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I had an interesting question come up while playing against an IG player using a Valkyrie for the first time. He wanted to know if he had to use the fly base? We assumed that he needed to decide at the start of the game whether it was going to be on or off of the fly base and that's how the model needed to stay throughout the game.

Is this correct? Are there RaW to support this one way or the other?

It is not optional unless it is immobilized. P3 and P71.

The only model's in the game that can remove their flying base on purpose are the tau vehicles, minus the piranha. Unless forced to you can't do that with that vehicle.

Page 71 says you can't remove the base/change height mid game unless it's immobilized.

Perhaps I wasn't entirely clear with my question. Obviously there are rules to support the fact that he can not change the base mid game... I suppose the simplest way to ask would be; must the fly base be used? Judging by pretre's response the answer would be, yes.

You must use the base its supplied with. Its supplied with the flying base. You must use it.

P. 3 of 40k rule book.
Section Models & Units
Bases.

What it says. Players must agree on any base that is not slandered at the beginning of the game.

Yes, so long as the model is not immobilized or worse the model must be on the flying base, unless it has special rules allowing it to circumvent that requirement.

If you have to use the flight base, dosn't that greatly devalue the Valk., and Stormraven? Being a good 5 to 6 inches off the table would make it hard to block LOS to them.

No it really, relally doesnt. The Valk is still an awesome buy, same for the vendetta.

That's part of the 'balance' (alongside the crap armour on the valk but mitigated by the meltaproofing of the SR).

You just need to use taller terrain to LOS block them.

Surely someone in your circle has 3-5 storey CoD buildings assembled (9-15" tall). These will work. You only need to obscure 50% of the facing for cover.

Ballasar wrote:If you have to use the flight base, dosn't that greatly devalue the Valk., and Stormraven? Being a good 5 to 6 inches off the table would make it hard to block LOS to them.

Yep, valks/vends very rarely get cover.

But look at what you're getting for the points!

Also, it's harder for other units to hide behind the Valk. And melta range is pretty darn close since you have to measure the angle. Of course, the model is so sprawling anyway. . . but take what you can get!

juraigamer wrote:The only model's in the game that can remove their flying base on purpose are the tau vehicles, minus the piranha.

There is no such rule for Tau, either. It's a common assumption that you remove the flight base if you are using their landing gear... but the landing gear entry doesn't actually say to do so.

ElCheezus wrote:Also, it's harder for other units to hide behind the Valk. And melta range is pretty darn close since you have to measure the angle. Of course, the model is so sprawling anyway. . . but take what you can get!

I thought you judged the distance for firing to the base of the model, not the model itself. Further, I thought the only time this changes is when you have a "flier" in which case you would have to measure to the base and then add 12 inches. Am I right?

No, you fire to the model - the base is ignored for everything but assaulting, and disembarking / embarking and claiming objectives in the case of the valk / stormraven

nosferatu1001 wrote:No, you fire to the model - the base is ignored for everything but assaulting, and disembarking / embarking and claiming objectives in the case of the valk / stormraven

This. Per the rules of skimmers, you measure to the hull for everything, but can assault the base if it is accesible. Per the IG FAQ, you can measure to the base for embark/disembark, and for measuring to objectives.

As far as I know, these are additional ways to perform these actions, not replacement. That is, I've had a sentinel "counts as" be tall enough to assault the hull of my Vendetta before. I also don't see why a Vendetta (or Valk) couldn't contest or claim an objective if its hull was atually within 3", say from an objective being on a hill.

Deuce11 wrote:I thought you judged the distance for firing to the base of the model, not the model itself. Further, I thought the only time this changes is when you have a "flier" in which case you would have to measure to the base and then add 12 inches. Am I right?

For all vehicles you measure to the hull.

Ballasar wrote:If you have to use the flight base, dosn't that greatly devalue the Valk., and Stormraven? Being a good 5 to 6 inches off the table would make it hard to block LOS to them.

That's the point.

A fast skimmer with Scout USR, three twin-linked lascannons and a double heavy bolter, and troop transport capacity, is damn cheap at the current cost.

It needs some kind of disadvantage to balance it a bit.