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So some interesting things came up:

The example: Unit A is 2-4" away from the enemy unit. A unit dies within 7" of them and activates Soulburst.

"This unit can fight as if it were its Fight Phase" (Soulburst)

Fight Phase has steps:
1. Choose unit to fight with - activating soulburst fulfill this.
2. Pile In - the unit uses this move to be 1" away from the unit.
3. - 6. Pretty straight forward.

Is this legal?

Another scenario is:
Ycarne kills a unit in CC (Step 5 in Fight Phase). She activates soulburst to move closer to unit X. Then step 6 in the fight phase is consolidate. Can the Ycarne then lock unit X in CC with the consolidation move?

Yes, I think that's all clearly legal, though it's weird enough that it's worth getting a FAQ for. The rules are clear that a "fight" is steps 2-6 of the "fight sequence", which starts with Pile In and ends with Consolidate. There's no rule anywhere that you must be within 1" to fight. The closest the rules come is only giving you permission to choose chargers or units within 1" to fight, but Soulburst is obviously also giving you permission to fight. So this isn't troublesome in the way that various "unit can move as if movement phase" abilities interacting with the Reinforcements rule that arriving units can't move in the same turn are.

Note that in the second scenario your opponent is then going to be allowed to choose the locked unit to fight with, even if it was not locked in combat previously.

Edit: Also note that Piling In without already being within 1" is very clearly allowed to happen in the ordinary course of things, as when two units charge and enemy casualties are removed such that the second unit is no longer within 1" of the enemy. You are given explicit permission to choose it to fight anyway. Likewise if the unit you charged was completely wiped out by the time your second charging unit is chosen to fight, it's going to just Pile In and then Consolidate.

If it was actually the fight phase, the unit would do nothing, because it didn't charge and isn't close enough.

So, if the unit fought "as if it were its fight phase", it would do nothing. I don't see how soulburst fulfills step 1.

Pink Horror wrote:
If it was actually the fight phase, the unit would do nothing, because it didn't charge and isn't close enough.

So, if the unit fought "as if it were its fight phase", it would do nothing. I don't see how soulburst fulfills step 1.

"as if it were part of the Fight phase" is telling you how to go about resolving a "fight". First, it's simply clarifying -- it's pointing you at the Fight phase rules to find the rules for resolving a fight. Second, it's telling you that if you that rules like "add 1 to hit rolls in the Fight phase" apply even though you are not actually in the Fight phase.

Your interpretation is incoherent. If the unit fought as if it were its fight phase, then it fought. You can't read the rule as saying maybe the unit does nothing -- the rule is very clear that the unit is immediately going to fight (well, it says the unit "can fight", which in all other cases means it's at the player's discretion). So what is a fight? Well, the Fight phase rules define a fight as Steps 2-6 of the fight sequence. Why do you think Step 1 of the Fight Sequence is relevant? It is not part of a fight. Nothing at all tells us to check that the unit would have permission to fight according to the standard set out in Step 1, and there's no restriction there that someone might read as applying more generally.

You're reading the rule as if it said "the unit immediately fights as if it were its fight phase, if it would ordinarily be eligible for selection to fight in the Fight phase", or "...if it's within 1" of an enemy unit or has charged this turn", or something like that. For example, compare the Sisters' Acts of Faith, which give them a similar ability but actually do include a clause like this.

Edit: Putting it another way: "as if it were its fight phase" is telling us how the unit fights, not if the unit fights.

I have a similar question about this except using soulburst to charge.

Say i charge a unit and wipe them out with my attacks in combat, and then use soulburst to declare another charge on a unit.
If i make the charge, do I get to attack then and there?
Because if soulburst happens as soon as the unit is destroyed, that means i charge and it goes back to my fight phase where i then attack first with charging units.

Soulburst says something like "This means a unit can shoot or fight more than once in a turn"

If this is legal this could be a very very dirty tactic with a big unit of harlequins charging in

It would come down to what units are eligible to fight in the fight phase. Do units have to be within 1" of an enemy to be an eligible target to fight? Do they just have to end within 1" of an enemy after consolidate? Otherwise could every unit on the battlefield "fight" for a free 3" move?

The charge doesn't allow an extra fight for the unit, just the extra move. You need to take the fight action to fight twice, regardless of if you charge a second time or not. It does however allow you to lock an enemy down for a turn. It would be particularly nasty on the enemies turn where you could charge with a nearby unit in response to one of your units dying into a unit that hasn't fired yet, locking it out of shooting that turn. And as the movement phase has past they can't fall back.

Nevdog wrote:
I have a similar question about this except using soulburst to charge.

Say i charge a unit and wipe them out with my attacks in combat, and then use soulburst to declare another charge on a unit.
If i make the charge, do I get to attack then and there?
Because if soulburst happens as soon as the unit is destroyed, that means i charge and it goes back to my fight phase where i then attack first with charging units.

