Salamanders in Review, Part 4

Finally the final portion of my review of the Salamanders list, and what I personally consider to be the most important part of the army, the Heroes.  This section is very important to defining how a Salamander list will play, and theres multiple ways you can build the Hero section up, acting as your chaff/support/hammer to plug gaps in the list.  The best chaff unit in Salamanders is in this section, and it's pretty unfortunate because it causes the list to feel very unlock strained in my experience, I'll often want 6 units from here but can only realistically fit 4-5.  Also as a reminder I covered Firebrand in part 2, but enough with the intro bits, onto the review!

Grading Scale:

The grading scale isn't so much of a view of how effective that unit is compared to all units in the game, rather it's a scale of how justifiable are the points spent going to be on that unit.  These are also assuming a 2000 point or higher standard

It goes as follows:

A's - Units that should always be included in the list, either because there is no other option in it's role (Kaisenors fall in this category, due to the lack of other cavalry or speed options in faction), or because it is the best way to spend the points. 

B's - Units that are almost always gonna be good for return on investment, they are consistent, fulfill a role very well in the army, but you could have situations where another unit will be better. 

C's - Units that are more situational in where they excel, or perform a role already fulfilled by another unit that is a better choice. 

D's - Units that are very corner case in their application, or fulfill a role very poorly compared to other similar options. 

F's- Units that probably shouldn't be an option.  Either far too points inefficient or don't fulfill any conceivable role in the list.  As far as I'm aware there isn't an F unit in the game, that I've seen anyways.

+'s and -'s imply they're borderline between the two connecting grades, so a B+ unit is almost good enough to be basically an auto take, while a C- unit is a really tough argument that there isn't something in the list that could do what it does better.

Clan Lord -

(One of the units to gain Vicious in CoK17)

I'll be forward with saying I have not taken the Clan Lord without his favorite pet fire drake out to play with yet, it's an option that I always think about but will typically toss out due to points.  However I have seen some lists that have been very successful with this unit, although I'm not sure if that's because of or despite of this unit.  His attacks are pretty low for what is almost always a 170 pt unit, if you don't go Honeymaze for him, although with vicious he will almost always wound whatever he hits.  You could add Honeymaze to a mounted Clan Lord for a counts as Pegasus style unit, but I wouldn't really suggest it as 210 points for 5 attacks is a hard sell.  Firebolt is also a trap upgrade I feel, you have to take the mounted option to get LoS easily, and you hit on 6's if he's behind your lines or you're shooting stealthy/individual.   

Overall I'm going to give him a C+, I've seen him in winning lists so I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt here, but this could change once I get a list I'm happy with running him in.

Herald -

So when I mentioned the best chaff unit in Salamanders, this is it.  80 points for super nimble, speed 8, def 5, self inspiring.  He also has Cs1 Tc1 for those cheeky disorders on cavalry or casters, and he's even gotten fliers disordered for me too.  Obviously that shouldn't be the crux of your master plan, but it's a nifty tool for your arsenal to keep in mind.  He can take the war bow or sunstone if you'd like, although there's nothing wrong with leaving him blank.  The hardest part for me building lists with this guy is I want 4, and then need other unlocks for the bigger heroes. 

Overall this guy is an easy A, take 1 at least, if not 2-3.  It's not as good as Gargoyles or Beast packs at chaff, but really nothing else is in the game. 

Mage Priest -

Another solid option in Salamanders, I personally don't take these guys due to using my hero slots for Heralds and Clan Lords on Drakes, but there is really nothing wrong with Mage Priests.  They basically cost 110 if you're looking to use the fireball offensively, but they can also be on foot to follow primes/ghekkotahs with bane chant if you would like.  Elite it nifty on a lot of these spells, and Weakness definitely has some potential to follow prime hordes with.  In elemental lists these are necessary, and surge 8 with elite is pretty solid for pushing, not quite as good as surge 12 necromancers but respectable.  Much like the Heralds, you can use these as 110 point chaff/counter chaff units that have more punch if you would like, 2 attacks with Cs1 Tc1 elite can do something if you really need that disorder, and 10 fireball can scare off chaff with some help. 

Overall these guys are a B, almost a B+ unit but I think there are other options in the hero slots that compete pretty harsh with the priest after the CoK changes.  Obviously they are A's with elementals, and I doubt you'll ever be upset with what they do for the points.  Only knock is lack of lightning bolt but its understandable.

Battle Captain -

The unit that is almost really good, I want to love this stat line soooo much, but I just can't get him to work how I want. The foot Battle-Captain would be great if he had a mount.  Even if it was 30 points, I'd love him at 105 with speed 8, really fitting that hard hitting counter/chaff feel a lot of the heroes have in Salamanders.  But alas, he is permanently banned from the kaisenor pen.  There's really only one way that I've found to run him, and that's with Honeymaze.  He plays a lot like the king does in Dwarves in that role. 4 attacks with CS2 is great for a 115 point flier, and shuts down casters or dragons fairly consistently.  I used one at Fools of War to shut down some Gore Riders in game 3, and although he always gets killed by his target, one turn of stall is sometimes all it takes to win.

Overall he's a C- except with Honeymaze, where he goes to B territory.  If you don't have any fliers in your list, take this guy or the Skylord at least to contest a dragons movement, it helps an awful lot.

