8th Ed. Protecting my Slann and temple guard from warmachines

Hey Guys

I'm hoping you could give me some advice with a problem I have been having lately. In the last few games I have played my Slann and temple guard unit have not been fairing to well against warmachines.

Last weekend I had a warp lighting cannon blow my slann to bits in the 1st turn and then in another game I played today, I had my temple guard decimated by warmachines, and then quickly getting slaughtered in close combat along with my Slann.

I'm starting to wonder if it is worth taking temple guard or am I better just to make my Slann ethereal and rock him around on his own.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Mitch

 

i feel your pain, i have had trouble with this too, especially as 50% of my games are against empire. One small thing i have found that helps is to give a TG champion the 5point item that gives the full unit a 6+ ward vs war machines. cant remember name of item and i know its a minor help but have actually found some players see your ward save and move onto new targets.

 

Yeah, I always take the Ironcurse Icon, 6+ ward against war machines. Its also usually why I take life, so I can just regrow the models as I run across the board, or give them 4+ Regen works nicely too. Making the slaan ethereal won't help with warp lightning cannons or flaming cannonballs though, which is tough.

 

a fairly good option surely is the enchanted item for a 2+ ward on the slann vs ranged attacks? that combined with lore of life should keep the unit going. obviously it doesnt remove the possibility of a cannon one-shot, but it's a LOT less likely.

also, does he not still get a look out sir? i assumed he did...? keeps the slann at least pretty safe. obviously doesnt help your TG getting ripped to shreds.

failing that, try some of the light/heavens spells (can't remember if it's one or both lores, but there's some protection vs. ranged there) or maybe an EotG for the 5+ ward save?


other than protection, the main other thing to do is eliminate his war machines ASAP. some chameleons should help with this - the cannons will have a hard time splatting the slann if thier crews are full of poison darts!

 

I have to say the Divine Plaque of Protection is your best bet, just as walach has said. Usually, with the 2+ ward he should be able to repel anything thrown his way.

 

My main problem is a skaven army stocked out with lots of warmachines. I have no problem regularly ripping apart empire gun lines. It's the skaven that gives me problems. Their deployment is so wide that I can't get an chameleons anywhere near the warmachines. He will then save all his dispell dice to throw at either pha's protection of flesh to stone (which ever lore i'm using), then direct all his warmachines against my Slann and temple guard.

The skaven player I play against is a very good player. He came second in the GW Australian staff tournament this year. But I figure there has to be so way to stop those dirty rats.

I have considered taking terradons, so I can at least get to his warmachines, but not sure is they are anywhere near as effective of chameleons at taking out warmachines.

So i guess the direction this is now taking is how to people deal with skaven?

 

hmm, so less a gunline problem, more a skaven problem. dont think i have much to offer there, i struggle against them too.

i suppose another way to look at it is if he's pouring all his firepower/dispel dice into trying to kill the slann/TG unit, maybe dont take TG at all? solo slann with 2+ ward vs. ranged should last a fair while.

or maybe stick with the TG and take some stegs/cavalry/skrox to get stuck in asap, try and blow through his infantry and get to the war machines at the back quickly? difficult for sure though...


how about we take a slight backstep here:

- how many points is this?
- what sort of list are you using?
- what sort of list is the skaven player using?

obviously don't need specifics for the army lists, just an overview so we can try and nail down something to try.


what makes it especially annoying for me is that Lizardmen and Skaven are historical enemies, and i keep getting my ass kicked by them! :<

 

Another tactic you may consider is to not take a Slann and TG at all. I've played very successfully with an OB as my General and done very well.

 

May seem strange but the considered useless cold ones in a unit of 10 with full command can rip through skaven units like the clappers. Also, you can just add saurus as my skaven opponent generally has a hard time with my saurus unless he has a hell pit where they get blown to pieces.

As to the artillery I can't help you there but if you take terradons beware of howling warpgale which will ground them.

 

It's a 2500 point game. My list consists of a slann in a 20 temple guard. I have two blocks of 24 saurus and a scar vet in each unit. 3 units of 5 chameleon skinks, 3 units of 10 skinks and 2 units of 2 sallies. I also have a priest with a scroll.

His list contains 40 plague monks, with a plague priest on a furnance. I lvl 4 grey seer, a warlord, an engineer with a brass orb (which he always skitterleaps behind my slann). Various units of slaves and clan rats with ratling guns. Then 2 warplighting cannons and two plague catapults.

It's a very dirty list and it doesn't help that he always get the spells he wants. In all the games we have played his plague priest has always got the plague spell, which is really nasty.

 

you could try using a power scroll and throwing a lot of dice at a protection spell like phas protection or flesh to stone first turn hoping for iresistable and throwing in your skinks and terradons in the frey with his warmachines in the second turn, bu turn 3 your units should be in close combat by now and safe from warmachines...