Ambush and Opportunity

Got asked a question at CanCon:

When a Unit in ambush is revealed can it be claimed as on Opportunity?

Reading the rulebook it says if the reveal is done as part of deployment the Unit can be on opportunity but that is the only mention of it. My belief is Ambushing units cannot be on Opportunity except in that specific case but there is no rule about it either way

Why not - the whole point of waiting in ambush is to wait for an opportunity to ambush - so if they are revealed because they are deploying then they must have seen an opportunity to attack

It says in Advanced Impetus on p.V that "The unit in ambush is no longer considered on Opportunity." That seems pretty clear to me.

Gaius Cassius wrote:It says in Advanced Impetus on p.V that "The unit in ambush is no longer considered on Opportunity."  That seems pretty clear to me.

Excellent, on this we agree.

Now, ambushes can be deployed at any time.

What if the ambushing player deploys them before the enemy completes his move to within 6?

Are they able to be deployed on Opportunity then as the range trigger has not kicked in?

Would they be required to undertake the forced rollback as per the Advanced Rules if the enemy comes within range?

Granicus Gaugamela wrote: What if the ambushing player deploys them before the enemy completes his move to within 6?

Are they able to be deployed on Opportunity then as the range trigger has not kicked in?

The rule is "The unit in ambush is no longer considered on Opportunity" so I would think not. I could always roll for opportunity but it is not automatically entitled to this status.

Would they be required to undertake the forced rollback as per the Advanced Rules if the enemy comes within range?

Why would a unit coming out of ambush in its activation be subject to anything related to being in ambush? Once it comes out of ambush it function as a regular unit.

I didn't read anything in ambush about units voluntarily coming out of ambush. Did I miss it? It seems reasonable to be able to do so but I didn't see it mentioned in the main rules book or AI.

Gaius Cassius wrote:

Granicus Gaugamela wrote: What if the ambushing player deploys them before the enemy completes his move to within 6?

Are they able to be deployed on Opportunity then as the range trigger has not kicked in?

The rule is "The unit in ambush is no longer considered on Opportunity" so I would think not. I could always roll for opportunity but it is not automatically entitled to this status.

Would they be required to undertake the forced rollback as per the Advanced Rules if the enemy comes within range?

Why would a unit coming out of ambush in its activation be subject to anything related to being in ambush? Once it comes out of ambush it function as a regular unit.

I didn't read anything in ambush about units voluntarily coming out of ambush. Did I miss it? It seems reasonable to be able to do so but I didn't see it mentioned in the main rules book or AI.

AI states that "The ambush is revealed when the controlling player decides to activate the hidden unit or when one enemy Unit comes within 6U of the terrain The "sighting" occurs at the end of the phase of movement..."

So there appears to be nothing stopping the controlling player activating the ambush unit as and when they like. Given ambushes can be deployed as the passive player there appears to be nothing stopping a player deploying his troops BEFORE the active player completes a move to within 6U.

Ambushes seem to have been the flavour of Cancon '16. We had several in 28mm as well, GG.

The thing that stops you as the passive player is exactly that - you are the passive player. Your ambush options are activated by similar reaction triggers as 5UZOC, opportunity counter-charges and so on. The ambush trigger, and thus your ability to do anything, only kicks in at 6U. Nothing stops you as an active player from declaring them earlier, of course.

I was a serial bushwhacker at Cancon. All four games had ambushes from me. Their efficacy is doubtful. In the last game I simply put them down after two turns of waiting for the Huns to make a mistake. They didn't.

Let's look at cavalry in ambush. The passive player sees the enemy approaching his terrain. Say 9U away. That's definite charge distance so the player can deploy the ambush.

But what if the enemy is moving toward the hill and will presumably end up within 6U? I realise the approaching player cannot contact them with his move but can the deployment be made and Opportunity status claimed if deployment is made before the Unit comes within 6U?

These were questions asked of me by 2 28mm players.

In 15mm we had flank marches everywhere....