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.

Spore Mine clusters can be pre-deployed by Deep Strike. Obviously as an enemy unit they cause great disruption when dropped in the enemy DZ in Dawn of War games. In Spearhead and Pitched Battle, however, there's no 'not within X" of enemy models' rule.

You can't move within 1" of an enemy model unless you're assaulting it. Can you deploy in contact with a Spore Mine cluster to force it to detonate (ie, with AV11+)? Or do you need to deploy more than 1" away, hope not to lose the first turn, and then park such a vehicle nearby/shoot the Mines to remove the threat?

Spore Mines landing in terrain take Dangerous Terrain tests and detonate if failed. Being as they are in terrain, I guess the others in the cluster get a cover save against the blast

Also, does being ignored for the purposes of any and all mission objectives include the objective of destroying units to get Kill Points? Or is a cluster simply a box of T1 KPs waiting to be opened?

Any and all includes KPs, yes.

You can deploy touching the models.

For the Cover question: the entire cluster deploys together, but is then each an individual unit; if you have 3 Spores drop, 2 fall into Difficult terrain, and 1 pops(the likely outcome is all 3 pop, but if they do not continue reading) you will then have 1 in Cover, and 1 out of cover, but as they are 2 separate units they will not both have cover.

Remember if a Spore in a cluster pops on arrival(or for any other reason) is is rather likely to kill fellow mines in the cluster. Also remember that Spore clusters are garbage, you are very likely to only get 1 Spore left out of each cluster once they start to drift since they all fall in contact with each other, then drift randomly, if it drifts into another spore, it is removed from play.

Hmm. Well, 30pts for three single model clusters still sounds like a price worth paying to totally lockdown the enemy DZ in a third of games

I think you misunderstood what i was saying the End result is 30 points for 1 single model cluster, most of the time.

the 30 point, 3-model cluster all deepstrikes together, beginning the game in base contact. The first one moves, and if it drifts in anyway in a direction of the other 2 spores it is removed(very very high chance this will occur, almost 50%).The second spore then goes to drift and has about a 33% chance to drift in the direction of the final spore, thus getting removed. you are now left with a single Spore, that can freely drift in any direction; but effectively cost you 30 points and a HS slot.

Buying more spores just means that you are paying more for the 1 remaining spore; the rule makes the unit absolute garbage.

They're FA slots, which I don't currently use, and I'm talking about buying three individual units to lockdown half the enemy DZ in DoW.

I've had this tactic used against me before in a comp and I can vouch for it's effectiveness.

It totally threw my deployment.