The slann generations special rule for Warhammer Lizardmen Armies allows the player to 'upgrade' his slann mage priest into a much more powerful mage.
5th Generation (the youngest slann)
This is the default level and is paid for in the basic slann cost when selected from the Lizardmen army list.
All slann are at least 5th generation and so they can choose to roll for spells from 1 ot more Lores of magic - you must still roll randonly for the spells though. All the other usual spell rolling rules apply, ie. Being able to swap a spell for the default (1st spell in the list)
All slann gain +1 to attempts to both cast and dispel.
4th Generation Slann
As above, plus these chaps never have to roll on the miscast table, the spell simply fails to work. A very handy and worthwhile attribute in larger and longer games.
3rd Generation Slann
Benefit from all of the above and also the addition of the Drain Magic spell to their magic knowledge. A highly potent spell which helps to negate the effectiveness of a magic rich army.
Drain Magic cast by a Slann reduces the number of high dice rolls made my enemies when they cast spells. The Slann can cast this at 3 levels. The most powerful level prevents the enemy caster from using any dice rolled which landed as 4, 5 or 6 ! (more powerful levels of the spell having progressively higher casting values. The one above (negating 4s, 5s and 6's needs 9+ to cast)
The problem with 3rd generation slann is that they use up an additional hero slot. This is quite a high cost to pay plus the extra 85 pts for the 3rd generation upgrade.
There's another downside too, if your Slann is killed your enemy gets an extra 100 victory points. This is offset a little by the extra wound this level of Slann gets.
Having said that...you should upgrade your Slann to a 3rd generation if you're facing a High Elf army, you will need to keep their magic powers under control - you won't regret it !
Personally, I wouldn't take a 3rd gen Slann into a 2000 pt battle unless I knew my enemy was bringing a lot of spell casting ability to the battle.
2nd Generation Slann (the oldest Mage Priests)
Are extremely good at spell casting and difficult to kill (+1 wound and +1 dice to casting attempts)
These benefits are in addition to all of the above.
Not bad heh ?! An additional wound, making a total of 8 (!) gives this guy that extra bit of longevity.
If you take him keep him well protected with a beefed up Temple Guard unit.
I wouldn't use him in a 2000 pt game. It's not the extra points, it's because he uses up a Lord slot, hero slot and a rare choice (ie you can't take salamanders or a stegadon). You can probably live without those rare units but you really will be putting all your eggs in one basket. You would be better off taking a Steg with a hero to hold up your enemy's core units while the rest of your army tries to outflank.
In a 3000 pt game, go for it ! Take the second gen slann and watch your enemy quake in their boots ! Especially if they've invested heavily in magic users.
