I'm pretty relieved that GW has thrown so much time and effort in to Age of Sigmar recently. It's meant that 40K players have had a bit of a breather from the frantic release schedule in the first half of the year. It was getting pretty difficult to keep up with things and think about the dirtier combinations and how to deal with them. The breather looks like it's about to come to and end with what appears to be a hefty Tau release.....
New Tau Codex and Units
The rumour mill would have us believe that the Tau codex will be landing on 24th (pre-orders on 17th). That means people will only have it in their hands on the morning of the list submission deadline. I think that's just too late for people to plan their lists, not just the Tau players but anyone trying to try to prepare for threats coming their way. I'll therefore be ruling that the current codex will remain in play for BWX i.e. the 6th edition one. Of course there'll be some new units released in the weeks prior to the codex which will have rules in White Dwarf. I think it's best to say that these won't be legal either. That's because, theoretically at least, they'll have been created in the context of the new codex.
Invisibility
I've previously adjusted the wording of the psychic power to try to make it less ridiculous. I've been thinking about it recently though and I think that banning it all together is a better idea. I know that sounds drastic but I just think it's far too powerful and spoils games.
Re-rolled Saves
This is another thing I've been thinking about. At the last Blog Wars I said that invulnerable saves could only be re-rolled on a maximum of 4+. I deliberately made it invulnerable saves only as both armour and cover saves can be taken away by a lot of different weapons and special rules. Having a re-rollable 2++ save seems OTT though.
The release of the DA codex has changed things a little though. It's not that unlikely for a unit to be getting a 2+ re-rollable cover save thanks to the Ravenwing special rule. I therefore think it'd be a good idea to make the same ruling for cover saves.
Best Save
Playing against Ravenwing recently has made me realise that there's a bit of a problem in the wording of the rules regarding units with multiple saves. The rule says a unit must always use the "best save available". This becomes ambiguous when you're trying to decide between a 3+ armour save and a 4+ cover save with a re-roll. Statistically speaking the armour save has a 66% chance of success and the re-rolled cover has a 75% chance of success. I think that factoring re-rolls into the decision is wrong. There's no right answer though (as with many things in 40K).
I think that for units with a 3+ armour AND a 3+ cover you could make the decision either way. I know that makes Black Knights significantly better than standard Ravenwing bikers but I think that's reasonable.
Comments and Anything Else?
I'd really like to hear your comments and feedback on these rulings whether you're playing in the tournament or not. Whilst I'd prefer not to change things too many times and confuse people, I need to know if I've not considered something important in these rulings.
I'd also like to hear if there's anything else that I should be making a ruling on. Obviously I'll be on hand during the day to help out with situations where players can't agree but I'd rather have something in writing before the day so that delays are kept to a minimum and people can enjoy their games knowing what to expect from the start. Your feedback over the years is what's made Blog Wars into what it is today and I'm grateful for your support.