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Author Topic: Help Explaining How Great Companies Work.  (Read 4358 times)

Offline Uldakamedes

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Help Explaining How Great Companies Work.
« on: October 23, 2017, 04:29:02 PM »
Hello Fellow Free Peoples! :biggriin:, I'm still fairly new to Age of Sigmar and also Free people whom i decided to choose as my main army. I just recently picked up the new generals handbook and im having a hard time understand how Freeguild Great Companies work. It probably super simple and im just not picking it up, having a rather slow moment :-P. I get how they form but how they function is confusing me. thanks in advance for the help folks!

Offline Oxycutor

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Re: Help Explaining How Great Companies Work.
« Reply #1 on: October 24, 2017, 11:38:25 AM »
Well, if I go through an example, might that help?

Myself, the Freeguild player has a unit of 20 Freeguild Handgunners, a unit of 20 Greatswords and a unit of 10 Freeguild Guard with swords and shields.

I've move the 10 swordsmen up front in my turn, and the handgunners are a little behind and to the right a bit, where at least a couple of them are within 5" of the swordsmen.  Likewise, the halberdiers are 5" back and to the left.

HHHHHHHHHH.....................GGGGGGGGGG
HHHHHHHHHH.....................GGGGGGGGGG
...............................................................
...............................................................
.....................SSSSSSSSSS.......................


My opponent has his turn, and in the charge phase charges with his Blooodreavers, and successfully ends up within 1/2" of my Swordsmen, but the  Bloodbound  are still 6" away from both the Greatswords and Handgunners

HHHHHHHHHH.....................GGGGGGGGGG
HHHHHHHHHH.....................GGGGGGGGGG
...............................................................
...............................................................
.....................SSSSSSSSSS.......................
.............BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB............

The Great Company rules say that at the end of each enemy charge phase a great company unit can support another great company unit.  As long as the unit doing the support is more than 3" away from the enemy - so the Handgunners and Greatswords qualify in this example.   Also, that the unit they are supporting is within 3" of the enemy - so the Swordsmen qualify, and that the units doing the support are within 6".  As we've said already the handgunners and greatswords were 5" away from the swordsmen, so they can both act!

The act can either be a shoot as if it was the shooting phase, or a charge as if it were the charge phase.   So, the handgunners could shoot, it doesn't actually specifiy they have to target any unit that is within 3" of the unit they are "supporting", so they could shoot anywhere, though they might want to help out their buddies.   The greatswords could charge, and again, doesn't have to charge the bloodbound, but it could be the only unit in range to charge.

So, supposing the greatswords charge the bloodbound (likey to succeed as they are 6" away)  and the handgunners then shoot, killing a few of the bloodbound.

HHHHHHHHHH..........................................
HHHHHHHHHH..........................................
...............................................................
........................................GGGGG............
.....................SSSSSSSSSSGGGGGGGGGG
..........................BBBBBBBBBBBBBB.GGG

The bloodbound with a smaller unit is now facing two enemy units, rather than one.

Supposing both sides roll terribly, and nothing much happens in the combat phase, and battleshock phase.   Then my opponent wins the roll-off for the next turn, and his hero phase, movement phase, shooting phase don't have any impact on this area of the battlefield, so it's his charge phase.  At the end of it, even your opponent didn't charge, you can check to see if the great companies rules are applicable, and in this example, the handgunners would be eligible to support again, so they could charge or shoot.

Offline GamesPoet

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Re: Help Explaining How Great Companies Work.
« Reply #2 on: October 24, 2017, 11:43:33 AM »
Oooh!  That sounds very good! :icon_biggrin: :icon_cool:
"Not all who wander are lost ... " Tolkien

"... my old suggestion is forget it, take two aspirins and go paint" steveb

"The beauty of curiosity and creativity is so much more useful than the passion of fear." me

"Until death it is all life." Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Offline Oxycutor

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Re: Help Explaining How Great Companies Work.
« Reply #3 on: October 24, 2017, 12:58:18 PM »
Basically, it's Empire Detachments.  but better.

Offline GamesPoet

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Re: Help Explaining How Great Companies Work.
« Reply #4 on: October 24, 2017, 02:48:00 PM »
Yep, sounds like it! :::cheers:::
"Not all who wander are lost ... " Tolkien

"... my old suggestion is forget it, take two aspirins and go paint" steveb

"The beauty of curiosity and creativity is so much more useful than the passion of fear." me

"Until death it is all life." Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Offline Gankom

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Re: Help Explaining How Great Companies Work.
« Reply #5 on: October 24, 2017, 06:03:28 PM »
I've only got it to successfully work in one game so far, but when it did it was beautiful. Just have to watch for flankers and ambushes.

