Editing Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Lizardmen (section)

=== Magic Items ===
 
All magic items will be analysed here in details for the viewing pleasure of you voyeurs, but a more concise list of what is actually worth it will be found later in this article.

'''Sacred Plaques'''
Slann only. Indestructible magic items, the book states out loud that not even Vaul's Unmaking can break them, so High Elf players can leave now.

*'''Cupped Hands of the Old Ones''': 50 points to give the Slann's unit a 5++ against ranged attacks. Expensive and only useful against armies with strong ranged presence like Dwarves, which will try to gun down your Slann from turn 1. 
*'''Sacred Plaque of Protection''': 50 points to make the Slann 2++ against ranged attacks. Saving your 2nd gen slann is important but the points pile up very fast. 
*'''Plaque of Dominion''' : Yet another 50 points for a free power and dispel die each turn. Expensive. Consider only after grabbing a 2nd generation Slann and if you still find you need magical firepower then your thrist for magic is truly unrivaled.
*'''Sacred Plaque of Tepok''': 15 points, +1 spell known. Yoink!

'''Magic Weapons'''

*'''Blade of Revered Tzunki''': +1 strenght and no armor saves allowed, feels a little like a runic item from the Dwarfs' book. Getting higher strenght kind of defeats the point of disallowing armor saves when you start at strenght 5 (however it does help to wound better as you're now wounding T4 on 2+ and T5 on 3+ so there's that). Pass.
*'''Scimitar of the Sun Resplendent''': Two more attacks. It's 50 points, otherwise it would be a must have. As it is, a little expensive but still strong.
*'''Staff of the Lost Sun''': 35 points for a strenght 5 shortbow which fires 3 times a turn. Only skink chiefs realistically want this, and the stenght of a chief is being cheap, and I think you know where I am going with this.
*'''Blade of Realities''': Back when it wasn't 100 points. 35 points to negate Ward saves and deal 2 wounds against demons. I mean... pick it against demons...?
*'''Dagger of Sotek''': 25 points, Skinks only. Grants Killing Blow and causes Fear against Skaven. Skaven beign plagued by low leadership and a skink chief's high Initiative do give this weapon some merit. IF you are fighting skaven. Otherwise don't.
*'''Piranha Blade''': Every wound you inflict becomes 2 after saves, for 35 points. Potentially good against monstrous infantry and characters, which tend to have 2 or 3 wounds, meaning your character has to hit one less time to get a kill.  Useless against regular infantry, cavalry, and most other things, though.
*'''Sword of the Hornet''': 25 points for Always Strikes First. While low initiative does plague Lizardmen, charging tends to fix it and lizards prefer something to make their attacks count more.
*'''Burning Blade of Chotec''': Inflicts Fire damage and -2 to armor save, for 25 points. Trolls hate this. Not the worst actually, helps you make the most of your many attacks against high armor targets and plow through Warriors of Chaos. When your starting strenght is 5, this is basically the same as ignoring armor saves. 

'''Magic Armor'''

*'''Sacred Stegadon Helm''': The mainstay of later edition started out not very attractive, being 40 points and restricted to skinks, granting +1 armor and Leadership. Yah, no.
*'''Shield of the Mirrored Pool''': A magic shield, so it works like a mundane shield while also deflecting magic missiles back at the caster on a 4+. It's hilarious for 35 points, but situational. You don't needs protection from spells when you have a slann!
*'''The Maiming Shield''': 30 points, +1 save, +1 attack. Elegant, simple and deadly. 

