Pile-In Move question; Pile-In towards closest model only.

[Artifactor]

Hello!

I have a question regarding pile in moves, and just wanted some clarification. See the picture I attached to this message (I'll never get an art degree, that's for sure!) to make things easier to understand. The black dots are the models of the black team, the red dots the models of the red team. The combat is about to begin(charges have already been made), thus it's time for Pile-Ins. The Red player goes first.
The rules state (and I'm including the FAQ in this), that a model may only pile-in if its Pile-In move ends closer to the enemy model that was the closest model when the Pile-In move began.
So what I'm saying is that the enemy model that is initially the closest one when the Pile-In move begin, have to remain the closest one when the Pile-In move end, regardless of whether you get into base to base with any other enemy model or not.

So, let's say the Red player goes first. Even though his 3" Pile-In  move could get him into combat, he's not allowed to make it, since it would take him further away from the initially closest model? 

Is this correct?  

Thank you!

[daedalus81]

Yes - potentially causing poorly managed units to "gum up".

[Artifactor]

So.. is it best to always have units in a long, straight line to minimize the chances of this happening? Or will things solve itself after charge and pile-in moves/causalities? What are you feelings on this? Have you found that this is a big issue?

[Dracoth]

This is interesting looks like I and many of my opponents have been playing this wrong. I have been playing it as you pile in 3" towards the closest unengaged model when clearly having re-read the rule this is wrong.  

[daedalus81]

1 hour ago, Artifactor said:

So.. is it best to always have units in a long, straight line to minimize the chances of this happening? Or will things solve itself after charge and pile-in moves/causalities? What are you feelings on this? Have you found that this is a big issue?

Not entirely.  There are different formations that you want to consider depending on how you want to influence pile in.  If you simply want the most attacks then you should stagger based on base size.  

A 25mm with 1" attacks base can just barely reach past the front row like this.  A 32mm base needs 1/2 inch between bases to get enough distance to reach.
 

 

[BaldoBeardo]

Generally the 'ideal' is to aim for a charge that takes you past your target unit, forming a semi-circle around the opposition. That way, when you pile-in your unit collapses in, maximising your attacks and causing problems for your opponent as their likely pile-in routes will be cramped.

Obviously this isn't universal or flawless, but I've found it's a good logic to try and follow.

Oh, and if you think you're in danger of your own guys getting in the way, remember that you aren't 'locked' in place unless in contact with the enemy. If you leave a small gap between your models and the enemy then next pile-in phase you can shuffle things a bit to open up for other models. (Only really worth remembering if you use bases as a measuring point)

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

[Artifactor]

Thanks for the answers, everyone!  I'm kind of stuck in the old ways of thinking, so that's why I asked this question. Glad to see it cleared up. Charging seems to be the time to wrap around units, if possible.

[mmimzie]

1 hour ago, Artifactor said:

Thanks for the answers, everyone!  I'm kind of stuck in the old ways of thinking, so that's why I asked this question. Glad to see it cleared up. Charging seems to be the time to wrap around units, if possible.

You don't just have to do that. You can also be careful not to get any of your models into base to base contact. 

 

As long as they aren't base to base they can make some kind of movement and can use the pile in to get a better wrap around.

[Nico]

Even if you are 2 mm away from the model, you can walk all the way around it with a pile in and finish 1 mm away. 

If you're outnumbered by your opponent, you probably want to pile in to base to base contact yourself to stop them doing subsequent pile ins.