Time to catch up on some stuff.  I haven’t posted in a while.  Mainly because I’ve been lazy. 

I’ve been prepping for Ard Boyz Semi Finals.  I’ve got a few versions of my Grey Knight lists that I’ve been toying around.  I took 1st at the local Ard Boz preliminaries with a 15 man paladin list, vindicator, and a bunch of long range support dreads.  I thought it was a decent list however some elements proved to not be so useful. 

First, the Vindicare.  His sniping was pretty limited and some other test games shown that I really get 50% use out of him.  The rest of the time he’s making useless shots because of range.

Second the psybacks.  Seems the latest meta is heavy MEQ.  While the psybolts cause good wound potential, there’s far too much armor saves for the measly three shots to try to get through. 

Still win though is the dual Ravens.  They have unbelievable versatility.

With the new missions for the Semi Finals though, there is a need to be even more flexible in army list.  There’s potential to need to take a lot of troop choices especially for missions 2 and 3.  That’s where Grand Strategy comes in. 

Anyway, I’m going to Maine to visit my parents and to play in the Semi-Finals up there.  Maybe I’ll run into somebody I used to play when I was a kid.

TOURNAMENT SPECIFICS

Date and Time

The team tournament will be held on July 30^th 2011. We will start as promptly as possible at 10AM and play 3 games allowing for 3 hours per game with a short break to eat between the first and second. The games are long, and the day is longer. Please come prepared for an entire day of tournament play.

Location

The team tournament is being presented by The Assault Phase gaming club, and will be held at Parker, Banner, Kent & Wayne Comics and Games in Cornelius, NC. Please see the web site for PBKW for directions or other information: http://www.pbkwcomics.com/

Registration & Cost

This is a team based tournament. A team consists of two players, each with their own army list (configuration details are covered later). Each team will pay an entry fee of $20 (or $10 per person). Teams should register prior to the day of the event for several reasons that will be covered shortly, but to register simply send an email to one of the addresses below, or call PBKW @ 704-892-GAME (4263). We will take 25 registrations, and allow for a few more to show up the day of.

Register HERE

You can also register by posting on the The Assault Phase forums, but if you do please ensure that you leave some form of contact information.

All that is required to register is the name of the team and contact information. We’ll let you know if you are on any kind of waiting list of back log.

Prize Support

Prize support will come from entry fees and GW tournament support. Monetary prizes are presented as store credit for use at PBKW (which carries an excellent selection of all popular gaming supplies and games). We also plan to have some random events during the tournament during which small prizes can be won for performing actions during a game. If you win a prize you will walk away with the prize that day.

Jon Kirby, a valued member of the Assault Phase gaming group, has been generous enough to donate a large lot of Black Library products for additional prize support. We have not yet determined the distribution method for these, but the contents of the collection is listed below:

· 17 Omnibuses

· 4 SM battle books

· 27 Novels

· 15 Horus Heresy

· 4 WHFB

· Quiz book

· Audio Book

· IG primer (damocalies gulf ed)

These books are in excellent condition, but have been read, and are not considered to be part of the primary prize support. They are a great reason that just about anyone could win something during the tournament.

Configuration

This tournament will use a modified shared force organization requirement. This is listed below. In addition, individuals in a team must also adhere to the force organization chart listed in their individual codex.

Modified Shared Force Org.

HQ = 2 required + 1 optional
Elite = 4 optional
Troops = 3 required + 4 optional
Fast Attack = 4 optional
Heavy Support = 4 optional

Each team may use in total no more than 2500 points. Each team member is required to field 1100 points minimum, leaving 300 points to be shared according to the needs of the team.

Clearly built army lists must be presented for each individual, and will be checked during the tournament. If any list is found to be incorrect the team using that list will forfeit the game(s) it was used in giving a maximum victory to the opposing team(s).

Team Synergy

We want this tournament to be very fun, challenging and interesting for folks that are up to planning for it. Outside of rules that specifically state that they only affect certain friendlies or certain factions (we don’t want to break any established rules) we are going to completely open the door to allow any combinations and synergies you can come up with that are not explicitly denied by existing rules.

An example of something that would be allowed:
Eldar Seer Council picked by a heavy support Land Raider and casting fortune on the land raider.

An example of something not allowed:
Genestealers deploying in a Space Marine Drop Pod. You can’t buy a drop pod as a dedicated transport for Genestealers, only for marines.

