Aircraft don't normally get to crossfire, unless they are landed, in which case they count as a ground unit and are allowed to. The Tigershark is a bit of an unusual case as it is has a special rule allowing it to deploy it's Gun Drones after its approach move without landing. Both ground attack together for that action and then become separate formations.

How does this work with crossfire? I assume the Tigershark can't get the -1 save with it's attacks but the Gun Drones can? If the Gun Drones are deployed in a position to crossfire and the Tigershark kills something but the Gun Drones don't does the enemy take the extra BM?

In a related note can the Gun Drones use 'range stretching' to allocate their hits up to the Tigershark's 45cm range for that one turn of shooting? (they would have to be within 15cm range of at least one enemy to attack in the first place I know).

I hope to use a couple of formations of Tigershark Gun Drones in a 3k game next weekend, so it would be good to clarify.

I imagine it that there is no crossfire because it's an aircraft. I always assumed the 45cm line had to extend through the target to another ground formation.

Normally yes, but on the turn it deploys the Gun Drones then as per the aircraft transport rules they fire together, being treated as a single formation until the shooting attack has been resolved.

An Orca can land (temporarily being treated as a ground unit), deploy Crisis Suits within 15cm and both shoot together that once. So long as either the Orca or any Crisis Suit is in a position to count for crossfire then as one formation they all get the crossfire bonuses (-1 save, potential to cause 2BM) during that shooting.

The difference with the Tigershark is that it doesn't land to deploy it's troops and you have a single firing formation with some aircraft some not.

Hmm, isn't there a rule whereby aircraft can't claim a crossfire? Wouldn't that take precedence?
I can't seem to find it though.

Yes, there is, aircraft can't claim crossfire (unless they are landed and so a ground unit) but it's unclear what happens with the mixed fire from a formation of flying aircraft and ground units as it's not possible in the core rules.

I would probably interpret a route of not allowing the Tigersharks attacks to have the -1 or generate the extra BM for crossfire, but to allow the Gun Drones to as normal as ground units. That seems fairest to me.

I wanted to ask what others thought though, as it could be done in a few different ways. Hopefully Yme can clarify and possibly the text of the unit note should be tweaked to make it clear.

Yeah, that's how I would play it Glyn. If AC's can't claim the crossfire then only the Drones can. I like the KISS approach.

I am a little unsure of your question.

If you are asking assuming the Tigershark deploys drones and the drones are in a position so a line can be drawn from them through the target formation to another Tau ground formation. Then yes the Drones get crossfire and the Tigershark does not.

I am a little confused because it sounds like you are trying to deploy Drones and then by drawing a line back to the Tigershark benefit from crossfire which does not work both because the Tigerhsark is an aircraft and because until the end of the shooting action the Tigerhsark and Drones are counted as one formation.

I will add a note at some point regarding crossfire and also an oddity which can come up from the posibility the Drones come under overwatch fire when deployed and take enough casualties to break them (answer in this case is the Drones are suppressed until the shooting action ends and then break, while the Tigershark can shoot as normal).

That wasn't my meaning, sorry if I was unclear.

The Gun Drones and Tigershark count as one formation as they shoot and lets assume the Gun Drones can draw a crossfire line to another formation. If the Tigershark kills something but the Drones don't, does the target formation take an extra BM for crossfire?

The other question I had then was whether I could use range stretching with the Tigershark to allocate Gun Drone hits up to 45cm?

OK, sorry for my confusion.

The aircraft rules say the Tigerhsark attacks can't benefit from crossfire, so the answer is the Drone attacks will benefit from the -1 to armour save and will cause an extra blast marker for the first kill but the Tigershark attacks will not benefit from crossfire and will not cause an extra blast marker or give a -1 to the targets armour save so you will need in this instance to differentiate between the attack rolls.

Range stretching is fine.

I think that the rules say the opposite.

A formation that is shooting gets crossfire. You only have to get one unit into a crossfire position and the shooting from the whole formation can claim the crossfire. Including those shooting units that were not in a crossfire position.

If that is the case then the aircraft (Tigershark) shooting does not claim the crossfire. The Gun Drones on the ground claim the crossfire. Therefore the formation has a crossfire and the target suffers the consequences. Because the combined formation fires as one then all units in the target formation count as in crossfire.

The positive response to the range stretching seems to run along exactly the same principles. Any unit in the formation is allocated hits if it is within range and LOS of at least one of the attacking units.


Main rule says can't use an aircraft to draw a crossfire to (as opposed to from).


Clarification makes clear that an aerospace formation cannot claim a crossfire. Here the firing formation is NOT an aerospace formation; it includes landed Gun Drones who might or might not claim a crossfire.

As a more general comment. I understood that both the straight Tiger Shark formation and the Gun Drone formations were rare choices in peoples army lists. Part of putting them together was to give them a boost. Perhaps this "crossfire" boost is too much??? If so there are several options that might fit with my interpretation of the crossfire rule:

(1) Let the two formations fire separately. This could be exactly like a coordinated fire mission where they both have to fire at the same target formation. It would put a second blast-marker on the target but the aircraft shooting (as a separate formation) would not get crossfire AND the Gun Drones would not benefit from range stretching.

(2) Make another special rule that says one/two unit(s) (the aircraft) in the formation shooting must be tracked separately and the crossfire benefits do not apply to that.

(3) More thought required, but since I like (1), . . .

4.2.2 Aircraft Attacks

Has a specific text section which says - the crossfire rule does not apply to aircraft attacks.

I am going with this as justification for the rules interpretation I mention above. I will write a note clarifying that the Tigerhsark and Drones work this way the next time I update the list.

It's definitely unclear but I think RAW Andy is correct and the detail of the crossfire rules allow the Tigershark to benefit from crossfire -1 and extra BM as crossfire is done at a formation level and claimed by the Gun Drone part of the formation.

I'm trying to clarify/resolve a quirk here not trying to bend rules for gain - with this not being Yme's intention I'll play it as he suggests, which I thought the fairest way to interpret it too.

I don't like Andrew's idea of allowing the Drones their own activation when deployed, it's an unneeded boost and the units are fine and balanced as is.

I suggest the next time the list is updated that Tigershark's notes should just have text added stating their attacks may not get the -1 save or extra BM from crossfire.

OK, so I thought of an option (3).

(3) Just state that the Gun Drones are considered as part of the aircraft formation on the turn that they attack. After the attack they remain on the table as a separate formation. This would mean that their attacks did not get any Crossfire benefit either. You could just think of the gun drones as being part of the ordinance attack from the Tiger Sharks. They get to deploy up to 15 cm away, add lots of extra dice, disrupt, range stretching, . . .
It would also fit with the no BMs if half the formation is lost when one Tiger Shark is shot down. Basically the formation only becomes independent after it has deployed/shot.

It was not my intention with option (1) that they would have an independent activation. The one Tiger Shark activation allows the Gun Drones to deploy from the planes (any that survive) and shoot and that is their activation for the turn.

Sorry, meant to add. There are a lot of special rules to get these Gun Drones onto the table!
And increasing, . . .