Hi all I am about to take the first step on my journey to join the old ones and imagine which troops to bring into existence. My opponent plays a mixture of stormcast, empire, dwarfs and chaos. Often fielded together which a fair few named characters. So, I was tempted to get the 'start collecting' box, which looks like a good deal only I wonder how competitive the grouping is? Models that I definitely want are a bastiladon and lord kroak but I won't be able to afford them all at once. Do you think the start collecting battletome is a good starting point and reasonable competitive? Many thanks
It's a solid start but you need to add to it, Basi is a great choice but I would get a normal slann over Kroak but before that add more core troops Saurus Guard and a Eternity Warden and a skink priest, more saurus warriors and a Sunblood. Have a look through the tactic section some really good points on what works
If you want to get a Basi and Lord Kroak, then you'll want to make your army defensive rather than aggressive because those two are defensive mainstays but are weak on the offense. I'd recommend neglecting Warriors in favour of the more defensively oriented Guard, an Eternity Warden in there too to complete the Eternal Starhost battalion for some extra damage and to round out the defense, and an Astriloth Bearer for the rerolls To Hit and +1 to Casting rolls. You should use Kroak and the Basi like Dwarf cannons, blasting the hell out of your opponent from a great range with the global Comet's Call and 20" Searing Beam respectively, then when their weakened army makes it to your line you should have no trouble mopping them up with your Guard. Keep Kroak, the Warden, and the Guard units close together to keep Kroak safe and to ensure that every Guard unit has at least one model within 5" of the Warden to get all his buffs, a nice and tight formation. The Basi should always have Mystic Shield active from Kroak because that turns him into a nigh-unkillable machine. From there, if you want to further increase your army, focus on building up support with things like an Engine or Starseer, perhaps even get a bit of ranged support from some Chameleons that may take out war machines for you. But those aforementioned Astriloth/Warden/Guard choices are borderline mandatory if you want to play Kroak and, to a lesser extent, the Basi. Also when you say your opponent plays a mix, do you mean they play all that in one army? If so, you shouldn't have too much trouble beating them. Mixing between armies like that prevents the units from synergising right so they'll be much weaker than a pure army.
Thanks everyone for the advice. I think I prefer the defensive style but I will have to give it a bit of thought. One thing I haven't read much on is the saurian cav units. Any thoughts on how effective these are or how to make these effective? Presumably this would be part of an offensive army?
Cavalry are good for offense, yeah. They tend to excel when in pairs of units and with lances, and have the advantage of speed and toughness that Warriors lack in exchange for fewer numbers from the summoning spells. Side note, if you want to go defensive and your budget gets big enough over time, the Thunderbeast Starhost makes for a good combo with the Eternal Starhost. The Engine is great for support which is welcome in defensive armies, and giving the Basi rerolls to its Save and the ability to heal wounds often results in it healing faster than the enemy can damage it.
Okay so for a first step in building a small force I was thinking of the following: Lord Kroak X2 Bastildons Engine of the God's Unit of Kroxigors One unit of chameleons I realise that I will need to add to this but just trying to get something together to have a few small but competitive games.
That's not bad, but some basic infantry wouldn't go amiss. Right now with this you have very little in the way of adaptability, a unit of Guard would be a nice addition.
Oh, and don't forget to Kroakbomb people. Soon as they get within range, blast them with as many Celestial Deliverances as you can. Kroak's a Mortal Wounds machine.
I assume with this list, your are going to have Thunderquake Host ? If you don't mind @kvothe, I will ask sth in your topic. If I have Basti with ARK, can I summon one with Solar Beam?
Sure. If you like, you can summon another Basti with Ark... it's not forbidden to have monsters with the same equipment.
Thanks very much for all the advice. Order is in! @MomoTheKiller yes that is right, I hope to take advantage of the thunder quake host. At the moment I am particularly looking forward to dropping comets on people's heads...