'''Enchanted Items'''

*'''Gleaming Pendant of Chotec''': An interesting item. It's one use only and 35 points to make an enemy unit Always Strike Last for a turn. Can really mess up some opponents who charged their heavy cavalry into a wall of Temple Guard only to get slaughtered before they can lift their weapons, or to keep the offensive up if you didn't break a unit on the charge. Consider it in high points game, where such trickery could win you an important fight.
*'''Blood Statuette of Spite''': 30 points for a Bound item that can Curse an enemy character to start taking Toughness tests, losing a wound every time they fail one until they pass. Meh. Even on a frail elf wizard this has a 50% chance to do nothing. Pass.
*'''Cloak of Feathers''': Skinks on foot only, grants Fly for 30 points. Not an item to ignore, as it means you can position a Skink priest to give your Slann a perfect visual of the field. That said you are also sending a skink priest flying solo, which doesn't tend to end well.
*'''Charm of the Jaguar Warrior''': There we go. 20 points to make a character Movement 9". 18" charge treath on a scar-vet is nasty. Classic 6th edition mainstay or overused meme, no two ways about it. Can really mess up screeners and low armored units trying to get around your army, though. Remember that Chariots explode if they take a strenght 7 hit, which is about as much strenght as a Scar Vet with a Great Weapon has...
*'''Curse-charm of Tepok''': Do you feel lucky, punk? 20 points, one use only to force an enemy wizard who miscasts to roll again and take the second result. Not a first choice really, and kind of useless agaisnt an enemy who did not pack a wizard General. But it's cheap I guess? 
*'''Bane Head''': Choose an enemy character when the battle begins, all wounds you deal to them are doubled. 15 points means it's cheap to take but against most characters it is only worth a wound, and if the characters with the head never meets its target then it's wasted. The one application of this is on a flying skink chief as a pseudo piranha blade to scalp the head off of a wizard general with a little luck, and even that is more fun than competitive.
*'''Dragonfly of Quicksilver''': 15 points, +1 to Scouting roll. Pass. Even IF your opponent HAS scouts (and if they do not, congrats on wasting 15 points), you don't really care as your scouts are either very versatile regarding where you can put them, or can literally hide anywhere. The only time this is remotely useful is to stop a Wood Elf player from scouting half their board on your ass.
*'''Venom of the Firefly Frog''': 15 points for magic, poisoned attacks. The high volume of attacks on a Saurus hero is remarkable, so this has merit as a budget option that allows you to still pick something like a great weapon to go with it.

'''Arcane Items'''
*'''Rod of the Storm''': A 35 points bound item with a magic missile in it. Skip, you have all the magical firepower you need.
*'''Cube of Darkness''': Might be the single most classic and ubiquitous item in this list. The priciest it has ever been at 40 points, but well worth it: not only it's an instant dispel scroll that kills every Remain in Play spell with no rolls required, but on a roll of a D6 it also ends the magic phase. Period. Stop. CEASE. Pick it if you can, always.
*'''Diadem of Power''': 35 points is just a tad overpriced, something that GW realized in later editions. You get to keep 2 Power or Dispel dice for your next phase if you don't use them, which rarely happens as you will be slinging spells non stop with your Slann.

'''Talismans'''

*'''Amulet of Itzl''': 40 points for a ward save of 2+ (neat!) against your first wound (oh...). Skip.
*'''Aura of Quetzl''': 30 points for a 4+ Ward save (alright) against Strenght 5 or higher attacks (getting there). Neat, or...
*'''Glyph Necklace''': 30 points for a 5+ Ward save. This is the one you want on your Oldblood if you want then to scythe through massed infantry.

'''Magic Banners'''

*'''Totem of Prophecy''': Unit causes Fear. Alright, neat sure, Fear is decent in 6th ed- what? 75 points? Nope.
*'''Sun Standard of Chotec''': Missile attacks are made at -1 to hit. 40 points are reasonable and it will stop most ranged units from even attempt it, but it doesn't work against, say, cannons. Choose wisely whether this is better than the Cupped Hands. Against Dwarves and the Empire, definitely no, against Elves, heck yes. The big upside is that it can be given to a Temple Guard or Cold One Cavalry standard bearer, freeing room for your BSB.
*'''Blessed Totem of Huanchi''': Once per battle, move D6" forward in the magic phase. A little iffy for 40 points. Leave.
*'''Jaguar Standard''': 25 points to Pursue 1d6" further. Basically Chotec's Spawning for Temple guards and Cavalry. Not bad.