Since this particular weapon is only available on the Tyrannofex for free* all of you people who still think that the Tyrannofex is rubbish can go an sit in the corner till I've finished.
* A Hive Tyrant can take the same upgrade for 25 points if you really want.
Just the Tyrannofex fan-boys (and girls) here?
Good, off we go then ;-)
The Thorax Swarm comes as part of the Tyrannofex's standard wargear and has the wonderful ability to be fired in addition to the 2 weapons normally allowed by Monstrous Creatures. The 'default' option is 'Electroshock Grubs' but as changing to the other options is free that doesn't really make a difference to the analysis (points cost being a non-issue). In the unlikely event that your taking this as an upgrade for a Hive Tyrant the cost is also identical regardless of the 'insect ammo' you select.
As this is a Template weapon Maths becomes a bit tricky as there is no way to calculate average number of hits, so were going to go with 'chance to kill' as this...
...is unlikely to be your opponents deployment unless your very, very lucky or all your opponents suffer from mental disorders ;-)
So our template options are,
a) Electroshock Grubs : S 5, AP 5, Assault 1.
b) Sheddershard Beetles : S 3, AP -, Assault 1, Rending.
c) Desiccator Larvae : S1, AP -, Assault 1, Wounds on 2's Vs. non-vehicle units.
So lets see which is best then,
Electroshock Grubs.
Range - Template, S 5, AP 5, Assault 1.
Vs. Marine Terminator - 0.67 chance to wound, 0.11 chance of death after 2+ save.
Vs. Marine - 0.67 chance to wound, 0.22 chance of death after 3+ saves.
Vs. Ork - 0.67 chance to wound, 0.67 dead.
Vs. Guardsmen - 0.83 chance to wound, 0.83 dead.
It also has a small chance to penetrate Armour 10,
Vs. Armour 10, 0.167 chance of a pen, 0.056 chance of wreck/explosion.
So it does nicely against Orks and Humans but barely tickles anything with a decent armour save or actual armour (much like most Flamer weapons if were honest).
Sheddershard Beetles.
Range - Template, S 3, AP -, Assault 1, Rending.
Vs. Marine Terminator - 0.33 chance to wound (0.11 chance of death to Rending after 5+ inv. save), 0.05 chance of death after 2+ save.
Vs. Assault Terminator - 0.33 chance to wound (0.06 chance of death to Rending after 3+ inv. save), 0.05 chance of death after 2+ save.
Vs. Marine - 0.33 chance to wound (0.17 chance of death to Rending) 0.11 chance of death after 3+ saves.
Vs. Ork - 0.33 chance to wound (0.17 chance of death to Rending) 0.28 chance of death after 6+ saves.
Vs. Guardsmen - Vs. Ork - 0.33 chance to wound (0.17 chance of death to Rending) 0.22 chance of death after 5+ saves.
It also can in theory hurt Armour 10,
Vs. Armour 10, 0.17 chance of a Rending hit, 0.057 chance of pen, 0.01 chance of wreck.
So it's worse against everything, lol.
Desiccator Larvae.
S1, AP -, Assault 1, Wounds on 2's Vs. non-vehicle units.
As we're wounding everything on 2's anyway we'll look at effectiveness based on target save.
0.83 chance of wounding,
No Save, 0.83 dead (Is there anything with 1 wound and no save?).
6+ Save, 0.69 dead (Orks).
5+ Save, 0.55 dead (Guardsmen, Guardians, Rangers, etc.).
4+ Save, 0.42 dead (Ard Boyz, Dire Avengers, Fire warriors, Marine Scouts, etc.).
3+ Save, 0.28 dead (Blue Marines, Grey Marines, Red Marines, Spiky Marines, etc.).
2+ Save, 0.14 dead (Terminators).
1+ Save, sorry wrong game system...still 0.14 dead though...
So the Larvae work better against everything except Guardsmen who are slightly more vulnerable to Beetles and can do nothing to vehicles.
Conclusion.
Desiccator Larvae is the best overall despite it's inability to hurt vehicles. I'm sure the fucking great MC it's attached to can sort out the vehicles, especially if it's got a S10, Assault 2 gun of some description ;-)
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Mathshammer /
Tyranids
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