So I've been reading up on Terradons and I think they look nice, vanguard, skirmishers, fast cav rules get them right out in front very quickly ready to shoot poisons at wizards and war machines... Also right out to be turned into pin cushions! How would you protect them from archers/bolt throwers? Are they worth it?
i use mine as support to my combat troops the hang n the back and do flank chargers with a sauras block ive pretty good luck with that . also if u run them on the flanks they make great decoys 3 of them is only 100pts and with draw enemy fire bc nobody likes rocks being droped on them
I play mostly on the flanks as Prophet said. Mostly I try to terrain mask if I can and if that means in the middle of the board then that's where they go. Being a skirmish unit it helps with the shooting but terrain always makes it that mich harder. THeir job you ask? Well mostly War Machines and dropping rocks on soft targets such as shooting units.
If you need some extra killiness in there, you could put a skink chief on a terradon. It is expensive, but he will do pretty well against lighter troops. I had one that killed a vampire count. The VC player accepted the challenge and I was using the fencing blades and an Initiative potion. You could even go with a skink chief with the staff of lost sun. That would give you enough range to hit most things on the table (BS being 5 on a chief).
Used Terradons for the first time last night and I'm hooked. I was going up against 2K of Empire- first turn, flew the Terradons over his Outriders, got 10 rocks on my 4 dice, cutting his outriders in half- this meant my Awakening of the Woods cut them even lower in the magic face and they fled- combined with a turn 2 charge on a rocket battery, the Terradons more than made their points back in the 3 turns before my opponent conceded.
I played with them earlier in the week, they are good - I had a chief in there who had a shield which gave him 1+ armour against shooting. One thing I would say is drop your rocks early so you cause maximum damage before they get shot at!
Also i would recommend using tham like nusance units as javelins/ one drop rocks will mash cobat units slowly, but cannot be attacked back unless enemy is armed with ranged weapons.
I dont have terradons yet but i'm going to buty some soon because i read about them in army book and i really want to try how they work against dark elves( my friend has dark elves and i usually play with him)
How do you guys think Terradons compare with Chameleon skinks? I think they fulfill pretty much the same role. With the 7th edition rules, I think Terradons would be the better choice, but since the 8th edition came out I think Chameleons have the edge. What does everyone think? Terradons vs Chameleons?
I really love using both models. In 8th edition, the terradon gained the vanguard rule as well as a stomp attack. It lost a 360 degree line of sight and the ability to drop rocks during a charge. The chameleon gained the ability to march and shoot and to be 12 inches from an enemy unit (in the open!). The chameleon has become a much better war machine hunter for that reason. I run my chameleons in two units of 5 (even placing them next to one another). This way, I can make my opponent deal with two units instead of one. If that HE player wastes his bolt thrower shots on my chameleons, they have served their purpose. Vanguard move for the Terradons is amazing. Especially if you get the opportunity to duck them behind a building to protect them from shooting/magic (that requires LOS).
Terradons do fullfill the same role as the Chameleons but I think they are a little less effective. The reason being they are easier to hit vs shooting and they don't have the singular power in shooting as the Chameleons. True Terradons have their drop rocks but after that they have a single shot per model. The chameleons have twice the firepower at the same range plus it's an auto -2 to hit! Then let's not discount that a minimum unit of Chams is thirty points cheeper than a minimum unit of Terradons. I'm not discounting Terradons at all. I think they are a truely useful unit. But if I had to choose between the two I'd pick Chameleons every time.
Another thing to note, if you face something that can ground flyers, those terradons are DONE (i.e. Skaven's storm banner). Even for one turn, that will destroy any strategy you may have with terradons. That is what pushes me toward the chameleons.
Good points all around. I am going to include 2 units of 6 Chameleons in my list as well as a unit of 4 terradons. I'll let everybody know how I do. I'm going to convert the Chameleons from the normal skinks per some of the advice given on this very site. Will keep everybody updated. I have only played one game in 8th edition and I've been going through these forums a lot to get some insight as to how things are working (or not working) in this newest edition. I'm getting a lot of good advice and tips on how best to use the LM. Thanks again and I'll make sure to post my progress. Iggy Koopa
Glad this topic came up cause I've been thinking about it lately and can't decide. I want to use terradons but when comes down to the last point I find chameleons always give me the best bang for the buck. 6 chameleons is cheaper than 3 terradons. Plus they are harder to kill. Plus they are more devastating in the shooting phase. They don't have the melee power of terradons though, so they are slightly more effective at attacking archers and such while chameleons are better at war machines and lone toons. Maybe a unit of both if you have the points? But again, why bring terradons if you can bring another unit of chameleons for less... Someone convince me of terradons!! Its all I ask cause I want use em!!!
Terradons are quite useful units. If the enemy has the flank of a gunline within 17" of a forest, then park up in the forest (for a -2 to hit with shooting for being in soft cover and skirmishers) and charge that exposed flank (and don't forget, Terradons get stomp attacks). If it goes well you can overrun into the next unit in the gunline... War machines can also be engaged in close combat by the second turn and the crew will be lucky to survive, and even if they do the machine won't be able to shoot as long as it is in close combat. They just seem to be a bit more flexible than Chameleon Skinks imo. The rocks also do a nice bit of damage if you can get them all dropped. I'm not denying that chameleons aren't useful (I take a unit of each in a 2.5k game), just that Terradons are just as effective imo. So my normal game plan is 12" vanguard move Turn 1: Fly over a unit, drop rocks and land (in a forest if possible) facing gunlines flank/warmachine unit Turn 2: Charge gunline in flank/Warmachine and destroy it.
Depends on your list and your opponent. 3 of them is a good choise for a tournament list IMHO, but they aretn must have unit anymore.
heyya i use one of each cause i dont have much else to deal with fast cav than my terradons drop rocks wich the charms just cant harm and it does take 2 turns for 6 charms to kill a war machine while terradons take 1 if you want to kill enemy war machine in one turn you need (at average) 9 charms costing 96 while terradons cost 90 i think you should not take 4 because if 3 die and you flee you only rally on double 1`s
In a larger list (eg. 2250), especially an all comers tournament list, I think 2 x 5-6 chameleons and 1x3-4 terradons is worth trying. They do provide redundancy, but also can be used for different roles.