Hi all, I was just wondering if you have any tips or tricks concerning Storm of Magic? I have never played SoM before and got a battle upcoming. Don't know the points yet, but so far most battles I have played were 2K. Below is the list I like playing in a regular battle. Got any tips or tricks? My list so far (got most models): 25 saurus warriors spears, full command 15 temple guard full command slann mage priest channeling staff, becalming, bsb 30 skinks poison, musician 1 bastiladon solar engine 1 ancient stegadon 3 ripperdactyls 1 scarvet cold one, piranha blade, shield, light armour 5 cold one riders skink priest
Glad you asked.... Storm of Magic Aptitude Test Try the following multiple choice questions: More importantly, how did you go ? For Silliness, ask Spawning of Bob. For Everything else go to Scalenex's Tactica Index.
Ah yes, the tactica forum. I would not have found it without your help (can you detect the sarcasm?) However, though always usefull and good to read, I am more interested in your experiences. Perhaps I should have formulated my question differently.
Above all, I recommend playing what seems fun. SOM is pretty random and the difference between the "best" and "worst" build is pretty small. From my experience (and another game I witnessed another LM player playing), I would say that you want more than 15 Temple Guard since your Slann bunker is going to take lots of punishment. I would advise that you take two or three Skin Priests, as long as you can afford to have them caddy something. The nice thing about Storm of Magic is you hypothetically dropped your Stegadon (or another dino) to get points for these things, you could buy a Stegadon with your Scroll of Binding points (assuming you weren't eyeing something more exotic.)
Storm of Magic is always chaotic, which is why I love it so! Wizards rule in this game, so I always take a Slann and, at the *very* least , x2 Skinks - they're so squishable, and losing a wizard can cost you the game. Having a Skink with Cloak of Feathers is extremely useful for getting them onto Fulcrums, although I'm usually tempted to spend my points on methods to keep them alive! Protecting fulcrums is crucial, and is actually where you can get a good kick out of a battery of Razordons. Although, I usually stick a Temple Guard contingent in front of one, flanked by Salamanders. On the flip-side, wizard hunting is also crucial, and I tend to hide a Scar-Vet/Oldbood in a big unit of Saurus to smash through Fulcrum defense, or a Saurus Cowboy to flank it and tackle that pesky wizard on top. I tend to kick out the Stegadon(s), and put it/them in my bound monsters points. High Magic is actually a bit of a boon for the Slann in SoM, as it means you can summon new fulcrums/ short-circuit your enemies! Discipline wise I'd be careful with the Wandering Deliberations, as you could assume that you can get the Cataclysm Spells for all Lores but...it can be tricky to convince your opponent it's fair.
The thought had crossed my mind of relocating my steg to a summoned beast. But then it can be dispelled right? Plus I would loose my giant blowpipes, which admittedly, isn't that big a loss, but I find them fun to play. Besides, I was thinking of something a bit more exotic, like a carnosaur, or arachnarok? Or is that just plain stupid? Indeed I was concidering a revamp of my list, as I wanted to include 3 skink priests. but how do you protect them? one in the saurus warriors, one in the skink cohort and one with wings? lvl 1 or 2? beast magic?
Given the magical dominance in SoM, I tend to only keep Stegs in if I can fit in an EotG - on top of providing a boost to your magic capabilities, it also gives some much needed defense to your Skink Priest. Of course, that means he can't take a Fulcrum (I think). Generally, I put them in the bound monsters area. By all means, use more exotic creatures (that's one of the more fun aspects!), as long as you have some kind of plan for them e.g. smashing fulcrum defense/tackling opponent monsters/crushing troublesome units etc. Whilst summoned beasts can be easily dispelled, those dispels can be easily countered by your Slann. Once you start wielding Cataclysm spells, your opponent would be more worried about trying to rid them. In my experience, undoing bound monsters comes at the end of the phase when there's 1 or 2 die left over, so just keep that in mind! Higher levels are always good: considering the amount of casting/dispel dice you get, it's really useful to have that slightly bigger spell arsenal and that extra level can really help with dispels. I always have one for Heavens - the cataclysm spells are great: 'Let The Four Winds Blow!' (really fun, fairly easy to cast, and annoying for your opponent!) and 'Fantastic Foresight' (generally ridiculously helpful), plus you have more dice to spend on summoning ole' Cassandora on fulcrum defense! Beasts usually take up the other two, again it's cataclysm spells are really useful for turning your Saurus into even more of a meatgrinder. Protection is where it gets tricky. Fulcrums supply a really good defense anyway, as does the Stegadon with EotG. Other Skinks in the field are so easily lost however. I tend to stick em in a unit, load a good defensive amulet and pray to Tepok. Perhaps try to keep them out of combat however.
At 3000 points I don't think it's either wise nor unwise. You will certainly have enough power dice to spare and you will have more chances to get an ascendant lore. I prefer to take one Slann and several little casters but that's personal preference since I do not like putting Slann on arcane fulcrums if I can help it.
Hmm I may need to have another look at the rules. I thought puting a slann on a fulcrum would be very good.
-The fulcrum bestows a 3+ Ward save. The Slann's normal 4+ ward save is already included in it's cost so you are paying for something you are not using. -Wizards on fulcrums get double miscasts, it's a lot less painful to lose a Skink than a Slann. -Wizards don't need to control an arcane fulcrum to cast cataclysm spells, they just need their SIDE to control fulcrums. Therefore a Slann doesn't really get any benefits to his spellcasting when sitting on a fulcrum. Note, if there is an empty fulcrum and your Slann is nearby, claim it. That's how you win. All else equal it's better to use cheap wizards to take fulcrums when you can but any fulcrum you grab is one your opponents can't get.
I don't mind paying for something I am not using, as long as the replacement is better than the original. However I get your point, it doesn't really make sense. I hadn't thought about it this way. So instead of fielding two slann's, perhaps it is better to field just the one, and then add like 3 priests, and one on an engine of the gods? And do you then need to invest in protection? A 3+ ward save isn't all that bad, but the skinks inherrited squishyness is. Do you put him in a unit?
A unit cannot occupy an arcane fulcrum. I used to put level one wizards on my fulcrums and have a couple priests in Skirmisher bunkers and one with the Cloak of Feathers but I decided solo Skinks even with the Cloak is suicidal. A 3+ Ward save is fine. I keep extra priests around as much to refill my own fulcrums as to take enemies. If you have a Skink Priest on fulcrum duty, an EOTG Steggy will make him a lot tougher. For those on a budget, the Firebane Gem might be a good idea for a fulcrum duty Skink since about half of the things that are likely to threaten it are flaming. I originally tried a Slann and five level 1 wizards (three Skinks and two casters from my pact army), but now I'm thinking I should trim it down to four level 1 wizards.