FAQ Time: Breaking Down the August 2022 FAQ

Good morning gamers,

Last week, we had a new set of Erratas and FAQs drop which . . . prompted far less discussion than previous FAQs have (so that's good, I guess?). I like to give the FAQs a week before I publish anything so I can mull over them for a bit and here are the thoughts I have on them (providentially, the Unexpected Podcast team got their video up recently too - check it out if you haven't already).

Erratas: Profile and Army Tweaks

Photo Credit: Reddit
Me looking for the questions I submitted . . .

There were eight erratas (seven meaningful ones) in this round of edits - most of which related to Evil models or the Defence of the North supplement. The first and foremost is that the Will of Evil rule now precludes models from spending their last Will point to "cast a Magical Power and cause themselves to be removed as a casualty."  When I first read this, I thought the bottom line was clear: you can't kill your Ringwraiths voluntarily anymore - your opponent has to do it. 

While this is mostly true, on closer inspection, the errata doesn't preclude you from burning through your Will to resist magical powers, pass Courage tests, or trigger special rules (like Pall of Darkness or Rule Through Fear), but in these cases, your opponent has do something (cast magic on you), has to provide you a need to pass a Courage test (break you or bring at least one Terror model), or you've got a named Ringwraith in a flying circus/conventional army and has to burn through his Will one at a time - all of which avoid the primary problem of "I evaporate my army on Turn 1 and no one has any fun." I was never bothered by this shenanigan, but it was also never abused against me, so I'm fine with this FAQ change:

Page 107 – Will of Evil Replace the last sentence of the first rules paragraph with the following: A model with this special rule may not use their last point of Will to cast a Magical Power and cause themselves to be removed as a casualty.

The second change is to Shades: previously, their Chill Aura ability was Passive, so you couldn't just Immobilize/Transfix them to keep them from reducing your dueling rolls during the subsequent Fight phase. Now, Chill Aura is an Active ability and casters with access to Immobilize/Transfix become better at taking down a Shade, as you can force them to burn Will (used to activate Chill Aura) to try to use it later in the round - great change, guys, great change:

Page 128 – Shade – Chill Aura Change from Passive to Active.

The final change hits the Assault on Helm's Deep Legendary Legion the hardest, but not that hard: Isengard Assault Ballistas now have a minimum range of 6". While I think this should have been the case anyway (there's no way you're hitting someone right up in your grill with that ballista), I don't think modifying Piercing Shot was the right way to handle it, as the "Piercing Shot" special rule shows up on several other siege weapons (and as a guy who makes spreadsheets that auto-look-up your rules, the solution to this fix required some thinking, albeit not a lot of work once the thinking was done). Still, it's a good rules change:

Page 179 – Isengard Assault Ballista – Piercing Shot Add the following sentence: An Isengard Assault Ballista has a range of 6”-48”.

Speaking of siege weapons, while Centaur covered the Army of Dale LL last week, we now have the option to take the Windlance in a Garrison of Dale list - which not only means that Girion can have those supporting him in a Hobbit-Era Dale list, but the only benefit you're getting from the Army of Dale LL is Sworn Protector (Brand, King of Dale) . . . yeah, that Legion doesn't have much of a leg to stand on anymore:

Page 52 – Garrison of Dale Add Windlance to the army composition. 

Passing note - as I mentioned in my In Defense Of article on Orophin, Orophin is in fact a Woodland Creature:

Page 63 – Orophin Add the Woodland Creature special rule. 

Another passing note: Khamul was added to the list of models in the Defence of the North Easterling army summary - NOT the Legendary Legion options, but the normal army summary (which we already knew):

Page 70 – The Easterlings Add Khamûl the Easterling to the army composition. 

The final two changes relate to Beornings: first, Beornings now have with both a hand-and-a-half axe (which will be swapped with a great bow) and an axe (instead of a dagger) - cool, nothing earth-shattering, probably to conform to the equipment on the models:

Page 69 – Beornings – Wargear Change to: Hand-and-a-half axe and axe. 

