Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hola muchachos.

I'm faced with a problem. My friends have jumped rhino for WHFB. None of the fantasy armies screams out to me in particular, so I'm trying to get off as cheap as possible. I don't want to have to buy and build big infantry blocks, and certainly not of humans as I'd just end up giving them lasguns for a new IG army.

Here's what I'm looking at currently. The idea is that with a bunch of points expensive cavalry I can apply pressure more freely and execute flank assaults with impunity whilst not building big infantry blocks. I have only cursory knowledge of fantasy tactics so don't know how relevant that is but like I said, it's the idea. I've noticed pretty much every fantasy list includes blocks and lots of variation across units, rarely identical entries, but that gives me a headache so I'm trying to do this my way.

Lv2 sorc
-book of secrets
-third eye
-horse

10 marauder horses w/spears, javelins
-musician+champion
5 marauder horses w/spears, javelins
-musician
5 marauder horses w/spears, javelins
-musician

5 chaos knights of nurgle
-musician
5 chaos knights or nurgle
-musician

plus warhounds to 1000pts


So is this playable? I'm guessing archers will be the biggest problem so that's why i gave the knights nurgle. I understand marauders can assault on 1st turn sort of like shrike terminators so that should be helpful. I also heard musicians are good for cavalry so I got em. Marauders have lances to do maximum damage on the charge and javelins because they seemed useful. Contemplating giving knights lances for the same reason.

Also, which lore would you take? I'm looking at tzeentch for +1 cast and some neat spells, but shadow looks very helpful.

I don't know much about WoC but i think it could work. You may want to give flails to the groups of five marauders and MoS to help them with panic tests. I would probuly take lore of tzeentch to help widdle down blocks of infanty.

Well, this sure isn't the 40k lists section... At least I got one response!

Thanks for the input man but I've shelved this idea anyway. Looking at lizardmen now - do you know if an all skink army can approach competitive?

Funny enough at my local store there is a guy that has an all cav chaos army and another guy with an all skink army.
Some tips for the skinks.
Stegadons are pretty awesome.
Kroxigors are needed for the punch.
Chameleon skinks are great to mess around in the opponents back field.
Salamander hunting packs are an almost must have since they are super awesome.

All cav is difficult at low points because you can't get enough magic and enough for heroes and lords that the army needs.

cowpow16 wrote:
Some tips for the skinks.
Stegadons are pretty awesome.
Kroxigors are needed for the punch.
Chameleon skinks are great to mess around in the opponents back field.
Salamander hunting packs are an almost must have since they are super awesome.

I understand I'm shooting myself in the foot a bit here but I'm looking at no stegadons or kroxigors or skink cohorts. I don't have any qualms with maximum salamanders though.

Something like 1000pts of:
2 priests
25% skink skirmishers
3x6 chameleons
3 salamanders

I don't think all skirmisher will do very well for you. Skinks are very weak in CC, and in 8th ed, you NEED ranks.
The ranks give your units Steadfast, and combat res. Without these, you won't win very many combats.
The Skinks could just try to shoot down everything, but at 1k you're bound to see some ogres, or chaos warriors, and those are kinda hard to shoot down with str 3 poison.
Cohorts and krox provide your skink list with some hitting power, and some staying power.
Salamanders are very good, but they won't carry the game for you.

I was thinking that since their missiles are poisoned, they'd do alright against ogres. They'll hit on 6, autowound and ogres don't have armour right? And chaos warriors would be at -3 save from sallies.

What makes ranks so necessary in fantasy? Can't you just run away and shoot?

I think ogres get a 5+ save with the ironfists, and iron guys get a 5+.
You'll do some wounds for sure, but not enough to Panic/wipe the unit. If even one or ogres get into CC with your skimishers, they will lose CC. Skinks are just too soft to take any kinda beating.
2 ogres will (on avrage) be hitting on 3's wounding you on 2's, so with 6 attacks from 2 ogres you're losing 4 skinks. That's not taking into account Impact hits/Stomp attacks.
Chaos Warriors will do about the same thing. Yeah, 6 Salamanders will put a hurting on the unit, but it only takes a few in CC to ruin your day.

The reason ranks help so much is Steadfast.
Steadfast is the rule meaning you don't take modifiers to your LD from combat resolution, if you have more ranks than your opponent. (Skirmishers don't get their ranks counted towards combat resolution.)
Being Steadfast it doesn’t matter if you lose 1 or 20 skinks in a round of CC, so long as you end the CC with more ranks than your opponent.
This buys time for your skinks to grind down the opposing unit a bit, or hold them up until more krox/stegadon (or salamanders if you’re feeling lucky) flanks the opposing unit to actually kill things.

Basically, unless you are going slannstar LM need a well balanced army to do well. The LM army can be very maneuverable, and quite smashy in CC, but needs to be used with good tactics and strategy so your army works together as a whole.
Overloading one area prevents this.

At 1k you wouldn't have to change your vision of the LM list too much; just drop 2 units of chams, and take 2 small units of skink skirmishers, along with one or 2 good sized units of cohorts with some krox in them, and you'll do fine for 1k.

for 1000pts, skink heavy/only, I would use the following: (leaves you with an extra 25pts)

Lord: 250pts
Tenhenhauin(perfect character for Skinks, LD8, LVL2 Wiz and Hatred of Skaven for your skinks, he is also unbreakable, so if you can squeeze him into a block of skinks, fun times{he might not be able to})

Hero: 170pts

Skink Priest
Dispel Scroll


Skink Chief
BSB

Core: 420pts

Skrox Block:
32 Skinks
2 Kroxigors

Skinks
30 Skinks


Special: 60pts
Cameo Skinks
5 cameo Skinks


Rare: 75pts

Salamander Hunting Pack
1x Salamander
3x Handlers


this list gives you an alright magic turn (1 LVL2 1 Lvl1 and a dispel Scroll), a unit to hunt Warmachines or dangerous units in your foes back field, and an answer to Large blocks.

Thank you very much garuss, and the rest of you. We'll see how this works out.