Saurus Warriors - Spears v Clubs
With the new 2023 GHB, Galletian Veterans are a thing of the past - so now 1" models on bases larger than 25mm find it much more difficult to fight in two ranks, and the old question from a year ago re-arrises - for those units with an option for a 2" reach weapon, with worse performance than the 1" reach weapon, which should be taken. Or:
All things being equal, clubs do better than spears. But if you can't get the whole unit into an enemy there becomes a point where you can't get any more warriors into range.
What can I expect from Spears?
Expected wounds for Saurus Warriors using Celestite Spears for various save characteristics| Save Characteristic | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model Count | 1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| 5 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 1.9 | |
| 10 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 3.9 | |
| 15 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 4.2 | 5.0 | 5.8 | |
| 20 | 3.3 | 4.4 | 5.6 | 6.7 | 7.8 |
...and from Clubs?
Expected wounds for Saurus Warriors using Clestite Clubs for various save characteristics| Save Characteristic | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model Count | 1 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.5 |
| 5 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 2.6 | |
| 10 | 2.2 | 3.0 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 5.2 | |
| 15 | 3.3 | 4.4 | 5.6 | 6.7 | 7.8 | |
| 20 | 4.4 | 5.9 | 7.4 | 8.9 | 10.4 |
The two tables above show the expected number of wounds for Saurus Warrior units of various sizes armed with spear or clubs. The size of course indicates the number of models in combat with (within 1" of the enemy unit for the clubs or 2" for the spears).
How much better are clubs than spears when all models get into combat?
How many extra Saurus Warriors with Spears are needed to do at least as much damage as a given number of Saurus Warriors with clubs, for various save characteristics?| Save Characteristic | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club Model Count | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | |
| 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | |
| 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | |
| 8 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | |
| 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | |
| 10 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | |
| 11 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | |
| 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | |
| 13 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | |
| 14 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | |
| 15 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
It varies, unsurprisingly, with the save characteristic of the target - the worse the target save the more spears you need to make up for their inherent performance deficit (because the clubs are more likely to cause a save roll, so more able to take advantage of a poor save characteristic). That also means that if the enemy improves their save roll - eg with mystic shield or all out defence, the clubs loose some of their advantage over spears.
But consider the typical unit size of 10 warriors. Target units will rarely align themselves neatly so the warriors can slot it, so typically you're probably fighting with 6 in the front rank and 4 in the rear. The table above says that for a target save characteristic of 2+ through 4+, and 6 warriors with clubs fighting, if you can get 8 warriors with spears fighting they'll do at least as much damage. Against a save characteristic of 5 or 6 (or '-'), it takes 10 spears to do at least as well as 6 clubs. But a unit of 10 warriors will never do worse with spears rather than clubs, if only 6 warriors with clubs can reach the enemy.
There are circumstances where a unit of 10 warriors might do worse with spears - for example if 2 or 3 models have been lost and the target unit has a save characteristic of 5+ or worse.
What about wards?
Wards will reduce damage from both spears and clubs, but in the same proportion - so will tend to shrink the difference between the two, and certainly won't make it worse: so wards make spears less bad in output compared to clubs.
On Balance
I'm taking the spears.