Warhammer 40,000 is played in a series of battle rounds. In each battle round, both players have a turn. The same player always takes the first turn in each battle round – the mission you are playing will tell you which player this is. Each turn consists of a series of phases, which must be resolved in the following order.

Some rules allow a model or unit to move, shoot, charge or fight outside of the normal turn sequence. For example, the Fire Overwatch Stratagem enables a unit to shoot in your opponent’s turn as if it were your Shooting phase. When using out-of-phase rules to perform an action as if it were one of your phases, you cannot use any other rules that are normally triggered in that phase.

Some rules apply an effect that lasts until a certain duration has passed (e.g. until the start of your next turn). Such effects are known as persisting effects. If a persisting effect applies to a unit when it embarks within a TRANSPORT, make a note of that effect and its duration; if that unit disembarks for any reason, any persisting effects continue to apply to that unit for their full duration. If a persisting effect applies to an Attached unit and that unit ceases to be an Attached unit (because either all of its Bodyguard models or all of its Leader models are destroyed), any persisting effects continue to apply to the surviving unit(s) for their full duration.