This week’s Hammer of Math takes a quick look at the differences in efficacy between two Drukhari units that both contain an excessive number of sharp edges.
Drukhari (or Dark Eldar back in 1998 when I played them) have always had a soft, overly spiky place in my heart. Thematically they’re fantastic; a race of perpetually doomed monsters who depend on the agony of others to stave off the insatiable demands of the Chaos God destined to consume their souls. From an army perspective they’re flavorful and unique, a glass cannon with powerful guns and insane speed. It’s also fun to see an army that isn’t just a monolithic force, with the other xenos species serving as allies or useful pets. Unfortunately they haven’t received their codex yet, but the latest Dataslate update provided some much needed boosts.
This week we’re comparing two units that have a lot of potential to blend anything that gets within melee range. The options are Incubi supported by an Archon (which is a new option courtesy of the Dataslate) and a unit of Wyches led by Lelith Hesperax. We’re assuming Power through Pain is active to enable an extra point of AP and re-rolling Hits, and that the units are in the new Skysplinter Assault detachment and have disembarked from a Transport to gain the [LANCE] ability on their melee weapons.
10 Incubi led by an Archon cost 225 points and produces a combination of 30 attacks hitting on a 3+ at S4, AP-3, and D2 and 5 more attacks hitting on a 2+ with S3, AP-3, D2, and [ANTI-INFANTRY 3+]. The Archon allows the unit to re-roll Wounds when Empowered.
The 10 Wyches led by Lelith cost 175 points. The Wyches produce 30 attacks hitting on a 3+, S4, AP-3, and D1. Lelith produces 12 attacks hitting on a 2+, S4, AP-4, D1, and [SUSTAINED HITS 2] and [ANTI-INFANTRY 2+]. Normally Lelith has 8 attacks, but in this case we’re expecting her to use her once per battle ability to get an extra four.
Target 1: Intercessors
There are three major takeaways here. First, even against as easy a target as Intercessors the Wych block simply can’t keep up with the Incubi. The 50 point difference between the Wyches and either version of the Incubi translates to effectively doubling the average number of Intercessors killed. The second takeaway is that AoC has a significant benefit against Incubi, reducing the casualties taken by twenty percent. Given the high AP characteristics of the Drukhari weapons using methods to reduce that impact is helpful.
The third takeaway, unfortunately for the Space Marines, is that these units put out so much damage that Intercessors don’t stand a chance. Even through Armour of Contempt the Wyches are going to kill 10 around 95% of the time, and the Incubi hit so hard that their floor is 11 models near-guaranteed to die with a 50/50 chance of killing 19. Intercessors, of course, don’t come in squads of more than 10, but it’s worth bearing this in mind for the few Marine units that do such as the Black Templars’ Crusader squad.
Target 2: Land Raider
We’ve looked at an ideal target for these two units – i.e. power armoured infantry. What about the other end of the scale – the Land Raider? The Incubi show that they can reliably kill one, even with Armour of Contempt utilized, and far outstrip the Wych unit. The Wych Squad has a roughly 20% chance of dealing enough wounds, but the low damage really causes problems for the unit. This chart also shows you exactly how impressive the synergistic effects of modifiers and re-rolls are, with lowly S4 units bringing down a T12, 2+ save Land Raider.
Damage Is King
In the end, the Incubi are just better than the Wych unit to an extent that’s beyond the 50 point difference. The primary reason for this is the added damage of the Incubi weapons – they just hit harder. Access to Wound re-rolls from the Archon helps a lot too, and the combination of Wound roll bonus and re-rolling makes the Incubi nasty against pretty much everything. There’s also a lot of evidence that shows that Incubi are very sensitive to improvements to AP, so options like Armour of Contempt can be very effective when deployed correctly – though ideally you want to be combining this with another defence like damage reduction, otherwise the Incubi may well blow right through your unit anyway.
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