Moving using charges and the fight phase

1. Combining charges, Pile-ins and Consolidations for maximum effect
2. Goals
3. Charge movement
4. Pile-in movement
5. Consolidate movement
6. Putting it all to the test

Combining charges, Pile-ins and Consolidations for maximum effect

In the previous edition of Warhammer 40.000, one of the hallmarks of good players was how they made good use of both Charge and Fight phase movement. A skilled player was often able to steal one or more objectives right from under his or her opponent’s nose, or to tag a vulnerable unit one could have sworn was out of reach.

This article is intended as a knowledge source on how to best utilise a combination of Charge and Pile in/Consolidation moves to achieve your goals. For the sake of brevity we will assume you have a working knowledge of the core rules. Also, we will refer to both Charges and Pile in/Consolidation moves as combat movement in general.

Goals

We aim to use combat to achieve one or more of the following goals:

• Destroy enemy units
• Disadvantage enemy units
• Claim objectives
• Protect our own units
  Prioritization of the above goals is up to your discretion.

Charge movement

The key to utilizing Charge movement is hidden in the last three sentences of the charging with a unit section in the Charge phase. For ease of reference we’ve reproduced them here.

• […on a succesful Charge, move each model a distance up to the Charge roll…]
• When doing so, each model in the target unit must end its Charge move closer to one of the units selected as a target of the Charge
• If you can also move a charging model so that it ends its Charge move in base-to-base contact with one or more enemy models while still enabling the charging unit to end its move satisfying all of the conditions above, you must do so.
• The controlling player chooses the order in which to move their models.

Notice that last sentence? That’s the one that allows us to get away with our shenanigans. We move our models one by one, each time checking the two conditions given above. The implication is that we can bodyblock our own models. Our first move is going to take us into base to base contact more often than not, but there is no requirement to get into base to base contact of the closest enemy model, as long as we get into base to base contact if possible. You can move two models, leaving not enough room in between them for a third model to fit in between and be in base to base contact. Then, you only need to satisfy the first condition which is ending your Charge move close to a unit. Note that this is not the closest enemy model. This is what allows you to slingshot models using a Charge move.

Pile-in movement

Similar to how we use the sequencing in the Charge phase to gain as much movement as possible, we can do the same when making Pile-in moves. For reference, we’ve reproduced the relevant sentences from the core rules.

• Each time a model makes a Pile-in move, it must end that move closer to the closest enemy model.
• If it can also end that move in base-to-base contact with one or more enemy models while still satisfying all of the conditions above, it must do so.
• The controlling player chooses the order in which to move their models.

Okay, so these moves are a bit trickier. Mostly because unlike in the Charge phase we’ll need to move our models closer to the closest enemy model and not unit for every single move. Nothing we can’t handle though. Basically, we can repeat the trick we’ve done before with bodyblocking our own models here, ensuring that we get into base to base contact with as few models as possible. Once we have achieved that, we can move the models that don’t need to end in base to base contact and move them towards our preferred targets, slingshotting in such a way that we end the minimum amount required closer to the closest enemy model.

Consolidate movement

Once a unit has made all its attacks, we proceed to Consolidation moves. Again, the relevant sentences have been reproduced here.

• If a unit can end its Consolidation moves within Engagement Range of one or more enemy units, then each time one of its models makes a Consolidation move, it must end that move closer to the closest enemy model possible.
• If it can also end that move in base-to-base contact with one or more enemy models while still satisfying all of the conditions above, it must do so.
• The controlling player chooses the order in which to move their models.

In addition, we get an additional option here. If the moving unit cannot get into Engagement Range of any enemy unit, it can instead move towards the closest objective marker. This is more of an overrun option though, but its good to keep this one in mind.

Notice that similar to the Pile-in move we need to end each move per model closer to the nearest enemy model if possible. Again, the answer is to use bodyblocking where applicable if you need to tag additional units or you can use the extra movement to get in range of an objective.

Putting it all to the test

For our test scenario we’ll be using a squad of 5 Assault Intercessors. They wish to engage 5 Chaos Space Marine Legionnaires. If possible, they would like to engage the Helbrute in combat as well to prevent it shooting at other targets. In order to reduce Charge distance, they only declare the Legionnaires as the target of their Charge.

With a Charge roll of 5”, the Intercessors make their Charge.

The first Intercessor uses its maximum 5” Charge move, making sure to end up in base to base contact with a Legionnaire in order to satisfy all relevant Charge conditions.

The second Intercessor does likewise, but makes sure that it moves next to the first Intercessor leaving a gap slightly smaller than 32mm between their bases so other Intercessors cannot physically fit between them and in base to base contact with the Legionnaires.

As the third Intercessor cannot physically move into base to base contact, it can now make a Charge move with the only relevant condition being that it ends up closer to the target enemy unit.

This is where we are at once all Charge moves are done.

Once we start making Pile-in moves, the first Intercessor we move can end a move in base to base contact with an enemy model. Again, we ensure we do not leave a gap where another Intercessor can fit through.

The fourth Intercessor can not enter in base to base contact with any of the Legionnaires, but can get into Engagement Range of the Helbrute! Note that the Intercessor can allocate attacks to the Helbrute even though they did not initially Charge the Hellbrute.