Fast Scout Skimmers

[Race Bannon]

SO ...

 

A fast skimmer with Scout USR decides to move after deployment but before the first turn. The skimmer goes flat out.

 

Does it gain the obscurement for going flat out before the first turn?

 

Why or why not?

[Seahawk]

No, because the book says units get to make a normal move before the first player takes his first turn. Skimmer's speed save refers only to movement made in the Movement Phase. As the Movement Phase is defined as part of a player's turn, no cover save is granted.

 

A further justification is the following: Eldar Rangers and Heavy Weapons. They have Scouts, so if you scout move them, they can still fire in their first Shooting Phase, even if they get the first turn (provided they didn't move during the Movement Phase, of course). The move is made "outside" of the game and thus turn, so during that turn they didn't move at all. This also goes along with Fast Scout Skimmers and shooting; the skimmer can Scout move, get the first turn, not move, and fire all weapons.

 

An exception lies in Turbo-boosting Bikes with Scouts. The wording is different, in that it simply says "in the following enemy shooting phase, the bike benefits from a cover save of 3+..." It makes no mention of the biker's previous movement phase, etc. In this way the general rule is broken, but egh that's GW writing for you.

 

Lastly, a fluff reason is that this isn't actually a move; it simply represents the unit being farther ahead of the main force.

 

I can't find a single reason a Fast Scout Skimmer would get a speed save.

[Race Bannon]

A voice of reason :lol:

 

The prevailing counter-argument (if I have it correct), is that the Scout move is made like a normal movement phase. So, since they would get it in the normal Movement Phase, then they would get it in the Scout move which is like a normal move (with the 12" restriction).

 

That doesn't jive with me as the Scout move rule govern HOW to move is made, but that's all it's doing: repositioning the unit before the game starts.

[Seahawk]

While the idea is nice, it doesn't really have anything to do with the cover save. So a skimmer can move flat out in it's scout move...that's great, doesn't mean squat. The rules for the speed save specifically refer to it having to move flat out in it's previous Movement Phase. It didn't have a previous Movement Phase, just a Scout Move that can be made as described by the rules in the Movement Phase. These are two very distinct "time-periods" I guess we can call them, so yea.

[Mordekiem]

Seahawk is correct.

 

The rules for Skimmer moving flat out requires that the skimmer "Has moved flat out in its last Movement phase." brb pg 71. Since it has not had a movement phase yet it cannot receive the cover save.

 

The scout USR says that the movement is made as if they are moving in the movement phase, but it does not say it is the movement phase.

 

OTOH the rules for moving flat out and being wrecked on an immobilised result have the same requirement. So there is some joy in that.