Guide: Lizardmen Warband Starting Roster

The Comprehensive Guide to your Starting Lizardmen Warband

Hello everyone!

This guide is the same kind of guide as the Dwarf Treasure Hunters guide I put up approximately two months ago (can be found here). If you feel like testing your strength with the Lizards from the foreign lands of Lustria, I will make sure to give your warband that head start you need to win in the end; this requires that you are familiar with the basic rules of the game, along with the warband’s special rules. This guide is intended for the purpose of maxing your number of Saurus Heroes, while having a very hard-hitting backup group of Skinks, however, I will also include a small chapter on how you would play with an ‘all-Skink’ Hero warband; I would not recommend this for competitive purposes, though their potential for Knife-Fighting is not to be laughed at. Bear in mind, that these warband examples are intended for medium to long campaigning and playing, meaning that you’re probably better off looking somewhere else, if you’re going to play a one-shot.

A few things I’d like to note that before listing the warbands are:

Mark of the Old Ones: By far the most valuable of the marks. For 50gc extra you essentially gain a Wound, a guaranteed successful prayer once pr. game or a successful rout test. I would recommend this on both the Priest and the Totem Warrior simply because with a mark like this, they’re very hard to get rid of. When your Totem Warrior gets Step Aside (which should be his first skill), it is basically an extra Wound, since you can make your test and if you fail, you may choose to pass it anyway. This will make your Totem Warrior the greatest tank you can have and you Priest will be even more feared (especially with Chotec’s Wrath).

Kroxigor: After we nerfed the rules for Frenzy in my group (+1 A no matter attacks on profile), a Kroxigor has been less of a choice in my Lizardmen warbands. If you get Tinci’s Rage as a prayer on your Priest, a Kroxigor is the first choice you should make, if you did not do the same as our group with Frenzy. A whooping 6 Attacks on a S6 W3 target is simply not to be messed with, and you’ll find your enemy routing easily the first several games. However, a Kroxigor is mostly a matter of taste, but I will have some suggestions with a Kroxigor in it.

Scaly Skin: The Alpha & Omega of the Lizardmen warband. With Scaly Skin, Shields give them Light Armour at a price of 5gc each. Light Armour gives Saurus Gromril Armour for the price of 25gc (remember that Skinks cannot use Light Armour). I cannot tell how many times I have made armour saves and my opponent has said ‘of course’, simply because for 30gc on a Saurus Hero, you’ll have a 3+ save. This is also why I tend to buy a lot of Shields on my Skinks, unless I know they will be up against a lot of Blackpowder Weapons. Later on, that guaranteed 6+ save is usually more worth with a Buckler and a Spear; more on that later.

Saurus: As noted, I will guide you towards a warband consisting of a Skink Priest & 5 Saurus Heroes (1 Totem Warrior, 4 Braves). This means that Saurus should be invested in and protected. As aforementioned, Shields, Helmets and Light Armour provide an excellent save, and so does Swords. Also, protecting them will give them a bigger chance to ‘Bite’ back, literally, meaning that you will have more attacks on your enemies. This is also why Saurus Heroes are so much better (not to talk about their phenomenal maximum stats), as they will usually get to strike back.

Skink Great Crests: These can be some real jokers. With their skill sets, you are able to get some interesting combinations, as long as you get Weapons Expert. I would always recommend going for Saurus Heroes, but if you’re not in much luck, these can actually be used for something. Skills like Infiltration, Dodge, Great Hunter, Quick Shot, Weapons Expert and some BS, will quickly render you able to take the high ground and raining down Crossbow bolts on your enemies. Keep in mind though, that you will need both Toughness, Wounds and Healing Herbs against a shooty warband; else you can just wave goodbye to these guys. Another fun tactic is two of these with Infiltration, Dodge, Great Hunter, Hunter, Nimble, Leap & Weapons Expert. Equip them with a Blunderbuss (and Hunting Rifle if you can afford it, else Handgun) and Superior Blackpowder. If you get the first turn, leap in and fire two Blunderbusses straight at your opponent. This will probably make them set up a little different next time. Anyway, this is just some fun things you can do with this warband.

