I've managed to read through all the core rules now, and thanks to all those who put together such a colourful and well formatted document.

I just have a couple of questions from my initial read through that I'm unclear about.

1. When activating units, do you reveal first fire orders in the movement phase when you are not intending to snap fire? Or, are these units not activated until the first fire segment of the combat phase (since they won't be moving).

2. When charging into close combat, do you have to say which unit you are charging before moving? Also, when engaging a unit, once all the stands in the front row have been engaged, can you move through your own, and opposition stands to engage opposing stands in the next row, assuming they are part of the same detachment?

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Hi Irisado,

1) My understanding is that you can turn over your first fire counter in the movement phase. It means you forfeit your chance to snap fire, but you can fire normally in the ff phase. Myself and my regular opponent having been doing this since we adopted the NE:Gold rules a month or two back. It's a bit of gamesmanship to try and make your opponent move their stuff before you do. Remember if you have initiative that you can always keep one unit's movement till last!

2)a) I don't usually declare that I'm engaging enemies. The rule I play is that once I put that measuring tape over the board, I am comittted to moving in that general direction. If that means that I can make it into base to base contact with an enemy model, we both know close assault has been initiated. If not, I may find my troops stuck in no man's land. Note: If my troops are attempting to engage an enemy unit and my squad are in a staggered line (ie different distances away from the enemy), I usually allow the nearest troop stand to try and attack the furthest stand possible. If that stand happens to be outside the charge distance BUT another stand in the same squad is within that distance, then the latter is attacked. I don't think it is unfair to assume that the troops have enough intelligence to realise that if they don't have enough puff to reach a further unit in the line they are headed, that they will engage a closer unit within their move distance. I've probably worded this terribly, but I hope you get the jist of it.
2)b) I would allow one unit of my own troops to move through another but would always assume that they cannot move through an enemy infantry stand. This means that once cc has been initiated, additional troops have to move around this melee...

Hope this helps!

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Hi!

1. The second thing you said. You never reveal units on first fire orders UNLESS you snap fire. It keeps he opponent guessing. Once the movement phase is over reveal all first fire unit that did not snap fire.

2. There is no "declaration" provision in the rules that I know of. So you don't need to say which units is being charged. As for "doubling up", the way it is done is that you engage all units within range once before you start to place a second unit on a unit already engaged. So according to your example you engage the first row and then the one beyond it (if movement provides).

Primarch

Thanks for the help. Just to clarify one final thing:



Opposing stands or friendly stands wouldn't get in the way in that case? You would just ignore them, and providing models behind are in range, they could be engaged even if you had to move through other stands to reach them?

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Hi!

I'd say so. Its a reasonable approach.

Primarch

I was re-reading the NetEpic Gold rules (as I am going to play against my brother shortly and have to let him know about changes to the rules) and this thread came back into my head when I read this:

"1) Units on First Fire Orders: Activating a unit on First Fire Orders is usually done to Snap Fire at a moving enemy, but it may be done to gain a tactical advantage (e.g. an obvious order such as, “This artillery battery is on First Fire Orders. It’s your turn to move a unit.”)."

@Primarch: This seems to fly in the face of your explanation above... Is this a misprint in the rules?

I hope this doesn't sound like cheek, because I don't intend it to be.

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I have even given units Charge orders and then not activated them .

In terms of combat, I tend to play things a little more relaxed, in that if most of the unit can get to the enemy unit then I just pair attackers/defenders up, it doesn't make sense to quibble over a few centimetres or if models can move past each other in this game, combat is a big whirling melee so it makes sense that models would just move around trying to engage each other.

Matt

I have some questions too
1) do I have to say with which units I will (snap) fire at a moving unit?
or can I just activate one?
2) which unit fires first? a unit which uses "fire on the fly" or a snapfiring unit?