254 replies to this topic

[dbmeboy]

Q:

How does Shadows of the Empire interact with missions?

 

Shadows Text: Play only during your turn. Action: Place a target enemy objective at the bottom of its owner's objective deck.

 

Mission rules: If a mission leaves play for any reason other than being destroyed, it is placed in its owner’s discard pile. Missions cannot enter a player’s objective deck.

 

A:

Entering an objective deck would normally cause a card to leave play, which would trigger the first half of that paragraph. However, because of the second half of the paragraph, the mission is prevented from leaving play in the first place as the only possible destination based on Shadows of the Empire is a place that missions are specifically prevented from going.

 

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Erik Dahlman
LCG Developer
Fantasy Flight Games

[Lono]

I had submitted my question on ED-74 communications droid both here and to FFG and here is the official reply.

 

Q:

 

So this scenario happened recently.

Guardian of Peace A with a shield

Guardian of Peace B with no shield

Ed-74 Communications droid ready

 

Guardian A gets hit with 2 damage by a strike. 1 is transferred to Guardian B Can Guardian A use the shield, then use ED-74 ability to give a new Shield to Guardian B and then that guardian use the shield to reduce the 1 damage? At first I wasn't sure it was possible because past FFG answers led to me believe that step 3 of the damage resolution (Page 8 FAQ) happened simultaneously for both units when damage was split using protect. Thus you checked both units for shields and then removed them. But after rereading multiple times the timing rules and past answers to other damage resolution questions I'm not so sure and I'm starting to think it's possible. Thanks for your time Guardian of the peace Shielding. Protect Character. (If a Character card you control would be damaged, you may place the damage on this unit instead.) ED74 Communications droid: Reaction: After you remove or discard a shield from a unit, focus this unit to place that shield on a different target friendly unit. “Approach control speaking, just a moment. 

 

A:

 

All damage is applied at the same time.

 

In Step 2 of damage resolution, you reassign 1 point of damage to the unshielded Guardian of Peace. Then, all damage is applied simultaneously. Guardian A can use her shield to prevent the damage, while, at the same time, Guardian B is taking the damage assigned to her. Now, you can react with the ED-74 Communication Droid to move the shield that Guardian A used but, it’s too late at this point to prevent the damage that was assigned to Guardian B.

 

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Erik Dahlman
LCG Developer
Fantasy Flight Games
edahlman@fantasyflightgames.com

 

[dbmeboy]

Q:

Can Adaptive Strategy successfully copy The Imperial Fist?

 

A:

To answer this question requires a breakdown of the the elements of a card ability. This gets technical, so please bear with me.

 

A card ability is made up of multiple elements which include (but are not necessarily limited to) the following:

 

-Triggering Condition: This appears in Reactions and Interrupts to tell you when you can trigger that card ability.

-Conditional play requirement/restriction/permission: This is something that generally starts with “if” or “while” that tells you a condition that must be met or must be true in order to initiate the card ability or must happen for the ability to successfully resolve.

-Cost: Any cost you are required to pay in order to resolve the card ability successfully.

-Effect: What the card ability does if it successfully resolves. (Generally, anything that is not a triggering condition, a conditional requirement/restriction/permission, or a cost is considered the effect.)

 

-Adaptive Strategy (0522) reads: “After a fate card effect resolves, resolve that effect again as if that card were in your edge stack.” 

-This tells you to resolve only the “effect” again.

 

-The Imperial Fist (0885) reads: “If you control a participating unique [IMPERIAL NAVY] unit, move up to 2 damage from a friendly objective to a target enemy objective.” 

-This card ability is composed of two parts: a “conditional play requirement” and an “effect.” Adaptive strategy only copies the effects of a card ability. Because of that, it can successfully copy the effects of The Imperial Fist, because “If you control a participating unique [IMPERIAL NAVY] unit” is part of the “conditional play requirement,” not the “effect.”

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Erik Dahlman
LCG Developer
Fantasy Flight Games

[Utinni]

Q:

 This is in regards to the interactions between Dark Genocide and Confronting Terror. After Dark Genocide is destroyed, 66 Damage is dealt to an applicable unit. LS plays Confronting Terror. Does Confronting Terror redirect the entire 66 damage to the DS's board or just up to the remaining damage capacity of the targeted LS unit?

