Hey all, Apologies if this has been covered elsewhere already. I am building movement trays for my skirmishing units and have got to the sallies. My question is do the handlers need to positioned following the normal rules for skirmishers or as handlers can I ignore these requirements? Cheers
Ok so i've also built trays for skirmishers, and my sallys/razordons too For my Sally's i had a tray for 2 units (since i usually take 2 as a unit) and had 4 spots behind the sally for the 4 handlers Seeing as each slamanders would belong in the middle front of its 4 handlers, i kept the same distances between handlers the same as usual skirmishers However that meant that the gap between each slamander was larger than that for handler skirmishers - but i guess that's alright Each sally has about 18mm (just under 3/4") between them I should put up a pic one day, but may tray looks like this: R=razordon, H=handler __RR___RR __RR___RR _h__h__h__h ---> Just ignore the underscores _h__h__h__h So my handlers have about 5-10mm (or just under 1/2' apart) for the tray's sake, because the tray extends out a bit as its only made of thick cardboard. --- the rules for skirmishers are about 1/2' apart --- Obviously the tray itself is wider that deeper; being about 120mm long x 110mm deep so nearly a square shape, but as long as the handlers are behind the beasts It does look odd using letters, but I hope it helps
Cinematically you can position the models however you like but since you ignore handlers for all game purposes there is no needed spacing on them. For all intents and purposes they will be treated as open terrain.
Hi Jamjar, Cheers for the reply yeah that's helpful. The tray I had started to make has a 1/2 inch between each sallie and space for the handlers to be ranked up with a 1/2 inch between each of them going backwards. However I realised that because there is only 1/2 an inch between each sallie it means that their handlers will be touching like in the diagram below. The only picture I could spot in the new army book does have the models in this way but as its for display I wasn't sure if it was correct. SS_SS_SS hh_hh_hh hh_hh_hh Each SS is one sallie and each h is a handler with the _ and empty line representing a 1/2 inch gap. Edit: hey kroxti sorry for some reason your reply did not show up until after I posted again. Thanks for your response, that was along the lines I was thinking
Ages ago I googled salamander movement trays and found this http://www.lustria-online.com/threads/salamander-units-and-skirmishing-movement-trays.8874/ That's where I got my inspiration from, but sadly mine isn't as impresive I only just noticed where the link was from today That is a good point Lord Kroxti, I always forget that we ignore handlers
Practically all the time it does not matter how you deploy the handlers on the table top, so go for the most aesthetically pleasing. But here are 2 possible curly exceptions: 1. Handlers are ignored for most combat purposes. Unsaved wounds on the monster are resolved with 1-4 going to the handler and 5-6 removing a handler (BRB 73). What if the unit is hit by a template weapon? What if the template misses the beast and only shadows the handlers? Has this been FAQ'd? How would you play it? 2. In close combat, handlers can direct their attacks against enemies in base contact with the monster (BRB 73). Supporting attacks can only come from the second rank (BRB 48). If your enemy dployed their handlers 2 deep behind the beast would you let them make attacks from effectively the third rank? Personally I would just play them as snack markers and have my full attacks regardless of configuration, but if your patronising HE foe questions your ability to attack, you had better have a good reply waiting.
Fortunately I've had any real issues so far in game so far from my opponents. In terms of measuring either charges, pursues, shooting ranges or templates I play that it has to be a Monster rather than a handler that we measure to, whether this is my opponent targeting the unit or me aiming a spell. I feel that this is most in line with the monster & handler rules. For combat I hadn't actually thought about ranks and rather treated the attacks as extra attacks from the monster rather than from additional models. Based on the monster and handler rules I have started to think of the skinks as one use 5+ ward saves that grant extra attacks. I think the rule has improved with the new army book as the old book had the FAQ to try and reconcile the old rules with the new rules and talked about ranking up the skinks behind the monster which confused the issue. Now we can just refer to the main rule book which says to ignore the models for most game purposes. I think the new army book also helps in this regard as I think (and I could be wrong as I do not have the book with me just now) that it treats the handlers in the same way as the crew on a steg and omits the toughness and wounds characteristic leaving only the characteristics needed to attack and take leadership checks and probably move too.
It has all the usual skink stats, but doesn't have any special rules as "salamander (only)" and "all" as per the old book. Given the skinks usually have a 6+ scaly skin it would appear that there is no circumstance where the skink would be called on to take a save. Immune to dwellers, transmogrifying gaze and final transmutation as well?