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So I had a couple buddies attend a tournament this past weekend and they played someone who had a Cryptek be their Warlord for the tournament. Is this legal?

Is it an HQ model?
Is it a Character?
Is it tied for highest Leadership?

Of course, if one were to make a Cryptek their Warlord (assuming the answers to the above are all yes), it would not be able to lead another unit, as it would no longer be an HQ choice.

DE Elder wrote:
So I had a couple buddies attend a tournament this past weekend and they played someone who had a Cryptek be their Warlord for the tournament. Is this legal?

The Warlord has to be the highest leadership from your primary choice. Crypteks have the same leadership as a Necron Lord. If there is a tie, you can decide which model is warlord.

If the Cryptek was the HQ character with the highest leadership, I don't see why not...

 Happyjew wrote:
Of course, if one were to make a Cryptek their Warlord (assuming the answers to the above are all yes), it would not be able to lead another unit, as it would no longer be an HQ choice.

I disagree. Make him Warlord then attach to a unit. He's an HQ choice during warlord selection.

So even if he doesn't take up a FOC slot, he can still be your Warlord?

Not using up a slot doesn't change the fact that he is a HQ character. It just means he doesn't use up a slot.

In short? Yes.

Not a bad way to go if you want one of those army-effecting warlord traits, less so if you'd prefer one of the more melee or model-specific abilities.

You cannot purchase a cryptek without a royal court which requires you to purchase another HQ unit that will have a higher LD. I think it's illegal. Unless it's the special character cryptek.

Don't they all have LD 10?

 Coyote81 wrote:
You cannot purchase a cryptek without a royal court which requires you to purchase another HQ unit that will have a higher LD. I think it's illegal. Unless it's the special character cryptek.

Recehck the codex, and note that the ld of a cryptek and an overlord (etc) are exactly the same.

Unless if it was the character crypteks illuminor szeras or orikan the diviner, then no that cannot happen since a cryptek is not an hq choice he is part of your royal court what doesnt take up a space in the force org chart and would only be possible to have with an overlord. So a basic cryptek, no.

 necronspurs2012 wrote:
Unless if it was the character crypteks illuminor szeras or orikan the diviner, then no that cannot happen since a cryptek is not an hq choice he is part of your royal court what doesnt take up a space in the force org chart and would only be possible to have with an overlord. So a basic cryptek, no.

This has been my interpretation as well. The 2 cited special characters are HQ options that are also crypteks but normal Crypteks nor any of a particular Harbinger can be the Warlord. Also, they become part of the unit they join - so join it to warriors would instantly make it scoring even if it's the last one standing which just seems off.

 Unholyllama wrote:

 necronspurs2012 wrote:
Unless if it was the character crypteks illuminor szeras or orikan the diviner, then no that cannot happen since a cryptek is not an hq choice he is part of your royal court what doesnt take up a space in the force org chart and would only be possible to have with an overlord. So a basic cryptek, no.

This has been my interpretation as well. The 2 cited special characters are HQ options that are also crypteks but normal Crypteks nor any of a particular Harbinger can be the Warlord. Also, they become part of the unit they join - so join it to warriors would instantly make it scoring even if it's the last one standing which just seems off.

I agree, they are more like a sergeant or unit upgrade, but not an hq choice.

They are listed in the hq section

 BarBoBot wrote:
They are listed in the hq section

One could argue that Commander Farsight's Crisis Team bodyguards or a Commander's drones are in the HQ section as well. Could a drone be the Warlord too if it had the same or higher leadership of the model that bought it as an upgrade?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Along those lines - why would you want to have your Warlord to be a 1W model with the save and stat-line of your most basic troops?

If it was a character too, then yes. Command Squads, etc. are units that don't take up a slot, but they are still a HQ choice (in the same way a dedicated transport taken for a HS unit counts as HS).

For a Royal Court however, once they are split they are joined to whichever unit, so joining a unit of Warriors would make the 'Tek a Troop. So to have a 'Tek as Warlord you would have to keep the Court as a single unit and not split it off.

 Quanar wrote:
If it was a character too, then yes. Command Squads, etc. are units that don't take up a slot, but they are still a HQ choice (in the same way a dedicated transport taken for a HS unit counts as HS).

For a Royal Court however, once they are split they are joined to whichever unit, so joining a unit of Warriors would make the 'Tek a Troop. So to have a 'Tek as Warlord you would have to keep the Court as a single unit and not split it off.

exactly, i agree completely with this.

