My guess on the Rippers would be that the unit has a special charge rule and frenzy. Maybe a little tougher than a standard terradon. It would be too much to hope for to have the skinks riding them act like wound counters (think Sallies and razordons).
At least I expect from the rippers to cover the position flying hunters, since now, terradons were most skirmishers throwing stones and a little more but we needed some fast unit that can hit a bit harder.. I must say that I am more interested on the new rules and old units rather than the new models!
I for one really like the look of the new update, and I really like the fact that we can field carnosaurs and other colossal dinos WITH a slann, i like the look of the new terradons and ripperdactyls (but not the name, ill stick with rippers) and i think the addition of an ankylosaurus is great. I also feel that models for gor-rok and tetto are long overdue, even if they aren't as good as id have hoped. However I do NOT like the snake shooters, as i think that burning snakes would be a dishonour to sotek and not fit the lore at all, and the lack of a coautl is a real bummer...
LOL, good one! Good news on the Skrox and Sallies still being part of the army! Still hopeful that in the midst of all this dino-love our basic RnF were not overlooked. Since we are not getting new core models, we can forget about saurus with double handed weapons. I'll be satisfied if the points are lowered to account for the waster second attack on our profile due to the way the step-up rule works. Fingers also crossed that Krox are boosted slightly to make them viable Monstrous Infantry. But posting about it seems rather pointless. The book has already been at the publishers for at least the last several weeks to generate inventory. What's the conventional wisdom on Jeremy Vetock's army book writing ability?
Pretty sure he wrote the current Skaven book. So maybe we'll get some sweet OP stuff like our own HPA and Dreaded 13th-type ability for the Slann. Maybe even a Storm Banner!! EDIT: I think he wrote the OnG book too. So that's ok I guess.
Hmmmmm...... An article on the probale author. http://the11thcompany.freeforums.or...ark-angels-writer-some-info-on-him-t4679.html
I see that he help (or wrote) the Ogre Kingdoms book too. That is a plus. I thought that was well written for the most part (DeathFist excluded). Another thing I thought was neat was the 'flamming bolas' comment. That should be a very interesting rule. I look forward to seeing it. Also, it appears that both types of our flyers will have them.
My only concern is the 'internal balance issues', however one forum post isn't damning in of itself. As with everything else, I'm waiting to read the rules first. Was the Ogre Kingdoms book good? I have a feeling it was, which is good news if so. I can't remember if it was or not though! Hmm, Dreaded Incantation of Sotek? If successfully cast the entire unit turns into a Snake Swarm!
I have some concerns. There are serious internal balance issues with the Orcs and Goblins book. Notably, you never see actual mundane Orcs because Savage ones are so much better. Other units, such as Boar boys, are terrible. My worst fear? Munane Orcs become our Saurus so are never seen, and our Cold Ones arel ike Boar Boyz... On the other hand, the Orcs book does have a lot of options to it, and many of them are viable, so perhaps its not all bad. Then again, there's Skaven, where again there are some balance issues (Clanrats vs Slaves), except this time most of the stuff in it is full of cheese. He also contributed to Ogre Kingdoms, though its hard to say how much input was his. And yet, this book also has its cheese - Mournfang Cavalry dominated battlefields for months (see if you can find the pic from last years' SCGT with all the Mournfang on one table) - although internal balance issues aren't quite so severe. To elaborate a little in response to Slanputin, the Skaven book practically won Warhammer until the Ogre Kingdom book came along, and then that practically won Warhammer until Matt Ward decided to unkillable, unbreakable Daemon Princes was a good idea.
My thoughts: Well, the Ripperdactyls don't sound nearly as bad as I thought they would be. They are still pretty bad though. As expected, they'll have max 4+ armour save (SS + mount + shield); possibly even just 5+. Frenzy, armour piercing and killing blow sound like a nice combination, except fast-moving flyers with low leadership + frenzy is a terrible combination. You'll want them to specifically target certain units (such as the one you use their special ability against), but you can't go far out of the general's bubble or they'll run wherever they like. I'll withhold judgement until I see the Ripper's stats, but if its WS3 S4 A1 I3 I won't be bothering. Whilst Quick to Fire is nice, strength 4 isn't great against the majority of Flameable/Regen creatures out there. Predatory Fighters however... now we're talking! Hope that our Saurus gets that. It'll be really handy with any re-roll spells. I only hope that, as its pretty situational, it doesn't get factored into points cost. On another note, I bet if this was in the Warriors book it would be a free hit rather than a free attack ... I can't wait to see what the Solar Engine really does... but more importantly, he's using High Magic without a Slann. This indicates that our Skinks can, in fact, take it! There's a huge mistake with the Contemplation spell if its as written: as it replaces the lore attribute of whatever lore you re-roll on, it means things like Searing Doom won't work >.>
Try living here in Australia then, those 60 dollars (*edit* actually the 50 dollars) are 83 dollars here - even last year when out dollar was worth more. I feel for you , I live in NZ and its getting up to like 90 to 100 dollars per box
Perhaps the prevalence of feathers is precisely why the Coatls don't fight for them any more, they're fed up with losing their pinions. Slightly miffed about high magic, it would have been nice to have a lore that was designed to work with Lizardmen units, instead of, you know, a completely different army. I guess it is "fluffy", but there is something slightly irksome about being handed some other armies cast-off lore which wasn't designed to be used with your army, especially as the best thing about it (the lore attribute) has been changed into a lame gimmick for our version. EDIT: just read the suggestion that skinks can use high magic, well aside from that being about as fluffy as a pool ball it definitely makes skink wizards mre of a viable alternative to the Slann, heavens does wear a bit thin now and then.
