Gunfighter Explained

I have seen quite a few questions here and there about Gunfighter and its various interactions, so I figured I would take a swing at writing about it.

Gunfighter at its finest

The basics

A model with gunfighter can make ranged attacks targeting models it is in melee with

If a model doesn't have a melee weapon it gains a melee range of 0.5"

An important thing to bear in mind is that it can make attacks on models "it is in melee with".
On page 43 of the rule book (I use the one included with war room) there is a section describing Engaged & Engaging
At the end of this section it states "When a model is either engaged or engaging, it is in melee"
Because gunfighter allows a model to make a ranged attack at models it is "in melee" with, you can make a ranged attack at a model with a 2" melee range even if your model with gunfighter only has a 0.5" melee range and the distance between the two models is 2".

There is an exception to this, however.
If a model with gunfighter charges, then it can only make its initial attacks on models in its melee range. Its first attack must be on its charge target.

If a model's first attack is with a gunfighter attack it doesn't count as a charge attack. This means it will not gain boosted damage as a result of charging - like a melee attack would.
Nor can it benefit from abilities like Runewood's "Path to Victory" which gives +2 to hit for charge attack rolls.
A cavalry model with gunfighter would not gain a boosted charge attack roll either, as gunfighter attacks are not considered "charge attacks".






So for example if Taryn charges this sword knight and kills it with her first attack she can't use her second initial attack as there are no more targets in her melee range (0.5" as she has no melee weapon).











If a model with gunfighter has the ability to buy or gain additional ranged attacks these are not limited to targeting models in its melee range after it charges.







So for example if Caine1 charges this Steelhead and kills it with his initial he can't use his second initial shot as he has no targets in his melee range but he can buy a ranged attack on any target in his guns' range, such as Damiano











If a model is engaged it can't gain the aiming bonus for forfeiting its movement - even if it is in a unit and is un-engaged by the time it makes its attack.

Missed range attacks while in melee
If a model with gunfighter misses an attack on a model that was in melee it is no longer re rolled against other models, it simply misses.


Modifiers to ranged attacks
As a gunfighter attack is a ranged attack any modifiers to ranged attacks will apply to Gunfighter attacks
For example Caine1 is trying to shoot Damiano who will have concealment due to being in the forest. This also applies for terrain like Dense fog, or rubble - granting concealment and cover respectively.
If the target of a shot is in a trench but the model with Gunfighter is not in the trench then the +4 DEF for cover would apply.
Any special rule that prevents models from making ranged attacks would also apply to Gunfighter attacks.

As Gunfighter attacks are ranged attacks they would get around some defensive tech that a model might have, such as Set Defence or Duellist as these rules only apply to charge attacks (which Gunfighter attacks can never be) and melee attacks.


Sprays
Models with spray weapons and the gunfighter special rule can make sprays while in melee but can only target models they are "in melee" with - although still roll on all models under the template.

Free strikes
A model with GF can make free strikes with its ranged weapon against a model that leaves its melee range. It gains +2 to hit and the damage roll will be boosted.

I hope this helped to clear up the rules surrounding Gunfighter for you.
If you found it helpful please share it with your gaming group.
If you have anything to add to this topic that I missed let me know in a comment below.
If you have a suggestion or request for a topic you would like me to cover in the future let me know in a comment below also!

If you want to support my content consider taking a look at my Patreon which you can find here. I don't put any content behind a paywall but I do offer rewards to people who support me in ways like getting to vote on what content I work on in the future or outright just picking the next subject of an article.

See you all next time!

Steelhead Halberdiers painted

I finally got my second unit of steelheads painted up, these guys have been sat as wip for a very long time as I could find inspiration to finish them. It took my Hobby buddy Andrew pushing me to get them finish and I'm glad they are finally done! It means they can be moved from my painting desk (where they have sat for ages...) to my display cupboard where they will sit until I eventually decide to use them!

Back and front shots of a few of them (including my standard ginger...)

