8th Ed. Big game coming up.... 3500 Points

[NexS1]

Hi Team!
My last game (with Mazdamundi in my list) went fairly well was a win - just bumped it over the +50 VP mark.
Now that I have Maz out of my system, I've decided to give the Blade of Realities a crack before it gets removed in the next release.
The game I'm playing in a couple of days is a big one in lieu of the fact that we haven't caught up for a game in a few months so wanted to make the most of it.

Generally speaking, this opponent beats me every time, especially seeing that he often plays Empire which I believe to have largely underpriced units. But this time he'll be playing WoC, which are even moreso underpriced for their level of awesomeness.

They are just like LM in the fact that they are S4 T4, high armour, but are faster and better skilled. Have more aggressive magic and Demon Princes. Not to mention, Juggernauts. See list below.


Slann - Focus, Rumination, Higher State, Cogitation, BSB, Banner of LD+1, Lore of Life
Oldblood - Cold one, Dawnstone, Blade of Realities, Shield

Gor-Rok (coz I can! So there!)
Scar Vet - Burning Blade, Enchated Shield, L/Armour, Tali Protection
Lv 1 EotG - Dispel Scroll

24 Saurus - H/Weapon, FCG
20 Saurus - Spears, FCG
24 Skink - 3 Krox, FCG

5x Cham Skinks
10 CoC - Huanchi's Totem, FCG
20 Temple Guard - Razor Standard, FCG

1X 3 Sallies - Extra food x3


Now, I chose Gor Rok knowingly (because the newly converted model will be upset if he doesn't get any field time). I'm hoping the Blade of Realities can destroy a few Juggernauts as they are what I'm most concerned about, and hoping that Life slann can keep bringing dead things to life (as i will need it).
I'm thinking that if a demon prince appears, I'll throw the Skrox at it, so that all it gets to kill are crappy skinks and he can't thunderstomp.
My main reason for the chamos will be to stop any vanguards he may have, as the only canon he can take is a demon and the poison will not be any use unless I luckily roll all 5-6's for randomisation.

I'm hoping the sallies can cleave through some knights to prevent their line of sight from turning into a line of destruction.

All in all, it's very unlikely to pull out a win here. I have never beaten WoC with either my LM or my HE armies, so any tactical advice would be awesome!

 

[Shadoer]

Well here are my thoughts.

1. Since you are going up against Warriors of Chaos, maybe you should consider going with the Lore of Metal as opposed to Life and swap out Becalming Cognition for Cupped Hands of the Old Ones to save your temple guard.

The Lore of Metal is perfect for slaughtering the WOC and especially good at taking down tough targets like Juggernaughts.

2. See if you can swap that Dispel Scroll out for the Cube of Darkness on the Lv1 EotG. It's a bit pricier, but the chance it can stop your enemies magic phase cold is a huge plus.

Hope that helps.

 

[hdctambien]

Tactically, I'd say go big or go home. Get into Melee fast and make it last all game. Except with his Cav. Use your Chameleon Skinks to keep them busy. Even better if you can fit 3 Terradons in your army to use in conjunction with the Chamos for a turn or two of double flees. That would also get the Cav in a good position to be Salamandered a few times.

And for my experience, never accept a challenge from a Champion. Champions always turn into Demon Princes. Always.

Be aggressive.

I find myself playing too defensively when I use Lore of Life and I just run out of turns to score victory points. Recently I've been getting away from the Lore of Life and have been finding much more success with the Lore of Metal. Metal works especially well against WoC.

You've got two spells to mess with their armor saves.

Enchanted Blades works great on everything. I especially like it on my Skrox unit when it is expecting a charge (doubly so if you have a 10 - 12 Skink frontage). Combined with the Razor Standard and Halberds, your Temple Guard will tear through all that armor.

Glittering Robes can be a game changer when your Skrox unit is engaged in hand to hand.

Of course, if you go with Lore of Metal you lose Regrowth. So, I would combine the two units of Saurus into one larger unit (30ish, either Spears or Hand Weapons. I usually go HW, but Spears may work well against WoC) and add at least 6 more Temple Guard.

