Friday, June 26, 2009

Friday FAQ #3

Well it's that time again- another Friday FAQ!

This week we have a question from CyborgTrucker (check out his blog here!). His question:

Can Lesser Demons hold objectives since in the back of the CSM Codex it says:

"Units of Summoned Lesser Demons do not use up any force organization chart selection, but are otherwise treated as a Troops unit."

I don't know or recall where I heard that they can't. For all I know I've been following an urban legend on a ruling that never really occurred or existed. If there is a definitive place that answers this, where is it? I did check the GW CSM FAQ just to be sure I didn't miss an obvious place for an answer.
This is an interesting question. Reading the rules for scoring units in the 5th Edition Rule Book on page 90 it states:

An army's scoring units are all the units that come from its Troops allowance.

As CyborgTrucker mentioned in his question, the entry for Summoned Lesser Demons on page 102 of the Chaos Space Marine codex says:
"Units of Summoned Lesser Demons do not use up any force organization chart selection, but are otherwise treated as a Troops unit."
Looking at both of these entries it would seem the logical answer is no, Summoned Lesser Demons do not count as scoring units since they are not from the Troops allowance because they don't take up a Force Organizational slot. However, this thread on DakkaDakka offers a different and, in our opinion, correct intrepretation. I am quoting user Lord_Mortis here:
[The Scoring Units entry on page 90 of the rulebook] goes on to further state that "other units may deny an objective....but only Troops can control it." The Chaos Codex states that lesser demons "...do not use up any force organisation chart selection, but are otherwise treated as a Troops unit." It uses the big T for troops.

As they don't take up any slots on the
FOC, then I may take any number of lesser demons as a Troops choice, and since they are not limited to just 6 slots, then my Troops allowance for them is unlimited, other than being limited by the points of the game being played.

Lesser Demons have therefore satisfied both requirements, being a Troops choice and coming from the Troops allowance (which for them is unlimited), and therefore count as a scoring unit.



Terran Forge Final Opinion: A unit of Summoned Lesser Demons are a Troops Choice for a Chaos Space Marine army but they take up zero out of the six available slots instead of one like a typical Troops Choice. Therefore they count as scoring units and can hold objectives, but do not take up a Force Organizational slot.


This was an interesting question to research, but after finding that thread on Dakka, we feel this is the best and most logical answer. Although it isn't clearly outlined, we definitely feel this is what was intended when written. If you are still unsure just read that thread on Dakka we linked too and form your own opinion and post it here, we'd love to see what you guys think! Thanks to CyborgTrucker for sending this question in and if you have one please send it to us at terranforge@gmail.com!

2 comments:

oni said...

Yes, Lord Mortis is exactly right IMO.

Deathboon said...

You are right, but there is an easier way to arrive at this answer.

The codex says they are "otherwise treated as Troops." Denying them the ability to score is not otherwise treating them as troops.

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