Units with approximated price overage and suggested stats fix in order of how blatant the deficiency is:
*Ghekkotah warriors (5/10/15)- add nimble
*Ancients on foot (10/20)- add elite and +1 nerve
*Clan lords (10/15/20)- +1 attack/+1 nerve for flying lord
*Komodon (lol)- D3+1 blast
*Fire Drake (20)- add pierce 1(?), swap TC for CS, +1 nerve
*Ghekkotah Skyraiders (lol)- +1 defense, +4 attacks (and or/option to swap blowpipes for TC1)
*Ember Sprites (?)- +stealth, 8/16 attacks
*Ceremonial guard (5-10)- add headstrong
*Ghekkotah Hunters (10?)- add stealth, +1 pierce or bows for 10 points.
*Clutch warden (lol)
*Anklydon battle platform (?)
*Tyrants (10)- +1 speed
*raptor mounts (5)
NOTE: all math is done vs +4 defense or against units hitting on 4s and without pierce/crush.
NOTE 2: The last thing to do is to frame these changes in the context of the whole army. Ideally, nothing is made obsolete, but i have yet to put in the thought to ensure this.
Suggested fixes:
*Ghekkotah warriors*: add nimble, possibly something else. Will add character to the army by allowing ghekkos to play the intended role of skirmishers to the heavy infantry (salamanders) in the center instead of blatantly overpriced and rarely used meatshields (see ghouls that are 65/90/150 for identical stats, or any number of comparably priced units that are 4 offense and 4 defense). Ghekkos either need to be pushed into the utility realm via a non combat skill, or the meatshield realm by making them tougher.
*Ember Sprites*: +stealth, 8/16 attacks: Other factions comparable units (orclings, tidal swarms, EoD Swarms) all feel slightly lacking as well, but more focused. The inclusion of a Breath weapon is what complicates things. They arent cheap enough to strictly sacrifice, the horde does .18 wounds/10 points where the tidal swarms do .4, the EoD swarms .3, and the Orclings .5. They also require the least amount of effort to kill between the 4 units, with Tidal swarms requiring .72 hits/10 points, Ember sprites needing .63/10 (ignoring waiver chances), Orclings .88/10, and EoD swarms about .83/10. Including stealth and upping the breath to 8/16 would bump their "to kill" efficiency to .93, balanced by their much lower melee "to kill", and their ranged killing efficiency would jump to .37. These changes would also be in theme (sprites hiding, flitting about, and being generally hard to hit).
*Tyrants*: +1 speed. Tyrants stack up decently against its contemporaries but it simply doesn't have a role when you can get prime hordes or fire elementals. Its just more of the same but slightly more expensive. Against Goblin trolls, it trades +1 speed, regen +5, and 10 points for fury, brutal, and +1/+1 nerve. Not a good trade. Against Ogre warriors, again +1 speed, +1 melee, 10 points for fury, +1 CS, and +0/+1 nerve. Again, just slightly undercut. Against Guardian Brutes, +1 speed, +6 attacks, +2 TC in exchange for 20 points, +1 CS and brutal. Not a good trade at all. Against Cave trolls, Tyrants pay 5 points for -1 CS, no regen 5 but get fury and brutal in return. Terrible. Against dire fangs with gifts (270), you are 60 points cheaper for -1 speed, -12 attacks (66%), -1/0 nerve, and strider. Not bad I suppose.
*Ancients on foot*: add elite, and +1 nerve. Will solidify them as a usable veteran anvil unit and will no longer be overshadowed by prime hordes in efficiency, or by other factions "hard hitting veteran unit". Elven palace guard are 20 points cheaper for -1 defense and 15/17 instead of -/17 but ALSO gain +1 move and elite. Looking at the difference between salamander primes and unlbooded for +1 defense AND pathfinder, you see a 25 point gain for a regiment. Ancients should be 155. There are also several unit comparison for what points value -/17 should be over 15/17, such as spirit walkers vs longhorns; in short, its 5-10 points.
