8th Ed. How much Core%?

[Eyeless1]

How much core choice do you take percentage wise? I started playing LM a few months ago and take more than 25% core. I guess I can expand this question to be what is your army composition percentage wise usually?

So what I do is:
Mostly 2500+ point games, sometimes up to 4000 (i like big fights), last game I played was 2750 against skaven.
The friend I play with plays mostly dwarves, sometimes skaven, and another buddy plays Chaos warriors.

I have almost every model in the book, except bastiladon and terra/riperdactlys, but I usually take 2-3 blocks of saurus and a few skrimisher units, which end up being more than 25% of my points.
i also always take a slann and mostly always a kitted out cowboy. which in a 2750 game is a few points shy of 25%
tettoeko and a priest or two, usually at least one on a Engine of the Gods, which is about 25% sometimes.
Then I take several large blocks of saurus, maybe a skrox unit of 30 or so, and always a bunch of skrimishers.

Then with the rest of my points I throw into TG, or cold ones, salies, razordons etc.

I keep losing. I'm thinking that its because I take more than 25% core and thus not taking the more specialized options.

 

[Ixt]

I make a lot of different lists, and my last 2000-pointer holds about 700 points of core. *shrug*

I mean, I'm not convinced that taking exactly 25% is always the right thing to do depending on your army's composition.

I try to fill my roles and work as much synergy as possible between select units before worrying about percentages. Once that's done, I fill their numbers/split up blocks as needed.

Can you post some of the lists that you're fielding? A lot of the board members give great advice.

 

[SilverFaith]

It's odd, I usually build the other way around.

Say I want to make 2000 points. Before even starting to add up points or thinking percentages, I think: What do I want to field.

2 blocks of Saurus, 25-30 pieces. Maybe 2 10-man skirmisher units too, and 2 chameleon units of 5. That gives me a good amount of redirectors without overdoing it, and 2 hardy blocks, along with some good warmachine hunting and possible deployment denial.

the saurus blocks need support though, so I take 2 priests to support them, along with a basti for more initiative. I also want a hardy scar vet cowboy, a Slann with high magic, and an oldblood.

Now I add up the points for what I have right now. 1700 points, approximately, 750 of those are core, 475 are lords (without upgrades for either!) and 230 points heroes (again without upgrades), and 280 points special.

Okay, so I can't have an oldblood and slann. I also have points left over, even if I spend my full upgrade points on all my units - so I can either add more bodies, or other units.

 

[JamJar]

This is a difficult question seeing as everyone with Lizardmen might play differently with different units & tactics.

As like many armies your core units are the base of your army, and your choices here sort of show your army's playing styles. Don't get too technical here, I mean we basically have Saurus and Skinks

The important part is how much core models/units you will be needing:

Because your core units make up an essential part of your army, it should be fine to take about 50% core. I have and it has worked on occasions. One of the problems here is that you might not get synergy with other units such as a monster charging in for support or skirmishers redirecting a charge for your Saurus. Each non-core unit presents a unique method in assisting you.

With too little core it can be difficult to maintain a sense of control over the battlefield. By this I mean that Saurus are great in combat, but slower; and Skinks are faster, better at shooting, but not as tough in combat. In saying this if your core suddenly gets killed off, who will cover for them? Other non-core units cannot hold a combat like Saurus, or have the expendable shooting & agility like Skinks do.


For my armies (I don't use cohorts too often) I normally go 1 block of Saurus (30-35) to 5 units of Javelin Skirmishers (14-15 models each for a 1500 point game. In a 2000 point game it might be 2 Saurus block instead. So my core ends up somewhere around 60%

My way of choosing core is first choosing my lord/hero options, then form some rough core units I want and choose my special/rare and then I come back to core and neaten things up.

 

[lordkingcrow]

Lately I've been running two big units of cold one riders, so I need all the points I can spare. I get as close to 25% as I can so I can field them with my special troop points. Higher point games, it's not much of a worry. Gotta love those cold ones!

 

[teufelhund]

I generally try to stick as close to minimum as possible and it's a general rule for me regarding most armies. However with lizardmen If I run a saurus block I can almost guarantee I'll end up over since I will always take at least two skirmisher units.

 

[Eyeless1]

The last list I ran was 2750 against skaven. It was somehting like this:
I dont have my book so I dont know points....

Slann
channel 3 dice upgrade
loremaster High magic
rerol dispell
channeling staff

Oldblood cowboy
Fencing blades
Glitterings scales (gotta love that 6+ to hit)
5+ ward save amulet

Tettoeko

lvl 1 priest
cube of darkness

lvl 1 priest
dispell scroll

Saurus block of 30 with spears
full command
a priest was here

skrox cohort unit 20 + 1 krox
tetto was here

skrimishers x 12
a priest was here

2 chameleon units of 6

28 temple guard
full command
razor banner
slann was here

8 cold one cav.
full command
cowboy here

3 salamanders

Thats usually what I feild, then in bigger games ill throw in a steggadon or 3...

 

[Putzfrau]

You take the bare minimum. You'll almost always be maxed on lords+heroes, and with min core thats 3/4 of your army already eaten up before you even start thinking about special/rare.

 

[Ixt]

That list has a lot of magic! Too much, maybe. Two Loremasters and two Level ones -- perhaps a bit excessive. Do you find yourself using both the Cube of Darkness and the Dispel Scroll frequently? If not, then you may be able to drop a priest and free up about 100 points.

Since the Slann is Loremaster/HM and Tetto will probably be dropping comets, do you find that the two of them compete for power dice? High Magic gets pretty expensive. It might be worthwhile to get rid of one, or change the Slann to Wandering Deliberations and maybe give him a Book of Ashur, if you're willing. It seems like rerolling ones would allow you to two-dice signatures with no problem. With Tetto, however, you may not even need the book.

You need more Cold One Riders! Or fewer/none. They've been something of an all-or-nothing choice in my experience. Every time that I've taken less than 12 (especially without any characters/Stubborn), they just kinda broke.

Wouldn't hurt to add a BSB, either. Cold-blooded is fantastic, but re-rolls make this army stalwart.

 

[Stuntyogre]

I approach core similar to how others have mentioned. From the perspective of first, what do I want my list to accomplish and how, then what selections from core best support that goal. With the aim of keeping it as close to the minimum as reasonably possible. To me list building shouldn't begin in core but end there. Since you have to take it and since it comprises a minority of your points spent I find that core should support the list not the list being built to support your core.