Can you NOT activate a unit in combat?

[Dream]

"Any unit that has charged or has models within 3" of an enemy unit can attack with its melee wepons in the combat phase."

"...and so on until all eligible units one both sides have attacked once each."

So can I charge a unit of wrathmongers and then not attack them? If 1 wrathmonger charges my mawcrusha do I HAVE to suicide myself on it?

It seems like I have to kill myself all the time in this game...

[Nico]

There's an FAQ answer on this - page 4 - top of right column. You don't have to attack - thankfully.

[Glazer]

You missed out the important bit between those two quotes:

"The player whose turn it is picks a unit to attack with, then the opposing player must attack with a unit, and so on until all eligible units on both sides have attacked once each."

Note the word 'must', and that the player whose turn it is, is simply told to pick a unit (not 'they can pick a unit').

[Azlak the Damned]

The rules state "Any unit that has charged or has models within 3" of an enemy unit can attack with its melee weapons in the combat phase".

I take this as you can decide whether to attack or not. I think the MUST part clarifies that for every unit you attack with your opponent must decide to attack or not attack next before it is your decision again.

Although personally I can't see why you wouldn't attack anyway because if you could attack then your enemy is obviously in range to attack you anyway. So strike first! Skulls for the Skull Throne!

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

[RuneBrush]

@Nico has this one.  Basically you activate the unit, but chose not to make any attacks.  This is useful if the unit has some kind of retaliation attack (Blood Warriors, Wrathmongers etc)

[Glazer]

I agree with the others, you don't have to attack with the models in an 'activated unit' - I was just answering the question, "Can you not activate a unit in combat." 

It's correct to say that you don't have to make any attacks with the models in a unit that is selected to attack; however, if you have any units left to select, you must pick one and carry out its attacks. Once you've selected a unit, you can choose not to make to hit rolls etc for the models in it. 

[Nico]

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It's correct to say that you don't have to make any attacks with the models in a unit that is selected to attack; however, if you have any units left to select, you must pick one and carry out its attacks. Once you've selected a unit, you can choose not to make to hit rolls etc for the models in it. 

This is a more subtle point. Your answer here looks right. The situation that springs to mind is if you were down to your last unit to activate and yet you wanted your opponent to pile in first, so that you might get additional models into combat when you piled in.

Indeed it could be that your last unit was 4 inches away when it came to your turn to activate, but if your opponent piled in first, then he would be 2 inches away and could pile in. I doubt that you can skip your activation and then come back to it subsequently for this purpose. This could be the subject of another FAQ answer. 

[StealthKnightSteg]

56 minutes ago, Nico said:

This is a more subtle point. Your answer here looks right. The situation that springs to mind is if you were down to your last unit to activate and yet you wanted your opponent to pile in first, so that you might get additional models into combat when you piled in.

Indeed it could be that your last unit was 4 inches away when it came to your turn to activate, but if your opponent piled in first, then he would be 2 inches away and could pile in. I doubt that you can skip your activation and then come back to it subsequently for this purpose. This could be the subject of another FAQ answer. 

I think that if you activated a unit and then skipped attacked with it you can't return to that unit.

But in your example of a unit 4" away it would never be in the Selection of "to be activated" units only until the opponent does his pile -in to make it suddenly 2" then you just have a legit "new unit" you can activate even if you ran out of activations long time before.

[Ratamaplata]

You could be 4" away due to casualty removal from a previous unit attacking. As long as you successfully charged you could still pile in.

[Nico]

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But in your example of a unit 4" away it would never be in the Selection of "to be activated" units only until the opponent does his pile -in to make it suddenly 2" then you just have a legit "new unit" you can activate even if you ran out of activations long time before.

This is why it's a subtle point. 

It is clear that if 

1. Unit A was at 4 inches away from enemy unit B and an enemy unit B piled in (either towards another unit or because it charged this turn), such that Unit B and Unit A were now within 3 of each other; and 
2. The player who owns Unit A still has activations to do (hasn't finished activating all its eligible units).

Then the player can activate Unit A.

What's not clear is what happens if only 1 is true, but not 2. So the player has run out of units that were eligible (and thus stopped selecting units), but now due to an enemy pile in, another one of its units has "become eligible". This isn't clear. Purposively, I cannot see any reason why unit A should not be able to pile in and attack, but taken literally that player has probably finished his activations. 

[Glazer]

27 minutes ago, Nico said:

What's not clear is what happens if only 1 is true, but not 2. So the player has run out of units that were eligible (and thus stopped selecting units), but now due to an enemy pile in, another one of its units has "become eligible". This isn't clear. Purposively, I cannot see any reason why unit A should not be able to pile in and attack, but taken literally that player has probably finished his activations. 

I agree, although counter-intuitive, once you stop being able to select units to attack, the rules say that you can't do so for the rest of the combat phase: "If one side competes all of its attacks first, then the other side completes all of its remaining attacks, one unit after the another." However, I think I would let my opponent off if this happened when I was playing .

[Nico]

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However, I think I would let my opponent off if this happened when I was playing .

I agree. It makes sense that they would attack; and this situation would only happen rarely. What happens far more often is the situation where casualty removal from a unit pulls another enemy unit out of 3 inches, so the latter cannot pile in (unless it charged that turn). 

I can see why they do have a general rule that you have to keep selecting in turn (since otherwise you could hold back units for tactical reasons).

[StealthKnightSteg]

1 hour ago, Nico said:

I agree. It makes sense that they would attack; and this situation would only happen rarely. What happens far more often is the situation where casualty removal from a unit pulls another enemy unit out of 3 inches, so the latter cannot pile in (unless it charged that turn). 

Even if it charged why would it be able to pile in? (and this would mostly benefit units with weapon ranges 2 or higher as probably units with the 1" would also be out of weapon range more often then not (would otherwise be a very close thing on the 3" out of range))

[rokapoke]

38 minutes ago, StealthKnightSteg said:

Even if it charged why would it be able to pile in? (and this would mostly benefit units with weapon ranges 2 or higher as probably units with the 1" would also be out of weapon range more often then not (would otherwise be a very close thing on the 3" out of range))

The 4-page basic rules  indicate that any unit within 3" of the enemy or that has successfully charged may pile-in and attack.

[StealthKnightSteg]

45 minutes ago, rokapoke said:

The 4-page basic rules  indicate that any unit within 3" of the enemy or that has successfully charged may pile-in and attack.

ah the little 'or' word.. thanks

[Dream]

Thanks for all the help guys! Love this forum. Yea the faq cleared it up, Ive been tactically retreating a lot with my cowardly orks much to the chagrin of the local khorne BB player. However it came up last week, and reading the rules I was kinda stumped it seemed that I had to kill myself on his dudes. Thanks! NO MORE SUICIDES FOR THIS WARBOSS!