Dark Elves

Sorry, just starting out so be gentle with me.... I am not ever trying to 'pull a fast one' just trying to make sure I am playing the same game as everyone else!

My Dark Elf Sorceress just got her Fly spell, which I guess is similar to other flight spells (I think it's similar or the same as one of the Chaos Rituals). I believe she casts this in the shooting phase, you can normally move and cast spells, does this mean she can move (or even run) and then in the shooting phase attempt to cast her fly spell and if successful she can move up to a further 12"? Seems a bit overpowered, though I guess she could end up out on a limb especially on a failed spell.

Also with her Soul Stealer spell, which she has to cast then 'hit' (probably the same as other similar spells), does she try to hit in the shooting phase like with her finger or some such (as soon as the spell is cast)? If she fails to cast it can she still attack with melee in the close combat phase with her sword and/or dagger?

I suspect these are obvious to people who have played for a while, and I may just have missed where it stated this.

Thanks in advance.

Darkfury wrote:

My Dark Elf Sorceress just got her Fly spell, which I guess is similar to other flight spells (I think it's similar or the same as one of the Chaos Rituals). I believe she casts this in the shooting phase, you can normally move and cast spells, does this mean she can move (or even run) and then in the shooting phase attempt to cast her fly spell and if successful she can move up to a further 12"? Seems a bit overpowered, though I guess she could end up out on a limb especially on a failed spell.

Also with her Soul Stealer spell, which she has to cast then 'hit' (probably the same as other similar spells), does she try to hit in the shooting phase like with her finger or some such (as soon as the spell is cast)? If she fails to cast it can she still attack with melee in the close combat phase with her sword and/or dagger?

Yes, flying spells are very powerful. Your sorceress can move, and then fly during the shotting phase. You can whip your sorceress around quite a lot, but you have probably already found out, that it's not an extra movement to be trusted...

As for the description of Steal soul, I think it's clear that she can attack in the Close Combat phase, so that can be powerful as well against a lone opponent!

"does this mean she can move (or even run) and then in the shooting phase attempt to cast her fly spell and if successful she can move up to a further 12"?"

Yes, she can. And while it is powerful, it can also be dangerous, as it tends to separate her from the rest of the warband.

"If she fails to cast it can she still attack with melee in the close combat phase with her sword and/or dagger?"

Yes. Indeed, even if she does get it off she still has her melee attacks, as long as she has a target in base-to-base contact.

Thanks ever so much, a little help with silly questions makes it loads clearer.

I'm playing a wood elf warband and one of the spells for my spellsinger, "The Hidden Path", is very similar to your fly spell. Here is the text:

Using this spell, the Spellsinger steps out of the corporeal world and beyond the reach of mortals. He may immediately make a 12” move, ignoring all intervening terrain. If he engages a fleeing enemy in the close combat phase, he will score one automatic hit, and the opponent will flee again.

I was thinking this would be very helpfull with item retrieval; such as in the "Wyrdstone Hunt" scenario for example. Run up, grab the item, then cast your way back into your defensive line.

So I have a question/clarificaion about this as well. If an enemy is in base to base contact with my spellsinger, can I use my "hidden path" spell, on my turn of course, to cast my way out of combat before the opposing model(s) get a chance to attack my caster? (Considering spells go off before the hand to hand phase of combat.)

mweaver wrote:

"If she fails to cast it can she still attack with melee in the close combat phase with her sword and/or dagger?"

Yes. Indeed, even if she does get it off she still has her melee attacks, as long as she has a target in base-to-base contact.

Whoa! Are you serious? A spellcaster can cast spells and do a melee attack in the same turn? I checked through the rulebook and while I didn't find any rules that say you can't do that, it just seems like something that would be prohibited. After all it does say that you can't cast a spell and use a missile weapon. And while I know that shooting and casting happen in the same phase of combat, it just seems to me like if you're too busy with casting to bother with shooting someone, you would likely be too busy with casting to bother with swiping at someone with a melee weapon.

You wouldn't happen to know of any rules that explicitly state that you can cast and melee the same turn?

Having proved my fallibility with rules on the Stupidity question, I'll keep going anyway. Asking for a definitive answer from the rules of any game is problematic. Especially if you are asking for something the designer saw no need to provide. (Edit: In this case they diid. See below.)

You can not shoot and cast spells in the shooting phase because the rules SAY you cannot specifically. The rules do not prohibit spell casting in hand to hand because:

1. Spells that CAN NOT be cast in hand to hand say so in the spell description.
2. Its a different phase of the player turn. While your interpretation of spell casting may be valid, it is not part of the simulation created by the Mordheim rules. You may choose to make it so but that would your own house rule, not a universal rule.
3. Edit: The rules do specifically say that spells CAN be cast in hand-to-hand combat on p.39 Living Rule Book. The first sentence under the heading Casting Spells.