So what do you think of these guys? In game they are pretty cheap for what they offer I think.

Trencher Solos Painted

Here's the last of the October Trencher releases painted! These three solos were good fun to paint, and I can't wait to get them on the table at last!

I'll start with my favourite of these models the Patrol dog! He was really easy to paint and I really like how he turned out. I can't wait to see what shenanigans he gets up to...

Hitch was a straight forward model to paint, because I decided to keep all my trenchers in the same colours that uniformity meant I only had to choose colours on a few details on him.

I love how much of a badass the Trencher warcaster lieutenant is. He really looks like he would have no issues messing things up in combat!

He was a lot of fun to paint up, I had to deviate from the standard trencher colour scheme a little to keep him more in line with other warcaster models armour.

What do you guys think of my Trencher solos?

I'm excited to get them on the table and see what they are capable of.

Siege2 Painted

Siege2 is done! That puts me back at having every Cygnar caster painted again!

I'm really pleased with how he came out. Slightly minimalist really, but he fits the theme of my army nicely.

I have seen a few people either reposing him or added smoke coming out of the jetpacks. I decided against it as I didn't think I could do it justice and also I wanted him painted so I could start using him! I gave him a trench base to tie him into the Trencher theme

The turret that Siege comes with is really cute... It was fairly easy to paint up, though I did have to not glue it to the base until I had painted the dirt and the underside of the turret as I couldn't get a brush under there!

Like I have done with a few other casters that I finished a new version of I thought I would share a pic of both versions of Siege with his character warjack Triumph. It's so cool to see them all together!

What do you think of my Siege2? Have you had a chance to play him much yet? If you have do you have any tips or tricks you have uncovered yet? I would love to hear them, I think he will be a fun caster to unlock the potential of.

Trencher Long gunners Painted

Trencher Long gunners join the fight! These guys painted up quite easily for me as I based their colour scheme on my other trencher units. Not having to pick what colours to use makes things paint up much quicker for me!

These two are the unique sculpts in the unit, the unit leader is on the left and the command attachment on the right. I can't see myself not using the command attachment with this unit he offers them so much its basically an auto include for me.

Here is one of each of the three grunt sculpts, nice variation of poses for the unit, and they look good ranked up with the kneeling guys in front of the aiming standing ones. It reminds me a little of Zulu "first rank FIRE! second rank FIRE!"

What do you think of my Trencher Long gunners then? 

At a request (because I paint so many units I guess) I took pictures of every step while painting this unit and will be making a unit painting guide soon so be sure to check back for that if it interests you.

Cryx soul counter

I made this Soul counter for my local PG as a gift for all his hard work when the PG program ended. I didn't post about it as I didn't want to spoil his surprise and ended up completely forgetting to show it here!

I used Games workshop spirit hosts as the souls

I pinned them to the counter and removed the daggers they are holding, it didn't really fit with the theme of it.

I had a few stormblade bits in my bits box from an earlier conversion so I added a shoulder pad and arm armour next to the skeleton along with a stormblade sword stuck into the ground 

I painted the stormblade armour bits to match my army and made it look like he was melted, so it would be a nod to the amount of my guys his cryx have melted with acid over all the games!

I painted the numbers on the tracking wheel ghostly green to match his army.

I didn't glue on any grass or anything like that as I knew it was likely he would paint over the dirt with the colour he uses for his bases.

So what do you guys think of this soul counter? I'm hoping he doesn't get the numbers up too high when playing against me! 

Cygnar Basics: Squire

Everyone's favourite little robot! This article is meant with a newer player in mind but veteran players still might find some use in it or learn something new. 

It has three rules all of which require the Squire to be within five inches of your Warcaster
(Quick note that it can only ever be attached to your main warcaster, Journeyman warcasters can not have this little guy as a buddy. I guess rank has its privileges!)

