Still, the turning tool is often more flexible than it appears. In this article we'll give a brief overview of some useful turning tool techniques.
Many units (e.g. Cursed Patrol, 7th Legion Chargers, Thunder Division) have a higher cost for moving to the side than they do for moving forward. The turning tool can help you overcome these limitations. In the diagram below, note that moving forward and sideways costs 3 move points the normal way, but only 2 when using the turning tool.
The tool shaves a little distance off at the start when you use it to move diagonally, but not enough to overwhelm the mathematics of the triangle inequality. Sometimes, when you need to get to a place, moving diagonally can get you there faster.
If you are moving forward and to the side with a formation, you can also get a small distance boost using the turning tool.
The two basic formation turns cost either two or three movement points, depending on whether the formation gets put down the long way or the short way on the other side of the tool.
It's worth noting that the turn cost is always a multiple of the movement cost for the side where you initially place the tool. If you place it on a side where the cost is 2, then the turn will cost we be 4 or 6 movement points instead of 2 or 3.
When you put the base down on the other side of the tool, you can place any notch against the tool's little point, including the notch the tool was originally placed on. This is the basis of the flip turn, where you turn the unit and rotate it all the way around in at the same time.
You cannot do an in-place turn of a sortie 45 degrees or a formation 90 degrees. The rule is that during a regroup order you can flip any unit 180 degrees or turn a sortie 90 degrees in either direction. These moves, however, do not change the area occupied by the base. To do a more exotic turn, you have to use the turning tool. Assuming that the sideways movement cost for a unit is 1, you can do a 90-degree formation spin or a 45-degree sortie spin using the turning tool for four movement points, as shown below.
Don't be afraid to use the tool multiple times in a single order. In the diagram below, a sortie uses two turning tool placements to get around a formation.
The turning tool is an important mechanism for getting your units into the correct position, and it is much more flexible than it appears. Remember, you're allowed any amount of pre-measurement in this game. When you play, bring plenty of extra sortie and formation bases, and use them to lay out your movements in advance so you can see where you're going and how best to get there. In Arcane Legions, it's not just about how hard you hit; it's also about being in the right place at the right time.