Vector striking and ongoing reserves

Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you:

No adverts like this in the forums anymore.
Times and dates in your local timezone.
Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance.
Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely.
Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net.

If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

**k0v**

Can a flyer go into ongoing reserves and still use it's vector strike?

e.g. A Heldrake moves across a unit on it's way off the table. Can it use it's Vector Strike ability?

**davou**

why not? the only restriction is that it be once per turn.

**nosferatu1001**

Yes; it has allowance to do so, and as it uses Random Allocation there is no issue with knowing where it ended up for casualty removal

**tgf**

Is there an FAQ on this, I didn't think a model of the table could do something unless it was specifically allowed to. Vector Strike says at the end of the movement phase, the model would be off the board by then.

**davou**

Read the rules, its says any model is passed over, not any model it past over and can still see.

If models couldn't do things when they weren't "on the table" how would things like combat tactics for space marines work? And even if they didnt, the vector strike happens while its on the table, you only resolve it after you put the model down. If it makes you feel better, feel free to resolve it while you have a hand full of FMC... Or are you trying to game some opponent out of their vector strikes?

**DJGietzen**

I could have sworn there was president that models not on the table do not get to use their special rules or war gear or whatnot unless the special rule/war gear/etc specifically says otherwise but found nothing with a quick look through the BRB.

All I did find was that special rules that are used "at the start of the turn" do not function the turn the model arrives from reserves.

In this case the helldrake's meteoric decent/vector strike is used at the end of the movement phase and that rule has no barring on it.

**PrinceRaven**

There are situations where a model off the board can still affect the game, Hive Commander still works if the Hive Tyrant is in reserves and I believe Runes of Warding still work if the Farseer is in reserves as well, so I don't see anything that would stop the Vector Strike from working.

**tgf**

I think the Eldar Autarch say specifically it works while he is off the table.

Hive Commander has no such rule.

The brings up the question if rules are supposed to work off the table why would the Autarch specifically include the clause?

**Mannahnin**

Some rules clearly do function while the model in question is off the battlefield, but there's no clear pattern as to which and when.

Hive Commander, Master of the Fleet, Astropath and the Autarch special rule all use the phrasing that they work while the model is alive; which does read rather differently from other rules which say they function while a given model is in play. Although only the Autarch rule (the old 4th ed codex) contains an explicit statement that it applies whether or not he is in play. I think 4th edition may have contained an explicit statement that models couldn't use special rules if they weren't currently in play.

**jdjamesdean@mail.com**

tgf wrote:
I think the Eldar Autarch say specifically it works while he is off the table.

Hive Commander has no such rule.

The brings up the question if rules are supposed to work off the table why would the Autarch specifically include the clause?

The eldar codex is the oldest left IIRC, definitely not from this edition nor the one prior. Things change over time, once it was needed, now it is not.

**Happyjew**

jdjamesdean@mail.com wrote:
tgf wrote:
I think the Eldar Autarch say specifically it works while he is off the table.

Hive Commander has no such rule.

The brings up the question if rules are supposed to work off the table why would the Autarch specifically include the clause?

The eldar codex is the oldest left IIRC, definitely not from this edition nor the one prior. Things change over time, once it was needed, now it is not.

Tau and Black Templar are older.

**davou**

Back on topic, the vector strike occurs to a model that was passed over in the movement phase. I see nothing that precludes that from happening just cause he left the table; the model suffers no penalties for vector striking, so its not like leaving the table has gamed away some vulnerability triggered by the strike.

Is there an FAQ on this, I didn't think a model of the table could do something unless it was specifically allowed to. Vector Strike says at the end of the movement phase, the model would be off the board by then.

If you want to suggest that there is a rule that says models can't do something cause they've left the table, then the burden of proof is on you. Find me it in the rule book, and until you do, unfortunately let your opponent do it.