 

A:

Confronting the Terror interrupts damage being dealt. The damage that is actually dealt to the unit is only up to that unit’s remaining damage capacity. So, in your example, you would return 3 damage to the DS player, not 66.

 

Q:

With Confronting Terror, can the DS apply the entire amount of damage being redirected to a single unit in excess of it's remaining damage capacity? So if Confronting Terror is sending back 3 damage, can the DS apply all of it to a Logistics Officer? Thanks!

 

A:

When you assign the damage to DS units/objectives, you cannot assign more damage to a unit/objective than that unit/objective’s remaining damage capacity. So, the DS player could assign 1 damage of the 3 needed to reassign to a Logistics Officer; then he would have 2 more left to distribute among his units/objectives.

 

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Erik Dahlman
LCG Developer
Fantasy Flight Games
edahlman@fantasyflightgames.com

[dbmeboy]

Q:

Can you clarify the timing of Lightsaber Deflection and The Survivors? Specifically, do they trigger before or after incoming damage beyond the damage capacity is ignored?

 

A:

 

The “Damage Resolution and Timing” (FAQ, page 8) framework was developed and fleshed out after the initial release of the game. As such, applying the outlined steps properly has implication for older cards, such as Lightsaber Deflection (0089), that would differ from how the card was originally intended to work (and differ from how all players have used the card as well).

 

The actual, current, wording of Lightsaber Deflection would have it trigger in Step 4 of damage resolution, which would be after the incoming damage that was beyond the target’s remaining damage capacity would be ignored.

 

However, given the card’s originally intended function, alongside the upset that the application of the Damage Resolution framework would cause in the general understanding on how the card works, I will make a note to issue an errata to the wording of Lightsaber Deflection in the next FAQ. This errata will update the text as follows: “Interrupt: When damage would be dealt to…” Until that time, please resolve Lightsaber Deflection in this errata-ed manner (the manner that everyone has understood it to work in the first place).

 

This will change the activation time of Lightsaber Deflection from after Step 4 starts to resolve to just before Step 4 begins; thus triggering before Step 4 kicks in to ignore any damage beyond the target’s remaining damage capacity.

 

The Survivors (0722) is worded similarly to Lighsaber Deflection, and will receive a similar errata to preserve the originally intended function. Namely, “Interrupt: When a unique [JEDI] Character would be dealt damage…"

 

Both of these errata will preserve the originally intended function (and current understanding) of how the cards work with respect to the Damage Timing and Resolution framework outlined in the FAQ.

 

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Erik Dahlman
LCG Developer
Fantasy Flight Games

[dbmeboy]

Re: Difference between fate card resolving and fate card effect resolving. Includes reversal of an old ruling about the interaction of Rebel Commando and Commando Ops:


Fate cards have a card ability. These card abilities can have multiple pieces (conditional play requirement, cost, effect, etc). When you reach the priority number of the fate card in question, the card ability begins to resolve.


In the case of a fate card with a conditional requirement, if you do not meet the conditional requirement the card effect do not resolve, but the card ability still does. Now, the card ability does not resolve “successfully” if you do not meet the conditional, but it does resolve.


Once the ability has resolved (successfully or not), the fate card has resolved. The Rebel Commando only cares about the fate card resolving, not whether or not it resolved successfully or not. Therefore, even if the effects of a fate card do not resolve, the card ability still did, so you can react with the Rebel Commando.



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Erik Dahlman
LCG Developer
Fantasy Flight Games

[Caal]

Q : The LS player destroys 3 DS objectives, including The Spice Trade.
He now has 2 objectives in its victory pile and there is no DS objectives in play anymore.

Leia Organa (Core Set - 88) is destroyed. How does its permanent ability work?

"If this unit leaves play, it is captured by your opponent at any dark side objective of his choice."

Do we fall into the case where an ability cannot be resolved, because there is no objective to be captured to?

Or does it resolve, because while she can't be captured, she is automatically rescued instead?

A : Leia Organa’s passive ability attempts to initiate and replace her destination as she leaves play (from discard pile or hand or wherever she was supposed to go based on the effect that was causing her to leave play). Because there are no objectives for her to end up at in a captured state, the replacement effect fails, and Leia continues to whatever out-of-play destination she was bound for in the first place (discard pile, owner’s hand, owner’s deck, etc).

