8th Ed. 500 points for an Escalation

[prisoner24602]

Hey guys, my local shop is having an escalation league over the next 4 months, starting at 500 points. I can handle myself pretty well in the higher points, but surprisingly I am awful at 500 points. Here is my list that I came up with.

20 x Saurus Warriors w/ hw, shield, and musician

10 x Skink skirmishers with javelins

10 x Skink skirmishers with javelins

Saurus Scar-Vet w/ shield, light armor, CO mount, and mw that gives initiative 10


Since you are required to have at least 3 units on top of your general choice as it states in the rulebook, most of the armies consist of one large block of troops supported by two or three smaller units. These smaller units are easily handled by the skirmishers, and a 20 man saurus block can go toe to toe with just about anything in most conditions.. However, the biggest problem that I've found is against skaven players. I have no idea how to deal with two 30 man hordes of slave rats and a warplighting cannon. I'm sure that the saurus could get a charge on one, but I'm not so sure they could handle the second after two or three rounds of sling attrition. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Ondjage]

Well, a 30 man horde of skaven slaves will be at Leadership 4, so a blast from a salamander should cause them to explode (yes, skaven slaves explode - they cannot flee).

If they get to use the inspiring presence it will be more tricky, but a salamander should still work wonders, even if they pass their panic test.

That the 30 man unit of slaves with slings only cost 75 points is very still provoking.

Troll race!

 

[Seaweed96]

Hey!
First of all it's a must that you use spears for your saurus, it doesn't even cost any points anymore. And you'll get 5 extra attacks.
I don't see the point in using a CO mount for your scarvet either, cause you don't have a suitable unit for it.
Me personally thinks a wizard, in this case a skink priest, is a better choice than the scarvet, just make sure you protect it.
Just like the previously speaker said, salamanders are perfect for killing large block of enemies with low toughness/armor.

Good luck!

 

[prisoner24602]

So some interesting rules have been implemented to keep the playing field even for the first month. No rare units, only 25% can be specials, 25% heroes, and minimum 50% core. Also, magic casters only get 1d6+2 dice and can only be level 2. That rules out the salamander, but it also means no warp cannon/ brett trebuchet/ other silliness.

I've seen arguments for both hw/shield and for spears. It came down to two factors: they're already modeled with hw/shield, and I really love parry saves.

In defending the cold one, here is my line of position. Unless I'm going up against a suitably equipped general like an orc warboss, chaos champion, or some sort of ogre, most generals at 500 pts won't go for a challenge against a fear causing, pissed off dino and his equally pissed off rider. He sits right in the center of the saurus block, so while he may not be getting there as fast as he can, he will get there and he will wreck some face.

As for the skink priest, he was my first choice. Chilling out in a group of skirmishers, walking around, being a honey badger by casting wildform on the skirmishers or the saurus block. The problem is that when you and your opponent know you have one spell, you also know that he will throw everything he has to stop it. Which means you throw all you have to get it through. I've seen more wizards blow up with entire units, lose power dice, and lose wizard levels in the past two months of play testing then I've seen in my two years of playing this game.




When I first posted this, I realized that I was acting like a restaurant manager on Kitchen Nightmares. Here I am, asking for advice from some veterans and when its given, I sit here and defend my choices to people who know better than me.

 

[hdctambien]

In defending the cold one, here is my line of position. Unless I'm going up against a suitably equipped general like an orc warboss, chaos champion, or some sort of ogre, most generals at 500 pts won't go for a challenge against a fear causing, pissed off dino and his equally pissed off rider. He sits right in the center of the saurus block, so while he may not be getting there as fast as he can, he will get there and he will wreck some face.

Let me tell you why I like your Scar Vet. With him in your unit of Saurus, the entire unit is Stupid. So they are also Immune to Psychology. Which means you don't have to worry about your skink skirmishers breaking around you without a BSB (it's a bad day when your opponent shoots 3 skinks dead and the unit flees through your Saurus block and the Saurus panic... and you're left with only one unit of skinks)

Also, a Scar Vet with Initiative 10 will wreck face against any Elfs. He'll show them where they can stuff their re-roll to hit.

I've seen more wizards blow up with entire units, lose power dice, and lose wizard levels in the past two months of play testing then I've seen in my two years of playing this game.

Hopefully your opponents didn't learn their lesson from this. Let them blow themselves up! Or hunt them down with skinks or your Scar Vet. Dead men cast no spells!