Consider the following setup.

I have a formation deployed on my back edge of the the table and it has a formation of scouts deployed in front that is not intermingled but does have its ZOC covering my normal formation.

I know I can still air assault the normal formation as I count as entering their ZOC before the scouts and therefore the FAQ applies, assuming I barge my way in and can physically fit my model on the table.

Now here come the questions.

Can I disembark units and not place them in base to base to allow them to FF? I think not as the FAQ covers a unit moving directly into base to base with a target formation.

When it comes to consolidation moves, If I chose to move must I end said movement out of the scouts ZOC? Again I think yes, which in most cases will force me to sit still.

You can if there is space to place the stand? The WE will have barged. There may still be uncontacted units. Surely you can't place the stands in base to base with the barged stands as they are already 'double engaged' (all landers are at least 2 dc). If you take the WE as a single unit the contacted units have still lost their ZoC so stands are free to move by the best possible route to the closest uncontacted stand. You don't have to move all the way though and could stop before you contact them. Of course unless you are jump troops you will run out of space eventually.

I'm sure the rules state that once you enter a models ZOC during an engagement move you must move directly towards them and into base to base if you have the ability to do so.

Anyway the issue here isn't the target units ZOC it's the fact that FF units will be in the scouts ZOC only, as the engaged formation will have lost their own ZOC due to being in CC as you indicate above.

I guess you'd be forced to move 5cm (A normal disembark speed) towards the Scouts.

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You can FF if you meet all the conditions. You must be able to dismount outside of enemy ZoCs and not in base contact with the enemy. As long as you don't enter their ZoC, you're not obligated to proceed all the way to contact and can stop for FF.

Since enemy units lose ZoC when in base contact, it's possible to use a few units in base contact to carve out a ZoC "dead zone" in the middle of the enemy formation. What is really possible is, of course, highly dependent on the placement of the actual units on the board. Good placement may make this virtually impossible in practical terms.

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Ah. I'd really have to see this. The only way I can picture this working is if the target formation were butted directly up against the edge of the board. I have a feeling that in practical terms it would be very difficult to create this situation in a way that the air assault could not avoid it in some fashion.

I'd let them assault the target. I would interpret the intent of the FAQ on 2.1.12 (the "scouts behind the target" question) as saying that the Scouts cannot really intervene unless they are physically interposed, which is not the case for an air assault. I wouldn't, however, think the attackers could completely ignore the ZoC, so you're stuck with navigating some sort of middle ground. My best guess would be to treat the "disembark" move as much like a normal "starting in the ZoC of the enemy" situation as possible. So, thinking through the requirements and restrictions...

If the attackers have to dismount into the target's ZoC, they have to move to base contact per the charge rules. I think it's clear that entering the target ZoC overrides other considerations in terms of forcing movement.

I think the attackers could choose to move into CC with the target, regardless of ZoC restrictions, as I think that fits the intent of the FAQ.

The attackers could voluntarily stop in FF range only if they could move out of the Scout ZoC because there was a "blank" area they could reach. I would say they had to move directly out of the Scout ZoC just like a normal move starting in enemy ZoC. If they encounter any target ZoC in the path, or they would be forced to CC that target as above.

If it is impossible to get outside the scout ZoC, I think the only choice is to attempt CC, as Meph stated. I don't think it's fair to allow them to just loiter in the scout ZoC, and the only justification for allowing them to ignore the Scout ZoC is that they are charging full on.

If the attackers don't have enough movement to reach CC (if all the valid targets are already doubled up, for instance) then they can move directly towards the closest target in an attempt to reach CC, but they would end up out of base contact due to lack of movement.

What do you guys think?


So, you might be able to manipulate it to keep a minimum number of troops in CC. As an example, if you dropped a Thawk with Assaults and Devs, you could have the Assault Marines move to base contact with the troops closest to the Thawk, leaving the Devs with no valid CC targets, so they would move towards the closest enemies and stop at the limit of their movement. With the Thawk in contact with an enemy unit or two and the assault marines hitting the next closest 4 enemies, you might even tie up enough that the enemy could not countercharge into base with the Devs, either due to distance or because the Assault Marines were physically interposed so the enemy could not move past them.

But you can't they are not part of the engagement so how are you suddenly allowed to enter their ZOC? My take is if they cannot find an area were they are not in the scouts ZOC they can't disembark.

If they can enter an engaged units zoc but not have the move to get to base to base (impossible with a 5cm disembark) then I can see them being able to FF. Otherwise they are stuck.

In normal games terms you are not screening from behind (though some people may try to claim that you are if the flyer approach move ends up straight down your back edge, but I'd just slap them!) so I don't believe the FAQ applies in this case other than units moving into b2b.

I've always felt the ZOC rules are over-complicated.

Personally I've found that any time section 4 has to interact with section 1,2 or 3 things get tricky

In the same manner as you can enter the ZoC of a non-engaged formation when counter-charging, by moving at full speed (5cm) towards the nearest enemy unit, whether or not you're in its ZoC?

I don't think it's specifically covered in the rules, but it seems to make a kind of sense, in that the scouts "interfere" with the air-droppers and act to draw them away from where they want to be.

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Ack. 4 replies while I was editing.

I think Meph's conclusion and mine are the same (at least functionally), just stated differently.

Yes, I think we are on the same wavelength neal. This situation (formations hugging the back edge) is pretty common turn one these days at tournaments as none marine players try to avoid a turn one terminator assault, but then get kicked by an air assault instead.

I also agree that in most situations a small hole in the scout ZOC will exist allowing units to FF but wanted to check I had a correct understanding of what the rules intend to produce.

So in summary, an air assault on a formation screened by scouts has to go into CC unless there is sufficient space available (or made) for subsequent units to be placed in FF. Sounds good to me.

One note of caution. Adopting this interpretation on the way enemy ZOC works will potentially leave some of the attackers inside the transport as they will be unable to get out into CC.

Assume the scout ZOC extends up to the target formation which is tightly packed together. The air transport is positioned against one enemy unit leaving a 40mm wide enemy base each side that may be contacted by two units. As you can only put two units into B-B, only 4x assaulters can get out into CC as any others would have to be placed beside the Transport (in the ZOC of the scouts), which this interpretation would prohibit. Even if you allow assaulting units to straddle the 5cm line to contact the next enemy units, the assault is limited to those 6x units.

Obviously this is an extreme case as jet pack troops can disembark further, infiltrate allows some penetration of the enemy formation and attacking units can move into some of the spaces if the enemy is not tightly packed.