101 - Spray Attacks

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This article is part of Warmachine University's Crash Course (101) series, which is "Basic Training" aimed at new players who are still learning the core rules.

 

The 101 series is intended to help you understand the rulebook, but you shouldn't be reading this instead of the rulebook.

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This lesson mostly goes over how sprays interact with the different types of LOS-blocking terrain.

Sprays - The basics

To make a spray attack you:

• You need to have a legal target. It doesn't need to be in range, but it does need to be in your LOS and targetable by ranged attacks (or magic attacks, if you happen to have a spell with a spray).
• You place the spray template at the edge of your model's base, pointing directly towards the center of the target's base, and work out who is underneath the template.
• You work out if any of the models under the template have LOS blocked by non-cloud terrain. If so, you don't get to attack those models.

You make attack rolls vs everyone else under the template.

• The spray attacks are simultaneous.

Spray attacks ignore:

• Concealment, cover, stealth, intervening models, and the target-in-melee DEF bonus.
• They mostly ignore clouds; more about that below.
• Effects that modify range, such as Windstorm.

Sprays don't ignore:

• LOS-blocking terrain.
• Non-stealth abilities that make attacks automatically miss. In particular, Syvestro's "super stealthy Haze" ability.

Sprays circumvent:

• Models that "cannot be targeted" with attacks (such as Submerge). As long as the spray is centred on a target-able model, you can make attack rolls vs anyone under the template.
• Most anti-ranged-attack abilities have a clause which says they don't work vs sprays, such as Shield Guard.

Obstructions (i.e. Buildings)

Assuming that your obstruction is tall enough to block LOS, then sprays vs obstructions is are fairly straightforward. You put the template down, then see who you have LOS to (ignoring intervening models).

Note that the spray template can go "through" an obstruction, provided that you have LOS around the corner of the obstruction (see the cyan Trencher below).

• 

  In the first example, the grey Void Archon can spray all of the green models. Sprays ignore intervening models, so it can spray the rear small-based models even though LOS is blocked.
  Note that it can't choose the rear models as the spray target, though.
• 

  The second example is the same layout, except we have replaced the LOS-blocking model with a LOS-blocking building.
  Now the grey Void Archon cannot spray the red Trencher because LOS is completely blocked by the building.
  It can spray the cyan Trencher, because it can draw LOS through the pink Brickhouse (sprays ignore intervening models).
  LOS is shown by the straight red line.

Forest

Forests become complicated because they don't block LOS for the first 3", but they do block LOS to anything more than 3" into the forest and everything behind the forest regardless of the thickness.

• 

  In this example, the Void Archon can spray the two green models because there is less than 3" of forest between them and the Void Archon. It cannot spray the red models, because LOS is blocked by the terrain.
• 

  In this example, the Void Archon cannot spray any one. There is more than 3" forest between it and the other models, so the Archon does not have LOS to any of them.
• 

  In this example, the Void Archon still cannot spray any one. Even though the forest is less than 3" thick at this point, you cannot see through a forest.

Clouds

Clouds are weird. You don't get to ignore them when you declare the target for the spray before you put the template down; but you do get to ignore them after you put the template down.

• 

  In this example, the Void Archon does not have LOS to any one, so it cannot declare an attack.
• 

  In this example, the Void Archon has LOS to the cyan Trencher, targets him with a spray, then gets to attack all the green models under the template.

Special Cases

Cephalyx Overlords have a spray that ignores LOS. They can spray through buildings, forests, anything with ease. They can even spray out their back arc!

Aurum Adeptus Syvestro has a "super-stealth" ability. It works almost exactly the same as normal Stealth, but because it doesn't use the word "Stealth" then stuff that normally ignores stealth (such as sprays) doesn't get to ignore Syvestro's version. Luckily, in the case of sprays, there still exists a loophole - you shoot someone standing next to him:

• If you target Syvestro with a spray from more than 5" away, then it will automatically miss. You still get to make attacks vs anyone else under the template.
• If you target someone near Syvestro and manage to catch him under the spray template, it won't automatically miss.