Flying and Surging

Flying and surging are two special movement rules that supplement the basic rules for moving models: surge moves let certain units lurch toward the enemy outside their normal activation, while the FLY keyword lets a unit take to the skies, passing over models and terrain. This guide covers who is eligible for each and what limits apply.

Surge Moves

A surge move is a bonus move granted by a specific rule, for example an ability that lets a unit lunge forward after taking casualties from enemy shooting. The distance a surge move can cover is set by whichever rule triggers it, not by the unit's own Move characteristic.

A unit may make a surge move only if all of the following are true:

• The rule permitting the surge move has actually been triggered.
• The unit is not Battle-shocked.
• The unit is unengaged.
• The unit has not already moved this phase.

When it surges, the unit moves as it would during any move. Before shifting any models, choose the closest enemy unit; this is the surge target. Then move the unit under these constraints:

• Wherever it can be done, each model has to finish its move in engagement with the surge target.
• Any model that cannot reach engagement with the surge target must instead end its move as close as it can get to that target.

Once the surge move is finished:

• The unit cannot be engaged with any enemy unit other than the surge target. You may not use the move to slip into engagement with a different unit.
• The unit cannot move again for the remainder of the phase.

Flying Models

A model with the FLY keyword, and any unit that model belongs to, is able to FLY, and rules often describe such models or units as FLYING. You declare flight move by move. It is never automatic.

Each time a FLYING unit is picked to perform a move, whether normal, Advance, Fall Back, or charge, the active player may declare, before any model in the unit moves, that the unit will take to the skies. Declaring this changes the move as follows:

• Reduce the maximum distance of that move by 2". Taking to the skies costs range, so a 16" Advance becomes 14", for instance.
• Each time a FLYING model moves during that move:
• Vertical distance is ignored entirely when measuring how far the model has travelled. Climbing up or dropping down terrain costs no movement.
• The model can pass through every type of model, including enemy models and MONSTER or VEHICLE models.
• The model can move both horizontally and vertically through every category of terrain feature.

Taking to the skies clips 2" off your move, but in exchange you glide over units and scenery that would otherwise block or slow the unit, and you ignore the vertical cost of ascending and descending terrain. If a FLYING unit has a clear path along the ground, keeping its feet on the floor preserves the full 2".

Frequently asked questions

What is a surge move in Warhammer 40,000 11th edition?

A move made outside the unit's own activation because a datasheet or detachment rule handed it one, usually in response to something happening to the unit, such as being shot at. It is the main way an unengaged melee unit gets into combat without waiting for its own Charge phase.

When can a unit make a surge move in 40k?

Four checks, and all must pass: the rule fired, the unit is not Battle-shocked, is not already in combat, and has not moved yet this phase. The last one is easy to forget in your own Movement phase, where a unit that has made its Normal move cannot then surge even if a trigger appears. The surge target is always the closest enemy; you get no say.

What does the FLY keyword do in Warhammer 40,000?

It gives the unit the option to leave the ground for a single move. While airborne it counts horizontal distance only, so a ruin with a 6" high floor costs nothing to climb, and it can pass over any model including enemy tanks. The model still has to land somewhere legal, in coherency and not on top of anything, when the move ends.

How much movement does taking to the skies cost in 40k?

A flat 2" off whatever the move's maximum is, taken before you start measuring. That includes charge moves: a charge roll of 9 becomes a 7" charge if you fly it, so declare flight only when something is in the way. On a Normal move the deduction pays whenever the ground route would cost more than 2" of climbing or detouring round enemy models.

Can you fly on any move in Warhammer 40,000 11th edition?

Yes, provided you declare it before the first model of that move is lifted. You can fly on one move and walk on the next; nothing carries over between activations. A common mistake is declaring flight after a model has already been moved over an enemy base, which is too late.