*Kasienor lancers*: Add something with an indirect impact, like strider. Vicious was a nice addition, but still leaves the unit without much of a role beyond "suicidal unit that hits kind of hard but not really hard enough".
*Clan Lords*: add firebolt for free. This will reinforce the 'fire' theme and give flexibility. The clan lords melee abilities are "adequate", and while makign them much nastier would be nice, i think giving you more tools is more interesting.
*Clan Lords on Flying Drakes*: +1 attack and +1 nerve. The elf dragon has 25% more attacks (and 3 CS instead of 2 CS+1 TC) and 2 more nerve or 20% more survivability (elf dragons require 36 non CS hits to kill with a nerve roll of 7, Drakes require 30) but only costs 11% more. If we average the difference in offensive and defensive power to 22.5%, the Drake should cost around 260. If we up the drake's attacks and nerve by 1 while keeping the price at 280, (11% less offense and 9% less survivability) we come up with a unit that is proportional equal to the elf dragon.
*raptor mounts*: drop to 15 points. +1 TC is nice, but irrelevant to the herald and mage. Call it a free faction bonus.
*Ceremonial Guard*: add headstrong. This will give you a more focused anvil instead of something that you will struggle to get a return on your investment in phalanx, given that they dont come in hordes and enemy cav can just "attack something else". Currently, prime hordes are just a better investment.
*Clutch Warden*: stealth by default, +3 attacks, +1 CS or piercing. Not sure how this guy passed QC at 85 points.
*Ghekkotah Skyraiders*: +1 defense, + 4 attacks. Skyraiders suffer from having no role whatsoever. They have *some* melee and *some* ranged but do neither well, preventing the player from best utilizing them. On top of that, they are "special" troops that generally get a BONUS in other factions because they don't provide unlocks; the fact that they are worst unit in the list is special is sad. Adding just enough survivability will let them do *SOMETHING* with +1 def, and adding attacks makes them an actual threat. I didn't math out any reason in particular for +4 attacks. 16 base attacks means the unit does .23 wounds for every 10 points it costs, which is still exceptionally low (elven silverbreeze do .14, and a regiment of primes do .28). By comparison, herd Eagles do .37 wounds/10 points. Firebolts would also make for an interesting option, but might not be balance-able on a 10 move flying unit. TC as an option could be interesting as well
*Ghekkotah hunters*: These guys are in a strange position. They have a number of nifty abilities but lack the staying power or punch to get anything out of them except as a speed bump. Their price also means that simple speed bump hurts. Other factions similar units (silver breeze, mounted scouts, night raiders, etc) all give you the option to make their points back in an offensive manner via threat range, pure offensive output, or area denial. Hunters dont do any of that. With bows at 120 points, these guys do .12 wounds/10 points and .15/10 points with blowpipes. Silver breeze do .14 and are harder to kill (+4 def and 11/13 vs +3 def and 10/12), Scouts with bows are .11 and .15 with pistols, Night raiders are .16/bows and .19 with throwing weapons. My gut says stealth should come stock, with either pierce 1 or bows as a free or 10 point option.
*Fire Drake*: +1 piercing, +1 nerve, +1 CS for TC. For the same points, varangur get , -6 breath, - vicious, -1 defense, +nimble, +pathfinder, +strider, +stealth, + 2 attacks. Loads more utility and threat for a slightly worse breath attack. Brotherhood Forsaken Beasts are 20 points cheaper for +1 CS for TC, +1 nerve, -6 breath, -vicious, and +ensnare. Or, swap ensnare for vicious and you are looking at 35 points cheaper for better nerve, better melee for a whopping 6 breath. Beasts of nature with breath and vicious are 15 points cheaper for +1 nerve, +1 cs for TS, pathfinder +1 melee all for -1 attack. Bottom line is that the fire drake is garbage for its points. +1 pierce maintains its "character" and +1 nerve, +1 CS allows it to stay relevant after the inevitable "1 breath then melee until death". If +1 pierce doesnt fit the "fire breath" theme, pathfinder or strider would allow it to breath fire where it needs to.