Second, Beorn will be able to benefit from Grimbeorn's heroic actions in their Legendary Legion (despite his Berserk special rule saying otherwise . . . the son can communicate with dad I guess):

Page 91 – The Beornings – Additional Rules Add the following bullet point: Whilst he is in bear form, Beorn may still benefit from the Heroic Actions of Grimbeorn regardless of his Berserk special rule.

Designer Commentary: Rules We Probably Already Knew

During every FAQ cycle, we see questions that have very unsurprising answers - this isn't to say that asking these questions makes someone stupid or anything, but it's always nice to say, "yeah, I called that one." Most of these relate to how wounding rolls are made, profile names that align too closely to keywords, rules redundancy, and conjunction usage - here they are without any further commentary from me:

Q: Can Grimbold upgrade any Warriors from the Rohan army list to be Helmingas, or just the Warrior of Rohan profile? (p.65) 

A: Just the Warrior of Rohan profile.

Q: If a model has to make In The Way rolls when making Strikes against a model (such as a Khandish Chariot or Iron Hills Chariot), do they make an In The Way roll for each Strike individually or a single roll and apply that to each Strike? (p.37) 

A: They will make an In The Way roll for each Strike individually

Q: If a model elects to resolve their Strikes one at a time and kills all of their targets before resolving all of their Strikes, are their remaining Strikes still resolved? (p.46) 

A: No, as there is nothing left for them to kill.

Q: Does a model with the Swift Movement special rule still measure the vertical distance when moving over obstacles? (p.107) 

A: Yes.

Q: When a Siege Engine fires using Severed Heads, does the shot still scatter as normal resulting in the model the shot scatters onto being the initial target for the purpose of Severed Heads? (p.119) 

A: Yes.

Q: In the Defenders of Erebor Legendary Legion, do friendly models need to be within 3” of all the listed characters to benefit from the Royal Bloodlines special rule or just within 3” of any of them? (p.89) 

A: Within 3” of any of them.    

 

Q: Does Razgûsh’s Bone-breaker remove all special rules associated with an enemy model’s Elven-made weapon, or does it just negate the bonus for winning the roll-off in the case of a tied fight? (p.80) 

A: Bone-breaker only removes the bonus for winning the roll-off in the case of a tied fight. Any other special rules associated with the Elven-made weapon will still apply  

 

Q: Do Orc Captains, Orc Warriors and Warg Riders retain the Hatred (Elf) special rule granted by Razgûsh’s War Leader of the North special rule even after he is slain? (p.95) 

A: Yes. 

Q: If the Assault on Lothlórien Legendary Legion is playing the Clash By Moonlight Scenario, will the Scenario’s Dark of Night special rule stack with the Legendary Legion’s Cover of Darkness special rule to give models +2 To Wound when making shooting attacks? (p.97) 

A: No, the bonus is only applied once.

Designer Commentary: Special Rules

I love it when the Middle-Earth team covers variants of the same rule in a consistent way - and that was done in several places here. For example, apparently there was a question about whether special rules that let you move someone can cause the targeted model to charge someone who doesn't have a Control Zone . . . and the answer is "no" in both of its contexts:

Q: Can a Wood Elf Sentinel’s Eldamar Madrigal special rule be used to make an enemy model Charge if the model they are Charging doesn’t have a Control Zone? (p.77) 

A: No.

Q: Can a Dead Marsh Spectre’s A Fell Light is in Them special rule be used to make an enemy model Charge if the model they are Charging doesn’t have a Control Zone? (p.132) 

A: No.

I assume this question was asked to get around the part of these rules that says, "This move cannot be used to enter an enemy model's Control Zone, or perform actions that would cause direct harm to the target" and see if you can get a charge off so long as there isn't a Control Zone in play. This has basically made an errata to the rules: you can't cause the model to charge someone . . . though how this interacts with models who "must charge if able" (which was clarified in the last FAQ to require charging where possible when under the influence of Command/Compel) is anyone's guess (February 2022 FAQ text below):

Q: If a model that must Charge due to a special rule is affected by the Command/Compel Magical power, is it still required to Charge during the move if able? (p.97) 

A: Yes.

