What is Mathhammer in Warhammer 40K?

Mathhammer is the mathematical analysis of dice probabilities in Warhammer 40,000. It calculates expected damage output, hit chances, and wound probabilities to help players make better tactical decisions. The Tactical Cogitator uses Monte Carlo simulation with 10,000 iterations for precise probability analysis.

How does the Tactical Cogitator work?

The Tactical Cogitator is a Warhammer 40k dice roller and damage calculator for the 10th Edition. Input your attacking unit's weapon profiles and the defending unit's stats, select modifiers, and the Monte Carlo simulation runs 10,000 dice rolls instantly to provide accurate probability distributions.

How do I find and import Warhammer 40K units?

Use the Unit Search feature to find units directly from the BSData repository by faction and name — stats and weapons are imported automatically. All 35+ factions are supported. Alternatively, use Import to load army lists from New Recruit JSON exports.

Which Warhammer 40K factions are supported?

Unit Search supports all 35+ Warhammer 40K 10th Edition factions including Space Marines, Aeldari, Tyranids, Necrons, Orks, T'au Empire, Chaos Space Marines, Death Guard, Thousand Sons, World Eaters, Adeptus Custodes, Adeptus Mechanicus, Imperial Knights, Chaos Knights, Chaos Daemons, Drukhari, Genestealer Cults, Leagues of Votann, Agents of the Imperium, Adepta Sororitas, Astra Militarum, and more.

What Warhammer 40K 10th Edition rules are supported?

The calculator supports all key 10th Edition weapon abilities: Anti-Keyword, Devastating Wounds, Lethal Hits, Sustained Hits, Rapid Fire, Melta, Twin-Linked, Blast, Torrent, Feel No Pain, Cover, Damage Reduction, Rerolls, Oath of Moment, and common Stratagems.

How does Devastating Wounds work in Warhammer 40K 10th Edition?

Devastating Wounds is a weapon ability in Warhammer 40K 10th Edition. When a weapon with Devastating Wounds scores a critical wound (usually a 6), the attack inflicts mortal wounds equal to the weapon's damage characteristic instead of normal damage. The Tactical Cogitator fully simulates this ability including interactions with Lethal Hits, Anti-Keyword, and modified critical wound thresholds.

What is Monte Carlo simulation and why use it for Warhammer 40K?

Monte Carlo simulation runs 10,000 virtual dice roll scenarios to show realistic probability distributions. Unlike simple average calculations, it reveals the full range of possible outcomes with percentage chances for different damage levels, helping players understand risk vs reliability of different tactical choices.

Is the Tactical Cogitator free?

Yes, the core calculator is completely free with no registration required. During the open beta, all features including Unit Search, Unit Comparison Matrix, and New Recruit Import are unlocked for everyone at no cost.

Can I install the Tactical Cogitator as an app?

Yes, the Tactical Cogitator is a Progressive Web App (PWA). On iOS Safari, tap Share and 'Add to Home Screen'. On Android Chrome, tap the menu and 'Install App'. This gives you a fullscreen experience and faster loading.

What is the best Warhammer 40K damage calculator?

The Tactical Cogitator is a comprehensive free Warhammer 40K damage calculator featuring Monte Carlo simulation with 10,000 iterations, live Unit Search from BSData covering all 35+ factions, New Recruit JSON import, unit comparison matrix, and full support for all 10th Edition rules including Devastating Wounds, Lethal Hits, and Anti-Keyword abilities.

How is Point Efficiency (Dmg/100pts) calculated?

Point Efficiency shows damage output relative to unit cost. Formula: (Average Damage / Unit Points) x 100. For example, a 200-point unit dealing 8 damage has an efficiency of 4.0 Dmg/100pts. Higher values indicate better point efficiency. Enable Efficiency Mode in the Unit Comparison Matrix to compare units by value instead of raw damage.

What is Smart Targeting in the Tactical Cogitator?

Smart Targeting allows you to define conditional buffs that automatically activate when attacking a defender with specific keywords (e.g., Vehicle, Monster, Infantry). Configure weapon-level or unit-level buffs like '+1 to Hit vs Vehicles' or 'Lethal Hits vs Psyker'. The buffs are applied during simulation only when the target has matching keywords.

Tactical Cogitator — Best Free Warhammer 40K Damage Calculator (10th Edition)

The Tactical Cogitator is the most comprehensive free Warhammer 40,000 damage calculator and combat simulator for the 10th Edition. It uses Monte Carlo simulation with 10,000 dice roll iterations to provide precise probability distributions — acting as a wound probability calculator, kill probability calculator, and save calculator all in one tool. See exactly how likely you are to destroy an enemy unit, compare expected damage across weapon loadouts, and optimize your army list with data-driven tactical decisions.

How It Works

Configure Attacking Unit — Set weapon stats (attacks, skill, strength, AP, damage) and enable abilities like Sustained Hits, Lethal Hits, or Devastating Wounds. Use Unit Search to import stats directly from BSData.
Configure Defending Unit — Set target stats (toughness, armor save, invulnerable save, wounds per model) and defensive abilities like Feel No Pain.
Run Simulation — Click Calculate to run 10,000 Monte Carlo iterations for precise probability analysis and damage distributions.
Analyze Results — Review damage breakdowns, probability charts, percentile thresholds, and models killed with statistical analysis.

