Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hey all,

Had this issue come up yesterday and didn't really get a good resolution out of it.  Didn't really affect the game too much, but nonetheless troubling.

I had a screen of Kroot Carnivores spaced out 2" from each other in a dispersed formation (to defend against summoning).  My opponent summoned in a pack of Plaguebearers in close, and during the Shooting phase caused 3 wounds from Nurgle's Rot. 


PB  PB  PB  PB

K     K     K

K     K     K

K     K     K


I tried to pull the middle line of Kroot as casualties, thus reducing the amount that my opponent could charge w/ the Plaguebearers.  Sure the Kroot would die, but the daemons would be trapped out in the open further away from my firebase units.  Here's where we ran into the disagreement.

My poiints (in no particular order)

1) "During the course of a game, it's possible a unit will get broken up and lose unit coherency, usually because it takes casualties". (BGB, pg16.)

2) "The owning player can choose to remove any models from the unit, providing they are within the line of fire and range of the attacker's weaponry." (BGB, pg.26)


My opponent argued that players must attempt to retain unit coherency at all times, unless impossible.  Since the front Kroot were legal casualties, I should have taken them instead allowing a deeper charge into my line.  I could not find a rulebook entry that states that coherency MUST be maintained, only the penalities for not doing so.

Note that casualty removal in close combat does require the player to maintain coherency (BGB, pg41) so is not applicable to this situation.

Yup, that's another of those common assumptions with no actual basis in rules.

You have to maintain coherency in the movement phase, and when charging and (where possible) removing casualties from close combat.

There is no such requirement for removing shooting casualties.

Agree with Insaniak. The places he mentions are the only ones in the BGB that specifically states that coherency must be maintained. And, as you mention, the BGB does make allowance for the fact that units can be taken out of coherence legally during some occurences in the game, menioning taking casualties as an example. I've always played it the same way you did.

Sal.

Thirded. There is no requirement to maintain coherency in the shooting phase. The requirements for casualties to be removed within range and LOS are the ones that apply, and can easily force you to break coherency. But you do indeed have the option.

Yeah, most times you don't want to volientarily break formation but you can from shooting casualties. Seems to be the general consensus that you can do it as long as you move back into formation as soon as you can.