Just curious, what are your thoughts on him? I've been thinking of getting one or two, but every time I think of them I settle for getting prists instead. They are really not any good at fighting, IMHO with lousy save and thoughness. Has anyone ever had any success with them? How should they be used? I really like them, but are they really any good at all?
I've been experimenting lately with the "Blackhawk" Chief (Terradon & SOTLS), with mixed results... I would say the main thing is to keep them out of Close Combat, but they do have decent BS, so they can do some good shooting.
They're also good with Dagger of Sotek... your enemy will probably underestimate the puny skink hero until he gets off a killing blow on a pointsy hero
Heh, sniper or assassin. Sounds kind of interesting But it seems like a lot of points spent in a character who'll probably not survive the retaliation of a missed attempt :/
I think they're best used on an Ancient Steg with Warspear or if you have a slot free a cheap (~90 pts) march blocker who can also put 3 S5 attacks at a warmachine.
Definitely best used as a cheap specialist support fellow. You don't want him just fighting in a unit, because he can't fight. On a terradon or stegadon are the two most common places. Also, he can provide you with a really cheap BSB and if you want to be risky, terradon BSB so he can redeploy exactly where you need leadership and maybe even rear charge for a bit more static combat res if you don't think it will get him killed. Possibly he could be a good cheap carrier of the wardrums as well if you want them around. But hey, everyone has different tactics if you cannot find a use for him then don't take one.
The thing is that I really want to find a use fr him as I think the idea of a skink leader (who's not a priest) to be quite cool. But before I start buying models or so I'd like some opinions ^^ The idea of a sniper sounds pretty cool to me so far =)
Yeah, take advantage of that high ballistic skill, and if you commonly face armies that run with solo characters you might consider the Bane Head as well. I'd personally not put the BSB on him in that case, since the work of a sniper will probably take him away from the bulk of the army.
I guess my main oponent will be an orcs & Goblin player, but I have no idea of how much he'll invest in characters. I've given some thought of having him huntig for goblin shamans and warmachines with a terradon and the staff of the lost sun. It's just that he seem so fragile, or am I wrong?
Chiefs are very fragile. The stegadon is probably the best option, everything else it just too much of a risk for the points you're putting into him. However, if put a priest on a terradon or give him the cloak of feathers he can fly around and shoot magic missiles via channeling from the slann. Lore of Beasts would be interesting against O&G, of course this means you'll have to use a slann. The beast cowers against his wolf/spider/boar riders or chariots would be pretty sweet (they can't move or attack). Or, if you could fly the skink priest to the flank of an orc unit and get the hunters spear off (basically a str 6 bolt thrower shot that ignores armor saves) you could lay some major hurt on these guys. Use skink skirmishers to trigger his fanatics to minimize casualties as well. As far as hunting goblin shamans goes, he'll probably stick his shaman up in the front of a big goblin unit with an item that gives him dispel dice based on the ranks of the unit. It's going to be hard to get at this guy with a skink chief. However, a cold one rider unit that has been magicked into the flank of the goblin unit could run him down. I know this has gone WAAY off the skink chief topic, but basically you should win because Lizardmen are so reliable (minus cold one riders) and O&G just aren't. If you want a good skink character, use a priest. If you want a good fighty character, use a scar vet. Chieftains are only really good for getting a cheap hero or another stegadon. That is all.
Once he's on the terradon, he can join up with a unit of 3-4 terradons. Bolt throwers will randomize shots against the unit, so your chief will have a bit more protection. You can split him off later if need be. You don't want to expose him to a lot of firepower, as you'll wind up with only a 4+ armor save or 3+ if you throw in the enchanted shield.
Just a small note, priests cannot ride terradons. Only chiefs can. So its cloak of feathers or nothing for the priest.
I've heard of the hunting spear/flying priest combo, and I'm curious to see how it works, it sounds kind of fun to try out. A flying sniper or a stegadon-tank sounds like the best ideas for using the chief so far. ...was going to ask something else as well but it's too early in the morning. ...blargh
I just started using a skink chief on terradon with dagger of soteck + blood statuette. I like him for the following reasons: 1) Cheap! About 140points, not horrible if he gets killed. 2) Can act as an Eagle - march block, misdirect charges (and rally like fast calv!) 3) Suicide KB if opponent mis places a character. 4) The Blood Statuette can be really helpful against some armies. It is another bound spell my opponent has to remember and try to dispell. I use a slann, engine and jaguar charm scar vet. Most of the time people are already using 2 dice to prevent the flying scar vet, and if they waste all their DD on my slann and engine, I have one surprise to kill characters.