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http://www.novaopen.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/NOVA-FAQ-v6th.1-DRAFT.pdf
The NOVA FAQ is up. How will it effect your army list building or your tactics for the tourney? These are the things that surprised me.

Eternal Warrior – Renders models immune to ALL effects (plural and inclusive) of Instant Death, including the removal of all a model’s multiple wounds, and prevention of FNP.

Flying Monstrous Creatures – Monstrous Creatures that are “Swooping” and suffer a Grounded effect will be ruled by strict RAW until/unless GW further FAQ’s this. Effectively, after failing a Grounded test, a Swooping Monstrous Creature still may only be hit by Snap Fire (barring Skyfire), and must continue to take Grounded tests after suffering further hits. While the NOVA anticipates GW will FAQ this odd situation with greater clarity, we are not willing to change the rule preemptively.

Snap Shots at Flyers – Unless specifically noted in a Shooting Attack’s/Unit’s rules, any shot that cannot be fully resolved as a Snap Shot cannot be used to harm a Flyer. Note that a unit with the Skyfire rule specifically allows shots to be resolved normally. This applies to such attacks as Blood Lance. Note that “Hard to Hit” is not a rule applying to Targeting (so not requiring a target does not impact this ruling), but to the ability to RESOLVE a shot. Additionally, all shots fired via Snap Shot at flyers/flying monstrous creatures are ALWAYs resolved at BS1, regardless of BS modifiers, unless (again) the firer benefits from Skyfire or another rule permitting regular BS specifically at flyers/fmc.

the Wolf Standard functions in the NEXT Assault Phase, not the one you are currently in; it must be used prior to ending your Shooting Phase, if you wish it to apply to a subsequent Assault
(Sorry SW GH's, )

When a drop pod lands, open the doors if possible, but treat the actual door pieces as being nonexistent

Feel No Pain and Look Out Sir – Feel No Pain rolls are taken AFTER wounds have been reallocated via Look Out Sir, and a save has been failed. Feel No Pain rolls are NOT saves, so are only taken once a model (per the rule) has actually suffered a wound (not “had it allocated to them”).

Challenges – Wounds caused during a Challenge cannot be carried past the combatants into the involved units

Ever Living – You get Ever Living rolls for models in a unit removed by a Sweeping Advance

labmouse42 wrote:
Flying Monstrous Creatures – Monstrous Creatures that are “Swooping” and suffer a Grounded effect will be ruled by strict RAW until/unless GW further FAQ’s this. Effectively, after failing a Grounded test, a Swooping Monstrous Creature still may only be hit by Snap Fire (barring Skyfire), and must continue to take Grounded tests after suffering further hits. While the NOVA anticipates GW will FAQ this odd situation with greater clarity, we are not willing to change the rule preemptively.

That's just stupid. People are deliberately miss-interpriting the rules in order to claim that GW is bad at writing rules, when RAW it is very clear that a grounded FMC is no longer swooping.

labmouse42 wrote:
Snap Shots at Flyers – Unless specifically noted in a Shooting Attack’s/Unit’s rules, any shot that cannot be fully resolved as a Snap Shot cannot be used to harm a Flyer. Note that a unit with the Skyfire rule specifically allows shots to be resolved normally. This applies to such attacks as Blood Lance. Note that “Hard to Hit” is not a rule applying to Targeting (so not requiring a target does not impact this ruling), but to the ability to RESOLVE a shot. Additionally, all shots fired via Snap Shot at flyers/flying monstrous creatures are ALWAYs resolved at BS1, regardless of BS modifiers, unless (again) the firer benefits from Skyfire or another rule permitting regular BS specifically at flyers/fmc.

Classic community rule. Unreadable.

labmouse42 wrote:
When a drop pod lands, open the doors if possible, but treat the actual door pieces as being nonexistent

I'm sure I've read that somewhere in the official rules.

labmouse42 wrote:
Feel No Pain and Look Out Sir – Feel No Pain rolls are taken AFTER wounds have been reallocated via Look Out Sir, and a save has been failed. Feel No Pain rolls are NOT saves, so are only taken once a model (per the rule) has actually suffered a wound (not “had it allocated to them”).