Everyone is challenged to come up with the most interesting/powerful synergies they can.

If you have a question about whether something specific will be allowed, please post the question to the Assault phase forums at The Assault Phase .

Scenarios

See this posting http://www.assaultphase.com/assaultforum/thread-40-post-1230.html#pid1230

We will be hosting an apocalypse event at Parker Banner Kent Wayne on May 14th.

21500 Catawba Ave Suite A
Cornelius NC 28031

Time:Registration and prep will start at 10:00am, game starts at 11:00 with a 1 hour lunch at 12:30 and 30 min break at 3:30.  Dice go down at 6pm.

You may come and go as often as you like during the day.  Joining during a team’s turn where balance may be needed.

Should the game at any point appear to stalemate or become chaotic, there may be a “reset” where the game begins anew giving people the opportunity to change up things.

Rules:  1500 points per person, Apocalypse rules with Imperial Armor and Formations allowed.

You must have the rules for any vehicle or formation you are running available for review.  and written rules and lists will not be allowed.

WYSIWYG: All vehicles must be GW models, scratch built or otherwise converted.  I know that not everybody has the money to purchase $500 forge world models, so very convincing count’s as “toys” that you happen to find will be allowed at the TO’s discretion so long as it has been converted and uses GW parts to Warhammerize it and it.  Counts as for any model sold at your FLGS will not be allowed.

Points will be tracked all day on a white board.  It will be a combination of objectives and basic kill points with a few caveats to encourage vehicles and super heavy’s as follows:

Destroying an enemy vehicle with a vehicle 2 pts
Destroying an enemy vehicle by ramming 3 pts
Destroying an enemy Super Heavy or Gargantuan Creature 5 points
Simply bringing a Gargantuan Creature or Super Heavy 10 points

So as you can guess, teams will get an automatic boost by fielding large models.  But they are worth more kill points.  This goes into the spirit of Apocalyptic scale games.

Rules Clarification #1: Allies and Time Limits

Page 198 of the apocalypse rule book has the allies matrix.  There are some quirks, like how the Tyranids hate everybody.  But for simplicity here are the following teams.

Imperial: Eldar, IG, Inquisition, Space Marines, Tau

Choas: Chaos, Dark Eldar, Necrons, Orks, Tyranids.

Also for simplicity, try to only choose one army, not a mix.  Your going to be on a gigantic team, chances are most races will be represented.

Both sides will have 15 minutes each to complete their turn.  The nominated generals will need to help coordinate the phases.  If one player starts moving into assault phase ahead of the other players, any units involved in that combat are locked.  So if you wanted to shoot at the enemy, but your ally is locked them in combat before you could, it’s too late.

Typically, one would spend a lot of time to get a model painted and it will usually look quite beautiful.  Well, that does also depend on your talent.  But even so, is that how things look in real life?  No. In real life things have a tendency to look used and beaten.  You will often find soot, dirt, and rust on every day items.

You can accomplish this approach in a variety of ways.  You can try dry bushing the needed color, heavy washing, etc.  But the best approach is to use a weathering powder.

A weathering powder is a special dust that can be used in a variety of ways.  You can brush it on dry if you are looking to create a dirt or soot effect.  You can also set some aside, wet it down and put it on wet if you are looking to make a rust or mud look.

For myself, typically there are two main colors I use the most of when weathering.  Black and Orange.  You can get other shades in a variety of colors.  The easiest way is to buy prepackaged weathering powers from your local hobby supply shop.  Those powders however are pretty expensive for what you are getting.  The cheapest way is to make your own.  It really is nothing more than charcoal or chalk.

First step, go out to the local hobby store that specializes in paints and sketching to pick up a package of charcoal and sanguine sticks.  That will cover your two primary bases in regards to the most often used colors.  While you are out and about, pick up some sand paper.  Something fine grain will be fine.  You don’t need a heavy grain to create a dust.

You will then take your charcoal sticks and rub them onto the sand paper.  As you rub it will begin to form a pile of powder.  Rub until you have enough powder that you will need for your current project.  You can also get some small paint storage cups and dump that powder in there so that you have some ready made stuff to store with your other modeling supplies.

