[Culler]

The Carnifex has a base 6 toughness and a 3+ armor save. Is it better to increase their toughness to 7 for 20 points or to increase their save to a 2+ for 25 points? Most people I think go with extended carapace. Personally I don't want to do both so that I can keep my 'fexes a little leaner.

Extended Carapace - Against things that don't ignore it, a 2+ save vs a 3+ save means that you have half the chance to fail an armor save. This means a greater resistance to small arms fire, high strength poor AP weaponry like autocannons, and infantry assaults. It also gives you a save vs. AP 3 weaponry of which there tends not to be a great deal, and gives the fex a little help against snipers. The downside is that you are wasting points when getting shot at by lascannons, melta weapons, or anything else that ignores/penetrates your armor save.

Bonded Exoskeleton - The extra toughness gives you greater resistance to everything that the extended carapace does except AP 3 weaponry. In addition, it also gives greater resistance to things that do penetrate armor like power fists, monstrous creatures, and melta weapons. The downside is that it does nothing against str 4 weaponry or str 9+ weaponry, which still wound on a 6+ and 2+ respectively, and it also does nothing against sniper weapons. It also makes the fex immune to str 3 weaponry, not that that will come up often.

At first I favored the extended carapace but then I got to thinking and I think I may like the bonded exoskeleton more. Neither helps any against lascannons or railguns, but I think that the bonded exoskeleton will help in more situations, though when it does help it's often not as dramatic as the extended carapace which halves the probability of failing the armor save.

So what are your thoughts?

 

[Bishop120]

Bonded Exoskeleton... all the weapons you really need to worry about are already AP2.. at least with the extra toughness you make it slightly more difficult for those weapons to hurt you and you make it so some models cant even hurt you (read guardsmen/lasguns/and all other Str 3 and below).

Real question for you... are you worried about Missle Launchers? If your scared grab the 2+ other wise toughness helps more.

 

[VoidLord]

bonded exo is the preferred choice on my end. It five points cheaper and effects alot of those weapons your already scared of cause they penetrate your save. the str 3 is alot more common than you think. I have gotten my fex swamped by swarms like nurglings, and when facing another nid opponent you have to hate when those guants take down your fex on pure numbers

 

[The Wraithlord]

My suggestion: take both.

 

[RisingSun Marines]

I'd take both, but I'm a tech-whore so...

but if your wanting to keep your fexes "lean" then I'd go for the bonded exoskeleton

 

[bl0203]

I would go for the xtra toughness, it reduces those strength 8 weapons making them wound on 3+. It doesn't sound lie a lot, but your power fists, thunder hammers, multi meltas, meltas all beat a 2 up save already. So why not make them less effective, there are alot of those weapons running around and thats what a lot of people use to kill fexes. Additionally Plasma goes to 4+ to wound which beats the +2 save. Plus all that high strength Tau weaponry isn't so cool any more is it. Your biggest threat would be Lascannons, Rail Cannons and unfortunately as stated earlier the humble missile launcher. I think in the long run the toughness helps, there are plenty of weapons that are ap2 ask the droves off dead termies:victory:.

 

[Lord Sinkoran]

My suggestion: take both.

agreed (damn 10 character limit:angry

 

[dakari-mane]

I'd load up on the 2+ first then the +1T.
My reasoning is that the 2+ halves the number of wounds you will take from non-AP weapons (heavy bolters, missile launchers, missile pods, battle cannons, auto-cannons, S6 eldar weapons.....)