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Apologies if this has been answered before, I tried the search but couldn't find anything in the first dozen pages....

It's quite a specific query regarding challenges versus a unit with more than one model capable of accepting/refusing.

Here's what I THINK should happen, can someone correct me if I'm wrong?

An enemy IC charges my unit. My unit contains a squad leader, plus an attached IC. The enemy IC issues a challenge. I choose to refuse and put my IC to one side to sit out the combat.
At this point, the enemy IC is obliged to fight the rest of the unit, including the squad leader. Assuming the squad and squad leader survive combat and aren't forced to flee, then next assault phase, my IC can rejoin the combat.

Is this correct? The follow up...

Assuming therefore the enemy IC still in combat with the remnants of the squad, can he then make another challenge in the next assault phase even if he is still in base to base and fighting with the unit? Or is he unable to due to being stuck in combat? I know he can't make a challenge whilst another challenge is still in motion (even if the victim decided to refuse).

I'm relatively new back to 40k and trying to make sense of some of the newer rules I've not used before in the past. Thanks in advance!

That's correct. Though, if he issued the (IIRC) challenge you can choose who to refuse with. So, you could let your IC still fight but put your squad leader in the back.

 retrovertigo wrote:
An enemy IC charges my unit. My unit contains a squad leader, plus an attached IC. The enemy IC issues a challenge. I choose to refuse and put my IC to one side to sit out the combat.
At this point, the enemy IC is obliged to fight the rest of the unit, including the squad leader. Assuming the squad and squad leader survive combat and aren't forced to flee, then next assault phase, my IC can rejoin the combat.

Is this correct? The follow up...

You do not choose who refuses, your opponent if your opponent chooses the IC, yes he sits out and the enemy IC fights the whole unit. Also the chosen coward does not get moved off to the side.

Assuming therefore the enemy IC still in combat with the remnants of the squad, can he then make another challenge in the next assault phase even if he is still in base to base and fighting with the unit? Or is he unable to due to being stuck in combat? I know he can't make a challenge whilst another challenge is still in motion (even if the victim decided to refuse).

I'm relatively new back to 40k and trying to make sense of some of the newer rules I've not used before in the past. Thanks in advance!

If you refuse he can then issue another challenge on the next turn.

Thanks for the reply. So can the enemy IC keep making challenges even if he's busy fighting the rest of the squad?

I ask because when I was thinking something like a daemon prince could use the challenge rule to pick off the IC, squad leader, and squad individually without ever facing a combination of them? So I refuse the challenge, he fights say the squad and the IC first round, the leader rejoins next round, he simply issues another challenge and sends the leader or IC back out of combat even if he's also dealing with 10 squad members in close combat.

Correct. As long as there is somebody who can be challenged in the combat (and you have no ongoing challenge in said combat) you can issue a challenge.

Brilliant, thanks for the clarity. I was hoping you wouldn't agree with me there though ha ha ha challenges seem a little, exploitable to me? I can see the 'forging narrative' element, but damn a big scary MC or IC could use the challenge mechanic as a real force multiplier when taking on smallish squads with attached IC's when he's outnumbered!

 retrovertigo wrote:
Brilliant, thanks for the clarity. I was hoping you wouldn't agree with me there though ha ha ha challenges seem a little, exploitable to me? I can see the 'forging narrative' element, but damn a big scary MC or IC could use the challenge mechanic as a real force multiplier when taking on smallish squads with attached IC's when he's outnumbered!

Yes they can, however you can always refuse the challenge.

Yeah MC characters are very good in this edition. Dreadknights plow into a tac squad with a sergeant with a power fist. The fist either accepts and dies before he strikes or he refuses and the only weapon that is a threat to him doesn't get to attack...

 retrovertigo wrote:
...but damn a big scary MC or IC could use the challenge mechanic as a real force multiplier when taking on smallish squads with attached IC's when he's outnumbered!

In my experience, it's more likely to go the other way. A pud squad leader challenges the big nasty, reducing said monster to inflicting a single wound. Repeat until you run out of sergeants.

Pyrian wrote:

 retrovertigo wrote:
...but damn a big scary MC or IC could use the challenge mechanic as a real force multiplier when taking on smallish squads with attached IC's when he's outnumbered!

In my experience, it's more likely to go the other way. A pud squad leader challenges the big nasty, reducing said monster to inflicting a single wound. Repeat until you run out of sergeants.

I've seen the "throw the sergeant under the bus" pulled a few times. It usually buys you another turn or two and cant keep the big nasty out of the important fights if you're hoping for the game to end.

What seems to happen in my games is that sergeants fight sergeants while more powerful IC's/monsters get to business hacking down puds. Probably the most surreal thing I've seen followed a failed heroic intervention, resulting in an Ironclad, Marneus Calgar, and three Thunder Hammer terminators cheering on a sergeant with a bolt pistol and chainsword stuck in a challenge against a Wych Hekkatrix.

Pyrian wrote:
What seems to happen in my games is that sergeants fight sergeants while more powerful IC's/monsters get to business hacking down puds. Probably the most surreal thing I've seen followed a failed heroic intervention, resulting in an Ironclad, Marneus Calgar, and three Thunder Hammer terminators cheering on a sergeant with a bolt pistol and chainsword stuck in a challenge against a Wych Hekkatrix.

Clearly, they were letting Li'l Mac get his beak wet. The challenge rules take a bit of getting used to, it's true. I frequently run into trouble figuring out when I should have Vulkan accept, when I should let the Termie Sergeant accept, and when I should let my opponent send Vulkan to the penalty box so the terminators can beat everyone to death.

Just remember, even if a character has been given a yellow card and can't fight that round, he can still have wounds allocated to him.

If there is a five man SM Command Squad against a Deamon Prince and the IC declines the chalange and the MC causes 6 wounds the IC is still taking a wiound

Right. If I refuse a challenge, when my opponent nominates one of my characters to not fight, he stays exactly where he is and suffers wounds as normal. He just doesn't get to make attacks, and the squad can't use his LD.

As above. This is a common misconception, probably caused by the Fantasy rules where the cowardly character is literally sent to the back (ranks) and is therefore fairly safe from being hurt. In 40k this is not at all true, and in fact the IC may still be the first to suffer non-challenge wounds, depending on their position