Nachthall wrote:
1. portal engagement
We found it unclear, wether or not a) it is possible to engage a formation out of a portal straight away.
Yes it is. The rules say: "may enter play via a portal as part of any activation that allows movement." An engagement action has a movement component.
Nachthall wrote:
b) if the engagement would trigger overwatch, as not being shooting, nor a movement per definition (as engagement are a different action per definition, although raw, they do move)
Yes see the rules section 1.10 "A formation that is on overwatch may choose to shoot immediately after an enemy formation completes a move or unloads troops, and before the target either shoots or assaults."
Nachthall wrote:
c) and if a combined engagement would be possible, as the portal rules say, the unit just measures as if the portal was starting point. This would mean, as far as I read it, that the engagement could be combined, as the unit gets treated as starting at the portal.
This is a good question and I should FAQ it for clarity, but no you can't use your commander ability to perform a combined assault from/through a portal(s) or with the portaling formation.
Nachthall wrote:
2. Where is the portal
Movement wise etc. it was furthermore unclear (especially for the Abattoir) if the portal equipped unit counts as portal in terms of measuring, or if the actual portal as displayed on the model gets used for the purpose of measuring distances.
I can reword this to clarify, the rules says: "Measure their movement using the portal as the starting point." The models generally have a depected portal located on the front of the model. Specifically though it should read "Measure their movement using the portal (front edge/arc) as the starting point."
Nachthall wrote:
3. General portal mechanics
As previously mentioned I tend to find the general portal mechanics kinda unsexy, as it tends to get quite complicated when measuring each stand to portal one and then the remaining distance from portal two. Really time taking with plenty of space for (un-) willing cheating and arguing, if both players take it very serious (as some of my opponents do to the single mm). Personally I don't mind if a player measures 100% accurate, as it's still just a game and if its about that single mm you've probably played quite bad after all, but hey. At least it seems a potential grey zone that could cause interruptions in the game flow.
Yeah other people have mentioned similar sort of issues. Generally if there is potential for a dispute find the "critical distance" (the farthest unit that will be able to get in range for what ever maneuver you are attempting)
before you move anything and come to an agreement. Yes its a bit fiddly but not much we can do about it.
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