Bastiladon
Bainbow
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I've recently come to the conclusion that there are four primary kinds of army that we can have. Temple Guard, Warriors, Knight, and Skink armies, because I see these four as our primary infantry. And seeing as how somebody's already done a Temple Guard one, I think I'll share this old Skink one I made instead of my own person Guard army. Probably go through and write up lists for all four eventually.
Skink Chief (4) [General]
Skink Starseer (9)
Slann Starmaster (16)
Troglodon (28)
2 Bastiladon (44)
3 Salamanders (53)
Handler (54)
40 Skinks (94)
9 Chameleons (103)
Skink Priest (107)
6 Ripperdactyl Riders (125)
At first I was thinking of just copy/pasting my original Skink army idea that I did months ago before our Battletome was even announced, but looking back on it made me realise how horribly outdated it was. So I redid it.
There are two Battalions here, the Shadowstrike Starhost and the Thunerquake Starhost. Starting with the former, it should come as no surprise to see it being included here because it's a very powerful Battalion so of course I'm going to include it.
Skinks are downright puny in small numbers, but in groups of thirty or higher, they'll be hitting on 3+ with their ranged attacks which is great. However, although the Javelin is easily stronger with a better To Wound, its lower range makes it harder to get all of your 40-man unit in range for an attack. I'd recommend the Boltspitters just because they allow for more attacks, but if you think you can make the Javelins make as many attacks safely then go for it. But if you prefer the longer range, remember that 5+ to wound may seem weak, but remember that your 3+ to hit adds some needed balance to this. Shields will give you an immunity to -1 rend which will save a few lives in a few scenarios, better than a melee weapon that the Skinks would never need because they stand up in melee about as well as wet paper.
Next for the battalion, you need a priest. I'd pick the regular Priest over the Starpriest because we have enough magic between a Slann and Starseer as is, the Cloak of Feathers gives increased movement with fly which is good because positioning your Priest here is key, and Skinks have no bite attacks anyway so the poison bites are useless. This is because the Battalion gives him an ability where you can pick one enemy unit he can see in your Hero Phase, and all hit and wound rolls of 1 can be rerolled against that target unit.
For your general, pick a Skink Chief. You want him for his Command Ability, pick a Skink unit within 10" of the Chief and they can add +1 to all their hit rolls. Now remember those 3+ to hits with rerolls of 1? Now they're 2+ to hit with rerolls, and 40 shots too. Suddenly those 5+ to wounds seem feasible due to the sheer number of hits you're delivering, and if you're managing to Wound on 4+ then damn.
Lastly, do I even need to say anything about the Rippers? We all know how brutal they are with their Toad Rage. I say go for them over Terradons because they're more melee-based and you'll need some muscle to keep your Skinks safe. That said, while it may be tempting to throw them right into the fight to make use of that rerollable 2+ To Wound they get for the beaks when they first descend, it may be better to drop them down behind your defensive line and wait until they're buffed with the Chief's command ability before sending them off to murder their Blot Toad-marked target in order to get Voracious Appetite to activate more due to a better To Hit.
Moving to the Thunderquake Starhost, although normally it'd be a better idea to use a Basi and a Stegadon for the diversity, the focus of the monsters here is to be a meatshield for your squishy Skink inftantry and to get into fights to allow your Skinks to shoot into combat. To that end, the defensive Bastiladons are the best choice. The Skink War Chief's ability on the Stegadon is good, but the Shadowstrike Starhost already gives rerolls of 1 so it's unnecessary, and even if the Priest dies, the Slann can always swap to the Great Drake constellation to get more rerolls. The only weakness of these Bastiladons is their low Move, so using the Hunter's Steed constellation to get a bonus to running may help your primeval turtles get going. Keeping the Troglodon close for rerolling armour saves thanks to the Creator's Will is a great choice, and the regen from Celestial Surge will incentivise keeping your Slann nearby too. I say go for the Troglodon over the Engine because the Troglodon offers a greater speed and mobility over the Engine which is important in a fluid Skink army, the Battleshock debuff can be rather powerful, the Unbinding can be useful, and it offers you the use of Arcane Vassal. Still, if you want to use an Engine then that's fine too. As for the Salamanders, they simply offer the capability for armour penetration with their Rend and potential Mortal Wounds, allowing them to crack open heavy armour targets.
