If you ask the top Warhammer 40K players the most important skill to master to improve in the game, they will almost all universally agree; movement. Mastering movement in Warhammer 40K is what separates great players from everyone else. Why is movement so important? It helps you set the tempo of a game and can force your opponent into making difficult choices. While movement in Warhammer 40K is very nuanced, there are some core fundamental concepts you can apply that can help you level up and build upon your game. In this article I’m going to be focusing on how you can use movement and positioning to zone out your opponent’s deep striking units, screen and move block your opponent’s units and use terrain to your advantage in movement. Let’s get into it.
Moving with Purpose
Every unit in your army that moves, should do so with purpose. Whether it’s screening, staging, or attacking, every unit in your army should be positioned and moved with a purpose in mind. When you commit a unit to a purpose you need to think about how your opponent can or will respond to it in their following turn. Whether you’re moving a unit up to take an objective, or trying to shorten the length of the battlefield for a combat unit to charge, you need to consider how your opponent can react to your positioning, what units can threaten them and how you will respond in their turn. This is why it’s a good idea to pre-measure enemy threat ranges, potential firing lanes and charges before moving your own models.
Zoning Out the Board for Reserve Threats
This is one of the most basic fundamental concepts of competitive 40K when it comes to movement and positioning. Controlling the board and zoning out key enemy deep strike and reserve threats can help you protect your resources and objectives. In the Core Rules of Warhammer 40K, units that arrive via Deep Strike may not be placed on the board within 9″ of an enemy unit. This gives you some flexibility for zoning out and protecting areas of the board from enemy Deep Strike threats.
In the example picture above, there is a squad of Infiltrators and a Lieutenant with Combi-weapon deployed here. The blue “bubbles” around them demonstrate the amount of area of the table they are covering to prevent reserves or deep strike units. Each Infiltrator model blocks out 12″ of board space in a bubble (per their Omni-Scramblers ability) and the Lieutenant blocks out 9″ per the standard rules. The Infiltrators are placed 2″ apart in unit coherency to maximize the amount of board space they can cover. These two units alone block out a full 1/3rd of the battlefield from enemy units in reserves.
You can also prevent enemy Deep Strike threats by spacing out units 18″ apart from one another as pictured above. The Scout Squad has moved up behind the ruin to hide while maintaining 18″ distance from the Lieutenant. This creates a bubble which prevents enemy units from arriving via Deep Strike.
Screening Units and Move Blocking
Using your cheaper and expendable units to screen charges and move block units can setup difficult decision points for your opponent and protect other key units and resources. It’s important to have a solid grasp on the Core Rules when it comes to Charge Moves, the Fight Phase and Engagement Range to understand how to properly screen and move block enemy units.
In the example above, the Intercessors are screening for the Sanguinary Guard against the Custodian Guard unit’s charge. As the Custodian Guard do not have the Fly keyword, they must charge the screen first. Note, the gap between the Intercessors’ bases here. It is not wide enough to allow a Custodian Guard model to move between them. Further, the Intercessors are more than 8″ away which will make it impossible for the Custodian Guard to consolidate into the Sanguinary Guard should they successfully destroy the Intercessors after fighting in the Fight Phase.
In the example above, at the end of the Fight Phase, the Intercessors are destroyed, but the Custodian Guard unit cannot make a Consolidation move because they can neither end within Engagement Range of the Sanguinary Guard or end their Consolidation move within 3″ of the Objective. The Intercessors died in the process, but have prevented a charge into a more valuable unit and prevented the Custodian Guard from using its movement to move onto the Objective.
“Move blocking” is incredibly valuable allowing you to control the tempo and flow of the game. In the example above the Scout Squad has moved up more than 1″ from the Rhino. This prevents the Rhino from moving as it cannot move through enemy models and it cannot move over them as it does not have the Fly keyword. Further, the Rhino cannot move through terrain pieces that are greater than 4″ in height as it is a Vehicle unit. This has created a point where the Rhino cannot move forward onto the Objective without first destroying the Scout Squad. Setting up infiltrating units like Scouts in positions where they can move block enemy units helps you control the battlefield.
This tactic also works against enemy Infantry units without Fly or Mounted units as well. The Scout Squad acts as a “speed bump” for these enemy units.
Using Terrain to Your Advantage in Movement
Terrain is more than just table decoration. In competitive 40K it can be used to create a tactical advantage. Using terrain to your benefit is key when moving to stage or attack positions of the board in both shooting and combat.
In the example above, assume that the Vindicator has moved and pre-measured the movement and potential line of sight for the tank at the top of the screen. The Vindicator has moved into a position where it can draw line of sight to the tank on the bottom of the screen while being protected by the intervening terrain from the tank at the top on the opponent’s next turn. Using terrain like this to move and draw lines of sight and create firing lanes while protecting your resources is a critical skill in competitive 40K.
Try to avoid “angle shooting” by drawing lines of sight to sword tips, banners or antennas or other parts of an enemy model that could be easily hidden if the opponent had turned their model a certain way (no one likes this).
Terrain can also be used to prevent charges or make them more difficult for the opponent. In the example above, the Sternguard Veteran Squad is positioned more than 1″ away from the ruin wall. Since the Knight cannot move through the walls and fit it cannot declare a charge against them and end within Engagement Range (within 1″) and fight making it impossible to charge the unit and fight them through the wall.
Final Thoughts
These are some of the basic fundamental tactics for movement. There are many more and a lot of them are situational. Building off of these fundamentals will help you improve as a player. Movement is a very nuanced aspect of competitive Warhammer 40K, but learning the basics of screening, zoning out the battlefield, and move blocking sets a firm foundation of skills to build upon.
Most improvement starts with understanding the competitive environment itself. If that’s where you’re at, my guide on getting started in competitive Warhammer 40K lays out the key rules, documents, and resources that form the foundation of tournament play.
If you’re new to the game or want to improve quickly, then don’t forget to grab my FREE eBook: Forging Your Path to Victory: A Beginner’s Guide to Competitive 40K. A great starting point for those looking to jump into Competitive 40K. Subscribe and get your free copy!
Want personalized help mastering movement? These are the kinds of tactics and skills I teach in my coaching program. I’d love to help you one-on-one learn how to level up your movement game.
See you on the tabletop.
