8th Ed. ethereal slann

[forlustria]

the ethereal slann has the unstable rule. if he loses combat he loses a wound for each point he loses combat by. Does he also test to flee as the unstable rule mentions nothing about being unbreakable

 

[VampTeddy]

You are correct.

He does indeed have to take a break test, nothing in the FAQ or our armybook to indicate otherwise.

 

[Sebbs]

So both losing wounds and then the risk of being overrun. Since the new book came out I never considered using one since the upgrade is so expensive, even less so now. Is this something that may have been overlooked by the author or is this intended?

Anyone consider there's more to ethereal slann that meets the eye? Fencer blades? +2 ward vs. magic? Bsb + war banner?

 

[Ondjage]

So both losing wounds and then the risk of being overrun. Since the new book came out I never considered using one since the upgrade is so expensive, even less so now. Is this something that may have been overlooked by the author or is this intended?

Anyone consider there's more to ethereal slann that meets the eye? Fencer blades? +2 ward vs. magic? Bsb + war banner?

I like the ethereal slann, but it requires more knowlenge than i possess about other armies to place him correctly!

 

[VampTeddy]

So both losing wounds and then the risk of being overrun. Since the new book came out I never considered using one since the upgrade is so expensive, even less so now. Is this something that may have been overlooked by the author or is this intended?

Anyone consider there's more to ethereal slann that meets the eye? Fencer blades? +2 ward vs. magic? Bsb + war banner?

Except for the fencers blades you just summed up my current Slann.

Dragonbane gem is popular too.

 

[Sleboda]

Is this something that may have been overlooked by the author or is this intended?

=> How could anyone here answer that?

As to the Ethereal Slann -
I just reworked my list to try to squeeze one in and found it was far too much lost for far too little gain.

I'll stick with my Oldblood and my Scarvet Carno BSB.

 

[Sebbs]

Going off topic but since the rule question has been answered..

VampTeddy do you use him offensively to tie up something like a steam tank or is it just as a precautionary measure? Are your opponents leaving him alone or is he just too juicy of a target? The reason I'm asking is that my next game is several weeks away and I'm intrigued.. I'll have to give him a try then. "As a gimmick can you give him Arabyan Carpet? He's already "flying" on his palanquin, that's almost too cool to pass up on " Edit: Yeaaah, you can't do that...

(I'm sorry if some of my questions are dorky and/or stupid, I guess I'm just not as cool and smart as Sleboda )

 

[Sleboda]

I may be smart (MAYBE), but there's no way I'm cool.

 

[VampTeddy]

Going off topic but since the rule question has been answered..

VampTeddy do you use him offensively to tie up something like a steam tank or is it just as a precautionary measure? Are your opponents leaving him alone or is he just too juicy of a target? The reason I'm asking is that my next game is several weeks away and I'm intrigued.. I'll have to give him a try then. "As a gimmick can you give him Arabyan Carpet? He's already "flying" on his palanquin, that's almost too cool to pass up on " Edit: Yeaaah, you can't do that...

(I'm sorry if some of my questions are dorky and/or stupid, I guess I'm just not as cool and smart as Sleboda )

I kept him near a 4+ LoS in case someone wanted to try something smart on him.

About his targets, he's really only suited to combats he can win per auto. That means Single rank monstrous cavalry and the likes, as he has 2 CR and they have 1 (banner) and nothing else, he'll win - against the right monstrous cav. Now that's just the most brutal example offc.

I also consider it worthwhile to flank charge with him if you can, and if you're certain you'll win combat by it. 3 CR added, 4 if he also charged, that's a lot of CR your opponent cannot gather from him, in theory, it's free.

I am afraid of some armies however. Most Skaven shooting is magic, and i am testing him against skaven soon.

Mind, that most of this is theorycrafting, i only had 2 games on him, and 1 was a loss (not due to him though), in the other he killed a unit of squigs without taking a single wound, and ended the killing spree of a mangler squig (again, not a single wound).


i find it worth it, though expensive, in theory, you free up your TG points, in practice, i buy them anyways ;p

A, I don't employ saurus, but still need a hammerish anvil. Thus i go to TG, because i find them superior in every way (even without auto stubborn), though i have considered a CoC vet to sit them.

B, People might think your slann is regular, just don't want to make bad mid unit miscasts

C, They look awesome, damn they look awesome.

D, i almost have them painted

and E, They're a reliable way of killing armored units. -3 AS is very good i'd say (razor banner used), and the banner option makes them adaptable, meaning they can fit several roles.


