7th Ed. Help with 3000 pt list/ saurus block size

[rich_saurus]

Hey guys,
I have the mindset of putting together a 3000 pt army but at this stage havent purchased to any set list. The miniatures I currently own are:
12 skinks with blowguns
12 skinks javs and shields
2 blocks of 20 saurus, 1 with spears, 1 with h/w. Both are 5x4.
2 saurus lords on foot
Steg with EOTG
Priest on foot
Skink Chief on foot
7 Saurus Cavalry
1 Saurus Lord on Cold One (converted)
2 Kroxigor (need 1 more)

Obviously I have a disproportionate amount of characters but I guess that gives me a bit of flexibility. My question is : is 40 saurus warriors in just 2 units too bulky? Should I look at splitting them into three units of fifteen by getting some extra? It would seem not many people play blocks of 20.
This leads to another point: If I decided to go with a slann, i would probably need some temple guard. Which gives me even more saurus-types. This could potentially lead to a slow, un maneuverable army.
If I was going to run the Oldblood style, does the carnosaur make him much more formidable?

my apolgogies for all the seemingly basic questions - the main one is the saurus block size.

 

[Gor-rok]

For saurus spearmen, 6 wide and 3 deep seems to be the favored setup due to all the extra attacks you'll get fighting in two ranks. Hand weapons are more of a defensive setup, so running them 5x4 should be acceptable- you won't be losing out on as many attacks, and your rank bonus will last longer. While hand weapons are cheaper and get an armor save bonus, spears are definitely the more popular choice for all the extra attacks they can offer. Don't take my word for it though; try both setups.

Temple Guard are great, but not a necessity at all. Many players here swear on using a lone Slann; it's mobile, can pivot around easily to target things, is relatively inexpensive, and there's many options it can buy to help avoid harm. If you're worried about an unwieldy army, try running a solo Slann for a few games and see how you like him.

The carnosaur does indeed make the Oldblood more formidable, basically turning him into his own combat ready unit. It's not enough to just carelessly charge it into things, though. It's vulnerable to a variety of situations, so you'll have to use it's great maneuverability to avoid harm and hit them in the flanks.

Hope that helps; lets see what the others have to say.

 

[rich_saurus]

Ok so here is a list that I have come up with:

Lords
Slann Mage
Higher state of conciousness (ethereal)
Focus of Mystery
The focused rumination
The Harrowing Scrutiny
425 pts

Heroes
Scar Veteran
Burning Blade of Chotec
Enchanted Shield
Light armour
Cold One 135 pts

Skink Priest Lvl 2
Steg with EOTG
Plaque of Tepok
Amulet of Itzl 355 pts

Skink Priest
Dispel Scroll 90 pts

Saurus Scar Vet
Jag Charm
Great Weapon
L/A and shield 124 pts

Core
18 Saurus Warriors (6x3)
spears
command 246 pts

20 Saurus Warriors (5x4) 270 pts
Command
spears

12 Skink Skirmys 84 pts

12 Skink Skirmys 96 pts
jav and shield

12 Skink Skirmys 96 pts
Javs and shield

12 Skinks
musician 66 pts

Special
3 Krox 165 pts

4 Terradons 120 pts

7 Saurus Cavalry
Command 295 pts

Rare
2 Salamanders 150 pts



Total = 2717

Now I am unsure of what to do with the extra points. These are some options
Upgrading my first scar vet into an oldblood (bit of a waste for 1 extra weapon skill and attack though)
Actually playing an oldblood on a carno with a slann (too many points?)
Temple Guard (Pretty expensive version of saurus IMO, Slann can only be hurt by magic anyway)
Stegadon
Another problem I have is that my unit of saurus with h/w was assembled and painted during the predatory fighter rule thing, where spears were pointless. Any ideas on how I can represent spears would be greatly appreciated, as this unit really sucks compared to the spears.
Thoughts?

 

[Gor-rok]

First thing, drop the standard on the 12 ranked skinks. It's good to have in a huge unit, but for 12 it's basically giving the enemy 100 points when they defeat the skinks to take it. Either make this unit totally expendable for redirecting charges and negating ranks, or just make them skirmishers too.

Find the points to upgrade the stegadon priest to level 2 if you can. Not only will he get another power dice, he'll get another dispel dice as well since he'll count as level 3 for generating them. He'll make better use of Plaque of Tepok as well.

There's no reason to take Totem of Prophecy on the Slann. For the exact same points cost he can take Harrowing Scrutiny and cause terror instead of fear. It's still 50 points though, so make sure it's doing something for you or thrade it for something better.

Also, he needs to be the battle standard bearer to take a magic banner, which costs points and might not be a good idea if he's on his own and gets charged. Making him ethereal is a decent choice, but remember most heroes and some regular units do cause magic attacks (including some Dwarven cannons, and regular Chaos knights), and he'll still be vulnerable to spells. The Divine Plaque of Protection will give him a 2+ ward save to all ranged attacks, magic and otherwise, so it's something to consider. If you decide to skip the Plaque, give the Slann a Bane Head for blasting characters.

The Scar veteran could probably have something better than the SotSR. If you really need two more attacks, Maiming Shield and Sword of Battle will give you that and save you 3 points on a regular shield. I prefer to give him the Enchanted Shield to put his armor save at 0+, and either the Burning Blade for cleaving through armor and stopping regeneration, or the Piranha Blade for dueling and fighting things with multiple wounds.

As far as trying to get the hand weapon saurus to be spearmen, you could try mixing them in with the spearmen you already have. Make sure the front of each unit is all spears, and spread the hand weapon guys out through the rest of both units. Explain to your opponent that they are spearmen as soon as you place them on the table. If they give you a hard time about it, you'll have to come up with something else, but the rules do state: "It is acceptable for a unit to include a minority of models that are differently armed for the sake of a varied and interesting appearance, but the whole unit still counts as being armed as the majority." Saurus with hand weapons are still good though, so even if it doesn't work out don't give up on them.

 

[rich_saurus]

Edited is the list with a few changes, including your suggestions...
Based on the list so far, do you think 10-15 Temple Guard is a good idea?
Can the Slaan be challenged from his section in the unit? (may have overlooked some rules)

 

[Gor-rok]

With Temple Guard, the Slann is safe from challenges as he is not in combat- until they kill enough that he has to move forward. It really depends on how you want to play him. The two setups I run are:

Lone Slann: Mystery, Rumination, Plaque of Protection. Bane Head (If I'm not using Lore of Shadows)
I don't let him get close enough to enemies for terror to do any good, and the plaque takes care of ranged attacks nicely. If something nasty does get through to him, I want his points cost relatively low.

Slann with 16-20 Temple Guard: Mystery, Rumination, Becalming Cogitation (If I'm expecting a lot of magic).
Cupped Hands of the Old Ones, Bane Head. Battle standard bearer, and possibly a magic banner.
Now he represents a substantial investment, and the rest of my army is going to be geared towards supporting his unit.

Try him solo for a few games; if he gets beat up repeatedly, then go get some Temple Guard.

One other thing- split the salamanders into two units. If one gets charged or shot up the other is saved, you can pick two different targets, and they're more mobile in smaller groups. The only reason to take two in one unit is if you get something else that fills the other Rare slot.