8th Ed. Returning Player's 2400 List

[Gork]

Hi,

I have not touched tabletop gaming since the beginning of 7th ed and looking to get back into some Fantasy. Would greatly appreciate some help to get a list together so I know what to spend my money on. The goal is to get a 2400 pt semi-competitive / competitive list that does not rely on the Skink cloud as I don't want to be the new guy that no one wants to play =)

Lord

Slan: 215 Slaves
Focus of Mystery
Harmonic Convergence
Channeling Staff
Dispel Scroll
BSB

Heroes

Tetto'Eko the Broken: 92.5 Slaves

Skink Priest: 47.5 Slaves
Cube of Darkness

Core

Skink Cohort: 125 Slaves
50 large, deployed 5 wide with Tetto as bunker/tar pit
No command

Saurus Warriors: 180 Slaves
30 large, 6 wide with spears
F/C

Skink Skirmishers: 35 Slaves
Javelins
No command

Skink Skirmishers: 35 Slaves
Javelins
No command

Skink Skirmishers: 35 Slaves
Javelins
No command

Special

Temple Guard: 168 Slaves
24 Large, 6 wide w/ Slan inside if he needs to hide or if the unit needs Stubborn.
F/C

Chameleon Skinks: 32.5 Slaves
No command

Rare

Salamanders: 42 Slaves
+1 handler

Salamanders: 42 Slaves
+1 handler

Ancient Stegadon: 150 Slaves
Engine of the Gods (Heavens) to help Tetto
Sharpened Horns
______________________
Total: 2399 points

- I am going for a strong magic phase to soften up the enemy and provide buffs once turn 2 or 3 rolls around combined with solid magic protection myself.

- Tetto's vanguard, Chameleons, and Walk Between Worlds should let me have a turn or two of comfortable movement.

- Shooting should be sufficient to clean up the chaff. I know more Skink Skirmishers would be better and would help with redirects and double flees so I am a bit concerned. Will I be dead on arrival with just 3 units?

- CC will be hard to win against most elites so I will be counting on buffs to get me through it I guess. What has people's experience been with buffed Saurus and what are the spells you find most effective for this?


Thanks in advance,
Gork

 

[Stonecutter]

For housekeeping, the slaan cannot have a scroll and chanelling staff as he is restricted to single arcane magic item. Now, apart from that, it seems to me that the list is pulling in two different directions in that the intent is to get into combat quickly while the emphasis is on a strong magic phase. If getting into combat quick is the idea, then combat power needs to be added in the form of multiple scar vets. While TG and steggie are good, they will get crushed by other army's elite troops without buffs and relying on a strong magic phase at a critical juncture early in the game is a recipe for disaster. Consequently, I would recommend deciding on either a combat or magic list and then adjust accordingly.

 

[rantapanda]

I for one do not know how to be competetive without a skink cloud

 

[Gork]

Hi,

It seems the forum grue ate my post. I am not sure if it was a glitch or if it was due to the fact that I had point costs in the list described as Skaven Slaves but to be safe I am removing the point costs all together. what follows is my original post with correction based on some of the feedback:

I have not touched tabletop gaming since the beginning of 7th ed and looking to get back into some Fantasy. Would greatly appreciate some help to get a list together so I know what to spend my money on. The goal is to get a 2400 pt semi-competitive / competitive list that does not rely on the Skink cloud as I don't want to be the new guy that no one wants to play =)

Lord

Slan
Focus of Mystery
Harmonic Convergence
Channeling Staff
Dispel Scroll
BSB


Heroes

Tetto'Eko the Broken

Skink Priest
Cube of Darkness
Dispel Scroll

Skink Chief
Ripperdactyl
Light Armor
Enchanted Shield

Core

Skink Cohort
50 large, deployed 5 wide with Tetto as bunker/tar pit
No command

Saurus Warriors
30 large, 6 wide with spears
F/C
Musician & Standard

Skink Skirmishers
Javelins
No command

Skink Skirmishers
Javelins
No command

Skink Skirmishers
Javelins
No command

Special

Temple Guard
24 Large, 6 wide w/ Slan inside if he needs to hide or if the unit needs Stubborn.
F/C

Chameleon Skinks
No command

Rare

Salamanders
+1 handler
+2 handlers

Salamanders
+1 handler

Ancient Stegadon
Engine of the Gods (Heavens) to help Tetto
Sharpened Horns
______________________
Total: 2400 points

- I am going for a strong magic phase to soften up the enemy and provide buffs once turn 2 or 3 rolls around combined with solid magic protection myself.

- Tetto's vanguard, Chameleons, and Walk Between Worlds should let me have a turn or two of comfortable movement.

- Shooting should be sufficient to clean up the chaff. I know more Skink Skirmishers would be better and would help with redirects and double flees so I am a bit concerned. Will I be dead on arrival with just 3 units?

- CC will be hard to win against most elites so I will be counting on buffs to get me through it I guess. What has people's experience been with buffed Saurus and what are the spells you find most effective for this?


