Hmm, do i remember correctly when i think there was such a thing as different Saurus spawns? Some kind of upgrade in the old codex that gave saurus warriors different "boosts"? Do i remember i all wrong or was there such a thing, i got confused when not finding anything about it in the new codex.
Yes, you refer to the sacred spawnings. However they were removed some time ago. Many hoped for their return with this codex but never happened http://sgabetto.free.fr/Telechargements/sacredhosts.pdf this was posted by n810 in another thread and gives more detailed info on the spawnings.
If that link isn't working, try this one, http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...nts/sacredhosts.pdf+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us sadly this one lacks pictures though. Edit: ahh I finaly found an intact copy. http://www.gobookee.org/get_book.ph...nZW1lbnRzL3NhY3JlZGhvc3RzLnBkZgpXQVJIQU1NRVI=
Actually what happened wasn't so much that the spawnings got "dropped" as such, many of them were just subsumed into the 7th edition army list as special rules for units. For example Saurus used to be 6+ scaly skin and be able to upgrade it. To 5+ with the spawning of quetzl, what happened in 7th was they just put Saurus scaly skin up across the board anyway, so all Saurus effectively had the spawning of quetzl anyway. The same thing happened with the spawning of Tlaxcotl (itp) and temple guard, they got it as standard.
It should be noted that the Sacred Host rules linked above are different from the basic 6th edition Sacred Spawning rules. The Sacred Host rules apply when the whole army has one chosen spawning. The basic 6th Ed. rules had allowed individual Saurus Warrior units to take a spawning (any stated in the Sacred Host rules) for a varying cost (dependent on which spawning was chosen). These units were now considered Special instead of Core. In addition, they may only be joined by characters with the matching spawning (Slann as the lone exception to this rule). Skink Priests, Skink Chiefs, & Saurus Scar-Veterans could choose a spawning at some variable cost (dependent on which spawning was chosen, and these costs are different than they are for units). Saurus Oldbloods could similarly choose up to two spawnings. Another important differential from the Sacred Host rules: the different spawnings did not give Skink Priests access to other Magic lores, they still had to stick with Heavens. Characters had 2 additional spawnings to choose from (Itzl and Blessed Spawning of the Old Ones) that had their own special rules. The rules were fun and thematic, but very clunky and mostly inefficient. I can see why they have not made a comeback in the last two books (although I'd love it if they did). As Spiney Norman has pointed out, the best spawning (Quetzl) has been effectively added to all saurus (and skinks as of 8th ed.). And the ItP (Thaxcotl) has conditionally been added to the Temple Guard rules. Back in the 6th Edition, those were mostly the important ones to pick (Sotek and Chotec had their uses too). I think GW could make playable, balanced Sacred Spawning rules. Other armies have Marks and Big Names and Vampire Powers, etc. Even if they were only for characters, I'd love to have them. Maybe (for characters only: Oldbloods, Scar-Vets, Chiefs, & Priests may have up to 1) each Spawning can only be taken once per army (All cost 10 points, except BMotOO costs 20), Spawnings do not count as part of the magical item allowance: Tzunki: +1 Initiative Sotek: Devastating Charge, Hatred (Skaven), (Skinks with this spawning do not count against the army spawning limit) Tlanxla: Reroll 1's when rolling to hit in close combat Quetzl: Enemies never wound on better than a 3+ Tzcatli: All close combat attacks have the Armour Piercing rule Tlazcotl: Immune to Psychology Chotec: May reroll distance when character (and the unit he is in) is pursuing Huanchi: Fear Tepok: MR(1) Potek: 5+ Ward Save against Magical Attacks in close combat Xhotl: Enemy models in base contact suffer a S2 hit at the beginning of the close combat phase Xapati: When killed, the model that caused the final wound immediately suffers a S6 hit with no armour save allowed Itzl: The character's mount has 1 extra attack. Blessed Mark of the Old Ones: May reroll D3 dice per game This was just initial think through, I'm sure it's not 100% balanced. BTW, all those Old Ones do have official backstory that matches their spawning ability. Not all of them have had official Spawnings in the past.