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Erik Dahlman

[yodaman]

Question: Can the LS player focus a ready unit to cancel a Mouse Droid draw and then move that token to an already focused Mystic?

 

On the one hand, the reason the LS player can place a focus somewhere is because of what's printed in the textbox of Mouse Droid. On the other hand, the card effect itself isn't placing the token, the LS player is choosing to do so. Any clarification would be much appreciated as this came up in a game I was playing last night. Thanks.

 

yodaman

 

(Response from Erik)

Couple of distinctions here.

First off: The Mouse Droid is worded: “…Any opponent may focus a unit he controls to cancel this effect.” This is written as “Do X to do Y,” and, therefore, X is a cost, not an effect. So, the Outer Rim Mystic (which can “absorb” a focus token from a “card effect or combat icon.” As this is a cost, not an effect, the Mystic cannot “absorb” it.)

 

To address the other implicit question you have, though, let me give you a hypothetical DS card ability: “Action: Draw 1 card. Your opponent focuses 1 unit he controls.” In this case, even though the LS player is the one making the choice about which ready unit he or she controls, the only reason he or she is doing that is because of a DS card effect. In this hypothetical case, the Mystic could then be used to “absorb” the focus token placed: because it comes from an enemy card effect. It doesn’t matter *who* chooses where the token is placed; the *reason* it is being placed is a DS card effect. Therefore the Mystic could use its Reaction to “absorb” the token after the token was placed.

As noted, the difference between the above hypothetical and the situation with the Mouse Droid and the Outer Rim Mystic is that, in the card ability of the Mouse Droid, the focusing of the LS unit is being done to pay a cost.

Hopefully that makes sense and answers your questions. Thanks!

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Erik Dahlman
LCG Developer
Fantasy Flight Games
edahlman@fantasyflightgames.com

[dbmeboy]

Q:

 

Can Brainiac effectively allow you to use 2 Jubba Birds in a turn by changing the 2nd Jubba Bird to "limit 2"?

 

A:

 

Any card that contains a “limit,” that limit is checked during Step 1 of Effect Resolution (see the FAQ). For the first Jubba Bird you attempt to trigger, you check the “Limit 1 per turn.” text. As you haven’t yet triggered a Jubba Bird this turn, you satisfy the limit text, and can proceed.

 

Normally, if you try to trigger a second Jubba Bird, at Step 1 you check if you’ve triggered one already. Because you have, you fail the “Limit 1 per turn” check and cannot proceed past Step 1.

 

In the case with Brainiac, Brainiac’s Action can change the “1” to a “2” on the second Jubba Bird you wish to trigger. (Now it’s “Limit 2 per turn.”) When you attempt to trigger the second Jubba Bird now, in Step 1 you check the limit. This limit is “Limit 2 per turn.” As you haven’t triggered 2 Jubba Bird Actions this turn, you are allowed to proceed with the resolution of the effect.

 

The important point is that the limits of an ability are checked during Step 1 of Effect Resolution. If you haven’t met or exceeded the limit *at that time,* you are allowed to proceed with the resolution of the effect.

 

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Erik Dahlman
LCG Developer
Fantasy Flight Games

[dbmeboy]

 1. Stolen Plans: After enhanced objective generates 1 or more resources, draw 1 card. So if you make the first "1" a "0" then you just get to draw a card whenever you want after you use Brainiac on it?
 

 

The trigger for Stolen Plans involves the generation of resources. You cannot “generate 0 resources” and have that be a successful resolution of “generating resources.” In order to successfully generate resources from something, you must actually generate some non-zero amount of resources. So, this use of Brainiac won’t produce the effect of just being able to draw a card unless the enhanced objective actually generates 1 or more resources.

 

 2. Echo caverns: Action: focus this enhancement to choose 2 targets that share a Trait. Until the end of the phase, one of those units loses a combat icon of your choice, and the other gains that combat icon. Does this work at all if you make the "2" a 1?

 

In order for something to be “shared,” it is required that there be more than a single entity with the thing to be “shared.” A card does not “share” a Trait that it has with itself, it *has* that Trait. This is similar to the definition of “switch” which requires that there be something on both ends of the switch in order for that to take place.

