First, what is The Line? If you talk to anyone outside of a small group you've almost certainly heard of this but The Line is the ability to take a unit and run it in a Rank as large as you want. This creates an extremely wide unit, if the player wants it to, and is typically used with Infantry or Heavy Infantry for reasons I'll get into. The Line has existed in many, many versions and flavors of Warhammer Fantasy and literally never been an issue, so why now? Well besides some idiot making click-bait videos in a leather jacket in Youtube, it's become an issue because players have a hard time understanding a concept in a vacuum vs. how it works on the table. Goonhammer did an article about this but it barely scratched the surface of how useless this "tactic" is, and I'd like to fully destroy any illusions to its efficacy once and for all. I'm not doing well on my language promise.
The Line and Its "Uses"
Before tearing something down, we must understand why it was built up in the first place. The Line is a workable concept because of the rules for Fighting Rank in TOW: every model may make a single Attack as long as it's in the Fighting Rank, regardless of base to base contact. This is a new rule for Warhammer and a very good one, it allows players to experiment with unit formations and sizes from game to game instead of rigidly sticking to 5x4, 5x5, and so on. The Line takes this to its logical extreme by having a massive frontage, often 20+ models wide on 25mm or 30mm bases. This allow the unit to get many more Attacks than it normally could, beating down the opposition faster and ultimately winning the combat for good.
Missile Weapons can also make use of The Line, allowing more models to shoot than even Volley Fire would (if the weapon even has that) and providing a larger Stand & Shoot Charge Reaction. In this respect the formation is nothing new, people have been running archers and the like as wide as possible for decades in order to maximize shots. Still, units that can both fight and shoot to some degree, such as Dwarf Rangers, get an extra boost. Don't forget, Stand & Shoot now adds to Combat Resolution which can make these thin strips of models intimidating to charge.
Finally, The Line simply takes up a large amount of table space and blocks copious amounts of Line of Sight. This isn't anything new either, and is certainly the weakest use of the formation. Blocking LoS is at best a secondary benefit because other units, like Skirmishers, simply do it far better and with more versatility. Still, it is worth mentioning and keeping in mind as something to be gained from The Line.
It's important to remember that this strategy doesn't have one rock-solid application: the player can change how wide The Line is from game to game and even within a match. The goal is always to have enough width to benefit from extra Attacks, but not go so far as to incur drawbacks. The catch is that's extremely hard to do, so let's look at why.
Uh-Oh, Realism
So far what's been discussed is theoretical, The Line is something you can do within the rules of the game and occupies the same space as many other niche interactions. On paper it sounds scary, my units are going to get out-fought and out-diced, forcing me to adopt the same formation. Before panicking, let's exhaustively look at the real-game elements which break The Line down. Some of these may seem familiar, but when dealing with strategies this poor, I prefer to leave no stone unturned in my refutation:
Terrain
The Core Rules strongly recommend using six pieces of Terrain on a 6x4' table, the standard for a 2000 point game, which is in turn the standard size. Anyone who is trying to use less, or much more, is likely trying to cheat the game in their favor for some reason, The Line is one such reason. A single Terrain piece cannot be wider than 8" on any side, and must be at least 2" wide to even count, which leads to a battlefield where movement is slightly restricted but not overly hampered.
The wider a unit is, the harder the table becomes to navigate. Terrain is a serious hindrance in TOW, even for units with Move Through Cover, because it reduces charge distance at the very least. Impassable Terrain is as bad as it gets since only Fly or Ethereal gets around it, and you're not getting access to either of those rules except in the rarest of occasions.
An important bit to remember is that both players, ideally, build the table together in an alternating fashion. In my opinion this represents both Generals looking for suitable ground to fight on, attempting to find whatever meager advantage they can. If we are looking at the game either narratively or competitively, it's perfectly acceptable and indeed expected to maximize the advantage Terrain can offer. This isn't being "That Guy", it's baked into the rules plain as day and both players have an equal opportunity at it.
So, if I see an army list that is likely to try and use The Line, I'm going to place as much Impassable Terrain as I can get my hands on. I'm going to place it as close to the center as I can, keeping in mind that the middle 12" needs to stay open in most Scenarios. Failing that I'd opt for strips of Dangerous Terrain to maximize the opposing dice rolled for it and minimizing my own. Nothing about this violates the letter or spirit of the rules, so fight fire with fire.
