9th Age Alpha Carnosaur 2500 list

[Dunya]

I'm brand new to the 9th age rules, so please forgive me if I missed a rule or priced something worng.

The first entry that caught my eye reading through the new army book was the Saurian Warlord on the Alpha Carnosaur. If anybody has any experice playing with that setup it'd be great to hear how it performs.

Anyway here's the list:

Lords:
Saurian Warlord - Alpha Carnosaur, Gambler's Armor, Shield, Spear of the Stampede (435)
Cuatl Lord (Light, BSB, General) - Shielded Soul, Grounding Rod, Wellspring of Power (435)

Heroes:
Skink Priest (Wilderness) - Dispel Scroll (90)

Core:
2x10 Skink Hunters - Javelins, Skirmishers (160)
40 Saurian Warriors - Full Command (470)

Special:
20 Temple Guard - Full Command, Weapon Masters (310)
3x6 Chameleons (210)
3 Rhamphodon Sky Riders - Shields (135)

Rare:
Taurosaur - Ancient, Engine of the Ancients (255)
----
2500

The Salamanders and Razordons feel a bit gimp without the handlers so I opted to forego them, I might be mistaken though. Again any feedback on them is appreciated. Not sure whether the upgrades on Saurus are worthwhile, I decided to go for more bulk rather than quality regardless.

I realize that the new Parry rule is a bit anti-synergy with Lore of Light, but I honestly still think its a great Lore for Lizardmen. As for the Cuatl Lord itself I think he benifited immensly from the removal of the old 7 miscast result. The 2-6 results are still pretty bad, so I included the Grounding Rod/Shielded Souls combo, aswell as potentially reducing casting cost with the Ancient.

 

[Mr Phat]

Got good news and bad news:

- The good news is that you got a lot of points wasted on your Carno lord
- The bad news is you got a lot of points wasted on your Carno lord



Alpha Carnosaur is a BIG monster, which means you cant improve its armour beyond what it comes with.
Since all attacks are directed against it, and not the rider, you amour and wardsave on your lord has no function at all.

but, putting on a
Starfall Shard (45 / 30 pts) Bearer’s model gains Fireborn. All attacks made against the bearer’s model suffer -1 to hit.
Might work out for you

as you have a 5++ from the engine against ranged, its really only combat you have to worry about.

 

[Dunya]

Thanks for the reply.

I just caught that the Alpha is a regular Monster myself, litterally reading through the rules for the first time as I'm making the list.

 

[Mr Phat]

Looks interesting for a combat army though!
I THINK you would want to cut a unit of chameleons for more TG bodies though.
If I take them I never take below max unit size
Remember: they ARE protecting the heart of your army.

 

[Dunya]

I'm thinking I might change the direction of the list slightly to make better use of the Born Predator and Parry rules.

Lords:
Saurian Warlord - Alpha Carnosaur, Spear of the Stampede (415)
Cuatl Lord (Nature, BSB, General) - Dispel Scroll, Wellspring of Power (415)

Core:
2x10 Skink Hunters - Javelins (160)
40 Saurian Warriors - Full Command (470)

Special:
20 Temple Guard - Full Command, Totem of Mixoatl (325)
3x6 Chameleons (210)
3 Pteradon Sky Riders - Fire Bola (108)

Rare:
Taurosaur - Ancient, Giant Blowpipes (225)
Stygiosaur - Skink Rider (170)

A bit more risky with the Miscasts, but overall Nature mitigates that somewhat. I also think the Troglodon+Skink Rider combo is more impactful as a backup spellcaster compared to a regular Priest. Not sure if I want to get any of the upgrades however.

 

[Mr Phat]

Regarding miscasts: I havn't had a single devastating miscast in any of my 9th age games.
I dont know how they did it, but it seems like they have been put in a good place.

May offer a suggestion? Get "Veteran of the cataclysm" on the Cuatl.
The extra magic missile is golden to support the Nature lore, as well as Moreacs fury is a nice supplement, as you have no offensive combat magic

Luminous bolts + Stygiosaur with Magic beacon and Master of earth really puts your opponent in a position where its hard to hide from your
missiles.
Against elves or chaff this is vital.

 

[Dunya]

I'll take all the suggestion I can get, I still haven't played an actual game of 9th age.

The Magic Missiles do look quite tasty, I'm a bit limited on Lord points however. I might notch the Carnosaur down to the hero section, get some more Temple Guard and kit up the Cuatl a bit more as you suggested.

