Lizardmen 8th Edition Tactics

Posted by Trevy the Great on July 7, 2010 at 9:13

AM
These are just some musings I was having the other day about Lizardmenin 8th Edition. They've probably already been thought of and
discussed,but I'm gonna throw them here anyway.
First off, in 7th edition, Skink Skirmishers were a staple unit in any Lizardmen list. They provided a relatively expensive screen
orredirector that was very fast and flexible. Like all skirmishers, theyare now less flexible than they were due to the more rigid
formationthat they have to adhere to. That, and the introduction of the True Line of Sight rules means that they cannot be used as LoS
screens,merely blockers and redirectors, and even then they are lessmaneuverable than they used to be. I believe that Skink Skirmishers
are now a more dangerous harassment unit than ever. With their new ability to March and Fire, they effectively have a 24" threat range
with a possible 20 Poisoned shots from a unit of 10 Skinks. They can march quickly at the enemy, using cover to their advantage, getting
behind enemy units and forcing panic tests that send units running away from them. Position them so that enemy units run off the board
or into larger, block units and they start to be able to wreak havoc with enemy formations.
In my lists, the old role of the Skink Skirmisher as a march-blocker and a redirector now falls to Skink block units. With the new musician
rules, small units of infantry are more maneuverable than ever. For 5 6points I can get 10 Skinks with a musician, and this unit is
excellent at covering my flanks and slowing down units that get too close to my main blocks. More than that, these units can now pump
out 10 S3 Poisoned shots per turn at a 12" range with no penalty for moving, meaning that they can threaten faster flanking units and
fast cavalry. Combined fire from a couple of these units can also be enough to panic even larger enemies. Another strength of these
smaller units is that they do have a rank bonus, and can therefore negate ranks if they flank an enemy that's putting the larger blocks in
trouble.
Saurus Warriors are the mainstay of the army - not only are they excellent line-infantry with a 4+ Armor Save and high
strength,toughness and attacks but they can also pack quite a punch in combat if supported correctly. I've been running big units of 24
Spear-armed Saurus for a total of 24 S4 Attacks when I get charged. Because of the Step-up rule, Saurus' low Initiative value is not so
much of a problem because they are still getting a large number of attacks, and Steadfast makes them very survivable against small,
hard-hitting strike groups such as Knights.
Temple Guard can now be viable in a smaller games without a Slann. Because of the Step-up and Supporting Attacks rules, Temple
Guard can dish out a lot of S5 attacks while maintaining a respectable 4+ save. Iuse them in my lists as a small strike team to support
my Saurus blocks. Little units of 10 can easily flank an enemy in combat with the Saurus blocks, negate ranks and throw a lot of powerful
attacks onto the enemy. If they are supported by a Lord or Hero, they can take smallor medium units in the front and win. In a recent
game I charged a big unit of Ogre Bulls in the front with a unit of Temple Guard with an Oldblood. The Oldblood wiffed most of his rolls,
but the Temple Guard cleaned up, broke the unit and ran it down.

Speaking of Oldbloods, this new edition makes Oldblood lists even more effective and reasonable choice than they were. With larger
units getting Steadfast, taking the Slann for that Stubborn block of Temple Guard is less important. If the Oldblood is mounted on a
Carnosaur, his Leadership bubble extends to 18", making Skink units able to be more flexible while maintaining a good Leadership of 8.
Even Saurus can mitigate the effects of lower leadership through Steadfast and a combination of Magic Items. A Scar Veteran BSB with
the Standard of Discipline can make a Leadership 9, Steadfast, Cold Blooded unit if it gets more ranks. Another character with the Crown
of Command can bestow Stubborn onto a smaller unit or one that might be out-ranked by its enemy.
That said, the Slann is still an excellent choice. The Leadership 9 BSB bubble is now more effective than ever given that BSB allows all
Leadership tests to be re-rolled. The Slann is also one of the most powerful magic casters in the game, and in 8th Edition becomes one
ofthe most reliable. The Focused Rumination allows for a Slann to mitigate the effects of a Winds of Magic roll by effectively adding dice
to his pool. With the new, devastating Miscast table the Slann really improves given his resilience to Miscasts. Cupped Hands of the Old
Ones can transfer one of those massive Miscasts to an opposing wizard, hopefully doing significant damage to them instead. Slann
areone of the toughest casters in the game with 5 Wounds, Toughness 4 and a Ward Save, and because of this they can easily survive
most of the bad rolls on the Miscast table, and Soul of Stone can help when areally bad one (S10 large template!) comes up.
With the new rule that replacements for duplicate spells are chosen(not re-rolled), the Slann can easily get all the spells he wantswithout
the use of the Focus of Mystery. A Plaque of Tepok can ensurethat the Slann gets most of the spells, and if he rolls a double he can
choose whatever spell is most useful, making him that much more reliable.