unit fillers

[anevilgiraffe]

I see these crop up a bit, the Fimir thread for example... can someone explain what they are for?

surely just bulking out the back end of a unit, is cheating a bit, if memory serves, depth of a unit used to be a factor in Warhammer?

[Citizen Sade]

To save time and/or money (less figures to buy/paint) or to make a unit visually interesting.

[white knight]

As said above. Their main functions are to make the unit bigger (which is why unitfillers are generally added to the center or back) without needing more figures or to add something visually interesting and fluffy to a themed unit.

[ink the troll]

I always thought they're just there to add a bit more thematically fitting bling to units, a bit like themed movement trays only nicer and bigger.
But then I don't game so there might be other reasons besides just making things look good. Maybe the idea is to use them as substitutes if you don't have all the minis 'needed'?

[Inso]

In games where you attack the unit and line of sight isn't terribly important, as people have said, they act as a fancy bit of bling that pads out a unit, acting as a block of troops without having to actually buy the troops.

It adds a bit of flavour too.

I personally would never do it because I would want the troops to be there so that I could keep an eye on them... you never know what they are upto if they aren't on the table

[Doomhippie]

I see these crop up a bit, the Fimir thread for example... can someone explain what they are for?

surely just bulking out the back end of a unit, is cheating a bit, if memory serves, depth of a unit used to be a factor in Warhammer?

Depends on who you play with. Your average "Winning-is-everything" powergamer would use that as an excuse for some advantage in a game. But a nice bloke who just loves telling a story and wants to "play" while painting and maybe wants you to enjoy a nice sight on the battlefield has a totally different attitude and that's perfectly acceptable for me (though probably not tournament-compatible).

[phreedh]

It's not cheating as long as it's paid for - right? If I have a unit of 20 gobbos on 20mm bases and add a filler on a 40mm base in the middle, would it cause the unit to be counted as 24 gobbos? And the unit would cost me points as if I had 24 actual models in the unit?

[Aerendar Valandil]

Guess so]

[Ramshackle_Curtis]

YEs, the area taken by the filler is paid for in points and troops. You juts do a themed base instead of a group of troops. So 4 goblins on 20mm bases are "taken out" and replaced by a 40mm filler base. So no cheating.

THe best armies I have seen use these things to good advantage. Things like idols in units really add a big visual impact. The army I remember most was an orc army, where the spiders were all modeled in a forest. SO there were group bases with trees on, with the spider sposed more naturally than standing in rank and file.

Why do you play games with models? In the end, coloured blocks or chess pawns would do just as well. The rules of a game are hung on base size and to a lesser or greater degree line of sight. So having a nice looking army is the main focus and reason for playing with models. To evoke a theme and look good.

Unit fillers are really just diorama pieces added to a unit of models to add fun and creativity.

[Erny]

To me though, from a visual perspective where in my head the scaling is 1:1 that unit of 20 goblins with a 4 base unit filler is a unit of 20 goblins that carries round a huge stone idol. Not 24 goblins because look, there are only 20 goblins. Count them. Where do you draw the line are 4 goblins and 5 of the 4 base unit fillers OK? What ratio is fine?

I wouldn't not play against someone with a unit filler, I'd even agree to accept that those 20 goblins have another 4 friends hiding somewhere on the stone idol they all carry around for unknown reasons. For all the skill and attention to detail that goes into them I'd rather they had never been invented. How much do 4 goblins cost after all?

[redzed]

I wouldn't play against somebody with a unit filler, GW have said that it's illegal and wrong.
I demand that ALL my opponents have the correct number of figures on the correct number AND sized bases.
Those individuals who can't manage this simple task should just go away and play one of those inferior cheap games.
We have rules for a reason you know. Where would this Hobby be if we could just do as we wished?

[Silent Invader]

I can't get my head round this .... Any images of what this 'unit filler' looks like? 

[Mr Brown]

I have to agree with Red on this one.

I have stopped playing against people that don't take our Hobby seriously enough. Unfortunately my criteria has become so exacting I have been left playing solo. Still, better that than let the ideas of the unwashed masses ruin my enjoyment of a game I hold so dearly.

And back in the room...

Seriously, I think unit fillers when done well are a brilliant way of building up more character into a bunch of rank and file infantry. Sometimes it can look out of place but given the size of some units its far more manageable to move, even with movement trays.
For WAB with my Arthurian/DA stuff I routinely placed 40x40mm bases into my units with less than four models. It broke up the uniformity and made the mobs of Picts actually look like mobs of Picts. Same with the front rank of my Shieldwalls. 40x40mm bases with two or three figures near the back in tight formation. Some debris on the front. As long as the unit footprint remains correct I honestly cannot see the problem.
I've actually heard someone say out loud, "If you need to use unit fillers because you can not afford the models, then you shouldn't be playing this game." Needless to say it took some amount of self control not to take the chap down a peg or four. You will get people that don't like them because they've been told not to. Assuming you are playing a game based on points, as long as you pay for what you are playing with there should be no problem. If your opponent takes an issue with it, you should first question whether you actually want to continue playing against that opponent?

[redzed]

Well Impetus uses base sizes and you can unit fill to your heats content with fillers or just load it with figures.

Heavy Cavalry units-

[Silent Invader]

Thanks.

So it's where unit size is determined by base size and money/effort is saved by filling up the base with something other than the unit it portrays.

I see the objection.