That's how it worked anyway.

labmouse42 wrote:
Challenges – Wounds caused during a Challenge cannot be carried past the combatants into the involved units

See my FMC comments above.

I don't know about the rest, but the Wolf Standard thing is RAW from all the way back in the release of the Codex. It got fast and loose in friendly games, but in a more formal setting, it always had to be declared prior to the end of the Shooting Phase.

I'd have loved to have seen GW erratta it to allow the banner to be activated in the Pre-Fight phase, but c'est la vie.

Edit:
The rest is how I've been playing 6th, though I'm waffling on IG or Wolves (with some IG for cheap deck chairs) so none of the stuff in the FAQ changes anything for me.

LOL not at all Im a SOB player they didnt have a single thing in there I have to worry about...

Testify -- agreeing or disagreeing with the ruling does not change the ruling. It is what it is.

The question is "How will it effect what you bring to Nova?"
This question is important because its quite possible that other tourneys will use the NOVA FAQ until the new INAT FAQ is released. Even if your not planning on going to NOVA, this is something to look at.

- It seems that these rulings make flyers and FMCs stronger. (though ONLY Scoring and Denial Units count for Points in table quarters)

- It weakens some of the cheese of wolf banners and mindshackle scarabs.

- It makes eternal warrior better as it lets your FNP vs any attack (think lone wolves)

Units embarked upon Night Scythes are not affected by S10 hits when the vehicle is destroyed

Awesome!

DE harlequins are not the same as CWE harlequins.

Anrakyr is back in zee list.....now to make points for him

Fortuned 2++ saves are on.

Nova broke the rule for commissars and standards. For the zero people who are going to bring blobs to Nova, it now makes sense to pack a standard.

It would be interesting to see why they decided to create tiny rules discrepancies like this. In the above case, it's not like it would have made the game take longer.

Ailaros wrote: For the zero people who are going to bring blobs to Nova,.

I wonder how many people are going to bring 180 orks and nobs on bikes...

The rules re-write for Grav Chute Insertion is making me consider loading up all of my Vendettas with cheap scoring units rather than just 1 or 2 of them. Not sure why they decided to change what was a perfectly functional rule, but it certainly makes capturing objectives in a pinch easier.

flyer combat and cruising speed seems backwards. shouldn't combat speed be 18" and cruising speed be 19-36"?

labmouse42 wrote:[

Snap Shots at Flyers – Unless specifically noted in a Shooting Attack’s/Unit’s rules, any shot that cannot be fully resolved as a Snap Shot cannot be used to harm a Flyer. Note that a unit with the Skyfire rule specifically allows shots to be resolved normally. This applies to such attacks as Blood Lance. Note that “Hard to Hit” is not a rule applying to Targeting (so not requiring a target does not impact this ruling), but to the ability to RESOLVE a shot. Additionally, all shots fired via Snap Shot at flyers/flying monstrous creatures are ALWAYs resolved at BS1, regardless of BS modifiers, unless (again) the firer benefits from Skyfire or another rule permitting regular BS specifically at flyers/fmc.

....what?!

Ever Living – You get Ever Living rolls for models in a unit removed by a Sweeping Advance

It's always been like that iirc.

Units only count as Passengers, and are only affected by the rules for Passengers, when they are embarked on a vehicle; i.e., a unit may not fire from within a vehicle that was Stunned in the previous shooting phase, but may disembark (and thus cease to be Passengers) and fire following the normal rules.

Um, what? GW changes things for a reason. This is a huge rules change.

Units may Grav Chute Insertion out of a Vendetta/Valkyrie if it has moved more than 6"

In what phase? Hopefully you mean the shooting phase. If you mean the movement phase, this is a giant and unnecessary buff to a unit that's already one of the best in the game.

Fetterkey wrote:

Units only count as Passengers, and are only affected by the rules for Passengers, when they are embarked on a vehicle; i.e., a unit may not fire from within a vehicle that was Stunned in the previous shooting phase, but may disembark (and thus cease to be Passengers) and fire following the normal rules.

