Can you only activate a Repair command dial (or token) before you attack? I was playing a game and my opponent attacked my ship then maneuvered and rammed me. We both drew a facedown damage. Then he claimed he was able to use his Repair command (value of 4) to repair that ramming damage he just took.
In the rules, ship activation has a few steps: Reveal Command, Attack, and Execute Maneuver.
Under Effects and Timing on page 5 it says "An 'After' effect occurs immediately after the specified event and cannot occur again for that instance of the effect."
Under Command Tokens it says "Command tokens can be spent at the appropriate times"
These imply that there are times you can and cannot use specific command tokens but not necessarily when that time is.
The timing for a repair command is revealed on page 3 under Commands "Repair: Resolve after revealing the ship's command dial."
The key word is "after"....
If you reveal a repair command Dial you must use it before you enter the next ship's step (Attack). If you decide to use your ships repair Token, it too must be used before you move on to the next step (attack)....right?
It makes sense too because on page 5 of the Tournament Rules it talks about Missed Opportunities. "If a player forgets to use an effect during the timing specified by that effect, he cannot retroactively use it without the consent of his opponent." They basically say if you want to be nice you can...but if you want to be competitive you can too. If someone forgets, it's pretty much up to their opponent whether or not they are allowed to still use a certain command.