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.

In the new AM codex cult of sacrifice is a regimental doctrine you can pick instead of born soldiers.

CULT OF SACRIFICE
Units with this doctrine gain the CULT OF SACRIFICE keyword.
Each time a model with this doctrine makes an attack, if that models unit was below its starting strength when it was selected to shoot or fight, add 1 to that attacks hit roll.

An LRBT unit can have three models, which are treated as separate units once they have been set up.

VEHICLE SQUADRON
When this unit is first set up on the battlefield, its models do not have to be set up in unit coherency. Instead, each model must be set up within 6" of one other model from its unit. From that point on, each model in this unit is treated as a separate unit.

Starting strength is defined as the number of models in a unit when its added to your army which is when you build your list.

Starting Strength: A unit’s Starting Strength is the number of models in it at the point that it is added to your army.

After the unit of LRBTs has been set up, which is after you added the unit to your list, they are three separate units. Each unit has one model, which is below its starting strength (which was 3), so every unit now gets +1 to hit from CULT OF SACRIFICE ?

Edit. This indisputably does not work. GW has given an explicit ruling on this subject:

If a rule is used to split a unit into multiple units during the battle, the Starting Strength of each individual unit is changed to be equal to the number of models in that unit. If several units merge together to form a single combined unit during the battle, add the Starting Strengths of all the individual units together to determine the new Starting Strength of the combined unit, and use this value to determine if the combined unit is below Half-strength.

Each of the split LRBTs has a starting strength of one model and can never benefit from cult of sacrifice.

The unit that was added to your army list no longer exists since "each model in this unit is treated as a separate unit."

There are three new (different) units, so they do not get a +1 from CoS.

Edited my previous post to provide the correct answer. I do find it rather interesting that OP somehow managed to quote the rulebook on the definition of starting strength but miss the very clear answer to why their theory is invalid that GW provided in the very next paragraph. It's especially interesting given how controversial the theory would be, and how many people might be likely to argue about it before the answer is revealed. I would certainly not speculate about OP's motives in doing these things, I just find these entirely unrelated and irrelevant facts highly interesting.

Gue'vesa Emissary wrote:
Edit. This indisputably does not work. GW has given an explicit ruling on this subject:

If a rule is used to split a unit into multiple units during the battle, the Starting Strength of each individual unit is changed to be equal to the number of models in that unit. If several units merge together to form a single combined unit during the battle, add the Starting Strengths of all the individual units together to determine the new Starting Strength of the combined unit, and use this value to determine if the combined unit is below Half-strength.

Each of the split LRBTs has a starting strength of one model and can never benefit from cult of sacrifice.

Except the battle begins at step 14, deployment (where the unit is set up) is step 11. The rule you quoted is in effect after step 14.

11. DEPLOY ARMIES
The players alternate setting up their remaining units one at a time, starting with the Defender.

14. BEGIN THE BATTLE
The first battle round begins. The players continue to resolve battle rounds until the battle ends.

The whole proposition is nonsense. The starting strength of a one-model unit is one. They are separate units so there is no unit size of three during the game.

P5 - what's the starting unit size during the game. It's one. Becaus the original unit doesn't exist any more.

I suggest you read what the starting strength rule says. Its when the unit is added to your army. At that time the number of models is 3.

So your options, yet again with your increasingly ridiculous threads, are either GW wrote a rule that literally does nothing, or we follow the blatantly obvious rules and your unit size is 1.

In addition, the Vehicle Squadron rule explicitly says you treat each individual tank as a separate unit.