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Total War: Warhammer 2’s Lizardmen will have dinosaurs with lasers on their backs

Total War: Warhammer II Lizardmen

The Lizardmen army roster in Total War: Warhammer II has been revealed on a livestream by the dev team. It includes Bastiladons with Solar Engines, which is fancy talk for dinosaurs wearing lasers.

Click here for the lowdown on factions and the campaign map in Total War: Warhammer II.

As with the launch races in the original game, it looks like there are some units missing compared with the army book, though there are some new additions as CA flesh out the army’s capabilities. As with such units as Dwarfen Rangers or Vampire Blood Knights, expect the absentees – which include fire-spitting Salamanders, bone-shooting Razordons, poisonous Troglodons, and Ripperdactyls – to be added later.

Legendary Lords

  • Lord Mazdamundi
    • An ancient second-generation Slann, the roster confirms that he’ll get his Stegadon, Zlaaq, as a mount option. Or you can put him on a floating platform.
  • Kroq-Gar
    • Also ancient, but a Saurus Oldblood, not a Slann. Can be fielded on foot, on a Cold One, on a Horned One, or on his Carnosaur, Grymloq.

Generic Lords

  • Slann Mage Priest
    • The most naturally powerful magic users in the world, the Slann are the leaders of the Lizardmen, and take it upon themselves to ponder the Old Ones’ divine plan. You can mount them on magical floating palanquins, where they will sit contentedly as they bombard the battlefield with deadly magic.
  • Saurus Old-Blood
    • Saurus were engineered for warfare by the Old Ones, and the eldest and deadliest of them are the Old-Bloods. They can be fielded on foot, on Cold Ones, or on Carnosaurs.

Heroes

  • Saurus Scar-Veteran
    • Experienced Saurus Warriors, they can be fielded on foot, on Cold Ones, or on Carnosaurs.
  • Skink Chief
    • Your missile heroes, Skink Chiefs can be fielded on foot, on Terradons, on Stegadons or on Ancient Stegadons.
  • Skink Priest
    • Skink Priests are your lower-ranked spellcasters, and have the same mount options as Chiefs.

Melee Infantry

  • Skink Cohort (Shields)
    • Skinks are dextrous and clever where Saurus are big and strong. They are weak, fragile, and have low leadership, but are the only Lizardmen capable of manipulating any tool more complex than a club or axe.
    • A cohort outfitted for melee is a new addition to Total War: Warhammer II – expect them to be low-tier, cheap, and to not put up much of a fight.
  • Saurus Warriors
    • The Lizardmen boast some of the best core infantry in the Warhammer game, and these are them. Strong and tough, Saurus’ cold blood makes them less prone to bouts of emotion (so they don’t run easily), but also slower to act than their warmer-blooded equivalents.
  • Saurus Warriors (Shields)
  • Saurus Spears
  • Saurus Spears (Shields)
  • Temple Guard
    • Saurus elites, tasked with protecting the Slann when they go to war.

Missile Infantry

  • Skink Cohort (Javelins)
  • Skink Skirmishers (Blowpipes)
  • Chameleon Skinks
    • Stealthy skinks, Chameleons can blend into their surroundings. Expect these guys to be able to hide in varying terrain.

Monstrous Infantry

  • Kroxigors
    • Roughly the size of a troll or ogre,Kroxigor are even bigger and dumber than Saurus.

Melee Cavalry

  • Feral Cold Ones
  • Cold One Riders
    • Cold Ones are basically velociraptors (the 1993 Jurassic Park ones, not the two-foot high feathery ones that it turns out actually existed). They’re dumb, but deadly, and ridden by Saurus, making them deadlier. Expect these to be a potent mid-tier cavalry.
  • Cold One Spear-Riders
    • Equipped with spears, these will be your shock cavalry.
  • Horned Ones
    • Horned Ones are a rare, aggressive species of Cold One.

Flyers

  • Terradon Riders
    • Terradons are flying dinosaurs ridden by Skinks. Featured prominently in the trailer, they drop heavy boulders into enemy ranks.
  • Terradon Riders (Fireleech Bolas)

Monsters

  • Feral Bastiladon
  • Feral Stegadon
  • Feral Carnosaur
  • Bastiladon (Revivification Crystal)
  • Bastiladon (Solar Engine)
    • If you know your dinosaurs, picture an ankylosaurus. Bastiladons are armoured, mid-sized dinosaurs which can be outfitted with different weapons. In this case, a Solar Engine focuses sunlight – like a laser – to do ranged damage. It’s a dinosaur with a laser. End of.
  • Stegadon (Giant Crossbow)
    • Stegadons are elephant-sized stegasauruses, typically equipped with a howdah full of Skinks who harrass the enemy with a number of missile weapons. In this case, a bolt thrower-sized crossbow.
  • Ancient Stegadon (Giant Blowpipes)

Here’s the army roster as published on the Total War dev blog.