Ancient Stegadon (Engine of the Gods)

Ancient Stegadon (Engine of the Gods) is a Lizardmen Support Monster unit in Total War: Warhammer II. This great beast has both the temperament and strength to bear the Engines of the Gods to battle and beyond.

Description
The eldest Stegadons are the strongest of their kind. Over the ages, some of their fiery temper has cooled and, as they often outlive their Skink crews, they gradually become more accepting of new handlers. Each new team honours their beast and elder Stegadons are widely venerated. Many crews will hammer bronze or gold plates covered with glyphs into their gnarled hide, more to mark a beast's status than to provide additional protection. Likewise, on the eldest of beasts, reinforced masks are set over the creature's headcrest, and ornamental bracelets or sharp metal tips are commonly seen to cover its horns. Ancient Stegadons frequently carry fearsome blowpipes in their fighting howdahs. Each fires a cluster of darts that separates in flight to create a hail of poisoned death. It is for good reason that the Skinks name these fearsome weapons 'Sotek's String'.

The most revered of Ancient Stegadons are judged to have sufficient strength and the right temperament to carry the archaic artefacts known as the Engines of the Gods. If the Lizardmen ever had the knowledge of how these ancient wonders worked, they lost it long ago. However, they do know how to activate them — when the glyphs are touched in the right order, the device thrums with arcane energies.

The Engine of the Gods has mysterious powers that can protect nearby Lizardmen or send rays to smite their foes. Even the Winds of Magic can be better siphoned to aid the casting of spells in the presence of such a potent apparatus. Only a handful of the Engines exist, and they are hidden away in temple vaults and only rarely brought forth. They often serve as war mounts for Skink Priests of great importance, and are used to anchor a battle line. The first to utilise the Engines of the Gods was Tehenhauin, the Prophet of Sotek. At the height of the Siege of Quetza, Tehenhauin led his disciples into the surrounding jungle. They returned three days later, the entire group riding upon Ancient Stegadons that bore Engines of the Gods, and used them to destroy the Skaven. Since that time, the Engines of the Gods have been brought forth only when they are needed most, for each is an instrument of the Old Ones’ power, and the loss of a single one might irredeemably jeopardise the Great Plan of the Lizardmen’s long-gone creator gods.

Abilities

 * Portent of Warding
 * Burning Alignment
 * Arcane Configuration

Strategy
This unit provides a small ward save to all units around it as well as packing a laser beam that functions as a castable wind spell. This provides a decent amount of utility to what is already a strong monster with missile attacks and armour piercing anti-infantry damage. This version of the Stegadon is quite the investment and the rest of your army should be built around supporting it and protecting it from anti-large halberds or armour piercing ranged attacks.