Thanks in advance,
Gork

 

[The Red Devil]

It is ok to post the cost as Skaven slaves, though we try to avoid putting the cost down to a individual level.

The reason your post did not show right away, is due to the first five posts from all new members are screened. So it might take a few hours for it to show up, depending on when a moderator is around.

 

[Madrck]

List looks pretty good since you have never fielded the army before.
I've found you want the sallies in one group. When you WBW you want to move both of them into the flank of there troops and just end all there little lives at once. Also means you don't need to spend the points on extra handler as they share the 6.

You'll also find our strongest unit in our army is a Scarvet on a coldone. He is the swiss army knife of problem solving and quite frankly does things he shouldn't. Check up the tactica for builds and ideas. http://www.lustria-online.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=12879

I was also going to recommend dropping the engine of gods as your steg will die and it's just free points for little help in a magic phase where you already have 15 spells to choose from and the engine will not change the number of dice you need to throw at a spell to be sure of success.

Throw a krox in your tetto bunker, it gives the unit LD7 if your not close to the slann. might not sound like much but if you flee and need to rally LD7 is about 80times more likely on 3 dice then LD6. (He tends to need to run for me alot)

And last but not least I'd find some points to give your rippa chief the egg of quango. It's about the best fun I've had with the army more then once. The abject terror your opponent feels when you say "i'll pop egg" is worth far more then 15ss, it can also randomly wipe out whole units of crossbowmen, kill fighty lords in challenges(the dwarf's tears even got me a little tipsy) and just one of the best all round additions to any list
Hope it helps and happy hunting

 

[Gork]

Thank you for the insight Madrck. I will definitely be taking the salamanders in one unit to save some points and to get more out of the Walk Between Worlds spell. I originally took them as 2 units to have more area of control during deployment but I can see the benefit of taking them as one unit since I have Focus of Mystery.

The link to the Cowboy stratagem was quite a read. At 72.5 Slaves the value version of the Scarvet seems like a bargain. The problem I am having is where to put him to keep him safe from cannons since I am not fielding a Cold One Riders unit. Granted the Stag will likely be first target for the cannons so the Cowboy might get into the safety of combat before he gets zeroed in on but its still chancy. Keeping him with the Saurus keeps him safe from BS shooting and most spells so that seems like the obvious choice, but I'm open to suggestions.

Re: Krox in the bunker. I love the extra leadership but 25 Slaves... gah where will I find the points!

And the egg: It looks fantastic on paper and I could see how it can be even more fun at the table. Do you feel it is better used on the Skink Chief though, who will be getting shot up, or maybe on the Slann for that surprise when something hits a Temple Guard unit? I can see how it would be good both ways. The thing that worries me about the egg going on the Chief is that's about a 35% increase in his point cost. As is I see him is a disposable war machine hunter / chaff killer / re-director. With the egg I feel I would be more concerned with his well being then befits his role. Where would you put the egg in this list?

And Finally, the hardest question one can ask when making a list: where in the bloody hell do I get the points to make the changes that need to be made?

Do I drop a Salamander? Can I take less Skinks in the Cohort, and how many Skinks would make an effective tar-pit unit? Does trading a Stag for a Cowboy seem like a trade up or a trade down? If anyone can provide any suggestions as to there to actually get the points for some of the upgrades I would be eternally grateful.

- Gork

 

[Gork]

Now that I think about it, the Krox in the Skink Cohort would likely be better replaced by a musician if all I'm worried about is the rally. It ends up being way cheaper and can't have attacks directed at it. But the previous points still stand.

- Gork

 

[Madrck]

I have a tendency to give him armour of destiny and baring that a charmed shield. If he's not in combat by then he never will be for me.
At 75ss he's as cheap as a unit of CoK and does about 30 as much. Something is always going to die so if we always fielded things looking to protect everything we would never take anything other then Saurus and TG blocks with scrolls and MR.
I suppose I have a tendency to build lists with about 3-6 cannon targets. Most important is prob to try it on different things and find out which one suits your playstyle best. I'm hyper aggressive most of the time and therefore an egg'd up rippa normally works a treat for me. When I do field them, my slann rarely sees battle. If fact he's about twice as likely to get sucked into the void as see combat.
As to finding the points, well its what we all struggle with. Finding a balanced list that has everything we want to play.
In yours my first drop would the skink priest(you already have a ton of spells and whilst arcane vassal is very useful it's still more magic then you could ever cast) I also rarely take a scroll or feel the need to. It's a crutch for most players, My crutch is S7T5 with 4 attacks PF 1+4++ riding a coldone(I like to think he's drinking a coldy on the charge too)
So dropping the priest and a unit of skirmishers is more then enough points.
Unfortunately this is all just theory. Until you play your list a few times(hey sometimes you roll a zero) and see if something fits who you are (having 14 spells is hard on my brain) roll the dice and see what comes the LM way