Dear fellow Lizardmen players,

I have recently been pondering what you could call an ethical dilemma: do you consider the use of two units of Salamanders to be cheesy?

Now, myself, I'm torn with indecision over the matter: on the one hand, a part of my brain tells me that, tactically, it sounds like a good idea. On the other hand, however, another part of my brain tells me that no, if I take 2 units of Salamanders in my army, I will be eternally ostracized and hated as a cheesemonger, and that I shall be lumped in with those who take 4 RBTs/3 Wraithlords/11 Ratling Guns in their armies.

What do you guys think?

I don't play lizzies, but I'd say it depends on the size of your army. In 1000 points, some might think it's cheesy, but personally I see no problem about playing 2 units of Salamanders in larger games of 1500 or 2000 points because, anyway, your opponent should normally have what it takes to balance things up.

But if you think it might be cheesy in your own army, I'm pretty sure some of your opponents will whine about it. But I just don't know how good Salamanders are, so I'm afraid I'll have to let Chili answer your question.

Two questions must be considered:

1. How big are the units of Salamanders?

2. Who do you regularly play against?

I consider two units of two Salamanders to be acceptable in most circumstances. One unit of three and one unit of two is probably pushing it; two units of three is definitely OTT.

If you usually play against people with heavily armoured or high toughness troops, then the Salamander tolerance rises: I wouldn't have any truck with a Dwarf player complaining about an overabundance of Sallies. An Empire or Elf player, on the other hand, would definitely have grounds for complaint - elves in particular. You probably also want to consider how your regular opponents perceive the cheddar content of Sallies.

So, my answer is "it depends". But if in doubt, use a Stegadon instead. Stegadons rock, and people don't call them cheesy. In the end, the game's about having fun, so if you think the people you play against would have their own fun damaged or impinge on yours by grumbling about your selections, it's probably best to err on the side of caution.

My opponents tend to vary (though a few recently-recurring opponents are Dwarfs, Wood Elves, Tomb Kings, Orcs and some dreaded MSU Ogre Kingdoms). I agree with you that 5+ Salamanders are probably out of the question (and it would be cheaper for me to get buy only one extra Salamander). The thing I've noticed though, is that against shooty armies like Dwarfs, my Saurus block army tends to suffer: two units of Sallies could not only give me some "return fire" options, but also force "camping" armies (whether they are firepower-heavy or not) to actually come to me in order to get rid of those evil Sallies-- in which case my Saurus, being the primarily defensive troops that they are, will actually see combat.