Multi-Charging
As a unit's frontage expands, so does their easily chargeable footprint. This is something worth thinking about even ignoring The Line because a unit that's too wide, such as a wide block of Monstrous Infantry, will struggle to get everyone into base to base and maximize Attacks. Stringing a unit out widely lifts this to comical heights, inviting a bunch of charges all at once and completely negating the benefits of The Line.
The more models you bring to bear against a unit in a wide line, the more that formation becomes a drawback instead of a boon. They're getting the same amount of Attacks as they always would, but you're adding many more Attacks as well, on top of Ranks, Combat Order, and more. The scales quickly tip in the multi-chargers favor, especially with respect to Initiative. Many players who fret about The Line also forget a number of rules that heavily lean heavily against it.
First, pg. 130 of the Core Rules show an easy counter to a wide unit. If The Line wants to charge you, simply align your units so that it cannot contact more than one or two directly. This counts as a Disordered Charge against what cannot be contacted, and the wider the unit the worse this gets. Now, you don't get an Initiative advantage either but if you already have one then you're in great shape. Setting this trap up is simple in the age of Pre-Measuring, you just Wheel a bit and let your toughest unit take the actual charge.
Second, per Pg. 147, a model must direct its Attack/s at the unit its in base to base with. This prevents The Line from mobbing up its dice against one, soft target and amassing Combat Resolution. As the opponent you suffer no drawback to this since you're only fighting one, large, unit with a common profile. You can even make your own durable units, via Toughness or Armor Save, a bit wider than normal to scoop up more of these stray Attacks. Even when not base to base, a model must strike the closest unit when multiple are available, so you can really dictate where you're being attacked.
Lastly, the rules for Outnumbering heavily weigh against The Line. The more a unit in this formation gets charged, the more total Unit Strength it's dealing with. Remember, The Line is often 20-40 models in total so even as little as two or three opposing units will turn any Fall Back in Good Order results in a flee. As Combat Resolution tips against The Line, so to does this rule guarantee its retreat or demise.
Redressing the Ranks and Overall Movement
Another wrinkle in this tale is that it's quite hard to get out of The Line, and those who think otherwise are at best misunderstanding the rules. The only ways to alter a unit's frontage, other than most of it dying, is to Redress the Ranks (or Reform into another Formation), which is a Maneuver as covered on Pg. 124-125. A very, very key part of this is that no model can move more than twice it's Movement value when making a Maneuver.
While a wide unit can use these Maneuvers, it does restrict how they can do so. You'd have to take models all from the same side and move them to that side's back rank, that might not be enough to get around or avoid whatever the unit is trying to. Honestly this isn't a massive drawback but it can come up quite often, especially on a cluttered tabletop.
Taking Casualties
Let's keep the weird, small rules rolling. Per Pg. 102, if a unit has a single rank it must remove casualties evenly from both sides of the unit, instead of the normal left to right or right to left. This can quickly shrink the unit's frontage, but not free it from numerous combats. Moving to Pg. 158, even as a unit shrinks you must move the totality of the units in a combat, by the minimum amount, to maintain base to base contact.
An unscrupulous player might try to use this to get out of being outnumbered or other Combat Resolution, nope! This is a big problem for the player using The Line because opposing units won't get exposed nearly as much as casualties diminish the front rank, they just tuck in. Now, this doesn't make counter-charging impossible but it makes it much harder because it's difficult to predict how many models will be lost.
Counter-Charge
As a last, desperate attempt at relevance, proponents of The Line will claim it can be used with a cheap unit, that will definitely die, but screen for others just behind it to launch a vicious counter-charge. This has a few holes. For one, Panic is still a thing even if it's been greatly hampered. I wouldn't rely on this as a primary answer but depending on how many units are nearby, and their Leadership, you might get one to FBIGO.
The more compelling counters are that the opposing player gets to control their units. Let's do a thought experiment: assume a unit of 30 Goblins in The Line, so 30 wide. My army is arrayed against it, and the bulk of the enemy army is behind it. This gives me several options. If the rest of the enemy units are too close, I'll charge in and attempt to Pursue into them, giving me the charge. If they're too far away, I can either attempt to Restrain OR simply send very little in. This latter option could end the combat in my favor in the opponent's Turn, meaning I get to charge, and it's pretty simple math to figure out which option is best.
