Begginer's guide to lizardmen
Overview: Lizardmen are perhaps the most well balanced army in warhammer, people often complain that there is no real way to effectively combat a lizardmen army.
Lords:
Slann Mage - Perhaps the most powerful non-special character mage in the game. At an expensive base cost, a slann is a serious investment, losing him will cost you a game. On the upside, with the right spells, and his high leadership a slann can definately sway the odds in your favor.
Slann come in 4 different generations, upgrading costs points, but you gain some good abilities (and the abilities of lower generation slann). Higher generations also gain more wounds and eventually take up an extra hero and rare slot.
5th gen - Basic slann, most players agree that the 4th gen is a better buy for a small point cost
4th gen - This guy no longer has to worry about mistcasts. If you don't want to blow the bank on slots and points, go for a 4th gen.
3rd gen - Possibly the most underused gen in the game. For the amount of points he costs you might as well spring for a 2nd. The drain magic spell is a nice bonus, but not worth the increased cost.
2nd gen - This guy rules the magic phase, he gets free power dice when casting, and has two more wounds than a normal slann. Be careful, losing him means the best you can get out of a game is a draw.
Oldblood - I don't have much experience with this guy, but his stats alone show why opposing generals wet their pants when he is on the field. With the combat powers of a chaos lord, he can chew through most troops, and mounted on a carnosaur he can threaten a flank. Give him the mark of sotek at the very least, don't be afraid to pimp him out.
Heros:
Scar-vet - An excellent choice in large and small games. A useful tactic is a Jsod, (Jaguar saurus of doom) giving him the pendant of the jaguar warrior, great weapon, mark of sotek, and sending him after war machine crews and flanks of armoured units. Otherwise he makes an excellent general for small games.
Skink Priest - Every competitive list should include a few of these little guys. They have access to the lore of heavens (quite possibly the best lore available), make good scroll caddies, and can generate power dice for your slann. Always pay for a level 2, scouting with him results in headaches for opponents, but puts him at more risk
Skink Chief - They have some cool models... and thats about it. Unless you are running a southlands list you should probably invest in another units of skinks instead. If you insist on taking one then give him the cloak of feathers and turn him into a Fsod (flying skink of doom), and use him in the same manner as a Jsod.
Core:
Saurus Warriors - These guys are rock solid, if pricey. They have the stats to stand up to chaos warriors, and with their cold blooded bonus they are almost unbreakable. I don't advise spears on these guys, no reason to make these guys more expensive and lower ther armour save at the same time. Saurus are good in many small units of 10-12, or a few blocks of 16-20. Spring for a standard and musician on larger units, use small units as flankers to make up for the lack of ranks.
Skinks - Lizardmen generals swaek by these little guys. Possibly the best skirmishers in the game, they have two basic purposes, scouts and shields. Take small units of scouting skinks with blowpipes, target units with hight To and low armour and proceed to pepper them to death. Opponents will sometimes divert stronger units to hunt down these cheap scouts, slowing down their advance. Scouts are also useful as lone mage and warmachine hunters. Skinks with Javs/shields are excellent for screening saurus and korxigors from missile fire. All in all, remember to keep these guys cheap and mobile.
Temple Gaurd - Only available if a slann is present, and they must join the slann. They have halberds, which are worthless, just use the HW/shield combo to give them a 3+ save. I reccomend unit sizes of 16-20, with the slann's added unit strength they are unlikely to break from fear casuing units. Make sure to screen them, nothings worth than losing expensive models to enemy shooting.
Jungle Swarms - Unbreakable, lots of wounds and poisened attacks. Use units of 2-3 to gaurd a flank if you are playing a defensive army, but considering that a single swar costs the same as a unit of 10 skinks, take the decision to take these guys with a lot of thought.
Special:
Marked Saurus - Giving saurus marks makes a good unit into a great one. The most popular ones are tepok, sotek, tlazcotl, and quetzl. Depending on who you are likely to be facing, these marks can more than pay for themselves in terms of usefulness. Using the mark of tlazcotl on a saurus unit can make a cheap temple gaurd alternative. Double marking your saurus units may be tempting, but it makes them way too expensive.
Cold One Riders - The only calvary lizardmen get, they hit hard, have a lot of attacks and cause fear. Use a unit 6-8 strong as a sledgehammer. I would reccomend using 2 units of cold ones, it makes the opponent divide his shooting. The downside is their price and armour save.
Chameleon Skinks - With a higher BS, chams are far more likely to hit with mutliple shot blowpipes. Unfortunately they cost a lot, even a minimum size unit will cost 75 points, and they still have the low To that plagues skinks.
Kroxigors - Provide great weapons, an excellent weapon for flanking units and auto-destroying chariots. Make sure to screen these guys, and don't send them against large units alone, even with fear they might run away. Upgrading to a champion is fine if you have some points to burn, but I would reccomend sqeezing in an extra kroxigor for a stronger 4 man (lizard?) unit.
Terredons - These guys look cool and function as mage and warmachine hunters. With their hit and run rule, they can charge scary units and get away before the fighting gets too tough. Another good idea is to charge the flanks of enemy ranged units like handgunners, preventing them from tageting your other units. Don't spend the points on a champion, it gives the opponent opprotunity to challenge the champ and face less attacks.
Rare:
Stegadon - Not such a great buy, the bolt thrower is unlikely to hit, and the steg's low leadership makes it vulnerable despite cold blooded. I like the model though, and terror is never a bad thing, a steg should be reserved for low Ld enemies like skaven to be effective.
Sallies - Walking warmachines that cause fear and pack a punch in close combat. Use units of 3, they are great against large blocks of weak troops. People frown against multiple units of these guys, they are THAT good!
Update for more magic items comming soon!
