Blood Cult

Once per turning point, when your opponent is inflicting damage using the Devastating weapon rule on a friendly CULTIST DAMNED operative, you can inflict 1D3 less damage on that friendly operative.

When you select this equipment, select one friendly CULTIST DEVOTEE operative to have the following ranged weapon for the battle:

*Explosive: If this weapon was selected for this operative during the Select Operatives phase, during the Firefight phase, whenever you determine this operative's order, you cannot select Conceal. This operative cannot perform any actions other than Charge, Dash, Fight, Reposition, and Shoot, or use any weapons that are not on its datacard. This operative can perform the Shoot action with this weapon only while within Control Range of an enemy operative. Do not select a valid target. Instead, this operative is always the primary target and cannot be in cover or obscured. Whenever this operative is incapacitated during a battle in which it has not used this weapon, roll a 1D6. If the result is 3+, this operative performs a free Shoot action with this weapon before it is removed from the killzone.

Select one friendly CULTIST DARK COMMUNE operative. Whenever an attack die would inflict critical damage on a friendly CULTIST operative within 3 inches of this operative, you can choose for that attack die to inflict normal damage instead.

Once per turning point, whenever an attack die would inflict normal damage on a friendly CULTIST DARK COMMUNE operative, you can choose for that attack die to inflict 1 damage instead.

Use this firefight ploy when a friendly CULTIST DAMNED operative is activated. Until the end of its activation, That operative's ranged weapons have the Assault weapon rule.

*Assault: This weapon can be used in shooting attacks while this operative is within control range of enemy operatives, but worsen the Hit stat of this operative's ranged weapons by 1 for these sequences.

Use this firefight ploy during a friendly CULTIST operative's activation (excluding DEVOTEE and FIREBRAND). Select one of the following rules to have for that operative in accordance to its Dark Pact (i.e. from the CULTS OF THE DARK GODS faction rule):

• PACT OF KHORNE: That operative regains 1D3 lost wounds.

• PACT OF NURGLE: Ignore any changes of that operative's stats from being injured.

• PACT OF TZEENTCH: Change its order.

• PACT OF SLAANESH: Perform a free Fall Back action.

• PACT OF VASHTORR: Perform a free Mission action.

• PACT OF MALICE: Perform a free Charge action.

Use this firefight ploy when a friendly DAEMON or MALTEK operative is retaliating or an enemy operative is shooting it, after your opponent rolls their attack dice, but before re-rolls. Until the end of the sequence, your opponent cannot re-roll their attack dice (if your opponent declared the use of any firefight ploys during that sequence that would allow them to re-roll, that ploy is cancelled and the CP spent on it is refunded).

Use this firefight ploy when a friendly CULTIST DARK APOSTLE or DARK COMMUNE operative is selected as the valid target of a Shoot action or to fight against during the Fight action. Select one other friendly CULTIST DAMNED operative visible to and within 3 inches of that DARK APOSTLE or DARK COMMUNE operative to become the valid target or to be fought against (as appropriate) instead (even if it wouldn’t normally be valid for this). If it’s the Fight action, treat that other operative as being within the fighting operative’s control range for the duration of that action. If it is the Shoot action, that other operative is only in cover or obscured if the original target was.

This ploy has no effect if it’s the Shoot action and the ranged weapon has the Blast or Torrent weapon rule.

Each friendly CULTIST operative's weapons have the following weapon rules to use once during a sequence in accordance to its selected Dark Pact (i.e. from the CULTS OF THE DARK GODS faction rule):

• PACT OF KHORNE: Rending weapon rule.

• PACT OF NURGLE: *Poison and *Toxic weapon rules.

• PACT OF TZEENTCH: *Blaze weapon rule.

• PACT OF SLAANESH: Stun weapon rule.

• PACT OF VASHTORR: Accurate 1 weapon rule.

• PACT OF MALICE: Punishing weapon rule.

*Poison: In the Resolve Attack Dice step, if you inflict damage with any critical success, the operative this weapon is being used against gains one of your Poison tokens (if it does not already have one). Whenever an operative that has one of your Poison tokens is activated, inflict 1 damage on it.

*Toxic: Whenever this operative is using this weapon against an enemy operative that has one of your Poison tokens, add 1 to both Dmg stats of this weapon.

*Blaze: If you retain any critical success, the operative this weapon is being used against gains one of your Blaze Tokens (if it doesn’t already have one). When an operative that has one of your Blaze Tokens is activated, inflict 1D3 damage on it then remove the token from it.

Once per battle, select up to friendly CULTIST DARK COMMUNE and/or DAMNED operatives to remove their Dark Pact and have a different one (i.e. from the CULTS OF THE DARK GODS faction rule). Any Accursed Gifts each has from the previous pact (i.e. from the ACCURSED GIFTS rule) is no longer usable and only the one(s) from the newer pact are usable.

Whenever determining control of a marker, treat the total APL stat of enemy operatives that contest it as 1 lower if at least one of those enemy operatives is within 2 inches of friendly CULTIST MUTANT or CULTIST TORMENT operatives.

Note this isn’t a change to the APL stat, so any changes are cumulative with this.

You and your opponent roll a 1D6 but do not reveal the results. Instead, you predict the result of your opponent and vice versa. If your prediction was closer to your opponent's result than his to yours, you can start as first during the firefight phase of the turning point (regardless of who has the initiative). Otherwise, your opponent can start first.