Editing Warhammer/Tactics/8th Edition/Lizardmen

Almost all Lizardmen units benefit from both of these two awesome special rules: 

Cold-Blooded: Units can reroll Leadership tests! EVERYONE HAS THIS! 
Scaly Skin: Most have the 5+ version, but a few have 4+, Skinks don't get this. 
Core 

Skinks: Cheap spammable light infantry, they can either be equipped with Blowpipes with a hand weapon, or for the cost of 1 point they can take javelins and a shield. Blowpipes are the best offer as it out-ranges the javelins and blowpipes shoot twice. Note that both weapons are quite short-ranged and for a unit that is so weak in close combat the extra shots at something about to charge it helps greatly in actually hurting the target. Kroxigors can be taken in the second rank of the unit and are allowed to attack over the front rank of Skinks, this gets some heavy hitters in there, but overall its not a good place to put these thugs. Despite weak leadership and terrible toughness, they can be surprisingly effective against non-elite infantry and cavalry, for a single turn, but overall as a ranked unit Skinks are shit for shooting as they lack range and are crap in close combat because they no longer get poisoned attacks, leading to the unit just being bad for anything, especially when we look at the next entry. 

Skink Skimirshers: On the other hand, as a skirmishing unit at minimum size with blowpipes Skinks can be great for kiting enemy units and being a thorn in the side of your opponent. Put simply if the Skink Skirmishers manage to inflict wounds on any unit, your opponent will be compelled to either direct missile fire or magic at the unit, commit a unit to engage it in combat or try to ignore the damage they're doing. The first option of spells or shooting is bad because all damage spells and all shooting units do overkill against the skinks making it a waste of resources when other more dangerous units are unharmed. The second option is bad for your opponent because most close combat units are significantly more costly then the skinks and would be much better suited to stopping/slowing Saurus bricks from crushing through the battlefield, this gets worse if the skinks are able to shoot at the unit prior to the combat and inflict wounds, with cheap units like Skaven clanrats this is less of an issue except that large clanrat units should not chase down less than a dozen skinks and no one fields these units at a size that is equivalent to the value of the skink unit which would be 10-12 Clanrats. With elite units the problem is exaggerated because any damage done by the Skinks is needless, most elite units are costed close to 30 points a model which means that more then 2 casualties from the Skinks shooting is a lose-lose tradeoff for both players. Ignoring the Skinks as some players do is again stupid because that leaves the unit free to pick off other skirmishers, warmachine crews and chiselling off wounds from important units that are out of combat. In summary Skink Skirmishers are a suicide unit that forces bad tradeoffs; they'll die if they're ever attacked by something, but its a lose-lose situation in combat and in the wider context of the battle leads to the opponent being inefficient with their units. 
Saurus Warriors: What. The. Fuck? Scaly Skin + Shields, Spears, 2 Base attacks, Cold Blooded and S, WS & T of 4!?! While the unit has some good stats for a hand-to-hand unit, their bad initiative will ensure that they won't leave combats unscathed, and their cost for each model plus the spears is more expensive then other factions equivalent basic troops. These two key issues are mostly irrelevant though because Saurus Warriors are the best fucking brick infantry in the game. Chaos Warriors may have more advantages, but they cost more and other factions don't possess any units as cheap as this one that can beat it down in combat the way it crushes other units. Units that are engaged with Saurus warriors and get flank charged another unit of Saurus might as well be removed from table as Saurus warriors either crush a unit and break it in the combat phase, or you end up with this slow grinding combat that leaves either half a unit of Saurus warriors or only a couple of the enemy unit's models. It can theoretically tarpit any infantry unit but Dragon-Ogres and the like will probably have a win with some damage sustained. Overall not taking a Saurus unit or two is sign that the army isn't intended for anything other than giving the other guy an easy, very easy win. 
Reptile Swarms: No. Just No. If you have the perfect list and there is a point gap large enough to fill with a Swarm but too small to fit a Skink Skirmisher unit, cut something and take the Skinks! Being at similar costs the Skink Skirmishers are always the better option to take because they can... well reread that entry above. 
Special 

