AoS Skinks: Shooting "into" combat, melee vs ranged balance and master chaff

[spawning of Bob]

So, combat only exists in the combat phase (like attacking a building in 8th) Between rounds of melee, you just have a couple of close packed groups of dudes checking their facebooks or whatever.

If my shooters can see enemy in range, they can shoot them. Even if they are checking Twitter.

Rules controversy: what constitutes line of sight -"visible to the attacker" might mean you can shoot through your own melee troops (which stupid, but makes for some cool tactical positioning) OR you can't - which would be horrible because the definition of LoS here is so vague you could drive a stegadon through it and there will be arguments aplenty.

The safest interpretation is that if your model can see an enemy toenail, they can fire. (which is stupid)

Melee or ranged skinks?

A unit of Skinks has 10 or more models. Some units wield Meteoric Javelins and carry Star-bucklers.(javelins are melee and ranged weapons) Others loose crackling projectiles from Boltspitters and either wield Moonstone Clubs (ranged and melee) or carry Starbucklers, (ranged and melee) while some fight up close with Moonstone Clubs and Star-bucklers. (melee only)

Your choices of arms are best combat = no ranged, best ranged = lose either best melee or lose shields. Javs and shields is the middle ground. MathAoS (doesn't sound right) to work out which is the most effective build.

Skinks can be wary fighters (they can back up instead of pile in)

SO if your cute little skinks end up i
n someone's 3" melee range these are possible scenarios:

• You choose to "attack" first. You warily back up 8 inches. You are out of melee range. combat over.
• You pile into combat, knowing that if you do some damage, the enemy will take a battleshock test that turn and might pop.
• You pile into combat, knowing that if you might get a lucky wound in. If you survive the combat In your next movt phase you move back 8" and pepper them with bolts (and hope they fail the next move / charge phase or charge someone else) or stay close (blocking their charge options) and shoot them before their next move / charge phase.
• Enemy chooses to attack first. They pile in and strike (as usual) you roll (as usual). Casualties removed. Then you warily back up.

Skink Chaff?

Imagine the enemy is pointing a big monster / cavalry charge at your slann or what ever from 9 to 12 inches away. They will complete the move / charge combo on their next turn.

It is your turn. Your skinks shoot (monster / whoever, doesn't matter) then you move them 4 inches in front of the monster, then you charge their face. In combat you go first and back up > three inches. Turn ends.

Next turn. Monster charges skinks.
Enemy attacks first. Skinks die. Slann has avoided one round of combat, has time to float away to check his emails.

OR Next turn. Monster charges skinks.
You choose to fight that combat first. You back up >3 inches. Combat is over. Turn ends
Your turn - you move into a very wide formation so the enemy can't move past you before charging the slann. You shoot - charge (and change formation as you do so) - back up - as many times as you can.

OR you survive combat in your turn and have a single model in 3" of his monster. In his turn he can ONLY stay still or retreat while that model lives. It cannot declare a new charge if it retreated (I love this) even if the skink gets shot off the board 5 seconds later. If the skink lives, the monster can't do anything other than melee with the skink for the whole turn.

Hmm. Strokes beard. There is much to consider.

 

[pendrake]

How did you move those skinks back 18 inches again?
Are you sure you can shoot, move, charge

Your skinks shoot (monster / whoever, doesn't matter) then you move them 4 inches in front of the monster, then you charge their face. In combat you go first and back up > three inches.

All this is doable in one turn..? Must re-read.

 

[Ixt]

The javelins count as melee, too. They're listed twice - once under missile, once under melee.

 

[spawning of Bob]

The javelins count as melee, too. They're listed twice - once under missile, once under melee.

Oops so they are. I will amend the above.

A lot.

 

[hdctambien]

How did you move those skinks back 18 inches again?
Are you sure you can shoot, move, charge

All this is doable in one turn..? Must re-read.

Yes, you can magic in the hero phase, move in the movement phase, shoot in the shooting phase, charge in the charging phase, and melee in the close combat phase. All in the same turn with the same unit. With certain units, you can do all of that on turn 1 even!

