SoS Vestal deployment

[bluedestiny]

Hi peeps,

 

My local game group is split between the deployment rules for a unit of 3 Knight Vestals, again typical GW rules writers and their weird rulings, just want to see what are your views and interpretations of the following. Sisters are allied with custodes for example.

 

-Can the Vestals all be deployed with the same squad of Guardians, then chose to split on turn 1.

-Can the Vestals use their scout move to join other units if in range.

-Can the Vestal who is with a unit already leave that unit and move to join another unit in the same movement phase.

 

Thanks.

[Mandragola]

Vestals are a total mess, but some things are cleared up by the IC rules (main rulebook P.241).

 

- Your first question is the only unclear one. Nothing in the rules prevents Vestals from being attached to a unit... yet. I wouldn't be shocked to see this one clarified/changed in a FAQ though. For now, multiple ICs can join units so you're fine to do this. I think it's reasonable to assume that they have to all be attached to the same unit and not to two or more different units that happen to be within 2" of each other. They are actually a unit, at least at first... I think. On the plus side, whatever unit you've attached them to can now scout.

 

They obviously should have made Vestals deploy like Apothecaries and similar. Making them ICs creates all sorts of issues and makes them far more useful. But as players we can only use (or perhaps abuse) the mess GW hands us.

 

Now on to the stuff the books actually do make clear:

 

- No IC can use their scout move to leave or join units. ICs can only join or leave units in the movement phase.

- Yes, you can leave one unit and join another in the movement phase. There's no rule to prevent this (as there is for things like getting out of one transport and into another). You just declare what unit you're attached to after you move. Note that the new unit cannot move any further in that phase, so move it first and then have the Vestal come along to join.

[bluedestiny]

Thanks for replying, I was discussing it on some other forums and discord and this was what they mention. 

 

Regarding point 1. People are saying the Vestals are deployed as a "squad" first and they don't split into IC until the start of the turn (similar to dreads), and "squads" can't join other units which also only happens during deployment or at the end of the movement phase. As such they can't confer scout to others because scout happens before start of 1st turn.

 

While I read the actual RAW is all they need to do is to be deployed within "unit coherency" which is 2" horizontally and 6" vertically. So they should be able to all be "attached" or even 1 Vestal can be attached to another unit. Unless the word unit means a squad together. 

 

 

[Mandragola]

The rules absolutely do not say the Vestals have to be deployed as their own unit. It says they have to be deployed in coherency, which definitely doesn't prevent them from joining units as multiple ICs are obviously allowed to do that.

 

It's a horribly unclear rule though. For example, I'm not sure there's anything stopping them from deploying in a Kharon and, if they can do so, letting it scout. And adding them to a unit is very powerful - especially as they're battle brothers with all loyalists. They can grant FNP and scout, among many other benefits, to almost any infantry unit for less than the cost of an Apothecary.

 

In my own army I'm bringing SoS allies and I only have one Vestal. It's not clear to me if there are any restrictions on how I should deploy her.

[bluedestiny]

This is the part that the others who I spoke with is pointing towards, saying they need to be in a unit. I agree with you and shouldn't be like that and should be able to deploy in squads and such during deployment.

[Noserenda]

Id say if they have joined a unit, how are the not in a unit, they just arguably need to be in coherency with each other at most. It at no point overrides independent character.

Ultimately though id ask them to all poke the FAQ email as they apparently havent considered previous emails enough to actually update anything for SoS in them yet.