It's one of the 8 (or so) basic actions available. It's core to the mechanics and the viability of many of the units... if not whole armies.
For non-players it's the equivalent of a 'close combat' move, as opposed to a ranged/shooting attack.
Assault has many caveats and clauses even for a relatively basic execution, certainly more so than the far easier to understand ranged attack (Sustained Fire, Advance, Double).
I didn't want to cover the basics of Engage here but rather talk briefly about some of the terms related to assault mechanics that are commonly spouted around newcomers but not expanded on (and not necessarily appropriate or relevant to a rank-beginner anyway - so why confuse them?).
scale
While infantry are armed with lasguns, bolters, shootas, grub spitters, and shuriken chuckers these all fall into the category of 'small arms'.
Ranged/shooting attacks in Epic only starts with (more or less) vehicle mounted weapons, and upward to Titans and Ordinatus gear.
Infantry of course can attack with their small arms, but this falls under the purview of Engage/assault mechanics (only).
Most/many infantry units are also equipped with a (more often then not token or relatively weak) heavy weapon system, capable of performing an 'epic scale' ranged attack as well, but this (often) isn't their main/intended function within the game.
engage, assault, close combat... words, words, words
Engage is the official name of the action; "I am performing an Engage Action with that tactical formation."
An 'assault' is what is commonly said; "the tactical formation won the assault."
'Close combat' is sometimes used as an synonym for 'assault', however as this also relates directly to the 'CC' stat (pic below) so this can be confusing.
"base-to-base" (b-2-b, b2b) contact
Exactly like it sounds. Bases are in base-to-base contact if there is physical contact only.
In this pic; situation 'A' both orange stands are not in b2b, in situation 'B' both orange stands are in b2b.
The reason for 'A' being mentioned is that cover saves from a vehicle apply to stands positioned as per 'A' (one infantry stand in b-2-b with vehicle and another stand in b-2-b with the first stand but not the vehicle). This positioning does not apply to assault b-2-b however.
If the models kind of bump apart or slide due to hilly terrain etc, state your intention as b-2-b.
"CC and FF"
Units that are doing CC can also be hit by FF attacks. Or, put another way, being in CC does not lock you into CC and make you immune to FF... and only susceptible to CC hits.
Some games do have this kind of mechanic, i.e. 'you can't shoot into close combat'. Nope, if you're within an assault you're units are fair game to whatever hits are rolled regardless the CC/FF source.
"combined assault" - and 'commander' keyword
A formation chooses to perform an Engage Action. If there are other friendly formations within the immediate vicinity, and if the activating formation contains a commander or supreme commander character the formation can call a 'combined assault'.
This means that the first formation will do an Engage action and call in up to 2 nearby, friendly formations in with it. This combined force acts as a single entity while the Engage action is underway.
Full details in the rule book, but here's a snippet...
"Some units and characters are noted as being commanders. Commanders can order up to three formations of troops to follow them when they make an assault, as long as all the formations have at least one unit within 5cm of a unit from the commander’s formation."
As discussed later this is similar to Air Assault (AC/WE) and War Engine (WE) Assault. In those cases there are specific rules for the action and the War Engine does not have the 'commander' keyword (it has WE type instead basically). Regardless the effect is the same, with the WE performing an Engage action and the formation it carried jumping out and engaging the target too.
why?
There are a number of reasons. Here's two (and a bit);
- In an Engage action the number of units (and/or DC) you have in your formation are a consideration in the final calculation that determines the winner. More numbers for this is always better.
- While a nearby formation can provide support fire, that formation may have units that are better at (actual) close combat (CC), so having them doing FF may be a bit of a waste of their abilities.
- If the 'drawn in' formation has already performed their action during the turn they can join the combined assault without 'wasting' their activation for the turn (extra efficient). If they've not yet activated a combined assault uses up their activation (whereas support fire doesn't).
be aware that 'drawn in' formations will add their blast markers to the calculation totals (con), as well as their numbers (pro).
a negative of combined assault is that if the attacking formation(s) lose the assault calculation then all formations that were combined will then be broken. Where as formation that only provide support fire will only receive an extra Blast Marker (if they are in range and could have provided support fire to the assault, even if they didn't).
war engine transports - something to note
"Q: Are units trapped inside a war engine if it is in base contact with two enemy units?
