8th Ed. 2500 Fortress Slann with Flying Circus

[LogantheBard]

So I want to try a Slann in a Folding Fortress... so let's start with a list:

Slann
-Folding Fortress
-Wandering Deliberations
-Reservoir of Eldritch Energy

Skink Priest
-Lvl 1 Heavens
-Scroll

Skink Chief
-Ripperdactyl
-Spear
-Shield
-Egg of Quango
-Gambler's Armor

Skink Chief
-Terradon
-Armor of Destiny
-Javelin
-Shield

Skink Chief
-BSB
-Cloak of Feathers
-Enchanted Shield
-Javelin
-Shield

20 Saurus
-Full Command
-HW/Shield

20 Saurus
-Full Command
-HW/Shield

10 Skirmishers
-Javelin/Shield

10 Skrimishers
-Blowpipes

4 Jungle Swarms

Bastilidon
-Solar Engine

Bastilidon
-Solar Engine

3 Terradon Riders
-Fireleech Bolas

3 Ripperdactyl Riders

Troglodon

Salamander


The plan is to play this as a very defensive all comers list. I want to deploy the Slann in the fortress with the blowpipe skinks, with the swarms in front of the fortress screening it from charges. The Solardons will be flanking the fortress. Hopefully I can pepper down the enemies enough with magic and flyer harassment that by the time they reach my saurus, that I can very easily win combat.

My concern is will WD provide enough damaging spells, or should I just take fire or death? Are my saurus blocks big enough, or do I need to free up the points to make them 25 or 30? How effective do you think this will be?

 

[NexS1]

If you're going for 4 swarms, why not take 2x 2 and an arc of sotek to build them up?

 

[Silverbolt]

Gotta agree. When I saw the 4 swarms, I was expecting at least one Sotek Bastiladon. With two Solardons, a WD Slann, and that Heavens skink priest, you're going to be pushing the limits of your power dice...

Sounds like a fun idea. Be sure to let us know how a match turns out.

 

[GhostWarrior]

Be wary of using any combo that tries to make the best use of the Folding Fortress. Many a-gamer hates that item with a passion. This is largely because the building rules as a whole are so easily abused.

In your current setup, however, you have made yourself very vulnerable to counter-fire from an opponent.

Example:

Turn 1 - An opponent with a Level 1 Fire wizard throws 6 dice at a huge Fireball and rolls double 6's. He now has a high chance of removing 8 or more of the skinks (it's all about how many hits are rolled up, since the wounds will effectively be automatic at 2+ re-rollables - due to flaming).

In his shooting phase he now opens up with his Cannon(s) at building. Even if the cannonballs hit the swarms and don't kill them, they won't stop the balls (as they are not Monstrous Infantry or Cavalry, or Monsters). The ball(s) roll into the building and cause D6 hits. Let's say you were lucky and have 1 skink plus the slann left. Your opponent rolls a '4' and you have to put 2 hits on the skink and 2 on the slann. The skink dies and the slann needs to make 2x 4++ ward saves, or else he is taking D6 wounds from each hit!

If you are unlucky enough to only have the Slann left, he alone will take D6 hits that cause D6 wounds!

All a hypothetical situation, but not at all unreasonable from a standard Ogre/Daemon/Empire build (the Daemon player likely having Tzeentch missiles, and the Empire player likely using double Banishment).

Advice to solve that situation - Cohorts instead of skirmishers, and a much bigger unit (20+).

Also, you may find that the Swarms protecting the building are more of a negative than a positive. Any serious combat unit can inflict the ~10 wounds necessary to have the rest of the unit crumble to death. As an added drawback, that unit will then possibly overrun into assaulting the building, and prevent your Slann from casting missiles out in the next turn! And finally, after fighting the assault (and likely, not breaking the slann), it will again be your opponents turn, and he would be able to charge the building again - pinning your Slann to his fate!


I guess my overall recommendation is to make the garrison bigger. Unfortunately, a large/insurmountable garrison is what makes the Folding Fortress un-fun for opponents.

Either way - good luck with it!