Um, what? GW changes things for a reason. This is a huge rules change.

Units may Grav Chute Insertion out of a Vendetta/Valkyrie if it has moved more than 6"

In what phase? Hopefully you mean the shooting phase. If you mean the movement phase, this is a giant and unnecessary buff to a unit that's already one of the best in the game.

Its entirely within the fluff for guardsmen to jump out of Vendetta/Valkyries. Why would this be a buff? You still scatter, and if you do you take dangerous terrain test iirc.

I'd expect to see even more fliers and flying MCs - seems they ruled in their favor in every situation. Just in case there weren't going to be enough, I suppose.

Sigvatr wrote:....what?!

Meh...

Since flyers can't take quarters, if someone brings 9 flyers they will have a very hard time holding table quarters.

ObliviousBlueCaboose wrote:Its entirely within the fluff for guardsmen to jump out of Vendetta/Valkyries. Why would this be a buff? You still scatter, and if you do you take dangerous terrain test iirc.

Right now, you can only Grav Chute if you go Flat Out, and hence don't fire. This is reasonable (planes have to level off to allow their passengers to jump, after all), and removing this restriction increases the power level of already extremely good units for no clear reason.

labmouse42 wrote:

Ailaros wrote: For the zero people who are going to bring blobs to Nova,.

I wonder how many people are going to bring 180 orks and nobs on bikes...

Blob refers to a specific IG playstyle that revolves around the use of combined infantry squads, wielding PW's and using a commissar to keep them stubborn at LD9. They were pretty effective in 5th due to being able to hide the commissar until almost the last second, but now they lack the durability they once had due to precision shots and snipers. They're still plenty viable in friendly games, but no one in their right mind would take them to a tournament, especially not one like nova.

Horde orks is a very different playstyle, as it uses fearless mobs of boyz running up the table at the opponent. Whereas the IG blob relies on a very squishy commissar to stick around, orks are fearless until they drop to 10 models, so sniping any one model won't instantly cripple them. If you can drop the nob, that weakens them a bit, but it won't gimp them nearly as badly as an IG blob losing it's commissar...

It takes a lot of arrogance to change completely clear basic rules.

At what point does this stop being Warhammer 40k?

DarknessEternal wrote:It takes a lot of arrogance to change completely clear basic rules.

At what point does this stop being Warhammer 40k?

What completely clear basic rules did they change? Every single thing they mentioned is something that has been debated since 6th dropped. They are ruling ambiguity, not inserting stuff that didn't exist.

ShadarLogoth wrote:

DarknessEternal wrote:It takes a lot of arrogance to change completely clear basic rules.

At what point does this stop being Warhammer 40k?

What completely clear basic rules did they change? Every single thing they mentioned is something that has been debated since 6th dropped. They are ruling ambiguity, not inserting stuff that didn't exist.

I totally agree. Whether or not their rulings are how you interpret the grey areas, it is important that the TOs draw a line in the sand and set expectations.

Its the best way to ensure that when people show up, they know what to expect.

You don't want to spend money on a plane, hotel, entry fee, and models only to show up at an even and find out your army has been ruled invalid.
That would suck more than waking up with 100 roaches in your bed.

Fetterkey wrote:

Units only count as Passengers, and are only affected by the rules for Passengers, when they are embarked on a vehicle; i.e., a unit may not fire from within a vehicle that was Stunned in the previous shooting phase, but may disembark (and thus cease to be Passengers) and fire following the normal rules.

Um, what? GW changes things for a reason. This is a huge rules change.

I agree with Fetterkey. I don't get this ruling, I really don't.
Assault vehicle USR also mentions "Passengers". Does it immediately stop working and all assault vehicles are useless?

According to nova that is correct.

FYI, final draft of NOVA FAQ will be out tomorrow. Some of the above may change.

Additionally, we aren't ruling on anything that isn't hotly debated, as one person pointed out. Doing our best here with limited time, and making sure rules fuzzies and heated argument areas are at least clearly answered, so people know how to play with them at the event, which is the whole point of a tournament FAQ.

