To quote Neal in full:-
(nealhunt @ Feb. 01 2008,15:19)
QUOTE
Just to throw in my 2 cents:
My experience of non-Fearless transport is exactly like Lord_I describes. ?In fact, anything non-Fearless in a majority Fearless formation is marked for quick death.
In the TSons, I left the Rhinos non-Fearless but that list works much differently than the way EC is supposed to. ?TSons are like blocks of set infantry that the other stuff maneuvers off of. ?Transports are disposable for an initial burst of speed or re-deployment.
In contrast, the EC is supposed to be wide open, screaming around the board like something between Ork Speed Freeks and Saim Hann Eldar. ?Having very vulnerable transports would stop that entirely.
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Lord_I: ?Obviously, I think Fearless Rhinos are okay as long as the formation is Fearless.
If you are intending to implement a non-Noise Marine infantry formation, I'd say go with Scout. ?Fearless Legionaires would be too similar to Noise Marines with respect to battlefield role. ?They won't introduce any variety to speak of. ?Scout would be substantially different. ?And if you're not opposed to the concept, it can be justified as new recruits that haven't completely converted.
Of course, that raises the possibility of having both Fearless and non-Fearless Rhino upgrades (Rhinos and Noise-Rhinos, or something), which might be a pain.
What I hear from this is that EC should be all Fearless formations, while the Legionaires should not be. If that is the case, why should they have Fearless Rhinos?
I also like TRC solutions here - and agree that option #1 is the better alternative (if only to avoid yet another "special rule") Perhaps a way forward would be to specify that the Legionaire formation is purchased along with its rhinos, so you can then specify the number of Rhinos in the formation thus avoiding other potential "special Rules".
As a final thought, the description provided by Neal suggests that all EC formations are highly mobile - so would it be appropriate to take this route for other formations like the Noise marines?
?however, even so I would suggest this could cause problems distinguishing them from "Fearless" Rhinos in other formations ?
?- and the rest of the comments still stand regarding the general stats
. Like I said earlier, I agree with Neal that it seems more in keeping with the theme of the army to have entire formations Fearless (or not as here), and it is also simpler.