It’s been a while since I’ve updated the blog.  Sorry folks.  I’ve had a log going on personally, kids taking up time, work, etc.  Hobby sometimes need to take a back seat.  I totally need to get some more folks on here blogging for the club and themselves.  Since truthfully, I won’t have as much time as I used to.  But I promise to get some updates including the finished scratch built Warhound titan.  Well… not painted fully.

This weekend we took a 2.5 hour drive up to Raleigh, NC to play in a tournament called “The Meat Grinder”.  DakkaDakka link where we heard about it.  It was held at Game Theory, a mid size hobby store focused on games.  It was a long hard fought day, but Assault Phase really represented.  Going to the tournament we had Kirby, DC, Jason, and Rob met us up there.

Why was this worth the drive, missing our own local tournament, and knowing we were competing against each other?  A fully painted Daemon army averaging around 2000 points!  We weren’t the only ones who thought this was a worth while tournament to head to.  I met folks from South Carolina, Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, etc.  Some folks drove over 4.5 hours to come to the tournament.

So how did I (DC) do?

Here is the list I took to the tournament.  I called this my Skulltaker Deathstar

1850 Pts – Chaos Daemons Roster – Daemons

HQ: Skulltaker (1#, 175 pts)
   1 Skulltaker, 175 pts = (base cost 140) + DS: Juggernaut of Khorne 35

HQ: Herald of Khorne (1#, 130 pts)
   1 Herald of Khorne, 130 pts = (base cost 70) + DG: Unholy Might 15 + DGK: Fury of Khorne 10 + DS: Juggernaut of Khorne 35

Elite: Bloodcrushers of Khorne (6#, 280 pts)
   6 Bloodcrushers of Khorne, 280 pts = 6 * 40 (base cost 40) + DGK: Fury of Khorne x1 10 + DG: Chaos Icon x1 25 + DG: Instrument of Chaos x1 5

Elite: Flamers of Tzeentch (3#, 105 pts)
   3 Flamers of Tzeentch, 105 pts = 3 * 35

Elite: Flamers of Tzeentch (3#, 105 pts)
   3 Flamers of Tzeentch, 105 pts = 3 * 35

Troops: Bloodletters of Khorne (10#, 160 pts)
   10 Bloodletters of Khorne, 160 pts = 10 * 16

Troops: Pink Horrors of Tzeentch (5#, 95 pts)
   5 Pink Horrors of Tzeentch, 95 pts = 5 * 17 (base cost 17) + rDGT: Bolt of Tzeentch x1 10

Troops: Pink Horrors of Tzeentch (5#, 95 pts)
   5 Pink Horrors of Tzeentch, 95 pts = 5 * 17 (base cost 17) + rDGT: Bolt of Tzeentch x1 10

Troops: Pink Horrors of Tzeentch (5#, 95 pts)
   5 Pink Horrors of Tzeentch, 95 pts = 5 * 17 (base cost 17) + rDGT: Bolt of Tzeentch x1 10

Troops: Plaguebearers of Nurgle (5#, 75 pts)
   5 Plaguebearers of Nurgle, 75 pts = 5 * 15

Heavy Support: Daemon Prince of Chaos (1#, 165 pts)
   1 Daemon Prince of Chaos, 165 pts = (base cost 80) + DG: Iron Hide 30 + MC: Mark of Nurgle 30 + DGN: Cloud of Flies 5 + rDG: Daemonic Gaze 20

Heavy Support: Soul Grinder of Chaos (1#, 185 pts)
   1 Soul Grinder of Chaos, 185 pts = (base cost 135) + rW: Mawcannon – Tongue 25 + rW: Mawcannon – Phlegm 25

Heavy Support: Soul Grinder of Chaos (1#, 185 pts)
   1 Soul Grinder of Chaos, 185 pts = (base cost 135) + rW: Mawcannon – Tongue 25 + rW: Mawcannon – Phlegm 25

I’ve never really run Skulltaker in a tournament list.  When mech/guard was the rage, he was rather overcosted and useless.  My initial hope was he would make his worth by pitting me against a Tyranid player where he shines.  But with a herald and a fully kitted out death star crusher list, this unit could also pop vehicles with rending.

