multiple combat

[Demoulius]

hello brothers,

 

ive had another night of "no-sleep" and so read some phrases in the BBB, watched some artwork and served the web...anyway, i was re-reading a part about the assault phase and i came across the following phrase:

 

multiple combats defender react@page 41, top left:

 

models that were engaged with just one of the enemy units at the beginning of the combat (before any models attacked) must attack that unit.

 

now the question i have is this, and excuse me if its overly obvious but english isent my native tongue. does this mean that if an opponent attacked you (or you attacked him) and then attacked him with another unit the turn after the combat (say its still going) they then cant attack the newly charged unit and must direct their attacks against the unit they were in combat with first?

 

cause if this is so then nobody at my local store, tourneys that ive played with....nobody at all is even aware of this or plays it this way....its a pretty strange rule to if you ask me but thats how i interpret this. is this correct?

[Legatus]

No, that is not the case, but that mistake has been made a lot when the 5th Edition had been released.

 

When in combat, a model has to be in base contact or within 2" of an ally in base contact to be allowed to make attacks. When the model has enemy model from two different units within 2", then it must decide which enemy unit it is attacking. Likewise, if it has enemy models from two differnet units in base contact, it must decide which enemy unit to attack. If a model is in base contact with an enemy model from one unit, but also has enemy models within 2" from a different unit, then it has to attack the one it is in contact with and is not allowed to make the attacks against the different unit.

 

Whether or not a model is allowed to make attacks is checked at the beginning of the close combat phase, so that even if a model is armed with a powerfist and the enemies in base contact get killed by quicker allies, the model can then still make his attacks.

This is where that rule comes into play. If a unit is involved in combat with more than one enemy units, you check at the beginning of the combat which models are in contact with which enemy unit and therefor are allowed to (or required to) attack which enemy unit. Over the course of the combat the situation will change, as enemy models are removed as casualties, but the situation at the beginning of the combat is used to determine what unit can be attacked.

 

Examle: 5 Tactical Marines (one Powerfist) fight against 5 Eldar Guardians and 5 Avengers.

 

At the beginning of the combat the Marine with the powerfist is in contact with an Avenger and not with any Guardians (but has some within 2"), so he would have to make his attacks against the Avengers. The 4 other Marines attack first and kill one Avenger. The opponent removes the avenger that was in base contact with the powerfist. Now the Marine with powerfist has it's turn to strike (at Initiative 1), and currently he has some models of the Avengers unit and some models of teh Guardian unit within 2". Usually this would mean that he could chose which enemy unit to attack, BUT because it is determined at the beginning of the combat, and not when it is the model's turn to attack, the Marine has to make his attacks against the Avengers, because he was in base contact with them (and thus has to attack them over the guardians, which were only in 2") at the beginning of the combat.

[Frosty the Pyro]

Legatus is correct, "The beggining of combat" is after assault moves, but before initive 10.

[thade]

They beat me to it. =)

 

To sum up:

- A model must direct its attacks against the unit of whatever model that it's in contact with.

- If a model is in base contact with multiple models from multiple units, it may split its attacks up between those units as it chooses.

- If a model is not in base contact with any enemy models, then it can still attack if it's within two inches of another model in its own unit which is in base contact with an enemy model; it must direct it's attacks against that enemy model's unit.

- If a model is not in base contact with an enemy model, but a model from its own unit is within 2" and is in base contact with enemy models from two or more enemy units, then it can split attacks as it chooses between those units.

 

Remember to point out clearly what model is attacking what unit, group them together, and stick to initiative. :P

[Demoulius]

oooo ic. this is purely a "models must attack the unit they are in b2b" issue. i completly misunderstood the rule then in this case ^_^ thanks a million guys :)

[Frosty the Pyro]

oooo ic. this is purely a "models must attack the unit they are in b2b" issue. i completly misunderstood the rule then in this case ^_^ thanks a million guys :)

exactly, and who is in btb with who is determined before I10, and doesnt not change untill the next assault phase, even if models are removed.