Tzaangor Enlightened on Foot. Analyzing if they are worth it.

[themortalgod]

So I've been thinking about Tzaangor Enlighted on foot ever since the BoC Battletome came out. Before putting them on foot was never even considered an option because you were paying the same points for an objectively inferior unit but now that they have different pts costs the conversation becomes much more interesting.

As it stands you are paying a 40% pts hike to hop on a disc with TE (Tzaangor Enlightened). Is it worth the extra pts in all situations? 

For comparison purposes, I am going to compare a 9 man unit of TE on foot (300pts) to a 6 man unit of TE on disc (280pts)

They are almost the same cost which makes the comparison reasonably close and is a realistic comparison to a decision you may make during the army building.

For the sake of damage comparison, I am presuming they are all able to attack a target with a 5+ save and no additional defenses. In addition, I am only accounting for the base profile, no guided by the past. 

TE on Foot:

• 27 wounds ( +12.5%)
• 15.8 damage (-7.6%)
• 6" move (-62%)

TE on Disc

• 24 wounds
• 17.1 damage
• 16" move

On the surface, in a nutshell, with Tzaangor on foot you get a tougher unit that does slightly less damage but is a lot slower for slightly more pts. Based on this alone it suggests that in most cases TE on Disc are usually the better option. But this isn't the whole story. Both have a few other pros that are less mathematical that are also worth considering.

TE on Foot

• Larger unit footprint. This is both a pro and a con. The con is that the unit is more unwieldy, especially due to its slowness but also in terms of being able to ensure every model gets to fight. The 2" reach with their spear helps but doesn't necessarily solve the problem. The benefit, however, is that a larger unit is able to enjoy larger coverage for their 'Babbling Stream of Secrets" ability which, in some situations can actually have a pretty big impact. 
• Tougher relative to their cost means that they can make better use of Guided by the Past. TE want to take hits before they hit back. An uninjured unit of TE on disc may do more damage comparatively but in many situations, that unit will also lose effectiveness faster when they wait for opponents to attack before they do.
• Better at holding objectives. Once on an objective TE on foot are better at holding that objective because their model count is higher and they are harder to kill. In contrast, they are worse at reaching the objective due to their slowness.

TE on Disc

• The vast increase in speed allows them to always be where they need to be. 
• The addition of the daemon keyword. Which is also a pro and a con. The pro is that they can make use of Daemon specific buffs or benefits. The most common being Fold Reality which most of the time will completely offset their lower wounds count but sometimes can be catastrophic. The downside, however, is that some armies, such as SCE gain additional benefit when fighting daemons. Often doubling MW output from certain abilities. This is actually a massive consideration as SCE is the most common army in most metas. It is also worth noting that gaining the daemon keyword has more benefit in a Disciple of Tzeentch army than in a Beasts of Chaos army.

Based on the above the decision becomes much more 'muddled' and situational. We are starting to see it become less about which is objectively better and more about which is situationally better. 

This question compounds further once we introduce warscroll battalions

Skyshoal Coven

The point is pretty moot here as the coven requires that you choose to ride discs but it is worth noting that if you ever intend to try that battalion out, don't put your TE on foot.

Tzaangor Coven

In contrast, however, in a Tzaangor Coven, TE on foot become more desirable than their mounted counterparts in most situations for two reasons. The first reason being that since the battalion's main benefit depends on the TE being close to the standard Tzaangor unit to gain benefit you likely will rarely find yourself taking advantage of the TE on Disc speed since you have to go slow enough so the other boys can keep up. Thus you are paying for a huge increase in speed you won't be using. But also because the buff to vicious beaks that the Battalion provides increases in value with more beak attacks which you gain when having a larger number of TE on foot for the same pts cost.

Phantasmagoria of Fate

Very little benefit either way here but it is worth noting that the increased speed means that the TE on Disc are more likely to be deeper into enemy territory and possibly in a better position to unbind spells. 