Temple Guard: See those Saurus Warriors above? Add Light Armour to them and the option take Halberds. That plus some stat boosts. Plus these guys when combined with a Slann Mage-Priest acting as the BSB have access to some great buffs not including whatever spells and magic items the Slann takes. TG are easily a must-have if you have a Slann in your army, and a definitely worth taking even if you don't have a one. They cost a lot more then the Saurus warriors, but honestly these guys are fucking A! Nothing fights this unit without taking horrible damage. Nothing. The unit won't break if it has Slann, and if that is the BSB you pretty much get this rock solid blob of fuck you in the centre of your army that you're opponent will not break and all units around it get the boost of Cold-Blooded, the Slann's Leadership, the buffs from the BSB etc... Honest to god if you see a Lizardmen player in a tournament with Slann but not this unit have the TO kick this shit out for epic levels of retardedness! 
Cold One Cavalry: Nice heavy cavalry option for the Lizardmen, the riders are Saurus so copypasta the Saurus warrior stuff over here. Albeit they don't benefit from the spears as much because cavalry spears are +1 S instead of +1 A, but still the unit is great, good for a "Hammer and Anvil" combo with Saurus Warriors and its fucking amazing if you do it with a Temple Guard unit. Nerfed with 8th editions anti-cavalry attitude, but still a fast hard hitting unit in an otherwise slow and steady or fast and weak faction. Not an essential buy like other Saurus units, but a unit of 6 with a Musician is a cost-effective way to bring fast moving pain to the table. Multiple units can tagteam effectively, but at the cost your army's overall size. Kroq-Gar can make 1 unit Core. Its still good despite 8th edition, but its not the sledgehammer it used to be. Also DINOSAWZ 
Terradon Riders: Excellent for harassment tactics, hunting warmachine crews, solo models and skirmishers. The ability to drop rocks onto an enemy unit is handy for softening up something tough before the Saurus or TG lay the smackdown on it. The Arboreal Predators rule used to make it better then any hippie Wood Elf flyer because none of them could fly unhindered through trees, but this will probably change. Not the best unit in straight up combat but because the riders are Skinks with their poison attacks expect them to be effective at wounding. Nice, slightly overcosted, but good at doing their job. Also DINOSAWZ! 
Chameleon Skinks: The Little Reptiles That Could. Costing, being Special and simply being more of the same doesn't help Chameleon Skinks when compared to Skink Skirmishers. Thats not to say they're terrible, its just that while they do the same job but a lot more effectively they take up space and points that are needed to a lot of the other more expensive units. In an all Skink list or any list they will earn their place but if you're choosing between these guys and any of the other Specials you will always do better with the others. They have a special character that isn't really worth mentioning, unless GW gives him the ability to make Chameleon Skinks are Core unit don't expect to see him or the unit much. 
Stegadon: Fuck Me. Its a bolt-thrower mounted on a DINOSAUR! This unit is fucking fun, but also effective, put simply its a two-in-one package, you get a bolt-thrower that can move and shoot, even when in combat, and a big monster that can crush things under its... paws? Crewed by Skinks because you need a BS above 0 to fire anything, its AWESOME. It can shoot while in close combat, meaning you can either fuck up whatever is about to get crushed, or you can fire at other units as a way to say "COME GET SOME BITCHES!". Also it can be taken as a mount by a Skink Chief who can then take the Stegadon Warspear to ensure it does a horrible amount of damage when it charges. Its pretty good, but its defences are a little weak for such a massive fire magnet. A good choice and a fun one, every time. 
Rare 

