Hey, my first post over here, however I have been playing GW games (mainly LOTR SBG) for the past 6-7 years, and have dabbled in Fantasy and 40K. Currently i have a 3000 point Empire army for fantasy, however, it is pretty much a gun line, which i have decided i dont want to use any more (mainly as it was not my choice to have so many ranged wepons but models came up cheap and, well you know how it is!) so now i have my eyes dead set on lizardmen, i like the idea of solid blocks of Sarus walking forward whilst a large number of skinks set up skirmesh lines around the unites, aswell as final charges from Cold one cav. Following this idea (im mainly a collector rather than a solid gamer, so i liked models more than states) so basicly this gets me to the main reasson for my first post! i am going to start with a Batalion, an most likerly a skink cheif or skink priest depending on what i decide for the final Lord choice, which is were i ned some assistcance! I cant decide between a Slann (in a unit of 20 Temple Gaurd) or convert a Cold on Rider onto a Carnosaur for an Old Blood (Lord choice right name?) to charge straight into the sides of units and see them away (main opponent is going to be Skaven) Obviously i dont intend to use either of these two till around 200points, but still id like to have the models to test me painting/converting ability. thanks in addvance Beaner
if you like magic, slann if you like combat, oldblood. in 8th ed. i'd prefer a slann. but i'm a combat person and haven't tried the oldblood just yet but i'd still say the safest way to go is the slann.
Personally, I prefer Slann to Old Bloods. First of all, it is a nice model. Secondly, the Slann brings you magic defense, without which your army will have a hard time surviving. I know from personal experience. Your idea of converting a Old-blood on Carnosaur is very interesting and I like to see the final result. Personally, I have only converted a mounted Scarvet on Cold-one.
With the changes to 8th old blood on carny just doesn't do well. Laser guided cannons that do hits to both models (instead of one or the other) coupled with true line of sight... ouch. Slann gives you magic defense as well as serious magic offense (best caster in the game outside of some very broken special characters). The Slann also has better leadership, can be the BSB, and can take one of the best bodyguard units in Temple Guard.
This is pretty much backing up what i have been thinking, with the Scar vet on Cran, i think a) a little vunrable,especialy to warp lighting cannons and the like. b) doesnt really fit with a unit in the army so has to be a kinda of loner (which can be handy in some situations i guess) i would of course take a couple of level one skink preists, but i guess they just aint enough any more. however the slan will fit nicly in a unit of Temple Gaurd aswell as gives me some nice magic choices, and from what ive seen of magic it can be deadly. out of intrest im thinking of given him 2 of his special abilities (im afraid im rubbish with names at the mo, but will undulge meself in the near future and learn them) im thinking the one which gives him access to all spells in a lore, and the one which means only magical wepons can harm him. but im sure there is much better combination. however i havent read to much into 8th ed rules as im mainly going for models which i feel will complement my painting ability and will look good on the table top. and i cant deny that a slan sitting in a unit of TG will look good. at around 200 points would 2 skink prests be a bit much alongside a slan, or is it possible? i may however at a later date follow up my idea for a scar vet on cran as the modelling opportunity is just to great to pass up, especialy as you can get the beast direct. Thanks for all the feed back so far. Beaner
One thing that I've noticed in this edition is the tendancy for people to run lords and heroes that fulfill multiple rolls. The slann excels in this ideal, as he has good leadership, is the battle standard, and is also a level 4 wizard. Basically, I feel like the less points that you spend on characters, the more points you can spend on steadfast units; which is where the game is won and lost.
Your choice depends on how you play. Take the carno alongside a couple of skink prists if you want a cannon magnet that when it survives will smash the enemies line to pieces or a slann as a versatile powerhouse that can be an augment unit or a very powerfull magic artillery gun.
Slann are simply awesome models. And besides that they can have a very good combination of diciplines that will enhance their abilities. Here are a couple of good builds; Slann w/ Cupped hands Focus of Mystery (know all spells in 1 lore) Focused Rumination (add 'free' power die per spell) A 'cheap' slann which has excellent casting capabilities and solid miscast protection (as solid as it gets). Slann w/ Tricster's charm, Cupped hands, Power Stone Focus of Mystery Focused Rumination Soul of Stone (reroll miscast table) This is a powerhouse caster w/ even better miscast protection. And can really throw spells out there! If your facing tough anti-magic (Dwarves, other high casting armies) or you really want to break through your opponent's defeses this is a good choice. Beware it's expensive though! You can always add a BSB and magic standard too. I often do since I generally stick him in a unit of Temple Guard. For the most part experiment and try out differant combinations of diciplines and find what you like most. In my personal case I often over stuff my slann and load him in a unit of 20 TG. It's a solid unit with a heavy precense but I'm always afraid of loosing that basket w/ all it's eggs.
