Skinks can be bloody brutal if you know how to use them right. The only catch is that if you want Skinks to be good, you need a Skink army rather than a mixed army. My brother asked for help designing one, so I built him a nearly game-breaking one. Let me show you.
Now an important thing to know for any Skink army that, while the Saurus battalion is rubbish, the Skink one is downright necessary for any Skink player. Now, for this Battalion you'll need two units of either Skinks or Chameleon Skinks. Assuming you're not made of money, regular skinks will be the more affordable choice (though Chameleons are just better in every way, so if you are made of money then replace every Skink here with a Chameleon.) Skinks are downright puny in small numbers, but in groups of thirty or higher, they'll be hitting on 3+ with their ranged attacks which is great. However, because the Javelin's range is too small and puts the Skinks in harm's way, you want to use the Boltspitters. 5+ to wound may seem weak, but remember that your 3+ to hit adds some needed balance to this. I recommend two units of 40 skinks, that way you can afford some casualties without losing your 3+ to hit, and the Shields will give you an immunity to -1 rend which will save a few lives in a few scenarios, better than a melee weapon that the Skinks would never need because they stand up in melee about as well as a rotten tree branch.
Then for the battalion, you need some fliers. I'd say go for the Ripperdactyls for two reasons. Firstly they're more melee oriented, and you'll need some muscle in order to keep your flimsy Skinks safe. The second reason I'll go into in a minute.
Lastly for the battalion, you need a Skink Priest. Pick one that has the Cloak of Feathers for that improved save, and the increased movement with fly because positioning your Priest here is key. This is because the Battalion gives him an ability where you can pick one enemy unit he can see in your Hero Phase, and all hit and wound rolls of 1 can be rerolled against that target unit. Those 3+ hit roles are looking much nicer now, eh?
Now for the real game changer, as well as the reason why Saurus are unwanted here. For your general, pick a Skink Chief. You want him for his Command Ability, pick a Skink unit within 10" of the Chief and they can add +1 to all their hit rolls. Now remember those 3+ to hits with rerolls of 1? Now they're 2+ to hit with rerolls, and 40 shots too. Suddenly those 5+ to wounds seem feasible due to the sheer number of hits you're delivering.
In addition, remember those Ripperdactyls I said we'd come back to? Well thanks to the Battalion's rules, you don't set them up at the start of the game. Instead they remain off the board because they're flying high above the clouds. In any of your Movement Phases, you can have them dive to the ground, and set them up anywhere on the board that's no closer than 3" from an enemy. In addition, you add +1 to all their To Wound rolls in this turn. So you drop them near an enemy unit, monster, or hero that you want dead very, very badly and charge them in that turn. The Skink Riders' spears are okay, and the claws get three attacks per which is cool, but you want the Beak attacks the most. The Beak attacks once per model, hits on 4+ and wounds on 3+. But every time you hit, you get to make an additional attack. And if that hits, you make another. And another. And another until you miss all your hits. So you can theoretically hit infinite times. In addition, the Rippers have a rule that lets them move their line of sight to their bases rather than their high up models in exchange for rerolling all failed hits and wounds, so now your infinity beaks get rerolls. And don't forget, they're Skink models so your Chief can buff their to hit roles to 3+ as soon as your Hero Phase pops up again, so that's a rerollable 3+ which results in even more hits in the chain. And lastly, if there's a Blot Toad nearby, the Rippers go berserk and get three attacks with their infinity beaks instead of one. I say 6 Rippers is minimum here, because then you're throwing in 18 Beaks that hit on 3+ with rerolls and can generate more attacks.
While it may be tempting to throw them right into the fight to make use of that rerollable 2+ To Wound they get for the beaks when they first descend, but I think it's better to drop them down behind your defensive line and wait until they're buffed with the Chief's command ability before sending them off to murder their Blot Toad-marked target.
Lastly, add in a Stegadon (I like the one with the fire throwers myself, great against hordes,) and a Bastiladon (Solar Engine rocks, by the by) for more muscle to protect your skinks, plus a Wizard for some support (I prefer Tetto'Eko, a fun character and fits a Skink theme better than a Slann, because army themes is awesome in AoS due to more freedom in what you field, plus the rerolls are amazing when you have a priest that only uses his Rites on a 4+ like we do.)
Oh, and one last note. Arcane Shield and Priestly Rites together on the Bastiladon makes for a scary combination, a 2+ rerollable armour save that cannot be reduced by anything short of a mortal wound, and even mortal wounds are stopped on a 4+. Makes for what I consider the best tank in the game, needed for your Skinks to feel safe.
And there you have it, a monster of a Skink army. Play smart and you'll win a lot.
