Mutation
(Rule)Description: During the battle, friendly CHAOS CULT operatives can ‘mutate’. Each time they do, choose one of the following:
- If it’s a DEVOTEE operative, turn it into a MUTANT operative.
- If it’s a MUTANT operative, turn it into a TORMENT operative.
- It can regain D3+1 lost wounds.
If the operative was mutated into a new operative, the new operative has the same wounds remaining as the preceding operative but then regains D3+1 wounds if it’s now a MUTANT operative or D3+3 if it’s now a TORMENT operative; in either case, it cannot go above its maximum wounds.
An operative cannot mutate more than once per Turning Point. In addition, you can never have more than five MUTANT operatives and three TORMENT operatives at once.
When an operative mutates into another operative, it’s still the same DEVOTEE operative on your roster/dataslate, so has the same Battle Honours and is the same operative for any Tac Ops it has already been selected for, etc. The operative is simply a new operative type and will use that new type’s miniature and datacard rules. It will revert back to its original DEVOTEE miniature and datacard after the battle.
You can mutate friendly operatives as follows:
- Once in each Strategy phase, when it is your turn to use a Strategic Ploy or pass, you can instead mutate a number of friendly CHAOS CULT operatives equal to the Turning Point number.
- At the end of a combat in which a friendly DEVOTEE operative incapacitated an enemy operative and was not incapacitated.
- When a friendly CULT DEMAGOGUE operative performs the Accursed Benediction action (see Cult Demagogue datacard).
When a friendly operative mutates into a new operative:
- Swap the miniatures, ensuring the centre of the new miniature’s base is as close as possible to that of the old miniature. This can put it within Engagement Range of enemy operatives, and if the old miniature was, the new miniature must return there if possible.
- Any wounds it lost are ignored - the new operative type has its full wounds remaining.