There were two questions asked (twice) with regard to the Skin-changer special rule on both Beorn and Grimbeorn. In short, if there isn't enough space to turn these guys into a bear thanks to models packing in (and not terrain constraints), the bear model is placed where the Man model was and all other models are displaced similar to the arrival of the Watcher in the Water. The Paddingtons can also Skin-change during a Heroic Combat move:

Q: Can Beorn transform into bear form if there isn’t enough space to place the Bear model? If so, what happens? (p.80) 

A: Yes, so long as the only things in the way are models and not immovable terrain. In this instance Beorn will be placed so that the centre of the Bear model’s base is where the Man model was previously. Then move any displaced models the minimum distance possible so that they are 1” away from Beorn. In this situation, players take it in turns to displace models, starting with Beorn’s controlling player. Beorn may then move normally. 

Q: Can Beorn use his Skin-changer special rule when he moves as part of a Heroic Combat (p.80) 

A: Yes.

Q: Can Grimbeorn transform into bear form if there isn’t enough space to place the bear model? If so, what happens? (p.68) 

A: Yes, so long as the only things in the way are models and not immovable terrain. In this instance Grimbeorn will be placed so that the centre of the Bear model’s base is where the Man model was previously. Then move any displaced models the minimum distance possible so that they are 1” away from Grimbeorn. In this situation, players take it in turns to displace models, starting with Grimbeorn’s controlling player. Grimbeorn may then move normally. 

Q: Can Grimbeorn use his Skin-changer special rule when he moves as part of a Heroic Combat (p.68) 

A: Yes.

Next, we move into the Defenders of Erebor Legendary Legion (though it's applicable to other armies, I guess) and address whether a friendly model can say, "I refuse to make way for <pick your royal family member hero>" and thereby trap the model and trigger some sweet, sweet free Heroic Combats (and the Stoic Fighter rule on Brand). With lots of prelude talking about checking the timing of the rule, the ultimate ruling is that if a friendly model can Make Way, the hero won't count as being trapped. I get it, it makes sense, but I think there'd be a case for saying, "You can trap your own hero, but no take backs." That said, I'm good with this rules clarification:

Q: Some special rules refer to checking to see if a model would be Trapped if it loses the Fight. When should this be checked and what exactly does it mean? (p.47) 

A: This should be applied at the time the special rule in question comes into effect. For example, some may say ‘at the start of the Fight phase’, in which case you would check to see if the model is Trapped at the start of the Fight phase. Others might say ‘during a Fight’ or similar, in which case you would check at the start of that Fight before any dice are rolled. In all instances of this type of rule, a model would be considered Trapped if, should they lose the ensuing Fight, they would be unable to Back Away as normal. If the model would be able to Back Away as a result of a friendly model deciding to Make Way, then they would not be considered Trapped for the purpose of the special rule.

For those of you who are wondering how to effectively trap your own heroes, hang on to that thought until the start of next month, as it's the topic of our next formations post. :)

Designer Commentaries: Magical Powers

Next up is Gulavhar's Strength of Body, Strength of Will rule, which has had some questions asked in the Facebook Groups for a while about the interplay of Courage augments and debuffs when his Courage value is tied to a different stat. Apparently, Gulavhar's Courage value is determined before modifiers are applied (consistent, fine with that), but he's immune to Magical Powers that permanently affect his Courage value (Drain Courage) . . . I'm not sure why that wouldn't just be ANOTHER modifier, but okay:

Q: Gûlavhar’s Strength of Body, Strength of Will special rule states that his Attacks and Courage are equal to his remaining Wounds. How does this interact with special rules that increase or decrease a model’s Courage value (such as Harbinger of Evil or a war horn) or Magical Powers that permanently affect a model’s Courage value (such as Drain Courage)? (p.127) 

A: Gûlavhar will still be affected by special rules that increase or decrease his Courage value as normal. In these instances, work out what Gûlavhar’s Courage value would be (equal to his remaining Wounds) and then apply the modifier of the special rule in question; so, if Gûlavhar had his full 4 Wounds remaining, and was affected by the Harbinger of Evil special rule, his Courage value would be 3. Gûlavhar cannot be affected by Magical Powers that permanently affect his Courage value (such as Drain Courage).

