8th Ed. 2500 - Hammer and Anvil

[Caneghem]

I kind of like this list, no idea if it would be any good.

Lords:
Slann (High Magic) -
BSB - Standard of Discipline
Magic Items - Channeling Staff, Obsidian Amulet
Disciplines - Reservoir of Eldritch Energy, Soul of Stone, Harmonic Convergence, Focus of Mystery

Pricey, but not as bad as he could be with more magic items. He's the swiss army knife lynchpin, as ever. I think it is still key to max out the number of power dice generated, and with this setup a +2 dice advantage isn't all that unlikely. I absolutely love the flexibility of our lore attribute, as it really lets you customize and tailor your spells to suit your foe. Against something like Chaos for example, I can nab searing doom first turn, then pull the Slann out the back of the TG, and 6 dice monkey that Daemon Prince next turn, channeling it through a skink priest. Since the Slann is now a few inches out of the TG, he is unlikely to kill any of them with the miscast (unless he rolls a 2 or 3), yet he'll still get his 4+ LoS and 4+ ward if the enemy turns around and tries to snipe him next turn. For this reason I'm splurging on the points for the MR2 to tack onto the Slann, to protect him from magic on turns where he is going to go for the IF outside his unit.

Heroes:
Skink Priest (Beasts) Lvl1 -
Dispel Scroll

Skink Priest (Beasts) Lvl1 -
Cube of Darkness

These guys serve many roles, most obviously scroll caddying to help save dispel dice that the Slann can convert later with Eldritch. One of them will also help by marching forward to help the Slann target Arcane Unforging early in the game, to really try to lure out an enemy dispel scroll earlier than normal, or to burn some enemy dispel dice. Skink priests are also pretty handy to have around to prevent PF from backfiring. Obviously 99% of the time these both will take Wyssan's, unless for some reason I roll something I might like better on one of them, maybe Amber Spear against ogres or an army with lots of mutli-wound, or Curse of Anraheir against a horde list (assuming open terrain is a type of "terrain" for the spell's purposes).

No cowboys this time, but I'm toying with adding one.

Core:
Saurus Warriors x 30; HW+SH; FC -

Skink Cohort x 16; Kroxigors x 2; Muso,Standard -

Skink Skirmishers x 10; Javelin+SH -

Core pts 630

This list is a bit on the experimental side, as I'm not too sure how I'll use the mini skrox. I'm thinking this unit will play the field a bit wide, staying well clear of the hardest enemy units, but not being afraid to charge a chariot either (except maybe chaos chariots, ugh). They still have a decent chance against monsters with poisoned javelins, and while the thunderstomps will wipe out skinks, many monsters rely on stomping for their damage (like our stegadons for example, assuming they haven't charged) so the kroxigors should survive and dish out their strength 7. I'm thinking this will be one of my last deployments, since it is so very weak against the wrong unit, yet so good against others. If it is looking like a bad matchup, these might just be a reserve flanker for the main line.

The Saurus Warriors are obviously a mainline unit, meant to go into the grind and benefit from Wyssan's and Hand of Glory if applicable. They'll be deployed near a bastiladon or 2, so that they start at I2.

One unit of skirmishers might wind up a little on the light side, but if the skrox unit doesn't work out I can always turn it into 3 more skirmisher units.

Special:
Temple Guard x 20; FC; Razor Standard -

Bastiladon x 2; Solar Engines -

Ripperdactyl Riders x 3; -

Chameleon Skinks x 6; -

Special - 853

Temple Guard are obviously the other mainline unit, also serving as a bit of a can-opener unit with their banner. Popping a Wyssan's on them will put them up to strength 6 -4AS, which would devastate Monstrous Cav. Even better is they will be flanked by Bastiladons making sure they start at I3, allowing them to actually go first against some things. I could see myself casting a boosted Wyssan's on these in a tight spot against elven elites, possibly leveling the playing field in terms of WS and even initiative (going from 3 to 5 or 6). Boosting their initiative will make potential chargers of this unit very nervous.

Bastiladons! You've got to love these. 2d6 str 5 or better 50% of the time is awesome sauce. These guys don't need to be in combat to do their damage, and they free up the Slann from worrying about being the ranged bombardier. Another of their key roles is providing the initiative bubble to help make combat swing my way a little more often, and provide nearby monster riding skinks with I5, making our monsters all but immune to Pit of Shades and Purple sun (I still worry about the Saurus though, at I2). They are not that great in combat, but they are really only meant to support their saurus blocks. Against big, high toughness gribblies, the tail attack is all you really care about. If that str 10 tail hits, it's going to wound anything, even a warsphinx thing. Its T5 2+ armor save means it is no pushover either. If the combat lasts past 1 phase (very high chance it will), you should always combat reform to show the enemy your tail. That +1 on the str 10 attack is great. If you really want it to hit, you can always boost WS with Hand of Glory. Finally the strength 4 basic is a bit low, but a thunderstomp is not a bad thing to add, even in the infantry on infantry grind. Always remember that Wyssan's can boost this guy up to str5 T6, which makes him a tougher nut to crack and makes his thunderstomp actually scary to infantry. The one thing they aren't meant to do is fight by themselves. These are like a monstrous attachment.

