So, many of you have probably already seen me on the forums avidly defending a severely underestimated unit in the Lizardmen book... the ranked skink unit with kroxigors or, in short, skrox units.
The way I play at least involves a lot of battles on the flanks with my support units duking it out with the enemy support units. We have some awesome choices in this category so normally Lizardmen prevail here and then move on to support the saurus warriors holding the line in the middle. The faster you can get to the flank of whatever is engaging your saurus warriors the better chance you have of winning. Sometimes, that fast moving carnosaur is blocked and held up or that stegadon is tied up in a combat it will take turns to win.
The skrox units break those stalemates and help your big hitters to get to the center faster.
I can understand how a weaponskill 2, toughenss 2 unit would make many lizardmen players cringe, I really do. But with the advent of salamander tactica, scar vet tactica and others our little skink friends need some representation too.
Alright, first off I would like to comment that at 5 points a model, skinks are by far the cheapest troop choice available to a Lizardmen general. I say this because it makes them easier to include as a support unit in an army that is nearing your point limit. They will also be good for chasing down annoying skirmishing units or archers who have little combat res to their name.
Okay, so there are four basic set ups for a ranked unit of skinks.
1. 5x2 skinks
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This is a great screening unit. Really... some magic items cost more than this unit. 50 points will protect your carnosaur, your slann and any other unit you don't want to be shot. This is especially effective against weapons like bolt throwers which basically wound on a 2+ anyway, no matter if you're toughness 2 or not.
It's also great against monstrous creatures (large targets) where you can throw 10 javelins at them a turn. Now, arguably a 10 skink unit of skirmishers is better (20 poison shots) but these guys can do it too. They also make redirection easier for new players (I don't think I even understand how to redirect with skirmishers...)
2. 11 skinks and 1 kroxigor
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Alright, here is where people start to diverge on the usefulness of the unit. Right here with the muscian and banner in the front rank costs 124. I understand that this can break a lot of peoples budgets but lets look at what this unit can do.
Right now, this unit has a combat res of 3 (banner, 2 ranks). This is more combat res than any other support unit we have short of a 15 saurus cavalry unit. Of course, this is where you have to start looking at the role each of your units plays. This is a great unit for supporting your flankers. Aka, that unit of cavalry you send around the side.
One of the problems I notice with flankers is that they sometimes get tied up by enemy support units and never get to that big juicy target you're trying to take out. This skrox unit is what you use to punch through whatever they have. Really, how many M6 blocks of troops are there out there? Plus, this one causes fear and has the static combat res to really bring the hurt to skirmishers and other small units that you find on the flanks of an enemy army.
Okay, the toughness 2 skinks probably aren't great in combat but the kroxigors can really mess some people up. Str 6 is pretty huge. It wounds on a 2+ on most infantry and takes away most of an armor save. Really you have to use this unit with something else to get the full benefit. If your carnosaur needs just that little bit of extra punch this is the unit to support them. They can also be a flanker in their own right, tipping the scales in your saurus warriors favor.
3. 16 skinks and 2 kroxigors
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This is the point where you need to find what works for you. If you aren't sold on the idea of a skrox unit or can't seem to find a use for them, then certainly spending more points (204 at this juncture) isn't going to make it better. These guys hit hard though with a static combat res of 5 (outnumber, banner, 3 ranks) and 6 str 6 attacks. The amount of skinks in this unit also make it decent at pegging a few wounds off some large target with 16 poison shots. I actually think that two of these units would work great in my 1500 point list once I fill it up with all the new models. A flank charge puts this guys at 6 combat res before your 6 str 3 attacks (something will hit right?) and 6 str 6 attacks (should hit and kill 2-3) bringing you up to 8-9 combat res before blows are struck back assuming you get the charge.
Plus, if you're hitting their flank, they don't get any rank bonuses making the net change from those saurus hitting the front potentially a 13! If they get 5 combat res for 3 ranks and outnumber versus your saurus they now lose everything but the banner making them have a 1 (-4) plus your 8 or 9 gives 13 to you!
I understand that this unit now costs 6 more points than a unit of 15 saurus with banner and musician but any player worth his salt knows that if you filled your army with units of saurus warriors you would be so static that the enemy wouldn't have that hard of a time pushing you around. You need some fast support units and these guys are pretty potent if you use them in the right places.
I do not recommend charging these guys into the front of anyone except for 5x2 archers or skirmishers (or calvalry, haha!). The T2 skinks will be easy to hit and kill but hardly anything short of a calvalry charge will cost you 8-9 skinks. They can help you break ties and should hopefully secure the flanks for you for the win.
I would go into the 24 skinks and 3 kroxigors... but at this point they cost more than 5 kroxigors and I think their effectiveness is dwindling...
Let me know what you think.
