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I played against a Tesseract Vault for the first time, and my opponent wasn't sure how to measure... to the hull, or to the base? I let him choose and merely required that we be consistent. He chose the hull... he deployed the hull, not the base, on the deployment line, measured ranges from the hull, etc. When I got close enough, I measured my charge distance to the hull. At some point, I pointed out that he was moving models under the edge of the hull, and mentioned that I would do the same, but he repositioned his models to uphold that the hull, not the base, was the functional limit of the model. This meant that when he fell back he was crowded by my models that has survived the charge phase... two squads of Battle Sisters and a Rhino. He ended up going sideways and was unable to tighten up his ranges on my characters... he was hoping to use his C'Tan powers to go after my auras with mortal wounds, and I was trying to keep him at arm's length. It worked... by using the hull to measure ranges and adjudicate combat, he made such a big footprint he couldn't clear my units to get all the way past me.

It would have been better for him to use the base for moving and getting a little extra clearance to squeeze past enemy units, even if it hurt in the shooting phase. It would have made it harder for me to get my initial charge, and easier for him to slip away with Fly during movement. How do other people handle the Tesseract's giant footprint? Do you treat the hull as the start/end point, or the base? My boxing in was effective-- it saved my warlord from some mortal wound spam-- but was it fair? Did I take advantage of his giant model to make it impossible to maneuver his unit, or was I playing sharp tactics to jam an empty Rhino in its path to prevent it from chasing down my HQs with mortal wounds at 9" and 18"?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts or guidelines!

Warhammer 40k Rules Primer Page 2 wrote:Distances in Warhammer 40,000 are measured in inches (") between the closest points of the bases of the models you’re measuring to and from. If a model does not have a base, such is the case with many vehicles, measure to and from the closest point of that model’s hull instead.

So from the base, unless it does not have one, then from the closest point on the hull.

You have to look at the units datasheet. Because some units are measured from the hull, or base, whatever is closer. Example is annihilation barge. And there are some units which are measured from the hull, even though it has a base. Example impulsor. Great consistency GW, thank you

 p5freak wrote:
You have to look at the units datasheet. Because some units are measured from the hull, or base, whatever is closer. Example is annihilation barge. And there are some units which are measured from the hull, even though it has a base. Example impulsor. Great consistency GW, thank you

Pretty much this. It basically goes "Measure from wherever the special snowflake rule tells you to measure from, measure from the hull if the model has no base, measure from the base" in that order.