Welcome back Legion players! This week on Read the Rules we will cover page 19-26 as we get started on the Game Mechanics section.
To those that may be joining us for the first time, welcome! This is a project where I read through the Core Rulebook (CRB) page by page and offer some insights into what you should check out when you are reading it yourself. Follow along as we get started!
Page 19 is the start of the Game Mechanics section and as such has a helpful Blue Box (I call them BBs) that lists the parts of a round:
Pages 20 and 21 move on to describe the first portion of the parts of the round, the Command Phase. An important portion of these rules that are commonly glazed over is the nomination of commanders. Countless rules questions have been made about this step so don’t miss it in the second column of page 20. The commander or operative that is nominated during this step is the unit that the orders from the command card are issuing from. This simple fact will help you as you read and understand command cards and this entire phase of the game. It happens 6 times a game!
Page 21 after the Command Phase moves us into the Activation Phase. As with many of the phases, we have a BB that helpfully lists out the steps of that phase named Parts of the Activation Phase. With the new and improved CRB, we have the addition of the ability to Pass. Passing is detailed on this page. “A player may pass if they have fewer remaining orders than their opponent.” Read that section in order to get the full picture!
Page 22 has some big ticket items on it! Here’s where we find what in the world to do with units that have a null courage value of “-.” These units cannot ever gain suppression tokens, be suppressed or be panicked. Powerful! Another tidbit I apply every time I play or judge the game, found on this page, is the following sentence, see if you can find it! “Free actions do not allow a unit to perform a non-move action more than once during its activation.” So, no, the “free” attack from relentless or charge does not mean you get to attack twice per turn, the free just means that it does not count against your 2 action limit for the activation.
Pages 23 through 26 are all about Movement. The game changed significantly in this department. Clamber has been removed entirely and many other parts have been adjusted. If you are returning to the game after a bit away, you’ll need to read this entire section closely (yes, all of it) to make sure you have these new items on lock. As you read through this last section for today, I’ll point out some key points you should definitely remember and internalize as they will come up later in almost every single game you play.
Page 24 has a BB that is short and sweet and to the point. Here is what is said, word for word: “Miniatures can move through but cannot be placed overlapping objective tokens, unless they were placed with the Key Positions or Payload battlecard.” You may ask “Well what’s so special about the Key Positions and Payload objectives?” The answer to this is quite simple. Those two objectives use the objective tokens to mark terrain as important. The token itself is not important like the other objectives that use the objective tokens.
Page 25 provides us with an incredibly important BB. Here it is: “Some abilities provide standard moves, often of certain speeds. A move provided by an ability is not a move action unless specifically stated.” This seemingly small section in the rules is probably the most talked about portion of the CRB. Abilities like relentless, charge, agile and tactical all require move actions to trigger their abilities (agile and tactical additionally require this move to be standard). What this BB is saying is that if the command card or ability that provides a move is not specifically stated as a move action, it is not a move action, just a move.
Page 26, our last page of the day is about movement into Melee! I feel like this first sentence of the Moving into Melee section is skipped over constantly. I will retype it here: “A unit that has at least one weapon with a melee range can start a melee by moving into base contact with an enemy miniature.” Basically, if you do not have a melee weapon on your unit, you may not enter into base contact!
That’s it for this week, folks. Join me and your fellow rules readers next Sunday when we dive into the Attack Sequence including Silhouettes, Cover and Assigning Wounds. Page 26 though 32.
In case you missed it, I have started a weekly project that releases every Wednesday where I declare a Rule of the Week. Check it out here.