Tuareg Doctor with Nasmat

Hmm. In N3 you could deploy the Tuareg in HD and the nasmat on the table. Is that still the case in N4? I don't remember what the N3 wording was. In N4, Peripheral says "Peripherals are deployed on the game table at the same time as their Controller" [emphasis added]. And the Hidden Deployment state says "Until a Trooper's Hidden Deployment State is cancelled, that Trooper is considered not to be on the game table at all."

Arguably, the Tuareg can't deploy in HD as the Nasmat's controller at all, because the controller and peripheral must be deployed on the game table at the same time, but a Tuareg in HD isn't deployed on the game table.

Anyway, to the OP questions. I'd ask these first:

1. I make a list which contains a Ghulam Doctor, a Monstrucker Engineer, and a Nasmat. Do I have to decide, at list-building time, which specialist will be the Nasmat's controller?

I'd always thought not, and I think it's generally played that you decide when you deploy. But the Peripheral rule says "When included in an Army List, Peripherals must always be associated with a Controller." This may mean that the association is part of the list, and can't be changed at deployment. (If so, it's a minor bug in Army that it doesn't create the association during the list-building process).

2. I have a Ghulam Doctor, a Monstrucker Engineer, and a Nasmat on the table. Do I need to tell my opponent which specialist the Nasmat is connected to?

A: The Open Information rule says that I need to tell my opponent all information on my army list, other than Private Information. IF controllers are associated at the list-building stage, then the identity of the controller is information on the army list and therefore Open. However, if controllers are associated at deployment, then the identity of the controller isn't information on the army list and the Open Information rule doesn't apply.

Most information about troopers' ongoing status is public, because it's indicated by tokens. For example, the rules don't actually say that I have to tell my opponent which of my troopers are Prone, but they do say that I have to place Prone tokens next to them, so obviously my opponent is allowed to know whether or not any given trooper is Prone. Indeed, the Game States rule specifies that states are always indicated by placing State Tokens next to affected troopers. However, this rule doesn't apply to "being a controller" either, since that isn't a State and isn't indicated by a token.

So there's actually an argument that you don't ever have to tell your opponent which trooper is a Nasmat's controller (until you spend an order on them).

3. My servant bot is associated with a Caliban. Do I have to tell my opponent which camo token is the controller?

A: IF the association happens at list-building, then Controller status is information on the army list. In that case, I think that when the Controller is in marker state, the Private Information rule would probably apply so you wouldn't have to tell your opponent about a camo token's Controller status.

But IF the association happens at deployment, then the answer to question 3 probably depends on the answer to question 2 and the reasons for that answer.


...So, a lot of ifs and maybes to get us started on this one :-)

 

As a diehard RTF player, I'm really interested to see where this rules question takes us. One of the (very few) wishes of changes I'd love to see in Ramah is giving the Tuareg Doctor a profile with a Nasmat that Hidden Deploys. If the new Nasmat's rules were written right, this would eliminate both the conversation whether it's legimate to have a Peripheral of this type on a HD model, as well as the weakness of showing your hand by placing an attached to a Doctor Nasmat with no one that it's attached to at deployment visible (if such a thing is allowed, which seems to be how most people are playing it).

I love the the way models such as Caliban or Evader Engineer work; being able to be an active midfield piece and a specialist, that can also provide (engineering) support via the use of a Peripheral feels both thematic and effective! I feel that that's someting the Tuareg should also be able to do by virtue of being such a unique model - a Hidden Deployed Doctor in a sectorial/faction that has such thematic focus on healing. Does the opponent dare to count on the downed ARO piece to stay down because there are no Doctors visible, or is there a Hidden Nasmat waiting next to it waiting to revive the said model?

I do feel that the Tuareg Doctor does cover a different niche to the Hakim when used with a Nasmat, because the former can provide Order efficient medical support to a defensive Fireteam, while the latter is more dedicated towards helping out aggressive models, but as said, I'll be watching with keen interest on what people think about this rules question!