I know that many people are looking into running the stegadon chief in Thunder Lizards, but I was thinking about the viability of him in Starborne, specifically skink-heavy lists. I haven’t seen any Starborne lists that feature him, but I always want to included him. It may be that I don’t feel safe without a big monster on the field, but I feel like the stegadon chief fulfills a role kind of lacking in Starborne lists: fast hero hammer-grabber that can take a punch if needed. He can do work on hero-capturing battle plans and won’t die instantly like a pack of ripperdactyls would. Charge in, clear out a point, and then move on. Give him feathered cloak and he’s at 12” flying with -1 to hit, give him nimble to make it 13” and +1 save if you want to go all-in. The command ability is good on blocks of 40 skinks to get more MW output in melee, or even melee salamanders for extra bites. If you’re running a slann or Kroak, you’re not exactly starved for command points. What do you all think of him? What role do you think he plays? Will you run him outside of Thunder Lizards?
Im not too likely to run him. 270 points is a big ask. Why bother getting +1 attack when for 240 I could just bring a whole other unit of Skinks or Salamanders.
Engine of the Gods can do almost all the things that Chief can for 10 points cheaper, except for bonus attacks for skinks and a bit less punchy, but has way more utility and 2 more wounds. If you want to win competitive games - you are hindering yourself and in friendly games - why even care if something is efficient? And don't feel unsafe because are not taking a monster. They are actually more vulnerable, than it seem. For comparison - for 40 less points 3 salamanders has 18 wounds and 4+ save vs 10 wounds and 4+ save. Yes, you can give the Chief artefacts and trait but... you could give them to other units and have more from it. If you chief is a warlord, then you don't have additinal d3 CCP, for example. The only trait that is good for him is, probably, Master of Star Rituals, because it is free CA. The same is with artefacts - we already must take one for Constellation and has only one slot to chose from. And it will be, probably, taken by Aetherquartz brooch. We have to aim for utility artefacts, that give something to our whole army. And top armies can easily deal even with overbuffed stegadon chief. They can take it down with sheer amount of attacks and mortal wounds. Salamanders, however, will kill stuff quicker. And the best defence is a good offence. And all they need is single command ability - +1 to-hit - and they become real beasts. And they can be anywhere. Of course, if you want to run Chief, no one will stop you. And it will do the good stuff. And you will, most likely, still win, unless you face competitive opponents with competitive lists. After all, you should play the way you enjoy it the most. Will the Chief ruin your list? No. Will it be the best addition? Probably not.