Editing Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Lizardmen (section)

==Lords==
The scaly faces of the Lizardmen. With the exception of the Slann Mage-Priest, which outperforms even most Legendary Lords, the Lizardmen aren't exactly a character-centric faction. Their LL's are very pointy. Most of them are great on the battlefield (with either melee or magic prowess), but their army buffs vary in usefulness and their factionwide buffs are nearly non-existant, with only a couple lords like Kroq-Gar providing any whatsoever. It's very difficult to justify taking even Legendary Lords (let alone your generic lords, which are frankly terrible) over any flavor of slann mage-priest due to the sheer versatility the latter bring to your army, especially since you are not hurting for giant, single entity beatsticks to ram into enemy formations. Slann benefit from Star Chambers in campaign, others don't, no contest, only use Slann if stacking Star Chambers (which you really should).

===Legendary Lords===
*'''Mazdamundi''' - The last of the second generation Slann (lore-wise), Mazdamundi uses magic primarily from the Lore of Light to act as a hybrid support/offensive caster. The two main selling points of Mazdamundi over a generic Slann Mage-Priest are his Stegadon mount Zlaaq and his signature spell ''Ruination of Cities''. Zlaaq allows Mazdamundi to actually engage in melee, something no other Slann can safely do, and makes him substantially more durable against most forms of attack. ''Ruination of Cities'', especially when combined with ''Banishment'', makes Mazdamundi an excellent AoE caster capable of tearing infantry focused armies to shreds with ease without chewing through your Winds of Magic reserve. These spells are limited however, being bounded spells, so make sure you wait until the right moment to utilize them. Additionally, don't put too much faith in them; as their movement patterns are random, these spells (particularly Ruination of Cities) can just as easily do nothing or even devastate your own forces as they can your enemies if you aren't careful.
::'''Warhammer III''' brings a few buffs to his toolkit; the barrier mechanic normally reserved for Tzeentch armies is now also granted to all Slann as well, helping mitigate the first few attacks against him. Additionally, to better represent the almighty toad's arcane prowess, Mazdamundi receives a 50% increase in range to all spells he casts. This turns him into a sort of magical artillery engine, as he'll have virtually no issues slapping that Banishment or Comet of Cassandora cast pretty much wherever he damn well pleases.

*'''Kroq-Gar''' - Your dedicated duelist, Kroq-Gar is an offensive powerhouse that shines when seated atop Grimloq, his faithful Carnosaur mount. Though expensive, Kroq-Gar/Grimloq can engage virtually any enemy type in the game effectively and is able to duel against many enemy lords and come out on top. Though a monstrous force on his own merits, Kroq-Gar is something of a glass cannon however and as a larger target is prone to getting mobbed by multiple units or getting focused down by ranged infantry/artillery. Another notable shortcoming is that he provides limited support for the rest of your army (a bit of a problem for all Saurus Oldbloods), and as such is not recommended for dino-heavy army builds, his bonuses to armor and leadership being less important than the healing abilities of Life Slann.

*'''Tehenhauin (DLC 1)''' - Your only Skink-Priest lord choice, Tehenhauin is something of a niche pick. He can deal solid enough damage against footlords/cavalry lords in a fight (particularly if on a Ripperdactyl) and is also capable of dealing notable damage to swarms of infantry (with his Lore of Beasts and/or with his Engine of the Gods), but he's extremely frail for a Lizardmen lord when unmounted. Never get the Fanatic skill in his skill tree; it only benefits Skink units and they are pretty trash after the mid-game.

