RichardL wrote:
Would be distance wouldn't it? (i.e. closest first) and you can't get any closer than CC. As everything in CC is also equidistant you can then also allocate as you wish. If you then run out of stands in CC it would then afterall be applied in distance from an enemy unit.
I don't think base contact being first can be questioned as the rules literally say closest, but the 'allocate as you wish' is less clear. Some players interpret that the defender is free to allocate as they wish (i.e. any method they choose is following the rules so long as they allocate to base contact first), but others interpret that the defender is effectively choosing which units count as being closest from a set of units (i.e. to 'tiebreak'). It's a subtle distinction that is only relevant when there are multiple rounds of allocation.
Like you I fall in the former camp, but only because it seems a more literal interpretation: i.e. the rules
don't say that choosing one makes it closer, so in the absence of that they are all closest hence you move on to the next part of the rule - defender allocates. But still, the rules also do not say that the defender chooses with any freedom, so it's perfectly possible to argue that by selecting a unit the defender must be classifying it as closer.