Movement and close combat - nobody w/in 1"

[Are Verlo]

Last night we had a game and I just want to check upon a basic rule regarding close combat, movement and enemy models within 1".

 

Here is the case: One unit of space maine scouts were fighting an enemy unit and a character. On one turn the scout unit suffered some casualties and after those were removed, the character they were fighting starts his turn with no enemy models within 1".

 

This means he gets to move as normal, shoot as normal and charge, because he did not start the movement phase with any enemy models within 1" and gets to shoot for the same reason, doesn´t it?

[Subsided]

Yes. If there are no models within 1" it's like he was never in combat at all.

 

It's actually common to pull models to stop a few attacks here or there to move units out of combat. (The scouts could have consolidated if he was the closet enemy model to keep him locked up)

[Panzer]

Sure. If a model has no enemy models within 1" it's not in melee and can do whatever it would normally do when it's not in melee.

On the other hand it also means that if it happens that there aren't any models within 1" anymore before he was able to hit in the fight phase the player isn't allowed to activate him to pile in and attack.

[Jolemai]

Moved to the OR.

[Are Verlo]

Sure. If a model has no enemy models within 1" it's not in melee and can do whatever it would normally do when it's not in melee.

On the other hand it also means that if it happens that there aren't any models within 1" anymore before he was able to hit in the fight phase the player isn't allowed to activate him to pile in and attack.

 I think you CAN activate him if he charged, regardless of distance to enemy models? As long as his charge brought in within 1" of an enemy model he can be activated. BUT he can only fight if the pile-in brings him within 1" of an enemy model?

 

p 182 of the rulebook " charge phase, point 4" and "fight phase, point 1 choose unit to fight with" 

[Panzer]

Nop, you can only activate units that are within 1" of an enemy unit. If a third unit causes casualties and those are taken so that an unactivated unit isn't within 1" anymore it's not considered as in close combat anymore and can't get activated.

[Are Verlo]

no, look at the first line of close combat, point 1 "choose unit to fight with".It says: any unit that has charged or has models within 1" of enemy models may be chosen to fight.

 

So it can be chosen, but point 3 "choose target" says it does not get to make attacks unless with 1" of an enemy model.

 

So I charge an ork mob with 1 terminator squad and 1 character. Both the terminators and the characters make their charge roll. If I chosse the terminators first they: pile in and if with 1" they attack.

 

The ork player removes models near the character. the character can still be chosen, regardless of distance to the ork mob, but can only pile in 3". If this is insufficient to get wthin 1" he can not attack. If the pile in gets the character within 1" of an ork, then he can attack.

[BluejayJunior]

Check the designer's commentary page 3. It states that units that charged may still activate if there are no units within 1" (but can only attack units it charged), while other units cannot activate if there are no longer any units with 1". 

[McElMcNinja]

So when one of my characters heroically intervenes and then my enemy removes models in such a way as they are killed off, then my character may be left no models he could engage with.

If that is the case, then is he considered to be in combat when I go to move him during my next turn?

[BluejayJunior]

If there are no enemy models within 1" of your character, he is not in combat.