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Is it viable to run a list without a slann? To go really melee focused?
I was thinking of running a Lord on Carnasaur, back by 2 skinks on Engines of the gods. I'd also run a horde of warriors and some other goodies.

But is it possible and somewhat competitive to run a list without a slann?

From what I have seen it really depends on points. 2000+ most folks bring a lvl4 to the party and then skinks can not protect you. Some people have figured it out but I would say no not really.

At low points yes.

You CAN do it at higher levels, but the lack of a level 4 can prove disasterous if your opponent has some good magic.

Due to lacking the extra +2 to Dispel?

Yah and the smaller range of spells. Also Skinks have lore of heavens which is good but... Well other lores are more suited to lizards

Jamora wrote:Due to lacking the extra +2 to Dispel?

Yes.

giving your opponent a +2 advantage right off the bat is very bad.

If at least one Skink has an engine then it's only +4 vs +3. Lv. 2 has +2 and the Engine gives +1.

Yes you can certainly run lists without Slann, you limit your options quite a bit but the Lizardmen book is flexible enough that you can get away with it. You can actually do ok with almost no magic (offense wise) at all, it lets you go heavy on Oldbloods and Scar Vets, who are both incredibly good value. I wouldn't run an Oldblood on a Carnosaur without magic though, he is best used in a monster mash list with 2+ Stegs and really needs some magic defense to avoid being shot to pieces.

If you don't mind going for a Deathstar type approach then not taking a Slann opens up some interesting options. You can do stuff like take 2 Oldbloods on Cold Ones (3 if you don't mind them having no magic items, they are still very solid without them), 4-5 Scar Vets on Cold Ones and put them in a big unit of Cold Ones. You can charge straight into basically anything, make way with all the heroes to the front rank and end up with 26 S7 (minimum, that's with no weapon magic weapons) attacks per turn and present a wall of T5 2+ save which has to be attacked separately. Not much is going to stand in front of that and if you throw a Stubborn Crown and a BSB in there they won't be breaking even if you get charged from everywhere (not that they are going to lose many combats anyway). With M7 combined with a good magic banner you basically give your opponent a turn to stop the unit before it hits his lines and starts wrecking things.

Powerguy wrote:Yes you can certainly run lists without Slann, you limit your options quite a bit but the Lizardmen book is flexible enough that you can get away with it. You can actually do ok with almost no magic (offense wise) at all, it lets you go heavy on Oldbloods and Scar Vets, who are both incredibly good value. I wouldn't run an Oldblood on a Carnosaur without magic though, he is best used in a monster mash list with 2+ Stegs and really needs some magic defense to avoid being shot to pieces.

If you don't mind going for a Deathstar type approach then not taking a Slann opens up some interesting options. You can do stuff like take 2 Oldbloods on Cold Ones (3 if you don't mind them having no magic items, they are still very solid without them), 4-5 Scar Vets on Cold Ones and put them in a big unit of Cold Ones. You can charge straight into basically anything, make way with all the heroes to the front rank and end up with 26 S7 (minimum, that's with no weapon magic weapons) attacks per turn and present a wall of T5 2+ save which has to be attacked separately. Not much is going to stand in front of that and if you throw a Stubborn Crown and a BSB in there they won't be breaking even if you get charged from everywhere (not that they are going to lose many combats anyway). With M7 combined with a good magic banner you basically give your opponent a turn to stop the unit before it hits his lines and starts wrecking things.

That seems like a crazy expensive unit!
But crazy fun

Jamora wrote:Is it viable to run a list without a slann? To go really melee focused?

I was thinking of running a Lord on Carnasaur, back by 2 skinks on Engines of the gods. I'd also run a horde of warriors and some other goodies.