Ripperdactyl Riders are a fun unit. These guys might find themselves in the company of my skrox cohort on occasion. I don't particularly have a problem with using the whole "I'm not looking at you" trick where you just turn them away from the enemy when you don't want to charge. I just think of that as a way the skink riders have learned to handle their beasts, knowing they'll lose control if their mounts see any target (it's fluffy, I swear!"). These will go off to the backfield to help out the chameleon skinks, and gnaw on or merely frighten the unit that is marked with the blot toad.

Finally our chameleon friends, whose purpose in life is to try to shoot the crap out of high toughness targets. Every dead cannon likely means one more living dinosaur, etc.

Rare:
Ancient Stegadon; Sharpened Horns -

Salamander with extra snack -

No list is complete without a salamander or two, this little unit will try to reduce the size of incoming infantry, and be possible first-turn fodder for Walk Between Worlds, allowing a first turn flame shot.

And finally the big stegger can threaten pretty much any monster with multiple wounds on its profile. I imagine charging this guy into virtually any big thing and watching those impact hits tear them apart. Usage will probably depend on the opponent. Against ogres, I get the sneaking suspicion that the win or loss will depend on the ogre player's ability to cannon out the steg on turn 1. Cast at the right moment, Walk Between Worlds can teleport this nasty monster into the worst possible place for the enemy, and be a game changer. Of course, it can still be cannoned off the board with surprising ease, but so can anything really. Maybe I can act really threatening with my Beams O Chotec early on, and tempt the cannons toward those. I can stand to lose one and still have the Ld bubble.

So the mainline consists of two blocks to accept charges, interspersed with Bastiladons to buff initiative and counter charge. Likely the basties will be positioned to never get charged themselves, acting mostly as detachments for the Saurus blocks. The Stegadon and Salamander will go in there somewhere as well, to round out the battle line. After the main line has deployed, I'll find a place for my skrox unit and the rippers, they can potentially support one another. Their objective is to find targets of opportunity and turn the enemy's flank to face the threat. Chameleons will be waiting for them near the warmachines, if all goes well.

One skink priest will be with the skirmishers and have his scroll ready to burn ASAP. He'll be putting himself at risk in order to extend the Slann's reach with High Magic's damage spells on turn 1, especially Arcane Unforging. The other skink priest can hang out with one of the saurus units until combat is imminent, at which point he can bail out the back and try to spam his Wyssan's. The Slann is in the TG from the start, although depending on matchups he may need to dive out the back in order to 6-dice monkey something important. No sense blowing up the TG along with him! Actually with Soul of Stone, miscasts outside the TG unit aren't very worrysome at all, though of course, the worst can always happen. So against certain units, it might be better for the Slann to be giving the TG Stubborn and ITP.. but if it looks too dangerous the Slann can always send them off on their own.

Let me know what ya think.

Please don't post individual points costs for units. Thanks.

 

[The Hunted]

This list looks suspiciously a lot like the sort of list I would like to play.

Only the Skrox unit is the one I don't like. But as you said, it's experimental. So you be the judge of that
I think more skirmishers will fit this army very well.

Otherwise, there is very few I would change. Your flanks are covered, your centre is solid (maybe too solid) and your slann is all-round good.
By too solid i mean: where are all your units going to fit? You need space for 2 blocks, a stegadon, sometimes a bastiladon and sometimes a Slann too. That could be a bit crowded..
What is your ideal set-up in the centre?

Something in the lines of:
Saurus---TG---Steg
------Bastiladon
?

Your priests are probably going to die a quick but painfull death. But that's ok. They serve as extensions for your Slann anyway. I like the aggressive way of a scroll to push at least one of them up. Will you use the scroll or the cube first?

I've really learned to appreciate the power of a Bastiladon. It's cheap enough that you don't have to worry about losing him, and you can throw him in quite easily too. Sure his damage output is low, but S4 thunderstomps are a nice bonus. Keep him near your Slann though, as he isn't stubborn as is IMHO the best Slann-guard there is (once your slann is out by himself).

I also edited your post, something with rules and all..

Good luck in your battles!

The Hunted

 

[Rettile]

only 20 TG?

 

[geoQuant]

Last Friday, I played with a very similar list for my first game with the new book. I had 16 temple guard that game, but I am going to reduce them to 12. Here's my reasoning:

1. My slann miscast twice and blew up most of my bunker // my build was channeling staff, harmonic convergence, focus of mystery and BSB. Despite the miscasts, he won me the game by staying clear of combat and channeling spells through the priests. With the improved arcane vassals, there is no need to position the slann near any combat.

2. A minimal amount of TG provides enough protection from skirmishers/flyers to withstand a round or two of combat whilst maintaining the ability to cast spells and position another unit to the opposing flank.

