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Stormscales
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As promised, an update on the 480-pt Skink swarm with 81 models. I ended up fighting Spiderfang Grots instead of Khornates as I originally expected.
My army:
The opposition:
I finished deploying first (one unit of Skinks on each side, the Starpriest in the middle) and elected to go first, which may have been a mistake; I should have let the Spider Riders come at me. When I started moving my right flank, I realized I could get only 14 Skinks out of 40 within dartpipe range. I chose not to move my left flank, as none of the Skinks in that unit could get in range anyway. My second mistake was to leave my Starpriest woefully exposed at the front. I didn't accomplish much that round, except kill a Spider Rider or two; the Starpriest's rituals and Summon Starlight spell went off successfully, but I don't think they made any difference.
My opponent then got a double turn. All three of his units charged my right flank, maimed one unit of Skinks pretty badly, and made short work of my Starpriest. (He was resurrected by his Incandescent Rectrices, but got charged and killed again almost immediately afterwards.) I kept pulling my right flank back via the Wary Fighters rule, but by the time it was my turn again, I had lost my leader and over 15 Skinks, dealing very little damage in return.
Things started to look up afterwards. I didn't take detailed notes, but every turn was pretty much the same from then on: my left flank spread into a very wide arc, encircled the Spider Riders (staying just at the edge of dartpipe range) and riddled them with darts, while the Spider Riders backed my beleaguered right flank into a corner and eventually whittled it down to nothing through successive rounds of brutal close combat. It was like a noose tightening around another noose. By the time my opponent finished off my right flank, he had taken far too many losses from my left flank's shooting to have much hope of winning the game. His last-ditch attempt for a quick win in close quarters was once again thwarted by my Wary Fighters rule, and this time, I had all the distance I needed behind me to disengage and keep shooting. He conceded with one Spider Rider left and his Big Boss on his last Wound. My left flank had taken negligible losses (still had 35-odd Skinks out of 40, if I recall correctly).
I don't know how I would fare against other armies. Spider Riders had two disadvantages here: 1. piss-poor armor saves, making them vulnerable to a flurry of weak attacks, and 2. a heavy reliance on mortal wounds, which are a bit of an overkill against 5-point models with 6+ armor saves. On the other hand, they have a speed that many armies cannot match. If I could dance circles around them, imagine how I could deal with Stormcast infantry and Orks.
Random thoughts about Skink swarms:
The board at the end of round 2.
My army:
- Skink starpriest, Incandescent Rectrices, Master of Star Rituals
- 40 Skinks, dartpipes, clubs
- 40 Skinks, dartpipes, clubs
The opposition:
- Big Boss on spider
- 10 Grot Spider Riders
- 10 Grot Spider Riders
I finished deploying first (one unit of Skinks on each side, the Starpriest in the middle) and elected to go first, which may have been a mistake; I should have let the Spider Riders come at me. When I started moving my right flank, I realized I could get only 14 Skinks out of 40 within dartpipe range. I chose not to move my left flank, as none of the Skinks in that unit could get in range anyway. My second mistake was to leave my Starpriest woefully exposed at the front. I didn't accomplish much that round, except kill a Spider Rider or two; the Starpriest's rituals and Summon Starlight spell went off successfully, but I don't think they made any difference.
My opponent then got a double turn. All three of his units charged my right flank, maimed one unit of Skinks pretty badly, and made short work of my Starpriest. (He was resurrected by his Incandescent Rectrices, but got charged and killed again almost immediately afterwards.) I kept pulling my right flank back via the Wary Fighters rule, but by the time it was my turn again, I had lost my leader and over 15 Skinks, dealing very little damage in return.
Things started to look up afterwards. I didn't take detailed notes, but every turn was pretty much the same from then on: my left flank spread into a very wide arc, encircled the Spider Riders (staying just at the edge of dartpipe range) and riddled them with darts, while the Spider Riders backed my beleaguered right flank into a corner and eventually whittled it down to nothing through successive rounds of brutal close combat. It was like a noose tightening around another noose. By the time my opponent finished off my right flank, he had taken far too many losses from my left flank's shooting to have much hope of winning the game. His last-ditch attempt for a quick win in close quarters was once again thwarted by my Wary Fighters rule, and this time, I had all the distance I needed behind me to disengage and keep shooting. He conceded with one Spider Rider left and his Big Boss on his last Wound. My left flank had taken negligible losses (still had 35-odd Skinks out of 40, if I recall correctly).
I don't know how I would fare against other armies. Spider Riders had two disadvantages here: 1. piss-poor armor saves, making them vulnerable to a flurry of weak attacks, and 2. a heavy reliance on mortal wounds, which are a bit of an overkill against 5-point models with 6+ armor saves. On the other hand, they have a speed that many armies cannot match. If I could dance circles around them, imagine how I could deal with Stormcast infantry and Orks.
Random thoughts about Skink swarms:
- This kind of list must be extremely frustrating to fight against. Use it too often and you'll lose all your friends.
- Time is on your side. When in doubt, delay.
- Highly offensive armies that rely on a quick, surgical strike to the heart will struggle hard against a Skink-heavy list.
- Large units of Skinks can lead to interesting situations and opportunities. For example, when a unit is forming a very long thread and the enemy is only attacking one end, an 8'' disengage move (via the Wary Fighters rule) can be used to get some Skinks on the other end closer to the enemy than before.
- For the above reason, your Wary Fighters moves should be considered with just as much care as your movement phase moves.
- Bravery 10 absolutely rocks.
- Moving 81 models is a pain in the ass.
The board at the end of round 2.
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