Connor Net FAQ

By TasteTheRainbow, in X-Wing Rules Questions

If a Connor Net lands directly on a ship does it go off immediately?

If a ship already has a dial assigned to it but received two ion tokens before it activates does it just not reveal a dial or is it ioned during the next round instead?

I'm pretty sure we have no precedent to go on for this. Just hoping we can make FFG aware that we need a Day One FAQ for this bomb.

If a Connor Net lands directly on a ship does it go off immediately?

Yes, it has the same wording as the revised Prox mines, so it'll blow up right away if you land it on a ship.

If a ship already has a dial assigned to it but received two ion tokens before it activates does it just not reveal a dial or is it ioned during the next round instead?

This question has already been answered before, but I don't remember why. The ion effect starts in the planning phase, so if you already have a dial assigned, you move as normal and are ioned next turn.

Edited by Antigrapist

It was answered before because of Leebo (crew) being used with advanced sensors to ion himself in the activation phase. It was just an email ruling, I don't think it gas made it I to the FAQ yet, but it said the ion effect occurs next round.

It was answered before because of Leebo (crew) being used with advanced sensors to ion himself in the activation phase. It was just an email ruling, I don't think it gas made it I to the FAQ yet, but it said the ion effect occurs next round.

The logic here being that Ion effects prevent you from assigning a dial in the Planning Phase.

Here, the Ion token was assigned between Planning and your actual maneuver.

You have an assigned dial, and so you perform the action thereon.

The next time you would assign a dial, you don't. Just happens to be on the following turn.

I know this was already done to death with respect to Leebo, but I disagree with the above. The ion token reference card specifies two effects:

  • During the planning phase, you do not assign a maneuver dial.
  • During the activation phase, move as if you were assigned a white 1-forward maneuver, then remove all ion tokens.

There is no "start" to the ion effect--there's no requirement that you experience the planning-phase effect to get the activation-phase effect. So if you receive an ion token between planning and executing a maneuver, your planned maneuver is overwritten by the ion effect.

There's an official response to the contrary, though, I'll leave it alone.

Yeah, this is yet another case of the rules working, but not working the way the designers want, so they say to do it differently.

Still no FAQ on this? Are we assuming that wave 7 FAQ will drop 9/4ish? Whether or not Fel is ioned immediately or in the following round will make a world of difference in the lists I take for the next few weeks.

Still no FAQ on this? Are we assuming that wave 7 FAQ will drop 9/4ish? Whether or not Fel is ioned immediately or in the following round will make a world of difference in the lists I take for the next few weeks.

I wouldn't expect another FAQ before Worlds. That's the way they normally do it - all FFG's games are on roughly the same update cycle, which typically is one in Spring, one just before GenCon, and one just before Worlds. There have been occasional deviations, but it's not common.

Especially since we're out of the competitive season at the moment, they just don't think it's that important.

The ruling for Ions is clear in the Ion Token Reference card, as Vorpal Sword indicated.

The FAQ indicates: A ship is ionized if it is small and has 1 or more ion tokens, or it is large and has 2 or more ion tokens.

The Ion Token Rule card indicates that an ionized ship moves 1 white forward in the Activation phase. (No indication at all that if there is already a dial assigned, then it ignores this rule)

The informal ruling for Leebo must be an exception to this, because otherwise it provokes a paradox.

The case is with Leebo crew plus Advanced Sensors:

Advanced Sensors say: "Before you reveal a maneuver, you may perform an action [...]"

Leebo says: "Action: You may boost. Then you get an ion token."

Ion Token rule says: If you are ionized, you don't reveal a maneuver and instead you move 1 white forward.

If we follow those rules one after another, we provoke the paradox that the ion given by Leebo prevents the dial from being revealed, preventing Advanced Sensors from triggering, preventing the use of Leebo, preventing the ion token assignation, preventing the whole cycle!

So the only way to fix this without going against the Ion Token Rule card and without provoking a paradox in the rules is assuming that by the time Advanced Sensors trigger, the dial is already in its way to be revealed and nothing can prevent it anymore. To avoid rendering the ion token useless (and making Leebo+Advanced sensors overpowered), it is kept for the next round.

By following the rules, the victim of a Conner Net that has not yet activated should move 1 white forward and keep his dial face down.

Edited by Azrapse

(copied from another thread)

The RAW interpretation causes an interesting interaction with the Decimator.

If the Deci is hit with a Conner net before activating but had its dial set to a white 1 forward, it completes its maneuver as normal and removes the ion tokens.

It's probably going to happen pretty rarely tho so we can probably call this a.......

Wait for it.....

Conner case

Edited by Funkleton

I don't see what the "conner case" is realy. Either you follow the ion rules and do the white forward and remove ion tokens or you follow the normal rules and do your revealed maneuver and do not remove ion tokens. That the revealed maneuver happen to be the same as the one the ion rules tell us to do is irrelevent. If you are not following the ion rules you do not remove ion tokens.

I don't see what the "conner case" is realy. Either you follow the ion rules and do the white forward and remove ion tokens or you follow the normal rules and do your revealed maneuver and do not remove ion tokens. That the revealed maneuver happen to be the same as the one the ion rules tell us to do is irrelevent. If you are not following the ion rules you do not remove ion tokens.

What I'm getting at is that there is one particular set of circumstances under which a ship could be ioned, not suffer any kind of movement penalty, then remove the ion tokens.

Hardly game breaking if that was how it was ruled - just an observation really :-)

Ah, I missenterpreted your post a bit. Got it now :)

What happens to the "skip perform action step" consequence if you, as a higher PS ship, Connor net a lower PS ship that has already activated? Does it carry over into the next round?

