Shadow-skinned The special chameleon-like qualities of the Mandrakes allow them to blend into the background, even when standing in open terrain. Mandrakes always count as being in cover, giving them a 5+ cover save. This counts as an assault as well, so unless the attackers are armed with frag grenades, the Mandrakes will always strike first. If they are in cover, they gain a +2 bonus to the normal cover save. If attacked by something that ignores cover their normal armor save of 5+ applied.
Hidden Deployment Mandrakes are not deployed like other troops. They are always deployed at the start of the battle, even if the mission's special rules say they must be held in reserve. However, instead of placing the unit on the table as normal, take three Mandrak models, and deploy them separately in any place allowed by the deployment rules for the mission. Any one of these models can represent the actual location of the Mandrake squad, though you don't have to decide which one until the squad is revealed.
Until the squad's location is revealed your opponent may not shoot, assault, or otherwise attack the Mandrakes in any way, but, by the same token, the Mandrakes do not affect the enemy, and can't be used for crossfire purposes, to block lines of sight, etc. All that the individual models may do is move up to 6" in the movement phase. They can do nothing else, and may not make a fleet of foot move during teh Shooting Phase.
You may reveal the true location of the squad at the start of any phase during your own turn. However, you must have revealed their location by the end of the third turn. Pick one of the Mandrake models, and remove all the others from the table. Then deploy the rest of the squad within 4" of the model you picked. Once revealed, the Mandrakes follow the normal rules and may not return to hidden status again.
