Mistake Mondays: For Absolutely No Raisin!

It is time once more for some sexy, sexy mistakes and the somewhat less sexy Warhams that make them.

#1: the Other One Imperative
No enemy model can ever come within 1" of your models (and vice versa) except during a charge. With spikey or unbalanced models, awkward terrain, etc, it can be easy to forget, but you always have a 1" buffer around your models- use it. Whether keeping someone off an objective or denying them access to a unit they want to charge or shoot, being able to effectively create a 3" zone (1" on each side and 1" for the base itself) of non-availability with each model gives you a lot of flexibility in controlling the enemy's movement, if used right.



#2: Ruins and the Climbing Thereof
Only infantry, walkers, and monstrous creatures can move into the upper levels of a ruin normally (i.e. by spending 3" of movement). Jetbikes, jump infantry, and skimmers can move onto them at full speed (and provided they have a place to land), but have to make Dangerous Terrain tests as always. Beasts/cavalry, bikes, and all other vehicle types are completely unable to move into the upper levels.

#3: Difficult Ground and 12" Moves
Bikes and jump infantry do not need to make Difficult Terrain tests during the movement phase; they instead make a Dangerous Terrain where appropriate, but otherwise can move their full distance. During the assault phase, jump infantry behave just like infantry (making Difficult Terrain tests as normal), whereas bikes continue to move full distance but suffer Dangerous Terrain tests for it.

#4: Sweeping Advance
Sweeping advances are always made on unmodified initiative and do not benefit/suffer from Furious Charge, Lash Whips, Banshee Masks, etc, etc. If any member of a unit is unable to make a Sweeping Advance (i.e. wearing Terminator Armor), the opposing squad escapes safely unless there is another friendly unit in the combat that could pursue them.

#5: Feel No Pain
Feel No Pain "saves" (note that they are not actually a save, although they by and large behave like one) cannot be taken against any of the following:
-Any weapon which would inflict instant death, even if the model in question is an Eternal Warrior.
-Any AP1 or AP2 shooting attack.
-Any attack which ALWAYS ignores ALL armor saves. Close combat weapons like Power Fists are the most common example of this, but it also includes wounds from Dangerous Terrain, some special abilities (such as the Doom of Malan'tai), and miscellaneous other effects. Shooting attacks with an AP that bypasses the model's armor (unless AP1 or 2, as noted above) are insufficient to qualify for this, as they do not always ignore armor, only in one particular case.

#6: Going Flat Out
A vehicle which moves flat out cannot later disembark passengers, and if passengers disembark the vehicle may not move flat out later in the turn. If a vehicle is immobilized after having moved flat out in the previous movement phase, it is instead wrecked. Skimmers moving flat out go up to 24" instead of 18" and gain a 4+ cover save for doing so.

#7: Ruins and Blast Markers
Blast weapons and template weapons can only hit a single level of a ruin with any given shot. This must be chosen before firing and before scatter is determined.

#8: Shooting From a Vehicle
Passengers shooting from inside a vehicle count as moving if the vehicle moves at all (except pivoting); if it moves more than 6", they may not fire at all, even if it is Fast. Shaken/stunned damage results will likewise prevent them from shooting, although if they disembark they cease to be affected and may act normally.

#9: Defender Reacts
Movement as part of the Defender Reacts step is made only after all assaulters have been moved and only by models that are not yet in contact with an enemy unit; if there is a particular model you want to isolate somehow (keep a Power Fist away from your character, etc), make sure he is contacted by at least one model during the initial charge. Enemy Independent Characters are always required to be the first models moved during the Defender Reacts step to prevent them from "hiding" in the back of fight.

#10: Forgetting Units
Obligatory playstyle tip. Make sure you are familiar with your army through and through- if you can't list off all the units in it from memory, you are probably going to forget them during a game. (I am not, however, suggesting you go through and memorize your army list, but rather you should use it enough that you know it by virtue of experience.) Before moving to the next phase of a turn, check over the battlefield to make sure you haven't forgotten anything. What did each of your units do this phase? If you can't remember, they may not have acted. If you find you are extremely forgetful with this sort of thing, it may be worthwhile to buy or make a set of counters to indicate which of your units have acted, placing one such token next to the unit when it shoots/moves and removing them at the end of the phase.