AoS Parting Shot Rule clarification

[HelloBear]

So the July 2020 errata now states that parting shot should be activated:

"‘You can use this command ability when an enemy unit ends a charge move within 3" of a friendly Fangs of Sotek unit from the Skinks or Chameleon Skinks warscroll that is wholly within 18" of a friendly Fangs of Sotek Hero"

1st question- does this have to be used when the unit is FIRST charged, or can I wait to use it until the final charge (say 3 units are charging my skinks)?

2nd- if I wipe out all charging units (or the one charging unit if I have to use it on the first one), can I still "retreat" on a 4+ or does there have to be a unit within 3" in order to be able to retreat.

Cheers!

 

[Tav]

You have the option after each charge. So yes you could decide to not parting shot the first charge, then parting shot the second. However you would have to decide before the opponent continues with the phase e.g if your opponent decides not to charge a second unit at the skinks then you cannot go back and parting shot the first.

As for the second question i am not so sure, it would depend on what the exact wording on what constitutes a retreat but i would think that you cannot retreat if you are not within 3" of a enemy therefore you do not have that option if the parting shot wipes out the attacker. However i believe the rules also state that a retreat is something you can choose to do in the movement phase so i suppose its something that needs further clarification on what exactly a retreat is

 

[HelloBear]

That's more or less how I am reading it, on both counts.
However let's say my opponent decides to charge 3 units total and I parting shot after the 3rd charge; do I have to shoot ONLY at the 3rd unit or can I shoot at all 3. The wording of the rules just says the unit can "shoot" and at this point, all 3 units are equally within 3 inches of the charged unit.

 

[Tav]

Yeah you can shoot at any applicable target, any unit within 3” is a target so you could shoot them all at 1 or split it however you like

 

[Putzfrau]

So the July 2020 errata now states that parting shot should be activated:

"‘You can use this command ability when an enemy unit ends a charge move within 3" of a friendly Fangs of Sotek unit from the Skinks or Chameleon Skinks warscroll that is wholly within 18" of a friendly Fangs of Sotek Hero"

1st question- does this have to be used when the unit is FIRST charged, or can I wait to use it until the final charge (say 3 units are charging my skinks)?

2nd- if I wipe out all charging units (or the one charging unit if I have to use it on the first one), can I still "retreat" on a 4+ or does there have to be a unit within 3" in order to be able to retreat.

Cheers!

The retreat move is not dependent on an enemy being within 3''. Once you've used the command ability, you get the benefits of all parts of it.

"Once you've resolved all of that units shooting attacks, roll a dice..."

I guess you could make the argument that a "retreat" is something specifically outlined in the book as happening when you are within 3'' of the model, but I think you could also argue that "retreat" is more of a defined normal move that allows you to "move within 3'' of an enemy but must end its move more than 3'' of all enemy units."

 

[red_moo]

Sorry for ressurecting this one, but I'm wondering about some tricks one could do with the parting shot cmd ability.

First, because of this part in aos rules

- "ALLOCATING WOUNDS Once all of a unit’s attacks have been resolved, add up the damage that was inflicted. The player commanding the target unit must then allocate a number of wounds to the target unit equal to the damage that was inflicted."

- and because the ability states that "After you have resolved all of that unit’s shooting attacks, roll a dice"

- and because special rules override core rules, which means the ability has to be resolved before the core sequence is continued after resolving the attacks,

this means that the 4+ roll and the retreat happen before any wounds are allocated to the enemy.

My question though is, if the skink unit already is in combat and is charged again in a following turn, we can still use the ability and possibly run from the charge and combat, right?

 

[Blitzkriyg]

Yes, that's correct. The charging units can still pile in, but there are no restrictions saying you have to be unengaged

 

[Tav]

Yes, the condition to be met is getting charged.
So sending another unit in to finish off some skinks can mean that neither get to attack

 

[red_moo]

Thanks guys! It's something I noticed can actually come up every now and then and can be disputed by the opponent.