Pass Activations

[Zebo]

Am I forced to activate every unit, even when I don't want to do anything with them?

If I'm activating my Core Helix, and I have 3 Valkyrie capturing my third with no one close enough. And I want to activate a new Helix, I must waste one activation activating my valkyries for doing nothing, or I can start with another helix, loosing the activation of the valkyries?

[Kraggi]

Taken from the rulebook.

 

Page 64 of the digital rulebook:

 

Remember, a Commander must complete all activations within a Helix before moving onto a new Helix. 

 

Page 80 explicitly states that units in Sky drop do not count as an activation for these purposes.

 

Couldnt find anything on embarked squadrons, but we always play that as they are not on the table they do not need an activation marker unless you disembark them (and of course if the transport goes flat out then they cannot activate anyway. 

 

So basically you must activate those valkyries to move onto the next helix, because they are actually doing something for you by scoring the objective. 

[S.Derek]

Kraggi is correct.

All activations must 'activate' even if it is just to jump around on the spot!

 

Cheers

Derek

[hahnc77]

so what is officail ruling on Units in transports,

we Play them as on the board, and the can/have to shift seats inside their transport?

which also gives an Option to delay other activations,

[jupjupy]

so what is officail ruling on Units in transports,

we Play them as on the board, and the can/have to shift seats inside their transport?

which also gives an Option to delay other activations,

Now I'm imagining some Hirdmen playing musical chairs in my Sinir.

"Change places!"

[Kraggi]

We can hope that Spartan Derek comes back to us all, but certainly when we play its just treating them as not being on the table so they dont need to activate. 

 

If it isnt on the table and you had to activate it you could game your opponent by making them waste activations when you actually havent done anything and I dont think that's the intent of the rules. 

[Makabriel]

Kraggi is correct.

All activations must 'activate' even if it is just to jump around on the spot!

 

Cheers

Derek

That being said, if you aren't putting idle units in Overwatch, it's a waste. Hitting on a 3-6 is worth it

[Captain_Tycho]

That being said, if you aren't putting idle units in Overwatch, it's a waste. Hitting on a 3-6 is worth it

 

Overwatch is considered as rushed and hits on 5+ (unmodified) - and it depends on where you stand on - is Nexus classed as main ordnance or not, this will improve it to 4+ at best

[knightperson]

Hmmm. Actually, the way I have played it is that you can activate a unit in another helix, but you can't go back and finish the first helix. Looking at the wording again, I concede that might not be the right way to do it. But I'm pretty sure a unit not on the table (in skydrop reserve or in a transport) doesn't have to activate before moving on. 

[Zeph]

That's how we've played it too knights... If someone forgets to activate a unit before moving on to the next helix: tough luck.

There is an obvious disadvantage to "skipping" a unit to activate a more relevant helix, so I've found it a fair trade off.

[MaxToreador]

I've almost taken to printing out the stat cards here on the forums and grouping them by helix so I can track what has and hasn't activated. Actually it'd be nice if someone came out with a token set for each race that rep'd each unit for the helices. Transfer the token from available to activated, once all the tokens are activated you know a new helix is available. Or heck make an app to do it.

[knightperson]

I've almost taken to printing out the stat cards here on the forums and grouping them by helix so I can track what has and hasn't activated. Actually it'd be nice if someone came out with a token set for each race that rep'd each unit for the helices. Transfer the token from available to activated, once all the tokens are activated you know a new helix is available. Or heck make an app to do it.

 

My solution to that problem is to color-code my units by helix. This is especially important for units like Namisc light walkers that can easily show up in three different helixes! 

 

While it's demonstrably wrong, I like the rule modification that you CAN move on to another helix without finishing the current one, but you can't go back. It avoids the problem, which I know would occur, where you realize that this unused unit is part of a helix that had otherwise finished activating 3 activations ago and now what do we do????  One of my regular opponents almost always runs just a single helix, and he mentioned once that eventually he's going to have to think in terms of multiple helices, and it's going to give him trouble. 

[MaxToreador]

Actually I've done that with my Core Helix as I like to run my lights and mediums in paired units. Gets kinda confusing when 10 Letos are running around together.

[Kraggi]

My solution to that problem is to color-code my units by helix. This is especially important for units like Namisc light walkers that can easily show up in three different helixes! 

 

While it's demonstrably wrong, I like the rule modification that you CAN move on to another helix without finishing the current one, but you can't go back. It avoids the problem, which I know would occur, where you realize that this unused unit is part of a helix that had otherwise finished activating 3 activations ago and now what do we do????  One of my regular opponents almost always runs just a single helix, and he mentioned once that eventually he's going to have to think in terms of multiple helices, and it's going to give him trouble. 

 

I understand that people have that ruling but it does allow you to game for advantage, if you genuinely forget (Spartan Derek and I do that in games because you do get caught up its not too bad), but by allowing you to deliberately skip out of a helix you locked yourself into to respond to the threat of say Sky drop / reserves at the other end of the battlefield, bascially means that when you make a tacitical mistake, or get outsmarted you can get out of it. 

And while you may say that people will still lose out on their own activations if they do this, I don't buy that, if you are in your Core Helix and your heavies havent activated yet, but if they do they get to shoot something, you wont skip out of the helix, but you will if the only unit left unactivated is your troops in an objective. 

A better modification would be that if you skip activating a unit they do not count as being on the table (unless being shot at), so they dont block LoS, they CANNOT score or contest objectives, they may not initiate CQB (unless targeted by it),

 

It sounds stupid, but the game has been designed that if you take big Helixes you have lots to activate, because that helix can do a lot, and by deciding to skip it you are gaining an advantage (without a disadvantage if your lights / infantry are already on an objective). 

 

But I'm pretty sure a unit not on the table (in skydrop reserve or in a transport) doesn't have to activate before moving on. 

 

Yeah, havent ever played him where he made me activate my crystals that werent on the table so 99.99999% sure this is the way it should work. 

My solution to that problem is to color-code my units by helix. This is especially important for units like Namisc light walkers that can easily show up in three different helixes! 

 

While it's demonstrably wrong, I like the rule modification that you CAN move on to another helix without finishing the current one, but you can't go back. It avoids the problem, which I know would occur, where you realize that this unused unit is part of a helix that had otherwise finished activating 3 activations ago and now what do we do????  One of my regular opponents almost always runs just a single helix, and he mentioned once that eventually he's going to have to think in terms of multiple helices, and it's going to give him trouble. 

 

I understand that people have that ruling but it does allow you to game for advantage, if you genuinely forget (Spartan Derek and I do that in games because you do get caught up its not too bad), but by allowing you to deliberately skip out of a helix you locked yourself into to respond to the threat of say Sky drop / reserves at the other end of the battlefield, bascially means that when you make a tacitical mistake, or get outsmarted you can get out of it. 

And while you may say that people will still lose out on their own activations if they do this, I don't buy that, if you are in your Core Helix and your heavies havent activated yet, but if they do they get to shoot something, you wont skip out of the helix, but you will if the only unit left unactivated is your troops in an objective. 

A better modification would be that if you skip activating a unit they do not count as being on the table (unless being shot at), so they dont block LoS, they CANNOT score or contest objectives, they may not initiate CQB (unless targeted by it),

 

It sounds stupid, but the game has been designed that if you take big Helixes you have lots to activate, because that helix can do a lot, and by deciding to skip it you are gaining an advantage (without a disadvantage if your lights / infantry are already on an objective).