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.

I’m about to play a small (500 pt.) game against an empire player, and I have a question regarding a tactic that I plan on using.

If I cast Spirit Leech on the horse his captain is riding on, killing it, while his captain is in a unit of Knights, what happens to that unit?
Does it become a mixed unit? Does it loose the movement bonus of the other horses?
Will it force his captain out of the unit like I'm hoping so I can tag team him with my Black Knights and mounted Vampire?

Cheers

You can't kill the horse. Mounts with only 1 wound on their profile (generally classed as War Beasts) cannot be targeted separately from their riders.

 Manfred von Drakken wrote:
You can't kill the horse. Mounts with only 1 wound on their profile (generally classed as War Beasts) cannot be targeted separately from their riders.

Totally correct, however, just to clarify, it's because he is considered Cavalry that the horse can't be targeted, not because it has one wound (that's how it was worded in previous editions). You also can't pick out the mount in a Monstrous Cavalry unit- so if the OP's opponent fields Demigryph knights, he can't pick off a Demigryph and make a knight walk...

The OP's tactic would work against TK though, if a King/Prince riding a chariot was joined with a unit of chariots.

Do you think targeting his Caption will be as effective?

It depends on what kind of Vampire you're using. If it's a Vampire Lord, then yeah, it's a good idea, since you'll have a significantly higher Ld (10) than his Captain (8). If it's a regular hero Vampire, then you're more likely to fail, since his Ld is higher than your Ld7. In that case, you're probably better off sniping a unit champ in a different unit (since Empire units usually have Ld7, which makes it a roll off).

Note that per the FAQ (page 6), "unmodified Leadership" in the Spirit Leech spell means your opponent can't benefit from his general's Inspiring Presence (unless the general happens to be in the unit you're Leeching).

Here is the relevant FAQ section:

Q: When taking a Leadership test, sometimes you have to take it on
your unmodified Leadership. What is your unmodified Leadership?
(p10)
A: Your unmodified Leadership is the highest Leadership
characteristic in the unit. So the Leadership from any
characters in the unit itself (but not from outside the
unit, from Inspiring Presence for example) with a higher

Actually from the FAQ:

Q: Do units benefit from their General’s Inspiring Presence for
the purposes of spells that use Leadership, such as Spirit Leech or
Okkam’s Mindrazor? (p107)
A: Yes.

Confusing I know...


Automatically Appended Next Post:
There are conflicting FAQs on this one so it is usually ruled at tournies I go to.

I remember them doing that, but assumed they had fixed it. Seriously, GW, conflicting FAQ answers from within the same FAQ. Brilliant.

They don't really conflict. Mindrazor and spirit leech are not leadership tests, so the faq answer that applies to ld tests has nothing to do with those spells.

Now, does it make sense to rule it that way and is it consistent? Lol, no....no it does not .

It can be argued that the FAQ defines unmodified leadership for all situations. " What is your unmodified Leadership? (p10) " vs What is your unmodified Leadership for the purposes of these spells? is a pretty big difference.

It all depends on if you want to take it as a definition of Unmodified Leadership, or a contextual definition within leadership tests.