Hi All, Looking to add some salamanders to my army, currently rocking a pretty defensive game based around Kroak and about 30 Guard (with a warden and astro bearer). I've got several support units, in an Engine and Basti, with a few heroes and an Oldblood on Carnosaur. (I have the starter set so can also add the Saurus Knights but wasn't going to run them). I also have an assembled unit of 3 Ripperdactyls, while not strictly defensive, they were a bit of a fun conversion project (coming soon to a thread near you), and I like their rules. I've put together some salamanders from bits, and I think they look pretty cool, so I want to run them, but only have enough bits for two, is this enough? I've seen a few threads that mention one or three, would a unit of two be effective? Or are the wounds better placed elsewhere given the rest of the army? At my local GW we don't play much around lists, just a "Yeah, that match looks fair" mentality! In b4 "it's AOS, you can take anything!"
One can get the job done, two feels like back up, and three is where they shine. If you have enough bits for two, go for it, you won't regret it. Think about a way to get a third though, if you're on a budget, some old dinosaur models repainted act as a great sub in, no one will bat an eye. You also only need one Skink Handler for a unit to get the buff.
I'm glad to hear 3 is a good number. It's exactly how many I own and exactly how many I intend on owning! (unless a new kit is released and they're super awesome looking...)
I've had some success running 4 Salamanders (minimum 4 or 2 groups of 2, no skink handlers) as a kind of 'heavy supporting-fire group' that accompanies infantry. I have also enjoyed running them downfield with a Troglodon and some skink handlers to grab up land early/make a path for slower units. As a general note, I have not had good fortune running Salamanders/handlers unsupported (except during the late game, and only if they are healthy). Some stuff in our warscrolls can do that (Razordons, yum - bye Chaff!), but Sals don't seem to do it especially well. In my melee-heavy/infantry-heavy armies, they are automatically included and accompany blocks' flanks as a kind of delivery mechanism. This manner of usage compliments both their short-range shooting attack & relatively fragile profile, keeping them mostly unharmed for later turns. Their 'many-hats' design makes them extremely effective in the late-game if they are kept healthy; in my experience, their versatility has allowed them to pursue weakened units/lone heroes or monsters (in any manner of your choosing) with great results. For this reason, I do not use them as chaff (we have much better options, like Terradons). In addition, it's a role that will save you the extra wounds that would have been spent on Skink Handlers, which aren't really necessary in this type of build; the extra range isn't needed, because melee is gonna be coming at your infantry blocks regardless. Maybe it's counter-intuitive, but I prefer Sals over Razordons in this capacity, which is really weird for me to be saying because I always preferred Razors over Sals in 8th. o_o Woah. Weird. I am not used to saying that at all. The damage caused by their 'Stream of Fire/It Burns' effect is much more substantial against units that would have already been taking Battleshock tests (rather than being limited to the shooting phase, where it's just kinda meh), so it's important that the foe has some susceptibility to Battleshock. If the enemy-in-range is a monster, well, that monster's probably in for trouble regardless and your opponent has made a costly mistake. Anyway, in the shooting phase, 3 attacks will likely hit, with 2 likely wounding, and at a -2 Rend, you could very well be seeing 2 failed saves (opening the door to 2D6 damage). That's an alright bit of damage (not a phenomenal average at all coming from a soft 12-wound unit), but the real beauty for me has been the lasting effect via 'It Burns!' mortal wounds. The 4+ is the barrier here, but it's not an especially bad one. If nothing else, it reminds me why I field them as support. =P Testing for 2D3 mortal wounds prior to combat is not only stressful, but it wreaks hell on a monster's damage table/unit's Battleshock test, potentially turning a won round into a lost one (especially when compounded with wounds from shooting & combat). On top of that, scoring 3D3 'It Burns!' with 4 Salamanders ain't exactly unrealistic. More frustrating is that your opponent either can't shoot at them due to having melee-only units/no LOS, or it'll probably be pointless to shoot at them/charge them instead of their accompanying infantry block. Low 'It Burns!' rolls will see you negating a unit size bonus to a large squad's Battleshock (not bad) or killing off some models from smaller