AoS Need a 550 point army idea

[zubrin]

Playing with a friend and we are both getting back into the game. I haven't played in 20 years and he used to play 40k about two decades ago. So, we are starting slow as he builds his first army and I have quite a bit in the tank ready to go.

I appreciate any suggestions for a solid 550 pt army that isn't focused on cheesing him (too much).

My options include:

Lord kroak
Saurus Astrolith Bearer
Skink Starpriest
Slann Starmaster
Saurus Warriors (x50)
Saurus Knights x5
Skinks (x70)
Salamander + 3 handlers
Stegadon
Old blood on Carnosaur
Ripperdactyls x3
Any endless spells.

My friend will be playing destruction and likely focusing on orcs/wolf riders.

 

[zubrin]

Maybe I can do some summoning shenanigans with:

Slann Starmaster
Saurus Warriors x20
Saurus Knights x5

 

[Aginor]

I suggest playing around a bit with https://www.warhammer-community.com/warscroll-builder/
Very handy.

For 550 points you could do something like this (assuming you only need one battleline at 550):

Allegiance: Seraphon

Leaders
Skink Starpriest (80)
- General
- Trait: Master of Star Rituals
Saurus Astrolith Bearer (160)
- Artefact: Prism of Amyntok

Battleline
40 x Skinks (240)
- Boltspitters & Star Bucklers

Units
1 x Razordons (40)

Endless Spells
Prismatic Palisade (30)

Total: 550 / 500
Extra Command Points: 0
Allies: 0 / 200
Wounds: 53

 

[LizardWizard]

You could run:

Allegiance: Seraphon

Leaders
Slann Starmaster (260)
-General
-Trait: Great Remember
-Artifact: Incandescent Rectricies

Engine of the Gods (220)

Battleline
Skinks x10 (60)
-Boltspitters & Star Bucklers

Total: 540/550
Extra Command Points: 0
Allies: 0/200
Wounds: 27

This would let you teleport your Slann and your EotG each of your hero phases so you can kite the Iron Jaws all game using the Great Remember while summoning with your Slann and EotG. It might end the friendship though.

 

[Aginor]

You could run:

Allegiance: Seraphon

Leaders
Slann Starmaster (260)
-General
-Trait: Great Remember
-Artifact: Incandescent Rectricies

Engine of the Gods (220)

Battleline
Skinks x10 (60)
-Boltspitters & Star Bucklers

Total: 540/550
Extra Command Points: 0
Allies: 0/200
Wounds: 27

This would lets you teleport your Slann and your EotG each of your hero phases so you can kite the Iron Jaws all game using the Great Remember while summoning with your Slann and EotG. It might end the friendship though.

That's one of the smallest Seraphon armies I've ever seen.
Sounds like a fun idea!

 

[LizardWizard]

That's one of the smallest Seraphon armies I've ever seen.
Sounds like a fun idea!

Yeah, it would be a one sided game either way it goes. The IJ player will either figure it out and start zoning the board to block the teleportation or he will eventually roll a 1/2 and then get charged. Or he will simply summon so much screen while being untouchable that the IJ player will be bogged down fighting hordes of Skinks and Saurus Warriors that he can never kill what matters.

 

[LizardWizard]

If you are looking for a larger list you could run:

Leaders:

Saurus Sunblood (120)
-General
-Command Trait: Disciplines Fury
-Artifect: Ghyrstrike

Skink Starpriest (80)

Battleline:

Saurus Warrior 30x (300)

Artillery:

Salamander (40)

This will give your list a fair amount of synergies for 540 points. The Sunblood should tear through just about anything in a 550 point match provided he gets to swing first. His command trait lets him reroll 1's to hit. Couple this with his weapon which gives him +1 to hit and +1 to wound and you will reroll any failed hits. What is really scary is that both 5's and 6's to hit explode for d3 hits and both 5's and 6's to wound explode for d3 wounds.

Skink Starpriest bring a lot to the table. Summon Starlight is great in any size game, but using it at 550 points means you can essentially make the majority of your enemies units suffer -1 hit rolls if you tie them up with your warriors. The Serpents Staff isn't bad either if you run your Saurus Warriors as one large unit.

Saurus Warriors could be split into smaller units or run as one giant unit. In a small point game it might be better to run warriors in smaller units or run them with spears. Having 5 or more Saurus out of combat is a huge percentage of your army at only 550 points. If you are just trying to slaughter each other's army then I would run them as one large unit. The bonus to hit for being over 20 is worth the unit being en masse. If you are playing a battle plan that requires you to hold objective then you will likely need to run smaller units in order to capture multiple points. Alternatively you could also just drop the Skink Starpriest and Salamander and have a full 40 strong Saurus Warriors unit.

Assuming that your friend will be playing some form of Orruks, I would definitely bring a Salamander. Most orruks won't have a save against your Salamander meaning whatever you shoot at will likely be taking d6 damage.

Hope this is helpful.

 

[zubrin]

Thanks for the additional ideas all. My friend updated his army to 660 points, so I fielded the following 670 point army:

SLann
Saurus Warriors x 20
Saurus Knights x5
Salamander
Handlers x3
Balewind Vortex

And I just summoned a ton. Unfortunately, we played a straight up wounds game, so I lost despite him having one model left on the board. A roll or two difference and I when through wiping his army.

In about 36 hours we will play a 1k point game, so I am toying with some new ideas as we play an objective