I like Scar-Vet Cowboys. Tooled up and placed in the right spot, these guys are like surgeons. I'm so used to having the 160ish point Cowboy running around causing mayhem that I'm a bit unsure about taking a cheaper one to boost the combat potential of my Saurus. The +2 armor save from the Cold One is huge, IMO. But... I've been seeing lots of people taking cheap heroes in other armies to boost up their blocks. Things like Skaven Chieftains and Empire Captains (which are considerably cheaper) but add some nice bonuses to the unit. (Lead from Behind, Hold the Line) Do any of you run a Scar-Vet on foot in a Saurus block? Is it worth it or is it just a waste of points? I feel that the guy on foot would compete for the same points as my shiny new Beast Priest. On top of that, they don't bring in a special rule that makes the Saurus all that much better. If you were to run a Scar-Vet on foot, how would you kit him out? Keep him cheap? Spend some points on magical gear? Thanks for your thoughts on this. Got some games coming up and I want to try out some new tricks.
I use a Scarvet on Cold One inside the Saurus warrior unit. As this hero has the same footprint as 2 models it can fit inside the unit. Giving real damage output to the unit, and if it is needed, you can charge with the hero alone to a fight your main block cannot hold (or they just give free wounds to the enemy). And with luck you maybe win it. And in 2K games i use a nearly naked slann and a cheap oldblood on foot w/ halberd or Additional HW in the temple guard. (this Oldblood is awesome with savage beast of horrors) Whatever you do with them you must ensure they have at least a 2+ armour save to avoid those pesky foes to wound your heroes. If your scarvet or oldblood has to die, do it in a mighty & epic clash against elite/heroes. (plz dont let them die like achilles... str3 arrows to the tallon) Hail and Kill.
I like running him in a saurus block where he gets a 2+ "Look out Sir". If the enemy has lots of cannons I almost every time get the "Ironcurse Icon" so I dont run out of saurus warriors. Sometimes I take "crowncommand" to have a stubborn block of saurus warriors that almost kills everything but for the moment I was recommended to take "Armour of destiny" and a GW this would come in handy when challenged a 3+ armour save and a 4+ ward save and dont forget 4 hits strenght 7 attacks when you hit back
actualy they don't get a 2+ look out sir, since they are different troop types, (calvery vs infantry)
I use one in my big block of saurus as a BSB with a razor standard. 20+ str 4 attacks with armor piercing work well for me. That said, I am not a very experienced player so there are probably better uses for him that I haven't tried yet.
I also like scar-vets, I like them a lot actually. Cowboys never fail me, they are great. As for scar-vets on foot...I'm not a fan. The problem for me is his survivability. Yes he has T5, but his armour save isn't all that great. His damage output is pretty good, give him a sword of might or sword of striking and he will do good. Also: Saurus warriors tend to have a bad time vs S5/S6 opponents. They carve through their T4 and armour save like it's nothing. Scar-veterans don't do much better vs high strenght opponents, they can allocate their attacks on the character and smash him, leaving the unit without their punch. Saurus warriors are a great grinding unit, very well suited against S3 and S4 opponents. S5+ is where they need support. Magic will do that, as will supporting charges. Stegadons and cowboys come to mind. Cowboys are better suited to support your infantry blocks IMO. They can run around wreaking havoc, denying enemy cavalry a charge, hold up a detachment of monstrous infantry...you know, the stuff cowboys do. If things go bad, they can turn around and help. Or, if they are still in combat with an enemy, that enemy unit is not in combat with your saurus warriors. So it's an indirect help. Also, the improved survivability on the cowboys is a great boon. As for the LoS; My armies use stegadons, slanns and bastiladons. What I'm trying to say is that there are other more scary targets than your mounted scar-vet in a unit (who still gets a 4+ LoS roll IIRC). So I'm not that worried about my cowboy getting sniped out of his unit. The Hunted
My local meta doesn't target characters much. So I can once in a while sneak in Scar Vets with no magical armor and let them wrack up CR for me. If I do this every game my opponents will wise up though so I alternate between bare bones Saurus and Saurus with Ward save armor. If I put a mounted Scar Veteran in a infantry block, I always give them Armor of Destiny or Fortune because I've had bad experiences losing Scar Veterans to template shooting with no look out sir.
My mounted scar-vets rarely leave home without a ward save. Partly because they do double-duty (support saurus and do usual cowboy stuff), and partly because I like them to be as tough-as-nails. And my opponents know what scar-vets can do, as they are on the receiving end; so they target him. A lot. I still like him over 'just more saurus', as he can take quite some punishment. The Hunted
For the cost of 2 cowboys, you can get 3 scar vets on foot: Light armor, enchanted shield, biting blade Light armor, dragon helm, shield, sword of might Armor of Fortune, shield, sword of striking 340 points for the trio, and they all have 2+ armor. They give a pretty good defensive boost to the saurus blocks and add a bit more hitting power too. It's a pretty good idea for when opponents starting thinking about sniping your expensive heroes (cannons, lore of shadow, etc). -Matt
I just use gor-rok because he's a beast and alongside my templeguard unit gives me 2 stubborn and immune to psychology units. Plus the fact his immune to killing blow on a 2+, 2+ save, re-rolling all hits and 5+ predatory fighter is insane. I rarely don't pull 5 - 6 hits with this guy
3 scar vets in the front rank with a champ, add an old blood if you can. Ward saves as best you can. Combat res with that amount of attacks and the ranks of saurus behind which basically cannot be hit back should see you mopping up. Add a razor banner and your core tax is doing ok. Add the bastilidon buffs and theoretically your looking good....I think