-Sebulba
The way I play at least involves a lot of battles on the flanks with my support units duking it out with the enemy support units. We have some awesome choices in this category so normally Lizardmen prevail here and then move on to support the saurus warriors holding the line in the middle. The faster you can get to the flank of whatever is engaging your saurus warriors the better chance you have of winning. Sometimes, that fast moving carnosaur is blocked and held up or that stegadon is tied up in a combat it will take turns to win.
The skrox units break those stalemates and help your big hitters to get to the center faster.
I can understand how a weaponskill 2, toughenss 2 unit would make many lizardmen players cringe, I really do. But with the advent of salamander tactica, scar vet tactica and others our little skink friends need some representation too.
Alright, first off I would like to comment that at 5 points a model, skinks are by far the cheapest troop choice available to a Lizardmen general. I say this because it makes them easier to include as a support unit in an army that is nearing your point limit. They will also be good for chasing down annoying skirmishing units or archers who have little combat res to their name.
Okay, so there are four basic set ups for a ranked unit of skinks.
1. 5x2 skinks
sssss
sssss
This is a great screening unit. Really... some magic items cost more than this unit. 50 points will protect your carnosaur, your slann and any other unit you don't want to be shot. This is especially effective against weapons like bolt throwers which basically wound on a 2+ anyway, no matter if you're toughness 2 or not.
It's also great against monstrous creatures (large targets) where you can throw 10 javelins at them a turn. Now, arguably a 10 skink unit of skirmishers is better (20 poison shots) but these guys can do it too. They also make redirection easier for new players (I don't think I even understand how to redirect with skirmishers...)
2. 11 skinks and 1 kroxigor
ssmbs
ssKKs
ssKKs
Alright, here is where people start to diverge on the usefulness of the unit. Right here with the muscian and banner in the front rank costs 124. I understand that this can break a lot of peoples budgets but lets look at what this unit can do.
Right now, this unit has a combat res of 3 (banner, 2 ranks). This is more combat res than any other support unit we have short of a 15 saurus cavalry unit. Of course, this is where you have to start looking at the role each of your units plays. This is a great unit for supporting your flankers. Aka, that unit of cavalry you send around the side.
One of the problems I notice with flankers is that they sometimes get tied up by enemy support units and never get to that big juicy target you're trying to take out. This skrox unit is what you use to punch through whatever they have. Really, how many M6 blocks of troops are there out there? Plus, this one causes fear and has the static combat res to really bring the hurt to skirmishers and other small units that you find on the flanks of an enemy army.
Okay, the toughness 2 skinks probably aren't great in combat but the kroxigors can really mess some people up. Str 6 is pretty huge. It wounds on a 2+ on most infantry and takes away most of an armor save. Really you have to use this unit with something else to get the full benefit. If your carnosaur needs just that little bit of extra punch this is the unit to support them. They can also be a flanker in their own right, tipping the scales in your saurus warriors favor.
3. 16 skinks and 2 kroxigors
ssmbss
sKKKKs
sKKKKs
ssssss
This is the point where you need to find what works for you. If you aren't sold on the idea of a skrox unit or can't seem to find a use for them, then certainly spending more points (204 at this juncture) isn't going to make it better. These guys hit hard though with a static combat res of 5 (outnumber, banner, 3 ranks) and 6 str 6 attacks. The amount of skinks in this unit also make it decent at pegging a few wounds off some large target with 16 poison shots. I actually think that two of these units would work great in my 1500 point list once I fill it up with all the new models. A flank charge puts this guys at 6 combat res before your 6 str 3 attacks (something will hit right?) and 6 str 6 attacks (should hit and kill 2-3) bringing you up to 8-9 combat res before blows are struck back assuming you get the charge.
Plus, if you're hitting their flank, they don't get any rank bonuses making the net change from those saurus hitting the front potentially a 13! If they get 5 combat res for 3 ranks and outnumber versus your saurus they now lose everything but the banner making them have a 1 (-4) plus your 8 or 9 gives 13 to you!
I understand that this unit now costs 6 more points than a unit of 15 saurus with banner and musician but any player worth his salt knows that if you filled your army with units of saurus warriors you would be so static that the enemy wouldn't have that hard of a time pushing you around. You need some fast support units and these guys are pretty potent if you use them in the right places.
I do not recommend charging these guys into the front of anyone except for 5x2 archers or skirmishers (or calvalry, haha!). The T2 skinks will be easy to hit and kill but hardly anything short of a calvalry charge will cost you 8-9 skinks. They can help you break ties and should hopefully secure the flanks for you for the win.
I would go into the 24 skinks and 3 kroxigors... but at this point they cost more than 5 kroxigors and I think their effectiveness is dwindling...
Let me know what you think.
-Sebulba
