I just joined and really enjoy the forum. At my venue we play a lot of Storm of Magic games and I'm in the Storm of Magic escalation league but sadly my league record is 2-4. I had to tech heavy to get that second win against the Vampire player. So I wanted to know if there are any good tactics for Lizardmen in Storm of Magic?
Mages. In a storm of magic game it is our big weakness. The Slann is great of course but our only other option to take a fulcrum is Skink priests. With crap toughness they can really die in droves. Being not that expensive you can get several and keep replacing as they go but there are a few other options. An Oldblood with wizard’s hat, T 5, 2+ armor save and 3+ ward save can sit on a fulcrum a long time. Everything from Truth Sayers to Elder Dragons can hold a Fulcrum. The Poison dragon is a particular favorite of mine as they are so unexpected and such a headache to deal with. Give the vampire a taste of his own medicine with a Pact. I prefer Tzench pacts (2+ward yey) but vampires run a close second. I have yet to read the new army book for vampires but I can’t imagine they have become much easier to kill. Finally for less than the cost of a Giant you can give a Skink priest the Giant helm and Bam! Giant on a Fulcrum.
Thank you for all the advice. I did not think of a Skink with the Giantkin Helm. The VCs gained a lot more combat prowless and several of their Vampire powers changed with some new ones like (Quickblood)Always strikes first, and I keep getting murdered by Red Fury, Dawnstar Sword Vamp on a Zombie Dragon with Glittering scales and now they take Quick Blood, Red Fury and Beguile (which changed to me having to reroll successful hits in that phase if I fail the Ld at -3). Thank god they lost the cuirass so my skinks can at last hit him with a poison spread.
Giants? You have better be joking Plant Ethereal Slann on fulcrums, summon more using 'Seven Sigils' if you lose them. Shadow, Metal, Light and Death are ideal Lores. Skink Priest should be on an EOTG, giving your giant units of Saurus 5+ ward. He's a must-have, 'Fantastic Foresight' will allow you to utterly dominate the magic phase if your opponent doesn't block it. 'Four Winds' is great, letting you blow enemy chargers backwards to get in more shooting/magic. If you want monsters, I'd recommend some of the following (can't take them all together, but combo as you like) Great Eagles: With 'Swiftsense' and 'Flame Roc' upgrades, they are deadly. They're also fairly tough. A small unit of 4-5 will tear through enemy cavalry, a lot of monsters and of course kill warmachines. They are a billion times better than Terradons in this role. Zoat: He's almost as tough as a Slann, and once on a Fulcrum the 3+ ward and decent combat statline will keep him alive. He is also a Level 4 Life caster, so you're highly likely to get 'Throne' or 'Dwellers', either of which makes him god-like in the magic phase. Frees up your Slann to take Shadow, Death, Metal or Light lores instead. Daemonic Pact: A cheap Tzeentch Herald with Loremaster on a fulcrum is fantastic, and you can take a unit of Horrors for cheap dakka infantry (and to fulfill that 1+ core requirement). Vampire Pact: Vamps are unlikely to change much in the new army book. They'll still be extremely deadly in close-combat, and be powerful casters. So, load one up with a suitable magic weapon (preferably one that raises Strength or ignores armour) and the Other Trickster's Shard, and go mage hunting on the enemy fulcrums. For the 1+ Core choice, a giant unit of Zombies to block enemy assaults and absorb enemy fire (they're the ultimate tarpit, and 'Nehek' just keeps building them) is cheap and works great.
I have never played a game of storm but what about a Lamasu? Its a magic using monster so could take a fulcrum.
The Lamasu is only a Level 1, with an expensive upgrade to Level 2. Lore of Fire is pretty meh for us (Salamanders already do it so well and don't need power dice), Lore of Death and Shadow require Level 4's or Loremasters to be truly effective (as you really want the ultimate's and the utility spells). A Pact with a Tzeentchian Herald is a better option. You do have to shell out for the Horror bunker for him, but it's not that expensive (we're used to paying for Saurus). He comes with Level 2 standard, Loremaster is a cheap upgrade, and he's tougher (4+ ward > MR3). Alternative monsters are probably going to better too. Truthsayer has his 'screw you I'm a dragon' free swap even if you don't take Lore of Beasts. Dark Emmissary is also a good choice. And of course Zoat is amazing, Level 4 Life caster freeing up your Slann to take other Lores.
Yeah after looking through the Storm of Magic book the giantkin helm forbids me from casting spells. I do really like the Zoat, I just don't have one :c Sadly in our league I have to keep using the general I selected at the beining in the 500 point Battle which was an Oldblood. I have been pretty lucky each time Thorzilla (Oldblood) has been defeated he lives and gains new skills. My Slann keeps getting hit with the Crystal Maze from an Arabian Puzzle box weilding Vampire or Demon. So far my Oldblood has gain -1 M +1 Ld Strongman ( I lose the always strikes last rule when using a Great Weapon.) Lightning Reflexes ( Always Strikes First) Mighty Blow (+1 S) Battle Scars ( Terror) Step Aside ( an extra 6+ ward save). We are up to 3500 points. Also 1 core unti becomes your General's Unit and gains skills too. My Saurus Unit has Mighty Blow (+1 S) and Terror. And if you take a creature with Storm of Magic points and it lives then you can take it has a Rare choice for your Army and your general may be mounted on it, it also gains skills. My mount is Mjolnirah (Wyvern) and gained +1 WS So that is what I have earned so far.
