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I know. I sound like a crazy newb who's all about the SNIPAR RIFFLZZ, but I've been giving it some serious thought, lately.

Thing is, I play against Tyranids all the time, and typically I take vets in a chimera with 2 plasma guns. I roll up, double-tap on an MC, and hope for the best when my tank gets busted to see if I can get another turn of shooting in. Problem is, those plasma guns are quite expensive, and even with carapace armor I find myself losing way more of them to overheats than should be reasonable. Then I remembered my last game I happened to take a PCS with sniper rifles, and they actually weren't that bad, even at BS 4.

I've crunched the numbers, and what I'm looking at is this:
1 Plasma shot = 0.444 wounds against an average Tyranid MC
1 Sniper shot = 0.185 wounds against an average Tyranid MC

It's looking pretty bleak for the sniper rifle, but there are a couple of key factors that are making me consider it over the Plasma gun:
- Points Efficiency - Sniper rifles are one-third the cost of a plasma gun. And while they are far less likely to wound, the wounds-for-points ratio is much better. Add in the fact that I'll probably camp them in the backfield, eliminating the need for a transport, and they become even cheaper.
- Range - As I said above, plasma guns really only come into their own when I practically oblige my opponent by putting my guys into optimal charge range, meaning I get off one or two rounds of shooting, tops. With sniper rifles, I could almost guarantee three turns of shooting before getting NOM'ed. This would close the gap in overall wounds between the two weapons considerably (plasma still pulls ahead, but I refer you to my above point). I should also mention this makes putting all my shots into a single target much easier, since all my vets won't have to cluster together.
- No overheat - Seriously... Losing half my weapons during my own shooting needs to stop. I hate having to keep track of missing dudes in transports before they even get out.

Am I onto something here? Trimming points on veterans considerably by switching to snipers and ditching the chimera and pushing said points towards, say, Valkyries, or platoon squads in those chimeras to claim objectives in their stead?

If you're sick of overheat, then sniper rifles. Nothing annoys more than losing 2-3 guys per game to exploding guns!

In real terms...... I think plasma is a lot more flexible, but sniper rifles will let you field a better gunline for less points. If you reliably fight tyranids, then maxing out sniper rifles on the many, many cheap assault weapon slots you get might not be a bad plan.

Being able to concentrate fire from a long way away is nice.

It depends how many plasma guns you normally take. Veterans with 3 sniper rifles and an autocannon team cost less than two plasma guns, and probably don't need carapace armour, further saving points.



If you really want to try something interesting, you could always look into fielding a D-99 veteran force. You get proper snipers in that army.... You won't get many guys, but you'll be surprised how nasty they can be against tyranids.

I lose a lot more than 2-3 per game to overheats! I'd consider that lucky.

As for how many plasma guns I usually take, it tends to be around... 8-10 between 4-5 vet squads in chimeras (my opponent only plays 2k+, which is rather annoying). I should probably look into D-99, but I've kept shying away from it on the basis of me having 40+ guys in carapace armor that I need any excuse to use. Then again, it's really beginning to look like carapace armor is a waste except in the smallest of games.

I'd say you are on to something. I've been doing the same thing and, like you say, it's really effective considering the point cost. A unit of Vets with Forward Sentries, a Lascannon or Autocannon and 3 snipers camped in ruins on an objective costs less than 100 points and can punch well above their weight with some good rolls on the snipers. These guys have done really well for me vs Tau and Space marines, including having a sniper with the ignores cover order land the final AP2 shot between the eyes of a Riptide.

I don't run plasma guns anymore unless the unit has reliable access to a re-roll.

Then again, it's really beginning to look like carapace armor is a waste except in the smallest of games.

If you're already in a chimera, I'd say so.

I should probably look into D-99

Devastating they're not, but they're a lot more capable than a lot of people expect. Preferred Enemy gives them 90% of the firepower of Marines with bolters, despite packing lasguns, and the long-ranged ground scanners can easily twin-link large chunks of your army's shooting.

The elites choice squads are just nasty (especially the plasma gun units, in fact! Plasma Guns love the preferred enemy rule because '1's to hit and to wound tend to be all that matters and it covers both....) - Extermination squads entirely armed with flamers are a terrifying defensive force for assault units.

It sounds like youre looking for us to validate you taking a gak load of snipers. and Sir i am completely down with that. it would be like crossing no mans land in WWI millions of shots coming while you cant do jack haha.

If I remember correctly, for guard squads a sniper is less that a fifth the cost of a plasma, at only 2 points to upgrade a model with one .

Sniper can be pretty handy as they work well on camo gear vets hiding on an objective with an autocannon. Few of those backfield for priority targets then couple of plasma squads hiding with plasma as a charge deterrent. Then fill out with some lasgun equipped platoons for extra orders and two ccs will give you plenty of ignores cover, monster hunter, and first rank fire.

It kind of "Brakes the code" (I play Tyranids) but I think you'll get good value from the Rifles, mayby mix in some Flammers to break charges? Grenadiers can also Monster hunt fairly well....

The problem with the statistics, is that while snipers over the course of 6 turns may rack up wounds more efficiently for their points, if you need something dead NOW, nothing beats plasma.

I'd rather pay the extra 10 points to make sure that Hive Tyrant dies when I finally force it out the sky.

Sniper rifles have their place, but I wouldn't say they are a replacement for plasma guns.

I think they're a good investment for backfield units that you don't expect much out of anyway. Platoon command squads, or a vet squad with camo gear that would be out of range for plasma anyway. Heck, you can even try rattlings since they are cheap and easy to hide.

So the rifles will help plink off a wound here or there and can earn their points back quickly. Just as likely, they don't do anything. So if you sprinkle them around, they can pay off. But they're not a primary strategy.