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Was reading through my Deathwatch Codex and building a list for a tournament coming up. On battlescribe you have to choose a type of weapon such as sword, maul, or axe. But in the Codex it just says power weapon as the upgrade, and when looking at the BRB it says use the model to determine the type of weapon. After looking through a few different different Codex I noticed they all mentioned power weapon in terms of upgrades.

So my question is, in a tournament setting would it be fine to bring along additional models to swap between games once I've assessed which would be best against a given opponent. I know it really comes down to the TO, but I wanted see what you guys here thought on the matter.

Would this be ok? Would it be TFG? I mean Deathwatch are all about their versatility and adapt to different xenos.

I am pretty sure you have to make your selection of what wargear you are taking in your list and are not allowed to change them between battles for most if not all tournaments. I would personally see it as cheating, not a huge cheat but a cheat all the same.

Since the PW types are in the main BRB, and are all called Power Weapons, like you way, it should be OK to swap them between games. Keep it WYSIWYG though, so use magnets or another model.
Army Builder forces you to choose when you select the PW upgrade option.
The only special PW is the powerfist, of course. They usually cost more.
It is list tailoring to an extent, so expect criticism.

I think falls solidly into the ask approval of the TO category and you may get a different ruling in different tournaments

The way I see it, no different than noticing you're facing an armoured list and fishing for heretek powers one game, then going for a nova power from a different discipline the next game to face a horde army.

So, a good comparison would be specialist/heavy weapons.

In a 5 man TAC squad you are entitled to bring a specialist/heavy weapon. You could bring a Multi-Melta for 10 points, or a Heavy Bolter for 10 points. They both satisfy "heavy weapon," however, you would need to specify when building your list.

This is really no different.

I'm with Marmatag here.

Not all armies have such a loose description - some have to pick between specific Power Weapons, some (like Skitarii) only get Power Swords - no axes, maces or lances.

Yes what you're saying is technically write, but I'd find it more gamesmanship than sportsmanship - you're getting a level of flexibility not open to others.

8th Edition Warhammer for instance stated in the rules (yes, I know 40k is different) that when picking a Wizard for your army, you had to decide on his Lore there and then - no waiting and seeing then picking the most appropriate.

It is, as you pay for a 'power weapon' and the BRB says it can be any weapon, but you are specifically paying for a multi melta or a heavy bolter

U02dah4 wrote:
I think falls solidly into the ask approval of the TO category and you may get a different ruling in different tournaments

100% this.

If the question is ever "can I do X in tournaments?", the answer is always going to be "ask the TO".

In at least the SM book, the comparison with Heavy Weapons is misleading, and I think the OP is completely RAW.

A Marine Sergeant may "take items from the Melee Weapons list." This list includes an entry called "Power Weapon"
If less than 10 models, one Marine may "take one item from the Heavy Weapons list." This list includes a variety of choices, none of which is "Heavy Weapon."

"Power Weapon" in the Melee list includes several variants with dfft stats dependent on the model; this is different than "Heavy bolter" in the Heavy list.

If you just put "Power Weapon" on your written list, I see no RAW problems at all. It does seem quite however.

I'm in agreement with Elric, although Mad Doc makes a good point about the WHFB wizards.
I would also suspect TO's would get funny with you bringing more models - are they meant to judge them all for the painting competition? Similar to summoned units I suppose?

I totally agree its very TFG and cheese.

I was just seeing what other opinions on this was and if there was a clear consensus on it.

I've never thought of it this way. I've always read the "can take a power weapon" in the same way as "can take an item from the heavy weapons list." IF those were phrased identically (say the heavy weapons one became "can take a heavy weapon") I guess that would make more sense, especially if all heavy weapons then cost the same.

However, there's still no profile for just "Power Weapon" so you're not really telling me the model's wargear on your list completely, to my mind. Since I started playing, on lists I've seen is "power axe" or "power sword," which tells you what the model has and that's how I'll continue making my lists as well. I still see "can take a power weapon" as telling us to choose a weapon from the list, not just telling us to list "power weapon."

I don't feel your position is 100% cut-and-dry RAW, but if I saw "power weapon" on your list I'd probably just ask you what it was and which model and it wouldn't go further than that because I wouldn't know you were list tailoring through the tournament unless you told me. If I knew, I wouldn't like it, but the TO makes the call.

 HANZERtank wrote:
I totally agree its very TFG and cheese.

I was just seeing what other opinions on this was and if there was a clear consensus on it.

If you think it's cheese (and I absolutely agree), raise it with the TO.

Even then, just because others do is no reason for you to follow suit

Isn't the rule that if you have a generic "power weapon" in your roster, you go by what's on the model? I mean, that's the actual game rule, not just a WYSIWYG social convention. Thus, unless you bring multiple models or magnetise them, you don't get to swap weapons between games.

Indeed, the rules for power weapons do tell you to look at the model.

Accordingly it is determined by the model you bring, and not any direct consideration during list building.

RAW it says you can.
But I certainly wouldn't, I still write lists with the specific type.
I think it should work that way for psykers as well, although I also hate the randomness surrounding psykers.

 Mr. Shine wrote:
Indeed, the rules for power weapons do tell you to look at the model.

Accordingly it is determined by the model you bring, and not any direct consideration during list building.

Where the problem starts when somebody brings a model with magnetized arms. That's where the tournament organizer should have an answer ready if the list just shows the generic "Power weapon" and the player is able to switch between the sword, axe, mace or even a lance or spear for what it's worth. I know my Chaos Terminators all have fully magnetized shoulders and are capable of taking on just about every legal combination from the book (I lack power lances...). I wouldn't switch such weapons mid-tournament myself, just depending on what opponent I face then, but the possiblity would be there. Buying two Space Marine Captains and a couple of spare arms and weapons and magnets is usually more cost efficient than buying twenty Space Marine Captains just to be able to field all manner of wargear combinations.

In that case, it's up to the event organiser, and I don't see any reason why it should be consistent across different events.

If I were running an event, my precedent might be whether I allow players to choose new psychic powers and warlord traits between matches or if I make all players decide at the start of the day.