11. Combat
Combat resolves during the Combat sub-phase of the Action Phase.
11.1 Step 1: Declare Attacks#
Attacking is not gated. Any card with a printed ATK value may attack. Attacking activates the attacking card, so a card may attack only once per turn.
Movement is the only gated action in the game (§14.4). Combat range is determined by Band, not by movement allowance.
The active player activates each attacking card and declares its target. Multiple attackers may target the same card. A player may attack their own permanents.
A Mobilizing card may not attack (§10.4). An activated card may not attack.
An attack is legal only if it passes both the Range check and the Type check.
Range check: except where stated otherwise below, the target must be in the attacker's own Band or an adjacent Band. See §14.2.
Type check:
| Attacker | May attack | Damage dealt |
|---|---|---|
| Character | Characters, Ground Units, Non-Capital Spacecraft, Planetary Locations, Surface Locations | ATTACK |
| Ground Unit | Characters, Ground Units, Non-Capital Spacecraft, Planetary Locations, Surface Locations | ATTACK |
| Non-Capital Spacecraft | Characters, Ground Units, Non-Capital Spacecraft, Planetary Locations, Surface Locations | ATTACK |
| Capital Ship | Spacecraft in the Space Band | ATTACK |
| Capital Ship with Orbital Bombardment | Spacecraft in the Space Band, plus Characters, Ground Units, Planetary Locations, and Surface Locations in its own or an adjacent Band | ATTACK against Spacecraft, OB against all other targets |
| Any card with Orbital | Adds Spacecraft in its own or an adjacent Band to its permitted targets | Orbital value against Spacecraft |
Attacking Spacecraft in the Space Band. Characters, Ground Units, and Non-Capital Spacecraft deployed to a Location or Spacecraft may not attack Spacecraft in the Space Band without a granting ability, such as Orbital (§18.59).
A Non-Capital Spacecraft in the Space Band not deployed to a Spacecraft may attack Spacecraft freely.
A Non-Capital Spacecraft that is not in the Space Band, or that is deployed to a Spacecraft, is a permitted target for Characters and Ground Units and is attacked as a Ground Unit.
11.2 Step 2: Declare Intercepts#
A card may intercept an attacker only if the interceptor is a legal target of that attacker — meaning the interceptor is within the attacker's Range and is a permitted Type target under §11.1. A card that has been declared the target of an attack cannot intercept for another card.
| Attacker | May be intercepted by |
|---|---|
| Character, Ground Unit, or Non-Capital Spacecraft | Characters, Ground Units, and Non-Capital Spacecraft in range of the attacker |
| Capital Ship | Capital Ships, and Non-Capital Spacecraft in the Space Band not deployed to a Spacecraft |
| Capital Ship with Orbital Bombardment | The above, plus Characters and Ground Units in range of the attacker |
| Any attacker using Orbital | Capital Ships, and Non-Capital Spacecraft in the Space Band not deployed to a Spacecraft |
Orbital and Orbital Bombardment are offense only. Neither keyword permits the card that has it to intercept.
Each card may intercept only one attacker per combat. Interceptors do not activate; defending is a free action. An activated card may not intercept. A Mobilizing card may intercept.
If an attack is intercepted, all damage is assigned to the interceptor. There is no overflow damage.
11.3 Step 3: Long Range Resolution#
Cards with the Long Range keyword deal their Long Range damage first, before regular damage is resolved. Casualties from Long Range damage are removed before Step 4.
11.4 Step 4: Play Fast Maneuvers#
Both players may play Fast Maneuvers during combat resolution, with the active player having priority first. Fast Maneuvers that are Character Actions require a Character to execute (and activate that Character).
11.5 Step 5: Assign Regular Damage#
Once interceptors are assigned, damage is dealt. Each attacker assigns its Attack value to the target they are attacking or any interceptors. If an attack is intercepted, all damage is assigned to the interceptor (there is no overflow damage). If multiple interceptors are assigned, the attacking player assigns damage across the interceptors as they choose.
If a Ground Unit receives damage equal to or greater than its Defense value, that card is destroyed and placed into the Depleted Pile. This includes Ground Units that have a Reverse face. A Ground Unit that is destroyed does not flip like a Character.
A Character subtracts CP equal to the amount of damage it receives. If a Character receives damage equal to or greater than the number of CP the Character currently has, if the Character is Prime, they flip to their Fallen face. If the Character is already Fallen, they are placed in the Depleted Pile.
If a Planetary Location or Surface Location receives damage equal to or greater than their Defense value, if the Planetary Location or Surface Location are Prime, they flip to their Contested face. If the Planetary Location or Surface Location are already Contested, they are placed in the Depleted Pile.
11.6 Orbital Bombardment#
A Capital Ship with Orbital Bombardment may attack Characters, Ground Units, Planetary Locations, and Surface Locations in its own or an adjacent Band. When a Capital Ship attacks any of these targets, all other Attack values on the card are ignored — only the Orbital Bombardment value is dealt as damage.
Orbital Bombardment damage is treated as standard Attack damage to the target.
Orbital Bombardment is offense only. It does not permit the card to intercept.
Orbital (§18.59) is the corresponding keyword in the opposite direction, permitting a card to attack Spacecraft in the Space Band from an adjacent Band.
11.7 Destruction Outcomes#
- If a Drone is destroyed: sent to the Burned pile (§18). Drones do not flip and cannot be returned.
- Ground Unit or Device destroyed: If a Ground Unit or Device is destroyed it is placed in the Depleted Pile unless there is explicit text on the card that says the card flips or another action is taken.
- Spacecraft destroyed: If a Spacecraft is destroyed it is placed into the Depleted Pile, it does not flip unless there is explicit text on the card that says otherwise. Characters deployed on the Spacecraft use the "Escape Pod" ability automatically (redeploy to a Planetary Location the controller controls). Ground Units deployed on it are destroyed unless they have the Escape Pod keyword. Non-Capital Spacecraft deployed on it are destroyed; they do not have Escape Pod (§14.8).
- Planetary and Surface Locations destroyed: If a Planetary or Surface Location on its Prime face is destroyed they flip to their Reverse face. If a Surface Location is on its Reverse face and is destroyed it is placed in the Depleted Pile. If a Planetary Location on its Contested face is destroyed it is placed in the Depleted Pile, and any Characters, Ground Units, and Non-Capital Spacecraft occupying it must be moved to a Location or Spacecraft their controller controls; any that cannot be legally placed are destroyed.
- Loss of a Planetary Location reduces the controller's Surface Capacity. If the controller is left over Capacity, the state-based check in §10.6 applies immediately and they must destroy Surface Locations of their choice until they are within Capacity. Surface Locations are no longer associated with individual Planetary Locations, so a Planetary Location's destruction does not by itself destroy any Surface Location.
State transition triggers ("becomes Prime," "becomes Contested," "becomes Fallen") fire regardless of the source of the transition. See §19.2.