Shenanigans probably caused the next question: what happens if a Bat Swarm (halves your Fight Value, rounding down) has had a Channelled Shroud of Shadows (halves your Fight Value, rounding up) cast on it and engages someone . . . does a F6 hero go down to F3 (halved once) or F1 (halved then halved again)? The answer (rightly so, I think) is . . . F3 (when multiple rules that would half your Fight Value are in play, you only half the Fight Value once). Frankly, I'm happy with this - it is consistent with the way multiple channelled Transfixes has worked in the past and multiple applications of Harbinger of Evil/Ancient Evil (outside of the Black Riders LL) have worked:

Q: If a Bat Swarm that is under the effects of the Channelled version of the Shroud of Shadows Magical Power is Engaged in a fight, do the models they are Engaged with halve their Fight value twice (once for Blinding Swarm and once for the Magical Power) or just once? (p.117) 

A: They will only halve their Fight value once (rounding down).

Next, we're turning to what happens when you get Immobilized/Transfixed and want to do things other than moving, shooting, and making Strikes: in a spirit-of-the-law approach (which I think was the right move), the design team has clarified that if you'd have to actually DO something for a special rule, you can't do it if you've been Transfixed/Immobilized:

Q: Can a model affected by the Immobilise/Transfix Magical Power interact with anything else during the turn in which they are affected, such as detonating a demolition charge, interacting with objectives in Scenarios that allow this, use a special rule from a Legendary Legion that requires them to act, shout or similar (such as Death! from the Riders of Théoden Legendary Legion), or any other similar situation? (p.98) 

A: No. A degree of common sense is required when working out what a model affected by the Immobilise/ Transfix Magical Power can do. If the model would theoretically need to move to do it, then they are unable to do so.

Finally, we had this question come up on the blog recent in a discussion on Bert the Troll: can a model be Set Ablaze several times? Or just once? The answer: Set Ablaze is either active or not - "set more ablaze" is apparently not a thing. I'm fine with this ruling, but I think I stand with at least some of our readers when I say, "But I'm setting him on fire . . . again . . . and that's worse . . . right?":

Q: Can a model that is already affected by the Set Ablaze special rule be affected by it again whilst they are still Set Ablaze? (p.106) 

A: No, unless they subsequently put the fire out in which case they can be Set Ablaze again.

Designer Commentary: Heroic Actions

There were two heroic action-related questions - neither of which is that surprising to me. First and foremost, if you don't spend Might to call a Heroic Action (Master of Battle, Cool-Headed, etc.), Grima doesn't make you pay extra Might if you're near him. This is an important distinction from things like Mighty Hero which allow you to spend Might without reducing your Might Store - if you're spending Might, you spend 2 Might, but if you don't spend Might, you don't spend Might:

Q: If a model within 6” of Gríma Wormtongue declares a Heroic Action without spending Might (such as through the use of the Master of Battle (X+) or a special rule in their profile), how many Might do they have to spend due to Gríma’s Wormtongue special rule? (p.168) 

A: None as no Might points are being spent to declare the Heroic Action.

Second, there was a question about how the Goblin Scribe (who can't move on his own) interacts with Heroic March. The answer (rather consistent, I think) is that the Goblin Scribe doesn't get a boost to his movement (from 0" to 3"), but also doesn't have to be carried to be within 6" of a hero who calls At the Double! with his Heroic March:

Q: What happens if the Goblin Scribe is affected by a Heroic March? (p.120) 

A: The Goblin Scribe will be unaffected by the Heroic March. This means he will not increase his Move value by 3”, but also does not have to remain within 6” of the Hero that declared the Heroic March if they call At the Double! as he cannot move.

