8th Ed. Do LM lend themselves to larger or smaller armies?

[Scalenex]

From observation, reading battle reports, and some pure theory hammer I came to the conclusion that some armies are disadvantaged in low points games.

Vampires counts can't make killy characters and can't rely on their scream attacks.
Tomb Kings are required to take a general and hierophant that
Chaos Dwarfs can't even fit in their fun Rares
Empire can't get enough buffing effects to compensate for their overpriced Core

Some armies seem to be well suited to small points game

Warriors of Chaos can field nasty Core not requiring any backup
Orcs and Goblins can make due with very cheap characters

How do LM fare in small games versus large games? We lose toad power in small games, but I think our wide array of skirmishing units lets us control the tempo of a small game with enough table space to run circles around the enemy.

 

[NexS1]

Did you just say that Empire have overpriced core? Kidding, right? I think the only army that has cheaper core are Vamps with zombies... I feel that Empire are fantastic in small point battles in the fact that everything they have is cheap and easy to buff (priests, for example).

I find LM difficult to have a successful small army that varies from Core Saurus, skink hero, saurus lord. Once you get into combat, you've either won or lost in the first few rounds.

 

[skillfull_dan]

I think LM are average in low point games. Sure saurus arent as good as chaos warriors, but nothing is. Also I find that my skinks are even more annoying in low point games when they have more room to maneuver

 

[Stonecutter]

In my experience, LM can do well in smaller games (~1000 points) but the focus and nature of the army build changes when no slaan is present. There is a much heavier reliance on shooting and little or no use of magic. Here are a few general builds for 1000 points that I have used in our local slow build campaign that worked well:

Skrox Based:

2 units of skrox with 3 krox each.
1 unit of skirmish skinks
2 x sallies in single pack
SV cowboy

Saurus Based:

Replace 2 x skrox with 2 x 25 saurus
2 units of skirmish skinks
2 x sallies
SV cowboy

Mixed:

1 unit of 25 saurus
2 units skrox with 2 krox each
2 x sallies
SV cowboy

In general, I find LM do bettter than most armies in low point games due to the variety of core troops and their ability to either fight or shoot. The skrox are excellent at dealing with any opposing thunderstomping monsters while saurus hold up well against anything short of WoC or a horde of high elf WL/SM. Both of these latter threats are best dealt with by the sallies to cut them down to size prior to combat. The main weakness is the absence of a magic phase but I have found that taking a scroll caddy isn't worth the sacrifice of an entire unit for what he does. The sallie pack also serves as a fairly good combat unit against anything T3/S3 and is great for going after war machines and most missile troops.

 

[Craken]

Personally I have no trouble winning a game with Lizards at any point level. Though in all fairness I generally know what army I am fighting before I play. Though I have won a lot of small point tourneys with lizards.

I always use a large block of saurus with spears
A few unit of skink skirmishers
A unit of temple guard
A few skink priests if points are available
Saurus Oldblood, and Scar Vet BSB