*'''Tiktaq'to (FLC)''' - Another somewhat niche pick, Tiktaq'to is a dedicated flyer who excels in lists built with Terradons, Ripperdactyls and Coatls as the focus. Though mounted on Zwuup, Tiktaq'to is your squishiest (Legendary) Lord and lacks the support/damage options available to the others, but he's inarguably the swiftest of the bunch (which doesn't mean much compared to other flying lords and heroes). Under no circumstances is he a direct combat lord; against any duelist or large/monstrous lord he will lose handily. The only targets he can safely engage are dedicated casters, artillery and dedicated ranged infantry. Because of this, playing him requires far more finesse than what is required for virtually every other lord; even against targets he ''can'' engage effectively, prolonged combat will invariably whittle him down and may the Old Ones help you if he's surrounded while grounded. Keep a squad or two of Ripperdactyls close by to make up the difference in combat ability and to take advantage of Tiktaq'to's buffs. Also, his unique Epic weapon doesn't work if he is attacking a ground target in melee because its attack bonuses are only in effect when flying, so he's weaker than a Skink Terradon Rider when attacking ground targets UNLESS you swap out his weapon. When used in campaign, much of his value comes from his rather insane and stackable upkeep discount for flyer units. Even on higher difficulties, it is extraordinarily easy to stack enough upkeep cost reductions to have a full Coatl doomstack damn near for free (until the Supply Lines penalties become particularly swollen, at least). Additionally, his unique rite gives all of his armies the ability to easily chase down fleeing armies or attack multiple settlements a turn which can be ''devastating'' to an enemy faction if used at the right moment.
 
*'''Nakai (DLC 2)''' - The largest and oldest of the Kroxigor Ancients, Nakai is an infantry mulcher who (thanks to his enthusiastic animations) will literally sweep his way through the thickest blobs of infantry. Nakai possesses a few notable traits over his competitors; his ability to grant perfect vigour to nearby allies ensures they're in peak form throughout the entire battle while his Miasma of Despair can cripple enemies within his presence; a potentially nasty combo that can ensure your forces slowly but steadily chew through enemy frontlines. Unfortunately, Nakai has a few major weaknesses: As a large entity, he's vulnerable to anti-large weaponry (which does abound among baseline infantry) and is an easy, defenseless target for ranged units to snipe. He also struggles to properly duel opposing heroes/lords due to his size and janky animations making him lunge about haphazardly while they continue to poke him to death. Because of this, he tends to work best as a force multiplier for infantry builds.

*'''Gor-Rok (FLC)''' - Where Kroq-Gar is the spear, Gor-Rok stands as the shield. Gor-Rok is a dedicated footlord, among the slowest of them, but makes up for it through sheer, unbreaking resilience. As the only unit in the entire Lizardmen roster with a silver shield (55% missile block chance), Gor-Rok is able to shoulder his way through the kind of firepower that would fell a lesser Old-Blood on the approach. Gor-Rok can also stand neck-deep among hordes of angry infantry and walk out seemingly unscathed. When equipped with the ''Mace of Ulumak'', Gor-Rok can also prove a competent duelist in his own right, even if it's only in temporary bursts. Gor-Rok does falter against mounted/monstrous heroes/lords and is vulnerable to duelists with good AP values, though the Twisted and the Twilight patch has helped address the issue of him being staggered to hell and back. Never the less, Gor-Rok is a relatively cost effective Legendary Lord who can and will hold the line until the bitter end. His campaign starts with Lord Kroak fully unlocked and active, which makes his campaign among the easiest in the entire game, even on higher difficulties.
**Gor-Rok's rite will be changed in Immortal Empires, giving his units Barrier and immunity to certain debuffs, like Poison. Unlike Tzeentch, his version of barrier probably won't be as game-breaking because of how slow Saurus and that they do their best stuck-in.

*'''Oxyotl (DLC 3) ''' - The legendary daemon-slaying chameleon skink of Oyxl is the last legendary lord for the faction (at least for TWW2). As to be expected from any shape or form of a Chameleon Skink, Oxyotl is a rather cheap, stealthy character hunter who behaves somewhat like a Wood Elf Waystalker. Unlike Waystalkers, Oxyotl has a particularly nasty trick in the form of Master Predator; a toggle-able skill that reduces his movement speed in exchange for an increase in range, Snipe and the ability to remain undetectable unless the enemy gets extremely close to his position. Combined with his modestly powerful armor piercing missiles, this can quickly wear down most armored lords and heroes rather quickly if left to his own devices. Of course, as a reasonably cost effective LL, the drawbacks have to come in somewhere and for Oxyotl, that drawback is melee combat. While he has acceptable melee attack and defense, Oxyotl has no armor or damage mitigation tools at his disposal. Any combat lord or hero worth his or her salt can and will kill him in a hand-to-hand duel. Fortunately, he's fast enough that virtually no footlord can catch up to him unless you willfully allow it. He also struggles to deal with the rank and file and lacks any notable support abilities for his own forces, but that's fairly typical of the niche Oxyotl fills.

