Q: Can Heldrake really do as Heldrake pleases?
A: Yes, Heldrake is now an Assault Vehicle.
“The Legions of the Chaos Space Marines have learned to climb onto the back of the Heldrake and ride it into battle. They launch assaults by swooping up high and then leaping down off the back of the Heldrake… DEATH (the the false emperor) FROM ABOVE!!!!!
Models “on board” a Heldrake can launch an assault after disembarking from a Heldrake. Measure from the Heldrakes base (naturally) in any direction (of course), however add 5d6 to their assault range to represent the boost they get from diving off a super-sonic Heldrake’s back. Furthermore, models on board can draw LoS from any point on the board to launch their assault.
Also, all models launching an assault will ignore cover saves, gain the Crusader special rule, have Missile Lock (to be redacted later), have Preferred Enemy (Tau), and naturally, gain Furious Charge. Models equipped with Plasma Pistols gain the Salvo 4/8 rule.
Finally, the Heldrake himself can participate in the assault to support his passengers. The Heldrake fights in combat as a Walker. However, at the end of a round of combat, the Heldrake is not locked and instead returns to a Swooping/Gliding (player’s choice) state in the same position he was in. The Heldrake does not need to pile-in nor make a charge move nor has to be anywhere near the actual combat to participate.
Furthermore, in subsequent turns, the Heldrake can continue to fight in any combat he was in that is still ongoing no matter where he is at on the board.
Lastly, the Heldrake now has the Skilled Rider special rule and can be mounted on a Palanquin for 35 points.”
-Neil Gilstrap, host 11th Company
Neil’s original blog post can be found here. I stole the whole thing in its entirety, QFT.
