feel left out.

How does this sound?

 

Also, I looked at the Skinks battleline unit warscroll, and I saw that it didn't have the Skink keyword, only the Skinks keyword. Did they forget to add that? Because it is important that they have the right keyword.

 

Pwew!

Also, what do you think about my suggested edit? Allowing them a 50% chance to prevent further model loss, and a +1 to wound rolls in the next turn?

 

Well how about instead we make it based on the dice roll? So it would be this:

Tepepe'Tikek's March Constellation (120 points)

Requirements:
- 1 Slann Starmaster
- Thunderquake Starhost
- 0-1 Shadowstrike Starhosts
- 3+ Skinks battleline units
- 0-3 units of Kroxigor, Razordons or Salamanders in any combination
- any number of additional Skink units

Abilities:

More than ever
The presence of their Slann master makes the Skinks and Kroxigor more eager to fight and avenge their fallen comrades instead of fleeing. As long as their Slann Starmaster is alive, when you roll a dice for the battleshock test for a Skink/Salamander/Razordon/Kroxigor unit from this constellation and the dice roll is 3 or less, the unit doesn't lose any additional models and it gain a +1 to its wound rolls in the following turn.

Loud Thunderquake
When marching in this huge constellation the great beasts of the Seraphon make the ground tremble. Add 10" to the range of the Thunderquake Starhost's "The Creator's will" ability.

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Basically, each time you lose a model and you have to make a battleshock test, there is a 50% chance you will not lose any additional models and for one turn the unit will theoretically deal more damage. This would synergise well with the Slann and the Stegadon. It may sound strong, but remember that it is only a 50% chance, and those Slann and Stegadon's spell and ability now actually have a use! How does this sound? You still have to take another batallion within this constellation after all.