8th Ed. Saurus SPEARS vs HAND WEAPON

[silje]

Hey all! For starters, I'm sorry if this post is allready available in the forum. I've tried to search for it, but could not find it.

So, my question is regarding the Saurus equipment. What do you prefer, and WHY. Please motivate with maby a tactic or situations you have come upon with your Saurus that proves your point.

Handweapon + sheild

Spear + sheild


Thank you to all who awnsers.

 

[n810]

Smaller defensive unit = handweapons (more defense)
larger and wider offensive unit = spears (more attacks)

That about summs it up that they do, but how you us them tactialy is different.


Ps. also here's a quote from the Lizardmen Tactics handbook.

Saurus Warriors: Saurus Warriors outclass most Core by a fair bit (unless that Core is in league with Chaos and/or Dwarven). To take on enemy non-Core you can’t just march your Saurus Warriors in and wail away, you need to back them up with buffs (from EOTG, Solar Engines, Troglodon's Roar, Swarms, or magic) or supporting flanking units (Terror or Fear causing is ideal) or Saurus characters.

Saurus Warriors are good whether you go with spears or sword and board. Spears are slightly better when your enemy is faster than you (and likely to charge), when you have plentiful buffs, and when your Saurus blocks are fairly large. Sword and board is slightly better when your enemy is slower than you (and you are likely to get the charge), when buffs are somewhat hard to come by and your Saurus blocks are fairly small or are in horde formation.

 

[Putzfrau]

IMO it's sword and board all the way.

Not getting PF or the second attack on 2 or 3 ranks of supporting attacks is huge compared to a parry.

At the end of the day the biggest issue is they die too quickly for their points cost due to low Initiative and WS. Spears don't make their strengths significantly better (even 10 extra attacks, which is unlikely given the frontage you'll be facing, hitting on 4s wounding on 3 is gonna net you 3 wounds before armor saves) while a parry save does help mitigate some of their weaknesses.

I also feel like the parry is more reliable. It's benefit is dictated by 1 extra roll (the save) as opposed to the 2 or 3 of spears (hit, wound, armor save).

Either way I don't think the difference is very big.

 

[LawGnome]

It really just depends on your playstyle and the list.

I usually will promote taking sword and board. The parry is nice, and saurus are not exactly known for their survivability in the first place. Treat them as an expensive tarpit that is only useful for keeping things in position while your better stuff (stegadons, cowboys, etc.) actually do the killing.

HOWEVER: depending on your list, spears will be superior. If you have a horde of at least 40, take spears. If you have an EoTG stegadon providing the ward save, take spears. If you are going to be buffing the hell out of the unit (using a WD slann, for example), take spears.

Base saurus need the survivability. Buffed saurus need more attacks to make full use of their awesome killing power.

 

[n810]

rule of thumb:
against ST4 and up Sword and board are better.
against ST3 and under spears are better.