Hey everyone,
Just want to clarify something on Malakov’s feat. Is he allowed to move a model once per his feat rule or can he only move one model in his whole feat?
Thank you!
My bet is that the intent is when a friendly faction model is hit by an enemy attack, it gets to move and attack, but can only move and attack once per turn as a result of the poison pill feat. And this trigger is checked every time a ff model is hit.
The once per turn part is a little clunky (IMO), so I could see it being read as “the rest of this ability only gets to happen once per turn.”
But the shield guard and move/attack should be working in conjunction with each other so that malakov is controlling who gets hit by what, and getting attacks on his opponent’s turn.
This was the issue we were having at our event today. What make it worse was it was on an assassination run. Very curious what RAW vs RAI is here.
Any number of models that have been directly hit by enemy attacks can advance. However, any particular model can only advance once each turn due to the “once per turn” limitation.
In my opinion, models that have been given a shield guard can use their movement and base attack once per turn when attacked. This is because the second sentence refers to the first.
The two sentences are unrelated. Models gain Shield Guard. Independently of that, models get to advance when directly hit by an enemy attack.
If the intent was “they get to advance if they use Shield Guard”, then one would expect the second sentence to read “Additionally, once per turn when a friendly Faction model is hit as a result of Shield Guard…” 
Preemptively tagging in the infernals, because otherwise…
Paging @elswickchuck !
Based on how I remember it being played in Mk3 my assumption is that the intent is for EACH model to get to move once per turn (so in theory all of your models could move once in your turn and then once in your opponent’s turn).
However, as written, it sound to me like each turn a total of ONE model can move.
The “once per turn” clause does not have any qualifiers; it would need to say “each model can once per turn” or “once per turn per model ” or something.
The difference in power between the two interpretations is huge. I think we need clarification, and perhaps for the rule to have it’s wording changed if the first interpretation is the correct one.
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I agree with Soul’s points and think there’s an issue with this on likely Rules as Written (RAW)/Rules as Intended (RAI)
My understanding of the RAI is that based off Malakov’s feat in Mk3 which specified non-battle engine however otherwise allowed multiple movements when suffering damage, the change to Mk4 would be to cap that ability to a single move(with sidegrade of parry and no-KD in Mk3 replaced by shield guard in Mk4). There was also a change in trigger from ‘damage’ to ‘directly hit’ presently and also being able to make a basic melee or ranged attack now. My understanding as such of the RAI of one move per model per turn (on both yours and your opponents) would be instinctive for the understanding of the power level of a feat.
However RAW, it appears quite clear that ONLY ONE model in the army once per turn would be able to move from the feat, which would be a significant different in power between the interpretations and if so would likely need to be clarified in the wording eg “per model per turn”
If it is RAI that only one move per turn (per army) is correct, I would suggest that there may be a need to relook into the power level of his feat or seek an alternative wording as it is a significant amount of text decided for a very limited function.
It will be very appreciated if we could get an infernal ruling on this.
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Folks, I already summoned an Infernal a while ago. Give them at least one business day. 
Also: debating RAW and RAI doesn’t get us very far. The as-written text can absolutely be interpreted both ways; both are valid in the English language because English is ambiguous. I think if one were to properly diagram the sentence (not me, not right now), the intent would be very clear that “one per turn” modifies what a model can do; it doesn’t stand alone. (Also, it’s a pretty sad feat interpreted any other way. 
)
Just give the official rules people some time. 
Ya, I’m going to disagree with you on the sentiment that there’s nothing gained by discussing raw vs rai, and the peculiarities of english, simple english, clear english for instructions, etc.
This type of discussion helps players interpret the nuances of pp’s writing style, and it helps developers understand how their words are being interpreted.
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So lets see
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While in his control range models gain shield guard
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Once per turn does not mean his feat for the move and attack part can only be used one time. Just each model can only use it once
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It is not dependent on the model having used shield guard
That it…
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Great, thank you. Can we request that the wording of the feat be changed for more clarity then? Because clearly to some of us the wording implies the wrong interpretation.
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We know you tagged Chuck, that doesn’t mean we can’t weigh in. Please don’t try to shut people up just because you’ve had your say.
English has a degree of ambiguity, but sometimes one interpretation is far more likely than another, and good use of language can remove or at least minimise it.
And I’m sorry, but “once per turn a model can move” doesn’t sound ambiguous to me, it seems very clear: once per turn, A model can move. As in, one time per turn, the event can occur, where the event is that one model can move.
If it said “a model can move once per turn”, that would be different, but it didn’t.
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As stated before productive and respectful discussions help with seeing what wording are needed to support intent and written rules. Please always keep this in mind.
The discussions are always welcomed as long as these things are followed
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