Need help with picking an army for Escalation League

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**Hargus56**

My local GW is doing a warlord tournament where we progress from 1,000 to 1,500 to 2,000. I am looking to get into it and start out at the 1,000 pts for under $150 including the book by GW prices as they need to be bought in store. I currently have an Ogres and Goblin army and want something different. I am leaning dwarf because my buddy bought the last Skull Pass set and gave me the dwarfs that I can use for the tournament as they were bought this month. The general opinion I've read on forums are dwarf warriors with great weapons are best which means I'll only be using the cannon and thane as my rune smith out of that set for the first 1,000 and then everything else from the battalion will go to use, all warriors with GW and quarrellers and organ gun, I could use the thunderers from the Skull Pass set at the higher point levels.

I also like the looks of Lizardmen, Bretonnia and TK. I also have the book for TK which would save me some money there. I have wanted to start a TK army for a while but am hesitant to now as the rumors are strong of a new book and models and most models that I would need for escalation are expensive like Ushabti, Tomb Guard, Scorpions and Screaming Skull Catapult. But do like that they are the opposite of my Ogres, more shooty and magic based.

So I am kind of torn I like the idea of a "good guy" army too after Ogres and Goblins. And I love the anti magic of the Dwarfs and the rune system. I do like the different siege weapons as well like the Organ Gun and Cannons. I also do like the idea of Empire, but they seem expensive as their models are cheap pts wise and would cost a lot.

**A Black Ram**

Go for lizardmen.

Here is what I said on another topic, that I think would save me time Copying and pasting than typing it all out again!!

The Lizardmen, a fantastic fantasy army.

They are based off mayan- to aztec indians, watch Apocalypto before you assemble or paint your models. It inspired me, and if you pretend all the characters are lizardmen you are perfectly set. They use stone weapons, and although it looks like gold, it is not. It is a rare mineral only found in lustria- the lizardmen army use little to no metals. The whole ''cutting out the heart for a sacrifice to the rain god and what not is a really strong element of this army.

Now, the tactical standpoint of the army is a jack of all trades. You can lead the army with a Slann, arguably the best sorcerer in the game ( not counting special named characters) and make great centerpieces. You can also be agressive to the extreme with the saurus, give them spears and at least three ranks and watch 'em go, or you could go for the quick, agile skinks. Although they have the statline of a goblin, I have had twelve(12) skinks kill six ogres in a match I had with my friend. The poisoned attacks really does make up the for their low strength. The kroxigors although have initiative 1, can be excellent in ranks. You can also add them to skink units, but the skinks loose the skirmish rule. Now, this is one thing that draws alot of people to the army and that is the monsters! The stegadon is a walking bolt thrower with high strength and toughness, terradons that really hurt skaven where it hurts, and salamanders + razordons, but I have not seen the latter do very good in games.

The hobby aspect of the lizardmen is incredible. Look up all sorts of dinosaurs and reptiles and compile a morgue ( a collection of sources) that you can look at while you paint. You can really stretch the color scheme for the army- make each ''species'' a darker or lighter tone of a certain color, and go of off nature: the larger and more powerful, the darker tone the animal is. Or, as my friend does, each different species has a complete different color- the saurus are a dark blue and red, the skinks blue and white, and so on. Just be careful, as you don't want a massive horde of rainbow lizards.

Terrain will be a blast for you. Ziggurats, temples, and sacrificial altars are ideal, but you cannot forget plants! The brighter the plant, the more poisonous it is. Take a look at nature, and then head over to your local pet store and pick up some aquarium plants. Works really good, and doesn't eat away your hard earned cash. A very important aspect of lizardmen culture is spawning pools , which are small pools(duh) that create lizardmen life.

Lastly, really think out of the box. Think of a steamy, thick jungle. Replace some creatures with insects- a stegadon could be a massive beatle, and teradons could be mosquitos and what not. Make cold ones tigers, make some kroxigors Gorillas. Just really dive in.

A bit throw in that kind of ties in with the above is that the Lizardmen in older editions use to have humans as slaves. They were rainforest- inspired people, and had some strange name that I can not remeber. In lustria, there are Pygmies, which are based off of a real world tribe in Africa. They are half the height of a man, and used primitive spears and slings. They were enemies of the lizardmen.

So, in short:

- You have an extremely flexible army that is not only powerful, but can fit whatever tactic you like.
- Painting is limitless. Use all kinds of real life reptiles for inspiration.
- Watch Apocalypto.
- Go to pet shops and pick up some neat aquarium plants.
- Research reptiles, dinosaurs, and plants to get a ''morgue'' going.
- Watch Apocalypto.
- Make sure to limit your palette, so your army will atleast look unified

**Hargus56**

I know this isn't the army list forum but what would be a good 1k list to build on for Lizardmen?

