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I played a game versus Nids, when a situation came up.

A Flyrant was swooping, and in my turn I shot at him, and he failed his grounding test.

Then, in his turn he opted to swoop again. The question is that since he was not swooping at the start of the turn, could he then pivot as he pleased before he swooped off?

We played it as he could only make a 90 degrees pivot before he swooped, as swoop/glide is selected before the flyrant moves, and we didn't think he would be able to pivot before making this choice.

So did we play it right?

Yes you did play it right

Oddly related question: Can an infantry model be pivoted at any point in a turn? Lets say during the assault phase you want all of your infantry models to face a potential attacker... can you move them that way?

Sure - facing is irrelevant as long as the bases aren't the large oval.

So then what's to stop a fmc that's been grounded from pivoting before it moves? I've been looking but can't find any restriction as long as it is not swooping.

"At the start of its move, a Flying Monstrous Creature rnust declare whether it is Swooping or Gliding until the start of its next rurn." followed by "Due to its limited manoeuvrabiliry,
a Flying Monstrous Creature that is Swooping can make a single pivot on the spot of up to 90 degrees before it moves." So looks to me thats its : choose how to move, if you swoop then you can pivot 90 degrees before actual movement. Also note that if you fight that this isn't the case then all FMC can always pivot 360 degrees due to " Changing flight mode:
At the start of its move, a Flying Monstrous Creature rnust declare whether it is Swooping or Gliding until the start of its next turn."

But what about the turn before.


During opponent shooting phase the FMC gets grounded.
During opponent assault phase, you spin the model to face the closest enemy unit.**

Your turn it is facing the way you want, and you can pivot 90 degrees and swoop.

Anything wrong with this?



**If this is legal, then you could spin it any direction you wanted.

How would you spin?
If you're getting assaulted you won't be making a pile-in move.

Consolidation after combat should allow this.

No, you guys are completely missing the situation.

Lets go back to my original question:
"Can an infantry model be pivoted at any point in a turn? Lets say during the assault phase you want all of your infantry models to face a potential attacker... can you move them that way? "

Nothing here about getting assaulted, or being in CC. It is just a matter of choosing to pivot the model.

Rigeld2 replied:
"Sure - facing is irrelevant as long as the bases aren't the large oval. "


So it seems it is okay to pivot the model just because you want to.

So.... if you pivot the FMC the same way; you can pivot it during your opponents turn, and thus be ready to swoop when it becomes your turn.

coredump wrote:

So.... if you pivot the FMC the same way; you can pivot it during your opponents turn, and thus be ready to swoop when it becomes your turn.

No way you're moving your models in my turn, except for putting them back in the box or pile-in/consolidate for assault.

and you are trying to apply rules for infantry to a Flying Monstrous Creature, which, while Swooping, has specific rules concerning its movement.

You can pivot a Gliding FMC normally at any point in which you have permission to move it.

viewfinder wrote:
and you are trying to apply rules for infantry to a Flying Monstrous Creature, which, while Swooping, has specific rules concerning its movement.

Its not swooping while its grounded now is it.? Hence it could be pivoted at any point he desires.

coredump wrote:
No, you guys are completely missing the situation.

Lets go back to my original question:
"Can an infantry model be pivoted at any point in a turn? Lets say during the assault phase you want all of your infantry models to face a potential attacker... can you move them that way? "

Nothing here about getting assaulted, or being in CC. It is just a matter of choosing to pivot the model.

Rigeld2 replied:
"Sure - facing is irrelevant as long as the bases aren't the large oval. "


So it seems it is okay to pivot the model just because you want to.

So.... if you pivot the FMC the same way; you can pivot it during your opponents turn, and thus be ready to swoop when it becomes your turn.

You asked if an Infantry model can be pivoted, not a FMC.

And really the answer is "no" but in the case of Infantry it makes absolutely no difference if you do. So sure, go for it.
But in the case of a FMC it very much does make a difference.

^ It makes a difference but they didnt write rules to cover all the grounds (Once again) and its still an MC, shooting in 360 degrees, etc.

So if I cause your units to flee during my turn, are we now not allowing you to turn their facing where they are running for visual purposes? If my Flyrant has been grounded and you get to shoot at him with full BS, and charge him in a way where his facing doesnt matter for purposes of overwatch, etc, I think its pretty clear what direction that model is facing doesnt matter any more than my Carnifex at that point. Until they say "At no point ever can this FMC change facing more than 90 even whenon the ground" then there is no rule actually governing it.


Say I start the game with my Flyrant on the ground, with his rear end facing your side of the table. I move him up 6 inches, 12 inches, whatever.

Next turn I decide to swoop him. Are you really going to argue that he can only swoop within pivoting direction?

 Iechine wrote:
Next turn I decide to swoop him. Are you really going to argue that he can only swoop within pivoting direction?

The rules quite clearly say "yes".
That's the whole point of having set times you can pivot/move a model, and why you need to think about facing on a model where facing matters.

Don't forget that the rules state that you must nominate a 'front' of a swooping MC, that has to be the same for the whole game (p.49). Iechine, if you choose to nominate your Tyrants' butt for his 'front' facing, I think that you can do that. But you're still bound by the restrictions on movement.

 grendel083 wrote:

 Iechine wrote:
Next turn I decide to swoop him. Are you really going to argue that he can only swoop within pivoting direction?

The rules quite clearly say "yes".
That's the whole point of having set times you can pivot/move a model, and why you need to think about facing on a model where facing matters.

Correction: there are set times a swooping MC or flier can pivot. Prior to swooping there is no restrictions RAW.

 Steel-W0LF wrote:

 grendel083 wrote:

 Iechine wrote:
Next turn I decide to swoop him. Are you really going to argue that he can only swoop within pivoting direction?

The rules quite clearly say "yes".
That's the whole point of having set times you can pivot/move a model, and why you need to think about facing on a model where facing matters.

Correction: there are set times a swooping MC or flier can pivot. Prior to swooping there is no restrictions RAW.

Cinematic wise, if a pissed off creature hit the ground while flying I'd expect it to stand up and stare right at whatever shot it down.

However, I think page 10 in the BRB might make a small reference why you can't. It's vague, but I can see where "As you move the models in a unit, they can be turned on the spot to face in any direction..." You can only move the units on your turn without considering Hit & Run, Consolidaion, etc.

you may move in the movement phase. if it isn't the movement phase and you are allowed to move, like a charge or pile in, then the manner of that move is specified in the BRB. The Flyrant can pivot once at the start of the phase up to 90 deg, but no, you may not arbitrarily move him, even to pivot, during an opponents phase without explicit permission from consolidation, pile in, or other such movement order exception. You may not do this with infantry either, it's just that if you do nothing changes, so no one cares if you break the rule in that specific manner