Hello all,
A few days ago I came across possibly the most bizarre 40k story I have ever encountered. At the Alamo GT a judge was called over for a dispute. A player was arguing that his Stormraven was un-chargable because the model was more than 5″ off the ground. Rules as written (RAW) states that you measure charge distances to the vehicle’s hull, and in this case the wing.
The judge measured the model and it appeared to be more than 5″ and was thus not a valid charge target. Afterwards the judge went home and checked his own Stormraven (hence the picture). He found that his model was less than 5″. While the judge did admit there could be multiple causes for this discrepancy, he decided to award a red-card to the player (although the event was already finished) and a future ban. This ban was made in light of three decision:
- The Player knew the edge case scenario should have been brought to the judge before the event and failed to personally communicate that, before or during the event.
- Angle Shooting
- Past History at previous events in the local area.
Now before I proceed let’s set some things straight. I was not at the event and my knowledge of the proceedings is entirely second-hand. It is possible the player in question was repeatedly abusing this mechanic to move-block and otherwise cheat their opponent. Reason #3 strongly hints that there may have been willful modelling for advantage going on, and that this person was a bad actor. However, I still feel this was handled poorly.
To start with, the blog post seems to imply the judge only measured their own model, with one measuring tape. There can be a surprising amount of variation between measuring tapes, especially when the margins are so thin (see below)
These differences only continue on when thinking about the model. Was the flying stand on a piece of cork on the base? Perhaps there was some variation in the model itself that was due to chance?
As I said before there has to be more at play here but it was poorly communicated. I initially started this article intending to be more harsh on the judges. Deciding on a whim to measure a model at home and then going for a red card seems a bit odd. However, reading the post again, especially the bit about past history has given me some pause. I wish the judges had mentioned if they talked to the other opponents or provided more details.
As such I will let the story pass without further comment. My only advice is to be aware of how high your models (and your opponent’s) are from the ground.
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