Fists Eliminators

[Happy-inquisitor]

Because I already loved the Eliminators kits and love the look of the new multipart models even more I did some thinking about how to run them. So I ran some numbers.

 

The first conclusion is that it is marginally best to use the new ability on the Sargent to give +1 to the hit and wound rolls. Intuitively I did not think this would be so good with the small squad but it actually works well in most likely scenarios. Shooting 2 rather than 3 mortis rounds at a T4/4++ character will increase the average wounds from 2.1 to 2.3 due to better odds of getting mortal wounds.

 

Those numbers do get better with a Captain/Lt nearby but that is an even boost to either option so stick with not shooting the Sargent and the average goes up to 3.2 wounds on that same T4/4++ character. A couple of squads of Eliminators are actually quite dangerous to a wide range of characters in the game, not bad given how cheap they are.

 

For what it's worth if they do not FAQ-change Bolter Drill for Crimson Fists then the average damage with that thrown on as well goes up to 3.8. Probably not worth the CP unless that is a critical kill to achieve in the game.

 

The bigger surprise to me was that against the very hard targets - e.g. Imperial Knights - you may as well stick with the sniper rifles.

 

With the sniper rounds a squad is averaging 1.7 wounds on a Knight with a 4++. This is the same average as you get with the las fusils which are considerably more expensive and less flexible against other targets. For other chapters the las fusils would still do slightly better here but for Fists the chapter tactics bring the average up slightly. The las fusils are better against T8/3+ with no invulnerable save but are so much less good against infantry targets that I feel they are over-specialised for our chapters. Our dudes like bolt weapons, give them bolt weapons! Obviously none of these options are exactly terrifying to a Knight player but having that flexibility to plink a few more wounds off them with the cheaper more general purpose squad is good to know about. I will be building all of my squads with the sniper rifles.

[Lemondish]

Great breakdown!

 

My conclusion was the same regarding the Sargeant, which is why I'll be running each of mine with the carbine in the Las-fusil team. The extra 2 points for the overwatch move shenanigans seems worthwhile.

 

I do like the Las fusils for all the other armour that isn't a Knight. It's far more common for me to see T7 3+ vehicles locally, and while some will have an invuln, the 3 flat damage works out really well.

[Happy-inquisitor]

Great breakdown!

 

My conclusion was the same regarding the Sargeant, which is why I'll be running each of mine with the carbine in the Las-fusil team. The extra 2 points for the overwatch move shenanigans seems worthwhile.

 

I do like the Las fusils for all the other armour that isn't a Knight. It's far more common for me to see T7 3+ vehicles locally, and while some will have an invuln, the 3 flat damage works out really well.

 

Yes, it is going to be meta dependent. Against T6/T7 with no invulnerable saves the las fusil is the far stronger choice.

 

Your comment made me think about something so I went back and ran the numbers at -2 to hit (typical Eldar flyer) and the sargent bonus is pretty strong there on the las fusils. If the flyer pulls the evade strat then the advantage of the las fusils over the sniper rounds closes but the las fusil is still the better anti-flyer weapon. The other thing to note is the newly worded and now cheaper Chapter Master stratagem is looking excellent value if you are facing eldar flyers, almost an auto-take against Eldar flyer spam.