3. A cheap slann confuses an opponent who thinks that they must kill your slann in order to win the game


The only other recommendation I have is to increase the size of the skrox unit to 23 skinks, 2 krox and a priest. Run it 8 skinks wide and treat it like a skirmishing unit. On the flank it can harass opponents with 11 poisoned javelins AND magic. The unit can also hold its own in combat, for a round or two. And, if somebody flanks this unit, they must hit the skinks first.

happy hunting!


edit: I also notice a lack of "hammer" units in your list. With the points savings from the TG and a cheaper Slann, you can fit in a baby stegadon with sharp horns or at least another ripper unit.

 

[The Hunted]

Last Friday, I played with a very similar list for my first game with the new book. I had 16 temple guard that game, but I am going to reduce them to 12. Here's my reasoning:

1. My slann miscast twice and blew up most of my bunker // my build was channeling staff, harmonic convergence, focus of mystery and BSB. Despite the miscasts, he won me the game by staying clear of combat and channeling spells through the priests. With the improved arcane vassals, there is no need to position the slann near any combat.

2. A minimal amount of TG provides enough protection from skirmishers/flyers to withstand a round or two of combat whilst maintaining the ability to cast spells and position another unit to the opposing flank.

3. A cheap slann confuses an opponent who thinks that they must kill your slann in order to win the game


The only other recommendation I have is to increase the size of the skrox unit to 23 skinks, 2 krox and a priest. Run it 8 skinks wide and treat it like a skirmishing unit. On the flank it can harass opponents with 11 poisoned javelins AND magic. The unit can also hold its own in combat, for a round or two. And, if somebody flanks this unit, they must hit the skinks first.

happy hunting!


edit: I also notice a lack of "hammer" units in your list. With the points savings from the TG and a cheaper Slann, you can fit in a baby stegadon with sharp horns or at least another ripper unit.

Small notation on your first point: your slann wants to be near your combat units, to help with his Ld9+BSB. Especially with Bastiladons/Stegadons running around.

I really like your 3rd point. And agree fully.

Also, I guess I need to try out a Skrox unit for myself. I'm not convinced of the value of this unit on a flank. But we'll see.
Instead of a baby stegadon/rippers, why not zoidberg? Err..I mean why not a unit of kroxigor. With hand of glory, this unit is fantastic. I'd go with kroxes over a (baby) stegadon.

The Hunted

 

[Caneghem]

This list looks suspiciously a lot like the sort of list I would like to play.

Only the Skrox unit is the one I don't like. But as you said, it's experimental. So you be the judge of that
I think more skirmishers will fit this army very well.

Otherwise, there is very few I would change. Your flanks are covered, your centre is solid (maybe too solid) and your slann is all-round good.
By too solid i mean: where are all your units going to fit? You need space for 2 blocks, a stegadon, sometimes a bastiladon and sometimes a Slann too. That could be a bit crowded..
What is your ideal set-up in the centre?

Something in the lines of:
Saurus---TG---Steg
------Bastiladon
?

Your priests are probably going to die a quick but painfull death. But that's ok. They serve as extensions for your Slann anyway. I like the aggressive way of a scroll to push at least one of them up. Will you use the scroll or the cube first?

I've really learned to appreciate the power of a Bastiladon. It's cheap enough that you don't have to worry about losing him, and you can throw him in quite easily too. Sure his damage output is low, but S4 thunderstomps are a nice bonus. Keep him near your Slann though, as he isn't stubborn as is IMHO the best Slann-guard there is (once your slann is out by himself).

I also edited your post, something with rules and all..

Good luck in your battles!

The Hunted

Setup would be refused flank (for the main line), depending on the more favorable side of the board. Left to right would be...

Saurus--Bastiladon1--TG/Slann--Bastiladon2--Stegadon
---------------------------------------Skrox

I'm considering holding the skrox as a reserve unit, containing the skink priest with scroll bunkered up and within 6 inches of the Temple Guard to prevent them from pursuing. I'm not too worried about the Saurus block and PF, since they will last a little longer. Skink priest with cube will join the skirmisher unit and extend the Slann's range on turn 1, allowing Slann to threaten from longer range. If he's going to be popping off any major spells, he'll pull back from the TG to within 3" of the skrox and TG, so that he burns skinks with his LoS for things like cannons, or if the enemy spams him with regular Str3 shooting the TG can take the hits. Also the Slann won't evaporate the TG with his miscasts, which is the main purpose of the move. I probably won't do it every game, I'll weigh the pros/cons. But moving this way allows me to respond to a high winds of magic roll with more aggressive casting. I should also note that the army will deploy with the main line fairly far back, so that when the Slann pulls this maneuver he will be out of range of spells/etc. Also first turn Slann will be casting Walk Between Worlds on the Salamander to hopefully get him close enough for his big flaming shot. Depending on matchups, I might deploy closer to the opponent or further away, as the army contains some decent firepower to somewhat hamper things like Chaos as they advance, while at the same time the army can push forward against softer armies with more shooting. I don't know, it seems like it could be a flexible and fun list.