At 5 points the Squire is more expensive than most warcaster attachments (most cost 4 points) but it is the only one that is a Cygnar model and therefore friendly faction.
If you are playing in one of the theme forces available to Cygnar the Squire is often available to choose as a free option, and is often picked as one due to its higher cost.

Reserve accumulator

Three times in a game during your maintenance phase you can give your Warcaster an extra focus.
I normally do this turns 2,3&4 unless the Warcaster I'm playing has a lot of upkeeps they need to cast turn one, or if I am going second and playing a ranged heavy army like Sloan and want to use a lot of focus to boost shots turn one.

Arcane repeater

Extends your Warcasters control range by 2"
This is really helpful for casters with control range effects, feats and spells such as Haley1&2.
Remember that your control range will only be increased while the squire is within 5" of your warcaster, so if the other player has effects that can move your squire, or they destroy it the effect will stop working.

Arcane realignment

Gives a reroll for a failed magic attack roll. This is great for saving focus by not having to boost to hit if you don't need a high roll to hit or makes it possible to hit those high defence models with a boosted roll. If you boost the attack roll the reroll will also be boosted!

This is the ability that can dictate your order of activations as its easy to forget about it and have your Warcaster advance up and out of range of the Squire.
Planning out your turn can help with this.

For example if Stryker2 would like to cast Rebuke on a unit to prevent them from charging and will need a 6/7 to hit but he has to move up to be in range to cast the spell. You would need to move the Squire up first so that they are within 5" of each other when he casts the spell to allow the reroll to hit.

General tips

At speed 6 the squire is very mobile, none of its abilities require it to preform an action so it can effectivly run 12" every turn if needed.

I have watched a lot of games both at clubs, events and youtube batreps in which the Squire gets picked off early in the game. Often this is because the Squire is way too far up the board next to the Warcaster.
The best place for the Squire early in the game is exactly 5" behind its Warcaster Nemo2 here has his squire following safely along behind him.

Later in the game it has some great uses such as being used to help block line of sight or block a position near your Warcaster that an enemy model could move to to make melee attacks on them.
This is great for a turn you might have to move up your Warcaster into a risky position.

Also the Squire can be used to score flags in scenarios that have them or it can contest a scenario element easily with a 12" run.

The Squire can also be repaired so if you happen to have mechanics in your list and they don't have anything better to do!

I hope that you found this article helpful if you did and would like to see more posts like this let me know. If there is a particular subject you would like me to write about please feel free to suggest it below

Magnetised Seaking

I recently was commissioned to magnetise a Trollblood Seaking Gargantuan to make it easier for the client to transport. I knew it was a tall model but it wasn't until I got the model in my hands that I truly grasped how big!    

Being an organic model it is harder to magnetise in general, the curved pieces don't lend themselves to the process as well and a warjack for example. It took a lot of dry fitting and planning to decided where to put the magnets.

The models arm which isn't holding the anchor had a fairly big gap that really looks like it needs gap filling with green stuff. I contacted the client and he was happy for me to not magnetise this arm, especially as the arm fits much closer to the models body so shouldn't make it harder to transport.

To attach the anchor arm I used a combination of 10mm magnets and also a long pin. The pin is to help stop the arm from rotating downwards under the weight of the anchor and arm.

Matching up the position of the magnet in the arm as well as the pin hole was tricky but taking time to line it up right was worth the extra effort.

I sunk a magnet into the hole the anchor chain goes into, I was going to add pins as well, but as it turns out the 3mm magnets were strong enough to hold the anchor in place nicely.

To make it even easier to transport I also magnetised the trailing anchor chain on the other side of the fist using two 2mm magnets. Maybe a bit unnecessary to some, but should make it a lot easier to fit in a case. 

I hope this post is helpful for you if you decide to magnetise your Seaking! If it was helpful please let me know, its great to get feedback from you guys so I can know how or what to improve.

If you would like me to magnetise something for you, or pin or convert something feel free to get in touch at 

thomasgbell84@googlemail.com

(I'm based in the UK)