AoS Skink core viable option?

[Crowsfoot]

I have no core troops atm they have all been multibased for KOW so I would like to have Skinks as the core troops, the main reason is the way they look.

Given that Skinks are used for quite a few of our monsters are they a viable choice as core, the wary fighter rule looks good on paper but is it good in play?

What can I buff them with to improve the hit/wound roll and their save?

Cheers guys

 

[Bowser]

Skinks are great because they are cheap. A chief general always helps. Use them as a meat shield for a celestial hurricanum, another +1 to hit. Add an amber battlemage for +1 to wound on one of the units. Stegadon with a chief also gets them rerolls on 1s, or a shadowstrike to reroll wound and hits.

 

[Seraphage]

I 've only had 1 shot with them as a battleline instead of warriors and my little experience is.. that they work way better (unless you have a plan with the Warriors ( battalion e.tc ) You can really annoy the opponent / slow down units and make them fail pile kn

 

[Crowsfoot]

Skinks are great because they are cheap. A chief general always helps. Use them as a meat shield for a celestial hurricanum, another +1 to hit. Add an amber battlemage for +1 to wound on one of the units. Stegadon with a chief also gets them rerolls on 1s, or a shadowstrike to reroll wound and hits.

So can you run a steggy with chief and a Shadowstrike for both rerolls?

 

[Bowser]

You can't reroll a reroll, but you could use it for anything the priest can't see, but you may be better off giving the steg the move and reroll!

 

[MerciaBear]

Just to resurrect this skink thread, what are peoples thoughts on unit sizes? 20 seems a good number for the battlefield, in terms of not being too unweildy but they arent going to stay at 20 for long and lose their bonus to hit, so maybe bigger units?

Also, im guessing blowpipe and star buckler are the best choices. Seem to be.

 

[Crowsfoot]

Just to resurrect this skink thread, what are peoples thoughts on unit sizes? 20 seems a good number for the battlefield, in terms of not being too unweildy but they arent going to stay at 20 for long and lose their bonus to hit, so maybe bigger units?

Also, im guessing blowpipe and star buckler are the best choices. Seem to be.

Depends on game size I suppose 4*4 table will limit the use of a 40 strong unit, small games 1000 points I would say units of 20 are ok but you will lose the bonus after the first attack on them, but 30 strong units is what I would like to field a good 10 man buffer might get you 2/3 rounds of shooting before you lose the bonus, but are we playing skinks for the bonus or as a chaff screen?

 

[Aginor]

I also think 30 is a good size. Buffed by a Skink Chief that's a 3+ to hit so you can do some damage with them, and a 4+ after a few have died, which means if you shoot at some enemy unit it still has to save 5-6 wounds on average.
Because of the small models even big units of Skinks are surprisingly mobile, compared to Ironjawz for example.

Smaller units are almost as fast as most cavalry, so they are food for claiming objectives, especially because of their 'wary fighters' ability. But don't expect any damage from them.

EDIT: In my 1500-2000pt games I usually play one unit of 40 and one unit of 10.

 

[Crowsfoot]

I also think 30 is a good size. Buffed by a Skink Chief that's a 3+ to hit so you can do some damage with them, and a 4+ after a few have died, which means if you shoot at some enemy unit it still has to save 5-6 wounds on average.
Because of the small models even big units of Skinks are surprisingly mobile, compared to Ironjawz for example.

Smaller units are almost as fast as most cavalry, so they are food for claiming objectives, especially because of their 'wary fighters' ability. But don't expect any damage from them.

Exactly my thoughts, cheap and good at filling battleline requirements, fast so you can block off hard hitting enemy troops for a turn or two and if they take out one or two along the way happy days.

 

[MerciaBear]

Excellent thanks chaps, very useful indeed. Im playing at around 1000pts at the moment so looks like ill stick with smaller units for now and go for 40 at bigger games. With the great bravery they are still viable as small units.

 

[Crowsfoot]

Excellent thanks chaps, very useful indeed. Im playing at around 1000pts at the moment so looks like ill stick with smaller units for now and go for 40 at bigger games. With the great bravery they are still viable as small units.

