Just to get the ball rolling, I’ll start off with summarizing some of the things that have been said by me in regards to mount options for the Sorcerer-Prophets, but first, here’s some links to previous threads on the same subject:
And the following section of text is an updated summary from me from the following thread: LoA Lammasu from SoM
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FAQ Reminder Re: Lammasu upgrades
Firstly, the Tamurkhan FAQ from Forge World specifically states that a Lammasu mount may take upgrades from the Lammasu profile in the Storm of Magic book. When considering the Great Taurus, however, although it is also listed in the Storm of Magic book, the Legion of Azgorh army list does not refer the reader to the Storm of Magic suppliment, so the Legion of Azgorh Great Taurus does not get the option of taking upgrades like the SoM GT (Flaming Breath and/or Bloodrage)!
Comparison Shopping: Taurus points cost
Taking a Great Taurus as a mount for your LoA Sorcerer-Prophet costs 30 points less than a straight-up Storm of Magic Great Taurus without any of its upgrades (remembering that the LoA Great Taurus does not get access to any Storm of Magic upgrades). Otherwise, however, the Legion of Azgorh and Storm of Magic Great Taurus profiles are the same.
An additional word of note on the Tauruses and points costs, in the interest of comparing and contrasting points costs - The Legion of Azgorh Bale Taurus, which can also be taken as a mount option for a Sorcerer-Prophet, comes with Flaming Breath, +1T and +1W over a regular Great Taurus. In this instance the Bale Taurus costs +20 points more than an equivalent Great Taurus from the Storm of Magic upgraded with Flaming Breath.
Comparison Shopping: Lammasu points cost
Moving on to the Lammasu, this mount upgrade costs +25 points more than a straight-up Lammasu from Storm of Magic, but in this case there’s no other differences, except that we may also choose from any of the Storm of Magic options for the Lammasu (upgrade to Lv.2 Wizard, Mace Tail, and/or Sorcerous Exhalation).
Points Cost Shopping Summary: The short version
LoA Great Taurus costs -30 points vs Storm of Magic
LoA Bale Taurus costs +20 points vs Storm of Magic Great Taurus with Flaming Braeth (but also has +1T, +1W)
Loa Lammasu costs +25 points vs Storm of Magic
Points Cost Shopping Summary: The longer version with nuggest of goodness!
Overall, you get a break on points cost for the Great Taurus, which seems like the best bargain. For the others, you’re paying some small additional cost for the added benefit of it being a mount as opposed to a stand-alone Monster (assuming you could pick one, if playing Storm of Magic). I chalk the reason for the difference up to the added in-game benefit of it being a mount, with all of the added bonuses they bring the rider, plain and simple. With either of the Tauruses if your rider is your General your inspiring presence extends now to 18" the rider is afforded an improved armour save for being mounted, and it’s up to you whether the -30/+20 points helps or hinders your army. Considering the Lammasu, I’d argue that the +25pts is a bargain, as you gain the increased Inspiring Presence radius, +1 Armour Save, if I’m not mistaken, the rider also benefits from the Lammasu’s Magic Resistance (3) special rule, it’s a caster, and grants two additional and potentially useful tools/tricks to keep in mind: i)Taking a Lammasu is the only way to unlock access to the Lore of Shadow for the Legion of Azgorh. ii) The Lammasu has the Sorcerous Miasma special rule, which nullifies magic weapons (not armour or other items) of models in base contact with the Lammasu. It can be a nasty little surprise for either lone enemy characters or enemy characters hiding within a unit!
As I don’t really use my Prophet mounted I will talk more about his uses on foot.
As the Sorcer Prophet will be your General, consideration needs to be taken in to account for units requiring his Leadership boost. So Hobgoblin focused core armies will need him near the front Steadfast Rerollable Leadership 6 won’t actually last long. But without this requirement your general can happily move around the battlefield leaving your BSB in charge.
He is probably best placed in a large block of Infernal guard, with a Castellan who can accept undesirable charges. Where he is a very good combat Wizard, He is not a fantastic spell casting Combat Lord. However, he can take down some powerful opponents when equipped well.
As he comes with a Darkforged weapon, you may as well use it rather than waste the value swappin it for annother magic weapon (unless you have a specific tactic requiring one), just play with the strength of what is rolled. The flame template effect can be quite exceptional if used in combat or challenge as you get 2D6 autohits.
