Friday FAQ #2

Hey guys, time for another installment of Friday FAQ! This week we have a very good question from RC of Pick a Damn Army. His question is:

the new imperial guard codex and it says the priest's eviscerator counts as a powerfist that rolls an extra die for armor penetration. Does this mean he get's +1 attack from having it and his laspistol?

Terran Forge Opinion: On page 35 of the Imperial Guard codex under the Eviscerator entry it states:

An eviscerator is a massive two-handed chainsword . . . [and] counts as a power fist, but rolls an additional D6 for armor penetration.

Now, first thoughts are "No. It clearly states the weapon is a two-handed weapon and therefore you can't get the extra attack for 2CCWs." However, sometimes I forget that "two-handed weapons" are no longer in the rules. Curses. Now the next phrase "counts as a powerfist" seems a bit misleading (and is why the question has been raised). On page 42 of the 40k rulebook it states under the Power Fists entry:

A power fist (or 'power claw') is an armored gauntlet surrounded by a disruptive energy field. A power fist is a power weapon, and also doubles the user's Strength. Power Fists, however, are difficult and cumbersome to use, so attacks with a power fist are always delivered at iniative 1.

So this is what an Eviscerator counts as, eh? It doesn't specifically say anything about extra attacks so it looks like the Eviscerator gets that 1 extra attack! If you think we're wrong, you're absolutely right. Take a look immediately to the right of the Power Fist entry under "A normal and a special weapon":

These models gain one additional attack. All of their attacks, including the bonus attack, benefit from the special weapon's bonuses.

Power Fists, Thunder Hammers and Lightning Claws are an exception to this. Only a second Power Fist, Thunder Hammer or Lightning Claw can confer a bonus attack to a model equipped with one of these weapons.

Now, it may not saw Eviscerator in that entry, but if you noticed the blurb at the top of the page:

In terms of rules, [close combat weapons] are al grouped into either of the following two categories

Those categories are normal close combat weapons and Special Close Combat Weapons. The later has 8 different entries titled: "Power Weapons, Lightning Claws, Force Weapons, Poisoned Weapons, Power Fists, Thunder Hammers, Rending Weapons and Witchblades. Go back to that quote under "A normal and a special weapon". Do you see something? All three weapons mentioned are categories of special weapons. Therefore when the category "power fist" is called on saying that no additional attacks are gained for having 2CCWs, anything that falls into that category is included. This means Power Klaws, and Eviscerators as well. (As a side note, the Power Klaw entry in the Ork codex also mentions that is "counts as" a power fist).


Terran Forge final opinion: Models with an Eviscerator do not gain an extra attack for having two close combat weapons.


This was a very interesting question as I've never really looked up those rules and have always just taken them for granted. Again, thanks to RC from Pick a Damn Army for submitting this question and if you have a rules query you'd like answered by one of these weekly segments, just email us at terranforge@gmail.com!