Well that was eventful. Our last article on Endless Spells really kicked the hornet’s nest and I want to follow up today for a couple of reasons:

• I want to explain what’s going on in everyday language. The original article was written in very careful language to make sure that every word used was accurate, because I knew there’d be pushback. Today’s article will aim to explain what’s actually happening, without going so depp into legalese.
• I want to address a couple of counterpoints. One of which we’d considered beforehand, and which came up a lot, especially in repeated Reddit comments because Reddit comments.
• I want to reassure people about the impact of this interaction. The natural reaction to “Endless Spells can do another really dumb thing” is to think that this means Endless Spells are even more broken, but that’s not necessarily the case here. As dumb as it is, its impact is actually pretty mild.

Ready? Let’s go.

What’s actually going on here?

I just want to lay out this interaction in less technical language than the original, so in a nutshell: Manifestations are not units, so they can be set up within 9″ of each other¹ and even straight into combat with each other. This is true even for those Manifestations that can move.

The reason is that the new Manifestation you are setting up is not a unit, and that means that the one that’s already on the board is not a unit either. They would only count as units for the purpose of setting up other units – which you’re not doing. That word “unit” really is key. It’s not all enemy models – it’s only other units.

So Manis don’t have to be set up 9″ away from other Manis (even if they can move). That’s just the way it is – unless and until Manifestations get a(nother) FAQ.

But don’t the summoning spells cut this off?

One common question raised after the original piece was published is that the spells used to summon Manifestations specify that they need to be set up 9″ away from other units. For example:

It’s a good question and one we considered ourselves before posting, but the trouble here is that we quickly end up back at square one. Note that important word coming up again: “all enemy units“.

You only have to set up 9″ away from the enemy model if it’s a unit. So we check if the Manifestation that’s on the board is a unit ², and bullet point one tells us that’s only the case if the thing we are setting up is unit.

As already discussed, the model that we are setting up is not a unit. Rule 7.0 lays out the times when they count as units, and none of them apply here. This in turn means that the one that’s already on the board is not a unit either, and we can jump straight into base to base contact if we so wish.

Ultimately, it’s really just a minor extension of the original logic. If the one that’s already on the board is a unit, then it would push you back 9″, but it’s not. The sad fact is that the limitations around the summoning spells have no impact here.

Checkmate, atheists

That was the main counterpoint, raised on the blog comments, on twitter, and multiple times in the Reddit comments. But we did also get this golden nugget:

Usernames have been obscured to protect the person who chose to post this in public, because I suspect they will end up wanting to delete it. We all make howlers from time to time and this one I reckon they’ll be wanting to take back.

For anyone else out there who wants to tell us that tagging a unit in combat won’t protect you, because you can just Retreat: there are other sites out there that might be more your speed.

Great, just what we needed. Endless Spells are even more broken

Nah. If anything, it’s a minor nerf overall – the main interaction that this opens up is using your own Endless Spells to shut down theirs, and prevent them charging into your army. This will only come up very rarely, but to the extent that it does, there should be slightly fewer occasions where Endless Spells kill proper units you paid points for. As dumb as it is, this interaction is not making Endless Spells even more broken.

So I hope that helps a few more people to understand what’s going on here, and we can move on. Next week we’ll be publishing what I think is much more interesting – a guide to the key interactions around Endless Spells that everyone needs to know about. With this edge case covered off, we can get into the more practical and tactical ways to use your own Endless Spells to your advantage – as well as your opponent’s.

Until then, have a good weekend, nerds – see you on the other side.

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1. Or however far. Some stuff can set up 7″ away (or whatever), but it’s usually 9″ ↩︎
2. Yup, this is the part where we’re back to square one ↩︎

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