So I'm heading to the store tomorrow night with the following list: Scar Vet -light armor -Piranha blade -enchanted shield Skink Priest -Level 2 -Dispel Scroll -Plaque of Tepok -Biting Blade Saurus Warriors x 20 -spears -full command Skink Skirmishers x 12 -Brave Cold One Cavalry x 5 -full command Skink Chief -light armor -shield -blowpipe -Cloak of Feathers -Burning Blade of Chotec 987 Now... I fell the Skink Chief is off (probably can't have the blowpipe due to the magic weapon and/or shield) and it seems the Cavalry is a waste of points for just 5 with the full command. The other idea I had was drop the Skink Chief, add 3 more Cold Ones, and give the Scar Vet a Cold One as well. That point total would be right at 1000. My opponent will probably be Vampires, so the priest will probably drop the plaque and blade for another Dispel Scroll. I only have the core box and another box of 10 Temple Guard for my collection, so it's a bit small at the moment. Any advice, tips, hints, ridicule?
I personally think that unless you are dependant on magic like undead, 3 characters in 1k is waaay too much. They take a big chunk out of your army's points and usually don't kill their own points worth. Hell in 2k I usually only have 2-3 characters. Do you have a set role in mind for them? What do you want them to do for your army? The priest is good against VC because you can use him to help dispel some of their magic. The biting blade on the priest is not worth it though, if he gets into combat he is wrecked. What is the skink chief providing that the skinks alone can't? What is the scar vet providing that the saurus alone can't? His leadership as general for tests? You want characters to support and enhanse the army, not having an army to support the characters. You are right about the cold ones. However, there are two uses for them. In a unit of 5, get rid of command and use them as flankers. If you want the full command, increase them to 7-8 and have them charge head on. In 1k units are going to be a bit smaller, you can probably afford to drop the saurus to 15 to save points, especially since that last rank is only providing 1 point of combat res from a rank. Or you could drop them to 17 and go 6x3 including the scar vet, you now have 4 more attacks than the unit of 20 (not including scar vet since I assume he would go there anyway) and save 3 saurus worth of points for a rank. Usually worth it in 2k, definitley in 1k. Of course, starting out you are a bit limited to what models you own, so if you find that maximizing the unit potentials and removing a character leaves you with a lot of points and nothing to spend them on, just increase the unit sizes or put things back in. Good luck with it!
Overall I'd say you have too many characters. At 1000 points you should probably limit yourself to two characters max, as they soak up points that should be making your army bigger. Since you invited us to ridicule, I guess the one thing I thought was kind of amusing is the biting blade on the skink priest. Mages should not get weapon upgrades as a rule, and if they are in combat they usually do one thing... die. If your mage is in combat something has gone wrong for you or very well for your opponent. Now on to more constructive criticism! I'd say drop the skink chief. The Scar Vet will do that nasty damage you crave, and a skink priest is needed for some magic defense. Scar Vet needs a cold one, and he can join the cold one cavalry. Also you want to give the scar vet the burning blade instead of the piranha blade. Doubling wounds sounds good on paper, but most of the time you will be fighting rank and file and the multiplied wounds are wasted. Skirmishers - don't take the brave, it's worthless. You may want two units of 10 instead of what you've got. Saurus Warriors are probably too big. They won't need full ranks like other block units. Maybe run them 5x3 and save a bunch of points. Terradons will help save the day as well.
if you lose the 3 saurus on the unit the full command on the cold ones the burning blade on the priest and the skink chief goes away completely you should be able to afford your 10 temple guard did the math in my head but seems about right and they are a much better use of points in 1K games
Yeah yeah... biting blade was more for well... nothing! I figured too many characters; sadly I don't have any more skinks, so the basic twelve will have to do. Thats the problem with everything I guess. I'd rather have two Saurus blocks, but only own 20 total. Only own 20 Temple Guard, though with the points, I felt the Cold One's speed would be more important, though I could be wrong. One of those "have to play it first" type of things. Thanks for your help guys! completly new to the game so it'll take some time to get adjusted