 

[Soul Zenmuron]

I have a question about the weapon choices.

If you chose the bolts and the clubs, does that mean that you have 2 attacks/skink in the combat phase? Since the bolts also have melee stats.

 

[Bowser]

No, they use their ranged weapons in the shooting phase and the melee weapon in the combat phase. Just 1 attack.

 

[Soul Zenmuron]

Ah. So the boltspitter only works as a melee weapon if it's the only weapon they have? Good to know.

Thanks, Lord Bowser.

 

[Fruzzle]

No, they use their ranged weapons in the shooting phase and the melee weapon in the combat phase. Just 1 attack.

That was my first instinct as well but reading the rules and the warscroll I'm not really seeing why they wouldn't have the 2 attacks?
Maybe the Alpha rule saying he makes 2 attacks instead of one but than you could argue the alpha gets 4 attacks!

One trick I love with skinks is to charge with them, pick them first, and wary fighter yourself past an enemy unit (positioning is key but it's doable) to get to objectives behind them. You can get some really fast skinks going 8‘’ （movement) 2d6 （charge) and 8'' (weary fighter) in one turn. Opponent don't usually expect the trick and bouncing off to the side or behind an enemy unit means that even if they charge they'd be going away from stuff you'd want them to go away from.

If you roll too low on the charge to really get past them just withdraw infront of the unit as a speed bumb. Having other combats ongoing that they want to resolve first (say, vs a steg) really helps out with using weary fighter here.)

If you'd get a double turn your well into his backline.

TL;DR: using weary fighter to get a speed buff out of your skink cohort is a great trick.

 

[Bowser]

I have made an error, if you have Boltspitters and clubs, you do get both attacks, so potentially 4 attacks.

 

[Aginor]

Wait, what????

 

[Aginor]

Wow. I read the warscroll again just now and I think you are right. Two melee attacks for the little guys if they don't carry shields.

 

[Fruzzle]

Wow. I read the warscroll again just now and I think you are right. Two melee attacks for the little guys if they don't carry shields.

Yeah I'm not sure what was intended but I think many of us are fantasy veterans so we end up with a lot of rule reading bias from previous editions.

So I try very hard to read it as it is and follow the rules. And as written you'd get 1 attack with the bolt spitter and 1 with the club.

The alpha rule says he gets 2 attack instead of one.... so 2x2?

It's a very marginal buff, nothing to get too excited about, spitter +shield is probably still best. Weary fighter out of combat is the best choice in 99% of cases. But if you're doing 3x 10 skinks as battleline it might be useful to have one team running around for clean up duty. this load out can kill most non comabt basic heroes or take the last couple of wounds of of stuff.

 

[Soul Zenmuron]

Too bad the Cohort gives them the bonus only for shooting. Could have been useful in combat for the clubs

 

[Tokek]

Yeah I'm not sure what was intended but I think many of us are fantasy veterans so we end up with a lot of rule reading bias from previous editions.

So I try very hard to read it as it is and follow the rules. And as written you'd get 1 attack with the bolt spitter and 1 with the club.

The alpha rule says he gets 2 attack instead of one.... so 2x2?

It's a very marginal buff, nothing to get too excited about, spitter +shield is probably still best. Weary fighter out of combat is the best choice in 99% of cases. But if you're doing 3x 10 skinks as battleline it might be useful to have one team running around for clean up duty. this load out can kill most non comabt basic heroes or take the last couple of wounds of of stuff.

I tried out a couple of units with spitters and clubs today. Turn 2 I got them stuck into combat to prevent the Khorne forces piling everything in on my carnosaur and killing it. They did alright, killing a flesh hound and taking off the last wound from a bloodcrusher. Their attacks are puny but with 21 coming from each unit (I declined to add the Alpha attack on both weapons) they sure do throw plenty of dice at the problem for such a cheap unit. More to the point they kept the carnosaur alive to dish out more damage and pinned everything in place for the Rippers to finish their work elsewhere and pile in to finish the job.