Mek Gun Analysis; Or Why Traktor Kannons are Overrated

[toaae]

FIRST AND FOREMOST:

I don't have a codex yet. I've based all my math on what I've collected. For the sake of transparency, here are the (offensive) stats of the guns as I know it (including the base mek gun for points):

Kustom Mega-Kannon:

• Heavy d6
• Strength 8
• AP-3
• d6 Damage
• 60 points

Smasha Gun:

• Heavy d3
• Strength * (Roll 2d6 equal to or greater than target toughness)
• AP-4
• d6 Damage
• 31 Points

Traktor Kannon:

• Heavy 1
• Strength 8
• AP-2
• d6 Damage
• Auto-Hit and 2d6 damage, pick highest vs. Fly
• 45 points

Ok, so I have seen a lot of people all over the internet being pretty enamored by the Traktor Kannon. After all, in the index, Ork shooting was greatly at the mercy of negative to-hit modifiers, and we not only got DakkaDakkaDakka! on everything, but now a slightly inferior Lascannon with auto-hit! Alaitoc flyers be damned!

But is the gun really all it's cracked up to be? Has it unseat the reigning champion of Ork weapons, the pound-for-pound, point-for-point best-gun-in-the-index Kustom Mega-Kannon? And what about the humble Smasha gun, with it's odd way of wounding and new-and-improved d3 shots? I went to a spreadsheet to work it out:

 

I compared the guns two what I consider the two heavy vehicle archetypes: The toughness 7, 3+ save statline present on many Imperial, Chaos, and Eldar vehicles, and the monstrous T8, 3+ invulnerable Knight that is dominating metas. I didn't want to break down every kind of statline, as this just started out as my curiosity. For those that want to double check my math, here is the formulas for Total:

Gun v Target is A1
Smasha and KMK, both targets:

• =((B_*C_)+((B_*D_)*C_))*E_*F_*G_

Traktor Kannon, both targets:

• =B_*C_*E_*F_*G_

Unless I'm wrong, and feel free to correct me if I am, but it seems that even with an auto-hit, the Traktor Kannon is still worse point-for-point than the KMK against both of these targets. Though the Smasha Gun is the superior weapon against the T7, 3+ save target, the KMK is still the best option against the 3+ invulnerable Knight. Even against targets with fly and -1 to-hit, the Traktor still isn't the best:

So, am I wrong? Or is it looking like Smasha Guns will be the go-to? 

EDIT: Of course, if you do often face Alaitoc flyers or other things that fly and stack the modifiers past -1, the Traktor Kannon will probably find its place.

[FlamingDeth]

That's the first I've heard of tractors being the go to gun, everyone on the waaagh has been saying smasha since the codex dropped, except for niche targets for the KMK and tractor, and nobody likes the bubble chukka for anything anymore now that the minigame is gone.

[toaae]

That's the first I've heard of tractors being the go to gun, everyone on the waaagh has been saying smasha since the codex dropped, except for niche targets for the KMK and tractor, and nobody likes the bubble chukka for anything anymore now that the minigame is gone.

 

Reddit has a lot of non-Ork players already calling for the Traktor Kannon to be nerfed in Chapter Approved (lol). I don't go to the waaagh anymore, but in my anecdotal perusings, the Traktor Kannon has attracted a lot of excitement. But, as shown in my OP, I'm more interested in Smasha Guns, as well.

[tvih]

Ah yes, mek gunz. Wish I had some. All have their uses. For traktor I guess people just like the reliability of its auto-hit, even if on average it doesn't do as much damage for the cost as the other gun options do.

[Warhead01]

That's the first I've heard of tractors being the go to gun, everyone on the waaagh has been saying smasha since the codex dropped, except for niche targets for the KMK and tractor, and nobody likes the bubble chukka for anything anymore now that the minigame is gone.

Hahaha. I haven't been reading anything over there for a few days.  It's funny because when the index dropped I turned 6 KMK's into Smasha guns. And that was..how many months ago. 

The Smasha gun has only gotten better now.  D3 shots and D,D,D. For only 31 points and who really cares if they don't end up with the Clan Kulture, they're solid. 

Thing about the Traktor Kannon though. Yest it auto hits but it doesn't get to use Dakka Dakka dakka so it's all bark and no bite really. It'l like the auto pick for a noob Ork player. Not a bad choice but not something I'd ever spam. I may put 2 of them into my collection just to have a little more things to play with.  

I can give up 2 Bubble chukkas I think. 

And I've been thinking about those. Even with out the mini game I ma just roll 4 dice and assign them, and not roll them 1 at a time and be overly disappointed. I didn't see anything saying I couldn't do it that way. lol. 

The KMK's cost loads and loads not but all the weapons in that KM line got way more better with that d6 damage.  

I'm going to order more KMB's for my Killla Kans and see how that goes. 3 Kans 6 shots or 6 kans 12 shots before D,D,D. Could be amazing.  

 

 

[Teun135]

Yea the KMK is pretty good. My problem with it is the 36" range as opposed to the 48". Shorter range means you probably are having to move it, and suffering a negative to hit modifier as a result. The Traktor can still move and is still autohitting in addition to having a longer range... I feel this makes it better overall. The smasha has a 48" range which bumps it up, but the low shots coupled with the modifier if it has to move still edges it out, in my opinion. Since it is cheaper, though, it definitely is worth considering. And that sweet, sweet -4 AP. 

[tychobi]

One point of note on the tractor cannon is time. Geenskins are a high model count rules heavy weight of dice army that plays real slow in most hands. Bypassing a dice step just saves you time and the damage reroll vs fly makes target priority very straight forward. Quick to use is a nice quality. Also overwatch

[Lucio]

The most telling comment I heard is that the Traktor Cannon just doesn't feel very Orky. Not to mention that with a 4+ to hit from Grot krew, hitting with Mek gunz isn't exactly a problem if you get multiple shots off.

 

The real choice is whether you use KMK for their higher damage, or field more Smasha Guns to keep the unit alive and shooting for longer