Ambush

[Mark Lewis]

Has anyone used the Ambush order effectively?
I can’t see many situations in which it would be worthwhile giving the Ambush order to a unit. Why would you not activate the unit now instead of putting it on Ambush, where you have to then roll to activate it later.
I can see the point in using it in Bolt Action, and I could see it working in this game if you could choose to activate the unit during or after the activation of the enemy unit you are reacting to, but I can’t see the point of using it when you have to act before the enemy unit. You may as well have just activated your unit normally when the dice is pulled, rather than putting it on ambush.

[Derek Dahmes]

I believe the problem here is that the rules as written are not explicit about how an Order ‘activation’ works and how Ambush reactions interact with them, though they sort of imply it. This is how I see it is PROBABLY supposed to work:

When you ACTIVATE a unit you are placing the Order Die next to the unit and then stating specifically what it is doing. If the Unit has been given a Run Order you have to declare if it is Sprinting (if it can) as well as if and whom they are Charging with that Run Order. If you give a unit a Fire Order you are also choosing a target unit as part of the activation. (Typically the same for an Advance Order.)

The Ambush rules state that “Reactions are declared and tests are taken when the opposing unit is activated but before it makes it’s action.” So I take this to mean that when you place an Order die and ‘activate’ a unit your opponent will/should know, at that time, exactly what the activated unit is doing as it’s declared action. A unit or units on Ambush can then react accordingly. I could be wrong about that but I think it makes the most sense. Until we hear the official word, that is how our group is doing things.

Also, in the case of a declared Charge, if the charged unit has an Ambush order and reacts by Charging (a counter-charge basically), we have the charging and counter-charging units meet in between their starting positions. We move the Charging unit 1M toward the reacting unit and then, if contact is not yet made, have the two units meet in the middle of the remaining distance. As stated in the rules, both units count as Charging regardless of where they meet. Just our house rule. Interested to hear other people’s opinions on this.

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