Skink Braves: Should you ever get your hand on one of these (you will), going for Knife-Fighter, Dodge, Leap, Trick Shooter, Jump Up and perhaps Lightning Reflexes and Scale Sheer Surfaces with a Telescope, you can also have a lot of fun (unless you didn’t roll Strength, but why wouldn’t you?). Again, Saurus are the main priority and will become killing machines, but Skinks have their moments.
With that in mind, I present to you my first and favorite warband example:

Skink Priest
Dagger, (Short Bow,) Shield, Helmet & Mark of the Old Ones
Prayer: All can be used with this setup – you can take a Short Bow depending on what prayer you got
Why: Your Priest is not supposed to go in close combat at any point. He is, however, fragile against shooting. As explained in the Scaly Skin section, the Shields are well worth it.

Saurus Totem Warrior
Sword, Shield, Helmet & Mark of the Old Ones
Why: Your Totem Warrior needs maximum protection, however, a Light Armour is still too expensive at this point. Keep him alive in a few games before you really set him loose. When he has both Toughened Hide & Step Aside, he’s hard to kill at range and very hard to kill in melee.

2xSkink Great Crests
Short Bow (& Shield)
Why: Your Great Crests are really not worth much. At some point they will have to be exchanged for some real Heroes. But before that time, you might as well use them for something. Skills like Infiltration, Great Hunter, Dodge, Leap will make sure that they stay alive while collecting objectives for you.

2xSaurus Brave
Dagger, Shield (& Helmet)
Why: Right now these Saurus are your potential Heroes. Keep them in separate groups and keep them alive. If anything must die, make sure it is Skinks (I am sure you opponent will do their best at slaying Skinks, simply because they go down so easily).

2xSkink Brave
Short Bow
Why: These are what you throw out when the going gets tough. If they die, they are easily and cheaply replaced in the beginning. Keep them in one group, but any new ones could go in a new group, so you always have groups of two (because they are the ones supposed to be killed, but you still won’t mind a Lads on one of them, if it comes to that).

Sum up of the warband
Heroes: 4
Henchmen: 4
Total: 8
Rating: 87
Gold remaining: 5/0 (if you went in on items for the Skinks (dependent on your Priest prayer), you’ll have 5gc remaining. If you went for Helmets on the Saurus, you’ll have 0gc left)

Finishing comments
This warband can easily take a victory, but if the dices are not with you, sacrifice the two Skink Braves and on to the next game. As long as your Heroes survived, all is good. On to the next suggestion with the Kroxigor included:

Skink Priest
Dagger & Helmet (since both prayers are out if he gets stunned)
Prayer: Tinci’s Rage or Sotec’s Blessing
Why: This is where your Kroxigor will rock the house, so buff him up. That’s what the Priest is for. Toughness on the Kroxigor is brilliant against shooty warbands, but +1 to hit is also just great.

Saurus Totem Warrior
Dagger & Shield
Why: Once again, protect your Totem Warrior. In this setup he doesn’t have Mark of the Old Ones though, so you can go a bit more all in with him (since he’s not as expensive to replace should it come to that).

2xSkink Great Crests
Short Bow
Why: Once again, not exactly worth much. Keep them alive, but get some shots in.

Saurus Brave
Dagger & Shield
Why: You cannot afford much in this setup due to the Kroxigor, but Saurus Braves are still a priority, so make sure you have at least one with you.

2xSkink Brave
Dagger
Why: Again, keep them in the same group; have them killed if things are not going well.

Kroxigor
Halberd
Why: This is the reason for all the madness, but he can really be a killing machine, even vs. T4 guys, whom he will still wound on 2+.

