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So I'm new to the game, and having played 40K and WHFB, the change to the charging process is throwing me off a bit. I've only played a couple of small (600-650 points) games, and for our group, thanks to years of 40K, the AoS charging rules seem kind of wonky, and we are having an issue determining how they are supposed to work.

How is the charge movement supposed to work once you have determined that one model can be within 1/2 inch of an enemy model? Can each model move however it wants up to the distance rolled provided A) they maintain coherency, and B) at least one model ends its movement within 1/2 inch of an enemy model? Does this allow me to move 1 model to a close unit, and then move the rest of the unit to maybe one that is just a bit further away but more desirable to engage, as long as coherency is maintained? Does the movement have to be in a straight line?

I know that pile-ins are straight line to the nearest enemy model (which tends to cause a few issues in and of itself), but charging seems to be a bit more open, effectively being another movement phase. Any clarification would be greatly appreciated.

As long as you finish the first model moved to be within .5" (and it can move anywhere you want, so long as it is within your charge distance rolled). All other models can then be placed where ever you want, so long as you remain in coherency. None of these has to be nearest model or even a straight line.

It makes the charge phase very important, as that is how you manoeuvre guys into position for hits or wraping around a unit (something you can't do with the pile-in).

Thank you for clarifying. Very different from 40K, but I guess that's kind of the point isn't it. AoS should be a different game.

Pile-ins do not have to be in a straight line. The only requirement is you finish the move closer to the closest enemy model at the start of the move.

So if you're 0.5" away you can swing around the model 3". Just make sure you are closer than 0.5" to it when you finish your move.

 Bottle wrote:
Pile-ins do not have to be in a straight line. The only requirement is you finish the move closer to the closest enemy model at the start of the move.

So if you're 0.5" away you can swing around the model 3". Just make sure you are closer than 0.5" to it when you finish your move.

Ah, I did not realize that they had some maneuverability at that stage. Good to know.

Another note: unlike charging in in 40k, you don't have to declare a target to charge. Instead you choose a unit you want to charge with, roll the dice, and see what's in range (as long as your in 12")

Do you need LOS to charge? I.e. can a unit charge around a building into a target they couldn't see, as long as they have enough move to get one model within 0.5"?

- Salvage

Skimming the core rules doesn't seem you need LoS. The only time any kind of Line of Sight comes up is under Attacking. So I guess technically you could charge around terrain to engage an enemy unit as long as you meet the requirements.

I wouldn't play it that way personally

That ... is so jarringly different from every GW game I've played in the last 20 years

Charging not in a straight line is one thing, but not needing to see your charge target? I can think of maaaybe one other mini game that does that, and maybe not even!

- Salvage

I think they are vague. Honestly I do not understand them at all, I was playing it like each model moves up to the distance rolled, then if they are within 3" they make a pile in, then if they're within the range of the weapon they can actually attack.

WayneTheGame wrote:
I think they are vague. Honestly I do not understand them at all, I was playing it like each model moves up to the distance rolled, then if they are within 3" they make a pile in, then if they're within the range of the weapon they can actually attack.

As far as Melee Combat goes that's the short of it, mostly. The long of it goes like this:

Declare which unit you want to charge with. This unit must be outside of 3" of an enemy unit. Roll for distance and move models. The first model is the closest to the enemy unit you want to engage and must move against the closest enemy model. If this move ends within a half inch you successfully charge and can then move the remainder of the unit the rolled distance. This is your best time to setup future turns of combat. This concludes the Charge phase.

When you start the Combat phase you choose a unit to activate. You can choose which models you want to move during your 3" Pile-In. The only restriction during this move is that you must move models to the closest enemy model. Models in contact (take that as you will since bases don't matter) cannot move but models can move around them to a limited degree. After Pile-In movement you then choose which unit you're going to attack. Not all models need to strike against the same unit (this also applies to shooting). You then measure distance based on the range of the weapon and roll your To Hit based on the number of models in range of enemy models and the number of attacks of the weapon they are using.

It should be noted that in the course of combat if your opponent moves models within 3" of one of your other units, usually via Pile-Ins, you can that choose to activate that unit and Pile-In against that unit during that turns Combat phase. So be careful when doing Pile-In moves so that you don't give your opponent the chance to spring a surprise attack on you, or use it to deny a charge bonus if you need to.

