Q: Can Heldrake really do as Heldrake pleases?
A: Heldrake is now an Assault Vehicle.
The Legions of the Chaos Space Marines have learned to climb onto the back of the Heldrake and ride it into battle. They launch assaults by swooping up high and then leaping down off the back of the Heldrake... DEATH (the the false emperor) FROM ABOVE!!!!!
Models "on board" a Heldrake can launch an assault after disembarking from a Heldrake. Measure from the Heldrakes base (naturally) in any direction (of course), however add 5d6 to their assault range to represent the boost they get from diving off a super-sonic Heldrake's back. Furthermore, models on board can draw LoS from any point on the board to launch their assault.
Also, all models launching an assault will ignore cover saves, gain the Crusader special rule, have Missile Lock (to be redacted later), have Preferred Enemy (Tau), and naturally, gain Furious Charge.
Models equipped with Plasma Pistols gain the Salvo 4/8 rule.
Finally, the Heldrake himself can participate in the assault to support his passengers. The Heldrake fights in combat as a Walker. However, at the end of a round of combat, the Heldrake is not locked and instead returns to a Swooping/Gliding (player's choice) state in the same position he was in. The Heldrake does not need to pile-in nor make a charge move nor has to be anywhere near the actual combat to participate.
Furthermore, in subsequent turns, the Heldrake can continue to fight in any combat he was in that is still ongoing no matter where he is at on the board.
Lastly, the Heldrake now has the Skilled Rider special rule and can be mounted on a Palanquin for 35 points."
Heh, Matt Ward should fear you should you ever decide you want his job. So, was there any particular event that inspired this blog post?
ReplyDeleteFelt inspired. We spent 45 minutes in Ep 150 bemoaning the latest FAQ and all the problems with it. Heldrake does as Heldrake pleases is going to be a running theme for a while as a result. :P
ReplyDeleteI agree with this, when given the choice last weekend of renting super heavies in a charity event, or renting 3 heldrakes....I took the heldrakes ;)
ReplyDeleteDuring the opponent's turn, a Heldrake can reposition anywhere on the board any number of times to where it really intended to be. Note that this may take it out of position for an enemy vector strike, out of range or line of sight for shooting, or put it in the way of an assault.
ReplyDeleteErrata: A Heldrake ate a Wave Serpent once, so it has the Wave Serpent's Energy Field rules. Oh, and Holofields. And Flickerfields, which make its invulnerable save 3+. With Fortune.
lol @ Wave Serpent, eating. That's inspiring!
DeleteSpecial Rules: Heldrake Does as Heldrake Pleases
Any time a Heldrake kills a model, he consumes it. At anytime during the game, the Heldrake can "expend" what he ate to adopt one or more of the properties of the model that he chooses including weapons, stats, special rules, or anything else related to the model.
To be fair, the Heldrake cannot expend more than 5 "models" at the same time.
Yeah, I won't field a Heldrake on principle. Most current armies don't really have any answer for these things, so it kills friendly games. I think in friendly gaming circles, people who field these things right now are soon going to find they don't have anyone willing to play with them.
ReplyDeleteAs Pat said, "Oh you have a Heldrake, you win then".
It's really not all 'that" bad, but I do agree that the Heldrake is about as "un-fun" as Night Scythes were when 6th ed. launched, lolz.
DeleteCan I embark a squad of Heldrakes on another Heldrake?
ReplyDeleteWhen the Helldrake has been destroyed, place a counter where it was removed from play. At the start of the following turn roll a dice, on a 2+ the Helldrake returnes to play anywhere withing unlimited range of the counter with max hull points, and you automatically win the game, and your opponent has to buy you a soda.
ReplyDelete