A: No, only if it is in base contact with a number of enemy units equal to twice its starting damage capacity."
So, lets say you're attacking a Imperial Guard Gorgon loaded with 10 infantry stands. A gorgon is DC3, so if you get 6 stands into base to base contact with it then you stop the infantry dismounting and attacking you back during the assault. So you are only attacked by the gorgon's 3x CC attacks rather than 13 attacks.
Not only that but if you destroy the gorgon then the troops on board can be destroyed too (depends on WE - e.g. Gorgons have a 6+ to survive the destroyed transport).
"intermingled" - a tip for targeted formations
"Occasionally an attacker will wish to attack a position where units from two enemy formations are intermingled together. When a player declares the target for a charging formation he can choose, if he wishes, to include any enemy formations that are intermingled with the target formation as being part of the target of the charge. Two formations are intermingled if they have any units within 5cm of each other. If there are two or more formations within 5cm of the target formation, then the attacker can choose to include one or more of them as the target, he does not though have to include any of them.
For the purposes of the assault, the intermingled formation is treated as being a single formation. All of the intermingled formations are allowed to make counter charges, and hits may be allocated to all of the formations involved. Once casualties have been worked out, a 2D6 roll is used to resolve the assault. Add together all of the Blast markers on the intermingled formations when working out the result of the assault. If the defender loses then each formation is broken and must withdraw." [from rulebook]
so?
As well as potentially tying up the 'drawn in' formation's activation the formation could be on the losing end of the assault and end up broken. If that formation happened to be already broken they'd be destroyed (standard rule: a formation that is broken going into an assault and losses is destroyed).
Additionally the 'drawn in' formation may contain units that are great at CC and lousy at FF and if they can't counter-charge (5cm) into b2b then their affect within the assault might be acceptable.
While the target formations would have a greater unit count for the calculation, normally the attacker will weight that up when setting up an attack and calling an intermingled attack (or not). Given assaults (and the game) are largely dice driven even favourable assaults can turn bad, or an under powered formation can miraculously emerge victorious. Doesn't hurt to pick your fights though.
xref "combined assault"
The astute reader might remember that in order to call a combined assault the 'secondary' formations needed to be within 5cm of the commander's unit.
Is it always bad to potentially be intermingled? clearly no.
Suffice to say that it helps to know what your intentions are for formations when working out their positioning.
clipping assaults
Here's the gist...
If you have a formation (C) closer to the target formation (T) than your other formation (A) that you are initiating an engage action with; then the target formation must move toward the closest formation (C) if they make a counter charge rather than the active formation (A).
ok?
A clipping assault is intended to be triggered with the bare minimum number of units exposed to the target formation. This means that potentially only 1 unit can be destroyed (directly) from the activating/engaging formation. However, casualties can still be inflicted on the target formation by the secondary formation(s) providing supporting fire. This creates a wider casualty imbalance for the calculation.
Under normal conditions (non-clipping) the targeted formation would(/could) move as many units toward the assaulting formation as possible to get as many attacks in as possible.
However, the addition of the secondary unit closer to the target unit stops this counter-charge towards the instigating formation.
Support fire would still be a factor even if a counter-charge were possible, but clipping minimises risk to the instigating formation. And the support fire fire formation cannot be attacked as they are not directly part of the assault.
Except if the target formation moves units into base-to-base contact with the secondary unit, the secondary formation is now part of a combined assault situation. This may be of benefit, or more likely detriment, to the target formation, but it is a possibility (situational). Typically the secondary formation would be positioned just outside of that 5cm range to avoid being drawn in.
there's a good article re this here.
if this all seem real gamey to you then you're not alone. however the mechanic has been around and practised since the start of the game so it's here to stay, it's know to most players beyond basic level, armies are sometimes tuned to utilise it, and if you're unaware of it then it can very quickly ruin your army's day.
Here's a picture to help explain it.
A slight variation - note that one of the units in the target formation can now reach base-to-base with the support formation. if that were to happen then formation "A" and "C" would be combined against formation "B". whether this is worthwhile doing depends on the capabilities of the units involved (on both sides).