I guess you still get the Attributes from White and Black Magic with Veteran of the Cataclysm?

 

[Mr Phat]

I guess you still get the Attributes from White and Black Magic with Veteran of the Cataclysm?

oh yes

I might notch the Carnosaur down to the hero section,

In that case, you DO get to kite him with magic armour
Hero carno = not a big monster.

I run him like this:
Armour of destiny
Shield (+ lance if I got the points)

 

[Dunya]

Yeah I do understand the Ridden Monster/Monstrous Beast rules, I just didn't catch that the Alpha Carno wasn't also a Monstrous Beast.

The updated list looks like this, and I do like it better:

Lords:
Cuatl Lord (Nature, BSB, General) - Dispel Scroll, Wellspring of Power, Veteran of the Cataclysm (465)

Hero:
Saurian Veteran - Carnosaur, Armour of Fortune, Flaming Lance, Shield (275)

Core:
2x10 Skink Hunters - Javelins (160)
40 Saurian Warriors - Full Command (470)

Special:
26 Temple Guard - Full Command, Totem of Mixoatl (403)
3x6 Chameleons (210)
3 Pteradon Sky Riders - Shields (120)

Rare:
Taurosaur - Ancient, Giant Blowpipes (225)
Stygiosaur - Skink Rider (170)
----
2498

The Temple Guard will be running 6x5 as opposed to 6x4 which should present a pretty solid core to the army. Might make little tweaks here and there, but overall I feel like this list is in a good place. Thanks for all the help!

 

[NIGHTBRINGER]

The Salamanders and Razordons feel a bit gimp without the handlers so I opted to forego them

Personally I think they are both pretty solid choices. The Salamander is great as always and the Spearback is much improved over its 8th edition counterpart. The Spearback can now be upgraded to have AP 2 (at short range), which can modify armour by a whooping 3! Best of all, even with this upgrade the Spearback costs the same as the Razordon in 8th. The Salamander on the other hand had its range reduced but had its reliability to hit greatly increased.

The handler "ward save" was nice but now we have...

• 4+ armour instead of 5+
• 3 attacks @S5 instead of 2 attacks @S5 and 3 attacks @S3
• improved leadership (6 versus 5)

40 Saurian Warriors - Full Command (470)

The max size for a unit of Saurian Warriors is 35 models.



Looks like quite a good list overall. I like your decision to replace the Saurian Warlord Carno lord with the Saurian Veteran Carno hero. I might opt for the Armour of Destiny if you can spare the points. That 4+ ward save comes in very handy, but I guess the flaming lance is pretty good as well.

 

[Dunya]

Interesting, the Spearbacks are certainly worth considering, I guess the list isn't that strong against heavily armoured armies. I really like the 4 units of vanguards/scouts, I guess you could say its a personal preference, which kinda makes the points difficult to find.

The max size for a unit of Saurian Warriors is 35 models.

Thanks for pointing that out, I guess I need to switch up my core a bit. I also just noticed that the Skink Hunters lose their Shields when you Skirmish them so I guess maybe ranking them in little 10man blocks or going with blowpipes might be better.

 

[NIGHTBRINGER]

I guess you could say its a personal preference, which kinda makes the points difficult to find.

That is true. Its one of my favourite things in 9th Age... more units are usable now. We have more choice in creating a customized army list that better fits our play style and modelling preferences.

 

[Dunya]

Very true, I really like the added depth.

I've further corrected the list as I found some minor errors, like the fact that the first 10 Saurus and 3 Pteradons are only 100 points. I'm sure there are still a few slip-ups to be found, though I hope its mostly accurate and legal now. (a bit more tricky without army builder, forgive me )

Lords:
Cuatl Lord (Nature, BSB, General) - Dispel Scroll, Obsidian Pepple, Wellspring of Power, Veteran of the Cataclysm (475)

Hero:
Saurian Veteran - Carnosaur, Armour of Fortune, Flaming Lance, Shield (275)

Core:
28 Skink Braves /w 3 Caimans - Musician, Standard, Javelins, Poisoned Attacks (338)
24 Saurian Warriors - Full Command, War Banner (299)

Special:
26 Temple Guard - Full Command, Totem of Mixoatl (403)
3x6 Chameleons (210)
3 Pteradon Riders - Fire Bolas (103)

Rare:
Taurosaur - Ancient, Giant Blowpipes (225)
Stygiosaur - Skink Rider (170)
----
2498

One thing I'm unsure of is the AS on the Pteradon Riders, every other Skink has Innate Protection, but I can't find it in their wording. I assume 6+ with no Shields?