Skink Chief (4) [General]
Skink Starseer (9)
Slann Starmaster (16)
Troglodon (28)
2 Bastiladon (44)
3 Salamanders (53)
Handler (54)
40 Skinks (94)
9 Chameleons (103)
Skink Priest (107)
6 Ripperdactyl Riders (125)
At first I was thinking of just copy/pasting my original Skink army idea that I did months ago before our Battletome was even announced, but looking back on it made me realise how horribly outdated it was. So I redid it.
There are two Battalions here, the Shadowstrike Starhost and the Thunerquake Starhost. Starting with the former, it should come as no surprise to see it being included here because it's a very powerful Battalion so of course I'm going to include it.
Skinks are downright puny in small numbers, but in groups of thirty or higher, they'll be hitting on 3+ with their ranged attacks which is great. However, although the Javelin is easily stronger with a better To Wound, its lower range makes it harder to get all of your 40-man unit in range for an attack. I'd recommend the Boltspitters just because they allow for more attacks, but if you think you can make the Javelins make as many attacks safely then go for it. But if you prefer the longer range, remember that 5+ to wound may seem weak, but remember that your 3+ to hit adds some needed balance to this. Shields will give you an immunity to -1 rend which will save a few lives in a few scenarios, better than a melee weapon that the Skinks would never need because they stand up in melee about as well as wet paper.
Next for the battalion, you need a priest. I'd pick the regular Priest over the Starpriest because we have enough magic between a Slann and Starseer as is, the Cloak of Feathers gives increased movement with fly which is good because positioning your Priest here is key, and Skinks have no bite attacks anyway so the poison bites are useless. This is because the Battalion gives him an ability where you can pick one enemy unit he can see in your Hero Phase, and all hit and wound rolls of 1 can be rerolled against that target unit.
For your general, pick a Skink Chief. You want him for his Command Ability, pick a Skink unit within 10" of the Chief and they can add +1 to all their hit rolls. Now remember those 3+ to hits with rerolls of 1? Now they're 2+ to hit with rerolls, and 40 shots too. Suddenly those 5+ to wounds seem feasible due to the sheer number of hits you're delivering, and if you're managing to Wound on 4+ then damn.
Lastly, do I even need to say anything about the Rippers? We all know how brutal they are with their Toad Rage. I say go for them over Terradons because they're more melee-based and you'll need some muscle to keep your Skinks safe. That said, while it may be tempting to throw them right into the fight to make use of that rerollable 2+ To Wound they get for the beaks when they first descend, it may be better to drop them down behind your defensive line and wait until they're buffed with the Chief's command ability before sending them off to murder their Blot Toad-marked target in order to get Voracious Appetite to activate more due to a better To Hit.
Moving to the Thunderquake Starhost, although normally it'd be a better idea to use a Basi and a Stegadon for the diversity, the focus of the monsters here is to be a meatshield for your squishy Skink inftantry and to get into fights to allow your Skinks to shoot into combat. To that end, the defensive Bastiladons are the best choice. The Skink War Chief's ability on the Stegadon is good, but the Shadowstrike Starhost already gives rerolls of 1 so it's unnecessary, and even if the Priest dies, the Slann can always swap to the Great Drake constellation to get more rerolls. The only weakness of these Bastiladons is their low Move, so using the Hunter's Steed constellation to get a bonus to running may help your primeval turtles get going. Keeping the Troglodon close for rerolling armour saves thanks to the Creator's Will is a great choice, and the regen from Celestial Surge will incentivise keeping your Slann nearby too. I say go for the Troglodon over the Engine because the Troglodon offers a greater speed and mobility over the Engine which is important in a fluid Skink army, the Battleshock debuff can be rather powerful, the Unbinding can be useful, and it offers you the use of Arcane Vassal. Still, if you want to use an Engine then that's fine too. As for the Salamanders, they simply offer the capability for armour penetration with their Rend and potential Mortal Wounds, allowing them to crack open heavy armour targets.
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