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If a Dark Eldar player has units in 'webway portal reserve', how are the reserve rolls handled when the portal hasn't been opened yet? The codex says that units which become available are "held back" if the portal isn't opened yet, but I'm not sure whether that's supposed to mean "They're held back and will automatically come in the turn after the portal opens" or "They're held back and will have to roll again next turn."

Also, if there are multiple webway portals in the army, is it necessary to designate which units are using which portal or can each unit use whichever portals are available? Can you have more than one portal active at the same time, or would the second portal supercede the first?

They are held back until the portal opens is how I read it and always played it over the years.

And you can use whatever portals you want. The only restriction is that a unit most wholly come from one of them (i.e. one unit can not enter through 2 of them even if they are close together).

padixon wrote:They are held back until the portal opens is how I read it and always played it over the years.

I must be being dense, but I'm not sure what you mean. So, the unit X comes up for reserve, but the portals not open yet. That turn, a portal gets opened. The next turn, does unit X automatically get to come in through the portal, or does the Dark Eldar player have to make another successful reserve roll to allow unit X to come on?

They are held back and will have to roll on reserves again.

Think of it as the Dark Eldar trying to come through and upon seeing the portal is not open, go off for a quick round of super kinky sex and drugs, which is why they might fail to come through the next turn

Sorry, I was not clear after re-reading it. I have always re-rolled my reserve roll.

But, I have seen other DE players playing it differently. They surmised that since you must roll for them, and they must enter through the webway, then once you succeeded in the reserve roll than no more rolls are needed or called for and they would become immediately available once it is opened. The RB clearly says there is no holding back and rolls are mandatory, yet the Codex overrides the RB and says they can hold back. But the definition of "hold back" is one that is never clearly defined. But by RAW, you only ever roll one successful time for a unit in reserve and it is available once it is rolled for. So I can see the merit in this reading.

But, I find this rule in the gray area for sure, and I usually ere to the side of my opponent in cases like this. I have no real reason for this way other than it just 'feels right'.

Gwar! wrote:They are held back and will have to roll on reserves again.

Think of it as the Dark Eldar trying to come through and upon seeing the portal is not open, go off for a quick round of super kinky sex and drugs, which is why they might fail to come through the next turn

Your basis for this is what? The quote is merely "...they must be held back until it is [open]." There is no indication that the reserve roll must be made again, but merely a prohibition from that unit being able to move onto the board on the turn during which the successful reserve roll is made.

See the "Delayed" result of the deep strike mishap.

Due to the fact the DE codex is an unusable mess, I say that's the easiest way to do it.

Gwar! wrote:See the "Delayed" result of the deep strike mishap.

Due to the fact the DE codex is an unusable mess, I say that's the easiest way to do it.

And models entering the board from the "board edge" is similar to Deep Striking in what manner?

The "simplest" manner in which to handle it is for the units to do what the WWP says, be "held back" until the WWP is opened. The units simply are available to come on during the movement phase of the turn after the WWP is opened. Doing anything else adds complexity and rules to a situation where they didn't previously exist.

Where does it specifically say they don't have to roll for reserves again?

Nowhere.

A Unit wanting to arrive from reserves always has to roll unless its T5, 6 or 7.

This is how it is done in the Necron codex for warriors coming in from reserve using the monolith, so this is essentially the same thing. If you are deep striking your Monolith and your warriors are in reserve and on turn two your warriors roll to come in but your Monoliths don't, your warriors sit and wait until the Monolith is available. Once the Monolith is available the warriors are immediately available to come in, you do not have to roll for them again. This is the only way I've seen it played, I have never seen anyone make a successful roll with their warriors and have to re-roll again when the Monolith is available.

same concept when using the webway portal.

Gwar! wrote:Where does it specifically say they don't have to roll for reserves again?

Nowhere.

Where does it specifically say they don't get to don superman outfits and fly about the table shooting lasers from their eyes?

Nowhere.
See, we can all make up crap based on negative logic if we like... its as easy as it is pointless.

A Unit wanting to arrive from reserves always has to roll unless its T5, 6 or 7.

You're making up rules again...nothing says they go back into reserve. They've already made a roll and are now being held back like their codex allows them to, and has always allowed them to when the portal is used in this fashion. Basically they stack up in the corridor and recreational drugs are limited to whatever they have in their pockets or can find in the Raider's glovebox.

Gwar! wrote:Where does it specifically say they don't have to roll for reserves again?

Nowhere.

A Unit wanting to arrive from reserves always has to roll unless its T5, 6 or 7.

I would say:

pg 15. Webway Portal, last sentence.
"If you do this (keep models in reserve to use webway, when not allowed by scenario) troops may only enter through the webway, and if it has not been opened on the turn they become available to enter play, they must be held back until it is."

This very clearly says to me that units dice for reserves as usual, starting on turn 2. If I get reserves on turn 2, and the webway is not opened, I 'hold them back' until the portal is open, and they enter automatically.

There is nothing in the above that says the models " return to reserves and must again roll to enter play." Quite the opposite, the trigger for those reserves that were available is the webway opening.

Of course, in 5e, reserves are part of every mission, so I would argue that since the above rule (available reserve units held back until webway is available) no longer really applies, since you could bring your reserves on via your board edge, rather than the webway. The above rule was written during an edition where reserves may not be part of a particular scenario. Now reserves are part of most if not all scenarios. The above rule gives a specific situation where the reserves "must" enter via the webway, and that is when reserves are not part of the scenario.

Cruentus, you would have a valid point about the functioning of the webway portal, except for the wording of the GW FAQ, which establishes the Dark Eldar "super secret webway reserves" option for reserves as distinct from the normal reserves mechanism.

Dark Eldar FAQ wrote:
Q. Can you clarify how the webway portal works?
A. If the Dark Eldar player holds any units in reserve, he must specify if they are going to enter
the game through a webway portal or follow the normal reserve rules. If Dark Eldar units that are
using the portal have not arrived yet and all models carrying a portal are destroyed before
deploying it, these units count as destroyed. When the Webway portal is in position, it acts as a
gate through which your ‘special’ reserves can enter the table. These models move onto the
table from the portal marker, measuring from its edge as they would if they entered the table
normally. The normal rules regarding enemy in proximity apply, notably that you cannot come
within 1” of an enemy model except during an assault. This means that, if enemy models
surround the portal, then models cannot use it to enter the table, except for skimmers, jump packs,
jetbikes and other models that can move over other models. Units may not partially enter play
using the portal nor may they charge through it. The moral of the tale is that you should defend
the portal until you have used it and not simply abandon it in the middle of the enemy.

After all, the portal costs almost as much as a raider, it would be silly if it only had only limited usefulness.