(rpr @ Sep. 17 2007,07:21)
QUOTE
So you think that if rough riders or howling banshees kill their base-to-base enemies via first strike, they ALSO get to firefight? So, having first strike CC and normal FF is often better than having first strike applying both to CC and FF like warp spiders? (as the latter never allows possible extra attack)
On the SG forums, Neal Hunt considered each combat round as separate from the next; so the "First Strike" combat round is separate from the normal combat round. The target for each unit's attacks (ie CC or FF) is determined in every combat round, not just once at the start of the assault.
So to answer your question, where a unit has more than one attack, one of which is "First Strike", it can use CC in one round and FF in the next if appropriate. Rough Riders all get two attacks (three if a commissar is present) so may have different targets in each round. However the additional attacks for the Howling Banshee or Warp Spider only apply to those units with an Exarch or Autarch attached - the other units in the formation only get one attack each, it is just resolved earlier.
"First Strike" applied to a unit is much better than when applied to a particular weapon because it is always available and all the Unit's attacks get resolved earlier (potentially reducing the number of retaliatory attacks), but in ideal circumstances there is little to choose between the two - you still get the same number of attacks.
FF is more effective and easier to use than CC. So the Warp Spider Exarch (with two First Strike FF attacks) is much better than the Howling Banshee Exarch, which must be placed in B-B with two enemy to be sure that both attacks are used (one First Strike CC and one normal MW Extra attack).
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Edit - Tim got in first while I was typing this more labourious answer 
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