I thought maybe this based on the battalion:

Sarus Scar-Veteran -Halbred -BSB - 114
Skink Priest -Level 1 -Rod of the Storm - 90

20 Saurus Warriors -Full Command -Spears - 270

Temple Guard x10 -Full Command -Dispel Scroll - 220
Chameleon Skinks x6 - 72
Chameleon Skinks x6 - 72

Salamander Hunting Pack -Additional Handler - 80
Salamander Hunting Pack -Additional Handler - 80

**Lexx**

Your ideas for dwarfs all have merit OP. Warriors with shields and handweapon or greatweapon both seem fine units. Though I enjoy longbeards with greatweapons accompanying my runelord/smith. Dwarfs arent the righteous good guys that empire can act like.They do stuff out of tradition and principal. The combination of blocks of infantry, combat characters and artillery can be a deadly combination. I also have the skull pass minis and they provide the perfect start of a dwarf army. With a battalion (or two maybe ) and some more warriors/a character or two you have a nice mix of models to field a 1000-2000 point force comfortably. Its the metal models like hammerers, slayers or ironbreakers that can really break the bank. That being said they all have great looks/style and a dwarf army on the tabletop can look grand. As well as perform respectably well.

**djones520**

A thousand points for $125, good luck. Your best bet is going to be buying an IoB set, and going with High Elves. Split the price with a Skaven player, or sell the Skaven peices to get some cash back.

Then get another spearman box to flesh out your Sea Guard, buy a Prince/Noble box for your BSB, then spend the rest of the cash on some Special options.

**Hargus56**

Situation has changed a bit I now have $360 so I am also considering Empire.

**giant stegadon**

If you now can spend $360 I'd say its whatever army you really have an interest in. Your original budget was going to get you a battalion+book+blister of something. And that wouldn't have hit 1,000.

A lot of people say TK arent any good now, but then I hear some TK players say otherwise. Lizardmen are very solid this edition (even if we took a little hit on the Sauras). I'd ask yourself what you liked and didnt like about Ogres & then look at some armies with those (or not) attributes.

Anyone super on a budget should go High Elves with IoB models.

**HoverBoy**

giant stegadon wrote:Lizardmen are very solid this edition (even if we took a little hit on the Sauras).

Are you fething kidding me!?
What hit exactly did the saurus take, is it the fact they get to hit back this eddition or could it be their increased usefullness due to all armies going more infantry heavy, seriously it is last eddition when saurus sucked with their I1 getting the whole front rank killed before they ever struck back in every single combat phase aside from the one they charged.
Saurus are one of the better core choices in the whole game, and even the init test spells are usually no problem when you consider all the magic deffence LM armies can stack up.

**Hargus56**

After much consideration I have narrowed it down to 3 choices

Empire
Pros: Have Character, Fun Warmachines, Detachements-Though I am still trying to understand the concept of them
Cons: The Price

WoC
Pros: Cheaper, good mix of strong and cheap infantry units
Cons: Not as much character, since the tournament is bracket free and you just play when you are down I can see people avoiding playing WoC as they can be a pain in the butt, also is the Hellcannon an awesome model but metal and so many pieces.

Dwarfs
Pros: Lots of character, cheapest, good anti magic, fun war machines
Cons: No Magic-not a big deal for me, smaller and I assume therefore harder to paint I'm still new to the hobby and am not that good of a painter, no cheap units 10-15 pts per infantry (talking GW warriors here), quarrellers and hammerers.

**djones520**

All three are nice armies, and do pretty decent in 8th Edition.

Do you care about the fluff aspects at all? Dwarfs have the best of the three IMO.

**Hargus56**

I do tend to like the more stoic behavior that is a dwarf and tradition and honor they have. My favorite fluff of all is Ogres and I am not a big fan of how they play. I tend to like something a little more durable. I will be mostly be playing against my buddy's goblin army in this tournament. I'm not looking to wipe the floor with him but I also see dwarfs doing poorly against him. My 1k pt list has the Organ gun, a cannon, a runesmith, a thane, a group of 12 quarrellers with GW and 1 unit of 32 gw warriors. My buddy is running 2 large groups of 40 spear gobbos and a group of 40 short bow gobbos, also are some spider riders and 2-3 fanatics in each group, he does not bring a shaman so my runesmith kind of goes to waster, I could probably drop him and the cannon for a 2nd block of infantry, however 6-9 fanatics with AP could ruin my day.

**Lexx**

The thing about dwarf versus goblins is to remember they automatically get hate when fighting them. Meaning a handy reroll to hit them in close combat! As long as you get a few good artillery hits and cancel any magic out you'll more than likely be able to make him break in close combat due to goblins rubbish leadership levels. You don't need to kill them off. Just hit him hard enough that he starts taking leadership tests regularly. He's bound to not pass all of them. Then you can get his army panicking off the table. If he doesn't field a BSB regularly it'll be even easier.

**djones520**

Lexx wrote:The thing about dwarf versus goblins is to remember they automatically get hate when fighting them. Meaning a handy reroll to hit them in close combat! As long as you get a few good artillery hits and cancel any magic out you'll more than likely be able to make him break in close combat due to goblins rubbish leadership levels. You don't need to kill them off. Just hit him hard enough that he starts taking leadership tests regularly. He's bound to not pass all of them. Then you can get his army panicking off the table. If he doesn't field a BSB regularly it'll be even easier.

That's exactly how I beat goblins. I don't go for the kill. I make them take leadership tests.