Getting Deeper Into the Weeds
Having given The Line a good bashing, let's go even further: most units are not at all equipped to run this formation. As it's very likely that a unit so wide has to accept a charge, rather than make one, it either needs to be extremely durable or very high Initiative, but it also has to be cheap. The more expensive it is, the more free Victory Points you're giving away by running it. There is absolutely no Deathstar in the game that can survive a charge from the bulk, or totality, of the opposing army.
I'll use Dwarves as my test case, after all they're one of the best armies at taking a charge. We'll put forth a unit of 40 Ironbreakers with Shields, so 600pts right there. Then we'll give them a Rune of Confusion, 35pts, and a BSB with Master Rune of Grungi, at least 165pts. This is 800pts and very durable, with a 3+/5++, or you can drop the BSB and use the 6++ for a cost of 635. Hard to kill, but it also puts out no shooting, is horribly slow, and just makes S4, AP- attacks. Not gonna work.
What about Rangers? 40 with Shields is only 480pts and they have ranged attacks! Except they're only rocking a 4++, at best, and still do nothing in combat. Against pretty average opponents you're hitting on 3's/4's, and wounding on 4's/5's, at no AP. That works out to, at best, 13 Wounds on average for a unit that is 1000mm wide (just under 40")! That will never, ever be enough Wounds to win a combat that wide. But their Stand & Shoot! Assuming there is *deep breath* no Terrain, no Skirmishers/ways to provide Partial Cover, no Spells, and no other stuff I've probably missed, you get 20 Hits, 13 Wounds into a T3 target, with an average of two at Armor Bane 2 and the rest no AP. It's also likely you can't target one unit because of how wide the Rangers are.
These are thought experiments and can be difficult to conceptualize for players without a lot of table time. The point is to illustrate that The Line unit simply doesn't do damage, and doesn't stand up to charges, even for the most durable faction. The only exception I'll grant to this is for Undead, and it would still need to go to comical levels. While Undead don't run, you'd need a MASSIVE unit to guarantee everyone doesn't crumble.
Frontages can continue to shrink, 40 wide is a bit hyperbolic in all honesty, but the further it shrinks the less The Line does. 20, 25mm bases wide is still about 20" across and now the Stand & Shoot is cut in half. There is no magical size where the formation becomes good, it actually gets worse the smaller you go until you're just running a....regular unit?
The point of this section is that nothing, in the entire game, runs The Line well. You need high Initiative, or Initiative 3-4 and a way to prevent your opponent from gaining speed on the charge. You need shooting, or you get shot at/setup up perfectly against. You need durability unless the Initiative is shining, which even Elves can't really do (they only get up to I6 with Thrusting Spear and that at best matches). You also need to be cheap on top of all that, nothing in all of the Old World possesses those characteristics under any circumstances. Nothing.
Simply The Worst, Worst Than All The Rest
I hope, through this absurd character count, I've exposed how useless The Line is. It has no place, in any army or faction, from a competitive perspective. At best, it can be argued to be a newb stomper because casual players may not understand all the weaknesses and ruthlessly exploit them. For that reason, I'd be fine if there was some kind of front rank limitation imposed on the game, but I'm skeptical it will come to pass. Anything over 10 models wide is a waste of time in almost every situation because the drawbacks stack up fast.
Go ahead and try The Line for yourself, at home on the kitchen table. Imagine moving it around with 15, 20, 25+ models wide. See how many other, normal sized units you can get into contact with it and roll the combats out. The evidence is there, don't be lazy, play it out for yourself. This whole debacle only began because the bulk of players would rather watch a Youtube video or read Reddit doomerism than play games and explore the rules for themselves. I know that's a harsh indictment but damn it if it isn't true. Normally I don't mind how people consume a hobby or game, but when it leads to a tidal wave of baseless speculation and lamentation I can't help but get a little irritated.
There are legitimate balance issues with TOW. Dragons and Save stacking, unit spam, unbalanced army composition rules. If you want to improve the game, complain about those, and don't give into baseless speculation. This community can be better than that.
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