Gosford Shield 2009 FAQs, Frequently Asked Questions Options

[MarkC]

I will update this list as questions are asked.

Q: Are named characters allowed?

A: The players pack has a misprint. It says

Special or named characters that require the opponents cannot be used. However special character models may be used to represent 'normal' characters.

It should be saying "special or named characters that require the opponents consent cannot be used". So named characters in the new Codex Space Marines can be used.



Regards

Mark C

[Noxus]

So named characters in the new Codex Space Marines can be used.
Regards

are you sure you should allow the new space marines characters to be used, Captain Lysander is an unstoppable beast and so is marneus calgar, both have termi armour 4 wounds and are immune to instant death. it also means you can field Abbaddon who is crazy I6 With like 4+D6 S8 attacks wearing termi armour and immune to instant death. Alot of the new characters may make their army incredibly overpowered.

[Graen]

I suppose the counter argument though lies with the fact that most people (I guess almost anyone who can access one) will field them being allowed to thus making their army more resilient (I wouldn't be surprised to find several marine characters out there in multiple)

Admittedly unfair for all us Space wolf,black Templar , guard, Tau or Dark Eldar players who have no useful (or allowable) characters but that's what you get for using an older codex on top of all the other negatives

The thing is the new codexes have all taken the slant of using special characters to alter a list in some way and I can't see this changing as GW seems to want to force named and special characters into our armies

[MarkC]

If a player submits an army list that is over the top and not fun to play against, I will ask them to re-submit a friendlier list. At Lords of Terra last year there was one army list that took three iterations before I was happy it wasn't over the top.

However, allowing special characters is a bit like allowing Forge World models subject to tournament organiser approval. If a player has spent the time and money making a nice character/unit then its a shame not to let them use it. However, we limit the use of these on a case by case basis so as to ensure that the game is still going to be fun for both the player and their opponent.

I have heard of events where special/named characters are permitted but there is a special rule that if the model dies then its out for the rest of the event (to be replaced by a generic character of the same type and less points). Also some tournaments allow named characters, but each named character is only allowed once.

I'm not doing these sorts of things this year, but its something to consider in the future if there's any problems with named characters.

Regards

Mark C

[Griever]

But would't taking a named/ special character be balanced out by them taking a sizeable chunk of points? For example, i could take nearly 12 reasonably tooled (24pt) genestealers for the same price as Abbadon. Id much rather take the genestealers because:
a) they can capture objectives (Troops choice)
far more attacks
c) could be broken down into 2 6-man squads if i chose to

However, some players may take a special character to reinforce their armys theme. For example, if im playing with my chaos/ marines i nearly always take Shrike. Not for Fleet or Infiltrate, but rather to push the theme of marines resorting to guerilla-style tactics.

[Spakka]

But would't taking a named/ special character be balanced out by them taking a sizeable chunk of points?

My thoughs exactly. If they want to spend 200+ points on a single character in a 1250 points game, then its fine with me. They won't have much in the way of troops or if they do, they'll be sorely lacking in other areas.

are you sure you should allow the new space marines characters to be used, Captain Lysander is an unstoppable beast and so is marneus calgar, both have termi armour 4 wounds and are immune to instant death. it also means you can field Abbaddon who is crazy I6 With like 4+D6 S8 attacks wearing termi armour and immune to instant death. Alot of the new characters may make their army incredibly overpowered.

Lysander is only slightly more powerful than a Marine Captain in Terminator armour with Thunder Hammer and storm shield. Eternal warrior is about the most useful thing he has, and his S10 hammer isn't overly powerful, all other marines are S8. I have had few problems with him. Its Sicarius that you have to watch out for.

And as far as abaddon goes, there are worse chaos characters out there.......

Admittedly unfair for all us Space wolf,black Templar , guard, Tau or Dark Eldar players who have no useful (or allowable) characters but that's what you get for using an older codex on top of all the other negatives

Actually, in my experience playing for nearly 8 years with both Black Templars and Tau armies and playing with my 600 points of Dark Eldar and constantly against them in tourney environments, i can say the following:
I wouldn't take either Templar chracters in an army under 2000 points. Marshals and Chaplains get the job done nicely.

For Tau, i dislike the special characters, even Shadowsun with her uber stealthsuit. I'd trade the whole lot of them for Aun'shi any day, he was the best character Tau ever had. As with templars, i wouldn't take any of them in games under 2000 points.

And where Dark Eldar are concerned, i really don't think they need their special characters. Their standard HQ choices are good enough as it is.

[Dark Assassin]

Quick question can we use 13th company ? , it doesnt mention it anywhere in the players pack and if so where would it be in the chart for common , uncommon,unusual , rare ?

I think it would be under rare as i have never seen or heard of someone playing 13th comany for the whole 5 years i have played , i was browsing through the 13th company pdf ad it looks quiet good as i may pick up my space puppies and use them as 13th company for a change as they look good and i dont have to worry about confusing troops choices (only one to pick from so its pretty simple whic one to take ) .

Any help would be great .

Jack.

[Griever]

I think it would be under rare as i have never seen or heard of someone playing 13th comany for the whole 5 years i have played

Thats a dang lie! i played 13th Co. for a short while.

[Dark Assassin]

Really ? , i have honestly never seen you or heard from you that you ever played them , you must have played them when i had my break from 40k for 18 months .

[MarkC]

Hmm, 13th Company is getting a bit long in the tooth. There are no FAQs bringing 13th Co into the 5th Edition ruleset.

I have decided to accept your 13th Company army list on a case by case basis.

Given the lack of a FAQ we have to work out how to handle the "Scouts" rule in the 13th Co rulebook. I have decided that we will use the 5th edition version of the Scout special rule. Thus the entire army has the Scout special rule. To balance this, the 13th Company will not be able to take advantage of Combat Tactics from Codex Space Marines (ie. I am considering the Scouts ability as the Chapter Tactics, that replaces Combat Tactics).

Regards

Mark C