so: I am building a list is 10 pts over the max want to drop revered guardian to make it fit then I got to think: "I havn't checked if the slann stil cant be challenged in our new book." I run through the rules in our book and look through the BRB and my conclussion is: YES HE CAN?! can any of you rule lawyers out there please prove to me that I am wrong? my argument for "no" would be that the Guardians special rule says that he "Must be placed in the second rank" , but does that apply to challenges? Would that mean that accepting a challenge would bring the challenger and the slann into a combat where no one can hit the other, ultimately making the challenger lose all his attacks for the round?
Can't you just decline the challenge? If he selects the Slann, he goes to the back and does not provide his leadership or the use of the battle standard for that round (if I remember correctly). Isn't that how it goes? This is how I've been playing, though I am away from the rule book so I may be wrong.
Yeah, just refuse the challenge. Best part is that when you move the Slann you can possibly get more Temple Guard able to attack as they fill in the Slann's void!
I checked the rule book and there are some interesting issues with the challenges. Characters must accept or refuse a challenge. If they refuse, they move to the back rank out of base contact with the enemy. They cannot attack and their leadership cannot be used for leadership tests that turn. And yes, more Temple Guard step forward to fight. Also, even if the TG unit has a Revered Guardian, the guardian does not have to accept the challenge, and there is no penalty if they refuse. A unit Champion may accept a challenge but does not have to accept. The unit Champ cannot be nominated to retreat as a character must do if they refuse the challenge.
It's also important to note that when you refuse a challenge you do not get to choose which character gets moved to the back. You choose who accepts the challenge, but your opponent chooses who refuses the challenge.
I am not interessted in losing Re-rolls or LD9, obviously Wanted to make sure the rules said what I thought they did, no loop holes, bummer. I have no confusion on how regular challenges work, just to clarify that.
Just drop a temple guard and keep the revered guardian. Being anal about full back ranks and even numbers can only hinder you in your way to victory.
I feel like a broken record at this point, but... If you don't put the Slann in with the temple guard, you won't have this problem. You also won't have to worry about the Slann blowing the temple guard up. You'll also get more attacks out of your temple guard. And if the unit gets annhilated, you won't be down an extra 400 points. Don't put your Slann with TG. It's a trap!
The ethereal battle-slann (ethereal + dragonbane gem + BSB + war banner) is one of the 'hardest' / most competitive choices available in our list. Not only is it a level 4 wizard, but it also annihilates hordes of trolls, large blocks of monstrous cavalry, and many monsters in hand-to-hand combat. It can also completely neutralize steam tanks and other threats for the rest of the game with a single charge. Mine almost single-handedly destroyed 2 hordes of greatsword dwarves one game. Fiery Convocation early in the game killed something like 15 dwarves out of one horde, while skink shooting continued to whittle it down. The Slann eventually charged the other one, lost the 1st combat by 1, lost the second combat by 2, but by then they were held in place so long my block of six rippers had no problems getting in the flank, and proceeded to mulch the entire unit. He conceded when he realized that his remaining horde didn't have enough ranks left to get through the static +2, and thus had no way to kill the Slann.
I find bringing the extra models and just having them in the unit for army judging (at a tourney) helps settle those OCD nerves, just take them out as a 'pregame casualty' when deploying on the table. Just dont forget! Also I swear to all that is holy that finding those extra 5-10pts when you're just slightly over is the hardest thing about writing a list lol Arfa