Still toying with my Battle slann, but i'm quite certain i'd much rather play with him than a normal slann


Short answer : i play him passively, until i know he's safe, or i deploy him safe, so i can play him aggressively, the investment is too large to only be security, he's there to kill stuff! and heck if i lose him, i'll prolly be angry and moan for a sec or 2 (terrible loser, terrible winner too), and then i'll find it awesome that's he's just so hilarious!

 

[hdctambien]

he's really only suited to combats he can win per auto. That means Single rank monstrous cavalry and the likes, as he has 2 CR and they have 1 (banner) and nothing else, he'll win - against the right monstrous cav. Now that's just the most brutal example offc.

What lore do you run your battle Slann with? +3 attacks and +3 strength with the Fencers Blades makes for a pretty fighty character (5 attacks, WS10, S6 ... oh my!)

 

[Lizardmatt]

he's really only suited to combats he can win per auto. That means Single rank monstrous cavalry and the likes, as he has 2 CR and they have 1 (banner) and nothing else, he'll win - against the right monstrous cav. Now that's just the most brutal example offc.

What lore do you run your battle Slann with? +3 attacks and +3 strength with the Fencers Blades makes for a pretty fighty character (5 attacks, WS10, S6 ... oh my!)

And without the spell you've got 2 S3 attacks, and die to combat res (if you don't just break and auto die).
It's like banking on Transformation. It's great when you get it, and you're in a lot of trouble when you don't.

If I was going to go ethereal slaan; I'd go fairly cheap, and take lore of shadow.
Since I cannot join units, being able to swap places to get out of a fight seems pretty solid. Or go high magic and swap out a spell turn 1 for shadow magic.

-Matt

 

[hdctambien]

being able to swap places to get out of a fight seems pretty solid

That sounds like a Spawning of Bob drawing... poor confused (soon to be dead) Skink Priest.

Probably the best combo is to have a Shadow Escape Plan on the Slann and get Beast of Horros on your nearby Skink Priest/Escape Plan. (Mindrazor wouldn't be so bad on a Battle Slann either.)

High Magic is probably the best, because you can trade for Shadow early and also have a spell to try to kill the magic weapon off of any characters you want to embarrass by killing them with a Slann.

 

[hdctambien]

I bet I could trick the guys at my local store by having an Ethereal Slann roaming about with an Killing Machine Old Blood on foot somewhere near by. Take a charge (oh noes!) then swap him in and wreck face.

A good candidate for Steed of Shadows to move the OB into a safe place for the Slann, then swap them out (maybe that's a standard Shadow trick... I never really played Shadow or Solo Slann much)

 

[Sebbs]

I kept him near a 4+ LoS in case someone wanted to try something smart on him.

About his targets, he's really only suited to combats he can win per auto. That means Single rank monstrous cavalry and the likes, as he has 2 CR and they have 1 (banner) and nothing else, he'll win - against the right monstrous cav. Now that's just the most brutal example offc.

I also consider it worthwhile to flank charge with him if you can, and if you're certain you'll win combat by it. 3 CR added, 4 if he also charged, that's a lot of CR your opponent cannot gather from him, in theory, it's free.

I am afraid of some armies however. Most Skaven shooting is magic, and i am testing him against skaven soon.

Mind, that most of this is theorycrafting, i only had 2 games on him, and 1 was a loss (not due to him though), in the other he killed a unit of squigs without taking a single wound, and ended the killing spree of a mangler squig (again, not a single wound).


i find it worth it, though expensive, in theory, you free up your TG points, in practice, i buy them anyways ;p

A, I don't employ saurus, but still need a hammerish anvil. Thus i go to TG, because i find them superior in every way (even without auto stubborn), though i have considered a CoC vet to sit them.

B, People might think your slann is regular, just don't want to make bad mid unit miscasts

C, They look awesome, damn they look awesome.

D, i almost have them painted

and E, They're a reliable way of killing armored units. -3 AS is very good i'd say (razor banner used), and the banner option makes them adaptable, meaning they can fit several roles.


Still toying with my Battle slann, but i'm quite certain i'd much rather play with him than a normal slann


Short answer : i play him passively, until i know he's safe, or i deploy him safe, so i can play him aggressively, the investment is too large to only be security, he's there to kill stuff! and heck if i lose him, i'll prolly be angry and moan for a sec or 2 (terrible loser, terrible winner too), and then i'll find it awesome that's he's just so hilarious!

Thanks for taking the time to do a write up V-Teddy! As you sorta say (I guess) is that there's no clear cut way to employ him but rather he's very dependent on the situation, correct? It should be easy to keep him safe from blocks though, the major problem would be things like DE masters with magic weapon on pegasi etc.

