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Tau Commander with two Shield Drones takes a wound. Can he put that wound on the Commander to keep the drones alive, and this keep it scoring, or does he have to remove the drones first as a means of removing whole models in a multi-wound model unit?

A single multi-wound model in a unit does not constitute "several" multi-wound creatures and therefore the unit does not follow the rules for units of multi-wound creatures.


Also important to note is that even if the unit is made up of several multi-wound models, those rules only apply to multi-wound models in the unit per the RAW. You are never forced to put a wound on a single-wound creature per the multi-wound creature rules.


The answer to your question is: Yes the commander can take a wound, but it doesn't matter because a commander with drones isn't a scoring unit anyway (the only thing you've accomplished is giving up 1/2 VPs for a wounded IC now).

In a previous queston posted here, I was told that the Commander loses his IC status when taking drones, as the rule states they form a unit with him.

Aduro wrote:In a previous queston posted here, I was told that the Commander loses his IC status when taking drones, as the rule states they form a unit with him.

They do form a unit together during the game, however VPs and scoring status are determined by the VP chart which (per the 'units with distinct elements' rule) leaves the IC as the only "element" to give up VPs and is never a scoring unit.

So a Commander taking drones loses all the benefits of being an IC, but gains none of the benefits of being a unit?

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/207293.page

Aduro wrote:So a Commander taking drones loses all the benefits of being an IC, but gains none of the benefits of being a unit?

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/207293.page

I didn't bother reading the thread posted, but yes, an IC with drones loses the benefits of being an IC and gets nothing in return (except ablative wounds that will be make the character worth more points when he dies). Run your commanders sans drones/bodyguards.

The one advantage to having shield drones with a commander is that they can take wounds for him in CC. This is the only case I know of where multiple models attached to an IC can fight with and die for that IC in combat.

Aduro wrote:So a Commander taking drones loses all the benefits of being an IC, but gains none of the benefits of being a unit?

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/207293.page

I wouldn't say he gets "none" of the benefits (he gains the protection of the Drones from firing). However the unit most certainly isn't scoring because when broken down to its elements it is just an IC and some drones that are not any official unit on their own.

It's a HQ unit.

Sadly, it isn't a scoring unit because GW didn't say it was supposed to be one (iirc, it wasn't meant to be one).

Essentially if you take drones, you can be shot at as a IC.

Most players take drones and stick the IC in with a bodyguard of crisis suits (which is a scoring unit) or in with a different unit and use his drones as ablative wounds.

Then he leaves, and the 2 free drones are counted towards precisely nothing for the unit he was with and he's a IC again.

It's a dirty trick, so to speak. Also pretty pointless but YMMV.

Stelek wrote:Most players take drones and stick the IC in with a bodyguard of crisis suits (which is a scoring unit) or in with a different unit and use his drones as ablative wounds.

Then he leaves, and the 2 free drones are counted towards precisely nothing for the unit he was with and he's a IC again.

It's a dirty trick, so to speak. Also pretty pointless but YMMV.

I don't quite get how this is a "dirty trick". When you say "bodyguard" I assume you mean an elite squad of crisis suits, not the actual bodyguard entry under HQ (since he can't leave them)? So you're suggesting that "most" players take an IC with drones, run them with a squad of suits, then when the shield drones die the IC detaches? It's not a dirty trick, stupid and a waste of points, but it's hardly dirty. Makes me wonder about the tau players you face.