Where to use the Dragonhide Banner?

O_o, is the breath weapon magical?

O_o, is the breath weapon magical?

Yes. I know it was stated earlier in the thread, but I'd just like to repeat the answer with the quoted question.
Indeed the FAQ states what constitutes a magical attack, and attacks from a magic item (in this case a breath weapon) are considered magical attacks.

Around  the local scene here the DHB Breath Weapon is accepted as magical. I just posted this bit in another thread;

Q: What are ‘magical attacks’? (p68)
A: All attacks made by spells and magic items are considered to
be magical attacks, as are all attacks that are specifically noted
as being magical attacks. Shots fired from magical items are
also considered to be magical attacks, unless their description
specifically states otherwise. Hits inflicted by rolls on the
Miscast table are treated as magical attacks.

Dragonhide Banner is a magic item, thus, magical Breath Weapon hits.

We now have 3 Vampire Counts players in our local gaming club, so my Ogres need all the help they can get against those ethereal paininthegnoblars...

c) they benefit greatly from the extra CR from the breath weapon & rerolls because (relatively) they have a small number of attacks and a wiffed round of combat can be bad.

c) they benefit greatly from the extra CR from the breath weapon & rerolls because (relatively) they have a small number of attacks and a wiffed round of combat can be bad.

problem, is that you cant chose to use your Breath after wiffing your attacks, since everything is made at the same initiative

If one were not running Mournfangs, what unit would be a runner up for the Dragonhide Banner? Would it be advisable to run the banner on a unit of Maneaters with Swiftstride, or would the points be spent better elsewhere? Would using the Dragonhide Banner or Standard of Discipline be more useful on a unit of Ironguts?

It would be nice if someone did the Maths Hammer on using the Dragonhide with equivalently costed units eg: -

1. 4 Mournfangs with IF's
2. 5 Maneaters HA, XHW, Poison & Stubborn
3. 6 IG's
4. 9 Ogres with IF's

VS WS4 T4 opponents w/ no AS Unit |Unit Cost| |Hits vs WS4| |Poison Wounds| |Total Wounds vs T4| |Cost per Wound| Mourfang Ogres w/ IF |340| |7| |0| |4.08| |below| Mourfangs |n/a| |9.33| |0| |16.59 total 20.68| |16.44| Maneaters |340| |13.42| |4.47| |17.65| |19.26| Ironguts |318| |10.5| |0| |14.88| |21.38| Ogre w/ XHW |279| |14.00| |0| |11.00| |25.36| Ogre w/ IF |288| |12| |0| |10.00| |28.88| Now the numbers don't really tell the whole story.. Maneaters can have an extra special ability and higher Initiative and leadership. Ironguts and Ogre make better bunkers for characters, the list goes on and on. The numbers really point to balance within the book as each unit fills different rolls within the army. Personal with the addition of the VC book I put the Dragonbanner with the Mourfangs as it gives them a magic attack if needed and vs non-etherals  ASL of the banner a better used as a de-buff to prevent being charged than using it in combat for an extra few wounds. Sorry for the math but that is what you get from an engineer that is bored at work

And Iblasters kill cannons so we don't have to worry about them(and only getting max 1 hit on a unit makes Mournfangs not the ideal target)

It's not an attack  made by a spell directly, but it's an attack made by something made by a spell.... :S

so maneaters cause more wounds with it, but Mournfangs are a more effecient point cost for the wounds they do cause.

so maneaters cause more wounds with it, but Mournfangs are a more effecient point cost for the wounds they do cause.

Not to mention I believe the potential damage of the Mournfangs is substantionally higher.

4 mournfangs can potentially cause 12 Str4 attacks and 32 Str5 attacks. granted that 16 of those str5 attacks will autohit, but its still a higher potential.