Lizardman Advance

Jural · Post by **Jural** » Mon Aug 25, 2008 6:02 am

So, I've played a bunch of lizardman games back in LRB 4, but I just started a new league with them in LRB 5. I'm re-learning the ropes, and here is my team now.

6 Sauri, one block, one break tackle.

4 Skinks, one side step, one normal skill, one doubles skill

3 re-rolls

1 Apoth

190k in the bank.

So, I'm thinking of buying the Krox, then getting more skinks (6 or 7 is the perfect number?) For skill ups, I want to put Side Step on one skink and Sure Hands on the second.

I just finished game 4 of a 10 game season, where I can return next season (And playoffs are extra games.) My league is pretty average (amazons, 2 humans, necros, wood elves, norse, undead, chaos?)

Any advice welcome... what am I missing? I really want the Krox to pin down the middle of my line and let me put a sauri in each wide and one on each side in the middle... with the side steppers as blitz targets outside of the sauri in the wide.

Joemanji · Post by **Joemanji** » Mon Aug 25, 2008 9:37 am

Ooh, only 4 Skinks. That could be a real problem. Normally buying the Krox would be a no brainer, but one bad game is really going to screw you. I find 6 Skinks a bare minimum to be honest, though as your Saurus advance you can protect them better so you can afford to go with less for a short period. However, at this stage they are a real target.

As for skills. The double I would go for something dull like Sure Hands at this point. Re-rolls are precious with only one Block player, and ST2 players are a real target for Wardancers anyway. Later on Block might be good. Dauntless / Wrestle / Strip Ball all give the option to attack the ball carrier inside his cage, but that isn't really a core Lizardman strategy so I wouldn't develop in that direction yet. You can't afford to risk your Skinks when passive pressure from all your Saurus could probably do the job better.

The normal skill would probably be Diving Tackle for me. I have seen a very effective team use multiple DTs to great effect. Though you might consider Catch. The ability to move the ball 20 squares in one turn with only a handoff is a great asset for a bashing team. Making that play reliable is going to win you some games with a young team like this.

Joe

tenwit · Post by **tenwit** » Mon Aug 25, 2008 9:48 pm

You can live with journeymen skinks, they're pretty good. Get the krox, but keep enough cash to buy a lucky journeyman that gets 5+ SPPs in a game.

Sure Hands must be the first doubles on a skink, but don't bother with it on AG4 skinks. You probably don't need it on two, though it's an excellent choice as a second doubles after Block.

Diving Tackle is excellent on sauruses, if you play the interference game: lizardmen are best when you make the opposition do all the work. Given the pretty good chance of coming up against a passing team in your league, I'd put Pass Block on a saurus that has already got Diving Tackle, even before Block. An S4 DTer standing beside an Amazon Catcher is a force to be reckoned with.

I built my first skink as a speedster, with Sure Feet, Sprint and Side Step. I now recommend against doing that, unless you get +MA first. Those three skills together don't help as much as you'd think. Side Step works best with Diving Tackle. Sure Feet works best with Block. Sprint goes on your Sure Hands player. These combinations have all worked well for me.

mattgslater · Post by **mattgslater** » Mon Aug 25, 2008 10:34 pm

See... I don't think the Krox is a huge deal. Get two Skinks so you have some bench, is what I say.

Jural · Post by **Jural** » Mon Aug 25, 2008 10:38 pm

I'm just a game away from getting an extra skink. and with good rolling, maybe two. So I think I'll get the Kroxigor now. My next game should allow me a few inducements, meaning I can get two or so merc skinks on the pitch if I so choose.

Mephisto · Post by **Mephisto** » Mon Aug 25, 2008 11:24 pm

Hi!

It's also the first time I play with lizards, but I think I perform pretty well.

Here's my roster:

http://ligalabb.com/LRB5/hojaEquipo.php?equipo=1413

Now, as I'm on holidays, a friend of mine is coaching the team (but he hasn't played a game yet).

So, my stats are:

6 games played (5-0-1) 15/18 points
TD+/-: 12/4
Cas+/-: 16/3

I started with 4 saurius, 1 krox and 6 skinks. 3 rr (this is basic in a team without skills).

mattgslater · Post by **mattgslater** » Tue Aug 26, 2008 1:57 am

Jural wrote:I'm just a game away from getting an extra skink. and with good rolling, maybe two. So I think I'll get the Kroxigor now. My next game should allow me a few inducements, meaning I can get two or so merc skinks on the pitch if I so choose.

See... I wouldn't ever bother with a merc skink. To me, mercs are for positions that don't handle the ball.

Jural · Post by **Jural** » Tue Aug 26, 2008 5:22 am

mattgslater wrote: See... I wouldn't ever bother with a merc skink. To me, mercs are for positions that don't handle the ball.

Fodder doesn't handle the ball!

mattgslater · Post by **mattgslater** » Tue Aug 26, 2008 5:07 pm

Wandering APO costs 10k more than a Merc Skink, and becomes a Merc whatever. When you have 6 Saurus and one Krox, the last thing you need is fodder.

Jural · Post by **Jural** » Tue Aug 26, 2008 8:49 pm

mattgslater wrote:Wandering APO costs 10k more than a Merc Skink, and becomes a Merc whatever. When you have 6 Saurus and one Krox, the last thing you need is fodder.

Hmm, 10k more and a 50% chance to return a player more valuable than a skink to the pitch. I'm glad I posted, I didn't think of that.

2 Blood weiser babes and an extra wandering Apoth may be better investments than 2 merc skinks...

mattgslater · Post by **mattgslater** » Tue Aug 26, 2008 11:22 pm

If you have two Apoths, you can use one on the first BH you suffer, and save the other for a kill or stat loss.

Jural · Post by **Jural** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 12:15 am

mattgslater wrote:If you have two Apoths, you can use one on the first BH you suffer, and save the other for a kill or stat loss.

Agreed! I meant worst case, you are getting a 50% chance to return the player... as long as the "injury" to the better player occurs before a skink killing injury.

CoachScott · Post by **CoachScott** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 7:08 am

A krox would be nice, but you want to keep as many sauri on the l.o.s. as possible, the only way they can level up is through casualties so you want to ensure as many hits per game as you can. Think about getting mighty blow for them asap to give +1 to those injury rolls (and hopefully getting those ssp's).

As for skink skills, sure hands or pass will always pay off. Pass will allow you to 'confidently' run a move-handoff-move-pass-move play (thus moving the ball 24+ squares of movement in one turn!).

mattgslater · Post by **mattgslater** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 3:14 pm

If MB doesn't fit your strategy, you're paying your first improvement for it, or 5SPP plus 5SPP per additional improvement: that is, if you want to get a Block-BT guy, starting out with MB doubles your target SPP (Block at 11 instead of 6, BT at 31 instead of 16), and while it does accelerate your SPP progression, it by no means doubles it. That's a very steep price. I think MB is best taken after Block and maybe Frenzy or BT on a Saurus, and that only in a perpetual league.

MB is really cool in a perpetual league as a #2 for Sauri who already have Block, Break Tackle or Frenzy. But don't waste precious early Saurus skills on late-season investments (which is what early MB is). You need your toolbox NOW, not in five games. Early MB is for Orcs and such, who have heavy S-access and start with the skills they really need, but don't want to fall behind in the late season as the limitations of their statlines (no MA>6, for instance) come home to roost.