New FAQ: Blood Chalice Argument and Counterargument

[Diagramdude]

Blood Chalice: In your Command phase, select one friendly BLOOD ANGELS CORE or BLOOD ANGELS CHARACTER unit (excluding VEHICLE units) within 6" of this model. Until the start of your next Command phase, if the Tactical Doctrine or Devastator Doctrine is active for your army, then each time a model in that unit makes an attack, the Assault Doctrine is considered to be active for that attack instead.

 

Jan 7th Marine FAQ: 

CODEX SUPPLEMENT COMBAT DOCTRINE BONUSES In each of the Space Marines Codex Supplements, you will find a detachment ability that confers additional bonuses to units with the Combat Doctrines ability while a particular doctrine is active for your army (e.g. Scions of Guilliman in Codex Supplement: Ultramarines, Savage Fury in Codex Supplement: Space Wolves etc). Whenever a rule allows a unit to gain the bonus of a particular doctrine even though it is not active for the rest of your army (e.g. the Adaptive Strategy Stratagem, page 104), then whilst that rule applies to that unit, that unit will also gain the benefit from any such detachment ability.

 

Argument against +1 attack: 

Blood Chalice doesn't apply to the unit until it makes the attack, so by the time it would also gain the benefit of the full detachment ability, it is too late to add +1 attack.

 

Argument for +1 attack:

Blood Chalice is applied to the unit in your command phase and remains applied until the start of your command phase. "Whilst that rule applies to the unit" is in effect the entire time and doesn't have to check for whether the unit is actually using the bonus. Therefore the unit gains the full benefit from the Tactical Doctrine from Blood Chalice.

 

It's lame we may still need to argue this but I think the logic is overwhelmingly in favor of +1 attack now. 

 

 

 

[keeblerartillery]

Dude. Just. Stop. You are over thinking it. They just didn’t feel like writing out every faction’s bonus. Stop this nonsense.

[Arkangilos]

If you go to a tournament the tournament master or whatever will say what the rule is.

 

If you are playing against friends and they are this nit picky with rules they don’t sound like they are fun to play against. I wouldn’t play with them.

[Bonzi]

The debate is over. The intent of the errata today is unambiguous even if it doesn't specifically cover the blood chalice or it's exact mechanics. Anyone who still fights about this after the errata isn't worth playing. You can only go so far down the rabbit hole with this stuff.

[Hintzy]

I was one of the most ardent advocates for playing the Blood Chalice as written until the FAQ and playing with only the AP bonus. My argument was the same as what you presented as the position against the +1 attack.

 

They didn't address that fault in their rules writing, but they did make their intent clear. It's not perfect, but it's good enough. I'll be happily playing with the +1 attack from here on.

[Diagramdude]

Same.