What's going on EA Community?!

Got a question that stems from a game I had the other night. Sooooooo the story goes a little something like this.

In the middle of the first turn and I needed to roll to retain initiative to press my attack on some space marine baddies. I roll to activate my Scorpion Super Heavies, I roll a 2 which does me no good since I need a 3 after sustaining some blast markers. I announce to my opponent that I'm going to use my Autarch to re-roll my one for the turn and then my opponent asks where he is at. Then it dawns on me that my Autarch has yet to arrive via Vampire drop, and is thus not on the battlefield. Head scratching begins. So my question....

Does he need to be on the board to use the ability or does he just need to be alive?

Help a brotha from another motha out!

EBB

If he's not on the board he can only use the reroll on his own formation to bring himself onto the board.

This is one of the dilemas that you face with any Supreme Commander: he has to be on the table to issue commands (including re-rolls for off-table forces - but not visa versa).

If the SC is off table, as Z. says, he can only influence his own formation and transport - so if in a Transport inside a spaceship, he can only re-roll the spaceship's activation.

In some armies he can be very vulnerable on the table - hence why it is deemed good practice to try to put him somewhere other than the BTS formation (though that is not always easy).

I was kinda thinking that was the case gents. We didn't know at the time so we rolled on it. I lost the roll regardless.

Thanks for the reply guys!

As an FYI, that exact question is in the FAQs - both the 2008 and the expanded one on here.

It's a game issue, not realism. If you want the benefits, you have to risk the SC.