Has anyone used a Trog in AoS yet? I have always loved the model and if it is even marginally decent I will pick one up but I'd like people's opinions on our slimiest of critters.
It's quite good! Cast through it with Kroak or Slann, 18 inch range, has some good damage output, and is great support for when your other units are fighting against units with large numbers with the hit to the enemy bravery. I say it is well worth taking!
In my opinion the Troglodon is a very good model to include in an AoS army: ignoring the fact that is insanely beautiful (it's my second favourite Seraphon miniature, just after the Bastiladon), I think it has also some good rules and stats. Bravery 10 is very good, despite you won't use it often cause being a single model unit your monster doesn't have to take Battleshock Tests. 12 wounds are a pain in the ass for your opponent, also thanks to the 4+ Save our blind dinosaur has. Oh, and you have a mage in proximity of the Troglodon? Well, so you can use your Slann/Kroak to boost it to 3+ (Mystic Shield) and channel all the Slann's remaining spells through the Skink ("Defensive" option). I think the Starpriest also is a good solution to support your dino: using his ability you now have a big monster able to do 6 bite attacks in combat each dealing 4 damages (Offensive option) and you could Summon Starlight on the Troglo to make him more difficult to be hit. This monster can also damage your opponent soon, having a 18" ranged missile weapon and a good Move stat. Assuming your Troglo has only 5 wounds left, it still moves faster than our cavalry, spits the same range as salamanders/razordons and can charge potentially up to a 14" distant unit (17"'if the unit has been wounded by your missile weapon) and still deal some serious damage. You can summon it with a 10 on two dice. Not easy, but non impossible: if you are fighting under the Sage Staff constellation and maybe whit the help of a BSB/Starseer it decreases to 8, just one more than the average two dice roll In conclusion: I love playing a troglodon in my army, cause it's useful in any phase thanks to its stats and rules. It is also nice to see and intimidating, which means your enemy will probably pay a lot of attention on it, occasionally too much, leaving you the possibility to maneuver the rest of the army more freely. Best use of Troglodon (in my modest opinion): begin your turn near a Starpriest, cause you want his buffs. Spit on a large infantry unit with low Bravery and possibly low Save characteristic. You charge it the same turn (helped by the "buffing Move" ability from your missile) and make use of the Starpriest's spell (both Mystic Shield and Summon Starlight are a good move) and, in particular, his ability. You should attack first, before letting your enemy hit you. Deal a good amount of damages, and without forgetting the Troglodon's roar aim for a nasty battleshock test! Low risk targets: - weak and large skaven/goblin/human units - bad Save characteristic units (as long as you attack them first) Medium risk targets: - big undead units. You can kill tons of them, but their respawn ability tends to keep you in combat for long, and it's not the best choice for your Troglodon - small élite units with not too much Save. You can cause them devastating Battleshock tests, but they hit hard, so you have to be the first to attack and remember your dinosaur has NO Rend! - flying units. Again, obviously it depends on who are you facing, but with them it may come to good use your high Movement and ranged missile weapon. High risk targets: - heavy armoured units. You can't pass their Save, so better not to get involved in a combat whit them. - single models, such as heroes or monsters. Yeah, you can do a lot of damage if their Save is low, but which hero or beast has low Save? Furthermore, you can't cause them Battleshock... - Ogres. I mean, they're both heavy armoured AND quite singular models! I don't have faced them often, but I suggest to use your Troglogon as a support option: try to get their attention but stay safe using your high Move characteristic, and leave the hard work to the rest of your army (mages, salamanders, rippers, ecc.) Sorry for the wall of text, but I hope this will make clear that yes, I find the Troglodon a lot more than marginally decent!
The Troglodon is very similar to the carnosaur. But where the carnosaur's a powerhouse capable of ripping monsters to shreds, the troglodon is a speedster who can hit and wound much easier and gets charge bonuses after shooting somebody. I'd say that at least one of them is a valuable asset for any army, but it depends on what you're looking for. But yah, the Trog's a fucking beautiful model.
Hi guys, Just thought I would point out that Kroak cannot channel spells through skinks or trogs. The rule allowing that is only on the normal Slaan.
Well yeah, the regular Slann has much more utility than Kroak, while Kroak is a magical death machine but has little utility. With the Slann vs Kroak debate, it's about whether you want a supportive mage or a muderising mage, powerful abilities or powerful spells.
That is quite possibly the best way I have ever heard it put! Haha! Quick reference guide for how to choose your mage!
The humour, I find, is that defensive armies benefit most from the hyper-aggressive Kroak, while aggressive armies benefit much more from the utility-based Slann. Reason for this is because Kroak lets you pull a Dwarfs and hammer your enemies to force them to prematurely charge your lines before you kill their general and heroes with his comet, then you can fire off Celestial Deliverances when everyone's within close range. The Slann meanwhile can use his Constellations to either give your mooks more killing power, or use a collection of buffs, terrain, and abilities to get insanely high casting modifiers so the summon spells you do almost always summon double numbers so you get more killing power per summon, plus the Arcane Vassal lets you summon from further away.
I bought my first one because of how it looks and now I can't think of a game I haven't fielded it. Very fun to play, and beautiful to behold.