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So here is what happened in a recent game. it was a Tau vs Sisters game, and during the Tau assault there were two units within 3" of each other. one unit was in cc with some sisters, the other unit was jump infantry and can move in the assault phase. so the sisters finished off he unit they were engaged with and went to consolidate against the jump infantry in range. Th question then came up does the jump infantry get the time to use his assault move to get out of range, or does the consolidation happen first and lock him in cc. We eventually concluded, after hunting for rules with no luck, that the assault move is happening while cc is going on, so the jump infantry would have been able to move away out of consolidation range.

has this come up for anyone else? or has there been any official ruling on when the assault move is taken, must you resolve actual assaults first, or do the movements happen first?

All units make their charging movements before any combats are resolved (see the assault phase summary on page 36 of the BGB). Models with jet packs are "allowed to move 6" in the Assault phase even if they don't assault" (page 55, BGB). Although the wording is not as explicit as it might be, it's clear enough that this extra movement occurs in lieu of making a charge, and so it occurs when the charge would occur, before any combats are resolved. So not only would the tau move before the sisters could consolidate, they would move before the combat was played out. By waiting to learn the outcome of that combat before moving the tau, the tau player gained a slight advantage the rules do not afford him.

Assault movement is resolved before combat.

See the Assault Phase Summary on P. 36 of the rulebook. You make assault moves one at a time until all assault moves have been done. Then you resolve the assaults. So the Jump Infantry would move before the assault with the Sisters was resolved.

So your question is actually, when do non-charge moves allowed in the assault phase occur? Before or after combat, or players choice? Just clarifying, need to look at the codexes tonight when I get home before I can even attempt to answer.

don_mondo wrote:So your question is actually, when do non-charge moves allowed in the assault phase occur? Before or after combat, or players choice? Just clarifying, need to look at the codexes tonight when I get home before I can even attempt to answer.

Yes when do non-charge moves occur. I haven't been able to find other references to the assault move other than the jet packs rules in the BGB (page 55). But it just states "allowed to move 6" in the Assault phase even if they don't assault" and not when the assault move is taken.

shirou wrote:All units make their charging movements before any combats are resolved (see the assault phase summary on page 36 of the BGB). Models with jet packs are "allowed to move 6" in the Assault phase even if they don't assault" (page 55, BGB). Although the wording is not as explicit as it might be, it's clear enough that this extra movement occurs in lieu of making a charge, and so it occurs when the charge would occur, before any combats are resolved. So not only would the tau move before the sisters could consolidate, they would move before the combat was played out. By waiting to learn the outcome of that combat before moving the tau, the tau player gained a slight advantage the rules do not afford him.

this is how we ruled it, however the rules for the assault phase make no mention of movement and only charges. As for gaining a slight advantage moving later, they can also get in more trouble as well. If the assault moves are done after combats are resolved a tau that may have been able to be out of range might be consolidated/swept over. Not trying to disagree with you i also think they should occur when charges are declared, just pointing out that delaying it gets them penalties as well as benefit.

to play devil's advocate i could argue that all charges and combat has to resolve first to find out which units are not assaulting or being involved with an assault before it can be determined which ones are allowed to take their 6" move.

All assault moves happen before combat is resolved, including Eldar jetbike moves, jetpack moves, and so on.

Nurglitch wrote:Assault movement is resolved before combat.

See the Assault Phase Summary on P. 36 of the rulebook. You make assault moves one at a time until all assault moves have been done. Then you resolve the assaults. So the Jump Infantry would move before the assault with the Sisters was resolved.

Nurglitch wrote:All assault moves happen before combat is resolved, including Eldar jetbike moves, jetpack moves, and so on.

pg. 36, and the assult stage description makes no mention of assault moves, only charges. the steps state:
1. pick a unit
2. declare a charge with it
3. move the charging unit
4. repeat above until all charging units have moved

next resolve combats.

no where in that does it mention assault movement, only charges. i agree with you as to how it should play out, however no rules i have seen give an exact timing as arguments can be made to both sides. So if you actually know of where in the rules it refers to the timing of assault moves, and not charges that would be a great help.

"A unit may charge any enemy unit that can be reached by at least one of its models making an Assault move." Eldar Jetbikes and Jet Pack Jump Infantry can make assault moves without charging into close combat, as explained by their specific rules. See "Declare Charges" P. 36, "Eldar Jetbikes" P. 54, and "Jet Packs" P. 55, for the context showing how "Charges" means "Assault moves" when the unit in question is not making an assault move into close combat.

I would agree with Nurglitch. It makes sense that all the movement happens at the same time, no matter what they are moving for (other than massacre and other types that obviously must happen after combat resolution as they only happen if combat resolution dictates.)