I think of them as expendable and just use them to tie up a unit that I want to try and control, I'm running 3*10 tonight just to see if I can hold up 3 units and for how many turns.

 

[Seraphage]

I think of them as expendable and just use them to tie up a unit that I want to try and control, I'm running 3*10 tonight just to see if I can hold up 3 units and for how many turns.

As I haven't got the units to play my complete skink army - what I intend to do since day one pretty much - I really am looking forward into seing the battle report as to how the combination of Wary Fighter and an "important battle to be made" elsewhere had success into tying units !

 

[MerciaBear]

As I haven't got the units to play my complete skink army - what I intend to do since day one pretty much - I really am looking forward into seing the battle report as to how the combination of Wary Fighter and an "important battle to be made" elsewhere had success into tying units !

What do you mean by 'important battle to be made'?

Yes I intend to use them to tie up enemy units.

 

[Seraphage]

What do you mean by 'important battle to be made'?

Yes I intend to use them to tie up enemy units.

One that if he picks to attack your skinks before you can Wary Fighter it will badly hurt him so he has to pick the other battle and your skinks can go away safely. You have to be careful though in order to be able to withstand his attack with that other "dangerous" unit so you can still hurt him with it after you are attacked.
This is the theory anyway, really hard to be done 100% successfully in action

 

[Crowsfoot]

What do you mean by 'important battle to be made'?

Yes I intend to use them to tie up enemy units.

So if we are just using them to occupy units would we better going at unit size of 20, 160 points for that size is pretty cheap?

 

[Aginor]

I'd say yes.... probably. Really depends on the enemy unit they have to face. I did prevent a unit of 15 or so Ardboyz from doing much by chaffing them with 10 Skinks, losing 5 of them in each of the two rounds. But a Maw-Krusha will outright kill 10 Skinks with ease. 20 could maybe keep him busy for two rounds.

 

[Seraphage]

I'd say yes.... probably. Really depends on the enemy unit they have to face. I did prevent a unit of 15 or so Ardboyz from doing much by chaffing them with 10 Skinks, losing 5 of them in each of the two rounds. But a Maw-Krusha will outright kill 10 Skinks with ease. 20 could maybe keep him busy for two rounds.

Wouldn't he kill all of them after battleshock phase ? I mean 4 would wither away from his ability and then most of his attacks deal 2damage so I 'm guessing that if he was to attack them they wouldn't make it ?

 

[Crowsfoot]

Wouldn't he kill all of them after battleshock phase ? I mean 4 would wither away from his ability and then most of his attacks deal 2damage so I 'm guessing that if he was to attack them they wouldn't make it ?

Maybe but if we are deploying skinks to occupy units and be used as chaff would we be wasting points having more than 20 man units?

 

[Aginor]

Yeah, the concept of chaffing is weird. You basically try to keep a unit busy by sacrificing points.

A unit of 20 Skinks is 160 points, a Maw-Krusha 520. You have to decide whether keeping one of the most expensive/powerful single units in the game for one or - if you are lucky - two rounds away from your valuable assets (while allowing your archers to shoot it without getting smashed) is worth it.

For me it was in one battle. I had a Bastiladon, an Astrolith Bearer, a Razordon and a unit of 40 Skinks near him, and by sacrificing 10 Skinks and three Skink Handlers I managed to deny that fat model the area to land in front of my troops and kept him busy for that round. He had to spend two full rounds wasting his powerful attacks on worthless units, while a 600 points gun line moved into range and shot him. He eventually killed those few, and moved to attack my line, but by then I had already taken 3/4 of his hit points, and thus lowered his attack power immensely. He died the next round and I won.

Does it always have to be that way? No. Certainly not. But keeping such a powerful model away for just one round can make a difference.

EDIT: And the other thing is: You force him to make a decision:
If he doesn't activate the Maw-Krusha first the Skinks will maybe use their ability to move away going _somewhere_. But if he does, then on the other side of the board there may be a Troglodon or Carnosaur getting activated first and slaughtering his boyz. (that was the case in my battle).

 

[Seraphage]

Maybe but if we are deploying skinks to occupy units and be used as chaff would we be wasting points having more than 20 man units?

Well my point was that maybe we should use more units of 10 man not more than 20
Aginors' example is a good one though