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OK, just looking for a few opinions outside of my normal gaming group for the rules surrounding 'Piquets' for the Domination Force. In case you're not familiar with the formation, it's a Shadowsword and 2-6 Leman Russ tanks, with the option to add some Sentinel squads, Hydra's and mech infantry to the party. The piquets rule basically states that any structural damage to the Shadowsword can be taken as a destroyed result to a Russ or Hydra. It also says a destroyed result on a Russ/Hydra and be taken as a destroyed on a sentinel instead.

Now, the question that cropped up is can damage to the Shadowsword be passed right down the line to the Sent's? I've been playing it this way since I first fielded the formation, but someone I game with often, but who doesn't really play Apoc battles, says it's got to be a one-jump thing, so you allocate down to the Russ and it stops there, rather than rolling right down to the walkers.

Just want to see how the good folk here think it should be played, as it caused a bit of a heated debate around the table (although I'm sure some of it was shock at the possibility of a tank having 20 structure points with the 'ablative armour' of its piquet) and we couldn't agree on a solid ruling there and then.

Can you tell us where the rules for this formation come from? That way we can see how the rule(s) are written.

It was originally from the UK version of WD 352 I believe, in their Liber Apocalyptica section. That being said the wording is as follows

Piquets: The hard truth of service in a formation such as this is that unles you are a crewman on the Shadowsword you are there to die protecting a more important vehicle. Any structural damage result on the Shadowsword may be taken as a vehicle destroyed result on a Leman Russ or Hydra within 12". Any vehicle destroyed result taken by a Leman Russ or Hydra may be assigned to a Sentinel instead.

Really I could see it swing either way, as it is technically a vehicle destroyed result, but they make no mention of the result in the Sentinel allocation portion being one of the ones tossed from the Shadowsword. Usually they make some mention, whether it's in parenthesis, about being able to be allowed to do that.

I'd personally say because it states ANY vehicle destroyed result on a LR or Hydra can be assigned to the Sentinel that if the LR or Hydra is within 12 of the shadowsword then it can be allocated to a Sentinel.

Lone Dragoon wrote:It was originally from the UK version of WD 352 I believe, in their Liber Apocalyptica section. That being said the wording is as follows

Piquets: The hard truth of service in a formation such as this is that unles you are a crewman on the Shadowsword you are there to die protecting a more important vehicle. Any structural damage result on the Shadowsword may be taken as a vehicle destroyed result on a Leman Russ or Hydra within 12". Any vehicle destroyed result taken by a Leman Russ or Hydra may be assigned to a Sentinel instead.

Really I could see it swing either way, as it is technically a vehicle destroyed result, but they make no mention of the result in the Sentinel allocation portion being one of the ones tossed from the Shadowsword. Usually they make some mention, whether it's in parenthesis, about being able to be allowed to do that.

I'd personally say because it states ANY vehicle destroyed result on a LR or Hydra can be assigned to the Sentinel that if the LR or Hydra is within 12 of the shadowsword then it can be allocated to a Sentinel.

Thank you for the wording lonedragon(I was searching trough all my Apoc and IA books and the GW site trying to find it).

Any means any; and as the sentinel can get destroyed from "Any vehicle destroyed result taken by a Leman Russ or Hydra", and "Any structural damage result on the Shadowsword may be taken as a vehicle destroyed result on a Leman Russ or Hydra"; then it can go from A to B, then B to C; since the Structural Damage becomes a destroyed that becomes a destroyed on the next step down.

This also fits into the Fluff as the Russ or Hydra would be the more important vehicle than the Sentinel; so the sentinel pilot would(by fluff) gladly die to protect the more important Russ/hydra.

Though I'm curious as to why it doesn't specify that a structure point loss can go to a sentinel. I blame ward.

GW missing a (possibly) important word or phrase is unheard of. But, it looks to me like you can pass the damage down the chain, as it is written.

Excellent! Glad to hear I've not been making a massive mistake every time I've let a Sentinel take the hit for the Shadowsword. Cheers for taking a look at this for me.

The way I always read the rule was that it was passable all the way down the line, because the whole thing is revolving around 'vehicle destroyed' effects.. Bleeding damage down the line was the whole point of pickets in that formation, after all.