ISSUE: Does the Eternal Warrior Universal Special Rule make a model immune to the effects of Eldar Direswords?
HOLDING: The Eternal Warrior rule does not prevent a model from being removed due to the Diresword’s effect.
ANALYSIS:
Justicar GiantKiller delivers the opinion of the court.
This issue was raised in a recent ask the rules lawyers email. Eldar Direswords cause models to be removed from play regardless of remaining wounds if they suffer an unsaved wound from the diresword and fail a leadership test. Eternal Warrior makes a model immune to Instant Death. The question arises: does Eternal Warrior prevent the Diresword’s instant-death-like effect? We begin our analysis with a discussion of the rules themselves.
The rule for Direswords tells us:
“Diresword: … A diresword is a power weapon. In addition, if a model suffers any unsaved wounds from a diresword, it must immediately pass a leadership test for each wound suffered. If any of these tests are failed, the victim dies automatically and is removed regardless of remaining wounds.” Codex: Eldar p. 30.
Significantly, we note that this rule in no way mentions instant death. It sets forth a process by which a model could be removed regardless of remaining wounds. For that to happen, it must have first suffered an unsaved wound from a diresword and failed a leadership test.
The rule for Eternal Warrior is:
“The model is immune to the effects of the Instant Death rule.” BGB p. 74
The language of this rule is clear, and very specific. The Instant Death rule cannot affect a model with Eternal Warrior. We note that it does not say the model is immune to any rule which could cause it to be removed regardless of remaining wounds… only the Instant Death rule. The best indicator of GW’s intent is its language, and if GW had intended for Eternal Warrior to have a broader application, it would have included the appropriate language. Further, we note that interpreting Eternal Warrior in such a way that it would apply to any effect which causes removal of a model regardless of wounds would cause far more conflicts than it would resolve, in direct violation of the Avoidance of Conflicts Canon.
The rule for Instant Death tells us:
“If a model suffers an unsaved wound from an attack that has a Strength value of double its Toughness value or greater, it is killed outright and removed as a casualty.” BGB p. 26
We note little similarity between Instant Death and the diresword’s rule beyond the fact that each can cause a model to be removed regardless of remaining wounds. Instant Death requires a comparison of toughness and strength. The diresword does not.
We therefore can conclude that direswords do not cause “Instant Death”. Instant Death is a specific rule described by its entry in the BGB. And if a diresword does not cause instant death, it is in no way affected by the Eternal Warrior rule.
However, it has been argued that the diresword should be considered to cause Instant Death due to its similarity to the Force Weapon. We find this argument unpersuasive. The rule for Force Weapons tells us:
“Roll to hit and wound as normal, allowing any invulnerable saving throws the victim might have. The psyker may then take a Psychic test to use the weapon’s power against any one opponent that suffered an unsaved wound by the weapon in that player turn. … If the test is passed, the enemy model suffers instant death, regardless of its Toughness value.” BGB p. 50
There are two important distinctions between Direswords and Force Weapons which prevent us from using the Force Weapon as precedent. First, whereas the force weapon functions if the owning player passes a psychic test, the diresword functions if the defending player fails a leadership test. But far more important is the fact that the force weapon language specifically indicates that it causes instant death, while the diresword does not. The words “instant death” appear nowhere in the diresword rule. And as we have previously discussed, instant death is something specifically addressed and prevented by the Eternal Warrior rule, whereas being removed as a casualty regardless of wounds is not.
Accordingly, we hold that the Eternal Warrior rule will not prevent a model from being removed due to the Diresword’s effect.