Offline Oxycutor

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Re: Help Explaining How Great Companies Work.
« Reply #6 on: October 25, 2017, 08:40:25 AM »
I would think a couple of really cheap screening units to keep stuff off the supporting units.  Maybe even dip into allies

Offline Warlord

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Re: Help Explaining How Great Companies Work.
« Reply #7 on: October 25, 2017, 12:18:27 PM »
Welcome! I love your warcraft 2 footman avatar!
Quote from: Gneisenau
I hate people who don't paint their armies, hate them with all my guts. Beats me how they value other things over painting, like eating or brushing teeth.

Offline Uldakamedes

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Re: Help Explaining How Great Companies Work.
« Reply #8 on: October 25, 2017, 09:13:13 PM »
Welcome! I love your warcraft 2 footman avatar!

Thanks! always loved warcraft games along with the universe im actually basing my free peoples army scheme after the Scarlet Crusade.

Offline Uldakamedes

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Re: Help Explaining How Great Companies Work.
« Reply #9 on: October 25, 2017, 09:18:26 PM »
Well, if I go through an example, might that help?

Myself, the Freeguild player has a unit of 20 Freeguild Handgunners, a unit of 20 Greatswords and a unit of 10 Freeguild Guard with swords and shields.

I've move the 10 swordsmen up front in my turn, and the handgunners are a little behind and to the right a bit, where at least a couple of them are within 5" of the swordsmen.  Likewise, the halberdiers are 5" back and to the left.

HHHHHHHHHH.....................GGGGGGGGGG
HHHHHHHHHH.....................GGGGGGGGGG
...............................................................
...............................................................
.....................SSSSSSSSSS.......................


My opponent has his turn, and in the charge phase charges with his Blooodreavers, and successfully ends up within 1/2" of my Swordsmen, but the  Bloodbound  are still 6" away from both the Greatswords and Handgunners

HHHHHHHHHH.....................GGGGGGGGGG
HHHHHHHHHH.....................GGGGGGGGGG
...............................................................
...............................................................
.....................SSSSSSSSSS.......................
.............BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB............

The Great Company rules say that at the end of each enemy charge phase a great company unit can support another great company unit.  As long as the unit doing the support is more than 3" away from the enemy - so the Handgunners and Greatswords qualify in this example.   Also, that the unit they are supporting is within 3" of the enemy - so the Swordsmen qualify, and that the units doing the support are within 6".  As we've said already the handgunners and greatswords were 5" away from the swordsmen, so they can both act!

The act can either be a shoot as if it was the shooting phase, or a charge as if it were the charge phase.   So, the handgunners could shoot, it doesn't actually specifiy they have to target any unit that is within 3" of the unit they are "supporting", so they could shoot anywhere, though they might want to help out their buddies.   The greatswords could charge, and again, doesn't have to charge the bloodbound, but it could be the only unit in range to charge.

So, supposing the greatswords charge the bloodbound (likey to succeed as they are 6" away)  and the handgunners then shoot, killing a few of the bloodbound.

HHHHHHHHHH..........................................
HHHHHHHHHH..........................................
...............................................................
........................................GGGGG............
.....................SSSSSSSSSSGGGGGGGGGG
..........................BBBBBBBBBBBBBB.GGG

The bloodbound with a smaller unit is now facing two enemy units, rather than one.

Supposing both sides roll terribly, and nothing much happens in the combat phase, and battleshock phase.   Then my opponent wins the roll-off for the next turn, and his hero phase, movement phase, shooting phase don't have any impact on this area of the battlefield, so it's his charge phase.  At the end of it, even your opponent didn't charge, you can check to see if the great companies rules are applicable, and in this example, the handgunners would be eligible to support again, so they could charge or shoot.

That makes much more sense! i was so confused trying to play it out, for some reason i was reading the words but they weren't clicking in my head haha.  :icon_lol:.

Offline Archon

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Re: Help Explaining How Great Companies Work.
« Reply #10 on: February 21, 2019, 03:33:12 PM »
Not to resurrect a 2-year old thread, but I thought the above discussion might be helpful. I also understand that certain criteria have changed (wholly within 12" v. within 6"), but I have questions on the new rules:

1) How does this work woth counter-charging? As I read this, I think you should be able to make both moves as long as all pre-requisites are met in sequence; and

2) Wholly within 12" of each other - does that mean the two furthest models have to be within 12" of each other, or the whole of the respective units must be within 12" of the closest model from the opposite unit. I want to assume the latter, because the former seems near impossible to do anything with.
« Last Edit: February 21, 2019, 05:13:02 PM by Archon »
Let them line up all their archers, we fight better in the shade.
Let them line up all their spearmen for they'll all soon meet the blade

Offline Oxycutor

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Re: Help Explaining How Great Companies Work.
« Reply #11 on: February 21, 2019, 05:04:41 PM »
The latter.  Every model in unit A is within 12 " of a model from unit B