Baseline calculations

[HuyMix]

Coming from a 40k world, I'm used to evaluating units using a comparable baseline (Marine Equivalents MEQ, or Terminator Equivalent TEQ). 

With AOS it's not as necessary since there are less relative stats to consider (most are just on the warscroll) but I was wondering what folks use as a baseline and what things people do to understand the relative value of other attributes (scaling down of attacks from wounds, benefit of reach). 

For example, if I were to consider my shooting attacks or close combat to a judicator it would be different than to a regular dwarf. I haven't really settled on anything yet myself I just sort just math it out from the warscroll side only (but this is not really fully complete). X attacks => Y hits =? Z wounds but then I'm missing the damage and rend effects. 

[daedalus81]

Most armor saves of moderate concern fall into the 4+ bucket it seems so that would be your MeQ.  Handling 4+ well will give you little concern over the 5+ and worse models.  Otherwise the biggest concern for folks is bringing units with enough rend that make 3+ (and the rare 2+) a manageable task - TeQ.

A 3+/3+ attack would be considered on the very elite side of things especially with lots of stuff providing rerolls of 1s it makes a very reliable damage output.  4+/4+ will be standard and anything with a 5+ will be in horde style units (or a weapon that benefits greatly elsewhere).  Of course quantity of attacks will play some role in that judgment, too.

Rend 1 is sort of the gold standard.  Rend 2 is relatively rare outside heroes and rend 3 is harder still to acquire.

Longer reach weapons typically hit less, but get more models to attack so it's mostly  a wash unless you have a sort of phalanx like with Liberators and Protectors.  It's a pretty rare consideration overall.  I do sometimes keep my verminlord firmly at 3" with a unit in front to keep him safe.