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I had a discussion with one of my gaming buddies come up recently as he has made the transition from Orks to Tau and really likes his new army. He raised the question of if Skimmers block LOS at all and I told him no, only immobilized, and wrecked skimmers do. The next question has me a bit baffled as it involves a bit of weird situation but here it is.

"can I shoot "through" my tanks, but you need to make a priority test to shoot at my disembarked squad behind the transport?"

I understand we use true LOS, but that's not an issue, I am wondering would I have to make the target priority roll for my unit, or not? The reason I question this as valid is that tanks/skimmers are larger targets and are able to be targeted separately from other units. Could I just choose not to shoot at the tank and target the disembarked unit behind it? am I forced to make the TP roll because there is an intervening "unit"?

thanks
-Verm

Ummm, there is no such thing as target priority anymore.

And skimmers block LOS just like any other model in the game. You get down and take a model's eye view and if the skimmer obscures your target then the target gets a cover save or cannot be shot at (if the entire enemy model is obscured).

Just remember that the skimmer MUST be on the base that it is supplied with now. No more "I'll take my falcon off the base this turn, place it on the table, and block LOS"

Yup. No changing heights during the game, and skimmers MUST be on flying bases. That said, if you have a low base, it’s very likely that skimmers will give cover saves to troops behind.

Target Priority and skimmers not blocking LOS are 4th ed rules that were dropped.

Mannahnin wrote:Yup. No changing heights during the game, and skimmers MUST be on flying bases. That said, if you have a low base, it’s very likely that skimmers will give cover saves to troops behind.

Target Priority and skimmers not blocking LOS are 4th ed rules that were dropped.

Unless you use tau Landing gear :p

frgsinwntr wrote:
Unless you use tau Landing gear :p

yea its fairly epic. Tau skimmers are the only ones in the game that can adjust its flying height and change out the bases. On a turn I land i can take off its skimmer base, then when it takes off next turn i can replace it with a base of a different height.

Lets say I can see under. Would the troops behind still get a 4+ cover save (I assume so)

Almost always, yes. But very few models are able to see underneath the skimmer when standing near it to target a model on the other side, making it a sticky situation where you get cover, but you can get shot while being mostly unable to shoot.

If you can see under, than it still depends. As I imagine it, if you can see under, then the skimmer is probably not going to be blocking LoS to any of the target model, so no cover save.

So was there something that replaced TP in the new edition? my group and I are having a bit of trouble trying to understand the sense of this. I'm not sure how it works. Units can shoot anything they want, as long as the units has LOS and range on the target?

That's right VermGho5t, if you have range and LOS you can shoot it. Also, there is no longer any "within 6" of a friendly unit" protection for IC. ICs are just another unit unless they are attached.

just remember the dispute rule.

if you think they can see and they think you can't then its a 5+ not a 4+

NaZ

ConditionOfMan wrote:That's right VermGho5t, if you have range and LOS you can shoot it. Also, there is no longer any "within 6" of a friendly unit" protection for IC. ICs are just another unit unless they are attached.

Cool, thanks for the replies everyone. One thing though, I thought I read somewhere that if IC's are within 2 inches of a friendly unit, they cannot be singled out except by models that have the specific ability to do so?

I'll re look over my stuff to double check that, but swear I read that here.

NaZ wrote:just remember the dispute rule.

if you think they can see and they think you can't then its a 5+ not a 4+

NaZ

No that is NOT the rule and I don't understand why everyone keeps trying to say it is.

If you *both* agree that you can't tell if they're in cover then it's a 5+.

If one person disagrees with the other then you have to check model by model to make sure.

VermGho5t wrote:Cool, thanks for the replies everyone. One thing though, I thought I read somewhere that if IC's are within 2 inches of a friendly unit, they cannot be singled out except by models that have the specific ability to do so?

In a sense...

ICs that are within 2" of a friendly unit must automatically join that unit. And, as always, an IC that joins a unit cannot be targeted separately duirng the Shooting Phase (except by certain special units).

My devilfish are on extremely small stands.

If I try and look down to see the space marines, I can't. If my opponent tries to look down and see the fire warriors, he can't.

However you can get the tap measure, lie it flat, and draw an uninterrupted line from the space marines to the devilfish.

Can I shoot the space marines?

onlainari wrote:Can I shoot the space marines?

Only if you have LOS.

You have LOs if you can trace a line from the FWs' heads to at least one of the Marines' bodies.

Running a tape along the ground is only going to show LOS if your models are prone. Or doing headstands.

I'd say in almost every case, if you're shooting through a skimmer that:

A) You should almost always have LOS (granted checking with a laser pointer / visual checking is most likely in order).
B) Shooting past the skimmer triggers the intervening models rule, so any normal troops behind it will get a 4+ cover save (this rule pretty much replaces the old target priority rule).

Now, it's different if what you want to shoot behind the skimmer is a MC (Monstrous Creature) or another vehicle as both of those require 50% cover to get the intervening 4+ cover save (aka, it's harder for them to get the cover bonus).

-Jara

onlainari wrote:My devilfish are on extremely small stands.

If I try and look down to see the space marines, I can't. If my opponent tries to look down and see the fire warriors, he can't.

However you can get the tap measure, lie it flat, and draw an uninterrupted line from the space marines to the devilfish.

Can I shoot the space marines?

Are those the stands that came with it? Did you modify it? IMO you should not be able to modify or use a none GW stand and if you are, I'd be prepared for some resistance.

why is this an issue? the book says you cant shoot under vehicles including skimmers, all vehicles can be shot over and around if you have LOS but not under. You almost never have LOS when behind a vehicle. Does anyone actually read the book anymore or just gloss over it and spend 4 hours arguing?

da gob smaka wrote:why is this an issue? the book says you cant shoot under vehicles including skimmers, all vehicles can be shot over and around if you have LOS but not under. You almost never have LOS when behind a vehicle. Does anyone actually read the book anymore or just gloss over it and spend 4 hours arguing?

And just where did you read that....?

the vehicle section, I dont have the book with me so I cant quote it verbatim.

Tell ya what, when you get a page reference, get back to us. Until then, we will stick with the rules we have read.