Look for matchups between your army and your opponents'. Like your saurus can deal with his infantry, try and place them directly across from eachother.
Your skinks can deal with his monster, try and place them in a way that the skinks can reach the monster.
If you have to deal with something you're army simply can't handle: use skinks to redirect and slow them down.
Take a look at possible war machines your opponent has, and where YOU would put them. Sometimes places for war machines are obvious, sometimes they are not. Once again, use your supporting units to try and take care of them.
You may have noticed a trend: Place your skinks first. That's because skinks are fast and have multiple roles during a battle. They can redirect, hunt monsters assault war machines and more. With M6 and skirmishing they can zip around the battlefield.
M4 Saurus have a harder time moving across the field, they are a bit more 'point and click'. You point them at an enemy unit, advance into them and grind them down. After that; you do it again!
I like placing 2 units of skirmishers slightly off-centre before doing anything else. The skinks can move towards the far flank helping out there or change roles to redirectors in the center if need be. After my skirmishers have been place I find a suitable spot for my Salamander, either flanking or off-centre as well. Terradons and skink cohort are next. Fast and supporting wherever they need to be, though cohort require a bit more planning as they cannot skirmish.
I always try and finish my deployment with my Saurus blocks and hammer (Stegadon, SCOR, Kroxigor..). So you can put them in as much cover as you can give them vs war machines and enemy wizards. This way you also get a good view of where you can go with them.
Another thing you could do is placing a saurus block first, in a nice and open area, preferably somewhere in the center of your army and 'hinge' the rest of your deployment off that unit. It is easier to do, as it gives you a very solid marker as to where you want to be. So start with 1 block, and follow up with some skinks.
If you are looking at matchups: you can react to your opponent pretty well with your multiple units of skinks. However, you can also take a long look at the battlefield and make a plan; for instance:
My hammer goes on the right, and while my saurus block engages in the center the hammer charges the flank: overrunning into a second unit and fighting twice that combat...My slann has to deal with the skirmishers on the left, while my skinks delay the enemy hammer/stubborn unit on the left.
Just a random plan. Point is: you now know where you want everything and how to deal with your opponent reacting to yóu. If both players react to eachother, you might miss the cohesion that makes Lizardmen a strong army.
So: Plan ahead.
Skinks first.
(Maybe 'Hinge' a saurus block)
Supporting units (Salamanders, terradons, Skrox)
Blocks
Hammers
All while reacting and anticipating your opponents' moves
. Practice a bit and before you start the battle; look at what you have could done better/different. Try and think WHY you placed that unit there, and if they are usefull in this battle.
If you look closely and critically at your deployment before the battle starts; you will learn from your own mistakes and eventually get better at it.
Good luck!
The Hunted
(This is the way I deploy my army, and the way I have learned to do it. But please, pitch your ideas in!)
So don't drop all that jazz in a corner because you might find it to be a good spot if your slann is far away.
