What do you think?

[david5th]

During my 1st game at the 40K TOS tournament iwas playing an eldar player who seemed nice enough up unitl the following :

His Autarch & Warlocks all on jetbikes charged my Terminator assualt sqaud with TH & SS. His Autarch got in to base contact with my sergeant. After his attacks = no kills i fought back. I decided to alloate my sergeants hits onto th autarch. he told me i couldn't as i have " no special powers that allow that".

Even when i showed pg49 of the rulebook he refused and only after i got an offical involved did he backdown.

my question is are was i and the offical correct in interpertation of the rules or was he right all along.

[Connjurus]

It says right in the rulebook. The Autarch is an independent character, and thus, when in close-combat, is considered a separate unit from the Warlocks.

[Culven]

His Autarch & Warlocks all on jetbikes charged my Terminator assualt sqaud with TH & SS. His Autarch got in to base contact with my sergeant. After his attacks = no kills i fought back. I decided to allocate my sergeants hits onto the autarch. he told me i couldn't as i have " no special powers that allow that".
Your opponent may have been mistaken, or possibly simply cheating to try to save his IC. The rules for which unit a model may attack, when combined with the IC rules which make the IC a separate unit during combat, mean that if the Sergeant was only in base contact with the IC, then it could only attack the IC. If the Sergeant wasn't in base contact with the IC, but in base contact with the Warlocks, then it couldn't direct its attacks against the IC.

[Tynskel]

yeah.
An individual model can only attack one unit. If such individual model is in B2B with 2 or more units, they must direct their attacks toward only one of the 2 or more units.
Note, that the individual model does not have to be an independent character to do this. This rule is strictly based upon what models are in Base 2 Base Contact.

Sounds like the Eldar Player was trying to pull an 'Eldar' trick--- those filthy Alien Witches, attempting to cloud your Sgt's Mind.

[Bean]

On the other hand, if it was a Farseer instead of an Autarch, the sergeant actually would not be able to allocate attacks at the Farseer, since the Warlocks are a Retinue for the Farseer, and he would count as an upgrade character to their unit rather than an independent character.

Given that you can't take a unit of Warlocks without a Farseer, you may want to seriously reconsider whether you've remembered the right term.

[Random Guy]

Even if it was a farseer he's in the wrong. Eldar have no retinues, so yes you and the organisers got it completely right. I hope you burned the heretical cheating xenos scum well for this offense. And generally for being heretical xenos scum.

Random Guy

[Calypso2ts]

If the farseer is an IC and can opt to leave the unit, then he can be targeted in CC. The only examples that come to mind of 'true' retinues are in the WH, DH codex and possibly a HT with tyrant guard depending on who you ask :P

[Archon Charybdis]

since the Warlocks are a Retinue for the Farseer

Warlocks are not a retinue, neither "retinue" or "bodyguard" appear anywhere in their entry. You have to have a Farseer included in the army to field them, but they're separate units and the Farseer does not count as an upgrade character.

[Bean]

Bodyguard and retinue don't have to appear in the entry, the IC just has to start attached to the unit and be unable to leave it, which I thought was the case for Farseers and Warlocks. Unfortunately, I seem to have lost my copy of the Eldar codex, so I can't confirm.

Sorry if I was wrong. Are you guys sure the Farseer isn't mandatorily attached to the Warlocks, though?

[karandras]

Yes. Just like SM Command Squads or BA Honor Guard, the Warlocks are a seperate HQ unit that does not use up an FOC slot. Nowhere does it require the Farseer to be with them. Unlike those other units though, Warlocks really do need to be within 6" of the Farseer to have Fortune cast on them, so very rarely are they not joined together because they are a far less effective unit without Fortune.

Tau also have retinues. Imperial Guard Company Command Squad basically functions as one as well.

[karandras]

As to the original topic - hopefully he wasn't cheating but rather did not know what he was doing. The assault phase is probably the least understood piece of the rules. Plus if he is charging his precious Seer Council unit into your TH/SS Terminators, he may really not have known what he was doing!

[Bean]

Yes. Just like SM Command Squads or BA Honor Guard, the Warlocks are a seperate HQ unit that does not use up an FOC slot. Nowhere does it require the Farseer to be with them. Unlike those other units though, Warlocks really do need to be within 6" of the Farseer to have Fortune cast on them, so very rarely are they not joined together because they are a far less effective unit without Fortune.

Tau also have retinues. Imperial Guard Company Command Squad basically functions as one as well.

Makes sense. Sorry for the mixup.

[Culven]

An individual model can only attack one unit. If such individual model is in B2B with 2 or more units, they must direct their attacks toward only one of the 2 or more units.
Actually, this was the case in fourth edition, but not in fifth. Models may divide their attacks; however, they may only be able to attack one Unit due to being in base contact with that Unit. Only a model in base contact with 2+ Units or Engaged through friendly models (but not in base contact at all) will be able to attack mode than one Unit.

[Tynskel]

wait, what? I don't remember it saying that at all.
I am going to have to read my Assault section, for some reason I remember it always being a problem for single model units, that they only attack one or the other, never both.

ah, this is why I normally post page numbers. because it means that I know exactly where the rule that I am referring to is.

[Tynskel]

There it is, on page 41.