9th Age Chief on dactyl... Good shot?

[Cowboy_Jerry]

¡Hola! Just today got an idea - skink chief, ripperdactyl, lance, magic shield (you know, the one +2 armor), light armour. 1+ flycav, pretty nice in melee (at least on charge).... and just for about 97 pts. Sounds sweet, huh? This kind of builds are called "cowboys", right? What's your opinion on this - viable or not?
Ah, and one more question - will you run him solo or in a unit of dactyls?

 

[NIGHTBRINGER]

Great topic!

I definitely think that your build is viable, cheap and efficient. I'm very excited about the potential of our Skink Captains on flying mounts in 9th Age. I voted to run him in a unit of Rippers but it would definitely depend on the threats I am facing. If my opponent does not have significant ranged capability, I might very well run my ripper unit and Skink Captain separately from one another.

Question: does a Skink Captain only receive immunity from ranged attacks if he is accompanied by 5 R&F rippers (as per page 75 of the main rules) or is there some reference somewhere that states that monstrous cavalry only need 3+ R&F models to fully protect a character?

Another couple of interesting builds I've been contemplating are the following...

Tank Build (143pts)
Skink Captain (40pts)
Shield (2pts)
Lance (6pts)
Alpha Rhamphodon (45)
Armour of Destiny (50pts)

This guy boasts a very impressive defense of 1+ 4++ and is pretty deadly on the charge (especially against a prey scented unit)

Annoyance Build (127pts)
Skink Captain (40pts)
Light Armour (2pts)
Alpha Pteradon (40pts)
Serpent Bow (40pts)
Hardened Shield (5)

Keep this guy out of combat and fire away with his BS5 S6 AP6 Multiple Wounds (D3) bow. Fire through a flank of knights for the win or pick off monsters, chariots and lone characters.

These items might also be fun to build a Flying Skink captain around...

• Spear of Stampede
• Taurosaur Helm
• Egg of the Quetzal
• Skull Splitter

Either way, I definitely have plans to try out a few of these builds and perhaps even a couple of them working in tandem. I don't want to get my hopes up because these rules can change at any moment (I'm waiting for the more stable 1.0 editions to drop) but from the looks of it we might be seeing the beginnings of the age of he flying Skink Cowboys!

 

[Cowboy_Jerry]

@NIGHTBRINGER, nice idea about serpent bow. Haven't thought about it. I'll even try it out on our next tourney.
Edit: Ah, the question. It seems that we still need 5+ models. It's a pity

 

[Pinktaco]

The skink chief is becoming our new cowboy in 9th age. It's cheap with good armour save and 3 wounds. It can still do decent damage so what's not to like? I think we'll see many of these.

I'd probably keep it relatively cheap - hardened shield, light armour, lance and ripper. Perhaps one of the cheap one-time-use talismans

 

[NIGHTBRINGER]

Ah, the question. It seems that we still need 5+ models. It's a pity

That is unfortunate, but at least even a smaller unit still provides partial protection.

he skink chief is becoming our new cowboy in 9th age. It's cheap with good armour save and 3 wounds. It can still do decent damage so what's not to like? I think we'll see many of these.

I agree, these guys could very well steal the spot that was once enjoyed by our Scar-Vet cowboys. 3 wounds on these guys is extremely good and I'm admittedly a sucker for flying models/units. It's also great that there are no longer any restrictions on joining a flying unit (at least as far as I can tell).

 

[NIGHTBRINGER]

So does anyone else have any favourite builds to share in addition to those mentioned above?

 

[themuffinman873]

I ran mine with the esoteric egg, you can really be a threat to one small unit. I am skeptical of running them with a ripper. Cold blooded LD6 is still not that great when you have to roll for frenzy.

 

[NIGHTBRINGER]

I ran mine with the esoteric egg, you can really be a threat to one small unit.

Agreed

I am skeptical of running them with a ripper. Cold blooded LD6 is still not that great when you have to roll for frenzy.

You can always have them face in the opposite direction, no line of sight = no legal charge = no frenzy check. Not being able to flee and having to overrun can be problematic though. Still the ripper really gives the chief some serious punching power.

 

[themuffinman873]

You can always have them face in the opposite direction, no line of sight = no legal charge = no frenzy check. Not being able to flee and having to overrun can be problematic though. Still the ripper really gives the chief some serious punching power.

The facing is true, but then you lose out on board control. They each fill a role, so you might as well bring them both

 

[Niarg]

Would it be possible to have:
Chief
Ripper
Taurosaur Helm
Talisman of shielding
Light Armour + Shield
Lance

It's not quite an 8th edition cowboy but it's still toughness 5, 1+ armour, 6+ward dealing a lot of damage and able to really take on a lot of strength 3/4 attacks even without magic assistance. It also leaves the armour of destiny to be taken with another character.

 

[Hasael]

Sadly still T4 with helm.

 

[Pinktaco]

Im not entirely sure how that works. They share toughness and the mount have T4, but it's the wearer (T3) who wear the helmet.

 

[NIGHTBRINGER]

The facing is true, but then you lose out on board control

Very true. They definitely require improved positioning and forward planning. It is a drawback to be sure, but it can also be a useful strategy if utilized with caution and care.

They each fill a role, so you might as well bring them both

I agree, they definitely specialize in different things. Terradons are your light cavalry +chaff +distraction type unit, while frenzy often prevents rippers from fulfilling that role. Rippers are medium cavalry and have significantly more punch and should be used accordingly.

As you said, they both offer something very unique.

 

[ZeTe]

i voted for putting him a unit of rippers, sound like a great idea (and no one ever expects much from skinks in CC)

 

[Mr Phat]

Taurosaur helmet wouldnt work.
You use the mounts Toughness, as it is MC.

It only works to full potential on Saurians on raptor

 

[Mr Phat]

Have anyone considered the beastbane halberd on a skink cheif?

 

[Pinktaco]

Actually not.. However I've been playing against a goblin player and .. it's quite annoying tbh. Our saurian fellows don't benefit too much from it, but things like the skink chiefs probably could. Beastbane + ramp + LA + dragon helmet = 2+ save. You can add either a one-time-use 4+ ward or rerollable armour save.

Decent monster hunter, but not so cheap. ^^