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Question: Does a Wreckin' Ball count as an assault and hit rear armor on a vehicle?

Question: Can an Ork vehicle with both a Boarding plank and Wreckin' Ball attack two separate units? The reasoning behind this that the boarding plank give the passengers an assault attack and the vehicle gets one from the wreckin' ball.

I believe the wording of the wrecking ball states that it is a ranged attack (although with close range 3"IIRC, but I do not have the exact wording here now), thus it would hit the side you are on. The attacks with the pf on the other hand count as cc-attacks, so would hit rear armour.

as to attacking 2 different vehicles that depends on which phase is used for the attacks IMHO. I am inclined to say no you cannot do that, but that is more a gut-feeling...

Only thing I wonder now is if the ork attacking on plank counts as charging... but that is just me being curious...

It really depends how you have them modeled. If they aren't on a swivel odds are you can only attack one vehicle unless the enemy happens to be all around you.

Otherwise Ravurion is correct.

I don't think you get an assault bonus off the plank.

Boarding plank...
a boarding plank allows a single embarked ork to make its close combat attacks against an enemy vehicle within 2 inches exaclt as is the ork were disembarked and charging, providing neither vehicle has moved more than 12".

wrecking ball...
causes a strength 9 hit on one unengaged enemy unit within 2" of the wrecking ball at the beginning of the assault phase on the roll of a 4+.

boarding plank is pretty clear, you are attacking as if dismounted and charging, so you'd get the assault charge bonus attack. the ball is a little iffy. to me it sounds like a shooting attack. to allow it to attack rear armour would be silly unless it is facing it but i could see this argued like everything else.

You can't really call it a shooting attack considering it occurs during the assualt phase. Allowing it to hit rear armour isn't any more silly then saying the trooper in front of a Russ can somehow manage to hit the back of the tank instead.

It's an attack that occurs during the assualt phase. It's not ramming and it's not shooting so they only thing we're left with is "assualting vehicles." Which says that all attacks are made vs the rear armour.

@Budro:

The hitting rear armour idea is meant to represent soldiers jumping onto the verhicle and shooting into vision slits and smashing hatches in.

only infantry and walkers can assault a vehicle so its a shooting attack.

walker and assaults. page 73

and, well... the whole assault phase section of the book. vehicles dont assault and therefore dont get the always strikes rear armour rule.

the exception being a walker.

Both upgrades give different special attacks so there is no reason they could not both be used against separate targets if all other rules criteria were met to do so.


As to what armor value a Wreckin' Ball hits on a target vehicle, we cannot know for certain as the rules do not specify what to use. They don't even say whether it is considered an Assault attack or a shooting attack so it really is completely up in the air and should be FAQ'd.

Can a wrecking ball be used in the opponents assault phase?

It only says "at the beginning of the assault phase". Does that mean it can attack in the opponents assault phase?

No. Just like warp spiders can't move in the opponents assualt phase either.

To stay conservative, I'd say the Ball hits the closest facing, since it's not a CC attack (because only things with a WS fight in assault and use its conventions). One thing to note: the strike is against a model within distance of the BALL... so creative modelling can get you side, or rear if you get REALLY crazy.