Wednesday, September 4, 2013

TLOS and Cover in 6th

No pictures today, but hopefully tomorrow.

I was following a great article on Bell of Lost Souls today about Line of Sight blocking terrain:

Uncle Sam Wants You to Use Line of Sight Blocking Terrain!

The article is a great read and is followed by some pretty insightful comments. The RAW (Rules as Written) arguments are pretty cut and dry as to being able to make some pretty "Wanted" level shots in 6th. A few samples from the rule book:

p. 8 - "...unblocked line from its eyes to any part of the target's body (the head, torso, arms or legs)."

On the same page it is stated that you can, "spot lurking enemies through the windows of ruined buildings,catch a glimpse of a model's legs under tree branches..." Clearly, this gets down to an issue of trying to determine Rules as Intended (RAI) or just sticking with RAW.

Two Examples:

1) An enemy Riptide is 17" away from your Tac Squad, which is in cover behind the walls of a ruin (approximately 3" away from the wall). The Riptide shoots through the window of the wall (which it is approximately 14" away from) on a squad that has already been hit by maker lights.Legally this shot is possible and any cover can be ignored.

2) An enemy unit shoots at your Tac Squad across a 1' x 1' terrain piece (a graveyard with walls tall enough to block line of sight). The enemy unit draws LOS through two wrought iron gates and a bush. Legally, this shot is possible and any cover can be ignored (again, marker lights).

I am not suggesting any argument that shooting at a barely glimpsed model is illegal. I do think that once you combine the abundance of ignores cover and ignores armour we are left with models with 3+ armour saves and potential cover saves that have almost no survivability. Yes, I play Space Marines and Orks, but please understand I am not trying to be a whiny internet fan boy. I am not an overly competitive player, so my desire to "Create a Narrative" in both my list building and how I apply rules do not take full advantage of the rules available to all players. That is my choice, and I recognize my decision to not shoot through two gates and a bush is my decision alone.

I have no suggestions about how to proceed, but I point to the blog whose title sums up my 40k hobby philosophy:

How to Lose at 40k (and look good while doing it)

* Maybe one suggestion, everybody board up the windows on your ruins :)


5 comments:

  1. I saw the article as well, and loved the point. I play tau (sometimes) and people complaining about them on the Internet is annoying! I play for fun, lose more than win, and have a blast! Playing tau, is because I like the fluff and the minis! I don't think they are OP, people just have to adjust to them: if you like cover, kill the marker lights!!

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    1. I do think they are OP, I just try not to complain about it too much :)

      I don't think it should be a matter of if I like cover (a mechanic built into the rules of the game). We have an army that easily ignores every save available. Losing is a result I am well acquainted with, but the fun quickly wanes as I find out which option I face: 2 riptides and maker lights or a Farsight Bomb. By the time you fight through 2+ armour, invules, and everyone else's blob of drones who has anyone left to shoot with? (I almost forgot the free shots at my drop pod and storm talon and the supporting fire for overwatch).

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    2. 2+ isn't readily available in tau armies (riptide and broadside) farsight bomb is very expensive and supporting fire only balances out the fact that if ANYTHING gets into combat with our units, they're dead!! Tau are strong, like wolves when they came out, or GK at the end of 5th. People will learn to beat them, and they won't seem so bad anymore. As for spamming riptides etc. that can happen in any army (wave serpent spam being the best example). And people have yet to realise that 2-3 riptides is not the scariest army in the dex: 6x12 fire warriors, ethereal and fire blade, puts out 200+ shots a turn at S5! It's expensive, but all your anti infantry, and objective grabbing needs are catered for.

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    3. Don't worry, hobbyist...I would never call you a WAAC spammer :)

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