Close combat is where games of 40k get loud. Models are bunched up, CP is tight, and every 3 inch move suddenly matters. This White Dwarf tactica from Stephen Box digs into that exact chaos and shows how to turn swinging chainswords into actual mission wins. It is not just about killing. It is about stealing ground, locking units, and making sure your opponent cannot do what they planned. Because the Fight phase is the second movement phase, you should treat it like one. Since the article has been updated for the latest rules tweaks, it is worth walking through the whole thing.
Why You Fight At All
According to Stephen, you charge because melee weapons only work in melee and some armies live there. World Eaters, Orks, and anything with scary melee profiles need Engagement Range or they are wasted. However, the real power is that fighting lets you destroy a unit and stand where it was. That means you can flip an objective in the same phase. Additionally, a smart charge can stall an enemy unit so it cannot move or score. Therefore, the Fight phase is not just violence. It is board control wrapped in violence.
Make Every Inch Count
The article really hammers on Pile In and Consolidate. Those 3 inch moves look small, but they are an extra 6 inches of potential board grab if you plan them. First you charge so your furthest models can reach. Then you Pile In to drag the rest of the squad in. After that you Consolidate to touch an objective or tag something awkward. Because you move models in the order you choose, you can wrap round a unit and still stay within 6 inches of an objective. Moreover, if you charge with a tough unit first, your opponent must Overwatch that, letting your scary second unit get in untouched. Therefore, always charge in the right order, not the coolest order.
Precision, But Not For Them
Some melee units have Precision baked in, like a Master of Executions or Ruststalkers. That lets you knife a Character hiding in a unit. However, you only decide to use Precision when saves are made. That means if your wound roll is bad, you can just dump the hits on the unit. Additionally, Precision only works if you can actually see the Character. Because of that, good terrain placement still protects key models.
The article also warns you that your opponent can buy Precision for a turn with Epic Challenge. Therefore, you can protect your Character by charging the far end of their unit or by throwing in a cheap squad first so their hero has to hit chaff instead.
Winning The Activation War
The Fight phase has a rhythm. First is Fights First. Then everything else. Because the non active player picks first in each step, having multiple Fights First units is brutal. However, your opponent can still use Counter offensive, so you must choose which combat matters most.
Stephen says to swing with the fight that wins the mission first, not the one that kills the most. Additionally, if two fights are equal, fight with the fragile unit first, then spend defensive stratagems on the unit that will get hit back. Moreover, you can use Heroic Intervention to jump onto an objective before your opponent Piles In. That is huge when the OC race is tight. Therefore, always keep CP for the Fight phase. It is the phase where surprise moves happen.
Wrap It Up
So this White Dwarf piece is really saying one thing. Melee is movement. You are not just punching. You are moving past screens, tagging guns, and standing on circles your opponent thought were safe. Because Pile In and Consolidate are compulsory but controllable, good players use them to get wider, not deeper. Additionally, knowing how Precision works and how to deny it keeps your Characters alive. Therefore, if you plan your charge order, watch for Fights First, and keep one CP for Heroic Intervention, you will come out of the scrum holding more objectives than you went in with. And that, more than body count, is how Fight phase wins games.
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