So tonight i have my first game playing lizardmen as part of our local escalation campaign. so first turn is 1000pts, and here is sort of leading up to the game. Ill do a battle report/summary after the game of course. and hopefully getting my first game in will then help me focus on what i should repaint first! "No wake the Prophet," Skink Priest Atacuoatechi communicates in the skink language, a series of chirps and guttural tongue snaps. It is a primitive language, but effective enough to send messages. "Must not disturb him until sunrise tomorrow or not finish spell to vanquish enemy from jungle." With that, he snaps his fingers and orders the skink skirmishers to return to their scouting positions in the jungle surrounding the massive temple where the Slann Lord Itza Techi (which means First in knowledge, or the start of history depending on the translation), The Prophet of the Blood Sand, has entombed himself to study the universe and how the winds of magic will unfurl in the days to come. Skink Priest Atacuoatechi (whose name means the scribe of the lord) recognizes that without the Slann Lord, he must find someone to protect the pyramid against the intruders and although he would like to excerpt himself into that position of authority, he knows that his role is to be ready for Itza Techi’s emergence from the pyramid so he can capture the Prophet’s words and visions. The Slann Lord has already dictated the battle plan to him, in case such a situation would arise, but Atacuoatechi did not really think it could happen this quickly, and now he must think back to the wisdom and direction that Slann Lord Itza Techi had imparted upon him so he can translate it to one of the saurus scar vets. Atacuoatechi is the Lord's Chronicler and Scribe, and as such, has a keen eye for detail and a very adept memory so it is easy for him to remember what to do... He now just needs to find someone to translate the battle plan too. Saurus Scar Vet Boq Gor (whose name roughly translates to “to hurt with weapons”) is the first to respond, and the massive reptile slumbers towards the pyramid. As he arrives he opens his mouth and slithers his tongue back and forth, a sign of challenge or rage or establishing dominance. Atacuoatechi understands his role to the Slann and he fears Boq Gor would pick him up and eat him. Still, Atacuoatechi shows no signs of fear and no sign of reverence to Boq Gor and begins to convey the battle plan as it was told to him by the Slann Lord. With such as small force battle ready, it didn’t not take long, and then Boq Gor stomps past the skink priest and continues back into the jungle. Skink Priest Atacuoatechi shows his disgust by stamping his own skinny, lanky feet, but it doesn’t have the same effect as the loud thudding noise from Boq Gor. Still, Atacuoatechi must do as ordered, and prepare to defend the pyramid, and if it doesn’t include Boq Gor and the saurus warriors then Atacuoatechi will find others to perform the sacred duty. Of course, the temple guard would be ideal for this task, however they are already locked deep in the pyramid as protectors of the Slann Lord, and do not stray far from him. Therefore, the next best defense for Atacuoatechi is the skinks… their ability to skirmish, hide in the jungle and rain down poison ranged attacks would be ideal in this case. Atacuoatechi first orders the two units of skinks to head to the beach to distract and shoot as many of the attackers as possible before they break through the jungle. The Dart Frog unit has blowpipes and can rain numerous poison darts upon the attackers. The other unit, the Wasps, has javelins and shields, and is far better at running forth to attack and then bounding back to the protection of the jungle cover. The hope is that they will be able to pick off some of the attackers before they break into the jungle. Both units are very familiar with the Blood Sand, a large section of this island where the sand appears to be the color of blood. The Slann Lord has told them that the island is alive and spits out the blood of the foes that have fallen within it. This blood is then pushed to the beaches, where it is washed away by the ocean tides. Of course, the all-knowing Slann Lord knows the real cause is from deep below the island, an underwater volcanic rift and the sulfur emitted collects in the sand above and thus discolors it red. But instead of telling this fact to the army it is better that they believe that the jungle is alive and it helps kill their enemies. Next are the chameleon skinks. Even Atacuoatechi can’t tell when they are nearby or how many are in proximity, but he knows that one is always close to the pyramid, just to receive their orders. So Atacuoatechi chirps out for them to go forth and hide in the terrain so they can reveal themselves behind the attackers and quickly take out the enemy with their poison blow darts. Hopefully, the attackers will already be distracted from the skinks in front of them, so the chameleons should have open access to the back of their battle line. Although Atacuoatechi did not see any chameleon to acknowledge their order, he did hear the rustle of leaves so he is confident the message was received and they are already getting in place. So that leaves only the battle line troops left to deploy. Atacuoatechi is not sure if the saurus warriors will show up for the battle, since Boq Gor refuses to take orders from a skink. But Atacuoatechi knows that the skinks and kroxidors will be ready to fight, and is pleased to see one of the spawning has answered his command. This large mixed unit of skinks with javelins and shields and 2 kroxidors has slithered forth from the jungle, and formed at the front of the pyramid. They are not as strong of a melee unit, but their task is to slow down the enemy so the other troops can engage, and hopefully the poison ranged attacks will weaken the enemy before they are able to close on the skink/krox unit. Since this unit has not yet seen battle though, Atacuoatechi is not confident of their capability, and thus they have not yet earned their battle designation. This will be their first test… Still, Atacuoatechi is not comfortable that he has enough strength in the battle line. He knows it will crumble quickly if the ranged attacks don’t weaken them. But some confidence does come back when he sees a group of saurus warriors come forward, led by Boq Gor. This is a good sign, as Boq Gor is a ferocious fighter in battle and his strength is leading the saurus warriors into combat. So this small saurus unit will help shore up the center of the battle line with the skink/kroxidor unit. Atacuoatechi then also scampers out into the jungle, uncomfortable with his army composition, but confident enough that it can win and help preserve the pyramid until Slann Lord Itza Techi can come forth and lead the army. But then the confidence is lost as Atacuoatechi spots the enemy approaching across the sand. The ogres… Of all the enemies to emerge, this is one of the worst possible battles. The ogres are so strong, and will definitely cause fear amongst the skinks because they are so large. Worst yet, they have tough hides and it takes many poison shots to bring just one of them down. Atacuoatechi hopes the battle line will still be strong once it crosses the sand and gets to the lizardmen small center line… if only the Slann Lord was able to support with his powerful magic, but not so. So Atacuoatechi calls forth the winds of magic in hopes the heavens magic can help in some way…. And with that, the winds pick up, and the ogres bellow forth their battle cries, and the battle begins. The ogres are led by a slaughtermaster, who is of course immune to poison, and is massive, standing a whole head taller than the regular ogres, who of course as huge on their own. There are 2 units of 6 ogre bulls, each with bellower and standard. Also 2 units of 3 ledbelchers, who are perhaps the most dangerous part of the ogre army as they hold and fire cannons full of scrap metal, which can bring down entire units of skinks in one blast, or if nothing else cause they to run away in panic. Finally, there are 2 sabretusks that also can bring down skink units on their own. Atacuoatechi can only hope that the chameleon skinks will be in place and able to take down the sabretusks or the ledbelchers early in the fight so that the skink skirmishers can concentrate fire on the bulls before they get across the battlefield and into combat. And then suddenly there is a loud battle yell, and the massive ogres begin to take up their battle positions.