===Generic Lords===
Your generic lords aren't amazing in campaign compared to other factions, but can really shine in competitive multiplayer. In the campaign, you'll generally never want to get non-slann lords after turn 20(ish) because lizardmen Star Chamber buildings give 3 bonus levels to your slann lords, meaning they quickly outpace any other lord available. Any need for a melee lord can be filled by one of the many lizardmen heroes, who can also be easily recruited at higher starting level than the melee lords. You may still find the need to recruit cheaper stand in lords in case of an emergency, as the Rite of Awakening's cooldown is a notable hitch in acquiring more slann.


*'''Slann Mage-Priest''' - Your almighty magic toads, slann are dedicated mages who don't participate in fights directly, but wreak havoc upon your enemies from afar with their magics or supplement your forces with defensive/healing energies. Slann are among the precious few generic lords in the game who have access to the ''Greater Arcane Conduit'' ability which, when combined with their reliable casting, can allow savvy players to call upon vast reserves of the Winds of Magic long after lesser mages have tapped out of theirs. In addition to ''Greater Arcane Conduit'', each slann has access to Banishment as a bound spell as well as the ''Shield of the Old Ones''; a large AoE defensive buff that applies a 22% damage resistance modifier to all allied units within it's bubble. Understandably, for all their arcane might, slann are practically helpless if caught in a fight. They are the single slowest unit in your entire army and are quite chunky, making them easy targets up close or at range. To this end, you'll almost always want a screening unit of Temple Guard (or at least shielded saurus) to keep enemies from ganking them. Outside of that, there are four varieties of Slann Mage-Priests, each dedicated to a specific lore of magic:
**'''Fire Slann''' - When you want to burn the [[HERESY|heretic]] in holy fire for the Old Ones. Combined with their bound Banishment, fire slann are capable of mulching clumps of infantry wholesale and can even churn out respectable single target damage with their Fireball and Piercing Bolts of Burning spells. Fire damage is particularly useful against the myriad of enemies with regeneration, and practically mandatory when facing undead crises in campaign. Being able to buff an entire line of saurus with an upcast Flaming Sword/Cloak of Flame can turn the game in your favor.
**'''Life Slann''' - These guys are the MVP in any monster heavy list; though you have a few other options for healing (such as the Revivification Bastilidon, high slann and the newly added Skink Oracle), life slann are still the uncontested kings at it. If you want an army built on the back of beasts, a life slann is essential to keeping them in the fight. With a life slann, you can wipe away any damage your stack of monsters take during the routing phase of a battle, making them both tactically and strategically important. Pair one with a Revivification Bastilidon to very rapidly resurrect slain models in any infantry unit and bring back even the most tattered units to full fighting strength. Additionally, should you encounter blobs of infantry that pose a notable danger to your larger beasties, Life slann are able to slap down Dwellers Below to deal frankly startling amounts of damage to practically every non-flying unit caught within its radius.
**'''Light Slann''' - Light slann are fantastic supports for an infantry-heavy army namely due to two spells: Net of Amyntok and Birona's Timewarp. Like every other army, Net of Amyntok is an excellent tool for pinning down faster cavalry from the likes of Bretonnia or the Dark Elves so that your ''much'' slower saurus can catch up and engage them in melee (or to keep them still while your Salamanders incinerate them wholesale). Birona's Timewarp can turn the tide in a key engagement when used properly. Offensively, being able to cast Banishment much more frequently can also deal devastating damage to enemy infantry. That said, even your Greater Arcane Conduit will struggle to keep you topped off; the Lore of Light can consume your Winds of Magic quite quickly.
**'''High Slann''' - Similarly to light slann, high slann are a hybrid offensive/support caster. Unlike the Lore of Light, you do have access to minor magical healing through Apotheosis and have access to an excellent anti-flier vortex spell in Tempest (Net of Amyntok is superior in most cases, however). High slann offensively specialize in single target damage and can deal devastating amounts of it between the Arcane Unforging and Soul Quench spells, giving them a solid niche against duelist lords/heroes and larger monsters.
**'''Heavens Slann''' - Multiplayer only, the Heavens Slann is unfortunately the worst slann of the bunch. It's not that the Heavens lore is lacking nor is it the slann himself, but the fact that he faces strict competition against your Skink Priests of all things. A Skink Priest of Heavens, though lacking the Greater Arcane Conduit, is a much faster/smaller target by default and has access to several mount options that make him much more flexible offensively or defensively. Additionally, as a hero, you can take a more offensively focused melee lord or a slann attuned to a different lore for more magical variety. Even if you're only running one with nothing but the crest on his skinky-head, the cheaper price alone makes the Heavens slann a hard sell comparatively.
:::'''Warhammer III''': All Slann become a bit more defensible with the boon of their own personal barriers, a ''much'' needed buff to these fat frog's personal defenses. Of course, barriers will do little to assuage prolonged and unsupported melee combat, but it will help protect them from the stray blast or occasional skirmish.
:::'''Immortal Empires''': A minor nerf to the Slann, Star Chambers can now only ever be constructed in Province capitals, ''severely'' curbing how quickly you can recruit high-level Slann right out the gate. They can still be abused, though you now need to capture ''many'' more territories before you can crank out Slann on par with their Mortal Empires power level. The good news is, the Rite of Awakening is now free to use once unlocked and can be spammed on cooldown to try farming for second/third generation Slann.

