Tyranids

Under construction!

Unit Abilities

Norn Assimilator

How does the Singular Purpose ability (“Singular Purpose: At the start of the first battle round, select one of the following: Select one enemy unit. Until the end of the battle, each time this model makes an attack that targets that unit, you can re-roll the Hit roll and you can re-roll the Wound roll. Select one objective marker. Until the end of the battle, while this model is within range of that objective marker, it has the Feel No Pain 5+ ability and an Objective Control characteristic of 15.”) interact with Battle-shock (TYR)?

The Verdict: If the second option (OC 15 in range of the selected objective) is chosen, the Norn Assimilator retains OC 15 even if Battle-shocked. This is because the specific “modifier” (setting the Objective Control characteristic to 15) is calculated after the Battle-shock effect is applied (“The Objective Control characteristic of all of its models is 0 [CR 11]”) in accordance with the “Modifiers” section: “If a rule instructs you to change or replace one characteristic with a specified value, change the relevant characteristic to the new value before applying any modifiers that apply from other rules (if any) to the new value” (RC 1.2, p. 18). The ordering of Battle-shock’s interaction with ability-related rules (which are treated as modifiers) is specifically one of the examples supplied as well: “Example 2b: The same Intercessor unit from Example 2a becomes Battle-shocked, changing the OC characteristic of its models to 0. This happens before the Chitinous Horrors and Astartes Banner modifiers are applied, meaning the final, modified OC of each Intercessor model in that unit is 1 (2 –> 0, then 0/2 = 0, then 0+1=1)” (RC 1.2, p. 18).

The World Team Championships’ ruling is incorrect, relying on Sequencing rules instead to adjudicate the situation (WTC 2.2, 9; CR 9). In this case, if the controlling player is the Tyranid controlling the Norn Emissary in question, this clearly would sequence in the Norn’s favour. However, if Battle-shock occurred in the opposing player’s turn, Battle-shock would then incorrectly be applied after the Norn’s OC characteristic was changed in spite of Singular Purpose being treated as a modifier.

Norn Emissary

How does the Singular Purpose ability (“Singular Purpose: At the start of the first battle round, select one of the following: Select one enemy unit. Until the end of the battle, each time this model makes an attack that targets that unit, you can re-roll the Hit roll and you can re-roll the Wound roll. Select one objective marker. Until the end of the battle, while this model is within range of that objective marker, it has the Feel No Pain 5+ ability and an Objective Control characteristic of 15.”) interact with Battle-shock (TYR)?

The Verdict: If the second option (OC 15 in range of the selected objective) is chosen, the Norn Emissary retains OC 15 even if Battle-shocked. This is because the specific “modifier” (setting the Objective Control characteristic to 15) is calculated after the Battle-shock effect is applied (“The Objective Control characteristic of all of its models is 0 [CR 11]”) in accordance with the “Modifiers” section: “If a rule instructs you to change or replace one characteristic with a specified value, change the relevant characteristic to the new value before applying any modifiers that apply from other rules (if any) to the new value” (RC 1.2, p. 18). The ordering of Battle-shock’s interaction with ability-related rules (which are treated as modifiers) is specifically one of the examples supplied as well: “Example 2b: The same Intercessor unit from Example 2a becomes Battle-shocked, changing the OC characteristic of its models to 0. This happens before the Chitinous Horrors and Astartes Banner modifiers are applied, meaning the final, modified OC of each Intercessor model in that unit is 1 (2 –> 0, then 0/2 = 0, then 0+1=1)” (RC 1.2, p. 18).

The Swarmlord

Does the Hive Commander ability (“At the start of your Command phase, if this model is on the battlefield, you gain 1CP.”) prohibit a player from accumulating another CP in the same battle round (e.g. from Feeder Tendrils where a Lictor destroys an enemy Character model) (TYR)?

The Verdict: Yes. Although the Hive Commander ability very specifically states that the additional CP is obtained at the start of the Command phase, the Rules Commentary (Version 1.2) now countermands the wording of the ability and it does count against the additional CP stipulations. The Core Rules state that “Outside of the CP players gain at the start of the Command phase, each player can only gain a total of 1CP per battle round, regardless of the source” (CR, 10). Although the Hive Commander CP is obtained at the start of the Command phase, the Rules Commentary closed the door to the player obtaining an additional CP in that same battle round.

The World Championships judges (2023) also ignored the specificity of CP gains in the wording of the Core Rules (WC23), and this is now in line with the Rules Commentary. The World Team Championships’ ruling has also been updated to reflect the GW ruling, prohibiting abilities of any kind from accumulating more than one additional CP per battle round (though it is worth noting that the terminology used in the document is bafflingly specific to 9th Edition; the Rules Commentary takes precedence regardless)(WTC 2.2, 9).