Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I'm new to 40k and I was wondering how Artillery Strikes worked.

You need an artillery piece on the table already right? And then a command unit to spot for a strike. But it lands the TURN after?

What the point of an Artillery Strike when your own Artillery can fire by itself? In what situations is this order best used?

I think you're confusing a few things here.


Artillery units just shoot and hit like every other unit with a blast template.

There are only two "artillery strikes" that I know:

1. SM Chapter Master: Can call in an orbital bombardment. It's simply a shooting attack, like every other shooting attack. It's only stronger and a barrage, because it comes from above.

2. Master of Ordnance: Like the chapter master: A shooting attack. That scatters, like every blast template.

There is no thing in 40k I know of where you shoot in one round and it hits in your next round.

Perhaps there are some APOC rules that do things vaguely similar, but not sure about that.

The Order in question is for the Imperial Guard.

It saids that Command units can spot for artillery strikes. I'm guessing this will be the HQ command squad and the Salamander Command vehicle.

Doesn't it reduce scatter or allow your artillery to fire twice a turn or something? (once by itself, twice when ordered artillery strike)

The only thing even vaguely resembling what you describe in the codex is the Master of Ordnance regimental advisor described on page 31. His ability does not affect any artillery vehicles you actually have on the board. What he does is make his own ordnance attack, fluffwise coming from a Basilisk belonging to a completely different unit somewhere way off the board.

...I own the IG codex and I know it quite well, because I own an IG army. And I never saw anything about an order for artillery strikes. As stated, the Master of Ordnance - an upgrade character for a command squad - can make a shooting attack that, fluff-wise, is an artillery strike coming from off-board on a target he "spotted".

There's nothing in orders that reduces scatter or allows you to fire twice with artillery.

I mean, there ARE only, what, six orders.

FRFSRF - +1 shot for lasguns. (Would be nice if it worked on artillery, though )
Move, move, move - faster running
get back in the fight - what it says
Fire on my target - target must reroll passed cover saves
bring it down - twin-linking against stuff
incoming - improved cover save.

So. That was it. Without wanting to sound harsh, but where do you get that from? Could it be possible that you own an old IG codex or some other rulebook that mixes stuff up?

Cheers

ARTILLERYSTRIKE
• Timing:
An artillery strike will always use the Reserves special rules
even in missions where reserves are not allowed. Once the
artillery strike is available, it lands in each Shooting phase of
the Imperial Guard player’s turn thereafter. The Imperial
Guard player may opt not to roll for the availability of the
artillery strike if he wishes, but once the roll has passed and
the forward observer or officer has selected the target, the
artillery strike will continue.
• Placement:
The blast marker for the artillery strike can be placed
anywhere visible to the forward observer that is calling in the
fire. This can be any model equipped with a vox-caster. The
target can be an enemy model or just a point on the tabletop.
• (In)accuracy:
An artillery strike scatters just like an ordnance weapon,
but if a miss is rolled, the distance scattered is double
the score on 2D6. If a hit is rolled, the template deviates
by the distance shown on the dice in the direction
indicated by the arrow on the 'Hit' symbol.
• Pinning:
All artillery strikes cause Pinning tests as for the
standard rules for the weapon type fired.
• Apocalypse:
In games of Apocalypse, only one artillery strike may be
taken per 1000 points in the force.
Pts Str AP Type
Bombard Strike 100 8 3 Ordnance, 7” blast
Manticore Strike 90 9 2 Ordnance, 5” blast
Basilisk Strike 70 9 3 Ordnance, 5” blast
Griffon Strike 50 6 4 Ordnance, 5” blast
Mortar Battery Strike 50 4 6 Heavy 3, small blast
Colossus Strike 60 6 3 Ordnance 1/ 5" blast*
Medusa Strike 60 9 3 Ordnance 1/ 5" blast
*No cover saves may be taken against hits from a colossus

---------

I noticed this when it stated that Command Salamanders count as a command unit and thus can spot for an "artillery strike"

your probably looking at an imperial armor book...

they are cool and all, but not official warhammer 40k standard rules.

they are more of an expansion... you can use them when you get bored of the normal rules.

you need a copy of Codex: Imperial Guard, 5th edition.

I Have a Codex. Jesus...

I don't mean to offend you,

but WHERE THE HELL are you getting those rules from then? Certainly not the 5th edition codex of the imperial guard.

That sounds like it either came from an Imperial Armour book or is an Apocalypse thing. It's most certainly not in the basic Imperial Guard Codex.

However, how those work is that you roll for reserves as normal (when you choose to try for the Strike) and when you succeed the roll you pick a target. For that turn, and every turn after, a big blast template with scatter from the spot your vox caster carrying model chose. (I don't believe you get to choose a new target every turn, but I didn't read the thing that closely) It doesn't come from one of your artillery pieces on the board. It's a completely separate entity that just scatters and blows stuff up - you have to watch out because these things tend to land on your own guys sometimes too.

So yeah, not in the normal IG codex, but similar things show up elsewhere. (like the aforementioned books and the Orbital Bombardments from Daemonhunters and Witch Hunters)

Oh, you're talking about the armored battlegroup army list from the back of Imperial Armour Vol 1. The artillery spotter allows you to buy an artillery strike as one of your heavy support choices. The artillery strike works exactly as described in the rules your quoted.

expanded:
You buy an artillery observer or a company command tank or an armored fist company HQ. You can find all of these described in the HQ section. Then you buy an artillery strike as a Heavy Support choice for the points cost listed. You do not need to buy an actual artillery vehicle. The shot comes from a make-believe vehicle located somewhere off the board. Roll for reserves. If the reserves roll passes, pick a spot within line of sight to an artillery observer or a company command tank or an armored fist company HQ and place the blast there. Roll scatter as described in the Inaccuracy rule and resolve any hits that take place as normal. On every shooting phase after that you again place a blast on the same location you originally chose and roll scatter again.

Could I use this in regular games or are average people going to go CHEESE when I call in a strike from my Command Salamander over their blob.

This option seems pretty fair esp. since it takes up an entire Heavy Support Slot.

Everything that is not in the BRB and the main army codex is something that you should talk about with your opponent before the game.

And stuff from Imperial Armour and Forgeworld in general is generally not allowed in tournaments, rules-wise. So, if you want to go to tournaments, you might want to try to stay with the guard codex and possible allies.

For friendly games, this might be an interesting and fluffy choice. (Never liked the fact that normal artillery units in Wh40k are mainly used in situations where they are not supposed to be used - only a few hundred metres away from the enemy at best...)