8th Ed. Best solo slann build for 2000 points

[Daneish]

What would do you think would be the best solo slann build for 2000 points?

This is mine

slann, mystery, rumination, becalming, higher state, battle standard, cupped hands

He will have a good magic offence with mystery and rumination, a good defence with becalming.

As long as your careful he should live a while as he has higer state so is ethereal.

So my question is what would your solo slann look like?

 

[Gor-rok]

Here's what I use when the Slann goes it alone:

Becalming, Rumination, Mystery. Book of Ashur, Divine Plaque.

Without the expensive Temple Guard to worry about blowing up, I leave the Cupped Hands at home. There's so many magical ranged attacks out there (Jezzails, Dwarf rune cannons, Tzeentch Flamers, spells) I find the Divine Plaque to be superior and cheaper to Higher State. If a unit gets him in close combat, I'm doing something wrong, and usually there's a hero with a magic weapon anyway.

I take Shadows with my lone Slann, and zip around using the lore attribute between cheap skink heroes I have scattered around the board. Because of that, I give the battle standard to another character closer to the battle line. If I was to take a different lore, the Slann would carry it, and still come in at exactly 25% in a 2000 point game.

 

[Daneish]

I like this build. Shame you can't squeeze in a potion of healing though. Does the divine plaque work against magic spells as well then.

 

[Overhamsteren]

Joining the "lone" slann to some skink skirmishers helps him not getting shot and keeps him mobile.

 

[Daneish]

Would that not give them a bigger footprint and make them easier to tie down in combat, break and run down?

 

[Gor-rok]

The Divine Plaque works on spells, as long as they would allow a ward save normally. So it won't help against Pit of Shades, but Fate of Bjuna could be saved against.

I've never tried putting the Slann with skinks. I think as long as you played it carefully, it might be worth the added risk of getting into close combat.

 

[Chaq Mundi]

To Gor-Rok: Actually, the divine plaque of protection only gives you a 2+ ward against shooting of any kind, and Magic Missiles, so unless Fate of Bjuna is a magic missile, the slann only gets his 4+.

But anyway. the build I use is this:
-Slann
-mystery, rumination, cogitation
-BSB
-Banner of Discipline
-Cupped Hands
-Curse Charm of Tepok

OR

-Slann
-mystery, rumination, cogitation
-BSB
-Banner of Discipline
-Forbidden Rod
-Potion of Healing

 

[Gor-rok]

Actually, the divine plaque of protection only gives you a 2+ ward against shooting of any kind, and Magic Missiles, so unless Fate of Bjuna is a magic missile, the slann only gets his 4+.

The rules for the Divine Plaque say it protects against "ranged attacks". Nowhere in the book or any of the FAQ's that I can find does it class ranged attacks into shooting and magic missiles only (or precisely define "ranged attacks" for that matter), so I would argue that a direct damage spell like Fate of Bjuna is warded by the Plaque as normal. It's an attack that causes damage from a distance, after all- as opposed to attacks that occur while in base to base contact, or a miscast, which originates from the damaged model itself, neither of which the Plaque helps with.

You do bring up a good point in that not all damaging spells are ranged attacks. Shield of Thorns hurts enemies in base contact, so that would not be protected against. There might be other spells of a similar nature in some of the army books, but they're fairly uncommon.

If I've missed a part of the rules somewhere and am incorrect in this, quote me a page number and I'll sure appreciate it. Gotta play by the rules, after all...