Every attack in Age of Sigmar 4th Edition follows the same steps: roll to hit, roll to wound, your opponent rolls a save (made harder by Rend), and any damage that gets through goes into a damage pool. The defender then makes ward rolls against that pool before damage is allocated and models are removed. In the combat phase, players take turns picking units to fight, starting with the active player, and Strike-first units always go before everyone else.
This guide follows the current Age of Sigmar core rules (4th Edition), including the rules updates published up to October 2026. The attack sequence below is the same for shooting and melee; only the way you pick targets and the timing differ. New to the game? Start with our how to play Age of Sigmar guide.
The attack sequence at a glance
| Step | Who rolls | Success on | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Hit roll | Attacker | Equal to or above the weapon’s Hit | Unmodified 1 always fails; unmodified 6 is a critical hit |
| 2. Wound roll | Attacker | Equal to or above the weapon’s Wound | Unmodified 1 always fails |
| 3. Save roll | Defender | Equal to or above the target’s Save, after subtracting Rend | Unmodified 1 always fails |
| 4. Damage | – | Each failed save adds the weapon’s Damage to the damage pool | Mortal damage skips steps 1-3 |
| 5. Ward rolls | Defender | Equal to or above the ward value, one roll per point of damage | Only the best (lowest) ward applies |
| 6. Allocate | Defender picks models | A model dies each time its Health is used up | Leftover damage stays on the unit |
Step by step
Picking targets and attack dice
You choose all your targets when you declare the attack. Each model makes a number of attacks equal to each weapon’s Attacks characteristic, and you can split attacks between eligible targets.
- Melee (combat) attacks: the target must be visible and within the attacking model’s combat range, which is 3″ horizontally from its base. A fighting model uses all its melee weapons.
- Shooting attacks: the target must be visible and within the weapon’s Range. A unit that is in combat can only shoot with weapons that have Shoot in Combat, and only at units it is in combat with.
When several attacks share the same Hit, Wound, Rend, Damage and weapon abilities and go into the same target, roll them together to save time. A dice roller helps if you don’t have a big pile of dice.
1. Hit roll
Roll a dice per attack. If it equals or beats the weapon’s Hit characteristic, it hits. An unmodified 1 always fails and an unmodified 6 is a critical hit, which only matters if the weapon has a Crit ability (see below).
2. Wound roll
Roll a dice per hit. Equal to or above the weapon’s Wound characteristic is a success. An unmodified 1 always fails.
3. Save roll and Rend
Your opponent rolls a dice per successful wound and subtracts the weapon’s Rend. If the result still equals or beats the target’s Save characteristic, the attack is stopped. An unmodified 1 always fails. So a Save of 4+ against Rend 1 effectively needs a 5+.
4. Damage
Each attack that gets through adds the weapon’s Damage characteristic to the target’s damage pool. Mortal damage goes straight into the pool, skipping the hit, wound and save rolls entirely.
5. Ward rolls
Wards are the last line of defence. The defender rolls a dice for each point of damage in the pool (normal and mortal damage alike). Every roll that equals or beats the ward value removes one point. If a unit has more than one ward, only the best one counts.
6. Allocating damage
Damage is allocated one point at a time. Each time a model has taken damage equal to its Health, it is slain and you start counting again on the next model. Any leftover damage that doesn’t kill a model stays on the unit. The defending player chooses which models are removed, but the unit must stay in one coherent group. When the last model dies, the unit is destroyed and any extra damage is wasted.
Modifiers: the +1/-1 cap
- Hit and wound rolls: add up all modifiers, then cap the total at +1 or -1. Stacking three +1 to hit buffs still gives you only +1.
- Save rolls: bonuses are capped at +1, but there is no cap on penalties. Rend and other negatives can pile up.
- Rend can be reduced to 0 but no further; other characteristics can’t drop below 1.
Critical hits and weapon abilities
On a critical hit (an unmodified 6 to hit), weapons with a Crit ability get a bonus:
| Ability | What a critical hit does |
|---|---|
| Crit (2 Hits) | Scores 2 hits instead of 1; roll to wound for each |
| Crit (Auto-wound) | Wounds automatically; the target still gets a save |
| Crit (Mortal) | Inflicts mortal damage equal to the weapon’s Damage and the attack ends there |
If more than one Crit ability could apply, the attacker picks one before rolling. Other common abilities include Charge (+1 Damage) (+1 Damage if the unit charged this turn), Anti-X (+1 Rend) and Companion. They’re all covered in our Age of Sigmar weapon abilities guide.
Worked example 1: a block of infantry
Ten models each have a melee weapon with Attacks 2, Hit 4+, Wound 3+, Rend 1, Damage 1. They fight an enemy unit with Save 4+ and no ward.
- Attacks: 10 models x 2 = 20 dice.
- Hits: on 4+, about half land, so roughly 10 hits.
- Wounds: on 3+, two-thirds succeed, so about 6-7 wounds.
- Saves: 4+ minus Rend 1 means the defender needs 5+, so they stop about a third. Roughly 4-5 damage gets through.
