While reading Rozinante's thread about dividing fights, I noticed that I can't find from the rules anything about when the spear support must be assigned to the supported warriors. I mean a case when a spearman is touching two or more warriors that are both in combat. Sometimes you see for example a line of swordmen with a line of spearmen behind them so that every spearman can lend support to either their front left or front right guy.

We have always played so that the spear support is assigned to individual warriors right after the combats are divided at the end of the Move Phase. That feels intuitive and right way to do. However, if someone suddenly told me it should be done at some point in the Fight Phase, for example leaving the assignment until a fight is starting to be resolved, I couldn't find a counter-point from the rules. The timing of the spear support assignment can have implications for example on target selections during Shoot Phase, Heroic Combat decisions and decisions on how the player with priority wants to order the fights. If spear support is really assigned at the end of Move, then what happens when a Heroic Combat catapults a hero into base contact with a warrior with spearman in contact? Again, intuitively it would feel right to let the spearman support, but timing-rules-wise it sounds horrible!

Can someone point me to the correct spot in the rules, if the timing is mentioned in the rules?

If it really is not in the rules, can someone who plays in official tournaments (for example GT) tell what the custom there is?

-- Pasi

I have always played it (and never had a problem)(and been to 2 GTs) by designating spear support at the start of the fight phase. If a hero heroic combats into another guy with spear support then he gets spear support.

I've never heard of anyone ever complaining about when your opponent has to declare which guy the spearman is supporting, its his spearman so can support who he likes (as long as they're in base contact.)

To be honest, I usually take enough spears so each warrior can be backed up without having to share spearmen, plus it gives your front line 2+ attacks.

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12th GBHL 2013.
13th GBHL 2014
9th GBHL 2015


Mid Sussex Wargamers

I normally declare spear support as you break up the fights at the start of the phase ... but!

If I can see advantages by leaving the assignment until I "see how that bit goes" then I will leave it.
Sometimes delaying can give you time to trap a model that wasnt trapped previously or find your men suddenly outnumbered due to heroic fights etc.

I've always played it to decide when each individual Fight is resolved, must have played in 20 odd GT's and nobody has ever questioned it or played differently, to be honest the situation rarely arise to worry about it.

I'll switch to deciding just before resolving the single fight and see if any of my gaming buddies even notices.

I find it weird that such issue has not been mentioned in the rules, and even more weird that I haven't thought about it during the eleven years the game has been played.

-- Pasi

I too am surprised this hasn't been questioned before. We've always done it while breaking up the fights before resolving anything. After the fights are all broken up the owners can clarify which spear support is being applied where if there is any question. It really doesn't come up as much as you may think though.

I don't believe an opponent would be able to benefit from this against most players as I've seen simply clarify spear support as the fights are defined. If someone left a spear in contact with two bases during that process I would definitely ask them which fight the spear was on before any dice are cast.

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Wait ye the finish! The fight is not yours.
Beowulf

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