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This has never come up, but I was thinking about it the other day.

If you have, for a example, a really long single file line of Orks all spread 2" apart and there are enemy dreadnoughts at opposite ends of this long chain, is there any way to legally charge both dreadnoughts without breaking coherency?

The rules say every model has to move into base contact or at least as far as it can toward the unit it is charging or engaged with, but I can see where there might be some morally ambiguous ways to get around this: Namely, claiming models closer to one dreadnought (but still close to the middle) are attempting to charge the other. They can't reach the dreadnought, but they could move toward it 1 or 2 inches without breaking coherency and, essentially, avoid making a pile-in move at all. This might leave orks that are closer to the 2nd dreadnought close enough that they can still charge it without breaking coherency.

This example is ridiculous, and I suspect it has no tactical application, other than to weaken the fighting strength of your own units, but I'm interested in how it would be handled.

pg. 34 - Assaulting Multiple Enemy Units. You actually have no obligation to move "towards" the unit it is assaulting with all of your models.

If the layout of orks (o) and Dreds (D) is like this;

D ooooooooooooooooo D

Then you probably couldn't manage the assault. However, as outlined on pg. 34 there is a list of rules for how you have to move, and if your squad is big enough and/or the Dreds are close enough together that the only rule you have to worry about on the assault move checklist is coherency - then yes, it would be perfectly legit to manage to assault both Dreds at the same time.

You could do this, as your requirement is to get into b2b if possible and ones in the middle cannot do this: so you move the end ones into contact with the two units, and the ones in the middle are required to maintain coherency.

nosferatu1001 wrote:You could do this, as your requirement is to get into b2b if possible and ones in the middle cannot do this: so you move the end ones into contact with the two units, and the ones in the middle are required to maintain coherency.

It's not actually quite that simple.

You couldn't just move models from either end in different directions, as each model has to finish its move in coherency with a model that has already moved.

The models in the middle have to move into base contact if possible. If that's not possible, they have to move into coherency with a model that is in base contact if possible.

So the models in the middle only get to start forming a chain between the two models if they are too far away from the initial assault to satisfy either of those requirements, at which point they simply have to maintain coherency with a model that has already moved.


Assaulting multiple units is certainly possible, but it requires a rather specific set of conditions to make it work.

It's also a lot easier if they're both in front of you.

It is just one of those situations that GW never considered and forgot to address

The way to do it that wont make you any friends is to do the following:

Move the closest to your target... you always start with this.

Move the FURTHEST away so that he is BARELY in coherency with the first model moved... he must not be able to get into base contact. Also, you must move this model in such a way that the next furthest is blocked from getting within 2 inches of the first model moved.

Move the next furthest away, who is 2 inches in coherency with the 2nd model moved.

ect, ect.

The really gamey part is that you can use some of the back models to physically block closer models in front from moving forward into the combat, forcing them to just keep in coherency, which also lets you grow your coherency chain towards the other target.

Mind you, doing this will definately be obvious, and WILL reduce the number of models that get to fight, which is viewed by many as against the spirit of the rules--despite you moving each model in the unit legally, one at a time.

I find it's quite easy to do.

Because every time I charge, it's with a really long unit.