With that in mind, and the fact he is your main caster, you should equip defensively. It is easy to get a 2+ 4++ using the Talisman of preservation and Enchanted shield, But with his high toughness the Trickster’s Helm (enemy rerolling wounds) and the Stone Mantle can be a cheeky combo against many low srength (below S6) attacks. Alternatively the Dawnstone along with the Mask of the Furnace for a rerollable 3+ and 4++. Do not be afraid to use him to his full potential as even if he does die, your army will likely still fight on (except the Hobgoblins!).
Blood of Hashut has amazing potential, for the low price I always take it. Combined with the Other Trickster’s Shard, forcing the enemy to reroll Wards, it can take out a heavily armoured combat Lord quite easily, or at least wound them enough to finish off. Remember that this can also be used to great effect against high armour save warmachines/monsters such as chariots or the Sphinx for example.
As your main caster his role can change a lot depending on the lore taken. If he is not needed near the front for leadership reasons, place him at the back with your warmachines (for an extra reroll) and use either the Lore of Fire for long ranged offensive spells and augments or the Lore of Metal for very useful Augments and good offense against heavily armoured opponents. Just remember not to move your units too far forward from this baseline out of his range.
If you have him in your main combat block of infernal guard, I advise equipping him with the earthing rod and placing him in the corner of your unit to mitigate misscast damage. I can really ruin your plans.
For more aggresive tactics, Lore of Death is great for sniping enemy characters as they approach and also can be great combined with all the Fear and Terror casuing options in the army. You can easily have every unit in your army causing Fear or Terror with a few well placed items.
Lore of Hashut has great synergy with the army, the one annoyance is not being able to have a level two with it also to have access to all six spells, this means you may not get the better two spells in the lore. However all spells are very good and seems to me to play like a combination of Fire and Death lores. Flames of Azgorh is quite near the top of the list for best spell in the game, being able to be placed anywhere on the board in line of sight and have a good chance to instantly kill is very intimidaing! The signature spell can also be handy and good to count on, it really can make the difference with your core troops. Cast the larger version it early on to affect all your troops as it remains in play, then if you have spare dice in later turn cast the smaller version on your important units so it’s not all dispelled at once.
Overall he is a very tough, combat capable spellcaster. He is offensive enough to fight off combat heroes and the like, but should be used more for his awesome magic potential. Be wary of misscast damage (to homself and others nearby) and characer assassins.
MLP did a great job above! So instead, I will just add on.
I will offer my opinion on Daemonsmiths. In smaller games they are absolutely necessary as there is no other way to get a spell caster in the game. Even though they do not have access to the Lore of Hashut, they have access to Metal, Fire and Death, and all three of these lores work well with LoA armies.
I have found that my biggest struggle is uber characters (vampire lords or lords of chaos). The LoA list does not have any characters fighty enough to take these guys on, so one or two Daemonsmiths with the lore of Death is almost mandatory. A month ago I played a game against VC who had a ghoul king, I got lucky and on the second turn sniped him with the Lore of Death. After that the game was a cake walk as he had nothing strong enough to fight me and my units point for point were better then his.
Lore of Fire and Metals is good as well, however neither of them fills a role in your army that something else cannot. Your warmachines can shoot your opponent and you already have good armour saves. Therefore, I find the Lore of Death most useful as it definitely fills a hole that the LoA list has.
I always deploy my Daemonsmiths with my warmachines. This if for two reason:
1) the obvious, to use that re-roll to avoid misfires or when if you really need your artillery to hit that turn. 2) as body guards. Not strong enough to take on a ranked up unit, however, when armoured with a magic shield they can take on cheap fliers or skirmishers. Note: avoid Hexwriaths like the plague! One game I moved my Daemonsmith to intercept a unit of 5 Hexwraiths and he ran over him inflicting 5 auto S5 hits with no armour save . . . and dead.
Put the Enchanted Shield om your sorcerer lord (2+ save in combat) and the Charmed shield on your Deamonsmith warmachine baby sitter (to get that 2+ doge on than cannon ball hit).
If you play smaller games and only have a Demonsmith as general. put him in a unit and give him the charmed shield, if he miscasts he gets the 2+ dodge on the magic hit and as he needs to take a T Test as well this drastically improves his chances of surviving the miscast.
The signature spell can also be handy and good to count on, it really can make the difference with your core troops. Cast the larger version it early on to affect all your troops as it remains in play, then if you have spare dice in later turn cast the smaller version on your important units so it's not all dispelled at once.
