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I was looking at the new rules for the Dark Angels and I noticed something. Already, there is potential to exploit the Culexus Etherium ability through the Character-targetting rules, but with the Mind Wipe power it becomes ridiculous.

You can cast the power on your opponent's toughest models and then chase them with a Culexus. Basically, your opponent can do nothing but run from the Culexus (they can't shoot or assault them), and then they effectively do nothing for the game. Because the effects of the power last for the whole battle, the Imperial player can cast it multiple times and nullify the enemies strongest characters, tanks and super heavies, with relative ease.

I don't get it. Can you elaborate?

The Culexus changes shooting units BS to 6+, which would override the modifier from Mind Wipe.

Sequencing, i believe, would go -

Starting BS3 > Mind Wipe = BS4 > shooting Culexus = BS6

So, even if you stacked it so the BS value changed to a base of BS7, the assassin's rule would change it back to BS6.

Kdash wrote:
The Culexus changes shooting units BS to 6+, which would override the modifier from Mind Wipe.

Sequencing, i believe, would go -

Starting BS3 > Mind Wipe = BS4 > shooting Culexus = BS6

So, even if you stacked it so the BS value changed to a base of BS7, the assassin's rule would change it back to BS6.

Check out the fourth page of the generic 40k Rules Eratta.

It would successfully stop a singular model hitting the culexus.

However it does little against a strong unit

Alsi there is nothing stopping your opponent falling back with that model then shooting the culexus with rest of the army freeing the model up to do what it wants

Samii wrote:

Kdash wrote:
The Culexus changes shooting units BS to 6+, which would override the modifier from Mind Wipe.

Sequencing, i believe, would go -

Starting BS3 > Mind Wipe = BS4 > shooting Culexus = BS6

So, even if you stacked it so the BS value changed to a base of BS7, the assassin's rule would change it back to BS6.

Check out the fourth page of the generic 40k Rules Eratta.

Meh, i guess i was being too logical.

But, i guess, this won't have too much of an impact anyway due to them being able to shoot other units. The problem will be close combat.

U02dah4 wrote:
It would successfully stop a singular model hitting the culexus.

However it does little against a strong unit

Alsi there is nothing stopping your opponent falling back with that model then shooting the culexus with rest of the army freeing the model up to do what it wants

There was a list that won Adepticon(?) this year consisting of nothing but assassins and Imperial characters. That list would basically be unbeatable with mind wipe; as the stronger elements of the opposing army are permanently nullified by it. It relied on the character-targetting rules.

While it is true that larger units are less impacted (though there are other Imperial psychic powers that affect whole units, with a negative hit modifier) it is basically making large powerful models, such as tanks, super-heavies and characters obsolete. While you can fall back, the units themselves are losing their innate shooting and close combat ability. You can basically dictate when and where you opponent moves, shoots and assaults, which usually results in winning the game.

Samii wrote:

There was a list that won Adepticon(?) this year consisting of nothing but assassins and Imperial characters. That list would basically be unbeatable with mind wipe; as the stronger elements of the opposing army are permanently nullified by it. It relied on the character-targetting rules.

WargamesCon 2017, IIRC.

It also used Guilliman, Celestine, and a boatload of Eversor assassins.

The answer to such a list would be to target the culexus with flamers and other auto-hit weapons, and/or tie them up in combat with something it can't realistically hurt with its fists while the rest of the army repositions or charges past it, or turtle hard on an objective.

It's extremely annoying because of the way it exploits the character targeting rules, and it's hard-countered by what is otherwise the worst performing weapons.