Ancient Stegadon: You thought the above was awesome, this guy is tougher, hits harder in combat and does 4D6 blowpipe shots, again it can do this in combat. Again you will see infantry die with this angry old bastard. Then there is the special version mounted by Skink Priests... 
Engine of the Gods: I'm putting this here because its basically an Ancient Stegadon with an upgrade that requires a Wizard. The EotG or "THAT FUCKING CHEESE SHIT" was broken until 8th edition's rules for army structure came round. Basically it had 3 things it could do, a ward save bubble for all allied units within a radius from any ranged and/or magic spell or magic attack from outside of the bubble, boosting the Skink Priest so he can gain power dice as if he were a higher level and finally one of the coolest things ever a Magic Pulse that does random hits to all enemies in range of it Strength 4 for normal units, but Undead and Daemons take Strengh 5 hits. Lists with 2 of these things below 2,000 points were universally reviled in the tournament scene because they would break most armies in 2-3 turns. The new point percentage per slot type rule prevents you from seeing this ever again. Great broken cheesey thing that should be taken when you can. 
Salamander Hunting Packs: This unit can do some serious damage, its good for stopping Regenerating faggots, penetrating armour like a rapist, its good but it has a few drawbacks the first is that its flaming attack is only Strength 3, it can't Stand And Shoot as a charge reaction and the other involves Skink crews being required to control them and the eating of said crews in times of poor rolling. The problem with discussing this unit is that there is a debate between the two Hunting Pack units and what they do. Any given Warhammer forum will be filled with fags that get Butthurt if you say they're equal or one is better than the other, so naturally expect Trolls when either unit mentioned. 8th Edition made this worse thanks to a few things that buffed the Salamander further. Salamanders can spew nice flaming goodness to further range, hold better in close combat and causing a single wound on a unit prompts a panic test. In 7th this meant that no one used Salamanders because Daemons and Undead don't panic, 8th has changed this part as well by nerfing vampires so hard its like the opposite of a Matt Ward codex write. Overall they win because despite being S3 and no Stand And Shoot charge response they have a -3 to armour which makes them that much better at dealing with heavy armour and the unit itself can be taken as a solo reliably and has less unpredictability then the Razordons. 
Razordon Hunting Packs: The other half of the Salamanders vs Razordons debate. While the Salamander has its nice anti-armour feel, the Razordon gets a nice S4 ranged attack, but only 12", they aren't penalized by range or movement for the shooting, they shoot a number of shots determined by rolling 2 Artillery dice which averages like 20 shots a beast and they can Stand And Shoot when charged which is part of the problem. Razordons work best with 2-3 in a pack, which increases the cost to use them compared to the Salamanders, however they eat their crew more often because the roll two artillery dice at time. The make and break of this unit is its special rule that applies when it opts to Stand And Shoot as a charge reaction... YOU ROLL DOUBLE THE ARTILLERY DICE TO GENERATE SHOTS! 4 ARTILLERY DICE PER RAZORDON!!! Which gives roughly 40 shots per beast, so that averages to say... 80 or 120 from a pack at whoever is charging the unit. Obviously this is so fucking awesome, I mean what the hell is going to take that and live? Oh forgot something we did... nobody charges these guys. Nobody would ever do that, unless they had never played against before Lizardmen and you don't mention this special rule. While this is clearly the coolest thing ever to see in a game, and also the rarest, it does allow you to use the Razordon as an area-denial weapon, stick a pack on a flank or blocking a charge lane and nothing will happen, that area is yours, no unit will charge them to try removing them and anything shooting at them isn't shooting at something important. Overall its nice if you could take both units but because the Salamander isn't crippled by its greatest advantage, Razordons don't see much action now, some people will take them and the random chance doesn't make them unplayable, its just that Salamanders have more consistent performance. 
Characters Lords 