MLP
Can you cast it multiple times? Same goes for Ashstorm, can it be casted on unit B once in effect on unit A?
You can’t cast the same spell with the same caster in the same magic phase.
If multiple casters somehow have the same spell, they may cast it in the same phase (signature spells, loremaster etc).
However, the signature spell for Lore of H. can’t often be cast twice in the same phase, as only lvl 4’s can take it…and more often than not, you don’t have two lord level casters.
What they were referring to was to cast the Sig Spell early, as it’s Remains in play, and will stay there for some time. This forces people to use their dice to dispel it in their phase.
the smaller version later on will conserve your dice later on in the important later phases, as most often, T1 magic is not that relevant. (many exception)
You can't cast the same spell with the same caster in the same magic phase.
If multiple casters somehow have the same spell, they may cast it in the same phase (signature spells, loremaster etc).
However, the signature spell for Lore of H. can't often be cast twice in the same phase, as only lvl 4's can take it...and more often than not, you don't have two lord level casters.
What they were referring to was to cast the Sig Spell early, as it's Remains in play, and will stay there for some time. This forces people to use their dice to dispel it in their phase.
the smaller version later on will conserve your dice later on in the important later phases, as most often, T1 magic is not that relevant. (many exception)
Blackspine
Thanks for explaining. I really thought you couldn't cast a 'Remains in play' in the next turn if it was still in play.
Lore of Death is also a great choice for Scorcer-Prophets, especially in gun line, castle army lists. Here the overlying strategy is to break the enemy close combat ensues or settle for weakening them to a point that they will crash like a wave against the shore once combat ensues.
Thus, a great underlying tactic is sniping enemy characters, causing mass destruction, and demoralizing the enemy. All of which Death does.
Granted Lore of Hashut does much of the same but a great aspect of Lore of Death is its ability to generate power dice which when coupled with the Chalice of Blood and Darkness can make a magic phase potentially brutal.
In High point games 2800pt+ they really shine especially on the back of a monster. In these sorts of games you can put dangerous things on the field which forces your opponent to really pick their targets in terms of artillery fire and magical onslaught. In these types of games a combat oriented Sorcerer Prophet on a Monster can really take a unit by surprise and hold it long enough for one of our hard hitting units to nail a flank.
Blood of Hashut will catch many opponent by surprise and if your Sorcerer-Prophet also has The Other Trickster’s Shard you can easily take out an enemy character or character mount (Dragons, Manticores, Chariots, Stegadons, Carnasours, Hyppigrifs, etc) rather easily.
Deamonsmits, in my humble opinion, shine brightest when surround by war machines. A level one deamonsmith can efficiently take care of 2 war machines confidently, 3 if one is feeling lucky. Lore of Fire is a great option in this task, especially if you get Ruby Ring of Rhuin of Fulminating Fire Cage. The former will make Artillery really shine, especially the 5" template of a Deahshrieker or S* demolition rocket when targeting enemies that are T7 and above… While the later will pin a unit in place long enough to concentrate fire on, take out of formation or isolate. Otherwise Fireball (pretty much 3 spells in 1) is a great choice.
Ruby Ring of Ruin is a great option for them as it will give them great chaff removal. Terrifying Mask of EEE! is a great option as it can grant an amazing edge in battle vs your average war machine hunter. Naphta Bombs are a great option for a Deamonsmith on artillery watch as it gives as its quick to fire and the Smith’s BS4 make it potentially devastating for enemy chaff and war machine hunters as well.
A couple of quick points regarding sorcerers on monsters to avoid those cannon balls:
Obviously hide behind terrain, ideally terrain that you can see over but which makes it impossible to place a cannon ball.
Walls are your friend, as the wall stops the cannon ball.
Bull centaurs and k’daai (either type) will stop cannon balls.
Position the model side on as there’s more chance for the cannon ball to miss than if it facing front on (only works with the bale taurus on a rectangular base).
I just played my first tournament with a sorc on a Bale Taurus. Wow, what an amazing weekend he had. He only died once (to Gateway, oh and the sorc died to his own Purple Sun, but the Taurus ninja’d it, so no points lost) and wreaked havoc. Armed with death magic and a portable Purple Sun machine I was raining down much devastion to the glory of Hashut.
My favourite was charging a Gutstar with all the toys on a 20" charge, making it, unleashing Purple Sun and then churning through one character at at time, all the while firing off Purple Suns in random directions aimed at his other units.