Supported Weapon Abilities (10th Edition Rules)

Ability	Effect
Anti-Keyword (e.g. Anti-Infantry 4+)	Critical wounds on specified roll vs targets with matching keyword
Devastating Wounds	Critical wounds inflict mortal wounds equal to weapon damage
Lethal Hits	Critical hits automatically wound (skip wound roll)
Sustained Hits X	Critical hits generate X additional hits
Rapid Fire X	+X attacks when target is within half range
Melta X	+X damage when target is within half range
Twin-Linked	Reroll failed wound rolls
Blast	+1 attack per 5 models in target unit
Torrent	Automatically hits (skip hit roll)
Feel No Pain X+	Ignore damage on X+ roll per wound
Cover	+1 to armor save (does not improve invulnerable saves)
Damage Reduction	Reduce damage of each attack by specified amount (minimum 1)
Rerolls	Reroll hit rolls, wound rolls (full rerolls or reroll 1s only)
Oath of Moment	Full rerolls to hit and wound against target unit

Unit Comparison Matrix — Side-by-Side Matchup Analysis

The Unit Comparison Matrix is a weapon comparison tool that lets you evaluate multiple attacking units against multiple defending units simultaneously. Set up rows of attackers and columns of defenders to see damage output, kill probability, and wound probability in a color-coded heatmap matrix. Enable Efficiency Mode to compare units by Dmg/100pts — a point efficiency calculator that reveals which units deliver the best damage per point invested.

Use cases: Tournament preparation, army list optimization, identifying gaps in threat coverage, comparing weapon loadouts across multiple targets, and finding the best anti-tank weapons in your army.

Smart Targeting — Conditional Buffs

Smart Targeting allows conditional buffs that activate based on defender keywords. Configure weapon-level or unit-level buffs such as "+1 to Hit vs Vehicles", "Lethal Hits vs Monster", or "Anti-Vehicle 4+". During the Monte Carlo combat simulation, buffs are applied only when the target unit has matching keywords — giving you accurate wound probability and kill probability calculations for real game scenarios.

Attach Leader — Character Abilities

Import a Character unit (e.g., Captain, Librarian, Apothecary) and attach it as a Leader to any squad with a single click. The calculator automatically detects leader abilities like wound rerolls, hit rerolls, Lethal Hits, or Feel No Pain from the ability text and applies them to the attached unit's save calculator and damage simulation. Points and unit name update automatically.

Supported Factions (35+)

Space Marines, Blood Angels, Dark Angels, Black Templars, Space Wolves, Deathwatch, Grey Knights, Adeptus Custodes, Adeptus Mechanicus, Adepta Sororitas, Astra Militarum, Imperial Knights, Agents of the Imperium, Chaos Space Marines, Death Guard, Thousand Sons, World Eaters, Chaos Knights, Chaos Daemons, Aeldari, Drukhari, Harlequins, Tyranids, Genestealer Cults, Necrons, Orks, T'au Empire, Leagues of Votann, and more — all sourced live from BSData.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Mathhammer?: Mathhammer is the mathematical analysis of dice probabilities in Warhammer 40,000. It calculates expected damage output, hit chances, and wound probabilities to help players make better tactical decisions.
What is the best Warhammer 40K damage calculator?: The Tactical Cogitator is a comprehensive free damage calculator featuring Monte Carlo simulation with 10,000 iterations, live Unit Search from BSData covering all 35+ factions, New Recruit JSON import, unit comparison matrix, and full 10th Edition rules support.
How does Devastating Wounds work in 10th Edition?: When a weapon with Devastating Wounds scores a critical wound (usually a 6), the attack inflicts mortal wounds equal to the weapon's damage instead of normal damage. The Tactical Cogitator fully simulates this including interactions with Lethal Hits, Anti-Keyword, and modified critical thresholds.
What is Monte Carlo simulation?: Monte Carlo simulation runs 10,000 virtual dice roll scenarios to show realistic probability distributions. Unlike average calculations, it reveals the full range of possible outcomes with percentage chances for each damage level.
How do I import units?: Use Unit Search to find units by faction and name from BSData (stats and weapons imported automatically). Or use Import to load army lists from New Recruit JSON exports.
Is the Tactical Cogitator free?: Yes, the core calculator is completely free. During the open beta, all features including Unit Search, Unit Comparison Matrix, and New Recruit Import are unlocked at no cost.
How is Point Efficiency (Dmg/100pts) calculated?: Formula: (Average Damage / Unit Points) x 100. A 200-point unit dealing 8 damage has 4.0 Dmg/100pts efficiency. Higher values = better point efficiency.
Can I install it as an app?: Yes, it's a Progressive Web App (PWA). On iOS: Share → Add to Home Screen. On Android: Menu → Install App.
How do I find the best anti-tank weapons in Warhammer 40K?: Use the Unit Comparison Matrix with Efficiency Mode enabled. Set up high-toughness defenders (T10+, 2+ save) and compare your attacking units. Sort by Dmg/100pts to find the most point-efficient anti-tank options in your faction.
What is the difference between average damage and Monte Carlo simulation?: Average damage calculators show a single expected value. The Tactical Cogitator's Monte Carlo simulation runs 10,000 iterations to show the full probability distribution — including worst-case and best-case outcomes, percentile thresholds (e.g., "75% chance to deal at least 8 damage"), and models killed probability.

Key Features

Monte Carlo combat simulator with 10,000 iterations for precise wound and kill probability distributions
Live Unit Search from BSData — all 35+ Warhammer 40K factions with auto-imported stats and weapons
Unit Comparison Matrix — weapon comparison tool for multiple attacking vs defending matchups
New Recruit JSON import for army list loading
Smart Targeting — conditional buffs based on defender keywords
Attach Leader — import Characters and auto-apply leader abilities
Full dice notation support (D3, D6, 2D6, D6+2)
Save and load custom unit profiles
Shareable calculation links
Available in English, German, French, and Spanish
Installable as PWA on mobile devices