I’ve seen a lot of references where players can cast multiple magic missiles in the shooting phase. I believe this is wrong and have gone through my thinking below.
Eventually, myself and those on our Discord server will compile a full list of FAQs that we think need answering by GW. We’ll post these in a single article on our site so that others can see what our opinion is on these and then may choose to use them as unofficial FAQs until GW responds (if they wish).
Q: Can a Wizard with more than one Magic Missile cast them all in the shooting phase?
A: No.
Evidence and/or Reasoning
There are a few sections of the core book that have gone towards this answer.
Under ‘Who Can Shoot?’ On page 137, we see the following text:
Only units equipped with missile weapons (including war machines) or that can cast certain types of spell (such as magic missiles) can shoot.
Page 137 – Big Blue Book
This defines that spells cast in the shooting phase are shooting attacks, and more specifically, highlights magic missiles as an example of this.
Next, on the same page, we have the section ‘How Many Shots?‘.
This is the section that causes confusion and where the ambiguity lies. This section can be broken down into two parts. The first part states:
A unit can shoot only once per Shooting phase,…
Page 137 – Big Blue Book
I believe this in regards to shooting attacks where you play them from start to finish. What I mean by that is that a unit declares its target, rolls to makes its attacks, and the opponent makes any relevant saves and removes casualties.
This, therefore, backs up the earlier section,’Who Can Shoot?’, where it specifically says each unit can only shoot once.
The second part of ‘How Many Shots?‘ states:
…and most models can make only one shooting attack (the number of Attacks a model has does not affect the number of shots it can make).
Page 137 – Big Blue Book
This part of the rule is stating how many shots can be made per shooting attack. The reason for this is that the word ‘Attacks’ is capitalised in the bracketed section, but not the word attack at the beginning of the sentence. This is, therefore, referring to the weapon characteristic.
So, each model can make only one shooting attack, and therefore cast only once magic missile spell (including bound spells).
If you find wording in the Rulebook that contradicts what I have said, please post it in the comments below, and I will adjust and/or remove this post accordingly.
Personally, I’m of the opinion that this refers to all spells being cast in the Shooting phase, including Vortexes. My reasoning is that the wording in under ‘Who Can Shoot’ says:
…or that can cast certain types of spells (such as magic missiles)…
Page 137 – Big Blue Book
This suggests that it doesn’t only classify Magic Missiles as a shooting attack, but others that are also cast in the Shooting phase.
However, for now, we’ll just leave it with Magic Missiles inside our original question.
