Strategic Phase

Players take turns activating one unit at a time, as described in The Turn. When you activate a unit it can:

• move, using up to its full Move, and
• use one ability: a ranged attack, a spell or another activated ability. It can do this before, after or in the middle of its move.

If the unit has a commander, the commander gets one ability of its own in the same activation.

A unit in combat can’t move, and can only use the few abilities that work in combat. A fleeing unit can only try to rally.

Movement

A unit moves in two ways, which you can chain together in any order until its Move is used up:

Advance

Move straight forward. Each inch costs 1” of Move, or 2” while in a forest. Units can’t move backwards or sideways.

Pivot

Turn on the spot around the unit’s centre, by any angle. A pivot costs a quarter of the unit’s Move for every 90°.

• An advance stops at the first unit or impassable terrain in the way. You can’t push through friends.
• A pivot is only blocked by enemy units. You can swing past friends and terrain.
• A unit can’t end its move overlapping another unit, or within about half an inch of one.
• War Machines have Move 0 but pivot for free, so they can always turn to face a target.
• A unit that pursued a fleeing enemy in this turn’s Charge phase can’t move, but it can still use abilities.

In the game you drag the move handle to advance, and drag the pivot handles to turn. Right-click undoes the last step; double-click confirms.

Ranged attacks

A unit with a ranged weapon can shoot it as its ability for the activation. The target must be:

• within the weapon’s range, measured to the nearest point of the target;
• in the shooter’s line of sight: the same 90° arc from the front edge used for charges, blocked by units, forests, buildings and cliffs. See Who it can reach;
• not in combat. A unit in combat can’t shoot, and you can’t shoot into a melee.

A unit may still move after shooting if it has Move left.

Number of shots

Each model in the unit’s first two ranks shoots once. Models further back can’t see past their comrades. Some weapons fire two or more shots per model. A commander shoots with its own weapon, using its own ability.

The roll to hit

Roll a die for each shot. The number needed depends on the shooter’s Skill:

Then apply modifiers. Each one makes the roll 1 harder or easier, but a roll is never worse than 6+ or better than 2+:

Long range −1

The target is more than half the weapon’s range away. Only weapons with a range of 12” or more suffer this.

Cover −1

The target is in a forest, or always counts as in cover.

Each hit then makes a damage save against the weapon’s Power, exactly as in melee.

War machines and fire

Cannons, catapults, mortars, flamers and other blast weapons don’t roll to hit. Roll the dice shown on the weapon, such as D3, 2D3 or D6, and the total is the number of hits. These weapons ignore long range. Against a target in cover, each die rolled loses 1 hit.

Common ranged weapons

Every other weapon is listed in the Glossary.

Abilities and spells

Many units and most commanders have activated abilities: spells, war cries, curses and stranger things. Using one takes the unit’s ability for the activation, just like shooting.

• No casting roll. Abilities and spells always work. What limits them is how many times they can be used, and the game shows the uses left.
• Commander abilities can usually be used once per battle. A few, such as Shield Wall, can be used in every activation, and a few are always active and never need activating.
• Spells have charges: a set number of casts per battle, usually 1, 2 or 3.
• Targets depend on the ability. It might affect an enemy in line of sight, a friend within range, everything within range, or just the user.
• Duration: most effects last until the start of the next Strategic phase. Some last the whole battle, or until the target’s next combat.
• In combat: units in combat can only use abilities marked as usable in combat, and most abilities can’t target units in combat.

Spellcasters choose their spells in the Army Builder: one cantrip and one major spell, from their faction’s list.

Rallying fleeing units

A fleeing unit has lost its nerve, after failing a break test or fleeing from a charge. When you activate it, the only thing it can do is try to rally: take a Discipline test with no penalty. Its Discipline plus its ranks is the target.

• Pass: the unit rallies and fights on as normal from now on.
• Fail: it keeps fleeing.

Either way, its activation ends and it can’t move this turn.

Flight

At the end of the Strategic phase, every unit still fleeing runs its full Move toward the nearest table edge, unless it already fled this turn. A fleeing unit runs around impassable terrain and ignores difficult terrain. If it reaches the edge of the battlefield, it is gone: it counts as destroyed.

A unit still fleeing at the end of the battle counts as lost, so rallying it is worth points.