Round 1: Daemons vs. Dark Angels, BoLS style Kill Points

In this match, I think my opponent made a few key mistakes and didn’t capitalize on mistakes I made.  The army was a deathwing style 3 terminator squads with Belial making them troops.  He started them all in reserves to deep strike and rely on teleport homers on bikes.  The land raider was left on the board empty and Devastators were put up in a building away from the main force.  These were the big mistakes which swung the game my way right at deployment.  I had a lone unit for my soft guys to focus on away from the action and with the terminators deep striking, I could almost guarantee my self first charge since they can’t assault on a deep strike.

How things were, I decided to not suicide bomb my flamers and instead brought in my horrors to shoot up the devastators. Crushers off to the center to challenge anybody and everybody since all the terminators were off the board. Soul Grinder #1 misshaped and opponent was able to place anyway, but stuck my back on my own side, behind cover, and behind my troops in the far corner.  Since my horrors were tossing a gazillion shots at the devastators they did not bother with my lone vehicle and instead shot at the horrors.  The other big mistake.  Two las’s and two krak’s could have taken that Soul Grinder out in one turn. 

The rest was just me pushing slowly left to right and killing things as they came on the board.  I had a bit of a rough time with Belial and his unit.  I also started to learn a bit about storm shields and thunder hammers that I didn’t account for.  Only thing left at the end was a Land Raider immobilized with no weapons.

Round 2: Daemons vs Daemons, Objectives and corners

This was Kirby and myself.  I learned he smashed his previous Tau player and it was now going to be his Slaanesh Fiend spam army against my Crusher Death Star army.  This was actually a great game choice as it pitted two totally different Daemon tourny ideals against each other.  It was a hard fought match to be sure.

My game plan going in was to keep his units moving through terrain.  While some had grenades most didn’t.  I deep struck mostly in a bit of a castle maneuver at the beginning.  Keeping the horrors in the corner and the grinder and crushers out nearby so little could come in and kill off the soft little pinks.  Still a ballsy unit of fiends got inside and I had to move the crushers in to clean up what was left surviving the volley of warpfire.

Flamers eventually moved in to support, more pinks in the other corner.  We had one exhausting 5 squad multi combat going on between my Prince of Nurgle, plague bearers, bloodletters and his Prince of Slaanesh, fiends.

Just based on point objectives I managed to get max points, although the victory point numbers were really close as there was a lot on the table at the end.

Round 3: Daemons vs Blood Angels, Pure Victory points

Last game between the 1st and 2nd place players.  My opponent was known as Juice and there could not have been a nicer guy at the tournament.  This game literally was a “chess match”, to use his term.  I knew some strengths about his army, and he knew well what mine was capable off.

At the beginning of the game I started off at a huge disadvantage.  On the first drop 165 point Daemon prince mishaps and dies!  That hurt me right away.  So I did not go right on the offensive and take risky deep strikes.  I did plop one squad of horrors out behind enemy lines.  My hope was that there would kill off a small devastator squad out in the open before they died themselves.  You know, a much better kill point differential.

We had his HQ and terminator squad and my death star list circling each other around a building waiting for the assault opportunity. Near the end he moved a Vindicator in too close and my death star lunged after it and then began running after the vehicles on the other side, getting one or two more immobilized results.  Half points at least.

I decided to show the first balls and changed bloodletters in at the terminators, through terrain and ending up going at I 1.  My mistake was that I kept targeting stormshield thunder hammers until I realized that I should target the HQ’s with worse saves and worth more at like the very end of the game.

The game went all the way to turn 7.  I managed to score a minor victory and got just enough points to win first place.

The army I won is still being painted.  But here are a few pictures of items finished or in progress for an idea of the painting scheme.  Looks really nice.  Gordon is a good painter!  My own army is old and chipped, this will help fill in those missing elements and replace damaged models. 

I wanted to send a warm Happy Thanksgiving to everybody at The Assault Phase!  Also to remind you of the special Tanksgiving 40K Apocalypse event this weekend at Parker Banner Kent and Wayne open to everybody.

Parker Banner Kent Wayne
8301 Magnolia Estates Dr
Cornelius, NC 28031

Entry fee is one metal folding chair (or $15 if you do not have one).  GW prize support will be awarded throughout the game.  You can read more on the event.

Don’t forget also that this weekend, Parker Banner Kent and Wayne will be having a Black Friday sale.  Take advantage of the day of gaming combined with super sales and support the store.

Gobble Gobble….

