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

The game names a lot of move types. The Movement phase has the Normal move, the Advance move and the Fall Back move; combat adds the Charge move, the Pile-in move and the Consolidation move; and set-up moves cover disembarking or arriving from Strategic Reserves. Each 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, physically shifting models on the table works the same way, 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:

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 and 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 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 coherency and must end every move in coherency. Unit coherency holds while every model is:

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?

The phase itself is covered on the Movement phase page; this page is the shared mechanics under every move. The practical habit to build is measuring from one fixed point on the base and keeping a running total per model, because a model that slides, turns and slides again has still only spent the straight-line distances. The 6" limit on a 6" move type applies to each model separately, not to the unit as a whole.

Does rotating a model count as movement in 40k?

No. Turning a model on the spot is free, however many times you do it and through whatever angle. The one thing to watch is the footprint: a long hull swung round may clip an enemy base or the table edge mid-pivot, and that is still illegal even though no distance was spent.

What is unit coherency in Warhammer 40,000?

Coherency is the spacing rule that keeps a squad recognisable as one unit: a buddy within 2" of each model and nobody further than 9" from anyone else, with a 5" vertical allowance on both. It is checked at set-up and when a move finishes, so a unit is allowed to be strung out mid-move as long as the final positions pass. A single-model unit never has to worry about it.

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

Nothing happens straight away. The check is made in the End of Turn step, and only then does the owner pull models off until the survivors are legal. The common way to fall foul of it is casualties: removing the models that linked two halves of a squad during the enemy's Shooting phase can leave a legal-looking unit split in two, so take losses from the ends rather than the middle.

What is Engagement Range in Warhammer 40,000?

It is the 2" (and 5" up or down) bubble around every model that decides whether it is in combat. Engagement is mutual and it flows up to the unit: one model of yours inside one enemy model's bubble means both whole units are engaged, which is why a lone model tagging the corner of a squad can lock the whole thing out of shooting. Wounded models count too; only a removed model stops projecting the range.