Designer Commentary: Scenario Questions

We had three questions related to scenarios - two on Assassination/Fog of War and one on Heirlooms. With regard to Assassination, it was clarified that Shadowfax, despite having Will/Fate, isn't a hero (as he lacks the Hero keyword - and any keyword really) and that the White Warg, if chosen as the Assassin, will need to have Azog dismount in order to get credit for kills. Both of these clarifications were already in place here at TMAT, but it's good to have it spelled out officially:

Q: Can Shadowfax be chosen as a Hero to protect/target in Scenarios where this is applicable (such as Assassination or Fog of War)? (p.34) 

A: No, as Shadowfax doesn’t have the Hero keyword.

Q: Can the White Warg be chosen as the Assassin in the Assassination Scenario? If so, what happens? (p.95) 

A: Yes. However, if the White Warg is chosen as the Assassin then whilst Azog is still riding it any kills the model makes will be attributed to Azog and not the White Warg.

Otherwise, the only clarification was that in Heirlooms, you can't get 3 VPs for swarming his model who is carrying the Heirloom (having more models within 3" of the relic) . . . which solidly keeps Heirlooms as one of the swingy-est VP scenarios to date and one of the hardest ones to win if someone REALLY big picks up the Heirloom and starts making a run for safety:

Q: In the Heirloom of Ages Past Scenario, if the relic is in the possession of a model, which will score their controlling player 6 Victory Points, will the opposing player score 3 Victory Points if they have more models within 3” of the model carrying the relic than their opponent? (p.20) 

A: No. The 3 Victory Points for having the most models near the relic only applies if no models are in possession of the relic.

Designer Commentary: The Dragon Emperor

In this our last section, we've bundled all the rules related to the Dragon Emperor - and the narrative is pretty simple: he isn't cavalry and he's one model. Two of the questions got the exact same answer: special rules and magical powers that either affect the mount AND rider or the mount OR rider will, in fact, work the same way on the Dragon Emperor, even though he's a mounted Infantry model:

Q: Do special rules that affect both the rider and mount (such as a war camel’s Impaler special rule) affect both the Dragon Emperor of Rhûn and the Royal Palanquin? (p.73) 

A: Yes, though this still doesn’t make the Dragon Emperor of Rhûn a Cavalry model.

Q: Can Magical Powers that affect either the rider and mount (such as Black Dart or Wither) be used to target either the Dragon Emperor of Rhûn or the Royal Palanquin? (p.73) 

A: Yes, though this still doesn’t make the Dragon Emperor of Rhûn a Cavalry model. 

Within this discussion are questions about how specific magical powers affect the model. Bladewrath will affect both parts (increasing the Strength of Strikes from the Dragon Emperor and the Palanquin to S6/S10) as will Wither/Drain Courage (even if the Emperor dismounts):

Q: When a Magical Power targets the whole model (such as Bladewrath or Paralyse), will this affect both the Dragon Emperor of Rhûn and the Royal Palanquin? (p.73) 

A: Yes. 

Q: If the Royal Palanquin is affected by a Magical Power that permanently reduces a characteristic (Wither or Drain Courage), and then the Dragon Emperor of Rhûn subsequently dismounts, are the Black Dragons that replace the Royal Palanquin also affected by the original Magical Power? (p.73) 

A: Yes. Additionally, if the Royal Palanquin is affected by the Wither Magical Power, it will also reduce the Strength of the Strikes that the Royal Palanquin makes if the Dragon Emperor of Rhûn wins the Fight. 