In this particular situation formation "B" would get more attacks against the combined "A+C" formation. But the resolution calculation would combine total units from A+C and also use the BM state from A+C.
a consideration: If you have a massive blob of infantry triggering the assault you potentially lose a huge amount of attacks against the target formation. You would need to look at the situation carefully, preferably have a plan for the assault (clipping or combined) before moving anything, and work out if clipping (etc) is the best option you have. It may not be.
Air Assault
Air Assaults are a variation of the War Engine assault. Refer rule book for the basics (page 48 of the old hard-copy version).
The gist is that the (aircraft) war engine flies in using standard aircraft mechanics, dumps out one or more transported formations and then the formation(s) (including the AC/WE) immediately assault a target formation.
This provides a way of quickly assaulting anywhere on the board.
The formations are treated as a "combined force" (even without a 'commander' unit present).
Many armies have the capability to perform this maneuver, however it is strongly associated with the Space Marines faction.
Other factions like Imperial Guard (Gorgons, Leviathans) and Orks (Squigoths, Orkeosaurs) are more likely to have land-based WE transports. And the larger Titans can often carry troops too.
While the target formations would have a greater unit count for the calculation, normally the attacker will weight that up when setting up an attack and calling an intermingled attack (or not). Given assaults (and the game) are largely dice driven even favourable assaults can turn bad, or an under powered formation can miraculously emerge victorious. Doesn't hurt to pick your fights though.
xref "combined assault"
The astute reader might remember that in order to call a combined assault the 'secondary' formations needed to be within 5cm of the commander's unit.
Is it always bad to potentially be intermingled? clearly no.
Suffice to say that it helps to know what your intentions are for formations when working out their positioning.
clipping assaults
Here's the gist...
If you have a formation (C) closer to the target formation (T) than your other formation (A) that you are initiating an engage action with; then the target formation must move toward the closest formation (C) if they make a counter charge rather than the active formation (A).
ok?
A clipping assault is intended to be triggered with the bare minimum number of units exposed to the target formation. This means that potentially only 1 unit can be destroyed (directly) from the activating/engaging formation. However, casualties can still be inflicted on the target formation by the secondary formation(s) providing supporting fire. This creates a wider casualty imbalance for the calculation.
Under normal conditions (non-clipping) the targeted formation would(/could) move as many units toward the assaulting formation as possible to get as many attacks in as possible.
However, the addition of the secondary unit closer to the target unit stops this counter-charge towards the instigating formation.
Support fire would still be a factor even if a counter-charge were possible, but clipping minimises risk to the instigating formation. And the support fire fire formation cannot be attacked as they are not directly part of the assault.
Except if the target formation moves units into base-to-base contact with the secondary unit, the secondary formation is now part of a combined assault situation. This may be of benefit, or more likely detriment, to the target formation, but it is a possibility (situational). Typically the secondary formation would be positioned just outside of that 5cm range to avoid being drawn in.
there's a good article re this here.
if this all seem real gamey to you then you're not alone. however the mechanic has been around and practised since the start of the game so it's here to stay, it's know to most players beyond basic level, armies are sometimes tuned to utilise it, and if you're unaware of it then it can very quickly ruin your army's day.
Here's a picture to help explain it.
A slight variation - note that one of the units in the target formation can now reach base-to-base with the support formation. if that were to happen then formation "A" and "C" would be combined against formation "B". whether this is worthwhile doing depends on the capabilities of the units involved (on both sides).
In this particular situation formation "B" would get more attacks against the combined "A+C" formation. But the resolution calculation would combine total units from A+C and also use the BM state from A+C.
a consideration: If you have a massive blob of infantry triggering the assault you potentially lose a huge amount of attacks against the target formation. You would need to look at the situation carefully, preferably have a plan for the assault (clipping or combined) before moving anything, and work out if clipping (etc) is the best option you have. It may not be.
Air Assault
Air Assaults are a variation of the War Engine assault. Refer rule book for the basics (page 48 of the old hard-copy version).
The gist is that the (aircraft) war engine flies in using standard aircraft mechanics, dumps out one or more transported formations and then the formation(s) (including the AC/WE) immediately assault a target formation.
