So I tried the Lizardmen out yesterday in a couple of games, and they were a pleasant surprise. A few reflections:
Chakax worked every bit as well as I'd hoped as a hero hunter. He is brutal in that capacity, and his threat bubble makes opponents hesitant to bring their leaders in close, at least in the games I played.
The skinks were an interesting experience. They were very effective for me, but I had rain of arrows and was rolling like a dice god, so their success was definitely inflated. They were fun to use either way, and definitely surprised me favorably.
I think in a normal game, though, they would be overpriced. The problem is, I think they will normally miss--a lot--with their ranged attack, and they are too weak to do damage in melee. Since they can't reliably kill anything, I guess you would go for the maximum amount of poisoning attacks possible. We were wondering if their poison applies on impact if you use the command card to give it to them. This could allow them to poison multiple units on impact, and then another with a ranged attack, and potentially another if it pins you in melee in an attempt to clear you off. On an army that bunches up, a couple of skinks could drop a lot of poison in one round.
The issue though, is that they don't trade well in most situations. Even if you hit and poison a few enemy units, they probably still don't kill anything, and if they go down, they have to kill a greatsword or higher to trade effectively. If I faced them, I would just rush them with boyz, swordsmen, militia spears, marauders, etc. I would trade well in points, and probably wouldn't even lose the unit at all as the skinks went down.
That said, for best use, I think you need to rush skinks up into some rough terrain, or hide them behind dangerous terrain, etc. with other units ready to support. That way the enemy either has to take the shots from the skinks as they go around, or has to move in to get them, in which case you have supporting units ready.
Salamaders seemed much better to me than the skinks, or at least much more reliable. Again, I was rolling like a god, but their breath-attack was devastating, and their toughness helped them survive engagements. They really need to be pinning, though, but that is nothing new. Overall, they were a tough, reasonable combat unit with a useful ability, and I think I would use them again.
Anyone else trying out Lizardmen? Any useful tips or experiences?
Edited by Jedhead