Editing Warhammer/Tactics/8th Edition/Lizardmen (section)

====Generic Characters====
''Note:'' While named characters are judged against their generic counterparts, generic characters are examined based on their role in your army.

*'''[[Slann]] Mage-Priest:''' Big Pappa Toad, the core of most armies.  
**The good: a Slann is a powerful Level 4 caster with an in-built 4+ Ward Save and can be both general and BSB at the same time. It has the ability to ignore terrain and is never considered on foot while still being Infantry, has five Wounds, the ability to swap spells with other Slann and to cast through friendly Skink Priest models. He also has a lot of synergy with Temple Guard: units joined by a Slann are Stubborn, Immune to Psychology, and allow the Slann to auto-pass Look Out Sir! Additionally, since he is fielded in the second rank rather than the first he is never going to be involved in actual combat and can cast spells even while his unit is busy fighting in melee. A choice of Disciplines (see below) helps to make Slann one of the best generic wizards of the game.
**The bad: being the BSB means he drops dead if his unit flees from combat. Thankfully in a TG block and with the Banner of Discipline this is highly unlikely to happen. While TG benefit defensively from teaming up with a slann (and so does the slann itself) they also lose on the offensive side as the slann replaces two Guards on the second rank, and the Slann's meager single attack carried out by a skink retainer is pretty pitiful.
**The ugly: sporting a pricetag of 300 fucking point vanilla, he is among the most expensive lords vanilla, and Magic Items and Disciplines only worsen the situation. Mind you, he still does repay every single point you invest on it: most notably be comes stock with a 4+ saves, which you would otherwise need to grab with an expensive amulet, putting his effective points cost to 250. 


*'''DISCIPLINES''' 
** Reservoir of Eldritch Energy: Can carry over an extra Dispel Dice on the roll of a 2+ to next Magic Phase. Nifty and cheap at 20 points. Though not a first pick, it is a close second.
** Soul of Stone: Can add or subtract 1 to the Miscast Table results. Will save your life sometimes but not that awesome. Still, it is only 25 points.
** Becalming Cogitation: Re-rolls its first failed dispel attempt in each Magic phase. Cheap at 25 points and good pick.
** Wandering Deliberations: Can learn Signature Spells from all 8 battle lores. Can't use with the Loremaster one. The eight signatures are nothing to sneeze at and each of them benefits from the Lore Attribute. It is kinda sad that we need to spend 30 points on this while a level 2 High Elf Lord with Combat Lord stats has it by default, though. If playing The End Times just take this because with the new rules it will allow your Slann to know every spell of the eight battle lores (confirmed for the Loremaster of Hoeth so no reason to doubt it will work for the Slann). Yes, you heard right: for 30 points you get 64 spells (7 from each lore + each of the End Times spells for the BRB lores) and 4d6 dice from the powered-up Winds of Magic rolls. Good luck finding anyone who wants to talk about the End Times nowadays, though.
** Harmonic Convergence: Roll two additional dice whenever attempting to Channel Power or Dispel dice. Nothing impressive until you notice the existence of Channeling Staff: suddenly you are Channeling three times a turn on a 5+. 30 points (plus 15 for the staff) rarely tasted so good.
** The Harrowing Scrutiny: Slann causes Terror. Meh... 30 points of overpriced garbage. Take the Shrieking Blade for 10 points and get Fear instead. While it can be very good when facing low LD tarpits and chaff, as it means they might run away and not bog down your TG bunker, skink spam is already good enough at keeping things you don't want near your TG away from them.
** Transcendent Healing: Roll a d6 for each wound Slann has lost. On a 6 he regains it. Not bad, but not reliable enough to be good at 30 points.
** Unfathomable Presence: Can get Magic Resistance D3 each Magic Phase. Skip this one. If you are willing to spend 30 points on this you'd better pay the same 30 for MR2 with Obsidian Amulet and get the 2+ Save against spells, unless you truly need that Dragonbane Gem on your Slann.
** Focus of Mystery: Becomes a Loremaster in High Magic. Can't use with the Signature Spell one. Are 35 points worth it? High Magic is a great lore that can do a bit of everything. Has two Signatures (you get both of them with this Discipline, obviously) so you get a grand total of eight spells. Great synergy with the Lizardmen army and don't forget its awesome Lore Attribute, Contemplation, that lets you forget a High magic spell after you cast it and roll for a new one on any other lore, which carries its Lore Attribute with it and can be swapped for the Signature. You can swap your less useful spells and tailor your list to better suit the situation during the game, so yes, it is absolutely worth it. Overall one of the best Disciplines, even more so now that Slann can't Loremaster any other lore.
** Higher State of Consciousness: Slann becomes Ethereal and Unstable but can't join units. Costs as much as two other Disciplines, clocking in at 60 points, so take it only if you are absolutely positively sure about what the fuck you are doing. Used to be popular in 7th edition, but has not been seen around much lately. Can be deadly to your Slann, as losing combat will cause unsaveable Wounds.