I’ve made a lot more progress on the titan recently.  You can really see it starting to take shape.  The perfectionist in me is still a bit sad that it will never look quite as good as the Forge World one.  Still, when it’s done it will not look like a shabby thrown together stick figure.  On to the pictures…

After building the lower section in Part 1, I needed to start thinking about how to make the torso more dynamic.  If I stuck with the instructions I would not be able to take it apart for travel and it would not be mobile.  The Forge World titan has more of a round waist with some cog type edges.  A visit to Lowes found all kinds of PVC pipes with similar edges as well as bolt type edges.

Since the upper body has large empty pieces, it was more important to give it stability.  So again foam was used on the inside to keep everything sturdy and able to take a beating.

Joints were made for the weapons using slip on PVC pipes.  It allows for the weapons to be replaces and removed when destroyed.

To try it out I started to make the first weapon, the Vulcan Mega Bolter.  It slips in very easily and can even rotate without falling out.  I’ll put that aside for a while and come back to the weapons later.

After the body structure was done, I started on the head.  I wanted to do some unique stuff.  I also wanted the top to come off and also be removable.  Here’s a picture of the chaos symbol.

I had just finished reading Dark Adeptus and was pleasantly surprised that it was all about a possessed STC that built titans.  The Chaos titans that were made were all possessed and contain some sort of brain where the cockpits should be.  So I decided a skull inside of the brainy gooey mess would work good.

You may notice the wires sticking out the top.  I’ve been working on some electronics to give the model some oomph.

With the head done, I also started adding end caps to the leg joints as well as other bits that will be vents, trace lines for plating, and green stuffing the gaps.  It’s starting to look really good now.

I would really love a legitimate Warhound Titan from Forgeworld.  But those guys are damn expensive and I could not afford it without a second mortgage and putting my marriage at risk.  Currently the price for a Warhound is $376.40 without any weapon arms.  Not only that, but there’s additional cost of shipping from England, etc.  I’ve often heard the complaint about “Pricehammer”, the person with the most cash can afford the best army and models, and thus has an advantage.

So I’ve set out to build my own titan using a combination of plans found on the internet and a little “Mainer Ingenuity”. Side story; that New England phrase can sometimes also apply to doing something radically stupid under the pretense that it should work.  Case in point, my parents ran out of filters for the cat water dish.  Rather than go buy more, they used a scrap of spare fiberglass insulation they had.  The cat’s dead, luckily thanks to old age and not drinking from fiberglass filtered water.

As mentioned I was using a paper template.  First step was to cut out the template with scissors and then trace the template on a piece of cheap plasticard in the form of a “for sale” sign with a permanent marker.  When it’s all traced out, using a ruler you add the lines from the template that will be used to fold.  I recommend that when done, doing a sample fold with the paper template to double check which sides attach where.  There are a few templates that folded in a different direction.

You will then cut out the plasticard template.  I started to find that for the best fit, you really want to make sure you cut out inside of the line, rather than just along the middle.  After that is done, score the fold lines with an exacto, staying strait as possible.

With it all scored, fold the plasticard slowly and gently to prevent it from snapping.  It may help to use a bit of painters tape to keep the edges together when super gluing the folded template edges.  You will also want to apply superglue to the folds as they will eventually snap and maybe even in the process of folding.

I deviated from the paper template a bit to create joints closer to the forge world model and to allow some level of posability.  So here you can see the foot pieces.  I added some tubing and closed up any gaps with greenstuff.  I added just a little embellishment in the way of edging and rivets, seen best on the toe.

Molds

Since I knew it was going to be a big pain in the ass to make these fancy toes and knuckles for each foot, I decided to cast them.  I used Amazing Putty, bought at Michaels, Hobby Lobby, and places.  You can buy Resin there, it’s a bit more expensive, but if you want a cheap suitably equivalent you can buy fiberglass resin at Home Depot or Lowes.  Anyway, you roll the putty into a ball and press it around the edges.  It’s probably easier to build a frame out of Lego’s or something but I didn’t think of it at the time.  Below is a cast of the toe and knuckle and then a completed foot.

Back to the leg

So I’ve got a couple feet now.  There are only three main parts to the leg, so I continued to make them out of plasticard rather than mold it.  To add the posability I mentioned, I also utilized 1/25 inch wooden knob balls.  A value pack of like 10 pieces for $5 at Michaels.  They are the ankle and hip joints. 