*Komodon*: 3+1 blast or 4 attacks. Currently the Komodon does about .15 wounds per 10 points, Ogre shooters do .21, Elven archers do .23, Elven bolt throwers do .22. In short, you need 1.5 komodons to be on equal footing with comparable shooty units. +1 blast moves it to .23 wounds/10 points, and 4 attacks moves it to .20 wounds/10 points.
A few points to consider:
*Salamanders dont have much of a theme. Nothing about the list jumps out at you and says "take me". The units with character are garbage. The infantry are just "kinda different lizard with +1 CS".
*the RC would prefer to adjust units instead of points. The addition of firebolt on several units indicates someone THOUGHT it could develop into a theme, but didnt implement in a way that worked. I think there is real potential with firebolt for this army, as it is in character, AND isnt OP like lightning bolt was. 18" is a whole different ball game than 24", and gives you the feeling of a "jungle-y" fighting force that never had to use pure long ranged firepower, but just enough to support the heavy infantry pushing through lush vegetation.
*some units are blatantly over-pointed
*some units pay for the ability to do several things, but this plays against the "whole is greater than the sum of its parts" idea, as well as the ability to apply combat multipliers. For instance, a unit of hard hitting melee flyers can give you a return on your investment GREATER than your investment if you engineer a flank charge, or combo charge, utilizing the agile nature of the fly special rule. A unit of skyraiders when used in the same role, will not see the exponential gains tat a dedicated melee unit would.
*some units do not have useful roles at all, or their profile ATTEMPTS to be characterful, but just doesnt meet the threshold of effectiveness to ever use them. Skyraiders, again, are the perfect example of this. A flying unit with 12" range and 12 vicious shots doesnt scare anyone for the points you have to invest.
*The army "special rule" is +1 CS. Ironically, the Fire drake and Clan Lord on fire drake lack the +2/+3 CS of its contemporaries but have TC instead. strange.
*Ghekkotah warriors (5/10/15)- add nimble
*Ancients on foot (10/20)- add elite and +1 nerve
*Clan lords (10/15/20)- +1 attack/+1 nerve for flying lord
*Komodon (lol)- D3+1 blast
*Fire Drake (20)- add pierce 1(?), swap TC for CS, +1 nerve
*Ghekkotah Skyraiders (lol)- +1 defense, +4 attacks (and or/option to swap blowpipes for TC1)
*Ember Sprites (?)- +stealth, 8/16 attacks
*Ceremonial guard (5-10)- add headstrong
*Ghekkotah Hunters (10?)- add stealth, +1 pierce or bows for 10 points.
*Clutch warden (lol)
*Anklydon battle platform (?)
*Tyrants (10)- +1 speed
*raptor mounts (5)
NOTE: all math is done vs +4 defense or against units hitting on 4s and without pierce/crush.
NOTE 2: The last thing to do is to frame these changes in the context of the whole army. Ideally, nothing is made obsolete, but i have yet to put in the thought to ensure this.
Suggested fixes:
*Ghekkotah warriors*: add nimble, possibly something else. Will add character to the army by allowing ghekkos to play the intended role of skirmishers to the heavy infantry (salamanders) in the center instead of blatantly overpriced and rarely used meatshields (see ghouls that are 65/90/150 for identical stats, or any number of comparably priced units that are 4 offense and 4 defense). Ghekkos either need to be pushed into the utility realm via a non combat skill, or the meatshield realm by making them tougher.
*Ember Sprites*: +stealth, 8/16 attacks: Other factions comparable units (orclings, tidal swarms, EoD Swarms) all feel slightly lacking as well, but more focused. The inclusion of a Breath weapon is what complicates things. They arent cheap enough to strictly sacrifice, the horde does .18 wounds/10 points where the tidal swarms do .4, the EoD swarms .3, and the Orclings .5. They also require the least amount of effort to kill between the 4 units, with Tidal swarms requiring .72 hits/10 points, Ember sprites needing .63/10 (ignoring waiver chances), Orclings .88/10, and EoD swarms about .83/10. Including stealth and upping the breath to 8/16 would bump their "to kill" efficiency to .93, balanced by their much lower melee "to kill", and their ranged killing efficiency would jump to .37. These changes would also be in theme (sprites hiding, flitting about, and being generally hard to hit).
