Are Rubric Marines overcosted: The reality of defence
As a teacher, I am somewhat expected by society to have an outward appearance of prim and proper sobriety.
I trust most people realise reality, and the truth behind my current aching head.
But just as I must face the inevitable flood of memories and outstanding pain behind my temples, so we must face the reality of the effectiveness of the Thousand Son Rubric Marines. Fortunately the whiff of the Excel spreadsheet is as good as bacon, eggs, and paracetemol to my foggy mind.
Lets do some maths!
Click to zoom in on the above table. I'll now explain what you're looking at.
The first part is simply a run though of model count, total wounds and point cost.
Secondly, I note the toughness, and shoot the units full of ten rounds. All ten rounds hit, and we examine what these hits would be on average against varying strengths.
We then take these average wounds, and see what the outcome is against the saves of each unit. For when the AP beats the standard power armour save, I then take into account invulnerable saves or jinks. I've ignored cover, as it is something all units can get to the same degree.
From that, we have a new average of wounds taken per round of shooting for 10 shots against each unit. By dividing the number of wounds a unit has against the average of wounds taken, we get each unit's rounds to death.
As a unit that takes longer to die is more point efficient, we take the points cost of the unit, and divide it by the rounds to death. And from that we can make final comparisons about how good each unit actually is against each other.
The numbers are not so good for the Rubrics at this point. They are tougher, statistically, than your standard marine, and will somewhat live longer when the AP3 weaponry starts flying around. But the unfortunate truth is that bikes will do it better, largely thanks to Toughness 5 and Jink.
Again, White Scars will beat Thousand Sons handily, with their 3+ Jink.
What's most damning for the Rubricae is actually that a standard unit of Chaos Marines with a Sorcerer is actually more point efficient that them. Not that this should sway you much... the margin is so very slim that it's not hardly worth thinking about. But what should give you pause is the benefits and flexibility given to you by a troops choice led by an Independent Character.
But looking at it the other way, the margin is very slim, and in terms of defence, you shouldn't feel like you're losing out too much by fielding the Rubric Marines. They really very close, and so you can somewhat see why the Rubric Marines weren't given a bigger points cut. To do so would push them slightly towards being under-costed, particularly for larger units.
But we're not done yet. Tomorrow we look at shooting power, and their mighty warpflame bolters!
Thanks for reading.
If you liked what you saw, and you want to help out, please visit and donate at my Patreon. Every Little helps!
I trust most people realise reality, and the truth behind my current aching head.
But just as I must face the inevitable flood of memories and outstanding pain behind my temples, so we must face the reality of the effectiveness of the Thousand Son Rubric Marines. Fortunately the whiff of the Excel spreadsheet is as good as bacon, eggs, and paracetemol to my foggy mind.
Lets do some maths!
Click to zoom in on the above table. I'll now explain what you're looking at.
The first part is simply a run though of model count, total wounds and point cost.
Secondly, I note the toughness, and shoot the units full of ten rounds. All ten rounds hit, and we examine what these hits would be on average against varying strengths.
We then take these average wounds, and see what the outcome is against the saves of each unit. For when the AP beats the standard power armour save, I then take into account invulnerable saves or jinks. I've ignored cover, as it is something all units can get to the same degree.
From that, we have a new average of wounds taken per round of shooting for 10 shots against each unit. By dividing the number of wounds a unit has against the average of wounds taken, we get each unit's rounds to death.
As a unit that takes longer to die is more point efficient, we take the points cost of the unit, and divide it by the rounds to death. And from that we can make final comparisons about how good each unit actually is against each other.
The numbers are not so good for the Rubrics at this point. They are tougher, statistically, than your standard marine, and will somewhat live longer when the AP3 weaponry starts flying around. But the unfortunate truth is that bikes will do it better, largely thanks to Toughness 5 and Jink.
Again, White Scars will beat Thousand Sons handily, with their 3+ Jink.
What's most damning for the Rubricae is actually that a standard unit of Chaos Marines with a Sorcerer is actually more point efficient that them. Not that this should sway you much... the margin is so very slim that it's not hardly worth thinking about. But what should give you pause is the benefits and flexibility given to you by a troops choice led by an Independent Character.
But looking at it the other way, the margin is very slim, and in terms of defence, you shouldn't feel like you're losing out too much by fielding the Rubric Marines. They really very close, and so you can somewhat see why the Rubric Marines weren't given a bigger points cut. To do so would push them slightly towards being under-costed, particularly for larger units.
But we're not done yet. Tomorrow we look at shooting power, and their mighty warpflame bolters!
Thanks for reading.
If you liked what you saw, and you want to help out, please visit and donate at my Patreon. Every Little helps!
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