[Archive] Earthshaker(1)

The Brain:

The rule state �?oANY troops within this distance in inches from the center of the template move at have rate in their NEXT TURN and may not shoot missile weapons�?�. Page 33 RH, Earthshaker second to last sentence.

The rule is clear it is any unit no matter if it is a flyer, cavalry, or foot troop. It is also clear that all movement is halved it states for �?otheir NEXT TURN�?� not the movement phase but the entire turn. All units, all movement. So flyers only move 10 inches. The only thing that would not be affected would be the Wraiths due to their special rule that states that nothing war machine or spell can affect their movement, everything else half. There is no room for debate here it is what it is you only have to read it and stop trying to turn it into what its not.

BilboBaggins:

It was intended for the M rate of the model so how can you half a rate that isn’t in the models statline. Fly movement rate isn’t stated in the statlines of models, it’s an ability. Where I play (GW store in Philly) the rule was played that flyers (who are on the ground between turns) couldn’t fly and halved their statline movement rate. The only exception would be the Birdmen because they do not land between turns.

Thommy H:

To be fair, the rule doesn’t specify anything about the actual Movement characteristic. I’m still on the fence about whether it affects fleeing - I actually quite like the way Bagronnor plays it, by taking the halved movement rate as the value for determining flee distance in the usual way. The thing is, I don’t think I’ve ever had it come up - because it only affects the units’ movement in their own turn, the only circumstances in which you’d cause them to flee were if you beat them in combat, so you’d have to be targetting enemy units that are awfully close to your own troops (so they get charged in the following turn) to get that to work.

The Brain:

It was intended for the M rate of the model so how can you half a rate that isn't in the models statline. Fly movement rate isn't stated in the statlines of models, it's an ability. Where I play (GW store in Philly) the rule was played that flyers (who are on the ground between turns) couldn't fly and halved their statline movement rate. The only exception would be the Birdmen because they do not land between turns.

BilboBaggins
You cannot argue �?ointended�?� rules unless you were there when the author wrote it, or had a conversation with him about it. How can you know his intention? The best thing we have is the rule itself and GW. The rule states any troops so it includes FREND OR FOR, and ALL MOVEMENT for the next turn are halved. GW also passed all of its rulings these days to the Dire Wolf Council, a policy that I disagree with, but it is what it is. According to the council you take the rule for face value and flyers are reduced to a fly move of 10 inches. In my opinion it should work like the anvil of doom, but that is not the GW/Dire wolf ruling.