Conclusion

As a whole, TE on Foot and TE on Disc a reasonably competitive depending on the situation. The choice isn't nearly as clear-cut as before. However, it is worth considering that you are going to be paying 1/3 more in terms of dollars to actually buy the models as well for a very similar choice so that is often going to be a consideration for many people.

I'd love to hear what everyone else feels about this. If any of my math above is wrong, please do tell me, I could have a made a mistake and if there are any factors I have overlooked I would love to here. I am still pretty much on the fence about the two as I feel this analysis doesn't have a clear cut winner.  

On another side note, though, I wish GW gave the option for Skyfires to be on foot. The mobility certainly makes Skyfires very good but having a unit that is strictly for shooting would add another interesting dynamic.

[Luke1705]

Nothing wrong with your math that I noticed but mobility is completely worth it. Even if you didn’t get the disc attacks (which are great) I would pay the points just for the added mobility.

There is hardly a unit in the game that wouldn’t pay a 40% price increase if they could get the fly keyword added and +10” move.

[themortalgod]

1 hour ago, Luke1705 said:

Nothing wrong with your math that I noticed but mobility is completely worth it. Even if you didn’t get the disc attacks (which are great) I would pay the points just for the added mobility.

There is hardly a unit in the game that wouldn’t pay a 40% price increase if they could get the fly keyword added and +10” move.

Yeah, my main feeling is that you only really want the footslogger ones in a Tzaangor coven where the speed means nothing since you need to stay close to the Tzaangor on foot unit anyway.

[Luke1705]

Speed always means something

[Kharneth]

I agree with @Luke1705, the +10" movement and fly keyword are HUGE. Paying the points exclusively for these would be expensive, but I think it'd be a desirable option. The disc attacks (and the extra wound) are very useful, too. The ability to fly means they can charge through units and with Destiny Dice we can predestine our charge ranges if we want to.  Additionally, the disc enlightened don't just have superior damage, they also have a smaller combat surface area, which means they're dealing more damage while taking less in return. 

The only advantage for footslogging enlightened is greater numbers and I think that'd only be worth not using the discs if your army was tailored around your footslogging enlightened. 

I've played a lot of Khorne in my time and I'm very familiar with the flaw in using a powerful melee unit that is not very mobile. I think the discs are what makes the enlightened so powerful because 16" movement allows them to fight only the fights that they want to fight and they can always fight on whatever location they choose. Not to mention the name of the game is objective securing and a 16" move unit can land on an objective practically any turn it chooses to. 

Edit: I'm only thinking in terms of DoT, Idk about the context of BoC.

Edited January 3, 2019 by Kharneth

[Charsiupao]

Sorry to necro this, but now that the flying versions are 180 (compared to 100 for the footsoldiers) would they still be clearly better? Or is there room for playing both?

[Maddpainting]

Just going by points, equal closely to 300pts to keep it easy (299.7pts for 9 on foot and 300pts for 5 on Disks)
1 Disk is 60pts, 1 on Foot is 33.3pts

9 on foot = 27 wounds
5 on Disks = 20 wounds

9 on Foot damage vs 5+ save unit, 1 Leader, within Shaman range;
W/rr's = 39.2
Wo/rr's = 26.9

5 on Disk damage vs 5+ save unit, 1 Leader, within Shaman range;
W/rr's = 44.5
Wo/rr's = 26.5

On foot is more wounds and more damage without Re-rolls (aka fighting first) and more models.
On Disk moves faster and more damage with re-rolls. 

[Sinfullyvannila]

You can do a pile-in and safely fight 1" units without losing out on damage with the Enlightened on Foot. That's reliant on your opponent messing up though. 

I don't recall if fly works in the charge phase in AoS(too much 40k lately) but if it does, you can do your 9" charge agenda very easily unless your opponent is extremely brilliant with screening. I'm not certain the 80 point increase is worth it just for the damage, but a 16 inch flying fall-back onto an objective is always a great option.

Edited January 27, 2021 by Sinfullyvannila