The 1” rule was one of the rules that caught people out with 8th Edition was first introduced. Either they forgot to do it when they deployed or they didn’t take it into account when they moved and manoeuvred their units. Now it is pretty much second nature to everybody when they deploy and finish their movement but is still sometimes forgotten when moving.
The easiest way that I have thought of to remember it, is that EVERY unit (friend or foe), every building and every piece of impassable ground has a 1” bubble around it that you must not enter unless charging.
Like all GW mechanisms you can always find a grey area. By the letter of the rules every board edge is impassable and therefore a case can be made that you can’t go within 1” of the board each. I haven’t seen this played – and I believe it opens up a can of worms if you try to play a 1” exclusion zone around board edges. [As an aside, remember fleeing units are destroyed as they leave via a board edge triggering potential panic checks on units within 6” of a unit when it hits the edge].
So how do I think the 1” rule has impacted the game? Well I certainly think it has cleaned up a lot of charges now units have to be an inch apart. It’s important to know how it impacts on overruns and pursuits as unless you are going into contact that 1” must be adhered to. Also that spacing makes measuring spaces far more intuitive as you now the minimum distance must be 1”.
This makes charges against multiple units a much less common thing – and where they do occur they seem easier to resolve – again cleaning the game up.
Rule Change: B+
[One thing that causes me to smile is that it is clear that GW has instituted this rule to tidy things up by putting a clear separation between units. However, you’ll still get O&G players insisting their base size is 1 ¼” so that they can position it to hit two units. I'd expect that from Dwarfs but I thought O&G players had more pride! Yep, GW created a new base size just to allow them to circumvent the 1” rule. At least put it on a 40mm and acknowledge you are being gamey buggers]
I thought the board edge issue was solved with this FAQ...
ReplyDeleteQ: Can a unit near or on the board edge pivot (or wheel) so that
part of the unit (or its base) is temporarily off of the board? (p27)
A: Yes, though it is not allowed to end its movement with part
of the unit (or its base) off the board.
I like it because it stops the horrible practice of people running fast cavalry and skirmishers between two of your units and reforming them behind you, now they have to go the long way around.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part of this rule is all the skaven and bret players that don't take into account the length of their units hitting the one inch as they move. Every dam time lol.
ReplyDeleteThat is a totally valid concern. When wheeling the tail of a unit can not move through another unit (except at the ETC). It means the unit should move straight forward (past the unit +1") before wheeling when normal movement. When charging as long as footprints don't overlap at anytime all is good.
DeleteI wouldn't say it is limited to Brets and Skaven though. Good to check with your opponent (how he plays it) before a game to avoid conflict.
the other exception is fanatics can stop less than one inch away from a unit on the bounce through... 2 1/2 inches between, fanatic bounces an inch out the past the unit, so therefor stops 1/2 inch away...
ReplyDeleteas for the template... Yes Pete, I am going to bite the lovely hook you have presented for me to bite on...
A template weapon has to only touch the a model to do damage. the small flying base supplied by GW is an inch and a quarter, therefore it is possible for the template to touch 2 units... The doom diver rules state that if the template touches the unit, it takes d6 hits...
what I really like is when you warn players about the inch apart, they ignore it for their turn right up to the point when the DD hits 3 units at once in my shooting phase.... suddenly out comes the "oh they should be an inch apart"
at this point I usually say something like 'oh well, I did warn you, sorry about that'
Gamey See You Next Tuesday :-)
DeleteSo I take it you have been on the recieving end of this a few times Pete =P I do love a good fanatic slingshot
DeleteNot overly.
ReplyDeleteThe DD base always gets a bite
I'm not too keen on this rule.
ReplyDeleteThe intent of the rule as written is fine "This rule is purely for clarity" . It provides a clear distinction between units and means that only one unit usually gets charged. This part of the rule, having a 1" separation at the end of the movement phase gets an A+ from me.
What I dislike is having to keep 1" apart throughout movement. It just creates a lot of unnecessary micro management and slows the game down particularly when you have lots of units with multiple ranks. It can prevent units on monster bases pivoting, and create traffic jams. Theses can often be worked around by shuffling units a bit at a time and choosing the correct order in which to move things but it just slows things up. I cannot see that it achieves anything towards the "clarity" objective. This part gets a D or a "Not Achieved" in NCEA terms.
Neil