8th Ed. Slann with becalming and no dispel scroll

[Battlehamster]

So I've really been kitting out my slann with the new book. I usually take Becalming Cogitation and Harmonic Convergence (sometimes soul of stone and/or wandering delib). Now I've found that with becalming I can shut down an opponent's magic phase (especially with my channeling staff + harmonic getting me more dice) so that I don't need my dispel scroll. Many times I have run lists without a scroll. Has anybody else found this as well or do you still take a dispel scroll caddy with becalming?

 

[Sleboda]

I have not used a dispel scroll in any of my armies for many, many years. I think they destroy a good part of the fun of the game and make us less skilled as players when we use them.

 

[Pinktaco]

I dont consider it being less skilled if your opponent rolles 2 x 6 in Winds og magic. You cannot be guaranteed that you'll channel, not even with Channel staff and discipline. In this case your opponent can use spells to draw out all your DD.

Magic Can be a pain. Last night I rolled double sixes and pulled off the -3 Ld from lore of death (with IF and rolled 6 on the miscast table) on an arachnaroc spider and proceeded to wipe out 8 wounds on it in with spirit leech. At that point I had already killed both his mages so he was running around with no scroll. I'm sure he would've liked to scroll the spirit leech spell had he been given the chance.

You Can play Well all that you like, but when freak case scenarios like that happens you'll be glad you can save your most expensive model without risking rolling low.

Obviously you can just let that happen and let it be a part of the game, but I personally don't like to lose 300pts to something a lame as magic.

 

[kroxigor01]

Magic Can be a pain. Last night I rolled double sixes and pulled off the -3 Ld from lore of death (with IF and rolled 6 on the miscast table) on an arachnaroc spider and proceeded to wipe out 8 wounds on it in with spirit leech. At that point I had already killed both his mages so he was running around with no scroll. I'm sure he would've liked to scroll the spirit leech spell had he been given the chance.

Spirit leech compares unmodified leadership only. You should have done "only" 5 wounds.

 

[Kharn The Betrayer]

Also there's not much fun in losing from one purple sun

 

[Pinktaco]

Magic Can be a pain. Last night I rolled double sixes and pulled off the -3 Ld from lore of death (with IF and rolled 6 on the miscast table) on an arachnaroc spider and proceeded to wipe out 8 wounds on it in with spirit leech. At that point I had already killed both his mages so he was running around with no scroll. I'm sure he would've liked to scroll the spirit leech spell had he been given the chance.

Spirit leech compares unmodified leadership only. You should have done "only" 5 wounds.

Thanks, I had forgotten about that, but my point still stands. Magic can do nasty things to you and every once in a while your opponent will roll high in the winds of magic. You can't controller that, but a scroll can do much to help you.

 

[olderplayer]

It makes a lot of senses if you take channeling staff and channleing discipline Harmonic Convergence to run becalming. The biggest thing to protect against is a failure to dispell and loss of concentration on slann and that is what becalming gives you. It is worth about the same as a dispel scroll in value in practice. The only disadvantage is that a cheap skink priest, scoll caddy can often take the scroll or cube, relieving the slamm of that point cost burden.

I often play without a dispel scroll due to needed to use arcane slots for more cirtical items in my armies. That being said, there are times when a dispel scroll is an absolute value and needed to stop an absolute threat to your army from a spell. I don't think dispel scrolls take anything away from the game, especially with crazy autokill spells like pit of shades, purple sun, dwellers, and dreaded 13th out there and with the winds of magic sometimes serving up 5 to 6 extra PD over DD in a magic phase occasionally. A dispel scroll is a natural part of the defensive magic phase, adds an importatnt element to the game play, and good competitive players find them essential to deal with extremely unfavorable power to dispel dice situations and the crazy autowin spells becing cast in the first or second magic phase.

 

[Spiney Norman]

I have not used a dispel scroll in any of my armies for many, many years. I think they destroy a good part of the fun of the game and make us less skilled as players when we use them.

It depends for me, if I am running a Slann I will take becalming instead, I personally don't think you need a scroll if you have a L4, and there are more interesting things to blow your arcane slot on.

On the other hand if you are running L2s because you want to channel your lord points into a carnosaur Oldblood then you need all the help you can get. I typically take two L2 priests, one with the cube and the other with the scroll.

 

[NexS1]

I dont consider it being less skilled if your opponent rolles 2 x 6 in Winds og magic. You cannot be guaranteed that you'll channel, not even with Channel staff and discipline. In this case your opponent can use spells to draw out all your DD.

This.

Magic has a little bit of foresight to it, but other than choosing how many dice to throw there is mostly just luck. It's nice to have a scroll in those 12 vs. 6 dice situations. And I normally give a scroll to one of my skinks.

 

[Scalenex]

A dispel scroll is a bargain at 25 points...or is it? If you want to take a Slann with Channeling Staff or Forbidden Rod the Slann can't take a Dispel Scroll. That means you need a Skink Priest to caddy the Scroll so it becomes a 90 point dispel scroll. Unless you have other plans for the Skink Priest. I tend to take a Skink Priest scroll caddy, not so much for the scroll but for the ability to serve as arcane vassal.

Note if you go too gung ho with a tooled up Slann and multiple Skink Priests then you don't have many Hero or Lord points to buy Saurus characters. You don't want to neglect fighty characters versus the more elite armies. Against bulk armies though or elves, you are often better off with lots of magic in my humble opinion though I have yet to face the new Dark Elves, so some of that is guess work.

 

[Spiney Norman]

Not so much, a L1 beast priest is showing up in all my Slann lists, he has three potential reasons for being there, to Wyssans my Saurus, to carry a scroll and to stop my opponent taking glorious advantage of my Saurus' forced overrun.

Even when I'm not bothering with the scroll I will still take the priest because you opponents are smart enough to use pred fighter to screw with my battle line.

 

[Pinktaco]

Not to mention Arcane vassel and switching places due to lore of shadow lore attribute. There are a lot of reasons to field a priest for us. In my last game I got iceshard blizzard off twice with my priest and he kept my guards in line.

 

[Lizardmatt]

Not so much, a L1 beast priest is showing up in all my Slann lists, he has three potential reasons for being there, to Wyssans my Saurus, to carry a scroll and to stop my opponent taking glorious advantage of my Saurus' forced overrun.

Even when I'm not bothering with the scroll I will still take the priest because you opponents are smart enough to use pred fighter to screw with my battle line.

Forced Pursuit. You don't have to overrun.

For that job, I like chief on ripper. Only because while he must chase (frenzy) he can somehow convince everyone else to stay put. I find it funny.

-Matt

 

[MarchoftheStegs]

Not so much, a L1 beast priest is showing up in all my Slann lists, he has three potential reasons for being there, to Wyssans my Saurus, to carry a scroll and to stop my opponent taking glorious advantage of my Saurus' forced overrun.

Even when I'm not bothering with the scroll I will still take the priest because you opponents are smart enough to use pred fighter to screw with my battle line.

Forced Pursuit. You don't have to overrun.

For that job, I like chief on ripper. Only because while he must chase (frenzy) he can somehow convince everyone else to stay put. I find it funny.

-Matt

Some how I just imagine him yelling GUYS I GOT THIS then the Saurus look up confused and have no idea what is going on.