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I'm not sure if there's a rule for this situation. A unit can't move because some or all of its models are surrounded by enemies, so there's no way to fall back and not finish within 1" of an enemy. But there's a transport within 3" of all of the models.

To embark, you need to end your move within 3" of the transport. There's no stipulation about having a clear path to it. So there's definitely no problem getting into a transport that is itself surrounded - so long as you can end your move within 3" of it.

A unit in combat can either fall back or choose to remain stationary. This is where it gets complicated. Two scenarios:

A. If a model can't physically move, but it's within 3" of a transport, can it fall back into the transport?

B. Alternatively, if a model in combat doesn't fall back but chooses to remain stationary, does that constitute ending its move within 3" of the transport and allow it to get in?

In A, I think maybe it's not allowed. Embarking and falling back both have rules about where the model ends its move - within 3" of the transport and not within 1" of an enemy. I think the unit would need a "safe" spot outside of 1" to complete its fall back move, and embark from there.

But I'm less sure about B. It doesn't seem right, but neither does it seem right that you can get in and out of a transport that is itself surrounded, with no problems whatsoever.

You just need to end your move within 3" of the transport, but more than 1" away from enemy models. However ALL of your models must end this move within 3" of the transport, not just some of them, so this can be a bit more tricky. Just being close enough for the furthest away model to get within 3" isn't enough, you need to move all the models and have all of them finish their move within 3". However, so long as you accomplish that, a surrounded transport can still pick up models. Same thing for disembarking too.

Falling back is helpful, as it allows you to ignore the 1" spacing while moving, but still doesn't allow you to end that move within 1" of enemy models.

So, all need to be true:

- All models end move within 3" of transport.
- All models end move more than 1" away from enemy models.


If you can only satisfy some, but not all, of those conditions, you can't embark into the transport. It being surrounded or not just makes these things more difficult, but not impossible.

If a model remains stationary, it still has ended its move within 3" of the transport. You could say it moved 1 atom towards the transport if that gets your rocks off as to whether or not is has "moved".

You can fall back TOWARDS the transport, but not into it.

In this particular case, yes, they can embark the transport while locked in combat.

 skchsan wrote:
You can fall back TOWARDS the transport, but not into it.

In this particular case, yes, they can embark the transport while locked in combat.

Yes, you can fall back into the transport. From stepping into a new edition :

Q: Can a unit that Advances or Falls Back embark
within a transport? What about if the transport has
moved before – can a unit still embark inside?
A: Yes, yes and yes (remember though that a transport
cannot both embark and disembark units in the
same turn).

 p5freak wrote:

 skchsan wrote:
You can fall back TOWARDS the transport, but not into it.

In this particular case, yes, they can embark the transport while locked in combat.

Yes, you can fall back into the transport. From stepping into a new edition :

Q: Can a unit that Advances or Falls Back embark
within a transport? What about if the transport has
moved before – can a unit still embark inside?
A: Yes, yes and yes (remember though that a transport
cannot both embark and disembark units in the
same turn).

The FAQ addresses whether units that fell back or advanced are eligible to embark a transport.
you can fall back to get within 3" of a transport, but the fall back move itself is distinctively different than embarking.

You fall back AND THEN embark.

 skchsan wrote:

 p5freak wrote:

 skchsan wrote:
You can fall back TOWARDS the transport, but not into it.

In this particular case, yes, they can embark the transport while locked in combat.

Yes, you can fall back into the transport. From stepping into a new edition :

Q: Can a unit that Advances or Falls Back embark
within a transport? What about if the transport has
moved before – can a unit still embark inside?
A: Yes, yes and yes (remember though that a transport
cannot both embark and disembark units in the
same turn).

The FAQ addresses whether units that fell back or advanced are eligible to embark a transport.
you can fall back to get within 3" of a transport, but the fall back move itself is distinctively different than embarking.

You fall back AND THEN embark.

Yes, but you can do both the same turn, which is really what the OP was asking about. You check at the end of their move to see if everyone's within 3" of the transport. You're really splitting hairs here, given that at the end of their move they can be taken off the board if they meet the qualifications.

EDIT: If they're all within 3" of the transport before moving, they can just embark then.

Embarking is not moving. There is no need to be more than 1" away from enemy units. You simply remove the models from the battlefield, even if they are in base contact with enemy models.

 p5freak wrote:
Embarking is not moving. There is no need to be more than 1" away from enemy units. You simply remove the models from the battlefield, even if they are in base contact with enemy models.

Not true, the unit must "end their move" within 3". Since they have to be selected to move, they must end up more than 1" away from enemy units.

They should be able to embark after the pile in or consolidation moves though right?

 DeathReaper wrote:
They should be able to embark after the pile in or consolidation moves though right?

No. When it says "their move" it's talking about the action in the movement phase, not any movement.

If for no other reason that there is a Dark Eldar stratagem that allows them to consolidate and embark, which is an implicit indication you can't normally do it, otherwise it wouldn't need to explicitly mention it.

 BaconCatBug wrote:

 DeathReaper wrote:
They should be able to embark after the pile in or consolidation moves though right?

No. When it says "their move" it's talking about the action in the movement phase, not any movement.

