8th Ed. Salamanders are not working for a friend

[Kaax Taat]

Ok,
Everyone on this lists seems to love salamanders. I do as well but I haven't played a WHFB game yet. I am still assembling my army. However, I have watched a local player - now friend - play his LM army with 2 salamnders in a single unit. These matches have been 2500pts or higher. Each game it seems he looses his Sallies on the 1st or 2nd turn. I never have seen them sucessfully use their awesome fire power.

Now, I haven't asked to many questions of this new guy - I don't want to be rude. Why is he having such horrid luck with his Sallies? Is it that the apponent knows how devastating they might be and targets these guys right from the start? I suggested placing them in the second rank behind a speed bump unit. Which leads me to: swarm units suck but we ARE allowed to shoot over them, right?
Or? is this guy just getting hosed because he doesn't deploy his Sallies correctly? He has them out front and open for initial charge or targets for cannon shots.

Second question. Same guy and same 2 games. Seems he plays against his buddy frequently which results in LM v.s. Empire. I have seen his Mortar and Canon take out his special stuff quickly.

Any suggestions?

I would try these tactics but I am a complete newby.

#1 Place the Sallies behind something they can run out from behind...a Unit or piece of terrian. And I would also split them into 2 seperate units if I was running a total of 2.

#2 Sallies seem to be the perfect "Flanking Maneuver" team - I would position them to use them in this manner.

#3 Assuming you have a Skink priest on the table and Casadora's comet - I'd shell the gunline like it was a snowball fight - he gets lead/iron and I get celestial rock

#4 Magic attack the hell out of the gunline.

Feed Back?

Thanks,
Kaax Taat

 

[Yakhunter]

Your friend needs chameleon skinks or terradons, to take out the artillery.

Like you state, if he's using salamanders it should be in 2 separate units, either 2 of 1 or 2 of 2 or 1 of 2 and 1 of 1, whatever he has and they are really best when taken on the flanks. Make sure that he is using terrain to his advantage, buildings are a big help in blocking LoS from cannons.

Also, make sure he is using that awesome poor man's ward save with the skink handlers. When hit with artillery on a 5 or 6 a skink takes the shot rather than the salamander (this works for templates as well if I have read the BRB faq 1.3 correctly).

Salamanders have bombed for me before but it is extremely rare.

 

[n810]

Yea that's prety much right on.
don't forge salies, krox and skinks have the aquatic rule,
and get extra cover save from water features.

definately stay out of sight from ranged attacks and keep to the terrain untill
you get into burning range.

If he is taking single units, thry units of two or three instead,
they are a little more suriveable.