*'''Saurus Oldblood:''' Killing machine, specialized in wiping units for breakfast with his 5 str 5 attacks and predatory fighter. Can ride a Cold One or a Carnosaur. Given how expensive a Slann is, he shows up in smaller battles as a general or in larger battles as a second Lord choice. Old Bloods have a 4+ Scaly Skin by default and a lot of Attacks before you buy any upgrades. However, these upgrades are expensive: the Carnosaur alone costs almost as much as a naked Slann (and the figurines themselves are not cheap either): the main downside is how hard it is to use both an Old Blood on Carnosaur and a Slann, because of their cost. One bad cannonball and you're down around 400 points. While excellent in all other fighting aspects, Oldbloods suffer from a low WS of 6 which could cause one to suffer in a challenge against a duelist character. Consider investing in the sword of striking or the fencer's blades to shore his hitting rates up. Since Oldbloods have a natural 4+ armor save, taking the glittering scales is also adviced in conjuction with a cold one and the talisman of preservation will also make for an extremely hardy lizard.

*'''Saurus Scar Veteran:''' A lesser Old Blood at an affordable price. He can now even ride a Carnosaur. It still dishes out that Saurus melee butchery that makes people cry and it can ride a Cold One if you want him mounted but don't have enough points to take a Carnosaur. If your Slann is not your BSB, a Scar Vet can and take a magical banner. In larger games where you can afford a few Scar Vets (or a a couple of them and an Old Blood), equip them and use them like missiles: send a kitted-out Scar Vet after one thing and watch it get maimed. In smaller games they're more useful sitting in Saurus units to chew through infantry. Solid choice as a General at low level games and good in larger battles for supplementary killing power. If you take a Slann and a Scar Vet, you can have a very nice combo: a Carnosaur and your magical toad!

*'''Skink Chief:''' Cheaper now and with more mounted options this guy is a little more viable. Requires thought and purpose to his use, but can be very helpful. Can go on foot, or take a Stegadon, Ancient Stegodon, Ripperdactyl, or Terradon. On foot, his use is quite limited; he's just too frail to hold up in combat, and making him more durable usually just makes him a more expensive, but still worse Scar Veteran. He's fine as a BSB (and is our go-to to cheaply add one) or support item caddy, just don't expect him to actually contribute besides his items and reeling in Predatory Fighter. Terradons or Ripperdactyls are the most interesting; these gear him up to run interference, tie up monsters, and assassinate vulnerable characters or warmachines, with the Terradon being more annoying and disruptive, while the Ripperdactyl makes a good assassin platform, with extra items. The Stegadons are either to get a nice, juicy 18 inch command range for your BSB, or else just to smuggle a Stegadon into your command budget, and use it accordingly. He requires a plan to be used effectively, and won't bring home the same MVP status as your Saurus characters or Slann, but can put in serious work as a team player.



*'''Skink Priest:''' Good low-level Wizard. You are almost always taking them, with or without Slann. Can act as a range extender for Slann allowing them to send Magic Missiles or Direct Damage spells as if the Slann was where the Priest is standing. Can take the Engine of the Gods if mounted on a Stegadon, which makes a combination of a killing machine, maximum safety for the character and very powerful support to nearby units. Can alternatively stay nice and cozy in a big ball of Saurus, or be shuttled out deep by Skink Skirmishers, all are good options. They're limited to the Lores of the Heavens and Beasts but these are very good lores for Lizardmen anyways, and they can cast the important spells well. They support the Slann or are used in large numbers to spam spells down the enemy's throat, and can shoulder some of the weight of the Arcane items this army craves so much. Do not underestimate them as they have access to Comet Of Cassandora and Lizardmen are the only army that can reliably spam that spell. Wyssan's Wildform is a spell tailor-made for making Lizardmen rape machines. As of The End Times, they can also technically take Undeath. While rather jank overall, finding an extra unit of disposable chaff or archers can always be handy, not to mention surprising, and dinospam armies might appreciate the chaff.