Who is eligible to self-destruct
Not everyone can do this.
The Marine must be equipped with a heavy weapon (Heavy Flamer, Assault Cannon, Plasma Cannon or Cyclone Missile Launcher).
There is one exception to the heavy weapon requirement.
A Marine with a Thunderhammer may also self-destruct.
Cost and initiating the effect
The effect may be triggered at any point during either player's turn. It cost's 1AP or 1CP depending on when triggered.
The two restrictions to initiating the effect
1. If it's a heavy weapon that is being triggered, the Marine must have at least one round of ammunition left to do this. He can have more, but he needs a minimum of one round to cause the explosion. Again, the Thunderhammer is the exception to this rule since it does not use ammunition.
In this example, the Assault Cannon Marine has advanced into the middle of the room, He only has one round of ammunition remaining and knows he can't take them all out so he chooses to self-destruct his weapon. The blast is centered on the Marine and affects the surrounding squares. The Genestealers marked (A) will be removed along with the Marine. The Genestealers marked (B) will not as they are outside of the blast radius.
2. In addition to the first rule, if any heavy weapon equipped Marine chooses to self-destruct his weapon in response to being assaulted, he can only do this if he is facing his opponent. If he is assaulted from the side or rear, he may not use the self-destruct option.
Instead of rolling his assault dice, the Marine pays the CP cost and the effect is immediately resolved.
In this case, if the Thunderhammer Sergeant is assaulted by the Genestealer marked (A), he would have the option to self-destruct. If he was assaulted by the Genestealer marked (B), he would not be able to use the option since he is not facing his opponent.
Resolving the effect
If the Marine meets the criteria to self-destruct his weapon and pays the AP/CP cost, the effect is resolved immediately. The Marine is removed from play.
Any model in any of the squares adjacent to the Marine is removed as well. This includes all doors and even the mighty Broodlord. Nothing survives the explosion.
The only thing that has the potential to survive a self-destruct explosion is a bulkhead. In the event a bulkhead is caught in the explosion, roll 1D6 and on a 6+ the bulkhead is removed from play.
In the end
This is an option you may never use in your games. I've only ever used it once or twice in years of playing, but when I did, it was my last chance at accomplishing the mission.
Just like you tend to stay away from your Assault Cannon Marine once he's reloaded his weapon and there's the chance it will jam and explode, the Genestealer player tends to treat your heavy weapon Marines a little differently when he knows they can do this deliberately.
Published Oct 22, 2020