Moving

Every move in Warhammer 40,000 follows the same underlying rules: models move one at a time in straight lines and rotations, must end within coherency, and can never pass through enemy models or off the battlefield edge.

Move Types

There are many named move types in the game — the Normal move, Advance move and Fall Back move made during the Movement phase, plus the Charge move, Pile-in move and Consolidation move made in combat, and set-up moves such as disembarking or arriving from Strategic Reserves. Each move type defines three things: which units are eligible to make it, the maximum distance (or set-up distance) allowed, and any conditions that must be satisfied. Whatever the type, the mechanics of physically shifting models on the table are shared, and that is what this section covers.

Moving Models

When you move a unit, you move its models individually, one after another. Each model can be moved by sliding it in a straight line, by rotating it, or by any combination of the two, repeated as often as you like. Unless a rule says otherwise, while moving a model:

• It may pass through friendly models freely.
• It may pass through any gap its base physically fits through.
• Its base may not pass through enemy models.
• Its base may not cross the edge of the battlefield.
• Any stated While Moving conditions must be met throughout.

To move a model in a straight line, slide it horizontally, gauging the gap between its starting and finishing spots using one fixed point on its base. Tally that gap onto everything the model has already covered since its unit began the move; the running total may never exceed the move type's maximum distance. A model that has a maximum of 6" might, for example, travel 3" in one direction and 3" in another for a total of 6".

Rotating a model means swivelling it by any degree about the centre of its base, with the model staying upright (models without a base pivot around their central axis). Rotation costs nothing — it never adds to the distance moved — so you can freely reorient a model to fit through a gap or face a new direction.

Ending a Move

Once you have finished positioning every model in the unit that you intend to move, confirm that all of the following are true:

• If the unit is on the battlefield, it is in coherency.
• No model rests atop another model or ends up embedded in the surface of a terrain feature, for instance a wall or ceiling.
• Every stated After Moving condition holds.

If any of these fail, the move is illegal: return every model to exactly where it stood at the start of the move. The unit has not been selected to move and may try again later or stay put. If the conditions are met, resolve any After Moving rules and the move ends.

Setting Up Units

Before a unit can move or attack it must be set up on the battlefield, most often during deployment but also when arriving from reserves or leaving a Transport. Whenever a rule tells you to set up a unit, place its models so that the unit is in coherency, is unengaged, and meets every other stated requirement. If you cannot legally place all of its models, remove the unit and return it to wherever it came from (reserves, embarked, and so on); it has not been set up.

Coherency

A unit of more than one model must be set up in — and end every move in — coherency. Unit coherency holds while every model is:

• No more than 2" horizontally and 5" vertically from at least one fellow model in the unit, and
• No more than 9" horizontally and 5" vertically from every other model in the unit.

If a unit is out of coherency during the End of Turn step, its controlling player removes models one at a time until coherency is restored. Models lost this way are destroyed, but do not trigger any rules that normally fire when a model is destroyed.

Engagement Range

A model's Engagement Range is the space within 2" horizontally and 5" vertically of it. Whenever one of your models sits inside the Engagement Range of one or more enemy models, both those models and the units they belong to count as engaged with one another. A unit holding no engaged models is unengaged. Because units in combat fight from within this range, models that do not want to be dragged into melee should stay clear of the enemy's Engagement Range.

Frequently asked questions

How does the Movement phase work in Warhammer 40,000?

You move a unit by shifting its models one at a time, each in straight lines and rotations, keeping a running total that may never exceed the move type's maximum distance. Models can pass through friendly models and any gap their base fits, but never through enemy models or across the battlefield edge.

Does rotating a model count as movement in 40k?

No, rotating a model costs nothing and never adds to the distance it has moved. You swivel it by any degree about the centre of its base with the model staying upright, so you can freely reorient a model to fit through a gap or face a new direction.

What is unit coherency in Warhammer 40,000?

A unit of more than one model must be set up in, and end every move in, coherency. Each model has to sit no more than 2" horizontally and 5" vertically from at least one fellow model in the unit, and no more than 9" horizontally and 5" vertically from every other model in the unit.

What happens if a unit is out of coherency in 40k?

If a unit is out of coherency during the End of Turn step, its controlling player removes models one at a time until coherency is restored. Those models are destroyed, but they do not trigger any rules that normally fire when a model is destroyed.

What is Engagement Range in Warhammer 40,000?

A model's Engagement Range is the space within 2" horizontally and 5" vertically of it. Whenever one of your models sits inside the Engagement Range of one or more enemy models, both those models and their units count as engaged with each other, so models wanting to avoid melee should stay clear of the enemy's Engagement Range.