When building the leg, I also added some pistons in the form of a couple plastic tubes that slide within each other.  The other joints use the suggested PVC tubes mentioned in the paper templates.  I switched to a really thick plasticard when creating the leg armor.  All the armor pieces will use that.  To ensure stability I filled each leg with foam to prevent any cracking at the seams as I can imaging the top of the titan will add a bit of weight.

The lower leg joint doesn’t exactly sit within the round piece as you would think.  So I decided to pin it to the joint before putting it on.  Also the pistons will serve as a stabilizer when it’s together.

The finished product.  It’s hard to tell from the picture, but one leg is stepping forwards in front of the other one.  Something that could not be done just by going by the directions of the paper template online.  You can also see I switched resins mid way through after running out of the old can I had.  That’s when I found the cheaper stuff at Lowes.  It actually seems to be harder and leave less of that residue that you have to wash off in order to paint.

We will be hosting an apocalypse event at Parker Banner Kent Wayne.  If all goes according to plan this will be at the NEW LOCATION with more room and bigger and permanent tables.  EDIT: *sad face* the new building won’t be ready.   This event will be a bit special in terms of entry, play, and prize support.

Time: Game will start at 10:30am with a 1 hour lunch at 12:30 and 30 min break at 3:30.  Dice go down at 6pm.

Prizes: They will be giving out throughout the day.  Example, most points scored before lunch, longest play without dying, etc (just examples, subject to change)

Entry Fee: 1 Metal Folding Chair
The new store is easily 2 or 3 times the size as the current store.  Many things will be able to go on at the same time (magic, warhammer, warmachine, etc).  You may think that the current store has plenty of metal folding chairs, but the new store will be in dire need of it. 

One thing you can do is get with some friends to purchase a pack of chairs from some place like BJ’s or Staples.  If you do not have access, I will be bringing chairs for people to “buy” ($15 each) until they run out.  If we run out of chairs then further entry fee’s will be $15 and will go towards the purchase of chairs and other logistical items we use and will need in the future at PBKW.

21500 Catawba Ave Suite A
Cornelius NC 28031

Parker Banner Kent Wayne, 8301 Magnolia Estates Dr, Cornelius, NC 28031

You may come and go as often as you like during the day.  Between then and now we will be using the forums to plan the event.  We will try to assign Generals and 2nds in command who will want to organize strategy for each team before the event and at breaks.  Should the game at any point appear to stalemate or become chaotic, there may be a “reset” where the game begins anew giving people the opportunity to change up things.

Rules:  1500 points per person, Apocalypse rules with Imperial Armor and Formations allowed.

You must have the rules for any vehicle or formation you are running available for review.  Hand written rules and lists will not be allowed.

WYSIWYG: All vehicles must be GW models, scratch built or otherwise converted.  I know that not everybody has the money to purchase $500 forge world models, so very convincing count’s as “toys” that you happen to find will be allowed at the TO’s discretion so long as it has been converted and uses GW parts to Warhammerize it and it.  Counts as for any model sold at your FLGS will not be allowed.

Points will be tracked all day on a white board.  It will be a combination of objectives and basic kill points with a few caveats to encourage vehicles and super heavy’s as follows:

• Destroying an enemy vehicle with a vehicle 2 pts
• Destroying an enemy vehicle by ramming 3 pts
• Destroying an enemy Super Heavy or Gargantuan Creature 5 points
• Simply bringing a Gargantuan Creature or Super Heavy 10 points

So as you can guess, teams will get an automatic boost by fielding large models.  But they are worth more kill points.  And it goes to the spirit of Tanksgiving.

Rules Clarification #1: Allies and Time Limits

Page 198 of the apocalypse rule book has the allies matrix.  There are some quirks, like how the Tyranids hate everybody.  But for simplicity here are the following teams.

Imperial: Eldar, IG, Inquisition, Space Marines, Tau

Choas: Chaos, Dark Eldar, Necrons, Orks, Tyranids.

Also for simplicy, try to only choose one army, not a mix.  Your going to be on a gigantic team, chances are most races will be represented.

 Both sides will have 15 minutes each to complete their turn.  The nominated generals will need to help coordinate the phases.  If one player starts moving into assault phase ahead of the other players, any units involved in that combat are locked.  So if you wanted to shoot at the enemy, but you ally locked them in combat before you could, it’s too late.