Slann
Lord Agragax of Lunaxoatl
Eleventh Spawning
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6. Terradon/Ripperdactyl Riders (2013): As with the Stegadon and Bastiladon, GW nailed the plastic incarnation of these. It's still impressive now how they managed to get the same wing-sculpts to look as though they're swooping on the Terradons and more diving forwards on the Ripperdactyls to get two really different-looking units from the one set, and including the options to make one of the riders a Skink Chief or Tiq'Taq'To as well was just the icing on the cake. These were the first of the 8th Edition Lizardmen releases I bought in a family day trip to Dorchester not that long after they were released. I still sometimes wonder if just three of these chaps is enough...
7. Temple Guard (2009): A solid 7th Edition plastic kit that was a worthwhile upgrade on their metal 6th Edition predecessors, and looked more stocky and intimidating than the standard Saurus while keeping the long, powerful jaws and lean-but-strong build that the old plastic Saurus started and the 2011 Oldblood sculpt perfected. A significant stepping stone made toward getting the Saurus to look right before the 8th Edition release took things in the wrong direction.
8. Kroq-Gar on Grymloq (2003): The previous model for the Carnosaur was another good one released back in 6th Edition - a better-proportioned Carnosaur, perhaps, as others have said (though its larger head for its body size undeniably takes it closer to real-world predatory dinosaurs, and thus makes it less unique and fantastical), and a great pose for both mount and rider, but significantly smaller (fine in the day and age it was released but puny in comparison to standard-fare plastic monsters from the 8th era to the present) and with no options to make an Oldblood that wasn't Kroq-Gar (though this of course is no trouble for a skilled converter). Still a solid model though without a doubt, and easily worthy of an entry in the list.
9. Slann Mage-Priest (2023): Some prefer the older Slann model (though I always thought he looked vacant or bored rather than contemplative), but I like this newer plastic one - still fat, still froggy, and doing something to showcase his magical power, along with some beautifully-rendered jungle scenery and creatures including a baby Coatl. I do agree that the webbing on his feet was perhaps oddly executed, and I have a more interesting plan for a Slann conversion in the works anyway, but still a worthy evolution of a classic concept into plastic.
10. Raptadon Hunters/Chargers (2023): I liked these when they came out, like some of my other entries on this list they're a more unusual sculpt that, although obviously inspired by feathered dinosaurs, made sure not to follow any real-life creature too closely - just what I like to see. However, they only reach 10th principally because they're only officially usable in AoS, with no real counterpart in Fantasy without having to dig up some hokey Dogs of War rules all the way back from 5th Edition and tweaking them, and perhaps look more suited to AoS with their massive odd-looking clubs/blowpipes/lances that the Charger configuration wields. Of course I can write my own rules for these and use them in friendly games, and they'd certainly add something new to the Lizardmen army, and for that reason I still have given them a place on the list.
Honourable Mention 1 - Saurus Cavalry (2005): Without a doubt the most controversial pick from anyone for a while
, but I've always liked our Saurus Cavalry models in a way that sadly not many others seem to. True, the Saurus riders are rather skinny for what they should be, but I've always liked the Cold One mounts themselves principally for the different direction they went, compared to the often weirder old sculpts that preceded them and in particular compared to the sculpts released for the Dark Elves in 2009 and the Lizardmen in 2023. I like how they look so different from any real-world dinosaur, with their big upper jaws and long claws that could easily showcase a willingness to feed on a piscine diet if fellow reptiles are scarce. They're a clearly fantastical creature designed for a fantasy world - just so Warhammer. By contrast the Dark Elf Cold Ones and the new Aggrodons are so blatantly obvious Velociraptor rip-offs, designed by guys who most likely watched Jurassic Park (or Jurassic World in the case of the Aggradons) before sculpting them, that, in my opinion at least, they look pretty bland and boring in comparison. I suppose the facts that velociraptors were never my favourite dinosaur, that I've still not yet taken the time to see the first two Jurassic Park films, and that I do not intend to watch the Jurassic World films because from what I've heard they offer so little to the franchise, also contribute to my general dislike of those newer sculpts.
Honourable Mention 2 - Salamander/Spawn of Chotec (2023): I really do like this version of the Salamander, very fitting with the Fantasy lore of it being a water-dweller that is sluggish on land, and the handler sculpts are pretty good too (I like the new invention of giving the handlers fan-shaped crests that look like the Salamander's sails). Why isn't it a main contender on the list, I hear you ask? Firstly, because it's much closer to a real-world Dimetrodon (and thus less imaginative) than the older metal versions, secondly because there is only one per box, when typically you'd want two or three, making this chap a particularly uneconomical way to build your hunting pack, and thirdly because no upgraded counterpart was made for his cousin the Razordon, which I've always preferred from a lore and gameplay standpoint. However he still deserves an honourable mention for being a good update into plastic and just generally being an aesthetically-pleasing model.
