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So, I got caught in sweeping advance today for the first time.


1 Gene Stealer flipped out and killed about 12 Ork Boyz with it.

Can someone please explain to me how this rule works so that I can be sure that we played it right?

If you suffer more wounds in assault than your opponent, you take a Ld test (at a penalty equal to the difference in wounds). If you pass, you keep fighting. If you fail, you fall back 2d6. If the opponent declares sweeping advance, you both roll 1d6 and add your Initiative score. If you win, you fall back as normal. If your opponent wins, your unit is destroyed.

yep, that's how we play it.

damn I hate that rule.

As it is I just re-read your post, if you had 12 boyz together, their mob rule would have made them fearless. In that case, instead of falling back, they would have taken a number of wounds equal to however many wounds they took in the phase (armour saves allowed)

I'll take it

As ork initiave is low, I find myself getting caught in sweeping advance in almost every assault loss.

boys should be fearless or at least doing well in eacg assault. nob and bosspole for a reroll.

Assuming the Boyz mob was small enough to not be fearless, then yes, you played it right. The Genestealer in this case isn't necessarily killing every single one of them - more likely, this "Ninjastealer" is just freaking out the mob so much that they decide to bolt from the battlefield entirely.

Whereas a fall-back move simply represents the unit performing a tactical retreat while still being a reasonably coherent unit, being caught in a SA represents them running from the battlefield, no longer maintaining any cohesion. The soldiers are still there, they just aren't represented by miniatures any more.

Happyjew wrote:If you suffer more wounds in assault than your opponent, you take a Ld test (at a penalty equal to the difference in wounds). If you pass, you keep fighting. If you fail, you fall back 2d6. If the opponent declares sweeping advance, you both roll 1d6 and add your Initiative score. If you win, you fall back as normal. If your opponent wins, your unit is destroyed.

The bolded part is wrong: you have NO CHOICE but to roll for Sweeping Advance.

As you correctly noted 12 ork boyz cannot fall back from combat, as they are still fearless.

There is a choice - some units CANNOT perform SA - so you just get to run from them.

That is not a choice, as a choce implies that a unit capable of SA can choose not to.

If you cannot perform SA that is a restriction, not an indicator of choice

Sorry you are right, no choice, must make sweeping advance, if allowed.

When do ork units get the fearless attribute? I can't find anything that makes sense in the codex.

Mob Rule

Count the Orks in the unit.
More than 10? (11-30) then they're fearless.

FCBGames wrote:When do ork units get the fearless attribute? I can't find anything that makes sense in the codex.

As was stated, it's under Mob Rule!. Look at page 31 in Codex Orks, last sentence in the Mob Rule! section.

Quick related question: Can everyone perform sweeping advance unless it speficially states otherwise?

yes. Termies cant, and thats the only thing i can think of that isint a tyranid drop pod.....