My buddy has just picked up Skaven, and I've challenged him to a Red Host vs. Clan Pestilens match-up. In a "normal" game, I would never field Tehenhauin, and probably wouldn't field Jungle Swarms or an Ark of Sotek, either. But what other chance? Knowing that he'll be limited to Slaves, Clanrats, Plague Monks, and Lord Skrolk (maybe there's a few others - Poisoned Wind Globadiers?) gives me a big advantage, maybe enough to offset the somewhat unplayable Combat Skink Wizard that Tehenhauin is. So I'm going for a list that balances true-to-fluff unit choices, functionality and fun. Lords Tehenhauin, the Prophet of Sotek Heroes Skink Priest Lvl 2 Beasts Dispel Scroll Skink Priest Lvl 2 Beasts Skink Chief BSB Armor of Destiny blowpipe shield Core 3 x 10 Skink Skirmishers Skinks x 24 Full Command Hatred (Red Host, after all) Kroxigors x 3 Special Chameleons x 8 Jungle Swarms x 6 Bastiladon with Ark of Sotek Bastiladon with Ark of Sotek Rare Ancient Steg with Engine of the Gods Things I'm thinking about: - No Salamanders. They're not mentioned in the Red Host stories, but they're also lots of fun against Skaven. - Are the Krox necessary? I'd usually be concerned about the A-Bomb, but without that...maybe just more Skinks? On the other hand, the Krox bring 9 Attacks from the second rank; Skinks deployed 6-wide bring 6. - I'm going with 3 Beasts Priests to ensure that I get the Strength and Toughness buffs for Tehenhauin, plus...it'd be fun to run a Priest up the flank, then turn him into a Great Fire Dragon. But Heavens is awesome, too. Thoughts?
Looks a lot like the Sotek list I dreamed up... But I haven't tested mine either... I think it has a chance to suceed, if you can get the right matchups for your units. and you can get off your wildform spells. and get some flank charges with your swarms.
Yeah...and 3 Wildforms would mean S6 shooting with their javelins, as well! They won't be needing poison at that point. But also...S5/T5 Swarms, anyone? In reality, I probably won't go for 3 Wildforms. My ideal would be to have Amber Spear and Transformation on one Priest, who runs up the flank shooting, then turns into a Great Fire Dragon; Anraheir and Wildform on the second Priest, who buffs where needed, and hexes the Plague Furnace, if it shows up; Impenetrable Pelt, Savage Beast, and Wildform on Tehenhauin. We'll see what the dice allow, though. If anyone has suggestions for what order I should roll their spells in order to maximize my chances of getting the spells I want on the Wizards I want, I'd love to hear it! I'm planning to have Tehenhauin join the Swarms, accompanied by the Arks of Sotek. The weakness of the swarms will hopefully be offset by the lack of crumbling, and the 75% chance of gaining a new swarm each turn. My only battle plan so far is to give them the runaround for a while (with skirmishers), softening them up and building up my swarm unit, before smashing the swarms into the flank of the biggest thing he's got, and running the Skrox into whatever other good target there is. I could drop the Skrox to go for a Skink Cloud, but playing hard-to-get just doesn't seem to fit the way I picture the Red Host: frenzied Skinks throwing themselves in absolute hatred at the Skaven lines, while Swarms engulf the flanks and Stegadons punch holes through the tough spots.