AoS Dracothion's tail. 3 drops. Firelance + Thunderquake

[karlsbc]

2,000pts.
Allegiance: Seraphon
Starborne: Dracothion's Tail


Leader

Slann Starmaster (260 points)
Mystical Unforging
Ancient Knowledge: Stellar Tempest
General
Godbeast Pendant

Saurus Scar-Veteran on Carnosaur (210 points)
Blade of Realities, Celestite Warspear

Engine of the Gods (260 points)
Incandescent Rectrices

Battleline

5 Saurus Knights (100 points)
Warspear

5 Saurus Knights (100 points)
Warspear

5 Saurus Knights (100 points)
Warspear


Behemoths

Bastiladon (220 points)
Solar Engine

Bastiladon (220 points)
Solar Engine


Other

12 Salamander Hunting Pack (240 points)


Battalions

Thunderquake Starhost (130 points)

Firelance Starhost (160 points)


Total: 2,000pts



There's not common to see Starborne lists with those two battalions, but I though that this could be an interesting list. The Thunderquake battalion ability makes dinos durable. While Firelance allows you some minor MW extra damage, it's mainly there to get you fewer drops, an extra CP, an artefact and to cover for the battleline tax. Also becuse I am a weirdo and I think the knights are cool models .

The idea behind this list is creating two blocks, one static to mainly sit on objectives and try to heal itself as much as possible (the Thunderquake dinos arround the Slann) and one more mobile (the Firelance) to mainly try to attack controlled objectives or engage the enemy in their own deployment zone.

The 3 drops make very probable to get the first turn, so everything is build around that, if you don´t go first then you'll probably struggle.

Depending on the scenario it will be interesting to alternate between setting Knights and Scar-vet or Thunderquake's big dinos in reserve:
- Firelance if you want to try a charge from deep-strike (66% success chance with "The hunter steed" and re-rolling charges for the war drums). In average a couple of the knights units should make it turn 1. The Scar-vet has 41% chance but also 66% if you use a command point.
- Thunderquake if you need all your dinos to be somewhere in the table turn 1. Just LoSaT the Slann to them to get the bonuses from the battalion and the EotG. The Salamanders should probably be deployed in reserve for hero-snipping anyways.

The low body count is probably the main issue of this list, you need to get lucky with the rolls for CCP to put some extra skinks on the table. You'll average 4CCP per turn for as long at the Slann lives.
As you need summoning, teleportation and deep-striking to compensate for some of this list's weaknesses makes Dracothion's tail sense in this instance.

The other big issue IMO is the this list relies in the randomness of the EotG, CCP and healing rolls.

You should roll 2d6 for the EotG when your main need is healing (66% chance) and 3d6 if possible when what you need is to put out MW (48%) or get some extra saurus bodies on the table (25%).

If you manage to snipe out the table some of your opponent MW potential in the first rounds then potentially healthy bastilladons that can heal furthert will be quite difficult to deal with for your opponent.

Slann, and EotG are key pieces in the list and need to survive. The artefacts they wear can bring them back with full health 50% of the time or maybe discourage your opponent on focus on them as primary targets since targeting them become a risk of wasting output.

Alternate lists:
If you change the Scar-vet on carnosaur for one on cold one then you get 100 points to spend somewhere else such as 10 skinks + Balewind Vortex, or maybe other endless spell.
If you change the Scar-vet on carnosaur for one on cold one, and drop 1 hunting pack, then you'll manage to get enough points for an astrolith bearer and the Vortex, being able to increase your summoning, use astrolith's aura to get some MW defence and eventually use him for some board control, as you can LosT him to summon reinforcements where you need them without the Slann abandoning the dinos.

 

[LizardWizard]

Looks like a fun list. Your biggest hurtle will be holding onto objectives. Let me know how you like the bastiladons outside of Thunder Lizards.

 

[Grotpunter]

Im not sure how you will win on objectives. What are you planning to use for capturing? A Bastiladon? It doesnt matter if a block of 20-30 of X cant kill your thing, they will steal the objectives and win due to bodies.

I personally think you are mixing 2 of the "wrong" batallions together. I would either go for Skink blobs or Saurus Warrior blobs, and then Knights or big dinos. Looks like a fairly low wound count army.

 

[karlsbc]

Im not sure how you will win on objectives. What are you planning to use for capturing? A Bastiladon? It doesnt matter if a block of 20-30 of X cant kill your thing, they will steal the objectives and win due to bodies.

I personally think you are mixing 2 of the "wrong" batallions together. I would either go for Skink blobs or Saurus Warrior blobs, and then Knights or big dinos. Looks like a fairly low wound count army.

I will definitely give a try to such lists also, hopefully when things become a little bit more normal than they are now we all will get to play many lists. I would't use this list against horde armies, for example.

I'm aiming on using the Thunderquake as a pack to make a screen around an objective turn 1, there's the 2 bastilladons the Eotg and 12 bodies from the hunting packs. Either by deploying around it or by "appearing on command". The hope is to summon additional bodies from CCP and EotG if possible. I'm pretty curious about seeing how the new Bastilladons do in a healing battalion, given the degrading save and shooting profiles.

The main reason for going for Firelance truth be told is that is what I have on the painting desk at the moment and I'm eager to try them. At the same time it's the cheapest viable that allows me to get as few drops as possible.

 

[Grotpunter]

I will definitely give a try to such lists also, hopefully when things become a little bit more normal than they are now we all will get to play many lists. I would't use this list against horde armies, for example.

I'm aiming on using the Thunderquake as a pack to make a screen around an objective turn 1, there's the 2 bastilladons the Eotg and 12 bodies from the hunting packs. Either by deploying around it or by "appearing on command". The hope is to summon additional bodies from CCP and EotG if possible. I'm pretty curious about seeing how the new Bastilladons do in a healing battalion, given the degrading save and shooting profiles.

The main reason for going for Firelance truth be told is that is what I have on the painting desk at the moment and I'm eager to try them. At the same time it's the cheapest viable that allows me to get as few drops as possible.

I mean if you have X models and want to make a list consisting of them, I think thats perfectly fine and cool! Sometimes we also find a model that we just love and dont care that it might not be the best, it just needs to be in the list. I was just trying to give some critique (Im assuming thats why you posted the list).

While I realize most dont play this way, whenever I usually design a list it is meant to take on all kind of lists. I dont tailor a list specifically because Im gonna face my buddy Joe that I know will bring hordes of Skaven, and then change it up when I face Jimmy because I know he loves his max 10 models BCR list.

In regards to objectives, I believe the majority of battle plans require you to hold at least 3 objectives. You can put your Thunderquake on 1, but you still need something to hold the second and something to threaten the third. While the idea of summoning 10 Skinks for objectives is neat, it will likely be too slow for you. With this list you will maximum get 2D3 CCP per turn (giving up 1 spell + Slann being general) which averages to 4 CCP per turn. 10 Skinks is 6 CCP, so on average by turn 2 you can summon the Skinks. Since summoning is at the end of the movement phase, they wont really be able to move around until turn 3, at which point almost half the game has gone by (and arguably the most important turns have already happened).