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So basically I'm returning to warhammer after a lengthy break and just purchased the lizardmen codex.

There some tasty stuff in there. All those big ass monsters look mental. There magic is still pretty awesome (a skink slann! ) and there's plenty of other things in the book that tickle my liking.

So the reason for this post is just to get the heads up on what are the 'must take' models. Are there any models out there that a lizardmen army need to have in there army to function. Also what are the 'stay away from' units. Are there any models that you just can't have your army as it'll get eaten up by a cannon or some mean ass magic.

I'm trying to make this list as competitive as I can but without being a total a**hole about it. So what do you reckon?

Thanks for reading

Don't play lizardmen but I play against them quite often.
Units that I would consider to be must haves:
Slann
Skink priest (or 2)
Skink skirmishers with blowpipes
Temple guard
Salamanders (buy 3 and put extra handlers on them lol)

That's pretty much it. They have some other units and heroes that are good choices like the bastiladon and the other thing (can't remember the name the triceratops thing)

Don't forget cowboy scarvets.

Stegadon city.

All the Dinosaurs.

I got absolutely hammered by Dwarfs last weekend, and I had:

2 lvl skinks,
1 Carno Old Blood,
Ancient Steg
Bastilodon
3 Rippers
6 Cold One Cav
Cold One Scar Vet
36 Saurus
36 Skinks

I killed three Dwarfs.

Lizards don't have too many "stay away" units... the only one really being the troglodon but even that isn't completely useless just maybe a tad expensive for what you get in both pounds and points. Razordons can work too depending on your opponent. Mostly they are a go big or go home unit. If you run dinosaurs make sure you have several so people with cannons have to make tough choices.

But as a basic guide you want:

Magic to buff your otherwise average combat blocks (slann, skink priests)

2-3 Combat blocks (saurus, temple guard, kroxigor, cold one cav)

some chaff (skinks, terradons)

warmachine hunters (chameleons, terradons, rippers)

either some dinosaurs for heavy lifting (stegadons, carnosaurs) or shooting (salamanders, razordons) or both

take a slann they are one of the best casters if not the best

Slann Mage-Priests, while expensive, are pretty worth their points. The Disciplines are pretty good, and the Lore of High Magic has some good stuff in it.

I've fought my girlfriends Lizardmen a few times, and while she doesn't have much, I can say Saurus Warriors are pretty tough infantry. As well as Cold One Riders. T4 with a 1+ armor save is nice.

And, I haven't seen many people talk about them, but she uses Chameleon Skinks, and they actually scare the gak out of me. First turn shooting could kill something of mine right off the bat. Nasty.

I don't play lizards, but I do get spanked like a naughty child by them on a regular basis. Here are the three things I find most challenging when facing them, these are advantages you should capitalize on:

1 - Slann are pricy, but damn they are good mages.
2 - Saurus may have poor initiative, but with their high strength, toughness, and their cold-blooded rule, they are infantry that can hit hard and also form a very solid barrier against any attempts to assail your softer and more fragile units (like your mages and leaders).
3 - Skinks are fast, agile, and their poisoned weapons can be a nightmare for the less agile infantry of enemy armies.

The slann is still the best generic caster in the game. Focus of mystery, becalming cognitation and harmonic convergence are the way to go, particularly with standard of discipline and channeling staff.

Oldbloods are cheap enough to run one on foot and still have a slann at 2500+. Putting them on a carnosaur is strong, but keeps you from getting a slann, which is bad unless you go double carni.

Scar vets on carnosaurs are amazing. You can buff them or sling them around the table with high magic, and are relatively cheap. They make excellent monster/multi wound hunters.

Skink priests are decently strong cheap casters. Not much to say.

Other than that? Take at least one big brick of temple guard and saurus warriors to form your core, with skink skirmishers providing chaff. Add in ripperdactyles/stegadons/artillary lizards to suit your taste.

I'm by no means an expert army builder but Tetto'eko and Bastiladon are typically mainstays in my forces.

Tetto'Eko is just too good at his points cost to ignore. For less than 200pts you get level2 Loremaster, 5+ ward, reroll 1s (or 6s if you're unlucky or are expecting to 6die a spell), is a vassal for Slanns, vanguard D3 units, sits in second rank so he is not in combat, reroll comet to make it better or get it off before the opponent scurries away.

The bastiladon; other than being a cool model and cheap special choice IMO): it's 2+ armour, +1 initiative ti cold blooded models in 6", 1 S10 Atk, no flank bonuses against it, Terror, and with the Beam you can typically single die it (3+ cast) to do some wounds or possibly draw a couple of dice from the opponents pool.

That said, carnos and cold ones ridden by old/vets deal out the damage that opponents tend to worry about so make sure you have at least one of either whenever possible.

There are quote a few good builds for Lizards.

A Skink army is pretty good - with Kroxigors, Terradons, Stegadons and some other dinos. They are cheap and with the blow pipes really frustrate people, and if they die, they are cheap and expendable anyway