 

3. Clearing House: After the opponent resolves a card effect that draws 1 or more cards, remove 1 focus token from this enhancement. So if you make the "1 or more" a "0", does that mean every time your opponent initiates any card effect during that phase you get to remove 1 focus token?

 

This situation is the same as Question 1. Clearing House requires that an effect actually draw a non-zero cards in order for the triggering condition to be met.

 

Another way of phrasing it: something that does not actually change the game state (i.e. “generating 0 resources” or “draw 0 cards”, etc) does not generate a triggering condition for other effects to trigger off of.

 

4. This last one encompasses a whole host of cards so i'm not going to put all the texts down, just list the cards since its all the same issue. Fleet command center, hoth scout, yoda's protection, security control center, Chewbacca (IE version). So all of these add 1 shield or such to a unit. If you bump thenumber to add multiple shields to a single unit, does that become a legal play, like using our most desperate hour, or kashyyk resistance hiedout, since a card is breaking the rules, or is that still going to be considered illegal to have multiple shields on 1 card.

 

This is a case of the golden rule coming into play (and follows the precedent that the Kashyyyk Resistance Hideout establishes), with a few caveats and things to be aware of.

 

The basic rule (established in the Rulebook, page 23) is: “A shield token may not be assigned to a card that already has a shield token.” This rule does not use the phrase “cannot,” therefore, it *can* be overridden by card text as per the Golden Rule (page 11) when there is a direct contradiction. If a card effect is attempting to place 2 shield tokens at once, that is in direct contradiction to the rule, so the card text takes precedence.

 

As a caveat to the above, if that card effect does not let you put a shield token (or 2) on a unit that is already shielded, you would *not* be able to use it if the target is already shielded. In that case, even if you didn’t use Brainiac on the effect, you would not be able to use effect to place a single shield on the already shielded unit. For example, the Kashyyyk Resistance Hideout does let you place shield tokens on an already shielded unit, but Imperial Entanglements Chewbacca does not.

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Erik Dahlman
LCG Developer
Fantasy Flight Games

 

Follow up about reducing costs to "Pay 0 resources":

 

Yes, reducing costs does work. There and many things that have a 0 cost. “Action: Pay 1 resource to…..” can be changed to “Action: Pay 0 resources to….” and still function.

 

Changing a numeral in a triggering condition does not work, however; as previously noted.

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Erik Dahlman
LCG Developer
Fantasy Flight Games

[WookieeRoar]

I wasn't 100% sure whether using a damaged Sleuth while "The Best Credits Can Buy" is in play was a valid move.

Turns out I did win honestly by sending out those Sleuths

 

Q: I have a "Sleuth Scout" (#0340 - While this unit is attacking alone, enemy units with printed cost 3 or higher cannot be declared as defenders.) My opponent has "The Best That Credits can Buy" (#0679 - Each damaged enemy Vehicle unit cannot trigger its abilities.) My opponent deals one damage to the Sleuth. Can he now block with units of cost 3 or more if I attack alone?

 

A:From the new FAQ v4.1.1 on page 7 is the definition for “Triggered Abilities.” “Action, Reaction, and Interrupt abilities are known as Triggered Abilities. … If the word “Forced” precedes a triggered ability, the ability’s initiation is mandatory."

 

This defines the only types of abilities that can be “triggered.” Because the Sleuth Scout’s ability does not start with any of the above designators (i.e. Action, Reaction, Interrupt), its ability is not triggered, therefore it cannot be prevented by The Best That Credits Can Buy.

 

“While this unit is attacking alone” is *not* a triggering condition, that is a conditional statement that the game checks to see if it’s true.

 

Erik Dahlman
LCG Developer
Fantasy Flight Games

[dbmeboy]

Q: When does Endor Entrapment trigger?

A:

As originally printed, Endor Entrapment triggers after excess damage has been ignored. However, that is due to an understanding of the damage timing structure that was investigated with Lightsaber Deflection and The Survivors and the difference between when something is “dealt” damage and when something “would be dealt damage.” That investigation into the timing structure was made after Endor Entrapment was already too late to be adjusted to the proper wording given the new understanding from Lightsaber Deflection and The Survivors.


As such, Endor Entrapment should behave in the same manner as Lightsaber Deflection and The Survivors. I will make a note to add the errata to the next FAQ to update the text to: “When an [Imperial Navy] objective or Vehicle unit would be dealt damage,…” This will cause Endor Entrapment to trigger before excess damage is ignored, in the same way that Lightsaber Deflection and The Survivors work.