*Tyrants*: +1 speed. Tyrants stack up decently against its contemporaries but it simply doesn't have a role when you can get prime hordes or fire elementals. Its just more of the same but slightly more expensive. Against Goblin trolls, it trades +1 speed, regen +5, and 10 points for fury, brutal, and +1/+1 nerve. Not a good trade. Against Ogre warriors, again +1 speed, +1 melee, 10 points for fury, +1 CS, and +0/+1 nerve. Again, just slightly undercut. Against Guardian Brutes, +1 speed, +6 attacks, +2 TC in exchange for 20 points, +1 CS and brutal. Not a good trade at all. Against Cave trolls, Tyrants pay 5 points for -1 CS, no regen 5 but get fury and brutal in return. Terrible. Against dire fangs with gifts (270), you are 60 points cheaper for -1 speed, -12 attacks (66%), -1/0 nerve, and strider. Not bad I suppose.
*Ancients on foot*: add elite, and +1 nerve. Will solidify them as a usable veteran anvil unit and will no longer be overshadowed by prime hordes in efficiency, or by other factions "hard hitting veteran unit". Elven palace guard are 20 points cheaper for -1 defense and 15/17 instead of -/17 but ALSO gain +1 move and elite. Looking at the difference between salamander primes and unlbooded for +1 defense AND pathfinder, you see a 25 point gain for a regiment. Ancients should be 155. There are also several unit comparison for what points value -/17 should be over 15/17, such as spirit walkers vs longhorns; in short, its 5-10 points.
*Kasienor lancers*: Add something with an indirect impact, like strider. Vicious was a nice addition, but still leaves the unit without much of a role beyond "suicidal unit that hits kind of hard but not really hard enough".
*Clan Lords*: add firebolt for free. This will reinforce the 'fire' theme and give flexibility. The clan lords melee abilities are "adequate", and while makign them much nastier would be nice, i think giving you more tools is more interesting.
*Clan Lords on Flying Drakes*: +1 attack and +1 nerve. The elf dragon has 25% more attacks (and 3 CS instead of 2 CS+1 TC) and 2 more nerve or 20% more survivability (elf dragons require 36 non CS hits to kill with a nerve roll of 7, Drakes require 30) but only costs 11% more. If we average the difference in offensive and defensive power to 22.5%, the Drake should cost around 260. If we up the drake's attacks and nerve by 1 while keeping the price at 280, (11% less offense and 9% less survivability) we come up with a unit that is proportional equal to the elf dragon.
*raptor mounts*: drop to 15 points. +1 TC is nice, but irrelevant to the herald and mage. Call it a free faction bonus.
*Ceremonial Guard*: add headstrong. This will give you a more focused anvil instead of something that you will struggle to get a return on your investment in phalanx, given that they dont come in hordes and enemy cav can just "attack something else". Currently, prime hordes are just a better investment.
*Clutch Warden*: stealth by default, +3 attacks, +1 CS or piercing. Not sure how this guy passed QC at 85 points.
