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In blackjack you always double down on 11, the odds are in your favor. You're about to declare a charge...what distance(s) is always a no brainer "charge distance"

Do you have a set distance you declare at or not?

It depends on what I need. I can risk a 9" charge if I really need to get into combat no matter the risks. I can refuse to charge a foe 2" away if I'd rather overwatch.

I think it depends more on what you may be charging. If I'm staring down a squad of particularly potent CC fighters. I may charge simply to deny them the charge. Slam into these guys with something that can absorb the blows just to keep the unit busy. I am a big supporter of speed bump units which exist solely to slow down my opponent. Also a potent shooting unit is a must charge. I will try to make that 11" charge if it could save a unit from getting decimated in the next round of shooting.

I believe that sometimes you have to do the completely insane things simply to test you and your opponents luck. I once charged a single shooty terminator into a fresh unit of Dire Avengers complete with farseer. Terminator won combat and the Dire Avengers ran off the board. I had no idea this would happen but sometimes it just comes down to dumb luck

It depends entirely on the thing I just shot at/am planning to charge.

shoot the choppy.
choppy the shooty.
this is how you win games.

The thing is to not be lazy in your movement phases. Just as always, almost all assaults are initiated at an average of 3 inches. before, when you were guarenteed a full 6 inch assault, you could be lazy and say "yeah, thats close enough" and not pay that much attention to how far you move and just push them forwards an inch or two to make sure you were within 6 while if you had been ore carefull you would have been 1,2, or 3 inches from the enemy.
So now, you have to pay closer attention and not be lazy. About 6 or 7 inches are what you roll for assault more often than not. Depending on what I'm assaulting and what I'm assaulting with combined with how the game has gone till then, where the assault is (will it get me on an objective or if it is a unit that is about to assault a different unit of mine that is already on an objective) and so on and so forth all decide how much of a gamble I'll take on assaulting further. pre-measureing being allowed helps with this because it will tell you exactly what you need to roll before you do it.
pre-measuring also helps you ensure you know what the enemy needs to roll before they do it to assault you, I've caught a few players with the magic telescopi tape measures that way (They needed a 5 to reach me, rolled a 3 and pushed their guys on in anyway).

Well In black-jack I actually heard you hit as long as you're at or under 17 (people have different opinions if its at or below)

As for charge distance, the least you can roll is 2, and the most is 12, so 7 1/2 is your average, so anything at or below a 7 is in your favor

Technically the odds are in your favor if you are within 6 inches. there are 36 outcomes on 2d6, 6 of which add up to 7. So because 7 is the most common outcome on 2d6 you stand a fair chance of making the distance, especially if you have a re-roll from fleet or jump packs. To you want to be within 3 or 4 inches if you want almost guaranteed success, with the success rate being 91% from 3 inches.

Distance needed and your chance to get on 2d6, ignoring any re-rolls, terrain or other factors.

<2" - 100.0%
3" - 97.2%
4" - 91.7%
5" - 83.3%
6" - 72.2%
7" - 58.3%
8" - 41.7%
9" - 27.8%
10" - 16.7%
11" - 8.3%
12" - 2.8%

So with that table, you now have to calculate how many models you will lose to overwatch on average, and have a good idea of what a standard deviation looks like. The models you lose in overwatch must be factored in when you figure out what your likely chance ot actually make it in is, against the number of models you will lose by trying.

Once you have that information you can form your value proposition in order to make the decision.

which brings us back to not being lazy and just nudging your models till one is within 6 inches. In almost every circumstance, you will be able to get half or more of your unit to within 3" during your movement phase. Assuming that your unit is 10 strong, thats 5 guys and the rest will still be within 6". Remember your in a newer edition where strategy and tactics play a larger role and you can half ass it and be lazy.

To build on kronk's table, I've been messing around with the following:



The 25th and 75th percentile are there to show you where you should be between half of the time.

The 10th and 90th are there so show you your extreme ranges (90th) and your pretty much garniture distance (10th).

Some notes:
Fleet adds 1.5" to distance outside of terrain and 1.8" inside terrain.

 Dracos wrote:
So with that table, you now have to calculate how many models you will lose to overwatch on average, and have a good idea of what a standard deviation looks like. The models you lose in overwatch must be factored in when you figure out what your likely chance ot actually make it in is, against the number of models you will lose by trying.

Once you have that information you can form your value proposition in order to make the decision.

There is really no way to deal with this but in your head at the time of the game.

Wow, y'all took it to a whole other level. Awesome stats guys.

 changerofways wrote:
Well In black-jack I actually heard you hit as long as you're at or under 17 (people have different opinions if its at or below)

You know that "doubling down" and "hitting" are very different things, right? Also, even if you had 13 you'd likely not hit if the dealer was also showing a 5 or 6. It's more likely the dealer, or you, would bust than you would get to 20 or 21.

Back on topic.

As others have said, there is more to charging than just picking a distance and saying "past this line we'll always go for it." For example, if I have a unit with decent CC abilities that is about 12" away from a unit that can't overwatch, then I'll go for it.

If my unit is 8" away from a tau gunline, where multiple units could overwatch me, then I might not try. However, if I'm 5" away and reasonably sure I'll win, then heck yes.

It's all very situational and requires a bit of tactical thought.

 dmthomas7 wrote:
I think it depends more on what you may be charging. If I'm staring down a squad of particularly potent CC fighters. I may charge simply to deny them the charge. Slam into these guys with something that can absorb the blows just to keep the unit busy. I am a big supporter of speed bump units which exist solely to slow down my opponent. Also a potent shooting unit is a must charge. I will try to make that 11" charge if it could save a unit from getting decimated in the next round of shooting.

I believe that sometimes you have to do the completely insane things simply to test you and your opponents luck. I once charged a single shooty terminator into a fresh unit of Dire Avengers complete with farseer. Terminator won combat and the Dire Avengers ran off the board. I had no idea this would happen but sometimes it just comes down to dumb luck

I concur your with your viewpoint.

Couple must assault situations.

Opponent is spread out on the objective. By assaulting you can get them off the objective just with pile ins.

See that termie squad that just deep struck? Assault with stubborn or fearless units and voila, stuck termies.

Over watch is not that great, always assault tau/eldar, make sure you do not wipe them by leaving some models farther back or you get shot to hell next turn.

Want your big character (csm players should listen) not to be challenged? Make sure they are 12ish inches away. If they are not engaged (base or withen 2 in) they cannot challenge or accept since that happens before pile in moves. Then pile in three inches, chances are good you will be in range to hit.

Do not assault:
space wolves. They get counter attack anyway. (Unless they are on an objective or need to be slowed down)

Walkers with av12 or higher. Why are you not shooting them? Plus av12+ is a biotch without melta bombs.

Burna boys in any form.

Necrons unless you want to tarpit a unit.