--

Erik Dahlman
LCG Developer

 

Follow up question:

Thank you. Should the card be played as intended or as technically worded until the next FAQ is released?

 

Answer:

 

Play as intended until the official FAQ can be released.

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Erik Dahlman
LCG Developer
Fantasy Flight Games

[TheNameWasTaken]

Just to be sure, I sent in a question about Telepathic Connection and the Interdictors.

 

Q: Wording difference on 'Telepathic Connection' (183-4) and 'Interdictor-class Heavy Cruiser' (205-2) The reactions on these cards that force a specific unit to defend are worded slightly differently. Is there a difference in their effects? Also, regardless of whether or not they mean different things, when is the targeted unit declared as a defender? Does that happen immediately after the reaction is triggered or during the normal timing point of declaring defenders (i.e., is the unit declared as defender before or after the action window between declaring attackers and declaring defenders)?

 

---------

 

A: There is no functional difference between how the two abilities work.

 

In both cases, the unit that is targeted must declare as a defender during the “Declare Defenders” step of the engagement process.

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Erik Dahlman
LCG Developer
Fantasy Flight Games

[dbmeboy]

Q:

At what time in the process of dealing damage does Natural Cover trigger?

 

A:

 

Natural Cover is in the same situation as Endor Entrapment: the wording of the process of dealing damage was clarified sometime after the card was unable to be changed, but prior to release. Thus, I have marked Natural Cover to receive a small technical errata in the next FAQ.

 

Natural Cover should read: “When a Character unit or an Endor objective would be dealt damage…” (underlined text is the changed text)

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Erik Dahlman
LCG Developer
Fantasy Flight Games

[dbmeboy]

Q:

What happens to cards stacked at Hero's Beginning if the objective is "blanked" by Tarkin?

 

A:

Nothing. The Reaction from A Hero’s Beginning sets up a lasting effect that persists until the objective leaves play that allows the LS player to use the cards placed at that objective to be used in edge battles. That Reaction has fully resolved before Tarkin’s card effect would blank the objective. The objective being blank does not remove the ongoing lasting effect.

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Erik Dahlman
LCG Developer
Fantasy Flight Games

[dbmeboy]

Q:

Does moving force cards with Abandoned Hideout trigger Reactions to committing units to the force (eg Agent of the Emperor)? Does it trigger Reactions to removing units from the force (eg Imperial Inquisitor)?

 

A:

The Force commitment cards are how the game tracks which units are committed to the Force and which ones aren’t. When you move a Force commitment card (or whatever token is being used to track Force commitment), by necessity you uncommit the first unit from the Force (allowing for any Interrupts/Reactions to uncommiting a unit) and when the second unit acquires the Force commitment card, that unit becomes committed to the Force (allowing for any Interrupts/Reactions to committing the second unit).

 

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Erik Dahlman
LCG Developer
Fantasy Flight Game

[Utinni]

Q:

Scenario: DS player engages an undamaged Rebel Objective. Before any objective damage is dealt, Galactic Ambitions Leia leaves play and replaces the engaged objective with a new one. What happens to the engagement? Does it continue against the new objective or continue against the old objective much like it would if the objective were to be destroyed?

 

A:

In the scenario you describe, the engagement proceeds just as if the engaged objective had been destroyed mid-engagement. In other words, there is no longer an objective to be damaged by objective damage icons, but all units must still strike or become exhausted before moving the resolution of the engagement.

 

The objective that is swapped in by Leia’s ability is *not* engaged by the ongoing engagement.

 

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Erik Dahlman
LCG Developer
Fantasy Flight Games
edahlman@fantasyflightgames.com

[dbmeboy]

Q:

Can a Tarentatek be used to pay the cost of Telekinetic Strike?

 

A:

 

Yes.

 

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Erik Dahlman
LCG Developer
Fantasy Flight Games

[Utinni]

Rules Question:
I am trying to understand the borders of what Pilot Vader's ability blocks and does not block in terms of constant abilities.

 

There is a post with a response from Erik (in case it isn't Erik who responds here) that summarizes: "The important difference between the two type is whether the constant appears to be “waiting” for a particular game moment before it does something or if it is just checking some condition to give a bonus. The former are constants that initiate, while the latter are not."