TGs are really lean and mean, for stubborn I would recommend Gor-Rok, cool rules for a great looking model! If you recall my 2400 MSU/character list my TG was joined by Gor-Rok and they held to the last lizard against a horde of savages, chipping away at their ranks for several turns until a wyvern landed in their rear One of my most common match up is against Empire with demi gryphs, that guy plays lizardmen aswell though so I doubt he would buy the "regular slann" bluff

Lately I've been toying with a lot of different army builds in battle scribe. It has become an addiction I'll absolutely try ethereal slann next game! With shadow as Matt suggested, I have plenty of characters to switch places with (Just need to remember to move them out of the units in advance) Besides, if I can swing it, steed of shadows on a looping stride scarnosaur sounds like just the kind of fun I would like to have

 

[VampTeddy]

I kept him near a 4+ LoS in case someone wanted to try something smart on him.

About his targets, he's really only suited to combats he can win per auto. That means Single rank monstrous cavalry and the likes, as he has 2 CR and they have 1 (banner) and nothing else, he'll win - against the right monstrous cav. Now that's just the most brutal example offc.

I also consider it worthwhile to flank charge with him if you can, and if you're certain you'll win combat by it. 3 CR added, 4 if he also charged, that's a lot of CR your opponent cannot gather from him, in theory, it's free.

I am afraid of some armies however. Most Skaven shooting is magic, and i am testing him against skaven soon.

Mind, that most of this is theorycrafting, i only had 2 games on him, and 1 was a loss (not due to him though), in the other he killed a unit of squigs without taking a single wound, and ended the killing spree of a mangler squig (again, not a single wound).


i find it worth it, though expensive, in theory, you free up your TG points, in practice, i buy them anyways ;p

A, I don't employ saurus, but still need a hammerish anvil. Thus i go to TG, because i find them superior in every way (even without auto stubborn), though i have considered a CoC vet to sit them.

B, People might think your slann is regular, just don't want to make bad mid unit miscasts

C, They look awesome, damn they look awesome.

D, i almost have them painted

and E, They're a reliable way of killing armored units. -3 AS is very good i'd say (razor banner used), and the banner option makes them adaptable, meaning they can fit several roles.


Still toying with my Battle slann, but i'm quite certain i'd much rather play with him than a normal slann


Short answer : i play him passively, until i know he's safe, or i deploy him safe, so i can play him aggressively, the investment is too large to only be security, he's there to kill stuff! and heck if i lose him, i'll prolly be angry and moan for a sec or 2 (terrible loser, terrible winner too), and then i'll find it awesome that's he's just so hilarious!

Thanks for taking the time to do a write up V-Teddy! As you sorta say (I guess) is that there's no clear cut way to employ him but rather he's very dependent on the situation, correct? It should be easy to keep him safe from blocks though, the major problem would be things like DE masters with magic weapon on pegasi etc.

TGs are really lean and mean, for stubborn I would recommend Gor-Rok, cool rules for a great looking model! If you recall my 2400 MSU/character list my TG was joined by Gor-Rok and they held to the last lizard against a horde of savages, chipping away at their ranks for several turns until a wyvern landed in their rear One of my most common match up is against Empire with demi gryphs, that guy plays lizardmen aswell though so I doubt he would buy the "regular slann" bluff

Lately I've been toying with a lot of different army builds in battle scribe. It has become an addiction I'll absolutely try ethereal slann next game! With shadow as Matt suggested, I have plenty of characters to switch places with (Just need to remember to move them out of the units in advance) Besides, if I can swing it, steed of shadows on a looping stride scarnosaur sounds like just the kind of fun I would like to have

I'm in high magic, with no fencer's.

If i'm going to win combat i reckon it's as a supporting character, or against a unit without ranks (remember rank 1 also gives steadfast). or if i traded out a spell for cascading fire cloak or that life spell that resembles. Fire cloak is loadsa fun on your etheral slann! (ran him fire the first 2 times).

I think you should try him, he's fun! just remember if he goes into the wrong fight and loses, he might die, if he runs, well he dies too since he's the BSB!

EDIT : and yes, i think one needs to practice him against every army several times to get an idea of their niches and magic threats, as well as where he can go without dying.

Example - my OnG opponent had no magic, whatsoever, my slann was immune - all characters had GW's.

Next Matchup HE - he had also only brought a lord with magic weapons, however, he did manage to get into base contact, which meant death to ranks.