Want to master the Combat phase? Check out these 4 huge tips to mastering unbeatable assaults in Warhammer 40k 8th Edition.
40k can be a complex game. Especially when you’ve got multiple combats, auras, phases and sets of rules on the table.
Ravenwing14, laid down a comprehensive list of melee interactions as well as some some commonly forgotten rules of the game. Master these points and your assaults may just become unstoppable.
Heroic Interventions
Heroic interventions work regardless of if you charged or not. However, it is NOT like a charge move. You do not get top of fight order priority. And you can only do so if WITHIN 3in, not if 3in would get you within an inch. The distance between bases must be 3in or less.
If you have a character that’s an absolute god in melee and your opponent chooses not to charge him during his turn, you’re legally allowed to heroic intervene up to 3″ (getting within 1″) and fight. It doesn’t count as a charge so you won’t ever get to swing first in this scenario.
Heroic intervention, again, is NOT a charge. Many abilities are proceeded by”when this unit charges, is charged, or makes a heroic intervention”. Nowhere does it say if YOU heroic intervention into the unit with said ability… So if you heroically intervene that BA smash captain, they do NOT get +1 to wound.
You heroically intervening into another character/unit will not trigger any “when charged” rules for the enemy. However, if your Blood Angels character does the heroic intervening, they will get their bonuses because it “makes a heroic intervention”
Getting into Melee Combat & Fighting
learn your advanced terrain rules. things like woods/craters gives a -2 to charge distance.
We all know that standing in cover gives you +1 to your armor saves. But the 41st millennium is full of nooks and crannies that give different effects on the table. Learn your advanced terrain rules and let your opponent know what kind of terrain is on the table before the game starts. For example, assault armies should be aware that any craters/forests give a -2″ to charge.
However, once you make it into combat, you can only target the unit that you selected as a charge target.
Looking at the Fight again Stratagem (i.e Honor the Chapter):
Many armies have a Fight Again Stratagem or ability. Remember, units that CHARGED can only target units they selected as the target of a charge. So even if, as part of their first fight, they consolidate into another unit, they cannot then fight that other unit, unless it was also declared as a target of the initial charge. They don’t need to have SUCCEEDED in the charge, just declare it, which means both having to be within 12 in at the start of the charge phase and suffering overwatch.
So sometimes it is a good idea to just declare everything within 12″ for a charge, you know just in case…
Combat & Fighting Advanced
They CAN, however, be activated again, so a Khorne berserker unit that charged and killed all of its charge targets, can still Pile in and Consolidate, they just can’t attack anything that they come into contact with. However, units which did NOT charge (or characters which heroically intervened), do NOT have any restrictions on who they can target, and thus can target anyone regardless of how many times they fight).
It takes a bit of finesse and tactical genius to set up the perfect melee charge. If you have to enemy units within 12″ of your unit, you can always declare both as a charge target. If you make it into combat with the first unit and wipe it out and are still able to consolidate into combat with the other unit, you’re still free to pop the 3Cp Stratagem and fight again. It’ll just take a little practice setting everything up perfectly.
LVO Rules on Buffs & Reserves
GW has said that any stratagem which removes a unit from the board and redeploys it, also removes any effects, positive or negative. This ruling technically does not apply to things like Da Jump, which is a psychic power, but LVO judge ruling on the matter says ANY way a unit goes into reserve and returns, loses buffs/effects.
The GW ruling says that any buffs (positive or negative) are removed from the unit as soon as they leave the battlefield through an ability. (This excludes things like Da Jump for Orks.) However, depending on some places you play, the rulings may differ. Just check the fine print on the events you go to play at so you don’t something like a dead psychic power in your list!
Like we said before, 40k is a becoming more and more a complex game. With more and more codexes and units on the tables than ever before, it’s difficult to remember all of the rules. Especially after multiple FAQs. Brush up on the phases of the game that you aren’t as confident on and keep your hobby muscles strong!
What do you think about the combat phase in 40k? Is it stronger than the shooting phase as a whole? Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group.
About the Author: Wesley Floyd
Wesley Floyd
Job Title: Staff Writer
Joined: 2018
Socials: @RealmbrushPainting
About Wesley Floyd: Wes has been in the Warhammer hobby since 2015 and joined the Spikey Bits writing team in 2018. He is known for his satirist takes on trending topics and imaginative yet amazingly affordable hobby solutions to painting Warhammer miniatures.
Imperial fanboy, tabletop fanatic, and the self-proclaimed King of Sprues. He knows for a fact that Mephiston red is the best-tasting paint and is the commission painting equivalent of a Wendy’s 4 for $4. If you like what he writes and want to contact him or have your tabletop minatures painted (to a mostly okayish standard), message him on Instagram.
