Blackmoor: Stelek did not get cheated

Well there was some controversy in my game with Stelek that I cheated in our game. Here is what happened:

My batrep here
Stelek's batrep here

I get my Paladins on turn #5 and I placed them into combat squads as they entered from the table edge. Stelek says that I cheated when I did this. He also says that either cheating cost him the game, or luck. I hope he referred to this game as him losing by luck because they entered into the same table quarter and the fact that they combat squaded has no impact on our game.

So after I saw that I was accused of cheating I wrote a Mea culpa when I read the FAQ under Space Marines. I thought that indeed I did play it wrong. Well, rules are never my strong point, that is why whenever an opponent questions one of my rules I look it up, and when ever my opponent makes a rules assertion, I let it go.

So yesterday he begins again with his cheating allegations.

If you do not want to read through the post, here is the quote:

4) Cheating. Note this isn’t a shot at Blackmoor, he just happens to be the best example of cheating (Dash cheated too, as did every other DE player, but they were stopped in their attempts by me or a judge).

You cannot combat squad Marines when entering from reserve. Period.

Really? Period? Well let's take a look shall we...



Now it is time to break down what the FAQ really says, and what combat squading says.

Grey Knight Special Rules page 21:

Ten-man units with this special rule have the option of breaking down into two five-man units, called combat squads.

The decision to split the unit into combat squads, as well as which models go into each combat squad, must be made when the unit is deployed. Both combat squads can be deployed in separate locations. If you decide to split a unit into combat squads, then each combat squad is treated as a separate unit for all game purposes from that point on.

Now what makes this clear statement a little murky is GWs Space Marine FAQ which states:

Q: Can you take a Drop Pod with a 10-man squad and then put a combat squad in it, deploying the other combat squad on the table, or leave it in reserve but not in the Drop Pod? (p69)

A: No, because squads that are placed in reserve may not break down into combat squads.

Well, I made a mistake when I read that thinking that if you place a squad in reserve that you can never break them into combat squads (It looks like Stelek is making the same mistake).

Now in Stelek’s thread where he says that I cheated him and that the judges let me do it, someone pointed out that what the FAQ is stating is that you cannot split into combat squads prior to deploying. So you can’t have a 5-man unit in a drop pod, and then walk a 5-man squad on the board, but you can have a 10-man squad in a drop pod, and then split when they come on the board.

So it looks like you can always combat squad when you deploy, just not prior to deployment when you are in reserves!

So I did not cheat in our game, and the judges did make the correct ruling!

I won fair and square.

Edit: Looking at the Nova Open FAQ is says:

A unit may only Combat Squad during the initial Deployment. Units placed in Reserve may not combat squad (see GW FAQ). The only exception is a unit disembarking from a Drop Pod may choose to Combat Squad in the turn they arrive. 

This seems like there is a lot of ambiguity to this rule as well. What does it mean by initial deployment? Does that mean that only units that start on the board can combat squad? Or is the initial deployment when you deploy them?  Also he says that you can not combat squad just as GW's FAQ states (that we just went over). This does not clear anything up, and seems to make if worse. 

Oh, and here is a link to The King Elessar's blog where he talks about just this:

http://hobbyinfobythekingelessar.blogspot.com/2011/09/stop-playing-game-wrong-aka-why-i.html

Oh, and as a final note, both GWs FAQs and the Nova Open's FAQ were listed under Space Marines. Just like other rules and codex specific abilities, they do not cross over to other codexes unless specified.