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More Numbers? I am a big fan of the WARPSTORM site and am a longtime visitor/lurker. Flattery will get you everywhere! Hehehe, actually, it's always good to hear that people find my site useful. Sometimes it feels like I'm just typing into the ether. I am experimenting with my Tyranids and wanted to know specifically how you do the math part to determine how many SMs you kill (which is a great yard stick to measure by) I always get messed up with the re-rolls. How do you figure those in? Basically, you have to take the chance for the first die to succeed then add it to the chance of the first die failing and the second succeeding. For example, let's say that you Wound on a 5+ (meaning a 1/3 chance) and have a reroll. 2 six-sided dice give 36 possible combinations. The long version is to make a chart that gives each possible combination (1 on the first die and 3 on the second die, for example) and count up all the possible successes. A shorter version is to start by taking out the first chances to succeed. With a 5+, you get 12 successes. That leaves 24 dice to reroll. 1/3 of these will succeed. 1/3 of 24 is 8. 12+8=20. 20/36=5/9 which is 55% and you just plug that in for your Wound chance. (so versus SM with Gaunts you would have 1/2 x 5/9 x 1/3 or 0.093 DSM each.)
While we are on the subject of unusual odds, I want to quickly cover how to handle single-result options, where one result on one of the dice makes a big difference, such as Rending. For these, you have to make two different result tracks, one for the Rending Wounds and one for the normal ones, then add the results together. Below is my current Tyranid list, feel free to comment if you’d like but my question is gaunt specific. I have two units of 24 Gaunts with the fleshborers at 144points each. It's very important to include a list when you have a question about part of the list, as no choice is made in a vaccuum, so I'm glad you included your list. That said, let's start looking at just the Gaunts and your options, so we have something to compare them to. Having 24 Gaunts with the fleshborers at 144 points. I get 24 shots at BS3, S4 with re-roll to wound. 24 shots x 1/2 to hit x 3/4 (4+ with reroll) x 1/3 to fail saves. That'd be 3 Dead Space Marines. Having 20 Gaunts with Devourers at 140 points. I get 40 shots at BS3, S2 with re-roll to wound. 40 shots x 1/2 to hit x 11/36 to Wound x 1/3 to fail saves=2.04 DSM Having 14 Gaunts with Devourers and Toxin Sacs at 140 points. I get 28 shots at BS3, S3 with re-roll to wound. 28 shots x 1/2 to Hit x 5/9 to Wound x 1/3 to fail saves=2.59 DSM From a sheer "Dead Space Marine" standpoint, you have the best option. The basic Termagant is the most efficient at causing damage. Damage isn't the only criterion that you'll want to base this decision on.
Everyone of my other gaming brothers seem to think that I should just keep the 24 number as they all have the same armor save and die the same. To me the answer may be range. The fleshborer is a decent weapon but at 12” range, by the time it shoots, an assault is going to happen, either him on me or vice-versa. It's good to see a Tyranid player taking some time and deciding that assaults aren't always a good idea. Devourers do have an extra 6" of range, which makes a big difference on what they can shoot. That extra range could allow your Gaunts to stay in cover while they shoot at those blasted Space Marines (or whoever.) There are two other questions to consider, however. The first is what other options you might have. A S4 weapon like the Fleshborer gives you the option of hitting light vehicles such as Landspeeders or the rear armor of heavier vehicles. Even though it's only 12" range, it does give you that option, whereas the S2 or S3 Devourer can never do that. I'll split the most important question into two parts. The big part is what role they typically play in your list. To quote your list... The second part of the question is _how_ you use them in that role. If you use them as the standard meat shield on your way in to the target, their guns don't matter at all, it's just how much cover you can provide for the more damaging portions of your list. If you regularly put them out on objectives with little support, then they may need to have more effective or longer-range guns.
While I haven't seen you play your army, I think you point the way in some of your comments on the list. Both your statement about the Gaunts themselves, and one you give about the HQ Warrior unit... In addition, the bulk of your army is heavy-hitting CC units. I see two primary options for the Gaunts. I don't think these are the only options, but I expect that they would cover most situations. The second requires only a little bit of planning or setup as it happens, just keep a couple of units relatively nearby. Move plus charge range for most Tyranid units is pretty big, so they don't even have to be that close. Thanks in advance for your reply and for running a great site.
My list with explanations below
Looks like a pretty solid list, and I think you have some good plans for how to use it. There are two parts that I'd look at in terms of trying to make it more effective. The first part would be to see if you've got enough bodies so that your hammers can get to their targets. If you find that you often end up with very few Genestealers and Reaping Warriors getting to the lines, you might need to lose a few of them and add some more Gaunts. (if not, don't worry about it. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.) One possible addition might be a small unit of Gaunts Without Number. While I hated them in previous editions, they can be the ultimate Win button in objective games where you have a rear objective to seize. Just park them there in cover and have them within synapse range. The other part that I'd look at is the Carnifi. If you find you are running into a lot of Monoliths, it's worth the upgrade to give him Toxin sacs so that he's S10 when he hits them (since the Living Metal rule prevents Monstrous Creatures from getting their additional die of penetration.) You might also consider Bioplasma if you run into Monoliths frequently. Hitting on a 4+ is much better than hitting on a 6. If you are having trouble keeping vehicles from shooting your army, you might consider a Venom Cannon. While the nerfing of the Glancing Hit table hurts them a lot, they can still keep the enemy from moving or shooting pretty frequently, which is all you need until the Genestealers close in. If you enjoyed this, email me and let me know |
