Unit Coherency in Age of Sigmar 3.0

I've been wanting to make a few notes about the upcoming new rules for Age of Sigmar (i.e., 3rd edition). I don't play Age of Sigmar very frequently, but given that my children seem more interested in the game compared to 40k, staying on top of a few of these things does literally find its way to my desk. [And before anyone says: yes, my children like 40k, 30k as well, but just not quite as much as Age of Sigmar which they have really taken to in tandem with RPGs].

The main change -- among a good number of changes -- for Age of Sigmar 3.0 is the changes in unit coherency. I regard this as a pretty fundamental alteration to how the game is played at a game level, strategic level, and tactical level. 

In previous editions, we saw a large number of single rank units stretching far and wide (cf., gratuitous bloodcrushers image!). This clearly was good for screening and other uses. Yet its basis in reality is not too strong. [And again: you will have to forgive me for using the term "Rank" here -- I'm very much an old timer now and remember those heady days of early Warhammer Fantasy Battle very well]. 

So what has changed?

In a nutshell: for units that have 6 or more members, they need to be near 2 other members, instead of just one. 

On the surface, this feels fine. Small units can still stretch out conga line style, but larger squads must now think about having ranks on surface inspection. In that light, I actually like the new ruling since it starts to feel much more realistic and gives a flavour of what the old WFB rules might have once been like. 

But there are plenty of configurations of large units that we can now consider for use with this rule. 

Of course, a player could arrange blobs of three models close to each other and have other blobs of 3 a little further apart. But who is going to play that other than "win at all costs" types? Well, I suspect some will in all honesty. And it will be popular. 

I'm also going to go one step further: we are not going to see ranks either, despite my initial enthusiasm! The obvious reason is that the back rows will not contribute to combats as effectively. 

Instead, I think we are going to see a lot of zig-zag arranged units such that the rear row can still reach over the top and strike in combat. I also think that some amount of adaptation to the zigzag will be seen so that attackers tessellate will be seen. Of course, the Khorne player won't think too much about this, and will hopefully just charge in recklessly anyway - as befits such an army. Or at least, I hope that is what will still happen.