Issue: What is the maximum unit size for a unit of Plague Zombies in the new Chaos Space Marines Codex?
Holding: 10 models.
Now that the new Codex: Chaos Space Marines seems to be in fairly wide circulation (no we won’t share, or tell you where to find it, but it’s out there) we’re a bit more comfortable addressing some of the rules questions people have been asking regarding the new book. We’ll start with one that’s fairly simple, but likely to be the subject of much contention, as we’ve already received a couple of emails on the subject.
We begin with this caveat: the codex hasn’t been released yet, and anything we quote is subject to change.
The issue arises from the wording of Typhus’ “Plague Zombies” special rule. This is the rule that allows Plague Zombies to be taken in the first place. The issue is how this rule interacts with the listbuilder’s ability to add additional models to the unit beyond its starting size. We turn first to the language of the Plague Zombies rule:
“Plague Zombies: Any Chaos Cultist units (see the army list, pg 95) in the same army as Typhus can be nominated as Plague Zombies. Plague Zombies are Chaos Cultists that have the Fearless, Feel No Pain and Slow and Purposeful special rules, and cannot purchase options. They are armed with a single close combat weapon – any guns are used strictly for the purposes of clubbing their victims to death!” Codex: CSM p. 61 (2012, pre-release)
So what language is important to how many zombies we can stuff into a mob of shambling corpses? “Plague Zombies … cannot purchase options.” We note that Plague Zombies don’t have their own unit entry. They essentially borrow the Chaos Cultist unit entry, subject to the modifications listed in this rule. So we have to look at the Chaos Cultist entry to find out the important details about the unit, including the maximum unit size.
We note that the Chaos Cultist unit is a troops selection. See Codex: CSM p.95 2012, pre-release. So cultists are a scoring unit, and that means Plague Zombies are a scoring unit. This is a brief aside, but we note that there is no language indicating that Plague Zombies lose their status as a scoring unit, as some previous rumors had claimed.
The important part of the Chaos Cultist unit entry to this discussion is the fact that they have a base unit size of 10 models, including 9 cultists and a champion. See Codex: CSM p.95, 2012 pre-release. Up to 25 more cultists can be added at the cost of 4 points per model. So Chaos Cultists have a maximum unit size of 35. But when we’re dealing with plague zombies, it’s important to note that taking additional models beyond the base unit size of 10 isn’t mandatory. It’s an option. And if a unit is being nominated as Plague Zombies, it cannot purchase options per the Plague Zombies rule. The language of the Plague Zombies rule is clear and unambiguous in that regard. Thus, per the plain language canon, the Plague Zombie rule limits the size of a Plague Zombie unit to 10 models.
Now, it has been argued that purchasing additional models isn’t an option, that it’s part of the unit selection process. We find this argument unpersuasive, as Chaos Cultists have a base unit size of 10. This isn’t an old 3rd Edition codex where unit sizes are listed as a range. A unit of Chaos Cultists is 10 models. No matter what you’d prefer to call it – an “upgrade”, a “modification”, a “selection”, whatever – adding models to the unit beyond that base size is an option. And it is therefore prohibited if the unit of Chaos Cultists is upgraded to Plague Zombies.
It has also been argued that GW intended for this restriction to apply only to wargear options and unit upgrades like marks. This argument is also unpersuasive as it has no basis in the language of the rule. The best evidence of GW’s intent is the language they use. The Plague Zombies rule doesn’t say “cannot purchase wargear” or “cannot purchase additional weapons” or “cannot purchase marks”. It says “cannot purchase options.”
For the reasons enumerated above, we hold that a unit of Chaos Cultists upgraded to Plague Zombies using Typhus’ special rule cannot add models beyond the base unit size of 10.
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