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Flexibility is the Key I've been comparing each of my potential new armies in a variety of ways to find which one would be the best fit for me. In my last article I looked at how expensive each of my potential armies would be. Now I'm looking at how well each one might fit the water army style.
Working out the "Water Army Quotient" Basically, I'm trying to determine just how well each of my proposed armies would fit into the Water Warrior concept. While I planned each unit as the best approximation of a Water army that I could, that doesn't mean that they will all be equally effective. While it is hard to pin down exactly how effective a Water unit will be without extensive play, I've come up with a simple formula that should give me a baseline number to compare each army in terms of how much of it's points are in effective water units. What makes a unit stand out for a Water army is a combination of movement, shooting and assault. It's not the overall power that is important, but the fact that it has all 3 as options. For each army, I'll go through the list. For each unit that fits the Water army criteria, I'll take the point value. Mobility is a key feature in a Water army, so I'll be giving preference to units that have better than standard movement. If the unit moves less than 6" per turn, it will be worth half points. If it moves more than 6" per turn, It will be worth one and a half times it's points. Finally, I will be including LandRaiders as Water units, without giving them the bonus for movement (To reflect their lack of assault capability.) I wrestled with this one for a while. While LandRaiders don't have assault capability and are thus not technically a standard Water unit, their combination of cargo capacity, firepower and extreme resilience makes a huge difference in the performance of the list. They can be used as transports, gun platforms and highly effective bullet shields. DeathWing Every unit in the list fits the criteria for a Water Army (strangely enough, since I designed it that way!) The Ravenwing Biker squadron can move more than 6 inches, so it is worth 1.5 times it's standard value here. That brings it to 1587.5pts for it's "Water Quotient."
Space Marine Bike Force Every unit in this list also fits the criteria for a Water Army (strangely enough, since I designed it that way!) The two Space Marine Biker squadrons and the Captain on his bike can move more than 6 inches, so they are worth 1.5 times their standard value here. That brings the list to 1782.5pts for it's "Water Quotient." Chaos Space Marines Not quite every unit in the list fits the criteria for a Water Army, since I couldn't get any Troops that fit the bill. The Plague Marines are extremely resilient and have decent mobility, but their weapons aren't as effective if they move, so those points won't be counted for purposes of this equation. In addition, the Obliterators are Slow and Purposeful, so they will typically move less than 6 inches, so they are worth half their standard value here. On the other hand, the Demon Prince will move further than 6 inches and still fire to full effect. That brings the list to 1042.5pts for it's "Water Quotient."
Well, doesn't look good for the Chaos list, and the Bike force is just a little (about 12%) ahead of the Deathwing force in the Water Army comparison. This isn't the only comparison that I've made, but soon it will be time to take a look at all the intangibles, then bring all the comparisons together. If you enjoyed this, email me and let me know |
