Would it balanced if spears and shields cost the same as hand weapons for Saurus Warriors? I think so, I think there would STILL be a raging debate which is better though I think if spears stopped costing more player preference would move closer to 50/50 instead of 80/20 which is what we seem to see now. If Saurus Warriors could take two hand weapons, how much should it cost? I'd imagine two hand weapons would be more competitive than HW and S or spears. How many points would great weapons have to cost for Temple Guard for LM players to ever consider staying with Halberds? If hand weapon and shields were an option for Temple Guard would any of you jump at the chance? Would giving Saurus Warriors light armor options blur the line between them and Temple Guard too much?
Re: Hypothetical new book change: More Equipent for Sauri? If they don't cost the same, someone in GW design is an idiot. Oh wait ... Two hand weapons is generally a bad choice, and would be terrible for Saurus. Like spears (another bad weapon in 8th), it would also have to be free. Replace halberds with great weapons for 3 points a model? Replace halberd with shield? I'd pay points for that! The line is already blurred. With the current cost difference, or similar, I don't think I'd even consider TG if Saurus got better armour.
Re: Hypothetical new book change: More Equipent for Sauri? I agree with david on just about all of this. I think 3 points for a halberd is a bit steep though. If saurus were changed to be a point cheaper and not have a shield by default, i think 3 would be right on. I think temple guard vs saurus is already a blurred line. I hope that Temple guard actually become more distinct from saurus in the next edition so that our special choice can actually go toe to toe with other armies.
Re: Hypothetical new book change: More Equipent for Sauri? Would you care to explain why you believe two hand weapons would be a bad choice for Saurus? Is it because you don't believe +1 AS and 6+ parry are a fair trade for +1 A? I wouldn't take that trade across the board, but it could be a very useful option in certain situations.
Re: Hypothetical new book change: More Equipent for Sauri? Absolutely. Same reason spears are generally a bad weapon for almost every unit - because supporting attacks are capped, the extra attacks are relatively little increase, and the loss in defense is relatively greater. But extra hand weapons are even worse than spears because you don't just lose the parry, you also lose the armour save itself. An extra attack is relatively even worse than normal for Saurus, because they have 2 attacks base. skillfull_dan, you seem to have misread my post. Nowhere did I propose paying 3 points for a halberd. I suggested TG paying 3 points to remove halberds and add great weapons. That is too high though .... 3 points to add a great weapon while keeping the halberd makes more sense.
Re: Hypothetical new book change: More Equipent for Sauri? How about -3 points to drop the halbred in favor of just using hand weapon. (Curently you are paing for a halbred and a shield.)
Re: Hypothetical new book change: More Equipent for Sauri? I don't think the line is too blurry. Against most things, TG hit on a 3+ and wound on a 2+ whereas Saurus are 4+ and 3+. That's not even mentioning the gobs of special rules they get if a Slann is present. Sort of off topic, but how many of you opted to use HW&S on TG back in 7th? I didn't play then, so I'm just curious. As to the original post:
Re: Hypothetical new book change: More Equipent for Sauri? Maybe we could get a new core unit, like some feral saurus from the Dragon Isles... Thay would have normal saurus stats... but with like +2 initive, extra hand wepon and like either frenzy or hatred... hmmm maybe with out the light armor... to balance out the points a bit, thay are feral afer all.
Re: Hypothetical new book change: More Equipent for Sauri? The days of often running across W3 T3 units are pretty rare in my meta game. More often its alot of elite infantry or monsterous calvary in my meta. I would think they should be 15 points and start HW/S and the halberds are free or +1 point. GW +3 points. Also think though they need to add a new core unit to mix things up a bit. It unfortunate that we lose attacks by having the slann take up supporting attacks but so be it, can't really think of a way around that.
Re: Hypothetical new book change: More Equipent for Sauri? That is easy to fix - allow the Slann to be placed anywhere in the unit, and he can shift position during any of your movement phases when the unit is able to move in the remaining moves phase.