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How to use the army lists
| [Content from Armies Book page 7 to 8. Errata from Firepower #1 page 15.] |
The units (tanks, infantry, etc.) in an Epic 40,000 army are organised into one or more formations called detachments. A detachment is composed of a variety of different models which move and fight together during a battle. Exactly what you can put in a detachment is explained in the detachment army lists for each race. There are generally several different kinds of detachment a race can field, but this is explained in more detail later.
Detachment army lists
Each detachment must be picked using a detachment army list for the appropriate race. Only units from the same detachment list can be placed together in the same detachment.
A detachment breaks down into three main sections: the detachment's Command, its Main Force and its Support. The list tells you what you can choose for the different sections and the points values of the units.
Command
A detachment must include something to command it in order to form a detachment at all. The unit in command is the HQ and is always at the top of the chain of command for that detachment. A detachment may also include a psyker as part of its command. This is not essential to the command structure and in some armies (Orks for example) psykers are not actually in the chain of command at all.
Main force
The main force is what makes up the bulk of a detachment. The main force units can only be chosen from the Main Force section of the detachment list. The entries in the Main Force list represent a whole range of things from squads or mobs of infantry to individual vehicles, vehicle squadrons and artillery batteries.
Each entry lists the number of units the squad consists of, its points cost and any upgrades (like heavy weapons or jump packs, for example) which are available for it.
The army list may contain certain rare units which are only available in limited numbers per detachment. This will be noted on the army list by the entry saying 'up to one, two (or whatever)'. Other than this it is up to you the player (and commander of course) to decide on the size of the detachments in your force.
Support
Support slots represent units which, unsurprisingly, are chosen to support the main force in a standard detachment. In practice this means that the Support section will include units which are not in the main force list. Generally the number of support units you may field is limited by the size of the main force. Details of how this works are given in the army lists for each detachment.
War engine detachments
Detachments for war engines and supreme commanders are slightly different from the standard ones for tanks and infantry. A war engine 'detachment' will often be one model if it is a Battle Titan or Gargant. However, super heavy tanks and the like can be grouped into larger detachments.
Supreme commander detachments
Supreme commanders are inspirational leaders who out-rank the commanders of individual detachments. Their presence can greatly affect an army's fighting ability as their magnificent commander leads by example, exhorting his troops to greater efforts. Each army list includes an entry for the supreme commanders that a race can have. Each commander and his bodyguard function as a separate (if small) detachment.
Detachment card
It's convenient to write detachments down so that they can be used again, so we've included a standard Detachment card to fill out in conjunction with the army lists. The Detachment cards also include other game details such as its total points cost, morale value, reserve speed and half strength. These are explained fully at Scenario special rules [Special Rules section of the Battles Book]. We've included enough lines to accommodate very large detachments — don't feel that you have to use them all! Detachment cards for specific races, particularly Tyranids, may look very different from this (examples of these are included later).
Important note. Regardless of where a unit is on the Detachment card it does not have to remain in proximity with units from the same or adjacent spaces when it is on the battlefield. There is no 'unit coherency' as such, only the advisability of sticking reasonably close to one's HQ.
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