So... clearly the big benefit here is a Ranged unit with an Ion Rifle getting to doubletap a big Armourbane attack with Aun'shi present. Thats crazy good, but also a huge multipart combo that is openly telgraphed.

Does that make this a "win more" card?

Allows you to keep Aun'Shi on the planet without needing to tap him/attack with him, which is his only real weakness.

Since it fills one of the "problems" very well I can only rate it:

5/5

A bit, it also simply allows you to remain very aggressive with pretty much anything and as a result means you'll have your Armorbane buff around longer.

Yeah, its such a big effect, I agree its probably 5/5 in isolation. However, as its a forced x1, I think that reduces the strength it brings to a deck. You can't build around planning to see it, its just a nice bonus if it turns up/

Doubt it. Will be useful in any close battle with some ethereal support and will make the difference in the last planets. Getting to strike again with Bork'an Recruits, a Devilfish or an exhausted Prelate you just brought via Kauyon Strike can really turn the tides of a critical battle. Heck, even getting to strike again with any 2 ATK unit again gives you a slight advantage.

Furthermore, this makes the Envoys slightly more threatening. That said, they will hardly become prime targets with their 3 HP. Better to just kill the other unit off.

Also worth noting this is not limited to tau units. Getting to use again a Tactical Squad Cardinis sounds pretty good and is fairly cheap.

Obviously needs testing, but my initial thoughts give this a 4/5.

Readying units that you;ve just committed sounds like a strong use too.

Yeah, this is a really good signature support, isn't it? Not Khymera Den good, but pretty close.

Readying units that you;ve just committed sounds like a strong use too.

 

Yeah, this is a really good signature support, isn't it? Not Khymera Den good, but pretty close.

I feel for Aun'Shi it's as good as that. Readying that unit while commiting or re-commiting trough Kauyon Strike is indeed going to full potential.

This card also is a piece into why his signature units can be so incredibly strong. Attach Gun Drones to them, attack with them and leave, do this all over by readying it again after moving from HQ.

Cato's Stronghold is a very similar card that interacts with a lot more cards in his deck, so I don't think its as good as that. I'm somewhere between 3 and 4 out of 5, would need to see how many ethereals Tau get overall to really judge it.

I really cant agree with the statement that it's comparable to Cato's Stronghold... Destroying a unit in order to ready is very different from being able to ready where an Ethereal unit is (note, his signature 1 drops are).

Besides Aun'Shi being an Ethereal all the time...

Again I can only say this card in testing has made the difference between many battles.

It comboes really well with Aun'Shi's signature event. Say, even an isolated Stingwing becomes a huge threat. Turn them Ethereal and raise their attack to 4. Now, the support lets them shoot twice.

It's not about what can be done with it, but what your opponent fears that can be done. If he sees the Sanctum + an Ambush Plataform he'll be scared to death.

Yeah, felt that pain in a game last night, where a single Viorla Marksman had an Ion Rifle ambush platformed onto it, struck for 4 (without Armourbane, but still), then got hit with the event, and then readied, and hit me for another 5, all still in the Ranged step. My Warlord was bloodied in one step.

I can't seem to figure out - if an ethereal unit is alone and exhausted at a planet, can you use this to ready them?  Or does there need to be a second ethereal unit at the planet if you want to ready the first?  That is, how do I parse the phrase "unit at a planet with 1 or more Ethereal units you control."

You can use it ready them since it would satisfy the condition of having an ethereal unit at that planet as well as being an exhausted unit that can be readied. It's similar to how Markis can shoot himself in the face to exhaust an enemy unit. The lack of the word "another" is what allows the same unit to trigger both aspects of the action. It's also similar to how the Grenadiers whom get boosted when Ethereals are about can boost themselves when you use Aun'Shi's signature event on them

The reason it is worded as "1 or more" is because if it just said "Exhaust this support to ready a target unit at a planet with an Ethereal unit you control," someone, somewhere would have tried to claim that "an Ethereal unit" prevented you from using it if there were 2 or more at the planet.

It wasn't the "1 or more" that was tripping me up.  It was whether or not a unit can be "with" itself, and whether or not that matters for this particular card.  I would say that it's not entirely clear from card text, but it seems that you and Kaloo are both saying it's allowed, which is what I would have leaned toward anyway, so I'm good with that.

I think you may be overthinking the text.

The word "with" in the card text is referring to and characterizing the planet, not the unit that readies. It's not a question of whether or not the the unit is "with" itself. Rather, it's a question of whether the unit is at a planet where an Ethereal unit is present.

So, you know, you will always arrive at the game store in a car with a driver, whether you were the passenger or the driver.

So, you know, you will always arrive at the game store in a car with a driver, whether you were the passenger or the driver.

Unless I was on a train.  As there is a Metra station directly across the street from my nearest game store.

Trains still have drivers, even if it's a computer

Trains still have drivers, even if it's a computer

It is unlikely he/it was in the same car with me.

Unless I was on a train.  As there is a Metra station directly across the street from my nearest game store.

There you go. You got me. The analogy is inapplicable since you get to the game store by train. Therefore, the fact that "with" refers to the planet rather than to the unit being readied is a completely invalid argument of reading comprehension and card interpretation.

There you go. You got me. The analogy is inapplicable since you get to the game store by train. Therefore, the fact that "with" refers to the planet rather than to the unit being readied is a completely invalid argument of reading comprehension and card interpretation.

I win.  

No, actually my point above was that it was unclear to me whether "with" was qualifying the planet or the unit.  It is equally unclear to me in your analogy.  I think the most straightforward reading of the card coincides with the correct ruling - that it qualifies the planet and not the unit (if it did qualify the unit, I'm not sure if a unit can or cannot be "with" itself - unimportant in this instance).  But what I think is the most straightforward reading doesn't always get me to the same ruling that you come up with - thus the question.

"...at a planet with..."

C'moooon, this isn't the weirdest/most difficult written card in Conquest!

Blame the ambiguity of the English language, and the lack of an RRG definition of "with". I think that the English language does indeed allow for either reading, but that rules precedent on similar cases suggest that "with" always refers to the item immediately preceding that word.

We just have to take this as "this is how Conquest cards are read", and go with that.

It's quite simple -> you check first "Is there a planet?" [yes] -> is there one of your units with the Ethereal trait? [yes] -> ready a target unit.

You only check once the amount of units you have there and only in the second step (because that amount must be >/=1). With an "other" somewhere in the text box the case you be quite different...