Suddenly much more interested in Ripperdactyls: the frog mechanic sounds really interesting, and certainly create a bit of an atmosphere during the game. (Potentially) up-gradable Frenzy, Armour Piercing and Killing Blow? I just hope the Skinks can survive with the Frenzy! If it's 4+ AS, I don't think that's too bad at all. Nice to see the Scaly Skin save however Really want to know more about this Solar Engine; I already have a big conversion idea in mind, I just want to know whether I'll want to use it! So, possibly gives bonus to Lore of Light and/or Initiative boost? Sounds juicy! I like the Predatory Fighters ability, and the image of the Trog's Primal roar that comes with it Good to hear about the Lore Attribute too: at least you can change out of the speel you choose after if it's in a different lore. "or another lore he also has available", possibly two lores on the go at once then? Or dip into any lore that he could potentially choose from? Thinking a cheeky HM/Life/Light mix... I wonder how it'd work with Metal however? That's if I'm reading it right. At least you can change back into the previous spell!
I'm happy about the scaly skinks: it makes sense considering the models, and it might just make the difference in close combat. And YES to the Scar-vet having the Predatory Figher rule! GCPD you are amazing. Thanks for these!
I'd be happy if we ONLY got the Predatory Fighter rule. This is awesome! Yeah, but D3+1 attacks with Killing Blow is pretty awesome. And I assume they still have Vanguard for being Fast Cav, so a Turn 1 charge is completely feasible, if not by Turn 2. I can see us pointing these guys at support units like Cannons pretty easily. Especially if the cost is right. Plus Skinks are historically Initiative 4 so they'll likely get to kill whatever they hit if they aren't too numerous. Glass hammers for sure. I'm curious how the frogs work exactly. Gonna be a fun unit to play around with. I'm seeing some fun Drop Rocks + Flaming Bola combos in my head. Bye-bye Treemen, Hell-Pits, and Hydras
I doubt that predatory fight works with ranged attacks, but if it does, that would be amazing.... (think poison)
I'm jsut getting it from here guys, can't take too much credit! http://www.lounge.belloflostsouls.net/showthread.php?33666-Lizardmen-Rumor-Roundup&p=331995#post331995 As for the rules, I'm feeling pretty anxious. Predatory Fighter could mean Saurus losing their 2 attacks. If the Terradons are at their current points value and have to pay to upgrade to the bolas on top, they aren't really all that cost effective (Sisters of Averlorn are twice as good at half the cost...). The Solar Engine buff is +2 at best, +1 initiative at worst. Kind of good on Temple Guard and Saurus Cav, I guess, but pretty naff on Saurus Warriors. I'm also pretty sad that its a bound spell rather than an outright cannon. Except aren't drop rocks in the shooting pahse? You can't Vanguard and charge in the first turn, sadly. And D3+1 isn't that great if you're attacking at initiatve 2, like the current Terradon, with a paltry 4 or 5+ armour save. I'm trying not to get too down about it, but I so far its not synergising very well for me. Edit: You don't want to get within 6" of a Treeman. Strangleroot.
Most of what has been said I can verify. The mounted skinks shoot fireleech bolos. They are living things. The frog thing is accurate, the predatory fighter rule apparently applies to most of the lizardmen army, the predatory roar or whatever that the trogladon has affects more than just itself. The battle report is against TK. The snake pit seems to be a close combat benefit rather than spawning bases of swarms. The Trogolodon is blind and the prophet uses it to hunt down stolen relics or something. It has a special rule called beast rider but I am not sure what that does yet. Scar-vet can indeed ride carnosaurs. There appears to be upgrades for our monsters now. I couldn't make out the two upgrades for the carnosaur but stegadons have an option called unstoppable stampede, and Sharpened Horns. For the trogolodons, the S, T, and W are 5. Thats all I got at a glance. More later hopefully...