*Ghekkotah Skyraiders*: +1 defense, + 4 attacks. Skyraiders suffer from having no role whatsoever. They have *some* melee and *some* ranged but do neither well, preventing the player from best utilizing them. On top of that, they are "special" troops that generally get a BONUS in other factions because they don't provide unlocks; the fact that they are worst unit in the list is special is sad. Adding just enough survivability will let them do *SOMETHING* with +1 def, and adding attacks makes them an actual threat. I didn't math out any reason in particular for +4 attacks. 16 base attacks means the unit does .23 wounds for every 10 points it costs, which is still exceptionally low (elven silverbreeze do .14, and a regiment of primes do .28). By comparison, herd Eagles do .37 wounds/10 points. Firebolts would also make for an interesting option, but might not be balance-able on a 10 move flying unit. TC as an option could be interesting as well
*Ghekkotah hunters*: These guys are in a strange position. They have a number of nifty abilities but lack the staying power or punch to get anything out of them except as a speed bump. Their price also means that simple speed bump hurts. Other factions similar units (silver breeze, mounted scouts, night raiders, etc) all give you the option to make their points back in an offensive manner via threat range, pure offensive output, or area denial. Hunters dont do any of that. With bows at 120 points, these guys do .12 wounds/10 points and .15/10 points with blowpipes. Silver breeze do .14 and are harder to kill (+4 def and 11/13 vs +3 def and 10/12), Scouts with bows are .11 and .15 with pistols, Night raiders are .16/bows and .19 with throwing weapons. My gut says stealth should come stock, with either pierce 1 or bows as a free or 10 point option.
*Fire Drake*: +1 piercing, +1 nerve, +1 CS for TC. For the same points, varangur get , -6 breath, - vicious, -1 defense, +nimble, +pathfinder, +strider, +stealth, + 2 attacks. Loads more utility and threat for a slightly worse breath attack. Brotherhood Forsaken Beasts are 20 points cheaper for +1 CS for TC, +1 nerve, -6 breath, -vicious, and +ensnare. Or, swap ensnare for vicious and you are looking at 35 points cheaper for better nerve, better melee for a whopping 6 breath. Beasts of nature with breath and vicious are 15 points cheaper for +1 nerve, +1 cs for TS, pathfinder +1 melee all for -1 attack. Bottom line is that the fire drake is garbage for its points. +1 pierce maintains its "character" and +1 nerve, +1 CS allows it to stay relevant after the inevitable "1 breath then melee until death". If +1 pierce doesnt fit the "fire breath" theme, pathfinder or strider would allow it to breath fire where it needs to.
*Komodon*: 3+1 blast or 4 attacks. Currently the Komodon does about .15 wounds per 10 points, Ogre shooters do .21, Elven archers do .23, Elven bolt throwers do .22. In short, you need 1.5 komodons to be on equal footing with comparable shooty units. +1 blast moves it to .23 wounds/10 points, and 4 attacks moves it to .20 wounds/10 points.
A few points to consider:
*Salamanders dont have much of a theme. Nothing about the list jumps out at you and says "take me". The units with character are garbage. The infantry are just "kinda different lizard with +1 CS".
*the RC would prefer to adjust units instead of points. The addition of firebolt on several units indicates someone THOUGHT it could develop into a theme, but didnt implement in a way that worked. I think there is real potential with firebolt for this army, as it is in character, AND isnt OP like lightning bolt was. 18" is a whole different ball game than 24", and gives you the feeling of a "jungle-y" fighting force that never had to use pure long ranged firepower, but just enough to support the heavy infantry pushing through lush vegetation.
*some units are blatantly over-pointed
*some units pay for the ability to do several things, but this plays against the "whole is greater than the sum of its parts" idea, as well as the ability to apply combat multipliers. For instance, a unit of hard hitting melee flyers can give you a return on your investment GREATER than your investment if you engineer a flank charge, or combo charge, utilizing the agile nature of the fly special rule. A unit of skyraiders when used in the same role, will not see the exponential gains tat a dedicated melee unit would.
*some units do not have useful roles at all, or their profile ATTEMPTS to be characterful, but just doesnt meet the threshold of effectiveness to ever use them. Skyraiders, again, are the perfect example of this. A flying unit with 12" range and 12 vicious shots doesnt scare anyone for the points you have to invest.
*The army "special rule" is +1 CS. Ironically, the Fire drake and Clan Lord on fire drake lack the +2/+3 CS of its contemporaries but have TC instead. strange.
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), etc.) make Sallies' marginal overcosting less important. In cases where it is a little more pronounced (Tyrants, Ghekkotah of all descriptions, Komodon) it just means people take them less often, in preference to the standout units like Lancers and FEs.