multi-wound-model units (pretty good). Decent rolls, however, will put a massive strain on your opponent's strategy - Salamanders are devastating against beat-up units. They have such a withering (corrosive? ) effect that one good combat with their added support will likely enable your large block to withdraw from combat and look further downfield, while they rip up the remaining fodder. To wrap up, I've typically fielded this 'squadron' between infantry blocks, usually our less impressive ones (skinks/saurus) or damaged ones. Whether that's toward the center of the field depends on the battle type, but they'll find a nice home toward the center of your forces (or, if you choose to stack heavy to one side, slightly behind the front line of & far beside the leading force). Most battles, my 4 Sals have bounced from damaged unit to damaged unit, effectively extending my infantry's longevity at times when they would have been wiped out by the enemy (or reduced beyond useability). If you anticipate taking both Salamanders and a monster, then consider utilizing that monster with them. If you like the thought of a monster tandem, they actually synergize pretty well with the Troglodon. You may need Skink Handlers to aid them in this capacity, but a Troglodon will let you shift your Salamanders away from the infantry that keeps them safe, and it alters their army role from combat support to a much more engaged, downfield utility. You could probably run 3 if you plan to do it this way, but I prefer starting the game with 4. Don't get me wrong: this isn't a super-offensive combination, but it's one that vanilla units/slow units/elite melee units will have a pretty hard time approaching if you can seize some open field. Played aggressively, your opponent is going to have to consider whether the part of the board that your monsters are occupying is worth the effort/resources/change in strategy required to evict them. I don't know the term for it, but they threaten space very effectively. It's going to buy you some time, and it'll give you substantial room to breathe/advance. They further compound one another's 'support fire' role since the Troglodon subtracts an additional point from Bravery, its Oracle unbinds the spells that your opponent should definitely be throwing at the Salamanders, it possesses the early-game mobility/range to actually keep up with the Salamanders and grab land early (as I mentioned previously), its ranged attack will make chaff/cav think twice about getting too close (charge bonus from spit is pretty nuts here), plus, it's an Arcane Vassal. Added protection/utility for a potential Slann. Now we're seeing a crapton of utility & synergy happening here. Mystic Shield for 4+ Sals, anyone? Maybe summon some more troops downfield? Summon an Astrolith Bearer, perhaps? Nifty! If I had to assign two units to a tandem (which is usually a good idea when composing an army, and then making tandems into tandems, etc.), these two make a pretty good one. Skinks can be thrown into the mix if you have nowhere else to put them, but these fellas have almost never needed a screen for me. TLDR: Alone, 4 Salamanders are just a nice heavy-fire (or, 'heavy-acid,' rather ) early-game support tandem, and it allows them to easily shift into a chaffy/clawy late-game role. Kept healthy, they're a cool option that evolves as the game progresses. If your opponent gets comfortable seeing them near blocks, it'll very likely lead you into some highly advantageous spots after turn 3. Fielded with a Troglodon/handlers, their role CAN change entirely to blitz land and threaten space, but it also works just fine in that reserved capacity w/ infantry (allowing you to hold onto them for later). I hope that these opinions are helpful. Hm.. I feel like I didn't give my beloved Razordons enough credit in this thread. Maybe I'll do another write-up for them. They're great with a Troglodon as well, but they have other strengths in a different format.
Interestingly I only run one salamander(I only own one so ya haha). From what I found, keeping in mind where I play, we do smaller battleplan games(about 75ish wounds each), one salamander is a good armor killer/hero hunter/monster hunter. She generally stays around most of the game because usually my opponents are more worried about killing the stegadon or saurs warriors or the scar vet on carnosaur or slann or bastiladon. She really only dies when I throw her in to close combat. Also odd note I never bring handlers when I have wound caps on my lists. YES, they do make you shoot farther BUT other then that they waste points which I could be using on MUCH better things. The salamander's movement is fast enough where I normally never miss that extra 4 inches. I definitely agree with everyone else here, the more you have, the better.