Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Here's another fun "bonus" in the Guard codex:

If you have a squadron of two vehicles, and one of them fires smoke, both gain a cover save, but the one that did not fire smoke still gets to fire its weaponry. This can also be used to give a vehicle squadron two turns of smoke while maneuvering.

Smoke makes the vehicle "obscured."

As per vehicle squadron rules, if 50% of the unit is obscured, the unit gets cover saves.

( Blinks ) What? Where? Who? Are you serious? Doctor, can I please have a second opinion since I don´t have access to my own rulebook at the moment. ( Starts rethinking the idea for a Leman Russ- squadron )

Yep, just another "easter egg" where the rules of the game interact with the Guard codex in a way that was probably not intended.

I guess that means that the forces of the Emperor now have THREE different varieties of smoke launcher, with different rules (Dark Angels, Space Marines, Guard). D'oh!

Perhaps we can petition GW to give us a 3rd set of stats for Storm Shields in the upcoming Space Wolves codex. I don't feel confused enough, yet.

Well, perhaps this is intentional, you are sacrificing half the units firepower for the turn, and you still are able to be Destroyed on a Glance, so it all balances out tbh.

Gwar! wrote:Well, perhaps this is intentional, you are sacrificing half the units firepower for the turn, and you still are able to be Destroyed on a Glance, so it all balances out tbh.

I think the major thing that was not forseen is that it gives the vehicle squadron two turns of smoke. There are lots of situations where this is useful, say if the unit has one tank shaken, the shaken tank can fire smoke, does not reduce the units firepower at all, and still grants the entire unit a 4+ cover save.

Say it's a unit of two hell-hounds (or variants) moving flat out. One fires smoke, they both gain the save, then repeat next turn (or on another turn they're threatened by enemy fire.

Note that in a Valkyrie squadron you can't move one Valk flat out to gain a cover save for the squadron of two as vehicle squadrons must move at the same speed.

Aha..

If one vehicle pops smoke in a vehicle squadren of two vehicles.. then that squadren is only 25% obscured. If you cover 1/2 of one model in a two model unit, it doesnt get a cover save.

But OTOH I do understand the wording in some respects make it seem quite clear that you can do the what the OP surmounted to.

But think about it.. one vehicle pops smoke. That now counts as 50% obscured (in a closed system of one) but regards to a unit, a unit of multiple vehicle, it now counts as part of that unit but it is still only singularily obscured.

Razerous wrote:Aha..

If one vehicle pops smoke in a vehicle squadren of two vehicles.. then that squadren is only 25% obscured. If you cover 1/2 of one model in a two model unit, it doesnt get a cover save.

But OTOH I do understand the wording in some respects make it seem quite clear that you can do the what the OP surmounted to.

But think about it.. one vehicle pops smoke. That now counts as 50% obscured (in a closed system of one) but regards to a unit, a unit of multiple vehicle, it now counts as part of that unit but it is still only singularily obscured.

According to the rules on page 64 you determine if each vehicle in the squadron is in cover by using the rules for vehicles (obscurement rules), then you use the rules for units to see if the entire unit of vehicles gains a cover save.

Page 22 says that if "half or more" of the unit is in cover then the entire unit gains the cover save.

Makes sense to me , orks have been able to do this for a while now with killa kans and KFF.

This might actually make a tank squadrons of hellhounds ( and other varients) suck a little less, .... not stop sucking just suck less. I mean it might actually let you get that chemical cannon close enought to actually think about shooting it. Or not.

Honestly the only place I see this being used is on Hellhounds, maybe some sents, everything else in the army needs to stay still to make max use of its weapons load out. Not like your gonna move hydras that much , or russes even, and Chimeras don't come in squadrons, and the valk and vendettas can't take smoke.

And you kinda need to keep it to squadrons of two vehicles to really take advantage of this.

With three vehicles you have to either burn 2 smoke launchers to get the protection (and then you're only firing with one) or you have to find someplace to hide at least 50% of one of the vehicles in the squadron (as they can't get cover from themselves).

I think that if you're going to take squadrons of vehicles, two are more efficient than three anyways. I think the best use of this is if one of the vehicles becomes shaken, they can get a "free" cover save on the next turn to help the survivability of the unit.

yeah seems viable to me. Also may want to point out you can also take camo netting on those vehicles so not only do you get 2 uses of smoke you also get a 3+ cover save provided the model did not move that turn!