Soulburst says something like "This means a unit can shoot or fight more than once in a turn"

If this is legal this could be a very very dirty tactic with a big unit of harlequins charging in

I think that we should read "Note that this means that a unit may be able to shoot or fight twice in the same turn" as merely calling players' attention to a possible consequence of the rules already given, not as itself giving new permission to do something. The rules given do mean that a unit may fight twice in the same turn -- if it uses its Soulburst activation to fight.

Suppose my unit shoots and kills something, then Soulbursts and shoots again, and then charges in the charge phase. Your interpretation of the rules seems to say that it can then fight twice in the fight phase (in basically the way that Berserkers do). Actually it is not clear why you would even have to have used a Soulburst activation to do this -- can everything with Strength from Death shoot and fight twice every turn?

Nothing about charging again would by itself give you any special permission to choose a unit to fight more than once in the fight phase, any more than using your Soulburst to move instead would have given you permission to fight more than once in the fight phase. It's only the actual shoot and fight Soulbursts that can do this.

Pink Horror wrote:
If it was actually the fight phase, the unit would do nothing, because it didn't charge and isn't close enough.

So, if the unit fought "as if it were its fight phase", it would do nothing. I don't see how soulburst fulfills step 1.

It fulfills step one by telling you that the unit performing the soulburst can fight. You then go to step 2, pile in, and try to move closer.

no, the first rule of the fight phase says that any unit that charged or is within 1" of enemy models can fight.

since neither of these happened he can not use that particular soulburst.

however, he can charge if he wanted to.

also, if he had charged or was within 1" when triggering the fight soulburst he could then gain an extra fight phase.

 mgrosh wrote:
no, the first rule of the fight phase says that any unit that charged or is within 1" of enemy models can fight.

since neither of these happened he can not use that particular soulburst.

however, he can charge if he wanted to.

also, if he had charged or was within 1" when triggering the fight soulburst he could then gain an extra fight phase.

Why would you read a rule saying that some units can fight as saying that all other units can't?

Like, if the teacher says that Bobby and Jane can go to the bathroom, and then later says that Jack can go to the bathroom, there's no need for the teacher to go back and clarify that Jack is allowed to go to the bathroom even though the earlier statement precludes that. Saying that Bobby and Jane can do something doesn't mean that Jack can't, it just isn't by itself giving Jack permission. If Jack then receives permission, he can go to the bathroom.

The Fight Sequence says that a few kinds of units can fight. It says nothing about other units not being able to fight. Strength from Death also says that certain units can fight -- those that Soulburst and choose to fight. These don't appear to even facially conflict with each other.

Regardless, and as I pointed out earlier, nothing in "fight as if it were the fight phase" suggests that we should refer to step 1 of the Fight Sequence. That is not part of a fight.

The ability to Charge does not give you the ability to Fight. If you kill an enemy in the Fight phase, you can charge into another one, but you cannot fight because you have already been chosen to fight this phase. (Rule 1. Choose unit to Fight with)

You could Fight in the Fight phase and then, if another unit dies nearby, Soulburst and Fight again per the Soulburst rule.

But Charging just allows you to lock up another unit.

 mgrosh wrote:
no, the first rule of the fight phase says that any unit that charged or is within 1" of enemy models can fight.

since neither of these happened he can not use that particular soulburst.

however, he can charge if he wanted to.

also, if he had charged or was within 1" when triggering the fight soulburst he could then gain an extra fight phase.

Your statement is brimming over with wrongability.

You are told you can have a fight phase. Units normally not within 1" can't get a fight phase - step one disqualifies them. We are told soulburst can grant them a Fight Phaase, therefore they get the whole fight phase.

Second, they do not get to charge if they want to. Souburst lets you get a fight phase. The Charge Phase is the phase before the Fight Phase, therefore getting a Fight Phase does not let you charge. You may pile in, as that is step 2, but you may not charge.

Fragile wrote:
The ability to Charge does not give you the ability to Fight. If you kill an enemy in the Fight phase, you can charge into another one, but you cannot fight because you have already been chosen to fight this phase. (Rule 1. Choose unit to Fight with)

You could Fight in the Fight phase and then, if another unit dies nearby, Soulburst and Fight again per the Soulburst rule.

But Charging just allows you to lock up another unit.

And to suffer the overwatch from it

I love the mental acrobatics people are using to make a rule do something it doesn't all so they can pile into combat without getting shot at no matter how much it doesn't work.

With soulburst you could give a unit with no ranged weapons a shooting phase....but as they don't have any guns they don't magically get something to shoot. Same choosing to fight, you can use that option....but as they don't meet the requirements of step 1 of the fight phase they don't get to magically move on to step 2's pile in.