Said another way, I don't think any of us involved in the FAQ process think we'll nail every question the way GW would. We'll probably get some wrong, and/or GW will simply change RAW on issues that are bizarre when using RAW (i.e. bouncing ball FMC's). The point is, it's better to have an answer (right or wrong), than none at all, and people at every table playing the rule differently, and/or having our judges asked a million times. We print the FAQ out as part of everyone's bound guidebooks, so people will have the FAQ on hand, with every question answered, so that they play consistently throughout the event.

PS - Flyers are not heavily buffed in NOVA; our missions accurately reflect the majority of missions in the new book (Tailored to a tournament w/l format, of course, as that's what NOVA is), in that Flyers almost never are worth anything in objective and/or quarters missions (2/3 of our Goals). So while they certainly can be somewhat shooty (Especially if you can't evade their restricted movement), they're going to have to go so far as killing everything to regain the advantages they cede when spammed.

This is why we playtested the everliving daylights out of our missions before publishing them, and before publishing final revisions - seeing flyer SPAM armies kill a lot of stuff, and lose on mission, was satisfactory (and unavoidable, regardless of mission - flyer spam DOES kill a lot). Yada yada.

labmouse42 wrote:Flying Monstrous Creatures – Monstrous Creatures that are “Swooping” and suffer a Grounded effect will be ruled by strict RAW until/unless GW further FAQ’s this. Effectively, after failing a Grounded test, a Swooping Monstrous Creature still may only be hit by Snap Fire (barring Skyfire), and must continue to take Grounded tests after suffering further hits. While the NOVA anticipates GW will FAQ this odd situation with greater clarity, we are not willing to change the rule preemptively.

That has got to be the most stupidest missunderstanding of the rule ever.
When a flying monstrous creature is grounded its grounded. Therefore its no longer in swoop mode or glide mode. It in effect has no flight mode and becomes foot slogging.
How is that rule not clear to anyone, just because it's not laid out clearly in black and white we consider the Monstrous creature to still be Swooping?
Stupidity. He should be grounded after failing a grounding test and can be hit like any other foot slogging troop. Not potnetially take further grounding tests and additional Str9 wounds. That clearly isnt how it's meant to work.

MVBrandt wrote:FYI, final draft of NOVA FAQ will be out tomorrow. Some of the above may change.

Hey MVBrandt....
Thanks for putting in all the work to make NOVA a great event. Putting together a FAQ is not easy, and its appreciated that you were able to do it to have something for the NOVA.

Some people will complain about the rulings, but no matter how it was ruled people would complain. They real key is that when people drive/fly to the event and pay for hotel/entry fees they know what to expect and do not find their army invalidated due to a FAQ.

L0rdF1end wrote:

labmouse42 wrote:Flying Monstrous Creatures – Monstrous Creatures that are “Swooping” and suffer a Grounded effect will be ruled by strict RAW until/unless GW further FAQ’s this. Effectively, after failing a Grounded test, a Swooping Monstrous Creature still may only be hit by Snap Fire (barring Skyfire), and must continue to take Grounded tests after suffering further hits. While the NOVA anticipates GW will FAQ this odd situation with greater clarity, we are not willing to change the rule preemptively.

That has got to be the most stupidest missunderstanding of the rule ever.
When a flying monstrous creature is grounded its grounded. Therefore its no longer in swoop mode or glide mode. It in effect has no flight mode and becomes foot slogging.
How is that rule not clear to anyone, just because it's not laid out clearly in black and white we consider the Monstrous creature to still be Swooping?
Stupidity. He should be grounded after failing a grounding test and can be hit like any other foot slogging troop. Not potnetially take further grounding tests and additional Str9 wounds. That clearly isnt how it's meant to work.

To me it's clear. The grounded rule is a sub-rule of Swooping and takes away certain aspects of swooping. Any aspect not noted as removed would still be in effect. How is that not clear to anyone? See that, works both ways.

But seriously, It's been hashed out repeatedly in many places. Personally I think Mike made the right call on this one. I'm not bringing FMC's to the event but, because he's ruling it as RAW, those FMC's have a solid chance at being competitive choices which wouldn't happen if it wasn't RAW.