Ssylth instead of a Lhamaen

for 15 points more you get a 5 toughness guy, feel no pain, and with 3 shots at 18 inches instead of 1 shot at 12 inches. it seems like you get alot more bang for your buck. Thoughts?

Nothing wrong with it, though I wouldn't take the points from something else to pay for it. Bear in mind that when using EITHER of them as your "HQ", they are NOT your "Leader". They're just a model that is purchased in the HQ slot. Typically when taking a Lhamean as your HQ, you just name a squad leader or something as your leader/warlord. Neither Lhameans or Sslyth are allowed to be your warlord unless there are no other characters in your army, and there are no models with higher leadership.

Medusae. AP3 Template for the same cost. The benefits don't really matter for either of our examples tho. When someone is dead set on taking a single lahmian it's strictly treated as wasted points.

I prefer the medusae. I take 2 as some much needed ignores cover

i mean instead of wasting points why not spend a little more and get something useful.

Because in either of our cases in order to make these choices useful you need to spend even more points and a 15pt difference means a lot in our pricing scheme.

Consider the 10p Lhamean as the price to take an extra FA slot dedicated to a venom..

Every point saved is a point earned, especially in the context of having multiple detachments. While upgrading to the Sslyth seems affordable at only 15pts more for a few nifty gains, those 15pts could instead upgrade a ravager from dissies to lances, or give your Jetbikes a squad leader with some grenades.

Also, the Lhamean's 2+ poison with ID on 6's is actually incredibly good for opportunistic hunting of Ork Nobs, big Nids most Tau suits etc.

There is definitely a case to be made for Medusae, but I think that buying them drastically changes the role of the unit. They go from being a cheap tax unit that unlocks your detachment and your venom taxi, to being a unit of flimsy occupants that need to deal damage to earn their points cost. It also changes the emphasis of the unit from the vehicle to its occupants, so you're less focused on shooting with the venom as long as the Medusae get to do work. The price on their head is much bigger, both literally in points cost, and the fact your opponent will be focusing them with everything they have, to the detriment of their taxi.

Typically, a Court is either a 75pt Lhamean+Venom, the 115pts double Medusae+Venom deep striking, or like 240 pts full of Sslyth & Medusae with an allied independent character, but by that stage you should probably just take Grots anyway.

Nah on the last one. 165. 4 Sslyths and a venom to accompany a dark eldar IC, or 100 for just the Sslyths for a Void dreamer/allied IC. Vehicle on the last one is a waste of points unless the allies are harlies because everyone else has a better equivalent. Scatbikes for CWE and Splinter cannon bikes for Corsairs.

No you shouldn't. 4 Sslyths are a better star for a void dreamer than 3 grotesques point for point. Especially a multiphase key generator void dreamer.

When you're taking a Lhamean, you're taking it specifically for the lowest HQ tax possible.

When thinking about the Sslyth, what is that tiny bit of extra shooting going to do? It's anti-infantry, which we already have buckets of.

If you want to squeeze out effectiveness in the HQ on a budget, an Archon with a Blaster or even a Medusa or two will do more than the Sslyth, as the Archon has high BS and the Medusae have a nifty template. Do something the rest of your list doesn't already do better.