Sum up of the warband
Heroes: 4
Henchmen: 3
Total: 7
Rating: 97
Gold remaining: 0

Finishing comments
This warband has some real potential, but at a cost. If the Kroxigor dies early, you might as well start over. Make sure to play it safe; rather throw in the Skinks in melee and make sure you can rout when you want. On to the next suggestion, where maximum units are one of the goals, as well as getting the Saurus Heroes early:

Skink Priest
Dagger, (Short Bow), Shield & Helmet
Prayer: All are useable with this warband
Why: Once again the Priest is not meant to go into close combat, but with the right prayer, he might get some shots off. As he has highest BS, now is the time to use that if possible.

Saurus Totem Warrior
Sword, Shield & Helmet
Why: He does not have a mark, but will still need to be taken good care of.

2xSkink Great Crests
Short Bow & Shield
Why: This time we have some cash for Shields, so we might as well use those.

3xSaurus Brave
Dagger & Shield
Why: This is just about getting Saurus Heroes; keep them in separate groups and pray for Lads!

4xSkink Brave
Short Bow
Why: Again, keep them in the same group; have them killed if things are not going well.

Sum up of the warband
Heroes: 4
Henchmen: 7
Total: 11
Rating: 102
Gold remaining: 5/0 (depending on whether you need a Short Bow for your Priest or not)

Finishing comments
This warband could indeed win fights. You have to be extra careful with your Priest and Totem Warrior in this though, as they do not have Mark of the Old Ones, and opponents will take them down if they can. It has more starting potential, but a tiny bit less potential later on, due to the lack of marks. It is perfectly doable to excel with this warband though, and I believe that this is more or less how I started my own Lizardmen warband, which is now the highest rated and most deadly in our group.

I hope I have helped you gain some insight into the world of warband creating. It is definitely something that can improve a warband a lot, to spend the gold right in the beginning. Of course it’s a matter of preference, but sometimes you need to compromise a bit in the beginning to win in the long run. As a finishing note, I’d like to give you a list of important things to get for your warband. It’s great to keep these in mind, as they can help you excel against your opponents:

Lucky Charms (must have for all Heroes)
Rabbit’s Feet (also a must have for all Heroes)
Lanterns (this will boost Saurus detection a lot)
Holy Relics (especially on the Priest if he has Tinci’s Rage)
War Horns (this is really a winner for Lizardmen warbands due to Cold-Blooded)
Bolas (for your Skink henchmen with Short Bows; this item is really underrated in my opinion)
Reptile Venom (for your Skink henchmen with Javelins; hello Strength 5)
Venom Rings (mostly when playing against the Lustrian warbands or Skaven)
Tarot Cards (will really help your exploration, but I’d only take them on Ld8+ Heroes)
Wyrdstone Pendulums (same as with Tarot Cards, but can be taken with Ld7 Heroes as well)
Telescopes (especially great on Skink Brave Heroes, if you have one of those at a point)
Ithilmar Armours (depending on whether your rules allow this for Saurus)

The Skink Priest is a wizard. He may not carry his shield and cast spells. The 'helmet' suggested is assumed to be the Bone Helmet from the Lizardmen equipment list as the Bone Helmet has a special rule that you may cast spells and wear it.

Armor

Quote :

Light Armour gives Saurus Gromril Armour for the price of 25gc (remember that Skinks cannot use Light Armour).

Actually Light Armor always costs 50 gc for Lizardmen. See warband special rules.

Bolas
Useless is an over rating of this item.

The suggested five Saurus heroes path.
One-remember the warband special rules. Skinks must always outnumber Saurus. Two-since the warband starts with four heroes, the path to five Saurus heroes is long and difficult to achieve without some shenanigans in rules interpretation.

The Kroxigor option is one of my favorite options even though I would never have thought to cast Rage on the Kroxigor. A big guy is always a good option for starting warbands as the enemy will struggle to wound it while it chomps on whatever it encounters. I reserve Rage for the Totem Warrior as it increases the likelihood of a hero gaining experience.

Thx à lot aipha!! Going to read it right now! 😁

Thank you for your comments, Von Kurst. I some response for ya!  

