Hi All,

Rule question around skimmers (such as jetbikes) that emerge from a wraithgate that is placed inside terrain. I think this falls into the 'open to interpretation' category.

This is what the rules and FAQ say:

"2.1.13 Skimmer
Skimmers may ignore dangerous or impassable terrain as they move. They may not land on impassable terrain, and if they land in dangerous terrain they must take a dangerous terrain test.
Q: Does a skimmer that starts a move in a piece of dangerous terrain but
then moves out and ends its move in terrain that isn’t dangerous have to
take a dangerous terrain test?
A: Yes it does. "

As per the rules, starting your move in difficult terrain(rubble/forest) forces a skimmer to take a difficult terrain test. In a previous debate the consensus seemed to be that included 'from a wraithgate in difficult terrain.' This makes sense if we imagine that even if a jetbike flies straight out a wraithgate, it might still have the dodge trees/overlapping rubble etc as it flies out.

Now skimmers cannot finish their move on impassible terrain(buildings) but can of course fly over them. Nothing is stated about them starting their move from a building as normally this would never occur.

One interpretation I've heard states that skimmers cannot therefore exit a wraithgate on a building as they would start their move in impassable terrain.

To me this seems wrong as the rules only state that a skimmer cannot finish it's move on a building. I'm assuming the reason skimmers cannot normally land on buildings is a rule simplification measure as many buildings don't have convenient areas to land on/hover over, it keeps the rules consistent with other AV's, etc. I'm presuming if a Wraithgate can be placed on top of a building this is no longer really an issue?

Looking at this way, you might say that not only can the jetike exit the wraithgate but also doesn't have to take a DT test.

Clever placement of an objective cannot therefore be used to effectively 'block' a wraithgate where the dark/eldar player is going to use it to deliver skimming light vehicles. (This does seem a little harsh...)

Of course, if the opponent wishes to make things difficult for the eldar player he has all the usual options of placing the gate in rubble/forest, near the back of the board, teleporting terminators onto it, etc.

What does everyone think? Apologies if this has been discussed before, the last thread I found discussing this didn't seem to get round to buildings.

Cheers,
Mark

1.8 TERRAIN
The galaxy is a vast place with millions of different worlds The terrain covering these worlds can vary from empty plains to sky-scraping hive cities, and from verdant jungles to arid ash-waste deserts. Only one factor is common to them all, and that is that they all have areas where it is difficult to wage war! In Epic, terrain affects units in one of three ways:
•
The terrain has no effect on the unit when it moves through it.
•
The terrain is impassable to the unit so it cannot move through the terrain under any circumstances.
•
The terrain is dangerous to the unit, so the unit can enter the terrain but it might take damage (see 1.8.1).

2.1.10 Mounted
Some infantry units are noted as being mounted, and will either ride on bikes or living creatures such as horses. Mounted units count as vehicles for terrain effects, and as infantry units for all other purposes.

As Ginger said I guess you can always agree on 5 minute warm up to treat buildings as ruins or just place the wraithgate elsewhere if your feeling more charitable to your pointy eared opponent.

It's worth reiterating that if your opponent completely screws you on this, you still have your Blitz objective as a gate option. It makes the gate less valuable, but it doesn't make it unusable.