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Do you guys pay for spirit stones on your tanks? Or the equivalent for your faction, if applicable.?
Spirit stones cost 10 pts and give the vehicle a 6+++. So if we take a fire prism which costs 142 pts base and has 12 wounds and give it the upgrade it should gain the equivalent of two extra wounds on average dice rolls. You could argue that as you pay 11.8 points per wound those spirit stones give you 23.6 points worth of value in terms of extra wounds. It's not exactly true but it's close enough for me.
So, what is your opinion on such upgrades, worth it or not?

I always take them.

Sometimes I remember to roll the 6+++

and even more amazingly, I occasionally make them!

I feel they are a waste of points, but that’s my fickle little 6-sided friends talking. And human perception. But I recognize how the math works, and still take them.

So, quick tip: To find the effective wounds it grants, here's how to do it:

Take the chance of NOT ignoring a wound and express it as a fraction. (In this case, it'd be 5/6)
Then, multiply your wound count by the reciprocal. (In this case, it'd be 12*(6/5) for a total of 14.4 wounds)
Finally, subtract the initial wounds from the new value, to determine how many extra you get. (14.4-12=2.4, in this case.)

So, Spirit Stones give 2.4 wounds to a Fire Prism.

I sometimes take them, mathematically they make sense but sometimes sacrifices have to be made!
JNA, maths is weird! I figured 12 wounds, so twelve dice rolls equals 2 sixes on average.

 kingheff wrote:
I sometimes take them, mathematically they make sense but sometimes sacrifices have to be made!
JNA, maths is weird! I figured 12 wounds, so twelve dice rolls equals 2 sixes on average.

But then you have 2 more dice to roll, since you still have 2 wounds left.

And you have a 30.56% chance of saving at least one of those, which would allow for ANOTHER 6+.

I definitely agree, math can feel weird.

 JNAProductions wrote:

 kingheff wrote:
I sometimes take them, mathematically they make sense but sometimes sacrifices have to be made!
JNA, maths is weird! I figured 12 wounds, so twelve dice rolls equals 2 sixes on average.

But then you have 2 more dice to roll, since you still have 2 wounds left.

And you have a 30.56% chance of saving at least one of those, which would allow for ANOTHER 6+.

I definitely agree, math can feel weird.

Good to know it's better than I figured.

The trouble with spirit stones is a lot of the time they do nothing because your vehicle is being over-killed anyway. Stopping 2 wounds out of 10 gets you nothing if you're already on 6.

They're mathematically worth it in perfect conditions where your tanks always face just enough firepower to kill them...but this is a dice game. Most of the time that's not how it works.

They're one of the first things I drop when I'm over on points, but they're also the first upgrade I add to my tanks.

My opponents already find eldar tanks a tough nut to crack (especially if I'm being a jerk and using Alaitoc), so seeing my serpents reduce the damage they've done and THEN watching me ignore another point of damage or two with the spirit stones has a useful mental impact.

Plus, spirit stones can be the difference between getting bracketed or not on a given turn or the difference between losing a tank and having it alive (if limping) to fire off a serpent shield or eat overwatch or jump on an objective.

Also... I feel like I just have really good luck when rolling for them. If I take 3 tanks, I'll gladly spend 30 points just to have a chance at rolling hot and shutting down a key attack.

The case for them on wave serpents is definitely stronger than on other vehicles, assuming they are going to get shot at, because the shield reduction vastly lowers the chance of being overkilled to the point where they're not relevant any more.

I tend to only place Spirit Stones on a Wave Serpent. For the past months, I run vehicle heavy lists and rely on the number of vehicles as opposed to vehicle upgrades. I add it to the Wave Serpent as I tend to place key models in that vehicle to ensure turn 1 survival.