So, I'm working on a Y wing list, but my question is how does the ion cannon turret work with the rules? So I roll my 3 attack dice, if I hit, does that automatically trigger the effect, or does the defender roll evade dice, then if the attack hits, the effects take place? Still new to the game, and I haven't played with, or against ion turrets yet. The way I'm reading it, roll your attack dice, if you hit, resolve the effects, then dicard all of your attack dice. Is that correct?

A hit is decided after all red and green dice have been rolled and modified - if there are uncancelled hit or crit dice results remaining the attack is a "Hit"

At that point instead of dealing damage accordant to any remaining hit and crit results like you would from a regular attack, you cancel them, deal 1 damage to the defender and place an ion token next to their ship.

If you "hit" then the effects happen. The key here is that you need to know what a "hit" actually is.

When you attack with the Ion Cannon Turret (ICT) you roll 3 attack dice. Those dice produce some combination of blanks, eyes, and explosion symbols both filled and unfilled. The problem many people have is when eyes symbols are called "focus" while explosion symbols are called "hits" and "crits" depending on if they are filled in or not; this is just shorthand notation and does NOT reflect an attack that actually hits. To help prevent this problem some of use use [boom] and [kaboom] to represent the die results often called hits and crits.

Now after you have made your attack roll you go through the modification steps then the targets rolls defense and goes through modifications to its defense. After the defense roll is done you use those results to cancel attack results; if there are uncancelled [boom] or [kaboom] results left after cancelling then the attack actually hits the target. To apply the ICT result you then deal on damage to the target and an ion token and cancel any remaining attack dice.

If you want to see a very strange situation there is the Z-95 pilot Lt. Blount who ALWAYS hits when he make at attack. There is a missile that has an ionization effect similar to the ICT except that when it "hits" it deals one damage and TWO ion tokens to the target. When Blount attacks using that missile his attack always counts as a hit even if he happens to roll all blanks on the attack and the missile's effect is carried out; his primary attacks also hit all the time but with no uncancelled dice results there is no way to cause damage to a target although it may still trigger other things that happen when hit such as losing a Stealth Device. I'm sorry if this is more confusing but I am including it to show that managing to "hit" your target does not happen just because of what dice you roll.

Ok, so I roll my attack dice, defender rolls defense dice, then any uncancelled attack dice trigger the effects. Got it. I'm getting confused with Wampa's effect, that goes through if he gets a crit result regardless of defense dice. Thanks!

Specific pilots and upgrades can cause all kinds of confusion when they get to ignore some specific rules.

Ok, so I roll my attack dice, defender rolls defense dice, then any uncancelled attack dice trigger the effects. Got it. I'm getting confused with Wampa's effect, that goes through if he gets a crit result regardless of defense dice. Thanks!

Wampa's ability could render the defense dice completely irrelevant and possibly even a non-event, but I expect a FAQ entry on him.

The other thing to remember is any ability or weapon that states it deals a damage card, will ignore any shields the target has. So that sort of ability is pretty dangerous. Wampa and Proton Bombs are two examples.

The Attack phase has very specific steps as to when an attack is considered to have "hit":

Declare Target
Roll Attack Dice
Modify Attack Dice
>>Defender Modifies Attack Dice
>>Attacker Modifies Attack Dice
Roll Defense Dice
Modify Defense Dice
>>Attacker Modifies Defense Dice
>> Defender Modifies Defense Dice
Compare Results
Deal Damage

So, with any weapon and the Ion Cannon Turret in particular, you declare your target and state you are using your ICT. Then roll your three attack dice. Apply any modifies that may be available, defender first then attacker (Target Locks, Focus, etc.). Then the defender rolls their dice, and then modify them (attacker first, then defender). If there are more [bOOM] and [KABOOM] results than [EVADE] results, the attack hit. When an ICT attack hits, the target ship suffers 1 damage and receives 1 ion token. Then cancel all dice results. So even if you rolled three criticals, and the defender totally wiffed the defense roll with all blanks, you would still only deal 1 damage and 1 ion token (and possibly cry and blame the dice gods for a wasted roll).

Savvy?

Yeah, I got tripped up with the if the attack hits part.

Yeah, I got tripped up with the if the attack hits part.

It's an easy and common mistake. When using an Ion Cannon Turret, or the Ion Cannon (and a couple of other weapons and abilities), the dice rolls and Compare Results steps are used as a basic yes/no mechanic to establish a hit. This is a quite common mechanic within the game and is used frequently now.

When it comes to Ion weapons it is also important to note that they do NOT all work the same way. The Ion Torpedo does NOT cancel dice results and instead counts all 4 of its dice when it comes to dealing damage.

When it comes to Ion weapons it is also important to note that they do NOT all work the same way. The Ion Torpedo does NOT cancel dice results and instead counts all 4 of its dice when it comes to dealing damage.

Not to mention splashing everyone who's too close with an Ion token.

Any weapon of that type demands carefully reading the card and NOT assuming anything (which is also a common mistake).

I'm sure this has been answered before, but I have yet to find the answer. The rules say that after the attack is resolved, and assuming you landed a hit, the defender receives X damage, and 1 Ion token. On the NEXT round, the defender does not set a maneuver dial, must perform a 1 straight maneuver, then removes the Ion token. They may perform actions and attack/defend as normal.

But what happens to the defender for the remainder of the current turn if you have a higher PS than the defender, and land a hit with the Ion cannon/turret/torpedo before they have the opportunity to attack? Can they still attack/evade and execute triggered actions while they have an Ion token?