8th Ed. spears or HW/shield?

[blazing tegu]

hi peeps, im very new to fantasy and have just started to build a lizardmen army.
so yes that means there's another noob in the forum asking un-original questions, so umm sorry

the question(s) that im asking today is should i give my saurus spears or hand wepons with shields?
i would like to field the saurus in large units like 5x4 or 6x4 or maybe bigger (they look cooler in large blocks)
at the moment i have a 5x4 unit of saurus with spears (cause spears look better), do i give them shields aswel?

hi again and sorry about the annoying questions it's just i don't much about the hobby gaming wise yet

 

[BEEGfrog]

Give the units shields, you can use shields with spears, they just don't get the addition parry ward save.

The jury is still out as to whether HW or spears are the best option. A lot of people are saying that there is a break point where HW is better for smaller units and spears for larger units, but others have a preference for one weapon or the other at any size.

The rules do allow for mixed weapon units to count as the majority type so making up some of each won't be wasted, as you can use them in the rear ranks while the unit counts as the other type because they are the majority.

 

[blazing tegu]

thanks for the advise again BEEGfrog
is there any significant difference between the rules of spears and hand weopons? or is the big debate over a minor difference?
i will probably make my next unit with the HW/shield combo just to be balenced.
would 2 units of 20 saurus with HWs/shields and 1 unit of 20 with spears/sheilds be a good idea?, it seems balenced as 2/3 get the parry rule that you mentioned.
one more question i promise, would the shields on the spear saurus do anything or would they just be there for aesthetics.

thanks for your time & advise.

 

[BEEGfrog]

is there any significant difference between the rules of spears and hand weopons? or is the big debate over a minor difference?

The debate is the relative advantages of the different rules v the difference in costs. HW saurus are harder to kill so reduce opponent CR and stay around longer: spear saurus get an extra rank fighting (if there are enough which is why some people prefer spears with larger units) so kill more enemy and increase own CR.

i will probably make my next unit with the HW/shield combo just to be balenced. Good idea

would 2 units of 20 saurus with HWs/shields and 1 unit of 20 with spears/sheilds be a good idea?, it seems balenced as 2/3 get the parry rule that you mentioned.
In 8th edition bigger blocks=better blocks most of the time, many people would argue that 20 is on the small side to be effective as a pure infantry block, especially with spears (some people also make very effective use of 10 or 12 saurus blocks - but they know what they are doing and use them tactically, avoiding straight up fights without tactical or strategic advantage).

one more question i promise, would the shields on the spear saurus do anything or would they just be there for aesthetics. They are mandatory: you get the shield as standard, but have to pay extra for spears, shields improve armour save by 1 point, from 5+ to 4+

 

[Hiv0r]

Here is my thoughts:

If they were the same price I would probably go with spears but for the extra point no way!

Spears: Get an extra rank of supporting attacks not when you charge.
HW+S: You get a 6+ Ward save in combat.

I would say if your running a defensive list then spears are probably better because you can sit tight and wait for them to come to you (probably in synergy with lore of life)

I would then take HW+Shield if your running lore of life because you can charge while still getting your bonus.

If you have 2 blocks of Saurus its common to take one of each.

 

[blazing tegu]

ok thanks for the replys
i'll then run with 6x4 with spears and 5x4 with HW, all with shields
this seems flexable and i will probably stay with this balence as i get more saurus (unless after a few games i find i definatly prefer one over the other or as hiv0r said, iffind i play in more of a offensive/defencive style)

thanks again for your advise and tolerense of me asking nooby questions.