Von Kurst wrote:

The Skink Priest is a wizard.  He may not carry his shield and cast spells.  The 'helmet' suggested is assumed to be the Bone Helmet from the Lizardmen equipment list as the Bone Helmet has a special rule that you may cast spells and wear it.

This is incorrect; see Lizardmen Magic section:

Lizardmen Magic wrote:

Lizardmen Spells work like the Prayers of Sigmar and may be used even if the Skink Priest is wearing armor.

Von Kurst wrote:

Armor
Actually Light Armor always costs 50 gc for Lizardmen.  See warband special rules.

This is quite correct; my bad! Our house rules are so old I can barely remember what a Heavy Armour costs! If you use the same house rules as we, Light/Heavy Armour is half price; this applies to Lizardmen as well, though we have thought about changing it, because well, my comment about Gromril for 25gc. Not that 50gc makes it much better ^_^

Von Kurst wrote:

Bolas
Useless is an over rating of this item.

I beg to differ. With enough of these and some higher ground, you can lock one of your hard-hitting enemies for quite some time. Especially I'm doing it with Large Targets, where I don't even need higher ground. They usually stands about for 1 - 3 rounds while taking heavy fire, until they go OOA. With higher ground you can lock down some heavy hitting Heroes as well. Best thing is that it is not based on Strength like Nets, which means it is always 50/50 each round, no matter how strong your opponent is. It is of course a number's game, but have 10 of these and your opponent will hate you. Compared to Nets which is half range, one time use and can only be used by Heroes, not to mention that most prefered targets will have S4 to break free with.

Von Kurst wrote:

The suggested five Saurus heroes path.
One-remember the warband special rules.  Skinks must always outnumber Saurus.  Two-since the warband starts with four heroes, the path to five Saurus heroes is long and difficult to achieve without some shenanigans in rules interpretation.

It is long, but as I mentioned, it ain't bad with a Skink Hero setup; just not as optimal, since they are so squishy. You usually just make sure you have max Saurus Braves and then enough Skinks (which is actually only a 100gc for those extra Skinks). Again, you can always take the Skink Hero on the way and swap it out later when the real Heroes arrive. For instance, my best Lizardmen warband has a Skink with Bow of Seeking as a Hero instead of a Saurus; works just fine. But that's also a choice because I could've had that last Saurus Hero instead (got Lads, but decided the Skink was more fun).

Von Kurst wrote:

The Kroxigor option is one of my favorite options even though I would never have thought to cast Rage on the Kroxigor.  A big guy is always a good option for starting warbands as the enemy will struggle to wound it while it chomps on whatever it encounters.  I reserve Rage for the Totem Warrior as it increases the likelihood of a hero gaining experience.

I understand reserving the Rage for the Totem Warrior, and with our House rules concerning Frenzy, that is what I do as well, but I remember back in the days where my Krox had 6 attacks. Every warband I was against routed after the first round of combat. That's also a way to ensure steady exp for your Heroes, since they'll never go OOA and die. If I was in a campaign with this setup, I'd just go after smashing as many Heroes as possible with that Kroxigor, make sure they'd rout and lose both exploration and perhaps a Hero every once in a while. That would ensure my warband would stay on top. An extra Hero on the Totem Warrior would probably be nice, but if he charges in, the Kroxigor will probably stun something he can take OOA.

Aipha wrote:

This is incorrect; see Lizardmen Magic section:

Like anyone reads the blurb at the top of a magic section. Hate GW editors. Now I'll have to see if there's a blurb for the other Priests who are also Wizards.

OK one for two.

Bolas

Aipha wrote:

I beg to differ.

I am shocked.

I stand by my comment. Bolas are dangerous. The bola does not injure the target, but it can kill the skink. If you use 10 of them in a battle half of your targets will recover with no inconvenience at all, while one or two of your skinks are laying in a pool of blood. Better to just shoot the target with the firing line from the get go.

Higher ground? What's the advantage besides being able to pick your target?