8th Ed. many newby questions

[borkbork]

Hi,

I just have a couple of questions as i am busy deciding how i am gonna asemble my minis and how to set up my list. I have been looking at various lists of others (but especially some 2011 etc lists).

1: skink skirmishers blowpipe or javelin?

On this forum i got the impression that blowpipes were not too good on skirmishers (often requiring 7 to hit) and that quite a few ppl prefer the javelin option. But with BS 4 (+moving + long range + multi shot) i dont see how you easily get to 7 to hit with the blowpipe.

2. Lone scar vets on cold ones

Many etc lists feature lone scar vets on cold ones and no cavalry in the list so they cant hide and get the look out sir. So what is their role and wont they simply die to shooting etc?

3. 10 strong skink units?

Many ppl seem to field 10 strong skink cohorts. Although they are nice and cheap i dont understand why people dont take slighty bigger unit for flank charges (and negating ranks). With a 10 strong unit you simply can not expect to have 2 complete ranks left after combat. Or should i primarily see them as a missile unit that should not get into combat?

4. Saurus with spear vs Hw.

I do intend to field my saurus with HW, but i have seen quite a few lists in here with spears. Have not doen the math yet, but I dont really see the added value of the 5 extra Ws 3 attacks. So what is the consensus about this.

Thx, and probably more questions to follow

 

[strewart]

1. You will find that skink skirmishers are BS 3 not 4, so they do get to 7+ fairly easily. To be honest, I find that these guys are meant to be a cheap unit so using points to upgrade them is not really worth it. If you have to not multi shot (you do get the choice afterall) then they become essentially the same as javelins, if you get the chance to multishot then they are twice as good. Personal preference though, I don't think there is really a lot of difference.

2. I don't use them so maybe someone that does will answer better. They are basically a lone hand to reasonably quickly go where you want and do what you want. They can warmachine hunt, attack lone mages, attack skirmishers, support your units in combat etc.

3. Cheapness is the main reason, and they are in trouble when they get to combat regardless. For cohorts, I prefer a large unit with a couple of krox. Are you sure you are seeing 10 cohorts not 10 skirmishers? A unit of 10 skirmishers is more useful than 10 cohorts. I agree 12-15 would be better for a small unit of cohorts.

4. Its pretty much 50/50, I think the hand weapons work out slightly better these days. In 7th ed, spears were far far better which is why lots of people have lots of them assembled and just keep using them. Either are good, again you won't really see a lot of difference. I'd lean toward hand weapons just because they look much cooler. Also remember many buff spells that the Slann can throw out can make those 5 extra spear attacks a lot more scary than just 5 WS3 attacks.

 

[borkbork]

thx strewart

1. argh....have been looking at chameleons by mistake. And the 6+ AS or parry save is not gonna save them at all. So i will be assembling 1 more unit with blowpipes.

3. yeah 100% sure. In the listsi have been looking at they make very clear distincitions between the 2 and also list the pointvalues. Out of roughly 10 lizardmen lists at the etc only 1 has a single unit of 20 the rest all have 10.

4. Yeah, i am used to O&G so i did not really thinik of the buffs. I have 15 old metal saurus with spears anyway so i may just settle for one of each.
Is that also why some player pick lore of ligth sometimes? (speed of light spell)

 

[strewart]

Exactly on 4. Also, going for one unit of each is a good idea. If you end up preferring one or the other, most opponents are ok if you mix the units and have the front two ranks equipped with the correct stuff, and the rest not. As long as you make it clear what they have, in fact I think GW even says 50% must be equppied with the correct stuff only.

 

[Agrem]

2. Lone scar vets on cold ones

Many etc lists feature lone scar vets on cold ones and no cavalry in the list so they cant hide and get the look out sir. So what is their role and wont they simply die to shooting etc?

I think strewart nailed all the other questions so I'll answer this one then. I actually just recently found these myself and find them much better than stegadons for example.

The point for these are the manouverability. They have quite high movement (for lizards that is) and with swiftstride they should get their charges. Just equip them correctly and they should survive most shooting. Only really threat for them is cannons and such. But with some ward save, amulet of itzl or charmed shield they should be able to bounce the first shot and make their way into CC the next turn. With T5, 1+ ASV and possible dawnstone makes them almost invulnerable to low strength shooting.

In close combat I find them performing much better than stegadons. Stegadons rely very much on their impact hits and thunderstomp. If they can't get either, they won't do much. Scar-veterans have WS5, A4, S5 which could do some real damage. Add some weapon and their hitting power only increases. They are capable of dealing with bigger monsters with their WS5, T5, and good ASV and can punch back. Alone they can't really win any rnf unit but they can hold them up. Also they can take out some elite units which you otherwise would struggle with. For example a recent game against Skaven I charged my scar-veteran with GW, 1+ ASV and 5+ ward against 8 rat ogres with the special character that gave them regeneration. He didn't get any wounds trhough, I did one or two, won combat, ogres ran and I catched them. Voila, 500 VPs.

I would really suggest trying these. They can really add some more threat to your army list and they don't even cost that much.

BR
Agrem

 

[Arli]

Myself, I like to have that 6+ parry save in place. I do not mind paying the extra points for javelins. I like that the javelin is quick to fire and I do not suffer any move and shoot penalties. Also, the always stand and shoot option works for me too.

 

[Ihx-Karaq]

3. I think the reason why ppl use these 10-12skink units are because they are cheaper then skirmishers and they already have the javelin (always stand and shoot) and they can be used in pretty much the same way as skirmishers.

Run them out on the battlefield and harass enemy units with poisoned javelins, wait for a charge, stand and shoot, then die for 3pts less then javelin-skirmishers!

 

[borkbork]

thx everybody

much food for thought.

starting to like the lone scar vet. ....at roughly 150 points he packs quite a punch yet is cheap enough to afford to lose (and it will take some effort to kill it).