What happens to the "skip perform action step" consequence if you, as a higher PS ship, Connor net a lower PS ship that has already activated?

I'm not sure how that would happen. How does a lower PS ship get it's activation before a higher PS ship?

There are effects that will temporally change the PS of a ship, but you still activate in PS order. Also once a ship has activated it can't get another activation that turn, regardless of it's PS.

What happens to the "skip perform action step" consequence if you, as a higher PS ship, Connor net a lower PS ship that has already activated?

I'm not sure how that would happen. How does a lower PS ship get it's activation before a higher PS ship?There are effects that will temporally change the PS of a ship, but you still activate in PS order. Also once a ship has activated it can't get another activation that turn, regardless of it's PS.

Right, and you activate (for moving and performing actions) from lowest pilot skill to highest. So a higher pilot skill ship could drop a Conner Net on a lower skill ship that had already moved and taken its action.

What happens to the "skip perform action step" consequence if you, as a higher PS ship, Connor net a lower PS ship that has already activated?

I'm not sure how that would happen. How does a lower PS ship get it's activation before a higher PS ship?

@VanorDM: Lower PS always activates first.

@daveddo: Nothing would happen, since the lower-PS ship has already done its perform action step.

@VanorDM: Lower PS always activates first.

Doh! I'll just go sit in the conner for a bit.

What happens to the "skip perform action step" consequence if you, as a higher PS ship, Connor net a lower PS ship that has already activated?

I'm not sure how that would happen. How does a lower PS ship get it's activation before a higher PS ship?

@VanorDM: Lower PS always activates first.

@daveddo: Nothing would happen, since the lower-PS ship has already done its perform action step.

It's easy to forget that 'action' bombs were designed for enemies to fly through and 'dial reveal' bombs were designed to drop onto an enemy's position.

May I humbly suggest that the ion rules as they stand are broke and need a robust overhaul. If they weren't/didn't, would there be so much confusion? The game designers have done an awesome job (I certainly couldn't do it as well), but no one can see every interaction with every aspect or variable which is why this forum is great because all of the worms that come out of the woodwork.

It would seem to me the confusion stems from treating ion weapons (IW) completely differently from all of the other weapons with regard to employment and effects timing. Certainly they will be different in that IW effects are temporary (as opposed to a proton torpedo's which is permanent) and accordingly there should be a separate mechanism with which to resolve the fleeting symptoms of being ionized. However, their employment and the timing of the effects (i.e. when and effect is manifest) should mirror / be similar to the "BOOM" weapons. I think the effects should be overhauled as well but I think I've covered that well enough in the IED posting last month. It wold be a big change . . . and I know how popular those are ;)

But to this post, I'd agree that if you have a dial set, you keep your dial and execute the maneuver but skip actions. That's my 10 cents but with the money markets, it is likely only worth 1 :)

Edited for grammar

Edited by WGNF911

May I humbly suggest that the ion rules as they stand are broke and need a robust overhaul.

Sure you may.

It would seem to me the confusion stems from treating ion weapons (IW) completely differently from all of the other weapons with regard to employment and effects timing.

The game doesn't treat ion weapons differently from any other weapon, and regardless, that's not what's causing the problem.

The rules work fine for any case where a ship receives an ion token in the Combat phase. They fail in a number of important ways when a ship receives an ion token in the Activation phase. That's the bit that needs overhauled.

IMO they work fine even when the ion token arrive during the activation phase.

When you activate a ship, first check for an ion token, if pressent, follow the ion card, if not, follow the standard rules for activation. Note that this if for the entirety of the activation, not just the maneuver part.

So for example advanced sensors are used to activate Leebo, you are allready in the normal activation sequence and so you follow it. The ion token was not present when you stated the activation, even if it happens to be there when you execute your maneuver.

Seems simple enough for me.

Any way, I'm sure FFG will put connor net in the FAQ soon enough and what ever shenanigans they come up with we will follow, as usual.

That's pretty much my point. The rules work because we make them work (and have fun doing it). However, IW's work nothing like other weapons primarily because every effect an IW imparts to the target is delayed until some later point in the game. It's like the lady in Ep. V in the Rebel HQ saying, "Standby Ion Control." only her voice jumps through my head and says, "Standby Ion Effects." hahaha. I have lots of voices in my head BTW. But ultimately, the monkey wrench in the works here is the very different ways the different weapons are timed. Aligning IW's with the "BOOMS" would likely solve a lot of these issues. Would it create some more? Probably, but there seems to be a problem now so rather than make a lot of little changes, do it all at once.

Just thought of an analogy: If I load my shotgun with buckshot or a beanbag, it shouldn't change how/when the shotgun is employed, only whether or not I kill or incapacitate my target. The engagement (timing especially) remains the same but the effects are very different. Just came to me, but I think a taser might better fit the bill.

Edit: I messed up the quoting, this is what I meant to quote

"The rules work fine for any case where a ship receives an ion token in the Combat phase. They fail in a number of important ways when a ship receives an ion token in the Activation phase. That's the bit that needs overhauled."

Edited by WGNF911

...IW's work nothing like other weapons primarily because every effect an IW imparts to the target is delayed until some later point in the game.

We've been over this. Ion tokens affect movement, and the ion effect starts as soon as possible--that is, as soon as the ship with an ion token tries to move.

Ion weapons don't work any differently than other weapons. They immediately have their effect (which includes giving an ion token). The debate comes when an ion token is acquired sometime in between the steps on the ion token rules card. The question then becomes do you start following the ion token rules mid card or do you wait until you can follow the ion token rules from start to finish.