Suggested build order?

[Christopher Rowe]

Hello!

I'll be playing my first games of AoS 3.0 in about six weeks and plan to build my list or lists around the big guys (I haven't played since before Malign Portents, and then I was just running lists based on what I had painted and I painted and built what I thought easiest to start with--Skinks--then what I thought looked cool--Saurus Guard).

Right now, here's what I've got ready to go. I have a Saurus Oldblood on Carnosaur and a Skink Oracle on Troglodon fully built and painted. I have a Bastiladon with Solar Engine and a Stegadon with Star Streak Bow built and primed but not painted.

In their boxes still, I have what I plan to build as a Saurus Scar-Veteran on Carnosaur (from a Start Collecting box) and two Stegadons/Engines of the Gods.

There's no requirement to field fully painted armies at the game day I'm playing in (mainly because I'm hosting and providing the space, hah!), though I vastly prefer to field painted models. So I'm leaning towards painting my two built models first, then building and painting (or trying to get painted) the other three. Does that make the most sense or is some configuration of the three in the box so superior in a Coalesced list that I should do that first? Finally, should I build those two Stegs/Engines and one each, two Stegs, or two Engines?

Oh! A possible added complication. I'm considering buying a Skink Start Collecting (so I can hit sixty Boltspitters & Star-bucklers, so I can get a second Skink Starpriest, and for a second Bastiladon--all for like $90 less than paying for all those models individually!) which throws another big guy into the mix. 

Thanks in advance for any friendly advice!

[Stegageddon]

What points level are you playing at? I've not played third yet but is there still the limit on the number of behemoths you can take(4)? Whilst your stegs don't count towards it EotG do.