Ad Mech Super-Troll Strategem

[Swan-of-War]

So, file this under RAW abuses, but there's a new Adeptus Mechanicus strategem called Scryerskull that's just begging for an Errata correction.

It can be used at any time and, among other things, grants shooting to an Ad Mech unit without the penalties to your hit rolls from Dawn Raid, Low Visibility, or Cover of Darkness.  yadda yadda yadda

I underlined the important parts.  You plop down a unit of dakka Kastellans or neutron laser Onager near Cawl (reroll all shooting) during the Deployment Phase and then start burning through Command points to take free shots at the enemy before the first turn even begins (you can spend as many Command Points as you like in the Deployment phase, pg 215 BRB).

I'd would normally never do this of course, but I guess if I was setting up against TFG who's a notorious RAW abuser, here you go.  Saw this  on the Facebook Ad Mech group so don't think I've been looking for loop-holes or anything.  Ad Mech are mean enough as it is.

[WestRider]

Wow. Hope that last bit gets Errataed soon.

[VonVilkee]

Simple as anytime during the game... would limit it to once per phase then. Still super powerful, shoot in opponents movement, then psychic, then shooting, then assault, then morale... actually maybe it should be once a turn...

[WestRider]

I was thinking more like "...allow an Adeptus Mechanicus Unit from your Army to ignore the to-hit penalties from the Dawn Raid, Low Visibility, or Cover of Darkness Rules the next time it shoots."

[Swan-of-War]

Yeah, agree with West Rider's interpretation / rules as intended.

[InfestedKerrigan]

Did the FAQ address this?

[pretre]

59 minutes ago, InfestedKerrigan said:

Did the FAQ address this?

No

[The Last Guardsmen]

And this sort of thing is why I stopped playing competitively. Not hating on you Swan. Your cool. The mind set that... You know what its too late for a rant. Good night everyone.

[Swan-of-War]

Oh yeah, this would be a total "C'mon..." moment and I like to think no one would ever pull this.  Doubt you'd see it in tournament or casual play but hey, you never know

[Guest]

On October 1, 2017 at 4:30 PM, Swan-of-War said:

So, file this under RAW abuses, but there's a new Adeptus Mechanicus strategem called Scryerskull that's just begging for an Errata correction.

It can be used at any time and, among other things, grants shooting to an Ad Mech unit without the penalties to your hit rolls from Dawn Raid, Low Visibility, or Cover of Darkness.  yadda yadda yadda

I underlined the important parts.  You plop down a unit of dakka Kastellans or neutron laser Onager near Cawl (reroll all shooting) during the Deployment Phase and then start burning through Command points to take free shots at the enemy before the first turn even begins (you can spend as many Command Points as you like in the Deployment phase, pg 215 BRB).

I'd would normally never do this of course, but I guess if I was setting up against TFG who's a notorious RAW abuser, here you go.  Saw this  on the Facebook Ad Mech group so don't think I've been looking for loop-holes or anything.  Ad Mech are mean enough as it is.

For clarity, what is the potential here? 1 cp = how many uses of this ability? And how many CP will admech be able to realistically field at 2k (ITC or otherwise)?

Also, does it allow them to shoot if the models are in a situation where they couldn't normally shoot (like while within 1" of enemy models)? Not sure if this is covered in the "yadda yadda yadda" part of your post. 

[VonVilkee]

I have 15 CP and access to these stratagems... could easily switch out the knight for kastallen robots to kill stuff good...

[SPaceORK]

Pretty sure you can only use a stratagem once per phase.

[Swan-of-War]

1 hour ago, Spaceork said:

Pretty sure you can only use a stratagem once per phase.

Please to be reading pg 215.  In matched play, you can use as many as you like "before the battle begins"

And Pax, I've got 7 CP in my current two-detachment list.  Hypothetically, that's 252 shots from a unit of 4 Kastellans with three Heavy Phospors each (4 x 9 x 7).  Str 6, -2 AP, 1 D, no cover saves.

[SPaceORK]

16 hours ago, Swan-of-War said:

Please to be reading pg 215.  In matched play, you can use as many as you like "before the battle begins"

And Pax, I've got 7 CP in my current two-detachment list.  Hypothetically, that's 252 shots from a unit of 4 Kastellans with three Heavy Phospors each (4 x 9 x 7).  Str 6, -2 AP, 1 D, no cover saves.

Well... Clearly you are missing something about this stratagem. I suppose I am too, but I'm far to lazy to look.

I've not see one tournament in which this has been an issue. It hasn't been listed in the fixed part of the rules by ITC. No ad mech player I've seen has used it. And for something this theoretically powerful, alot of people are ignoring it in environments that would embrace it.

[Guest]

So I got a chance to read the exact wording on this one the other night. It does say what you are saying, but in context, it isn't as clear cut as you are making it out to be. The arguement is certainly there, but saying it grants an extra shooting phase will leave room for debate as your interpretation is very obviously not what it says. It also doesn't include the language that similar abilities include, like Soulburst. But to your point about this one needing an FAQ, yes, I agree, GW should FAQ it. 

[Swan-of-War]

We're all in agreement with the Rule as Intended.