Are carnosaurs even good? Normally I wouldn't ask this but I saw the Warhammer Survey and it had tons of 2's, a couple of ones and only one 3. If they aren't good what would I plop a Oldblood on? (I don't have much experience so that is why I am asking).
A cold one is generally a better mount since it is a lot cheaper and can't be killed out from under him.
The new 8th edition rules for cannons make monsters of all types a lot worse. also I think people are using bad tactics with the Carnie, and geting him killed.
He is a very easy target for a cannon. Hopefully, the new release of the book will either provide some saturation or make him a little better.
I've never used one as a mount, so I can't say much about it's use with an Oldblood on top. Cannon fodder aside, I tend to use it more as a monster-hunter: those D3 wounds sure are nice against something with a high wound score. It's not, however, a key component of my army.
In theory, carnie is a pretty good mount that can really dish out a lot of damage (i.e. S7 attacks doing d3 wounds each + S7 thunderstomp). However, as others have already indicated, the main problem in 8th edition is getting carnie into combat in the first place since laser guided war machines and magic often kill carnie long before he can make it across the board. A further problem arises once carnie is in combat however due to a number of factors. To begin with, the low WS & I mean that S4/5 troops can kill him before he gets a chance to attack and even against S3 troops, a 4+ AS and steadfast mean that he will eventually be ground down. Finally, the very nature of expensive combat characters really reduces their utility in 8th ed due to the heavy weighting of magic in the metagame. A carnie lord costs the same as a tooled up Slaan and only has a possibility of earning back his points when he gets into an appropriate combat under the right/ideal conditions. By comparison, a slaan can impact enemy & friendly units from across the board, provides vital magic defence and contributes to victory each and every turn. I still play my carnie lord every so often since I love the model but at the end of the day he is not even close to being as useful as a slaan.
I like the Carnosaur... ::hides:: Yeah, everyone pretty much nailed it. It's a tough mount to use properly and definitely is not as powerful as the Slann. Low WS, Low I, Low T for a monster. And a 4+ save means it'll die pretty quick. Plus that stinking "Nowhere to run, Nowhere to hide" rule. The Carnosaur is a supporting unit. If you keep that in mind you'll have much better luck with it. Flank charges and dual charges are your friend. Crown of Command is almost a must-have.
having become a fan of the carnosaur recently if you expect your opponent to be playing a moster heavy or ogres the carnosaur is amazing we can also take an EOG to be viable in the magic phase but a ine example death star unit of ogres where i had a sarus block in the front my carnsaur ripped into the side of the unit and ripped 3 ironguts apart the unit didn't last long after this. against a standard list unfortunatly our slann is just to powerfull but for the odd game i think every lizardman player should try the carnosaur i think you will all be pleasently surprised
The biggest problem with the Carno is it competes with the Slann. The Slann is just a far superior choice. However, if you like a little high risk, the Carno can be competitive. In the last 2 years, my Carno has pulled Best Overall’s at Alamo (TX), SoCal (CA), second at SAWS (CA) and Bayou Battles (TX), and ninth at Waagh Paca (WI). It has also gone down hard a couple of times. There is a good Bat Rep of a Carno list at Buck Eye Battles this weekend. He came in 6th.
This is the main issue, by forfeiting the Slann you have to function without a L4, which means you can pretty much forget about getting any spells through, and will find it very difficult to stop more than 1 enemy spell per turn. The best way I've found to use a carnosaur is in a Monster saturation list, bring the carno lord, an Engine priest and as many stegs/ancient stegs as you can fit. If you know you a facing a cannon then give your Saurus lord the charmed shield, it won't help the carnosaur, but at least it will keep your general alive, your carno will have to pray to the old ones that the engine's 5++ smiles on him when the lead starts to fly.
I agree the slann is hands down the better choice, but in friendly games the carnosaur is far from bad if used correctly and can be pretty fun on the table.
How exactly do you guys play the Carnosaur? You want to talk tactics but no one is really talking tactics... My Carnosaur almost never goes down quickly. And i have a power play build. Ogre Blade, Talisman of Preservation, Other Tricksters Shard So S+2 for a total of 7 will negate all but the best AS +4 Ward save ( correct me if im wrong, isnt there one for the lizardmen that is +4 ward that is cheaper than 45 points?) Anyone in base contact must reroll successful ward saves He is a character killer, and i make sure he stays alive long enough to wreck the playing field, even if it means sending him on the scenic route.
like this expect i like to be monster hunter got to show those dragons they are done but now days i run them on scar vet your gonna need a slann to heal those wounds and keep it rolling
I look at the Carno as a fun/fluffy choice. It can most definitely work but it isn't as potent as the other choices that it is competing with. For instance I'd take two Scar-Vet cold one cowboys over a a Scar-Vet + Carno any day. The two Scar-vet cowboys will be cheaper, harder to kill and far more effective. Now as a fun choice, the Carno is awesome. Such a great centerpiece to lead a dino monster mash list!