 

[Dunya]

These are my ideas for unit configurations and my understanding of how the Caimans and the Cuatl are allowed to be positioned. Please correct me if anything is off.

 

[NIGHTBRINGER]

One thing I'm unsure of is the AS on the Pteradon Riders, every other Skink has Innate Protection, but I can't find it in their wording. I assume 6+ with no Shields?

They do have innate protection (6+). I've highlighted the entry below ...

 

[NIGHTBRINGER]

These are my ideas for unit configurations and my understanding of how the Caimans and the Cuatl are allowed to be positioned. Please correct me if anything is off.

I believe that both Caimans in Skink Braves unit and a Cuatl in a Temple Guard unit may be placed anywhere within their respective units. The reference for the Caimans can be found under the "Combined Strength" rule on page 9 which it states that "they do not have to be placed as far forwards as possible, but can be placed anywhere in the unit". The Cuatl has the "Palanquin" special rule (page 2) which states that they lose the Front Rank rule (and therefore can be placed anywhere in the unit).

 

[Dunya]

Cool thanks, the construction of the Sky-Rider entry seems a bit confusing though. I assumed the Innate Defence reffered to the mount itself.

 

[Dunya]

Ok, I just discovered the Alpha Rhamphodons and Pteradons with Skink Captains. The fact that they come with Fast Cavalry, 4T and 3W certainly changes up my idea of the army. I'd still really like to keep the Carnosaur in there, but maybe thats not the best idea. This is what I've cooked up:

Lords:
Cuatl Lord (Light, BSB, General) - Book of Arcane Power, Obsidian Pepple, Wellspring of Power (440)

Hero:
Saurian Veteran - Carnosaur, Armour of Fortune, Flaming Lance, Shield, Potion of Swiftness (280)
Skink Captain - Alpha Rhamphodon, Egg of Quetzal, Dragonscale Helm, Lucky Charm, Light Armour, Lance, Shield (145)
Skink Captain - Alplha Pteradon, Serpent Bow, Talisman of Shielding, Hardened Shield, Light Armour, Lance (132)
Skink Priest - Level 1, Dispel Scroll (100)

Core:
28 Skink Braves /w 3 Caimans - Musician, Standard, Javelins, Poisoned Attacks (338)
24 Saurian Warriors - Full Command, War Banner (299)

Special:
26 Temple Guard - Full Command (368)
2x6 Chameleons (140)

Rare:
Taurosaur - Ancient, Engine of the Ancients (255)
----
2497

This way I still get to keep my weird 4 Vanguard/Scout rule. I'm not entirely sure where I'm going to place the Skink Priest, but I guess thats a minor concern.

The switchup with the Slann is a result of one less Monster, plus I generally prefer Light. I figure this magic setup is also good at mitigating Miscasts with the extra +2 to cast and potentially -2 to spell requirements, as I'll be throwing less dice pr spell. The 5+ Ward bubble should also be pretty amazing, especially without Nature keeping stuff alive.

 

[Dunya]

Oh and I guess with this setup I'd go for the AHW on the Skink Braves, Parry doesn't make a whole lot of sense with Light. I still hesitate to get the Spears on the Saurus, 13 points is quite a bit.

 

[Dunya]

Since I feel like I've got my "standard" list squared away nicely, I figured I'd be true to the name of this thread and create an Alpha Carnosaur list. This is what I came up with:

Lords:
Saurian Warlord (General) - Alpha Carnosaur, Spear of the Stampede, Starfall Shard, Divine Icon (475)
Skink High Priest (Nature) - Level 4, Dispel Scroll (245)

Heroes:
Skink Captain (BSB) - Ancient Taurosaur, Engine of the Ancients, Gem of Dragonfire, Fleshrender (330)

Core:
4x10 Skink Hunters - Blowpipes, Skirmishers (320)
24 Saurian Warriors - Full Command, War Banner (310)

Special:
6 Caimans - Full Command, Hardened Scales (330)
6 Chameleons (70)
3 Pteradon Sky Riders (100)

Rare:
Stygiosaur - Champion (170)
2x1 Salamanders - Spout Flames (150)
----
2500, 86 Models

I'm sure this can be improved in certain areas, so all suggestions are welcome. I chose the Saurians in core to get a different feel to this army compared to the other list I made, also I don't have more than 6 Caimans. The thing I'm most uncertain about is the Skink BSB, so if anybody has any alternative builds I'd appreciate your comments.