Slann Mage-Priest: Best wizard in 7th and shaping up to take the title again in 8th. The main downside with a Slann is cost, in 7th these guys were like Batman and Superman, people kitted them out with all kinds of magic bling of awesome that could handle any situation like Batman, but if things went wrong you could rely on its sheer magical power like Superman. In 8th where Lord points cost now really means something the Slann is nearly unplayable in the way he used to be, he still is the best wizard though. Slann get access to disciplines that are major boosts, a Slann needs to take at least 1 but can take 3 additional Disciplines for a hefty price. These things range from Regenerate, Magic Resistance 3, to generating Free power dice and bleeding an enemy wizard of any 6s rolled whenever they cast a spell, even if its Irresistable Force. There are two ways to build a Slann, Offence and Defence. 
Offence Slann take the two disciplines that let them know all the spells in a given Lore and roll extra power dice when casting, this plus a Cupped Hands of the Old Ones make them pretty good at being usable and cheap. Theres a few magic items you can pick up but due to the cost restrictions its limited making this the only viable build. 
Defence Slann get a lot of tricks up the flabby rolls that pass for sleeves, they can be in a Temple Guard unit, unable to be targeted in melee, Regen save, 2+ Ward save from ranged attacks and magical ranged attacks, Magic Resistance 3 which is shared with the Temple Guard unit, -2 to shooting hits inside 12" and -1 to shooting outside 12", immunity to any "attack" (Spells are fine provided the word attack isn't mentioned in its description) not coming from a Magic weapon, all wizards within 18" must take Stupidity tests every turn and all 6s rolled by enemy wizards on their power dice when casting are drained away if its within 12". You can also as Causing Terror but it takes up a Discipline slot. This isn't even combining the effects of the Temple Guard unit that block LoS to the Slann but allow the Slann to draw LoS to anything the unit can as well as the unit being Unbreakable if the Slann is with it. 
In summary the biggest magical bang for the biggest buck in WFB, Slann need Temple Guard, but more importantly GW needs to give them a major price cut in order for them to be played with any magic items. 

Saurus Old Blood: Killing machine. Take that lovely Saurus and make him more Badass. Gets a Fuck-You-A-Saur (Carnosaur) mount which is a like a mini T-Rex, can be tooled up to either assassinate Lord characters and Daemons, or solo regiments of infantry. In light of the Slann's expensive point cost take this guy for Lord level asskicking. Comes with a 4+ Scaly Skin by default and a lot of attacks before you buy any upgrades. Single purposed and perfect at it. 
Heroes 

Saurus Scar Veteran: The Old Blood at an affordable price, while not as a scary and no access to the fuck-you-a-saur. It still pays out that Saurus melee butchery that makes people cry and it can take a Cold One mount. Can be the BSB when you're not sticking that on your Slann. Its a good idea in larger games where you can afford a few of these or a pair of Scar Veterans and an Old Blood, to equip them and use them like a missile, send it after one thing and watch it get maimed. Don't try this in smaller games because they're more useful sitting in Saurus units so they can get their teeth into infantry and really turn the tide. Solid choice as a General at low level games and good in larger battles for keeping things killy. 
Skink Chief: Only take this guy mounted, really, he's way too soft compared to the Saurus characters and Skinks in general suck as proper ranked units. Can take Stegadons, Ancient Stegadons and Terradons as mounts which is what you should be doing. On a Terradon it can do some good character hunting and screw warmachine crews as well as provide a leadership buff to that Terradon unit, but it means you're general should be someone else. On either Stegadon its basically an excuse to have more Stegadons on the field and the Stegadon War Spear is nice because of the boost it gives their Impact Hits. Not a solid General choice but nice as a supporting character and getting another big Dinosaur on the table. 
Skink Priest: Good low level Wizard, can act as a range extended for Slann allowing them to send Magic Missiles (Not Spells or Magical Ranged Attacks but Spells that are called Magic Missiles) as if the Slann was where the Priest is standing. Can take the Engine of the Gods if you want to be banned from playing, can take a few nice bits of gear like the Black Cube. They're limited to the Lore of the Heavens but they have enough magic items to maximise their usage. Pretty much they support the Slann or are used in large numbers to spam spells down the enemy's throat. Do not underestimate them as they have access to the Comet Of Cassandora and Lizardmen are the only army that can reliable spam that spell. 
Special Characters In summary don't take these, nearly all of them suck or cost too much to even be used in 8th edition's Percentage system. Kroq-Gar is the only one worth talking about but he's pretty much an Old Blood more attacks and a nastier Carnosaur, Mazzamundi has his use when attacking the castle in a siege game because he has a special spell that works as well against buildings as much as Napalm works against someone covered in Petrol, but generally a Lizardmen special character is expensive and lame at everything but for a single ability.