8th Ed. Doomwheel ... of doom?

[Raithial]

in a few days I'll be battling Skaven. And he'll be fielding a Doomwheel. first time I'm opposed to that bloody thing, and I've seen that thing destroy half an army of ogres... so I'm kind of jumpy in getting that thing off the field... what's the best way to destroy the Doomwheel using Lizardmen?

 

[n810]

haven't faced one myself either...
I suspect we would either have to poison or magic it to death...?

 

[troubled_joe]

If you wound them when they're not in combat they have roll a D6 at the end of the phase, and on a 1 go 'out of control'. This can lead to them crashing into their own lines. Poison skinks are definitely the way to go as they're T6 with a 4+ save. The Doomwheels have an 18" range with their lightning. They auto-hit the closest models in range, so you should keep all multi-wound models away from them or at least keep more expendable troops closer to them. On a good day 1 Doomwheel is more than capable of killing 2 Stegadons in one shooting phase. On a bad day it will struggle to kill 1 Saurus. As well as having an unpredictable ranged attack they are actually quite good in combat - they do D6+1 S6 impact hits and in subsequent rounds of combat they do D3 S6 auto hits (+ they have 2D6 S2 attacks). My Doomwheel killed a Shaggoth just in combat the other day (as Shaggoths are immune to lightning he sent the Shaggoth towards it expecting an easy kill, only to have it crushed beneath the wheel...)

 

[Raithial]

so basically: shoot it with everything you've got? o.o... did I get that right?

if that's the case, I'll use my Slann-skink combo, with Cupped hands, and hope at Irrisistable force, then give the misscast to the enemy mage 8D. now just to think of which magic Missile I'll use... any tips on that?

 

[troubled_joe]

Not sure about magic missiles as I don't have access to the Battle Magic Lores, I get a nice S5 Warplightning magic missile, I don't know if any of the regular lores have anything S5 or higher? On another note, although they're scary (literally, they cause Terror) a large block of infantry can easily beat the Wheel if you manage to get into position. The Wheel isn't stubborn so will likely lose to static combat res.

 

[Raithial]

Well, the Amber Spear has S6 and Multiple Wounds(D3), and the upgraded version is S10 Multiple Wounds(D6)
Lore of Lights's upgraded Shem's Burning Gaze has D6 S6 hits.
Lore of Heaven's Urannon's Thunderbolt also has D6S6 hits.

so which one would be better? Amber Spear or the one of the other two who are practically identical?
I'm myself leaning to the Amber Spear, for the S10 hit. Get that off and nearly any model will be whiped out in a single spear.
though on a whole I might also add the spell from Lore of Light, called Speed of Light, which gives WS10 I10. Making a block of Saurus Warriors pretty much the most destructive core-unit in game if I can get that off. Surely I'll kill a lot of Clan-rats with that as a bonus, right?

so on a whole, I'm now doubting between Lore of Beasts' Amber Spear, and lore of light.
((B.T.W. I always use the slann-build where he knows every spell in the lore :3 I hate leaving something like that to chance))

 

[Viarca]

Unless you are using a lot of Scar Vets in a single unit that can be boosted by the Beast spells, Lore of Light is going to make more sense because it is so good at making up for the Lizardmen's weaknesses. Speed of Light and Pha's Protection are a pair of spells that, in combination, make almost any unit very formidable since anything with WS4 or less will need 6's to hit a unit with both buffs on it and 5's if they are WS5+. The boosted Shem's Burning Gaze will need 4's to wound the Doomwheel, but will also negate its armor save, so while it will take an average of two rounds to kill it this way, it still works well (even better against Hydras and HPAs since it is flaming and negates both regen and armor in the case of the Hydra, only needing 3's to wound).

 

[Matis]

I think you could also do well with life
D6 S6 hits will hurt the wheel or you put +4T on the saurus or TG and send them to greet it
am not sure if basic strength of the wheel is 2 or 6, but if the lower, you can easily dwell it from below

 

[Leokill27]

An Oldblood or Scar vet with the potion of strength rips the Hamsterwheel apart. I kit mine out with the sword of swift slaying and potion of strength. Stick that guy in a unit of saurus and either tempt him into you, or run at him (Light would help a lot with briona's timewarp)


Chamo skinks might also be a great idea.

Just keep your stegadon away!