BomBomHotdog wrote:

WayneTheGame wrote:
I think they are vague. Honestly I do not understand them at all, I was playing it like each model moves up to the distance rolled, then if they are within 3" they make a pile in, then if they're within the range of the weapon they can actually attack.

As far as Melee Combat goes that's the short of it, mostly. The long of it goes like this:

Declare which unit you want to charge with. This unit must be outside of 3" of an enemy unit. Roll for distance and move models. The first model is the closest to the enemy unit you want to engage and must move against the closest enemy model. If this move ends within a half inch you successfully charge and can then move the remainder of the unit the rolled distance. This is your best time to setup future turns of combat. This concludes the Charge phase.

It doesn't have to be nearest to nearest. Just that you finish within .5".

And yes you can charge without LoS so long as they are within charge distance.

BomBomHotdog wrote:
So be careful when doing Pile-In moves so that you don't give your opponent the chance to spring a surprise attack on you, or use it to deny a charge bonus if you need to.

Charge bonus? Is there a bonus for charging in AoS beyond getting to choose the first unit to fight?

I think he meant if that unit you pile-in to has a bonus for charging, then you could deny that.

 ClassicCarraway wrote:

BomBomHotdog wrote:
So be careful when doing Pile-In moves so that you don't give your opponent the chance to spring a surprise attack on you, or use it to deny a charge bonus if you need to.

Charge bonus? Is there a bonus for charging in AoS beyond getting to choose the first unit to fight?

As a general rule no, but some units gain charge bonuses. These are mainly cavalry and chariots and are listed in their unit abilities - an example is Wild Riders get a +1 to wound with their spears if they charge. So you can use pile in moves to lock a unit into combat to deny their charge ability.

It's nice also that you don't need to declare a charge target or even make the charge if you don't want to. Roll your 2D6 (or more if from an ability) and see what your target options are and decide if you want to even charge, then at who.

 VeteranNoob wrote:
It's nice also that you don't need to declare a charge target or even make the charge if you don't want to. Roll your 2D6 (or more if from an ability) and see what your target options are and decide if you want to even charge, then at who.

If you roll high enough to reach an enemy then you MUST move: "The first model you move must finish within 1/2" of an enemy model. If that's impossible, the charge has failed and no models in the charging unit can move this phase." Note that the charge is only failed if it is completely impossible to complete it in any way. Which I think is a good thing as it adds a potential penalty to making a charge roll, or in other words it adds a tactical element.

 NinthMusketeer wrote:

 VeteranNoob wrote:
It's nice also that you don't need to declare a charge target or even make the charge if you don't want to. Roll your 2D6 (or more if from an ability) and see what your target options are and decide if you want to even charge, then at who.

If you roll high enough to reach an enemy then you MUST move: "The first model you move must finish within 1/2" of an enemy model. If that's impossible, the charge has failed and no models in the charging unit can move this phase." Note that the charge is only failed if it is completely impossible to complete it in any way. Which I think is a good thing as it adds a potential penalty to making a charge roll, or in other words it adds a tactical element.

The FAQ first question under charging clarifies "Note that you don't have to make the charge even if a unit is within range, unless the charger has an ability that specifically states otherwise."

 VeteranNoob wrote:

 NinthMusketeer wrote:

 VeteranNoob wrote:
It's nice also that you don't need to declare a charge target or even make the charge if you don't want to. Roll your 2D6 (or more if from an ability) and see what your target options are and decide if you want to even charge, then at who.

If you roll high enough to reach an enemy then you MUST move: "The first model you move must finish within 1/2" of an enemy model. If that's impossible, the charge has failed and no models in the charging unit can move this phase." Note that the charge is only failed if it is completely impossible to complete it in any way. Which I think is a good thing as it adds a potential penalty to making a charge roll, or in other words it adds a tactical element.

The FAQ first question under charging clarifies "Note that you don't have to make the charge even if a unit is within range, unless the charger has an ability that specifically states otherwise."

I learned something today! Thanks.

A quick additional question with regards to charging. Do you take into account the weapons range? For instance, some weaponry (spears for instance) has a 2" range. Would you need to technically just be within 2" of an enemy model at the end of your charge move to be considered engaged?

You have to end the charge within 0-1/2" but the weapon then extends from where you end up. So you don't stop at 2" in this case to charge successfully but once that combat activation ends, all enemies within 3" are engaged in combat so you can attack any available that you can get to within 2" in this case.