If you viewed my Space Marine list, I now know that humanity will lose the galaxy if it depends on Adeptus Astartes. The
AM and the Ehmprah's Custodes are going to be doing the heavy lifting.
My 5 game
GT Battle for LA score was LLLDL.
That said ...
... I'm back to elves. I am putting elvish fire power, durability, mobility and flexibility in the list.
From mostly Drukari, a Black Heart kabal of ravagers and wyches and scourges ...
To Wave Serpents, the usual psy support and a contingent of Vect, of course.
My quandry is for bad-ass guns, which is better?
A unit of 10 Dark Reapers vs 3 ravagers. I start at this size because the points cost is close:
DR - 345 points with the exarch having a Tempest Launcher while 3 ravagers are 378 with Disintegrators and Shock Prows (a pittance of cost)
DR - 11 wounds
Ravagers - 30 wounds
DR - T3
Rs - T6
DR - armor 3+
Rs - 4+ & 5++ , but DRs can readily deploy and stay in cover, not the boats, for whom cover is not likely.
DR - 6" move
Rs - 14"
DR -
BS 3 with Inescapable Accuracy
Rs - BS3 but can degrade
The real comparison though is their guns. And I'd like help here from you dakkaites, to make sure I got it right and any permutations. I think we'll go without reroll ones for autarch/archon bubbles, nor Doom or Writ of the Living Muse.
DRs - 18 shots at S5, -2
AP, 2 damage.
x3 Ravs - 27 shots, S5, -3, 2 damage.
DRs hit 12 times, wounding
MEqs 8 times, at -2 killing 6 spess muhreens.
GEqs will be wounded the same, but all will die.
Ravs hit 18 times, wounding
MEqs 12 times, at -3 killing 10 spess muhreens. 12
GEqs will vaporize.
DR Tempest Launcher averages 7 rolls, 6 of which will hit.
MEqs will be dealt 3 wounds, and lose 2 dudes.
GEqs will lose 4 guys. Adding those on give us:
DRs kill 12 power armored dorks and 10
MEqs.
Ravs kill 10 Adeptus and 12 guardsmen.
Invulnerable Saves honk up the math so I'll skip to T6 targets.
DRs hit 12 times, wounding a T6 tank 4 times, at -2, doing ~2 wounds, given 3+ or 4+ armor. (The smart player has the tempest launcher poke something else ... or ***
Ravs hit 18 times, wounding a T6 tank 6 times, at -3 doing 5 wounds. Maybe 4.
But, DRs will use the Starshots instead:
***DRs shoot 9 S8 shots, hitting with 6. At better
str. that T6 tank need to make 5 or 6 saves at -2. At ~2 or 3 failed saved that deals 9 wounds. Ravagers don't have an answer for that, not unless one finds the magic strategem that allows switching to Dark Lances.
DRs will kill armor better. Ravs kill more infantry, but not a lot more. Boats move, like fast. I've been fielding Ravs for 9 months in 8e and they're surprisingly resilient. I know that if the DRs are Alaitoc and in Cover they're going to be pretty durable, too, but more than the Ravagers?
So, 30 points for a lot more Drukhari wounds and hella mobility (and ITC mission point scoring; objectives and recon, B.E.L. Even the Screaming Jets strategem is good, and cheaper than
WWP. Or, cheaper & better DR shooting versus flyers enemy Alaitoc, Nurgle-fly clouds of -1 to hit, etc. We don't even need to do the math versus T8 targets.
They're both so good. Maybe take both?
There goes 2 Wave Serpents though (who fill a completely different roll this edition ... *sigh* I miss the madness that was 6e. Kinda like Dexter Morgan's 2nd season girl friend, Lila; wild, crazy-sexy, good looking, a hella fun and scary ride that needed to end sooner than it did).