Now give the same weapon Crit (2 Hits). About 3 of the 20 hit rolls will be 6s, each adding a bonus hit, so you’re looking at roughly 13 hits, 9 wounds and around 6 damage. That’s why Crit abilities matter so much on units with lots of attacks.
Worked example 2: a monster into a hero with a ward
A monster’s big weapon (Damage 2, with Crit (Mortal)) swings at a hero with Health 6, Save 4+ and a 5+ ward.
- One attack rolls a 6 to hit: Crit (Mortal) puts 2 mortal damage straight into the pool.
- Three more attacks hit, wound and beat the save: that’s 6 more damage.
- Damage pool: 8 points. The defender rolls 8 dice for the ward and gets three 5s or 6s, removing 3 points.
- 5 damage is allocated. The hero (Health 6) survives on 1 remaining Health.
The combat phase: who fights when
Combat range and being in combat
Every model has a combat range of 3″ horizontally from its base (at any height). A unit is in combat with an enemy unit when they’re within combat range and can see each other.
The Fight ability and pile-in
Any unit that is in combat, or that charged this turn, can use the Fight ability. When it fights:
- It may pile in: each model can move up to 3″. If the unit is already in combat, pick an enemy unit it’s fighting as the target; each model must end no further from that unit than it started, and the unit must stay in combat with every unit it was fighting at the start.
- If it is in combat, it then attacks with its melee weapons using the sequence above.
Alternating activations
After all the non-Fight abilities in the combat phase are used, players take it in turns to pick one unit to fight, starting with the active player. Every unit in combat that is able to fight must do so. When one player runs out of units, the other keeps picking until all eligible units have fought.
Strike-first and Strike-last
- While any Strike-first units are in combat, other units can’t be picked to fight until all of them have fought.
- A Strike-last unit can’t be picked while any non-Strike-last unit in combat still hasn’t fought.
- A unit with both counts as having neither.
- A unit dragged into combat partway through the phase (for example by an enemy pile-in) doesn’t gain Strike-first for that phase.
Example: you’re the active player and have charged with two units. Your opponent has one unit with Strike-first. Even though you’d normally pick first, their Strike-first unit fights before anything else. Then you alternate as normal, starting with you.
Commands that change combat
Two commands come up in almost every fight:
- All-out Attack (1 CP): +1 to hit for one attacking ability, but that unit is -1 to save for the rest of the turn.
- All-out Defence (1 CP): +1 to save for your unit until the enemy’s attack has been resolved.
Remember the save bonus cap: if your unit already has +1 to save from somewhere else, All-out Defence adds nothing.
Common mistakes
- Rolling saves against mortal damage. You can’t. Mortal damage skips hit, wound and save, though wards still apply.
- Forgetting wards apply per point of damage. A single Damage 3 attack means three ward dice, not one.
- Stacking +2 to hit. Hit and wound modifiers cap at +1/-1 in total.
- Thinking Rend is capped. Save penalties have no cap; only bonuses are capped at +1.
- Using Bravery and battleshock. Those are older-edition rules. 4th Edition has no battleshock phase.
- Picking out of order. Strike-first units fight first no matter whose turn it is.
FAQ
Do natural 6s always hit in Age of Sigmar?
The core rules say an unmodified 1 always fails and an unmodified 6 is a critical hit. Because hit modifiers are capped at -1, an unmodified 6 will still hit with any weapon that hits on 5+ or better. Whether the critical hit does anything extra depends on the weapon having a Crit ability.
Does Rend affect ward rolls?
No. Rend is subtracted from save rolls only. Ward rolls are made separately against the ward value.
Can my unit fight if it charged but isn’t in combat?
Yes. Any unit that charged this turn can use Fight and pile in, even if it isn’t currently in combat, which lets it close the gap.
Who fights first in the combat phase?
Strike-first units fight before anyone else. After that, players alternate one unit at a time, beginning with the player whose turn it is.
Can units in combat shoot?
Only with weapons that have Shoot in Combat, and they must target units they’re in combat with.
What does Crit (Mortal) do in Age of Sigmar?
On an unmodified hit roll of 6, a weapon with Crit (Mortal) inflicts mortal damage equal to its Damage characteristic and the attack sequence ends there. That means no wound roll and no save roll. The damage goes straight into the target’s damage pool, and the defender can still make ward rolls against it, one dice per point of damage.
Are mortal wounds called mortal damage in Age of Sigmar 4th Edition?
Yes. 4th Edition uses the term mortal damage for what older editions called mortal wounds. It works the same way in principle: it skips the hit, wound and save rolls and goes straight into the damage pool. Ward rolls still apply to mortal damage, so a 5+ or 6+ ward can still stop some of it.
Does All-out Defence work against mortal damage?
No. All-out Defence gives +1 to save rolls, and mortal damage skips save rolls entirely, so the bonus does nothing against it. It also adds nothing if the unit already has +1 to save from another source, because save bonuses are capped at +1. Against mortal damage, only wards can reduce what gets through.