Dark eldar lance hammer

A lot of the power gaming players I have been chatting with about the new dark eldar all gave the codex a thumbs down. So let's first look at some basic math hammer for lances. I've always said lances are not that great versus armor 12 and higher. How do they stack up against AV11 and AV10?



Dark lance (S8 AP2)
vs AV12+:
0.67 to hit
> 0.33 to penetrate
0.33 to wreck or destroy
7% chance to wreck or destroy (not good at all)

> 0.5 to glance
17% chance to immobilize (not as bad but by no means reliable)
23% chance to shake or stun (fairly decent but still nothing special)

vs AV11:
0.67 to hit
> 0.5 to penetrate
0.33 to wreck or destroy
11% chance to wreck or destroy (still not good)

> 0.67 to glance
22% chance to immobilize
30% chance to shake or stun

vs AV10:
0.67 to hit
> 0.67 to penetrate
0.33 to wreck or destroy
15% chance to wreck or destroy

> 0.83 to glance
29% chance to immobilize
46% chance to shake or stun

The new Voidraven has the void lance (S9 AP2). Lets see how it stacks up versus armor.

vs AV12+:
0.67 to hit
> 0.5 to penetrate
0.33 to wreck or destroy
11% chance to wreck or destroy

> 0.67 to glance
22% chance to immobilize
30% chance to shake or stun (on average at least three shots just to shake or stun)

vs AV11:
0.67 to hit
> 0.67 to penetrate
0.33 to wreck or destroy
15% chance to wreck or destroy (still not good)

> 0.83 to glance
29% chance to immobilize
37% chance to shake or stun

vs AV10:
0.67 to hit
> 0.83 to penetrate
0.33 to wreck or destroy
18% chance to wreck or destroy

> 1.0 to glance
33% chance to immobilize
67% chance to shake or stun

Then finally there is the short ranged melta lance (S6 AP1) that reavers can take. Obviously this is your best odds but you'll need to get those jetbikes up close (9" for half range).

vs AV12+:
0.67 to hit
> 0.5 to penetrate
0.5 to wreck or destroy
17% chance to wreck or destroy

vs AV11:
0.67 to hit
> 0.58 to penetrate
0.5 to wreck or destroy
19% chance to wreck or destroy

vs AV10:
0.67 to hit
> 0.67 to penetrate
0.5 to wreck or destroy
22% chance to wreck or destroy

So the S6 melta lance is not by any means a real tank killer.

Remember that all these odds do not take into account smoke launchers or other types of cover saves for tanks which are profuse in fifth edition. I know this must come as a bit of a letdown. Like I said lances are not that great in 5th edition since you will only wreck or destroy one third of the time when rolling for a penetration on the AP table. Even the lowly rhino can be a tough nut to crack unless you have S8 melta or higher. So basically lances are better much better at glancing armor and this is where the focus should be. You'll still need to get in close to the enemy to deal with tanks so that you can destroy them. Walkers are obviously going to be a problem for dark eldar since they don't have much that can effectively deal with them in close combat. Looks like haywire grenades are a must have for dark eldar - they aren't that great either but it's another threat you can stack on top of your lances. Maybe I'm missing something but it looks like IG parking lots will be an uphill battle for dark eldar.

G