Caster set up - Paying the LoTGM tax, how do you do it?

So I've been toying around with the idea of getting Lore of Heavens in my list since I'll be facing DE and HE mostly, figured it would help me a lot to have Iceshard + Curse of Midnight Wind. Now, how do you pay your LoTG tax? Do you pay it on a butcher 100% of the time or do you use a strong combat SM with LoTGM and use a level 2 butcher with another lore?

My list would be something along:

- Slaugthermaster, level 4, gear depends on Lore
- Bruiser BSB witch CoC and Dragonhelm, magic weapon maybe or OTS, Look Out Gnoblar
- Butcher, Level 2, Gear depends on Lore
- 7 Ironguts, full command, Standard of Discipline
- 8 Ogres, Ironfist, full command, Look Out Gnoblar
- 2x10 Gnoblars
- 4 Leadbelchers
- 4 Mournfang Cavalry with Command and Dragonhide Banner, Heavy Armour, Ironfist
- 2 Sabretusks
- Ironblaster

Either a Thundertusk or a unit of Maneaters, I can't decide which one I'm going to get, I have 80$ to spend only atm so I could start building a unit of 6 maneaters or go for the Thundertusk.

Anyways I was wondering how would you go around to paying the LotGM tax in an army like that and would you go for Heavens or something else?

Firstly, what I would consider is that both lores are much more spammable than Beasts or Death. So I'd take a level 4 LotGM and Level 2 Heavens, and give the Level 2 the Sickle. The Level 2 is Heavens just because there's more useful spells in Heavens than in Maw, and thus the Lvl 4's going to want more chances to roll the better spells. With Heavens you have the fantastic signature and the other spells are typically good too.

Course, you could swap them around. It also depends upon whether you want a really powerful main caster with Gruts, or giving Gruts to the level 2 to have two lores with +4 to cast.

Your list is fairly balanced, and would benefit nicely from both lores. So I'd experiment and see whether you favour one or both, too.

Yeah I've been wondering about keeping my ''combat'' LoTGM SM and using the Lvl 2 to get more utility, was wondering if someone else had tried it before, to what success.

I really like the Grut's Sickle suggestion, it could really work out well and losing one caster wouldn't completly destroy my magic phase.

Usually, the butcher is my Hellheart guy.  Failing that, he becomes a Crown of Command chump to stuff in a unit of Iron Guts.  The butcher tax sucks, but its not the worst thing in the world.  And, yeah, if I am running a SM with Butcher Tax, I always try and find the points for the extra level, because at least then he gets one useful spell.

my SM has death for global soul blight (or as i call it my mates tears) and butcher has gut.

Don't see the gut as a tax and its better to play  with. See it as a guaranteed to get low cost stubborn unit spell. I have won tournaments from that gut butcher making a key unit stubborn. I have lost tournaments when that spell didn't come off.

Try and make him 2nd level but if not 1 is fine. Plus give him the helheart.

stubborn spell plus crown of command on the ld10 SM with bsb nearby makes for a very tough army to crack.

But don't forget the stubborn spell.