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Joined: Thu Feb 13, 2003 10:52 pm
Posts: 9617
Location: Nashville, TN, USA
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Clipping does not work.
Lets say a Tactical detachment with 3 Razors and chaplain attacks from a side. You get total of 4 hits. No save on gaunt means that 4 are killed. Add chaplain bonus and it's +5 for marines. That means that total of 9 are killed if same dice is rolls. Put in something more powerful and you get more (warp spiders etc). Two of those will wipe the swarm pretty effectively.
This is an extremely optimistic assessment, Hena.
To get 4 hits, you have to be in range of 4 units. If you get close enough to guarantee that many targets, the Nids will countercharge more into range. FF5+ on Termagaunts is pretty good. Getting a total fo 6-7 nids in range after countercharge will usually kill one SM unit. Or the SMs can keep fewer Nids in range to begin with, in which case, the Nids can stay in place and let you just take fewer hits. Either way, you're really looking at +3 or so maximum kill differential from clipping.
And what about -1 for being outnumbered? For equivalent points, the Nids would have ~20 units to the marines' 11. The outnumbering negates the Chaplain.
You're really looking at ~+3 resolution for a clipping assault normally, not +5. That's for an ideal situation - a 425 point SM formation, close enough to assault, with no BMs, that happens to have a Chaplain. No cover for the nids and no nid units with saves out on the edges of the formation (which, of course, is the first place they go).
What do you get from this highly idealized situation? Not much. The SMs kill ~7 brood creatures (maybe 125 points if there is a Ravener or Gargoyle or two in the mix). Marines lose 1 unit (35-50 points). Nids don't retreat far, and get a double move to rearrange. SMs are now at the Tyranid line and have a BM due to the casualty in the assault.
Big deal. If I'm the Tyranid player my response is "Oh, no, please don't throw me in that briar patch, Brer Bear."
Moreover, it just won't happen that way in a game. Usually a weak line like you are assuming is not necessary. If the SMs are in a position to clip the end of the line, then the line wasn't containing them. If it's not containing them, it's not necessary. The Nids aren't going to spread out.
30 - 40cm with ZoC is possible. But that means that fast enemy will run around you easily.
I'm not sure if I can explain it without diagrams. You don't have to have a solid line during the game. It only has to be solid enough to make it tactically foolish for the enemy to try to penetrate it.
30-40cm spread is easy with 20+ models, even if there is only a single synapse creature. 5cm ZoC, +4cm stand width, +15cm to the Synapse, +4 cm stand width on the Synapse, with the same on the other side - +15cm +4cm +5cm. Total potential width is 50cm. At 40cm, not only is there coverage, but depth.
Depending on the distance to the enemy you can often leave some room in between the swarms. Unless you're right on top of the enemy, they can't just squirt between the swarms without making themselves extremely vulnerable. Basically, the Nids have a 15cm "threat zone" even beyond the physical block of formation + ZoC.
On a corner deployment, 80cm total frontage leaves only very small alleys to maneuver past them (120cm narrow board width). The "threat zone" takes care of the large majority of those gaps. Even on a standard deployment, that's a big frontage. The enemy can't shift it more than ~15cm at a pop.
That's with only 2 swarms. At 2700-3000 points Nids can have either 4-5 swarms that size or 2-3 plus some big bugs. Assuming the big bug list, 2 swarms plus 2 biotitans can easily block 100cm.
But as I said the problem that I still have is that Synapses still take the objectives quite effectively. And that no rules on withdraw make Nids a lot more powerful.
I think this is a pretty good analysis. The free withdrawal move is very potent for Nids. It might be worth considering restricting them to a single move.
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Neal
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