Initiative and Deployment
Game Elements | Open and Private Information | Labels and Traits | Armies | Unit Profile | Game States | Army List | Orders and the Order Pool | Trooper Activation | Initiative and Deployment | Game Sequence | Loss of Lieutenant | Silhouettes | Line of Fire | Zone of Control | Zones, Bases and Silhouettes | Coherency | Distances and Measurements | Replacing Models and Markers | Rolls
Initiative Roll
Before the game begins, players make a Face to Face Roll using their respective Lieutenant's WIP Attributes. So, both players roll a D20 and compare their results and the one with the higher result (that does not exceed their Lieutenant’s WIP Attribute) is the winner of the Initiative Roll. The winner of the Initiative Roll can choose between keeping Deployment and keeping Initiative. Whichever option the winner declined goes to the other player.
In the case of a tie, or both players failing, repeat the Initiative Roll.
In the Initiative Roll, the WIP Attribute of the Lieutenant is Open Information.
Keeping Initiative
The player who kept Initiative gets to choose which player has the first Player Turn and which player has the second Player Turn in each Game Round. This order is maintained throughout the game.
Keeping Deployment
The player who kept Deployment gets to choose who deploys first, and in which Deployment Zone.
Deployment Phase
This phase comes after the Initiative Roll, once the Initiative and Deployment have been chosen. During the Deployment Phase, before the game begins, players place their Troopers on the battlefield.
The Deployment Phase is divided into the following steps:
- Player One Deployment: Following the order established in the Initiative Roll, as decided by the player who kept Deployment, the first player places all but one of his Troopers totally inside his Deployment Zone.
- Player Two Deployment: Once Player One is done, Player Two places all but one of her Troopers totally inside her Deployment Zone.
- Player One Last Trooper: Then, Player One places the Trooper he kept back during step one.
- Player Two Last Trooper: Finally, Player Two places the Trooper she kept back during step two.
Some Special Skills, such as Forward Deployment, allow players to place certain Troopers outside their Deployment Zones.
Other Special Skills, like Combat Jump, allow players not to place certain Troopers on the battlefield at all during the Deployment Phase.
Finally, some Special Skills may alter the Deployment rules for both players.
Deployment Rules
To deploy your Troopers on the table, follow these rules:
- The base of each Trooper must be totally inside the Deployment Zone.
- Troopers cannot be deployed in contact with enemy and neutral Models, Markers, or Tokens, or in contact with any mission objective, no matter the Special Skills they have.
- When a Trooper deploys, its owner can choose to deploy it Prone. To do so, simply place a Prone State Token beside the Trooper.
- Unless previously agreed upon, Troopers cannot deploy in a location without enough space to fit their entire base.
- Players can measure the size of the Deployment Zones, those areas where Troopers possessing the Forward Deployment Special Skill can deploy, the central line of the game table and any Exclusion Zone the game scenario specifies.
FAQs & Errata
Q: Is the number of Troopers you kept back in the Deployment Phase Open Information?
A: Yes. At the end of a player's main deployment step, they must announce how many Troopers they have kept back.
Related Pages: Initiative and Deployment
Q: During your main part of the Deployment Phase, can you reposition Troopers, Deployables, etc?
A: Yes, but as soon as you make a Roll, check Coherency, or ZoC, the positions of those Troopers, Deployables etc. are fixed and they cannot be repositioned.
For example, you can reposition a Trooper as many times as you want, but after you create a Fireteam and adjust the placement of the Fireteam members during the Coherency Check, you can no longer reposition any member of that Fireteam.
Related Pages: Coherency, Deployment Phase, Minelayer
Q: In the Deployment Phase do you have to check ZoC when a Trooper uses Minelayer, or Coherency when deploying Decoys or Holoechoes?
A: Yes, but your opponent must look away so that you can check the ZoC/Coherency without revealing Private Information.
Related Pages: Coherency, Decoy, Deployment Phase, Holoecho State, MinelayerGame Elements | Open and Private Information | Labels and Traits | Armies | Unit Profile | Game States | Army List | Orders and the Order Pool | Trooper Activation | Initiative and Deployment | Game Sequence | Loss of Lieutenant | Silhouettes | Line of Fire | Zone of Control | Zones, Bases and Silhouettes | Coherency | Distances and Measurements | Replacing Models and Markers | Rolls