GlynG wrote:
Responding to your comments in the other locked thread I don't see a problem with adjusting points costs to balance units personally and it's not like there isn't a LOT of precedent - compare the SM list in the printed Epic rulebook with the Net-EA list and 14 out of the 28 formations and upgrades have had their costs changed.
Not to put words in Rug's mouth but I think the issue with points adjustments is really that they've been rejected previously to fix these units. There's a desire to keep the artillery company at the same point value, so improving the lackluster units seems preferred over adjusting points.
Similarly for the Baneblade, plus the unit has clear deficiencies that a simple points adjustments doesn't quite fix. In the locked thread I showed that the cheaper Baneblade Company still has anemic damage output at medium/long range for what you're paying. At the same time, you're accidentally making the cheapest 4+ RA unit in the game. Check this out:
Code:
Formation DC Cost Cost/DC
Baneblade Co (NDC) 9 425 47.22
Plague Tower* 6 325 54.17
Baneblade Co 9 500 55.56
Baneblade (NDC) 3 175 58.33
Exocrine 3 175 58.33
Stompa, Uge 9 575 63.89
Leman Russ Co 10 650 65.00
Stompa, Big 6 400 66.67
Baneblade 3 200 66.67
Lord of Battle* 6 400 66.67
Stompa 3 225 75.00
Decimator 3 225 75.00
Landraider 4 325 81.25
Hierodule* 4 350 87.50
Hierophant* 6 525 87.50
Thunderhawk 2 200 100.00
Fingers crossed that formatting works. We really need bbcode tables here. Anyway those are all the 4+ RA units purchased as formations (not upgrades) I could find that didn't have void shields/holofields/etc. Units with an asterisk have an Inv save and/or Regenerate.
You can see dropping the Baneblade points as proposed would make it cheaper than any other 4+ RA unit per DC by a wide margin. (You can also see that the Plague Tower seems like a worrisome outlier). If any unit deserves to be at the top of that table, it's the Stompa, and for what it's worth the NDC Baneblade Company would even be cheaper than the NDC Stompa Uge formation.
I would much rather soften the Crit effect and increase long range damage output to make the tank attractive and still keep it in the realm of normal unit stats and costs.