8th Ed. Dummy drops?

[rothgar13]

Hey all,

Here's another question - what units do you guys use for dummy drops in deployment? I'm seeing the pickings as rather slim right now. Between the Saurus, the TG + Slann, the Engine of rhe Gods, the Chameleon Skinks (who wouldn't count for this purpose, because they deploy as Scouts), and a unit of Skinks + Kroxigors, points seem to be rather tight. Salamanders help in this department, but that's 2 drops - my experience is that you usually want 5 or 6.

So how do you go about this? 10-man Skink Skirmishers? Terradons? Holding back a unit or two of Chameleons? Any and all experiences welcome.

 

[n810]

Mostly 10 man skink units of any type.

 

[Arli]

I almost never have dummy units to drop. I usually have less models/units than my opponent as well. When I have used them, it is usually a couple of units of skink cohorts or skirmishers. I do try to drop my salamanders very last to maximize targeting. I also will drop cold one cavalry last (if I use them) to get the most bang for the buck.

 

[rothgar13]

That... kind of worries me, to be honest with you. I know that the reason I'm very successful with my Beastmen army is because of a dominant magic phase, fast hard-hitting troops, and tons of mobile chaff. I'm not worried about the magic phase at all (the Slann will be about as dominant as a Herdstone battery while being a bit cheaper and easier to protect), Saurus are hardier than Gors, but also slower and pricier, and not quite as formidable on offense. I think that's another feather in the cap for both Lore of Light (patch up the weaknesses of the Saurus) and for the Skinks + Kroxigors (run after and clean out enemy chaff).

 

[Scalenex]

I tried using Salamanders as dummy drops, but I usually regret it. I try to save my Sally deployments for last, so I can be reasonably assured that they have a good path to the flank of a big unit. A Salamnder that can't get a blast off without getting charged afterwards makes me unhappy.

Skink Skirmishers make okay dummy drops, but they still require specific positioning for maximum effectiveness.

Pretty much every unit I field has a specific role to play so I don't try dummy drops very often. I've seen another LM use skirmisher screens pretty effectively. If you are using your skirmsihers just to screen your main forces, you have a lot of flexibility where they go, so they could be dummy drops I suppose.

 

[strewart]

I usually drop my TG and two units of saurus first off. They are the hard centre of my line which the rest of the army builds around, and their location on the table will pretty much never change anyway so I feel safe placing them first in the middle of my deployment zone.

 

[Moniker]

I agree with Stewart. Salamanders often work for me too. They're so mobile on their first turn they can move across the whole field. I usually pick the best firing lanes and plop em down on a flank.

A unit of Skirmishers is perfect, though I often play a vampire player who loves his terrorgheist so I like the poison for him... and my small skrox unit 11-13(depending on core requirements) +1Krox and a musician.

We're not REALLY spoiled for choice in our army, but there are some options for this.