8th Ed. opinions on chameleons?

[shahryar]

In 8th are they any good, I never got any and whenever I read their abilities in older editions I sort of felt meh about them.

 

[Arli]

I think it is safe to say that they are worth their weight in gold in 8th edition. They can start at 12 inches from their target and they can march and shoot. I think they are arguably the best scouts in the game (not the cheapest though).

 

[n810]

(Also they are now our only scouts)

 

[Arli]

Did we have scouts other than the chameleons (Only been playing a little over a year)?

 

[n810]

All skirmishing skinks could scout before (Javelin and blowpipe), so chamelions where rarely taken.
and with skinks core, you could easily field an alomst entirely scouting army.
Just plop down a Slann and say done. LOL

 

[Arli]

Wow, that would be fun. I would love to see the look on most players faces when you put down your Lord and say done.

 

[JohnMavrick]

haha! That would be fun!

I agree that Chameleons are worth their weight in gold. I like taking 2 x 5. If I had more models I'd do another unit or make my two units 6 or 7 each. They are unbeatable anti-warmachine and lone character killers. Poison is nasty!

 

[lord karnik]

shooting deductions questions1-

chams have a BS 4 so they start at 3+

march -1
long range -1
doubles -1

so you can always double tap an wound on a 6 if the enemy is in range correct?

starting to feel like I have been screwed over a few times....

 

[sevensevensare49]

shooting deductions questions1-

chams have a BS 4 so they start at 3+

march -1
long range -1
doubles -1

so you can always double tap an wound on a 6 if the enemy is in range correct?

starting to feel like I have been screwed over a few times....

I'm sure this will be confirmed by someone who knows what they're talking about, but the way I understand it you'd be correct, auto wound on 6's, or if you drop the double shot, 5's.

 

[Xlcontiqu]

stuff

Yep, you guys are correct. Chameleons Skinks will usually be wounding on 6+ and thus auto wounding.

If the opponent is a skirmisher or in cover, the situation is a little different, but as a general rule you should be auto wounding.

 

[Arli]

I second that. In fact, even with crappy deployment, you can march and fire. So, in most cases, you can be hitting on 5+.

 

[lord karnik]

is hiting on 5's single shot the nrolling to wound better then hitting only on 6's double tap style?

 

[Arli]

Let's say that you cannot put the chameleons behind the warmachine. You are forced to put them 12 inches in front of the warmachine. In that case, you will be hitting on 5s and poisoning on 6s ( -1 from the move and -1 from double tap). In a really bad situation, you are at long distance after your march, you still get poison on 6s.

 

[shahryar]

I know everyone is saying 2x5 but do you think one squad of seven counting stalker and in higher games adding oxyotl to them would be good enough?

 

[Arli]

The reason many people go with 2 units of 5 is to split the target unit into 2 separate units. That way, you do not lose them all to shooting, magic, or a charge from some opponent. That being said, there is nothing wrong with taking them in one unit. I would, however, say that taking a stalker is a waste of points. Most of the time, you will forget to take his shot at the higher BS, and it is not worth the points to take them.

oxyotl is a good character to put with them in higher games (Really expensive though). He is fun to play and will make your opponent sweat a little (make sure to explain exactly what he can do). Generally, he is too expensive to take, but it is a fun thing to try out.

 

[Iggy Koopa]

My 2 cents... yes, chameleon skinks are worth their weight in gold. I take a unit of 8 with no stalker and they single handedly took out a cauldron of blood (2), organ gun, empire cannon, and helblaster... The downside is when they get charged they will more than likely be routed. But having the ability to shoot in the first turn and wounding on poisonous 6's is definitely cool. I couldn't squeeze them into my 2,000 tourney point list but they are definitely in my 2,500 point tourney list. Well worth it IMO.

Iggy

 

[Viarca]

I know I'm a bit late to the discussion, but aren't the blowpipes considered "quick to fire" weapons, thus ignoring the -1 penalty to hit normally associated with movement? That would mean hitting on 4's or 5's (depending on range) with the only default penalty being taken from multiple shots.

While Chameleon Skinks can be very situational, they provide a huge tactical advantage against a lot of armies. Shooting units need LoS, so if your opponent leaves holes in in their deployment zone and you can get them in out of view behind the enemy lines, that leaves only magic and warmachines to be concerned with since a unit that reforms cannot shoot in the same turn unless they are skirmishers. By the same token, most damage spells need LoS from the caster, so if they want to reform the unit it takes away much of what can be done to the rest of your army. And as for warmachines, even if you aren't going first, if you deploy with an enemy unit intervening or in/behind terrain, you can give them a huge penalty to hit, or make them very hard to target with cannons and stonethrowers (the -2 starting for skirmishers and their camoflauge is already pretty good). The great ting about skirmishers with quick to fire weapons is they are very flexible to move, and skirmishers do not have ranks, so range is the only thing you really need to worry about to get all of your shots.

The biggest problem I have had with them is facing horde armies that leave no room at all to deploy in the opponent's deployment zone after they are finished.

 

[sevensevensare49]

I know I'm a bit late to the discussion, but aren't the blowpipes considered "quick to fire" weapons, thus ignoring the -1 penalty to hit normally associated with movement?

That's Javelins you're thinking of. And as far as I know (conf?) movement penalty still applies to QTF weapons. you can just stand and shoot at an enemy who's charging from within their normal movement range.

49.

 

[Slothmasta]

And as far as I know (conf?) movement penalty still applies to QTF weapons. you can just stand and shoot at an emeny who's charging from within their normal movement range.

Quick to Fire weapons do not suffer the usual -1 To Hit penalty for moving and shooting (Page 73 of BRB).

 

[sevensevensare49]

Quick to Fire weapons do not suffer the usual -1 To Hit penalty for moving and shooting (Page 73 of BRB).

Awesome, thanks! my next opponent is gonna get pincushioned!