(Answered) Stacking

[Sartris]

Can a movement phase end with, for example Side A's Mad Cat and Joust and Side B's conventional Jump Platoon and Badger tank, or must those units be displaced before the firing phase?

My reading of the displacement rules is that displacement only occurs if the stacking rules are inadvertently violated eg via a unit pushed in due to a charge or push.

[Xotl]

Can the movement phase end with what, exactly?  All those units from two different sides in the exact same hex?

[Sartris]

Yes. The question arose whether the movement phase can end with units from opposing sides occupying the same non-building hex.

I’ve been playing under the assumption forever that you can, but these boards are littered with my errors in rule comprehension

So for example clarity: Can my mad cat and my opponent’s badger end the movement phase in the same hex?

Follow up:
If yes, I then assume that 1) these units cannot fire on each other and 2) the mech can kick the tank during the physicals phase

[Xotl]

Can you clarify as to why the text on p. 57 is unclear?

At the end of each Movement Phase, up to two units from
each side may occupy a single hex (a maximum of four). These
units can consist of any combination of vehicles and infantry,
but only one of the four can be a ’Mech. This maximum is
called the stacking limit.

Though a unit can enter a hex occupied by an enemy unit, it may
not leave that hex in the same turn; entering an enemy hex
automatically ends a unit’s movement.

Regardless of the conditions noted above, no unit may voluntarily
end its movement in a hex if that movement would violate the
stacking limit.

So you can enter a hex with enemy units, but you can't violate the normal stacking limits when doing so.  So no displacement is ever going to occur in this scenario, because this is all voluntary movement we're discussing (and voluntarily violating the stacking limit is forbidden).

As for attacks, you can generally not attack a target in the same hex unless you have Point-Blank weapons (or are infantry): see TW p. 106.  Physical attacks are not weapon attacks, and follow their own rules.  Cheers.

[Sartris]

So you can enter a hex with enemy units, but you can't violate the normal stacking limits when doing so.  So no displacement is ever going to occur in this scenario, because this is all voluntary movement we're discussing.

This is always what I assumed to be the case, thank you.

to be clear, the text has never confused me. When my interpretation is challenged, I keep the door open to the possibility that I might be wrong - in the past couple years I've learned I've played some rules since time immemorial like vehicle movement, charging, critical transfers, and others incorrectly. Just wanted to clarify that my second grade reading skills are indeed not deceiving me.

[Sartris]

I thought that maybe an older version of the game might have taken a different tact in stacking and was clouding memory but

Vehicles and Infantry are allowed to have two units per hex. These units can be combined in any way, and one vehicle or infantry can stack with a mech.

Note the maximum units in a hex is four, two units from each side, but only one of the four may be a BattleMech.

A maximum of four units may occupy a hex at the end of the Movement Phase (two from each force) by ending their movement in that hex, buyt only one of the four units may be a BattleMech.

In other words, a maximum of 4 units may occupy a hex at the end of the Movement Phase (2 units from each force) by end their movement in that hex, but only one of the 4 units may be a BattleMech

Identical text to Master Rules