Battle Captain on a Rhinosaur -

Ever want to crush your enemies and see them driven before you? then this is the hero for you, CS 2 TC 2 Brutal on a 50mm square base is nasty, and this guy can do some work.  135 points is a really nice area for this type of hero, and I probably wouldn't put any items except maybe inspiring talisman depending on how many heralds/clan lords i'm running or Pathfinder if tagging him with Primes.  While he is speed 7, I probably wouldn't put him by the cavalry, as Kaisenors tend to kill whatever they charge regardless.  This guy is really ace at supporting your regular infantry, adding 4 wounds to almost any unit and brutal so proxy 5 for that roll means you can pop a lot of hordes if you double charged him with a horde of primes.   He's also one of the main reasons I haven't run regular Clan Lords yet, they both cost about the same, but the Battle Captain is just more bang for your buck if your running a lot of heralds. 

Overall this guys runs at a B-, he's very playable and is a bit more finicky to get working than an individual, but in general you don't need much more than 1 good charge for him to really pay off. 

Ghekkotah Clutch Warden -

So this unit exists, on paper even.  But just don't take them, 85 points for 3 whole attacks that hit on 4's with no modifiers except vicious is trash.  For 5 points less a Herald will do as much in melee as this guy and have def 5 for chaffing, and Mage Priests are only 25 more points for a way better unit.  If he cost like 55-60 there could be a case for this guy, but there's nothing he will add to a list other than a roadblock that might get snake eyes from inspiring.

Overall D-, and this is probably an F to be honest. I just can't see a situation where a Herald isn't strictly better than this, or any other armies cheap hero unit. 

Ghekkotah Skylord -

As bad as the clutch warden is, the Skylord is really good.  I've seen a lot of people say this is one of the must take units in Salamanders, and I don't necessarily agree with that, but the guy will perform very well.  Unlike the clutch warden, the skylord gets a real amount of attacks, and hits on 3's so will actually do something half the time.  He also flies, and is about as cheap as flyers come in most armies.  While he won't carry your game, give him blade of the beast slayer and he can prove to be a real nuisance to monsters or special units, and in general can chaff pretty well.  He's pricier than a battle captain with Honeymaze though, and they both perform very similar roles.  In my play experience they both tend to do about the same, although the Skylord has some better magic item combos and is height 3/benefits from flanks so can be a bit better at flanking.   

Overall this guy gets a B, I don't think he's as necessary to lists as some people might describe, but you'll never really regret taking him along.  The battle captain being typically 35-40 points cheaper makes some good competition for the role however, and that's honestly a very good thing for the list as a whole.

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Clan Lord on Fire Drake -

I saved this guy for last because this is the unit I've played with the most since I first got the army.  I have always loved dragons and dinosaurs since I was a kid, even playing Ratkin I ran double dragons.  So for this review i'm going to split it into two parts, with and without wings.  They play dramatically different and so should be graded as though they were two separate units.

Clan Lord on Fire Drake without wings -

This is the better choice in terms of pure points efficiency, at 235 you're not really overpaying for those attacks since they hit better and harder now than when you paid 190 for the regular Fire Drake, and the breath attack 16 with vicious lets you support your infantry very well, softening up units or killing support casters/standard bearers behind the combat.  I've run 3 of these guys without wings as an Anti Air group, and breath attack 48 vicious tends to scare off a lot of fliers from going too near the flanks of your line.  I'd strongly suggest taking the Banner of the Griffin if you run one, as he is usually behind the majority of your army anyways.  You can also run these with Kaisenors/Rhinosaurs if you'd like, the breath attack can support them pretty well with the speed 7.  There's a lot that this unit can do for you, and I have used one as the lynchpin of my army in almost every game I've played with Salamanders. 

Overall he's a B+, I really want to make him an A but I don't feel like you have to be running one of these to be competitive in Salamanders.  They are reeeeaaly effective, but if you run say Ancients on Rhinosaurs then they kind of take up the dragon role for you. 

Clan Lord on Fire Drake with wings -

This is the choice that gets knocked an awful lot, and some of its pretty fair.  The nerve is pretty poor for a 280 point unit, and you have the lowest attack stat out of all the dragons for those points.  The breath attack is great, but compared to say the high elf dragon which is all of 30 points more and has basically the same breath attack but more attacks and 2 better nerve, the complaints are valid. 

However with all that said, this is probably one of the top 3 dragons the RC have come up with.  Not because it's bad for the efficiency, but because it's honestly a choice to bring one, not a compulsion.  In varangar it's really hard to not feel compelled to bring Herja or the King on chimera, the Elves have been long defined by their kindred lords.  Salamanders can bring a very solid dragon, but don't have too.  And yes, this is a very solid dragon.  My competitive list runs 2 right now, because everything I said that was great about the fire drake with out wings this guy can do if I need, but I can also go out and hunt.  Being able to stake my own aggressiveness if I'm behind on the speed stat is very important to list building, especially so in a list without access to 24" shooting beyond Komodons.  But I could pretty easily run the without wings version and play a tighter more compact army, should I want too, much like the list I ran at Fools of War.   

Overall this guy gets a B, and the RC get an A for making a dragon that isn't overbearing, and is actually fun to use beyond just dingus punching. 

Conclusion

That wraps up the review of the Salamander army for KoW! I really think the Heroes are the key to making a good Salamander list, beyond the basic bits of Kaisenors and Primes with 2-3 of whichever monster you want.  There's a lot of room for variety here, and you can justify almost any pick save the clutch warden within the scope of army roles.  I hope you guys have enjoyed this series, it's been a really great experience sharing this with everyone!