8th Ed. Why to start LIZARDMEN?

[Skink Skirmisher]

Hello lizard-fans! I am a Dark Elf player who got fed up with his "cruel tribe"...I wanna start collecting a new army and I believe that the two that suit me best are: Lizardmen and Orcs & Goblins... could you give me some arguments about why to choose lizardmen?( I mean except for the fact that there is nothing cooler than a dinosaur riding on a bigger dinosuar) THANKS A LOT FOR YOUR HELP! ( any lizardmen disadvantages would be really appreciated! )

 

[Clockwork]

Advantages:

Powerful magic. A slann can dominate a magic phase.
Rock-solid infantry. Saurus Warriors are amongst the toughest core infantry in the game, arguably beaten to the top spoy only by chaos warriors, and Temple Guard are something to be feared.
Versatility. Skinks provide much needed flexibility to the army, which can counter a range of threats.
Cold blooded. Your guys don't run (Except the skinks, and they don't count). The entire army could break and a Saurus still probably won't run. Cthulhu himself could rip his way out of a dwarf's arse hole and gibber madly in a saurus warrior's face, and he'd still likely only blink slowly and a flink a tongue at a passing fly.
Aforementioned dinosaurs. 'Nuff said.

Disadvantages:

Slow. Slooooooooooow. Expect to go last, with most everything, almost all the time, except with skinks (and they still don't count). Good job most stuff is tough, then.
Expensive. All those stegadons, slann and cold one riders really add up, especially with their high points value. Fortunately, skinks are cheap.
Slow.

 

[MasterSlann]

because they are amazing...

 

[Skink Skirmisher]

thanks a lot guys! i will buy the rulebook today!

 

[Arli]

Disadvantages:

Slow. Slooooooooooow. Expect to go last, with most everything, almost all the time, except with skinks (and they still don't count). Good job most stuff is tough, then.
Expensive. All those stegadons, slann and cold one riders really add up, especially with their high points value. Fortunately, skinks are cheap.
Slow.

My primary problem with a Saurus heavy army is that it is so ssssllllloooowwwww. I solve that in one of two ways:

1. Take an all skink army (with the temple guard unit exception). Movement 6 on everything but the TG/slann Bunker is a much more maneuverable army. Skrox units make excellent horde units. 3 Krox and 60 skinks can dish out some serious pain to whatever you aim at. I usually take either lore of Light or Lore of Life for these. Light will get you double the movement, ASF, extra attacks (Birona's Time warp). You can also get the ws10 I10 (speed of light). Add those two together and you have re-rolling all attacks on 3s. There is also a spell called light of battle. That spell is way under used. If you have not used that spell, you have done a disservice to your army. It will make all units within 12 inches of the slann auto pass any leadership tests. That unit of skirmishers that would normally get rolled over on a charge, nope, they hold! Pha's protection is an amazing spell. Any war machine that targets a unit under Pha's protection must roll a 4+ to even shoot.

or...

2. Take Lore of life and heal up everything and buff everything. Toughness 6 skinks, yes please. Toughness 8 TG, oh yeah! As cheesy as dwellers below is, it will take out a unit with a general or caster in it with a good chance of taking out the caster. In our local club, it is ok to use those cheesy spells (my slann will always have becalming cogitation to try to stop those).

 

[Clockwork]

Oh, don't get me wrong - I have no problem being slow. Its a nice disadvantage to overcome. Half my regular opponents play elves of one variety or another, and I'd much rather be slow and tough (Hello, Lore of Life), than quick and weak.