I'm currently proxying mine, still hunting for an original model on eBay. You can convert one up with a Dragon Ogre model I imagine. Really? It's a Dominance-level spell, how are you letting him get that many fulcrums? Pretty beastly. Does he have a magic weapon or is he wielding a great weapon?
I will try and get a Draon Ogre to convert. I don't have that many Mages...just 1 Slann and 1 Skink Priest. The Vampire players bring so many wizards and just duel the Skink off and Crystal Maze my Slann. With the Arabian puzzle box they usual spin the wheel to get the bonus and just target my Slann. I almost won a hopeless game with the great leveller spell. I had to have my skink duel off any one wizard to get dominance which worked and at the time I had just the Slann, the Skink, and Thorzilla on a Cold One with the Dawnstar sword/bane head (which I had seleted their general with it). But the Skink didn't win the duel. I can change up his items before each battle but with his skills I have always taken a Great Weapon except once. Mighty Blow and GW plus ASF and Strongman has him going first with S8. If you win and earn XP then you can pick your skills but I have been losing and ended up with these skills and stat bumps. I have to mount him thanks to that -1 M. I end up losing because the turn of the game is always on my opponent's turn and then just duel anything they can off to win, since it is fulcum control that wins. I have only got to do two 1 V 1 fights and have had to fight on a team ( my partners always lose their Mages, Both mine usually stay alive.) The final Battle is 3500 points 2 V 2 seige. Their is a Castle in the center and each tower counts has a Fulcum plus a Master Fulcum in the center courtyard ( worth 5 control points.) You earn control points based on General's you kill, Their General's chosen creature, controlling fulcums and the master one in the center.
Giants and the Giant helm. If you were just taking a monster I would agree that Giants are sub par compared to others. If you where putting a Giant helm on a level four caster I would agree that it is sub par compared to other items. What I am recommending however is holding a fulcrum with a T5 W6 Ld10 monster. Skinks are susceptible to Duels and fights. This guy isn’t. He helps you with rule number one in SoM games. Hold your fulcrums! Yes you give up a spell but you should have at lease one other Skink Priest anyway. Yes there is a chance the item stops working but summoned mages can be dispelled. So can Transformation with the Truthsayer and that takes away power dice in the first place. Its not the only option or even the best but it is by no means a bad idea like you are suggesting Taipan.
In a game last week at 3k points (+SoM points) I played with 1 slann, 1 EotG, 1 shaman and 1 zoat. also a group of great eagles. The rival went with Tomb Kings, a Dark emmisary and TK pact. He had a total of 5 casters. Thanks to the cube, a lot of luck with the miscasts, and the cogitator, the slann dominated the magic phases. As previously said, the Fantastic Foresight is simply marvelous.
Cube of Darkness annoys the enemy incredibly in SoM. If you have the points then two slann and a zoat with the zoat positioned in a wood and the two slann with non-life lores on the fulcrums can be devastating. I did have fun with the giantkin helm on an ethereal slann as my opponent didn't have anything that could affect a monster with a 4+ ward that was immune to mundane items.
What point level are you playing at? I think 3k is about where SoM starts to get good, below that you can't field 90% of the monsters n stuff without severe restrictions (like, one choice). 3k allows you to Double Slann as well, which given your meta-game I strongly recommend. Priests are not reliable at all. Even on a fulcrum, they lose a fight to a wet paper bag, and they are easily dueled off Fulcrums. As I said before, he can't cast 'Crystal Maze' unless he has Dominance, which means at least one more fulcrum than you. At all. So you can ruin his whole strategy by just denying fulcrums and sniping Wizards. Cool. I don't like Great weapons nerfing Initiative (4 is perfectly respectable, and with Speed potion its decent), and I like having magical attacks (for those odd occasions where you fight Ethereals). Then you need to get your teamates to raise their game. Wizards are the game winners in SoM, everything else is just cannon fodder largely. You will still die to a kitted-up Lord, maybe slower but still you're dead. I'd rather spend my 25% on actual units, not gimmicky wargear. The SoM items are nice but very few of them are actually useful. More for fun and explosions than actual effectiveness. Yeah. It's kinda sad you probably won't get it most turns (they'll always throw dispel at it), but when it goes off, holy god will you dominate. Especially if you have Equilibrium or Dominance spells as an option. Eh, Cube is only going to remove RIP on a 4+ remember, otherwise it's just an expensive scroll. Situational, I'd take Blood Statuette+dispel over it honestly. Snipe an enemy mage, and then still have a scroll for blocking a non-IF power later on. Lol. All it takes is a magic weapon or spell to kill him though, most people will be taking that. Pretty amusing if your opponent had neither though.
quick question about storm of magic. Ive been looking through the rule book (SOM) and cannot find anywhere that says you can roll more then 6 dice at a spell. Is this correct or am I blind?
IIRC you are blind, but I may be mistaken... I thought it was in the part about the increased number of dice for SoM.