7. Temple Guard (2009): A solid 7th Edition plastic kit that was a worthwhile upgrade on their metal 6th Edition predecessors, and looked more stocky and intimidating than the standard Saurus while keeping the long, powerful jaws and lean-but-strong build that the old plastic Saurus started and the 2011 Oldblood sculpt perfected. A significant stepping stone made toward getting the Saurus to look right before the 8th Edition release took things in the wrong direction.
8. Kroq-Gar on Grymloq (2003): The previous model for the Carnosaur was another good one released back in 6th Edition - a better-proportioned Carnosaur, perhaps, as others have said (though its larger head for its body size undeniably takes it closer to real-world predatory dinosaurs, and thus makes it less unique and fantastical), and a great pose for both mount and rider, but significantly smaller (fine in the day and age it was released but puny in comparison to standard-fare plastic monsters from the 8th era to the present) and with no options to make an Oldblood that wasn't Kroq-Gar (though this of course is no trouble for a skilled converter). Still a solid model though without a doubt, and easily worthy of an entry in the list.
9. Slann Mage-Priest (2023): Some prefer the older Slann model (though I always thought he looked vacant or bored rather than contemplative), but I like this newer plastic one - still fat, still froggy, and doing something to showcase his magical power, along with some beautifully-rendered jungle scenery and creatures including a baby Coatl. I do agree that the webbing on his feet was perhaps oddly executed, and I have a more interesting plan for a Slann conversion in the works anyway, but still a worthy evolution of a classic concept into plastic.
10. Raptadon Hunters/Chargers (2023): I liked these when they came out, like some of my other entries on this list they're a more unusual sculpt that, although obviously inspired by feathered dinosaurs, made sure not to follow any real-life creature too closely - just what I like to see. However, they only reach 10th principally because they're only officially usable in AoS, with no real counterpart in Fantasy without having to dig up some hokey Dogs of War rules all the way back from 5th Edition and tweaking them, and perhaps look more suited to AoS with their massive odd-looking clubs/blowpipes/lances that the Charger configuration wields. Of course I can write my own rules for these and use them in friendly games, and they'd certainly add something new to the Lizardmen army, and for that reason I still have given them a place on the list.
Honourable Mention 1 - Saurus Cavalry (2005): Without a doubt the most controversial pick from anyone for a while
, but I've always liked our Saurus Cavalry models in a way that sadly not many others seem to. True, the Saurus riders are rather skinny for what they should be, but I've always liked the Cold One mounts themselves principally for the different direction they went, compared to the often weirder old sculpts that preceded them and in particular compared to the sculpts released for the Dark Elves in 2009 and the Lizardmen in 2023. I like how they look so different from any real-world dinosaur, with their big upper jaws and long claws that could easily showcase a willingness to feed on a piscine diet if fellow reptiles are scarce. They're a clearly fantastical creature designed for a fantasy world - just so Warhammer. By contrast the Dark Elf Cold Ones and the new Aggrodons are so blatantly obvious Velociraptor rip-offs, designed by guys who most likely watched Jurassic Park (or Jurassic World in the case of the Aggradons) before sculpting them, that, in my opinion at least, they look pretty bland and boring in comparison. I suppose the facts that velociraptors were never my favourite dinosaur, that I've still not yet taken the time to see the first two Jurassic Park films, and that I do not intend to watch the Jurassic World films because from what I've heard they offer so little to the franchise, also contribute to my general dislike of those newer sculpts.
Honourable Mention 2 - Salamander/Spawn of Chotec (2023): I really do like this version of the Salamander, very fitting with the Fantasy lore of it being a water-dweller that is sluggish on land, and the handler sculpts are pretty good too (I like the new invention of giving the handlers fan-shaped crests that look like the Salamander's sails). Why isn't it a main contender on the list, I hear you ask? Firstly, because it's much closer to a real-world Dimetrodon (and thus less imaginative) than the older metal versions, secondly because there is only one per box, when typically you'd want two or three, making this chap a particularly uneconomical way to build your hunting pack, and thirdly because no upgraded counterpart was made for his cousin the Razordon, which I've always preferred from a lore and gameplay standpoint. However he still deserves an honourable mention for being a good update into plastic and just generally being an aesthetically-pleasing model.
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I wish we had gotten the Dark Elves' variant.
