Re: [Epic] "FIREPOWER" and Blast Markers

From: J Andrew Evans <J_Andrew_Evans_at_...>
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1998 23:03:06 +0100

OK. I'm not entirely following. Let's work through your answer.

Thane Morgan wrote:

> Disrupt attacks are capable of ending games way faster than regular fire power. For
> 20 points, you can get a 2 fp, 45 cm heavy weapon unit, or a biovore with a 45 cm
> range disrupt attack. For 100 points, you can get 10 FP, or 5 disrupt attacks.

OK So far, I've with you. You can buy more disrupt weapons for your points. That
presumably is the argument for putting their price up.

> 10 FP = 1 blast marker and maybe 2 casualties, 5 disrupt = 4 blast markers on a
> typical
> role.

What! Disrupts surely work on a 4+ effectiveness. This is 50% chance so on average 5
disrupt attacks you get 2.5BMs (actually 2-3BMs). No way on a "typical role" are you
getting 4 BMs. Or am I still missing something? However to that extent your argument
still holds as the 10FP has still only won you 1BM.

> 2 of such units can either place 2 blast markers and kill 4 units, or 8 bm's.

Well, five BMs by my calculations, but OK. But what's this about kills! There's my
problem. You have your BMs and that does freeze your opponent but disrupt weapons place
no hits - according to my reading of the rules (p33 "Disrupt weapons inflict no other
damage).

> Those 8 BM's will be deducting morale for 3 turns, and leave the unit stuck in
> place, waiting for an assault where they attackers will likely be at +2 just from
> BM's.
>
> I usually field this bug Detat:
> 4 assault spawn
> 1 HT
> 2 TW
> 5 biovore
>
> 280 points. If spore dropped, 184 points. I field it in pairs and they can easily
> place 8 BM's per turn on 1 detat. In My last game, I used both detats to put 9 BM's
> on a Ork Battlefortress, then killed it. By nomal rules, -11 to enemy morale, +2 to
> mine. My opponent didn't like house rules, so we didn't use my normal house rule
> that you can't lose more morale from BM's on a detat than its normal morale, a rule
> I developed specifically to let my tyrannid games last more than 3 turns. Bugs need
> biovore to win assaults handily, but by normal rules they drop enemy morale way
> faster than their points would seem to merit.
>
> Thane

Right the victory is clear, but we still have a weapon that, OK, has won you between
double and triple the BMs for the same points cost, but has not actually killed
anything.

Or are you being cunning and winning just by lowering morale and not actually fighting
anything?

OK to lay down the suppression fire but in the end someone's got to go in a kill them.
This is the "downer" of disrupt, they do not kill.

A#
Received on Sun Sep 13 1998 - 22:03:06 UTC