8th Ed. Newbie to Lizards. Need direction and guidance

[Lowetide]

Hi guys
I'm pretty to new to Warhammer in general, my friend has played for about 10 years and he is not only the one to get me into this game but also my main opponent!
I have a small vampire army so I know the basic rules, so you know - my friend can field armies of vamps, lizards, beastmen, daemons, WoC, orcs but his face army are dwarves.

I've been reading these forums and decided to start a lizardmen force, I bought a bulk lot and have the following so far;
1 slann
1 old blood on foot
1 skink priest
1 battle standard saurus
55 saurus with hw/s
30 skinks and blowpipes
30 java skinks
2 jungle swarms
3 salamanders
3 kroxigor
5 chameleon skinks

Ive been reading this forum and I think I have a solid foundation. My friend has 20 TG I can buy.
Is there more I should buy?
Btw, I've bought the book it's just in the post!

How would you put together a strong army from this and what points am I most comfortable going for - 2.5k?
I have yet to win a game against my friend so help is appreciated.

Sorry if this is more army list than general - I just posted here as I don't yet have a list

All help is appreciated

 

[n810]

hmmmm....

Probaly a box of temple guard, and maybe some cold ones or stegadons.
but you could still field an effective army with what you have now.

 

[Lowetide]

That's good

I'm thinking an engine of the gods and some temple guard actually!

What sort of list would you make personally?

I'm thinking 2x25 blocks of saurus with the oldblood as a vet, slann in the temple guard then filling up the rest with skinks and salamanders!

I know there is a dedicated army list section, so when the book arrives I will post more detailed there.

Any general tips for using such a force for a newbie?
Is the temple guard unit something I should keep out of combat?

Can't wait to play with my new army this weekend!!

 

[Qupakoco]

I'd recommend reading through a few of the battle reports. The Hunted has an excellent report using basic troops and solid tactics.

 

[Turtleneck]

temple gaurds need combat; but 99% of the enemies flee from the sight of 24 temple guards with slann in it anyways, u got the basic stuff u need, like said above, read battle reports, and than tune your list to your playing style

 

[BostonKaiser]

I recommend at least one Ancient Steg. It seems to be able to stand toe to toe with all the other big booglies out there: hydra, spider, etc. Looks like you have a good assortment other than that.

 

[Lowetide]

My friend/enemy also thinks I should add an ancient steg - with engine of the gods?

 

[BostonKaiser]

I'm not real fond of the engine. Most of it's effects are only 12", so you have to put the Steg in the "danger zone". Most opponents direct all their attacks at the priest and kill him quite easily. I'm sure others will tell you differently, but that's been my experience. Maybe I'm just not using it correctly?
I've found a skink chief w/ the Warspear for 2D6+1 impact hits to be quite effective. Slam him into a unit's flank to minimize attacks back, and T-Stomp away!