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I'm unsure how they work-- are they fully separate detachments, or do they somehow interact with regular detachments/force org? It seems like they're often self-contained mini-detachments, but I wanted to be sure...

The very first line in the rules for Formations should answer your question

Yeah... saw that. I was asking for clarity, not to be directed to the rulebook since I wanted to be positive and GW doesn't always write the best rules. It sounds like they're wholly separate, but I also tend to see them as part of an army of the same type, so i was attempting to confirm what they are.

For the most part, they are a separate detachment. However, both Necrons and Eldar can take a Detachment consisting of multiple formations.

Okay, thanks.

Think of it this way its like FOC but with its own rules and restrictions for the added bonus special rule it will most likely tell you what you must take.

You have 3 options when making a army FOC, Formation or Unbound and yes in the rule book a formation can be used in place as a FOC

 spiralingcadaver wrote:
Yeah... saw that. I was asking for clarity, not to be directed to the rulebook since I wanted to be positive and GW doesn't always write the best rules. It sounds like they're wholly separate, but I also tend to see them as part of an army of the same type, so i was attempting to confirm what they are.

I understand GW writes some pretty badly-worded rules, but 'Formations are a special type of Detachment' is about as unambiguous as you can get

But yes, think of Formations as working in exactly the same way as Detachments, except you have little or no choice about which units can be taken, and you can take Formations in an Unbound army.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Kaligoth wrote:
Think of it this way its like FOC but with its own rules and restrictions for the added bonus special rule it will most likely tell you what you must take.

You have 3 options when making a army FOC, Formation or Unbound and yes in the rule book a formation can be used in place as a FOC

No, don't do this. Using older terminology like "FOC" in a different context context will only lead to confusion. I find the best way to understand army building in 7th is to completely forget how it used to work and read the entire "Choosing Your Army" section from start to finish. It all actually fits together pretty well.

Sure, thanks. I always suspect GW's language, since they're just about the only company who regularly use the same name to describe multiple rules, or use different names to describe the same rule.