But there's another spell that's buried in one of those questions (I asked this one - happy it made it in): Paralyze will, apparently, affect both the Palanquin and the Dragon Emperor . . . but what it actually DOES is unclear. Paralyze confers a few penalties to the model and given the other Palanquin rules, the rules in green probably apply to the model, but the red ones do not:

This power targets one enemy model within range. The target is immediately paralysed. It is knocked Prone and may do nothing until it recovers, including using Active special rules (see p. 103). The target may make no Duel rolls and will automatically lose any Duels it takes part in unless joined by a friendly model. <subsequent section on recovering from Paralyze omitted>

The model, best I can tell, will not be knocked Prone, thanks to the Palanquin unequivocally saying, "The Royal Palanquin cannot be knocked Prone for any reason, with the exception of if it is hit directly by a Siege Engine," but the Dragon Emperor will still auto-lose fights and won't be able to use his Active rules (which are tied to his weapon and his Stand Fasts - both of which he couldn't use anyway). What's interesting about this is that usually, you can spear-support a prone model who's been paralyzed, but since the Dragon Emperor stays on the Palanquin, his base is large enough that you'll have to get a friendly model into a single model that charges the Dragon Emperor . . . which gives you only a slim chance that you can win a fight with him when paralyzed. Additionally, you'll have to back up to avoid being trapped . . . so don't crowd him with guys to try waking him up or he'll be trapped.

But what is REALLY interesting is that the Palanquin is paralyzed too - and it begs the question of whether the Dragon Emperor and the Palanquin wake together or wake separately (I assume the Palanquin bearers don't have to wake up independently of each other?) . . . I kind of hope you make one wake-up test to avoid a mess of rolls at the end of each round ("Okay, here's my roll for the Dragon Emperor . . . now for Palanquin bearer #1 . . . and #2 . . .").

Finally, there are two rules that solidify that the Dragon Emperor is a single model: he can't be yanked off the Palanquin (or have the Palanquin yanked out from under him) by the Balrog/Watcher in the Water and he counts as one - and only one - model when counting your break point (akin to the extra Goblins you can get from the Goblin Scribe or dismounting a Warg Marauder):

Q: If the Balrog or the Watcher in the Water hits the Dragon Emperor of Rhûn or his Royal Palanquin with their Fiery Lash or Tentacles special rule respectively, is the whole model dragged into combat or just the part that was hit? (p.73) 

A: Both rules state the model, so it will be the whole model. 

Q: How many models does the Dragon Emperor of Rhûn count as when determining a force’s Break Point? (p.73) 

A: The Dragon Emperor of Rhûn and his Royal Palanquin will count as a single model when determining a force’s Break Point. Only the Dragon Emperor needs to be slain for the model to count as a casualty towards the force being Broken. Additionally, any Black Dragons that replace the Royal Palanquin, such as when the Dragon Emperor dismounts or is slain, will not increase a force’s Break Point; however, each one that is subsequently slain will count as a separate casualty towards the force being Broken.

I do kind of wish they'd clarified what happens when a Warg Marauder or the Palanquin dismounts when you're computing whether you've been quartered: being broken (on p. 54 of the main rulebook) occurs "[i]f, at the beginning of any turn, the number of casualties suffered by your force is greater than your Break Point", but being quartered is defined in each relevant scenario as when "one force has been reduced to a quarter of its starting number of models or below" - which is determined by how many models are on the board, NOT the number of models lost. 

While for most armies this doesn't make a difference, units like the Goblin Scribe (who brings on new models), Warg Marauders/Warg Riders (who can dismount to increase the number of "models" on the board), and now the Dragon Emperor (who can dismount to get X Black Dragons on the board based on his remaining wounds) have the ability to get more bodies on the board, prolonging the quartering point. While the Scribe will probably be the most oppressive of these rules (as you can just . . . keep . . . bringing . . . on . . . guys . . .), it's just a little weird to me that your break point can't be increased by "magically" adding more models, but the quartering point CAN be increased . . . it's just a little weird . . .

Conclusion

Well, that's another modification of the rules in the books, and frankly, I don't think most of those were earth-shattering. If you agree (or disagree) with these takes, let us know in the comments below! Until next time, happy hobbying!