*'''Saurus Old-Blood''' - Offensive duelists through and through, saurus old-bloods are flexible masters of combat who can lead on foot, on the back of a cold one, or atop a mighty carnosaur (you'll usually want one on a carnosaur). Compared to the kroxigor ancient, saurus old-bloods are less powerful in melee combat but can be much faster and have marginally better faction support skills. For the purposes of both Multiplayer and Campaign, you'll want to avoid taking Old-Bloods as your lord (unless you have ''no'' DLC content). Their role can easily be filled by Saurus Scar Veterans, who ''don't'' take up your only Lord slot for the army (and are, for all intents and purposes, identical sans Campaign skill trees). If you insist on taking an Old-Blood, take Kroq-Gar. Otherwise, a Slann or Kroxigor Ancient would be better suited for your needs.
::'''Immortal Empires''': Saurus Old-Bloods get some new life pumped into their battle-tested bones in Immortal Empires, at least when fighting under Kroq-Gar's banner. Universal 15% Upkeep discounts for all armies led by Saurus Old-Bloods and an additional +1% Weapon Strength boost for each level your Old-Blood gains make these guys your go-to beatsticks. Their discounted upkeep costs also make it easier to field ''more'' armies which, especially in the mid-late game, is particularly valuable as your empire's borders outpace your glacial economy's ability to upgrade settlement infrastructure in a timely manner. Slann are, of course, still quite valuable, though with Sacred Spawning Caverns and Temple Guard Barracks providing increased starting ranks to Old-Bloods and Scar-Veterans, it's hard to say no to these guys. At least when riding with Kroq-Gar.

*'''Red-Crested Skink Chief (DLC 1)''' - Your discount Lord and the one you'll want to take if you want to reserve as much money for your big beasties as possible. Of course, you could splurge a little to put him atop an ancient stegadon to scorch swaths of infantry with the Engine of the Gods (though if you're going to do that, you may as well spring for Tehenhauin so that you at least have access to the Lore of Beasts as well). The RCSC is a competent combatant equipped with poisonous, armor-piercing attacks that can make him surprisingly dangerous in a fight, though like everything skinky, he's a particularly squishy lord when unmounted. The best use you can put him to is boosting your heroes in a 'Pompous' trait-stacking lizardman hero army, which makes an already broken strategy even stronger.

*'''Kroxigor Ancient (DLC 2)''' - Baby Nakais for those who don't quite feel up for splurging on the big boy himself. Kroxigor ancients are quite literally just watered down versions of Nakai; though they won't grant perfect vigour to all friendly forces near them, they will still wade through most infantry due to their size and mass and put out such raw damage that most non-elite infantry will falter swiftly against them. However, just like Nakai, they are completely helpless at range, are vulnerable to AP and anti-large weapons and are ''slow''. In competitive multiplayer, though they are still a bit of a niche pick, they are much more attractive than Nakai due to their cheaper price and because they have access to the Amulet of Itzl, which grants the Kroxigor Ancient 66% damage resistance for a short time. This can give them enough of an edge to eek out against enemy duelists or to survive long enough for reinforcements to arrive.