Can't have cupped hands and powerstone anymore, both are arcane items. I like the "I own the magic phase with my general" build. Slann Rumination-- Extra PD per spell Mystery-- Know all of one lore Becalming Cogitation-- Enemy wizard discards 6's (harder to cast and can dispel just about everything) Cupped Hands-- miscast prevention + anti-enemy wizard BSB Standard of discipline-- Leadership 10 is amazing when combined with cold blooded and rerolls. Tuck him in a TG unit and use lore of life.
thanks all these ideas seem to be pointing towards the slan, and i can understand why! i think il go for the battalion, and then a box of skinks and a slan, of course that will mean i only have 10 TG at first, but i will most likerly only be aiming for 1000 points at that time, so il play around with a couple of converted heros (e.g skink preist an sarus hero) however im tempted to then add a second batalion with a slan, giving me something like 40 saruas, 48 skinks, 20 temple gaurd and 16 cold one cav. (chances are looking at points id never take more than a unit of 12 so they can still deny rank bouns and take a couple of casulties) with 48 skinks im not sure how many to convert to make skink heros. i was thinking make 2 of each, so id have 44 skinks, and break that down to a unit of 30 skinks (ranked) and a unit of 14 skirmishers? obviously these are all ideas just floating around in my head. il put them down onto paper this evening and post over in the army builder section. i think the scar vet on carn can wait until i have purchased the things i need for a standard army then i can move into the more exotic stuff. does this kind of easy to collect army sound like it can be effective against skaven though? Beaner
GAA! I'm still stuck on the whole power stone, dispel scroll are infinite selections (7th ed)! At any rate I'd go with the double battalion choice. You get more models to form the core of your selection. The only thing I'd consider changing is only one skink hero (and a priest at that). But you probably need to seriously consider two units of ten skirmishers instead of one large unit of fourteen. 2 x 10 is easier to manuver around the field and better enable you to redirect and suround your foe. You might also consider getting a stegadon model. They are awesome to build and paint and an EOTG is an unbeatable addition to your magic phase and the Chief on an ancient w/ Steg war spear is scary on the charge! And another nice boon is that it comes with a priest and chief in the kit so you don't have to convert your regular skinks!
And just remember, if you are getting more and more pieces as time goes on you won't HAVE to choose between the two The rules are no longer you can only have one Lord in your army but that you can have 25% of your points spent on Lords! Technically, in any army over 2,300 points you can have a decently geared Slann and a decently geared Oldblood At 1,000 points and below I suggest only taking the Priest on Engine, then pick up a Slann as soon as you get to 1,500, and after that start picking up fighty characters.. But that's just an opinion, and sometimes I don't even follow my own opinion And welcome to the Lizardmen!!
thanks for all the help! i think il start with a batalion, and a stegadon, cause that way i can throw out a engine of the old gods with a skink preist, an then have the battalion, then pick up a second batalion with a slan. the only thing that will leave me with out is a sarus hero. so list will be around: Slan skink preist on stegadon with engine of old gods. 2 x 20 saurs units. 2 x 12 skink skirmishers 20 temple gaurd 16 cold one cav. so i guess i could convert a cold one into a sarus rider. but i kinda want to use the 16th one for a future cranasour converstion. but i dont know if i will ever need to use all 15 of the other riders. Beaner
uhhm.... priest on engine comes close to 400 points, you can't afford that in 1k. you need to play 1420to field a naked priest on engine, if you want to go for lvl 2 and plaque of tepok (my usual build) you get close to 1.7k
Well, he would be all right with points as those models that he has puts him at 2234 points, making the Priest a lvl2 Priest, giving the Slann a few extra points for magic, and that's with NO standards, musicians, or champions He would be all right. It's the 16 Cold Ones that gives him a huge point boost.. That's a 560 point unit there When he is talking about his basic 1k point army yes, you would be right But I think he is assuming he has two battalion box sets based off of those numbers
the 16 COC are a huge point sink teh way i see it. if you can trade them for anything else i suggest you do so. maybe a unit of 10 will work, but 16 is way too much for a S4/T4 I 2 unit, their basically saurus win an extra attack and tripple cost. also, are champions worth it in 8th? they sucked in 7th i can't seem to find any more uses for then in 8th
If you are taking Lore of Life you might as well take champions, since you can just resurrect them. Since combats will now involve more casualties and trying to wipe out units more than just kill the front rank and run em down, you will probably want champions now. Also don't forget that now champions and characters can use the "make way" rule to place themselves in combat when they normally wouldn't be, allowing them to challenge out flank-charging dragons and the like.
a valid point, i shall keep that in mind when making lists. ats least now i get to use all the chamions i modelled but never used
i really will have to sit down and have an add up of an army. im thinking as a first purchase a batalion and steg, then not gluing the preist or skink hero dude on, and using a pin so i can have a presit on foot or on steg in higher points games. that will give me a little room to play around. will defo need to add this up. i think a unit of 12 cav will be more than enough. an proberly a little to much. would two units of 5 be better (just muscian)? Beaner