I haven't thought too much about what sort of 2 Slann list I'd bring to a 3000 points, no holds barred event. I never have liked using special characters, because they feel too "gimmicky". Yeah it's legal to use them, but I'd like to put together a list that just ignores special characters. I think an extremely powerful army can be produced without special characters, and here is my attempt at doing so. This started off as a response to shaun417, but it sort of turned into a brainstorming session for my own 'Ardboyz list. I hate the name too by the way... I always imagine a couple of ignorant orks snorting and smacking each other with clubs 'til the other one dies. I guess the imagery is correct if you choose to embrace the use of one-trick pony special characters, but who says we have to be ignorant orks!
Part 1 - Lords and Heroes
Aggressive Slann BSB - Jaguar Standard - All spells, enemy drops 6's, extra die - 2 dispel scrolls, Cube of Darkness - Remember: Slann BSB's magic standards do not count towards their magic item allotment (p. 93)
490 pts.
I'm assuming he'll go in the TG with the war banner and make it a big combat res unit. First thing is first, swap the sun standard for the Jaguar Standard. Temple Guard take more damage from template weapons anyway, and Sun Standard won't help against that. Since you will be breaking things in combat, having 3D6 pursuit rolls could win you games by allowing you to catch key units and plow into others. His disciplines are exactly what I would take, they are the three best in my analysis. I like the 2 scrolls for a start, but I would also give him the Cube of Darkness. If you consider how insanely disgusting magic phases will be in this sort of "anything goes" playstyle, having a 50% chance of completely nuking an entire enemy magic phase becomes a gamble with a MUCH higher payoff than usual. Vamp Counts expecting to raise hordes of units on a key turn might find they have lost control of the game as their magic phase is completely cancelled.
Defensive Slann General - All spells, enemy drops 6's, extra die - Dispel scroll, Cupped hands of old ones, Bane Head
470 pts.
I understand the appeal of the sneaky, on his own, only magic attacks hurt Slann, but this is not feasible for 'Ardboys. There will be too much magic slung his way and dwarves will have an insane number of magic war machines. He needs a unit of Temple Guard, but it doesn't need to necessarily be as large as the 16 strong unit for the BSB. Take the same disciplines and make him your general, so that all your eggs aren't in the above basket. Full command of course, but no magic banner necessary. Give him a scroll and cupped hands of the old ones, so that you can save your general from that one odd miscast, possibly taking out an enemy wizard in the process. Throw the Bane head in there too for good measure, instead of the other scroll. Who knows, you may face dwarves and spot a juicy BSB with 1+ armor... he gets sniped by Rule of Burning Iron from this Slann and the bane head doubles the wound resulting in a severely weakened dwarf line.
Eye of the Slann (skink priest) - Lvl 2 - Cloak of Feathers, Rod of the Storm
150 pts.
This is something no Slann player should be without. A tiny little caster being able to fly around and then allowing the Slann to channel magic missiles to him with 360 line of sight is just awesome. This guy will round out your magic phase with some heavens magic of his own and with a nice little one-shot spell up his sleeve to annoy the enemy heavy cav further. Being able to fly also will make him hard to pin down.
Templar of Xahutec (scar vet) - light armor, shield - Blade of Chotec, War Drum of Xahutec
125 pts.
Joining your aggressive block of Temple Guard (with high static res and jaguar standard) will be this foot-bound hero. He can really dish out kills against any rank and file troops with the Blade of Chotec. Use the unit champion to protect him from ignore armor save, killing blow, and high strength characters. His other very valuable role is to ensure the offensive Slann and his unit are always on the march. Units within 12" will rally on a cold-blooded roll of 10 or under, which is exceedingly difficult to fail, but that's just a tiny bonus. Being able to march without being blocked is so good with dwarves, and even better when combined with magical movement (refer to section 2, the lores of magic).
Wings of Death (scar vet) - light armor, shield, great weapon - Charm of the Jaguar Warrior
124 pts.
You might as well have a flying Scar Vet, and he really is a great character for his points. You'll always want to cast his spell last and force the opponent to either save dice to dispel it or just ignore it and let him zip around. Since he will be doing a variety of duties, his armament is diversified. Giving him a shield not only helps his armor against ranged fire, but gives him the hand weapon and shield option in combat for a nice 2+ armor save. Consider him a strength 7 magic missile against chariots as well... Don't forget when facing Dwarves (who will probably take Thorek, the anvil special character)... the anvil of doom's wrath and ruin effect cannot be used against single character models on their own. This guy is more than a match for Thorek in combat, and should wipe the floor with him wielding his great weapon.
Total Character points - 1377
The EotG really does become quite the target, and the priest will likely just get picked off leaving a plain old ancient stegadon. Not to mention you have two Slann mage-priests to do your magical blasting for you.
Next topic will be the different lores, and when to take them.