If for no other reason that there is a Dark Eldar stratagem that allows them to consolidate and embark, which is an implicit indication you can't normally do it, otherwise it wouldn't need to explicitly mention it.

Got any rules quote that says that it's talking about the action in the movement phase?

Because the base rules don't seem to indicate that it is only in the movement phase.

From the Drukhari 'Athletic Aerialists' stratagem:

Use this Stratagem just before a CULT OF THE RED GRIEF INFANTRY unit consolidates. Instead of moving towards the nearest enemy, the unit consolidates up to 6" towards the nearest CULT OF THE RED GRIEF TRANSPORT from your army. If all models in the unit end this move within 3" of the Transport, the unit may immediately embark upon it (if it has sufficient capacity remaining) as if it were the Movement phase, and can do so even if they disembarked from the Transport during the same turn.

 DeathReaper wrote:

 BaconCatBug wrote:

 DeathReaper wrote:
They should be able to embark after the pile in or consolidation moves though right?

No. When it says "their move" it's talking about the action in the movement phase, not any movement.

If for no other reason that there is a Dark Eldar stratagem that allows them to consolidate and embark, which is an implicit indication you can't normally do it, otherwise it wouldn't need to explicitly mention it.

Got any rules quote that says that it's talking about the action in the movement phase?

Because the base rules don't seem to indicate that it is only in the movement phase.

Got any rules quote that says dice have to be numbered 1-6?

There is a certain level of filling in the English Language has to provide.

 BaconCatBug wrote:

 DeathReaper wrote:

 BaconCatBug wrote:

 DeathReaper wrote:
They should be able to embark after the pile in or consolidation moves though right?

No. When it says "their move" it's talking about the action in the movement phase, not any movement.

If for no other reason that there is a Dark Eldar stratagem that allows them to consolidate and embark, which is an implicit indication you can't normally do it, otherwise it wouldn't need to explicitly mention it.

Got any rules quote that says that it's talking about the action in the movement phase?

Because the base rules don't seem to indicate that it is only in the movement phase.

Got any rules quote that says dice have to be numbered 1-6?

Do not need one, as the definition of D6 is a typical fair six sided die, and those by definition are numbered 1-6...

There is a certain level of filling in the English Language has to provide.

Of course there is, but something specifically talking about a single phase, and not just any move requires a citation from the actual rules.

Edit - Given the stratagem though, I would say RAI it is restricted to the movement phase. but RAW it does not restrict it.

All the rules say is to use a six sided dice, at no point in the rules or the definition of a dice does that indicate numbered 1-6, since things like Fudge Dice exist.

I believe the RaW does restrict it since it is referring to "their move" i.e. the movement phase, not any movement, with the stratagem implicitly supporting this further.

 BaconCatBug wrote:
All the rules say is to use a six sided dice, at no point in the rules or the definition of a dice does that indicate numbered 1-6, since things like Fudge Dice exist.

The standard definition of a 6 sided die is one that is numbered 1-6, and since the rules fail to define it we need to fall back on the standard English definition.

I believe the RaW does restrict it since it is referring to "their move" i.e. the movement phase, not any movement, with the stratagem implicitly supporting this further.

It definitely could be more clear in the RAW, and given the stratagem posted earlier I would agree that the RAI restricts embarking to the movement phase and not any other movement.

 BaconCatBug wrote:

 p5freak wrote:
Embarking is not moving. There is no need to be more than 1" away from enemy units. You simply remove the models from the battlefield, even if they are in base contact with enemy models.

Not true, the unit must "end their move" within 3". Since they have to be selected to move, they must end up more than 1" away from enemy units.

If you declare they are not moving, then you reach the end of their move. At that point they meet the requirements for embarking, are removed from the table and are considered embarked in the transport.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 DeathReaper wrote:

 BaconCatBug wrote:

 DeathReaper wrote:
They should be able to embark after the pile in or consolidation moves though right?

No. When it says "their move" it's talking about the action in the movement phase, not any movement.

If for no other reason that there is a Dark Eldar stratagem that allows them to consolidate and embark, which is an implicit indication you can't normally do it, otherwise it wouldn't need to explicitly mention it.

Got any rules quote that says that it's talking about the action in the movement phase?

Because the base rules don't seem to indicate that it is only in the movement phase.

Well, there's rules for disembarking that indicate it. "Units that disembark can act normally (move, shoot, charge, fight, etc.) during the remainder of their turn. Note though, that even if you don't move disembarking units further in your Movement phase, they still count as having moved for any rules purposes, such as shooting Heavy Weapons."

If disembarking has that limit to being in the Movement phase, then it also applies to embarking.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 DeathReaper wrote:

 BaconCatBug wrote:

 DeathReaper wrote:
They should be able to embark after the pile in or consolidation moves though right?

No. When it says "their move" it's talking about the action in the movement phase, not any movement.

If for no other reason that there is a Dark Eldar stratagem that allows them to consolidate and embark, which is an implicit indication you can't normally do it, otherwise it wouldn't need to explicitly mention it.

Got any rules quote that says that it's talking about the action in the movement phase?

Because the base rules don't seem to indicate that it is only in the movement phase.

Actually, it turns out that this is directly addressed in the new FAQ out today for the main rulebook (1st question on page 6). It has to be in the Movement phase.