This provides a way of quickly assaulting anywhere on the board.
The formations are treated as a "combined force" (even without a 'commander' unit present).
Many armies have the capability to perform this maneuver, however it is strongly associated with the Space Marines faction.
- Eldar - Vampire Raider
- Marines - Thunderhawk and Landing Craft
- Orks - Landa
- Tau - Orca
Other factions like Imperial Guard (Gorgons, Leviathans) and Orks (Squigoths, Orkeosaurs) are more likely to have land-based WE transports. And the larger Titans can often carry troops too.
So although we're discussing Air Craft/Air Assault in greater detail the mechanic is available to War Engines (WE) that carry troops.
Rolling Air Assault
At the end of an 'air assault' engage action (provided they survive) the AC/WE unit can fly off at the end of the turn.
They may not pick up the troops they brought in (this turn) and carry them off. As per rules book:
"Q: Can a unit that disembarked from an aircraft as part of an air assault use its consolidation move to get back into the aircraft?
A: Yes, but the aircraft may not make a disengagement move."
So although you can climb back on, the aircraft can't then fly off during the end phase (as it would/could if the units didn't mount up).
However, a second AC/WE may come on and pick those troops, provided you have a suitable/spare transport.
This is referred to as a "rolling" air assault.
It can be a bit costly on transports and is of limited use unless your troops survive in sufficient numbers to launch a decent assault next turn.
It's an option.
FAQ - Can my Thunderhawk... ? No.
Q: Can my thawk shoot the battlecannon and heavy bolters on the way in?
A: No. These are ranged weapons and you would be performing a regular ground attack, not an Engage/Air Assault.
Q: When my thawk unloads the troops for an Air Assault do they charge their full 'speed' distance?
A: No. they disembark within 5cm (15cm for skimmers and jetpacks) and that's it, no more movement for them. This means you have to plant the AC/WE right up in the target formation's collective face (especially if your using CC stats).
Q: If i drop off troops without it being an Air Assault can i shoot my guns on the way in?
A: No, but... You must first land, then drop off troops, and then shoot the (Ranged) guns. AC guns are usually directional, make sure your guns are pointing the right way.
Conclusion
None of the above are really a show stopper just by themselves, or their mastery guaranteed to win you a game - it's all situational.
However it's important (after learning the basic stuff) to be aware of tricks that an opponent might pull on you or take advantage of, and to know when to use them too.
Until next time...
Rolling Air Assault
At the end of an 'air assault' engage action (provided they survive) the AC/WE unit can fly off at the end of the turn.
They may not pick up the troops they brought in (this turn) and carry them off. As per rules book:
"Q: Can a unit that disembarked from an aircraft as part of an air assault use its consolidation move to get back into the aircraft?
A: Yes, but the aircraft may not make a disengagement move."
So although you can climb back on, the aircraft can't then fly off during the end phase (as it would/could if the units didn't mount up).
However, a second AC/WE may come on and pick those troops, provided you have a suitable/spare transport.
This is referred to as a "rolling" air assault.
It can be a bit costly on transports and is of limited use unless your troops survive in sufficient numbers to launch a decent assault next turn.
It's an option.
FAQ - Can my Thunderhawk... ? No.
Q: Can my thawk shoot the battlecannon and heavy bolters on the way in?
A: No. These are ranged weapons and you would be performing a regular ground attack, not an Engage/Air Assault.
Q: When my thawk unloads the troops for an Air Assault do they charge their full 'speed' distance?
A: No. they disembark within 5cm (15cm for skimmers and jetpacks) and that's it, no more movement for them. This means you have to plant the AC/WE right up in the target formation's collective face (especially if your using CC stats).
Q: If i drop off troops without it being an Air Assault can i shoot my guns on the way in?
A: No, but... You must first land, then drop off troops, and then shoot the (Ranged) guns. AC guns are usually directional, make sure your guns are pointing the right way.
Conclusion
None of the above are really a show stopper just by themselves, or their mastery guaranteed to win you a game - it's all situational.
However it's important (after learning the basic stuff) to be aware of tricks that an opponent might pull on you or take advantage of, and to know when to use them too.
Until next time...
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