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I was looking through the AM/FW Indexes, and came across Tarantula Turrets (ELYSIAN DROP TROOPS regiment); being part of the EDT allows these Tarantula Turrets to deploy from reserve, but once set up, are individual units - my question is, how does this affect the number of units in reserve when deploying the army?

Reinforcements (Movement phase):
"Many units have the ability to be set up on the battlefield mid-turn, sometimes by teleporters, grav chutes, or other, more esotaric means. ..."

Tactical Reserves (Matched Play):
"Instead of being set up on the battlefield, many units have the ability to be set up on teleporariums, in high orbit, in Reserves, etc..."

Artillery Battery (Tarantula Turret):
"The first time this unit is set up, all models in this unit must be placed within 6" of each other. From that point onwards, each operates independently and is treated as a separate unit for all rules purposes."

My standard gameplay understanding is that they're a single unit while in reserve, until they're all deployed together, then they become three separate units - but RAW that seems it may not be the case. RAW, "setting up" may include placing them into Tactical Reserves, after which they count as three units since they were "set up" - which means you need 3 units on the ground for every 1 unit of [3 Tarantula turrets] in reserve. A stickler is the "placed within 6" of each other" for the Artillery Battery rules, which is simply uncheckable when in Reserves.

I'll admit I haven't scoured all the various race FAQs for a similar situation yet, so if it's been answered, sorry; thoughts?

I see your problem... the 6 inch thing which really cemented it as broken!
*Slow Clap*

The Rule really should read:
When this Unit is set up on the battlefield...

Edit:
Decided not to be lazy and look it up on the website...
Quick search found no results for Tarantula within the FAQ
Manually verified no Errata for page 29
Only 2 FAQ answers, neither involving this situation or Unit

Yep, broken!

Intent is clear though - but laugh about it with your opponent when you explain why you counted them as One Unit for Reserves.

They are a single unit for reserve rules, they only separate once they hit the field. That's how I read it anyways.

I never be realized these could grav chute in... Not that I ever really thought about playing them seriously

@JinxDragon/Azuza001

Thanks; yeah, I'll just play it like that for now - I'm not planning on playing in any tournaments at the moment, so RAW and "gotcha" isn't as big a factor for me. Still, I like knowing the most correct way to play things. :p

@znelson

Yeah, ELYSIAN DROP TROOPS Tarantualas are pretty dope - but the real question is, are they effective?

At 24 points, you get a T5, W5, Sv4+ platform that puts out 6 Heavy Bolter shots at BS4+; but they can only target the closest infantry (like Tau Drones). The thing is though, if they drop, they're shooting at BS5+, since they moved... however, thanks to the errata, EDT Officers of the Fleet's "Strafing Run" ability applies to all EDT units (targeting the marked unit), giving them +1 to hit - which means they're hitting at 4+ the turn they come in, then 3+ if everything survives a round.

Overall, they're really durable, since each model is its own unit; their biggest issue is that they take up Reserves drops, and need an equal number of units deployed on the table - AM/SM run lots of Reserves units already. Plus, your overall drops is increased, so good luck managing to go first. Alternatively, you can deploy them normally to deny a huge swath of deep strike space - since they can be placed up to 6" away from eachother, 3 of them can cover 18"+base size+9" of deep strike space.

I've only used them one game - but they're hilarious, and I just love the idea of dropping turrets onto the battlefield.