 

Are there any parts of Preparation for Battle that initiate? When a unit gets shielded? When the dial hits 8 or higher? This one seems like Vader would not block it (although he could potentially block a shield from being placed).

 

Secret Informant? Understanding that Vader blocks Fate Cards from resolving, but for the sake of argument say that one did, would Secret Informant be able to use her constant effect?

 

Another way of asking, I am wondering if Vader blocks any constant effect that could easily be rewritten as a "Reaction" or "Interrupt". Secret Informant could easily say, "While this unit is participating in an engagement, it gains the ability, 'Reaction: After a fate card in your edge stack resolves, resolve the effects an additional time'".

 

So the first part of SI does not initiate even though there might be a point in time where SI goes from an non-participant state to a participant state, but the second part does initiate because it is waiting for a game moment (i.e. a fate card in your edge stack to resolve). Preparation for Battle I don't see as being able to be rewritten since it is just checking to see if any unit is shielded and where the death star dial is at the time.

 

Does that reasoning work? Are there instances where this reasoning does not apply? Something else I'm not seeing?

 

Thanks.

 

 

Response:

 

This is a tricky question as each constant ability is a little different (they have less structure than Reactions or Interrupts, so they’re a bit harder to classify).

 

Constant passive abilities that have points of initiation will tend to use words such as “at, after, when, etc” that tell you at what point that ability initiates. Subzero Defenses is the poster-child example of this case “…after its strike resolves” tells you precisely when to initiate the constant ability in question.

 

Constant passive abilities that don’t initiate will tend to use the word “while” or the phrase “for each” or similar. These passives constantly check the board state to see if their condition is met to be active, or to check a particular game state value to update a statistic on the card. These abilities don’t initiate when the condition becomes true or when the looked for statistic updates, they simply adjust to the new game state conditions.

 

Echoes Yoda is a great example of one case of this type of constant passive ability; his constant ability checks what the value on the Death Star dial is and gives him the appropriate number of unit damage icons. This ability never initiates, but updates accordingly when the dial changes.

 

Preparation for Battle is another version of the Yoda example. The constant abilities on this objective constantly check to see if the value of the Death Star dial meets a certain value to meet a true/false conditional. These abilities don’t initiate when that value is met, the conditional is simply true and the constant ability provides the listed bonus. (Note that both constant abilities on that objective use the term “while.”)

 

The Secret Informant case is a bit trickier. It uses the term “while” but not for the part of the constant ability that is relevant to the interaction with Vader’s pilot ability. The text of this constant ability does use the phrase “resolve…an additional time” which is a word that would give you a clear point at which the constant passive would initiate. The Secret Informant’s constant ability would initiate at the point at which you have just finished resolving a fate card in your edge stack. Vader’s ability stopped you from initiating the fate card the first time, and Vader’s ability would stop you from initiating the Secret Informant’s ability (even though not resolving the fate card the first time means you couldn’t use that ability on the Secret Informant anyway).

 

The presence of “at/after/when” and “while/for each” don’t guarantee that a constant passive ability initiates or not, respectively, but they should give you a good guideline for how to parse them. If you do have any questions as to a particular constant ability, submit a question for it through this rules submission form and I will answer as soon as I am able.

 

Thanks.

--

Erik Dahlman
LCG Developer
Fantasy Flight Games
edahlman@fantasyflightgames.com

[dbmeboy]

1. Can you clarify the FAQ entry about failing searches (1.4)? Does it allow players to *choose* to fail a search?

Yes.

 

2. What qualifies as a search? Do cards like Attack Pattern Delta and Spark of the Rebellion allow you to fail the search even though they don't use the term "search”?

 

A search is any card effect that uses the term “search.” However, cards like Attack Pattern Delta and Spark of Rebellion should behave in a similar manner. I will add a note to update FAQ 1.4 to include the term “look” as well.

 

3. Per FAQ entry 1.2, players must reshuffle the deck after searching a deck. Does this apply to cards that search only part of the deck, or only cards that search the entire deck?

 

FAQ 1.2 only applies when you search the entirety of a deck. I will update the entry to make that clearer.

 

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Erik Dahlman
LCG Developer
Fantasy Flight Games