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Skaven (Renegades fan list) · 145 points
Is the Skaven Ratling Gun good?
Skaven Ratling Gun teams are not good value as shooters in my testing. They finished 21st of 29, and the gun is the only thing in its 145-point unit that shoots.
Quick answer: it depends what you point the Skaven Ratling Gun at
- Role
- Anti-infantry support weapon
- Good against
- Empire State Troops (3.5, 11th): best ranking
- Struggles against
- Knights of the Realm (1.3, 15th), Ironbreakers (0.4, 23rd), Skaven Dregs (2.9, 24th), Skirmishing Empire Archers (1.5, 28th)
- Range
- Loses some damage at range (69% kept)
Anti-infantry support weapon is the job Skaven Ratling Gun did best in my testing, and it is the yardstick I would judge it by, rather than its 21st-of-29 overall average.
How many simulations I ran
I ran 120 volleys with the Skaven Ratling Gun: ten fresh volleys at each of six targets, at both long and short range. I then fired 1,800 more Skaven Ratling Gun volleys at fixed distances, after moving and into cover. Those main volleys were part of the 4,080 I ran across 29 shooting units, and these were the Skaven Ratling Gun results.
No simulation is perfect, and my Skaven Ratling Gun results are no exception: the dice fall on open ground, with no magic, no extra characters and no opponent making decisions. With ten volleys per result, Skaven Ratling Gun (2.0) and Wood Elf Deepwood Scouts (2.1) finished level at short range, so I would not read anything into their order. Use these Skaven Ratling Gun figures as a strong guide to the job, not a promise.
My verdict
In my opinion you take the Ratling Gun for the unit around it, not for the gun. It did reasonably against State Troops (3.5 at short range) and almost nothing to Ironbreakers.
Best and worst targets for Skaven Ratling Gun
Skaven Ratling Gun by target. Ranks out of 29. n = 10 volleys per cell
| Target | Long | Rank | Short | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knights of the Realm | 1.0 | 17th | 1.3 | 15th |
| Ironbreakers | 0.4 | 19th | 0.4 | 23rd |
| Empire State Troops | 2.2 | 14th | 3.5 | 11th |
| Skaven Dregs | 2.3 | 22nd | 2.9 | 24th |
| Rat Ogres | 0.8 | 27th | 2.5 | 12th |
| Skirmishing Empire Archers | 1.6 | 16th | 1.5 | 28th |
Range and armour
At long range the Skaven Ratling Gun kept 69% of its short-range damage. Its best long-range target was Skaven Dregs (2.3).
Against my two heavily armoured targets, Knights of the Realm and Ironbreakers, Skaven Ratling Gun averaged 0.9 wounds at short range. That puts it 21st of 29 for cracking armour.
Rules that shaped these numbers
- Only the Ratling Gun shoots in its 145-point parent unit.
- I resolved double misfires on the Skaven mishap table. Wildly off-target shots can hit the intended target only on a scatter Hit.
- The Ratling Gun rolled 3 double misfires across all my shooting trials.
Skaven Ratling Gun after moving and in cover
My main table is a clean volley in the open, so I also fired the Skaven Ratling Gun at fixed distances, after moving and at targets in partial cover. The Skaven Ratling Gun could not reach a target 22 inches away, so the short distances are the ones that matter here. Standing still in the open at 10 inches, the Skaven Ratling Gun averaged 1.02 (16th of 18).
Skaven Ratling Gun: mean wounds across all six targets. Still or moved, open ground or partial cover. n = 60 volleys per cell
| Distance | Still, open | Moved, open | Still, cover | Moved, cover |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 inches | 1.02 (16th) | 1.43 (8th) | 0.68 (14th) | 0.50 (10th) |
| 22 inches | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
Ranks in brackets compare the Skaven Ratling Gun with the other 17 units in the fixed-distance test.
Skaven Ratling Gun after moving into partial cover, by distance. n = 60 volleys per cell
| 6in | 10in | 16in | 22in | 28in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.40 | 0.50 | 0.52 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
How I set up the test
Only the gun itself fires. My method page has the full setup.
How does it compare?
Other Skaven (Renegades fan list) shooters
- Skaven Jezzails150 pts · 3.7 avg short, 2.4 avg long
Similar overall damage
- Wood Elf Deepwood ScoutsWood Elf Realms · 2.1 avg short
- Tomb King Skeleton ArchersTomb Kings of Khemri · 2.0 avg short
- Chaos javelinsWarriors of Chaos · 1.8 avg short
My conclusion
Based on these results, I would use the Skaven Ratling Gun for thinning medium infantry such as State Troops, and not for armour, which it barely scratched, to get the most out of it on the battlefield.
FAQs
What is Skaven Ratling Gun best at shooting?
Empire State Troops: the Skaven Ratling Gun did 3.5 wounds per short-range volley against them in my tests. Its lowest number was against Ironbreakers, at 0.4.
Is the Skaven Ratling Gun better at long or short range?
Short range. The Skaven Ratling Gun kept 69% of its short-range damage at long range, 15th of 29 for holding up at range. The Skaven Ratling Gun averaged 1.4 wounds at long range against 2.0 at short range.
Is the Skaven Ratling Gun good against armour?
Against Knights of the Realm and Ironbreakers, the Skaven Ratling Gun averaged 0.9 wounds per short-range volley, 21st of the 29 units I tested.