No, you can not have a cryptek unless it is part of the Royal Court. The Royal Court is not a HQ choice. You cannot take a Royal Court unless you have an Overlord. The Overlord is a HQ choice. None of the Characters in the royal court have the "Independent Character" special rule, they are just regular characters.

Unless he was using a Cryptek model to represent one of the named Crypteks, then no, having a regular cryptek as a HQ choice is not legal.

Yes, it explicitly IS A an HQ choice, it just doesn't use up a slot. It is entirely legal to have a cryptek as warlord

You warlord does not need to have the if rule. Check out ccs.

nosferatu1001 wrote:
Yes, it explicitly IS A an HQ choice, it just doesn't use up a slot. It is entirely legal to have a cryptek as warlord

You warlord does not need to have the if rule. Check out ccs.

Actually I believe that the Imperial Guard FAQ sets the precedent that units that don't take up a slot on the Force Organization chart cannot fill mandatory choices on the chart or be your Warlord, but I'm at work right now and can't check the FAQ so I could be misremembering what it says.

Finally got home to review the codex more closely.

You cannot have a Royal Court unless you have an Overlord (named or normal) as an HQ slot. The Court does not take a FOC slot but IS in the HQ section of the codex. This would mean that the Royal Court is a stand alone unit and not an upgrade to Overlords. As long as the Lord or Cryptek remains as part of the Royal Court unit, it satisfies the criteria of being a warlord.

As for the IG FAQ reference, I reviewed the September 2013 FAQ and I did not see anything listed. I'll review the other FAQs and see what I can find the reference. At the moment though, I can see how you can have a RC member as your Warlord (though still very perplexed as to WHY you'd want such a weak Warlord).

Warmonger2757 wrote:
None of the Characters in the royal court have the "Independent Character" special rule, they are just regular characters.

A character doesn't have to be Independant in order to be your Warlord. It's just the HQ character with the highest leadership.

It was the last question in the Imperial Guard FAQ 1.1 (the newest I have on hand)

Q: Can Ministorum Priests or Techpriest Enginseers be taken as the
mandatory HQ choice? (p93)

A: No. You will need to take another model to be your
Warlord.

That implies to me that only an HQ unit that fills the HQ slot on the FOC can be your Warlord.

 Ghaz wrote:
It was the last question in the Imperial Guard FAQ 1.1 (the newest I have on hand)

Q: Can Ministorum Priests or Techpriest Enginseers be taken as the
mandatory HQ choice? (p93)

A: No. You will need to take another model to be your
Warlord.

That implies to me that only an HQ unit that fills the HQ slot on the FOC can be your Warlord.

Last question in the FAQ....figures lol.

The question makes sense in that Priests and Techpriests states they do not take a FoC slot despite being in the HQ section of the codex. To me, the simple "no" in the answer resolves the question of if they can be used as the 1 mandatory HQ unit in the FoC. The context of the questions drives the second sentence of the answer since you have to have an HQ unit for your Warlord. If you don't satisfy the FoC then you can't.

It's a bit gray but I can see it being a precedence for saying no to the RC. The uniqueness of the RC scenario is that you have to satisfy the FoC's HQ slot via an Overlord in order to take it. I wonder if the answer would change if the person had a priest and another HQ unit...though I'm presuming the priests' LD is lower than the other HQ options.

RAW I would have to venture a Yes that a Cryptek could be a Warlord. But there is most certainly precedent by that FAQ that couldn't be (I could see a T.O. saying no).

Is that wise however? Are Crypteks super tough and hard to kill making them good Warlords?

Crypteks can serve a useful role as battlefield support, and I can see assigning one of them as a warlord using (hopefully) one of the more strategic traits just to give your opponent more potential targets to worry about if nothing else.

That said, they are typically only 'very' slightly harder to kill than a single necron warrior, so don't expect them to go the distance if there is any focus at all on them.

Typically Necron Overlords are mixing it up in the opponents lines. A Cryptek can stay in the back and not risk losing that STW point.

 Ghaz wrote:
It was the last question in the Imperial Guard FAQ 1.1 (the newest I have on hand)

Q: Can Ministorum Priests or Techpriest Enginseers be taken as the
mandatory HQ choice? (p93)

A: No. You will need to take another model to be your
Warlord.

That implies to me that only an HQ unit that fills the HQ slot on the FOC can be your Warlord.

Thanks for that Ghaz. This would certainly suggest a precedent despite not having any direct rule to attach it to.