Quote Originally Posted by Fibonacci View Post
10 elite Cel vs 10 tac SM:

Celestines get 2 attacks, plus one for pistol and CCW. 30 attacks.
WS 4 vs WS4 so 15 hits.
S 3 vs T 4 so wounds on 5+ for an average of 5 wounds.
3+ armor save means 1.6 average unsaved wounds.

SM get 1 attack pluse one for pistol and CCW. 20 attacks.
WS 4 vs WS 4 so 10 hits.
S 4 vs T3 so wounds on a 3+ for an average of 6.66 wounds.
3+ armore save means 2.22 average wounds.

Elite vs the most basic troop. Celestines take about 39% more casualties. If you want to compair charges it gets worse. A basic SM causes 56% more damage than the elite Celestines. And this is with the 2 attacks the Celestines get in the WD codex.

What's the chance that a Celistine model will cost about 60% of a basic SM?
What I meant was that command squad celestians, unlike even veteran space marines, can fire their boltguns even while charging. Flavor-wise, that's exactly the sort of thing I wanted to see. But let me re-do your math, because you seem to be assuming everybody gets pistols and CCWs, which Celestians only might and tactical marines definitely don't.

Tactical marines get 1 attack, plus 0 for a pistol and no CCW. 10 attacks. WS4 vs. WS4 yields 5 hits. S4 vs. T3 yields 3 1/3 wounds. 3+ armor save means 1.1 unsaved wounds.

Celestians get 2 attacks base, plus (let's assume) 0 for pistol and no CCW. 20 attacks. WS4 vs. WS4 yields 10 hits. If you're using regular celestians, S4 vs. T4 yields 5 wounds. 3+ armor save means 1.7 unsaved wounds.

If you're using command celestians, you're working S3 vs. T4 for 3.3 wounds, and 1.1 unsaved wounds. But you've also got an extra S4 shot before charging, which is an additional 0.15 unsaved wounds per boltgun in the squad, so you're only 4 boltguns away from breaking even.

Looking pretty decent to me. My math is relying on the Acts of Faith, but I would argue that it should. Sisters without faith should be inferior to space marines. Sisters with faith should be slightly superior.