8th Ed. 500-1250 point escalation vs Dwarfs

[Cannabisaur]

It has been a long long time since I have been involved with WHFB or even spoken the word Warhammer. Back then Nagash was still alive-ish under a single 'Undead' army book, Ogres were just mercenaries for hire and Chaos included all the Beastmen, Daemons, & Warriors under the single entity 'Realm of Chaos'. Quite shocking to return over a decade and a half later and see how everything has evolved. What a long strange journey it has been...

My wife and I have come to the conclusion that it is best to go about collecting our army using the escalation method. First goal is to reach a 500 point army and from there, increase the points by 250 until we reach a total of 1500 points. Steadily growing the size of our army and building off the previous points list. Taking our time to learn how to play this complex game at our own pace. We also agree that we cannot use anything from the 'Lords' section until we reach 1500 points. It will just be the two of us playing each other in friendly little games. No try-hard gaming or whatever the current terminology is these days. Fluff and whacky themed lists are just fine in this house. And we're more than happy to proxy models. We plan on playing around with as many different characters and units as we can. The main rule is to have fun and build a solid foundation of models. One key to remember is that all lists are geared towards battling the Dwarfs only. We don't plan on playing at our FLGS or with anyone else anytime soon.

Now that all the intro and background is past, let us get to business!

How do these lists look in a 500-1250 point escalation versus the Dwarfs? I can post her lists if necessary, as I seem to have made this rather long already...

Scar Vet - GW, LA, Enchanted Shield, Dawnstone, Ironcurse

19 Saurus - Full Command

10 Skink Skirmishers - Javelin/Shields

5 Chameleons TOTAL 499

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Scar Vet - GW, Cold One, Armor of Destiny

21 Saurus - Full Command

Bastiladon - Solar Engine

5 Chameleons

3 Ripperdactyls TOTAL 750

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Scar Vet - GW, Cold One, Armor of Destiny

Skink Priest - Lvl 1 , Heavens, Ruby Ring

20 Saurus - Full Command

Bastiladon - Solar Engine

5 Chameleons

3 Ripperdactyls

Salamander - Extra Snack

Salamander - Extra Snack TOTAL 997

This is as far as I've gotten. Now my questions are:

1. Should the Salamanders be run as one single unit of two Sallies or as two individual units of Sallies?

2. What recommendations do you have towards altering any part of any of these lists? All suggestions are welcomed.

3. What units would further round out the next 250 points toward the next army list level of 1250pts?

Thanks for hanging in there...

 

[Qupakoco]

Welcome back to the land of the Lizards! I recall facing Nagash in a few battles back in the day... Back then the Slann had 8 attacks and was WS 9 or something ridiculous like that. "Hero-Hammer" was a better term for the game in those days, haha.

As for your lists, the one thing I'll pick on is your Scar-Vet in the 500 pt list. The others look pretty good.So yeah, since you're newish I assume you don't realize how he'll play in an actual game. A Great Weapon is an item that requires 2-hands to use. This means that while your SV is in close combat, he'll not be able to use the Enchanted Shield. The only way he'll get to use it is if he is being shot at. So yeah, he DOES have a 2+ rerollable save against shooting. Which is pretty good. But he's only got a 4+ rerollable in combat. And since Dwarfs like to pack around those Great Weapons also, he'll be cut all the way down to a 6+ rerollable. Not very good anymore, huh?

The simple solution is to mount him on a Cold One. The mount gives him the same save as the Enchanted Shield, plus now he's got some cool stuff like Fear, M7, Swiftstride, and Immunity to Psychology. Granted he can now also be sniped since he's a different model type and he suffers from Stupidity, but those are something you just have to learn to cope with.

Anyway, enough picking on him. Go and checkout the tactics section for some typical builds.


As for your questions:

1: I would run them separately. That will allow you more flexibility with your movement. A single Sally can do a lot on it's own.

2: I think your lists are pretty good. It may be beneficial to bump up the Saurus numbers. Most people start off at 24/25 models and go from there. Just personal preference. Saurus need bodies for staying power.

3: I'd look at a Stegadon