 

[NexS1]

I've recently had good experiences with life so that was my reasoning, but it seems many people like metal, which is one I've never had any luck with. But i'll give it a go!

If I combine the saurus units then ill definitely get flanked due to not having enough units unless I can make good use of scenery. Especially at such a big points level.

I am concerned with losing numbers, especially seeing that all their units will attack first and do a lot of killing. From experience, I don't see either saurus or TG lasting more than 2 rounds of combat, as they are as strong and throw out more sucessful hits than lizzies, and they cleave through armour just as well as us.

I've got tomorrow to stuff around with the list, but I don't think ill change the magic users as I'm not sure if he's going to take much in the way of magic, I have confidence in scroll and slann, the cogitation is just in case.

Thoughts on above?

 

[NexS1]

EDITED LIST:
Sorry about the double post. See revised list:

Slann - Focus, Rumination, Cogitation, Higher State, BSB, Channelling Staff, LD banner
Oldblood - Cold One, Blade of Realities, Seed of rebirth, Charmed Shield, Potion of Speed

Gor Rok
Scar Vet - L/Armour, Ench Shield, Burning Blade, Tali of Protection
EotG - Dispel Scroll

44 Saurus - Spears, FCG
28 Skinks - 3 Krox, FCG

5 Chamos
10 CoC - Huanchi's Totem, FCG
25 Temple Guard - Razor Standard, FCG

1x 2 Sallies - extra food

EDIT: I can remove the chanelling staff and one skink to give me and extra 20 more points to spend, but there's not much worthwhile I can buy for 20 points..

 

[Scalenex]

That's more character heavy than I'd do but that's a personal preference. Perhaps consider Lore of Beast with so many characters involved?

I'd field your Sallies as singles for extra flexibility, but that's a small thing.

 

[NexS1]

That's more character heavy than I'd do but that's a personal preference. Perhaps consider Lore of Beast with so many characters involved?

Yeah, I see what you mean, however, I like to have a character in each unit. That way, I ensure I at least get SOME combat res...
EDIT:
I'd normally not take an Oldblood, but I really wanted to test out the Blade of Realities

I'd field your Sallies as singles for extra flexibility, but that's a small thing.

Good point! Will do!

 

[hdctambien]

It looks like your old blood has two shields (the Enchanted Shield and a Regular Shield), if my math is right you can remove the mundane shield and with the remaining points you could fit an extra Saurus Spearman into your block!

However, you might want to drop the Enchanted Shield rather than the regular shield. An Old Blood on a Cold One has a 2+ save, so you only need one more point of armor to max out at a 1+. The cheapest way you can do that is with a mundane shield. Alternatively, you could drop both shields and use the Dragonhelm to get a 1+ AND pick up an additional ward vs fire (and still have enough to add that extra Saurus!).

How are you planning on running your Saurus? Horde or Bus?

What about the Skinks? I like to start my games running my Skrox unit 14 wide (22 quick to fire, points shots should force 3 - 4 armor saves from a stand and shoot... and if you softened them up from a turn or two of regular shooting, they could be down a 4 - 6 wounds before you even start fighting, which can be a big deal against WoC .. and you would have to lose 24 skinks before you lose the first of your 2 ranks)

 

[NexS1]

The oldblood did have 2. But I need the charmed shield because I can't afford a ward save for him, and if I'm taking lore of metal then I have no insurance.

I never thought about the skinks much, but ill definitely give that a go.
And I will run my saurus 7 wide, just so I have max attacks with max ranks

 

[hdctambien]

Ah, I mixed up the Old Blood and Scar Vet magic shields.

When is your game? I'm interested in hearing how it goes. I haven't played anything over 2500 points, myself.

 

[NexS1]

Game is on tonight (its 8am at the moment), I will definitely post the high/lowlights!

 

[NexS1]

So my game has been postponed.. unfortunate, but my mate has had to work offshore for a week. Watch this space