-
I know this has been discussed many times already, but I am searching for a final summary of who can/cannot activate combat abilities more than once in a given combat phase (not a whole sequence).
Originally I thought nobody (hero or villain) could, which would make life much easier.
However, than I read on the FAQ that Blaastar can use his ability as many times as he wants, which seems to imply even during a give phase of combat. Why then only Blaastar? It seems everyone should then, except for special cases like the Sentinels, who are limited to once per combat sequence even (see FAQ).
Specifically, take any hero supported by Captain America. When it's his turn to roll for outwit.. can he keep discarding resources to reroll again and again till he is happy? Or just once?
Similar issue with Crimson Dynamo. Can villain players keep activating his ability till they are happy with their roll?
If there is no consensus on this I will stick with "one activation per sequence max" (with the single exception of Blaastar) for the Vassal module I am writing.
Edited to clear confusion about phase/sequence terminology.
-
Rauli Kettunen
Finland
Oulu
-
I think most of the other abilities are either
A) related to the number of dice rolled (add or reduce) and can't be used more than once
or
B) add or reduce the result of the roll and again can only be used once.
Where as Blastaar triggers off the other player using his Ally, which isn't itself related to dice rolling or adjusting the result of the roll. It's the first line under "Timing of Special Abilities" on page 15, about abilities not being stackable that limits most abilities to once per.
-
-
Ok about those giving +4 to defense or 1 extra hit to dice just rolled. They can all classify as stackable (+4+4 to defense, 1+1 extra hits etc), so the manual is clear enough about those (=once only!).
But what about Cap's support ability (or Crimson Dynamo's ability)?
Can a hero supported by Cap reroll for outwit at will? Rerolls won't really "stack" because each reroll replaces the previous one.
Same question for, say, Daredevil combat ability: can he discard 2 cards to reroll 4 dice? 3 cards for 6 dice..? This is trickier because 4 is surely a "stack" of 2+2 but different dice could be rerolled, thus really not stacking... hmm.
-
Rauli Kettunen
Finland
Oulu
-
Note that the last sentence in the part I'm referring to specifically mentions that you can only reroll once (the one starting with "In another example...").
-
-
I read that but the "a die" part confused me (what about "all dice"?).
Anyway, am I correct in assuming your interpretation is similar to my original one that any combat ability (hero or villain) can only be triggered once in a certain combat phase?
The only exceptions being:
1) Blaastar, who can activate whenever he wishes
2) Dormammu (and not the Sentinels, my bad), who can activate only once per entire combat sequence
-
Rauli Kettunen
Finland
Oulu
-
Yes, without going over the cards in detail, I think that is accurate. For a minute I thought you said "once per combat sequence" (as some like Elektra and Thor can use their abilities twice per sequence and Invisible Woman could use her Ready ability on each of the three rolls), but re-checking saw that you said once per phase.
-
-
Let's talk about allies. Again same once-per-phase limit (for a given ally) as it seems reasonable to infer?
-
Rauli Kettunen
Finland
Oulu
-
Only one I can quickly think of that might be relevant is Black Cat who forces the opponent to reroll, but that would fall under the reroll-clause as well. Most other allies provide a stat the hero can use, few allow you to take Initiative (which might be contested against Bullseye, except if you limit him too to once per). Did you have a specific example of an ally in mind?
-
-
Yes, Black Cat is exactly the one I was thinking to. While programming the Vassal module I noticed Black Cat could be triggered multiple times (well, 3 max) to force villain to roll 4 times in a row for the same phase (his attack, defense or outwit).
BTW, Black Cat is similar to Avalanche's combat ability. So if Avalanche is limited to once per phase, Black Cat should probably be, too.
Regarding Bullseye (and Venom, and Ghost Rider/The Observer on the ally side) I am less worried: I am forcing them to be used during power selection only and the program won't let you use them again if you already took the initiative.. kinda unlikely the opponent will also play a counter take-initiative effect as well, if he already had it in the first place...
-
Rauli Kettunen
Finland
Oulu
-
Actually, Black Cat (2PP for three uses) + Aunt May (3PP for four uses) would be even more rerolls (throw in F4 Upgrade + Alicia Masters with 3PP on top
 ). But irrelevant I think in this context, only one reroll can be made or forced per roll from a given ability.
-
-
Wait, you mean you can use Aunt May (or Nick Fury etc) to increase the number of times you can use a certain ally from the usual max of 2-3?
I thought they were really worthless (just 1 free PP if you happen to be on the same team) because I thought their PP could be used to pay "playing" costs of allies. But if they really are "activation" costs then.. a whole new meaning!
-
Rauli Kettunen
Finland
Oulu
-
It's the second sentence that shows what the Ally actually does:
Prof. Xavier: "When you activate an X-Men Ally, you may pay the activation cost with Professor Xavier instead."
Activation cost of course being to remove a PP from the Ally activated or discard it if no PP remain.
-
Rauli Kettunen
Finland
Oulu
-
Unless the ability limits itself through text, you can use it in each of the three Combat Phases (1st Attack, 2nd Attack, Outwit). Example would be someone like Invisible Woman's Support ability.
Then there are effects which fall under the stacking limit rule: effects that add dice or hits to the result, or cause rerolls. Since you can only affect a roll or result once, you can't for example use Cyclops's Support ability twice to boost Outwit result by +2 hits.
Some heroes have very specific abilities that can only be used in a specific Combat Phase and only when you've chosen a specific power for that hero (Storm and Captain America as examples). There is also Thor's Uru Hammer that you can use to boost both attack and defense, when picking the Mjornir Whirl power (similarly Elektra has a Ready Ability that works when she uses Ninjutsu, her ability can be used possibly twice in a Combat Sequence, once when she attacks, once on Outwit).
That's a rough general outline of what you can do. If you have questions related to specific abilities/heroes/etc, throw out those examples. It's always easier to cover specific instances than generalize.
-
|
|
Posted Sat Feb 4, 2012 7:17 pm
