Hello fellow pilots,

I don't quite understand the card "Squad Leader". For example: I'm using this card on Darth Vader and have an Obsidian Squadron Pilot flying at range 1. I use squad leader (Does it count as a non-free action?) to allow him to perfom a free evade action (Right?). Is the action only free for the other pilot or also for Vader?

Thanks,

YariSamurai

Free action simply is any action performed other than the standard action every ship gets.

Darth Vader can perform two actions, and he use one of them to perform the Squad Leader action, which gives a free action to the Obsidian Squadron pilot. Who can then perform the free action granted by SL and then could perform its normal action when it's that ships activation.

Again free doesn't actually mean much in this game.

Squad Leader costs the ship using it an action. The end result of that action is that another ship can take any action it could normally take on its activation, except one it's already taken that round.

SO, Vader spends one of this two actions to use Squad Leader on Black Squad (who has already Barrel Rolled this round, and has the Rage EPT). Black squad can than take a free action (i.e. an action outside his normal activation phase) to take any of the actions available to him - so he coudl Rage, or Evade, or Focus, but he couldn't Barrel Roll, because he's done that already.

Essentially, the person with Squad Leader lets someone else use (one of) his action(s) once per round, to execute one of their actions.

Free action simply is any action performed other than the standard action every ship gets.

Darth Vader can perform two actions, and he use one of them to perform the Squad Leader action, which gives a free action to the Obsidian Squadron pilot. Who can then perform the free action granted by SL and then could perform its normal action when it's that ships activation.

Again free doesn't actually mean much in this game.

Point of order: Vader can never use Squad Leader on a ship before it activates. Squad Leader has to be used on lower-PS ships, so the Squad Leader will always activate after the person it's leading..

Thanks

Nevermind I was being dumb.

Activation phase is lowest PS to highest, so Vader would be going after everyone else. You're thinking of the Combat phase.

Activation phase is lowest PS to highest, so Vader would be going after everyone else. You're thinking of the Combat phase.

I was being dumb too

Activation phase is lowest PS to highest, so Vader would be going after everyone else.

Doh!!! For some reasons I get that mixed up sometimes. Never while I'm playing, only when I'm posting...

Thanks

Activation phase is lowest PS to highest, so Vader would be going after everyone else. You're thinking of the Combat phase.

Unless you put Enhanced Scopes on Vader (I hope no one ever does that to Vader any TIE Advanced pilot...)

Then his PS would be 0 for the activation phase and he couldn't Squad Leader anyone at all...

Activation phase is lowest PS to highest, so Vader would be going after everyone else. You're thinking of the Combat phase.

Unless you put Enhanced Scopes on Vader (I hope no one ever does that to Vader any TIE Advanced pilot...)

Then his PS would be 0 for the activation phase and he couldn't Squad Leader anyone at all...

Doh, you're right!

To me the easiest way to think of Squad Leader is that ship using its Action to pass it to another, lower PS, ship. It's not just a ship that activated earlier but it has to be one with a lower PS.

I believe it has also been clarified that if the ship you going to use Squad Leader on can not perform the desired free action it goes back to the ship using SL. For example Vader use SL to give Howlrunner a free action which she tries to use to BR; the BR doesn't work so the action goes all the way back to Vader attempting to use SL.

It's rarely used because it's expensive (the cost of an action and an ept slot). The benefit is that it lets someone like Vader (who typically will move last ps9), when everyone else has already moved, to tell an academy pilot (PS1) to do something like barrel roll out of the way of Luke Skywalker. Or for another ship to acquire a TL. But again, the cost is really high. Even vader can't really afford to waste an action.

I have a wonky list where I have Tycho use squad leader to tell chopper flying the ghost to leebo boost. I call it Chopper's Training Wheels.

The weird place to run the unique Squad Leader is on Youngster who then lets everyone get access to it. A higher PS ship doesn't really need its action? Then pass it off to some lower PS ship who needs it.

The weird place to run the unique Squad Leader is on Youngster who then lets everyone get access to it. A higher PS ship doesn't really need its action? Then pass it off to some lower PS ship who needs it.

Ha funny indeed, but it has given me a weird idea:

5 elite tie squad

1. Howlrunner (vi) : SL Mauler

2. Mauler (ps7) : SL Youngster then PTL's

3. Youngster (ps6) : does a BR/Focus/evade then EI's SL Zeta Ace

4. Zeta Ace (ps5) : SL BSP then PTL's

5. BSP does whatever

Howlrunner doesn't technically need VI, but at ps10, it makes the whole squad play ace-wing.

But technically, when does the stress from PTL and EI happen? Would you have to resolve all the SL's first? Ouch head hurt.

The weird place to run the unique Squad Leader is on Youngster who then lets everyone get access to it. A higher PS ship doesn't really need its action? Then pass it off to some lower PS ship who needs it.

Ha funny indeed, but it has given me a weird idea:

5 elite tie squad

"Youngster" (15)

Squad Leader (2)

Experimental Interface (3)

"Howlrunner" (18)

Veteran Instincts (1)

"Mauler Mithel" (17)

Push the Limit (3)

Black Squadron Pilot (14)

Push the Limit (3)

"Zeta Ace" (18)

Push the Limit (3)

Total: 97

View in Yet Another Squad Builder

1. Howlrunner (vi) : SL Mauler

2. Mauler (ps7) : SL Youngster then PTL's

3. Youngster (ps6) : does a BR/Focus/evade then EI's SL Zeta Ace

4. Zeta Ace (ps5) : SL BSP then PTL's

5. BSP does whatever

Howlrunner doesn't technically need VI, but at ps10, it makes the whole squad play ace-wing.

But technically, when does the stress from PTL and EI happen? Would you have to resolve all the SL's first? Ouch head hurt.

It would all happen in the stack, so it would all happen at the end, I think.

But in practice, it would make little difference because each pilot would get two actions and a stress, regardless, and all at basically the same time. I could work out the nesting, but it would get ludicrously awkward to describe.

E: and it's an awful lot of effort to go through to get one pilot an extra action, albeit its real benefit is actually delaying one of each pilots' actions until a higher initiative which might actually not suck. If it weren't for the fact that the only available repositioning is Barrel Roll, which is likely to bump and not do THAT much to get a whole formation out of arc. might be different if they all had TL I guess.

The weird place to run the unique Squad Leader is on Youngster who then lets everyone get access to it. A higher PS ship doesn't really need its action? Then pass it off to some lower PS ship who needs it.

Ha funny indeed, but it has given me a weird idea:

5 elite tie squad

"Youngster" (15)

Squad Leader (2)

Experimental Interface (3)

"Howlrunner" (18)

Veteran Instincts (1)

"Mauler Mithel" (17)

Push the Limit (3)

Black Squadron Pilot (14)

Push the Limit (3)

"Zeta Ace" (18)

Push the Limit (3)

Total: 97

View in Yet Another Squad Builder

1. Howlrunner (vi) : SL Mauler

2. Mauler (ps7) : SL Youngster then PTL's

3. Youngster (ps6) : does a BR/Focus/evade then EI's SL Zeta Ace

4. Zeta Ace (ps5) : SL BSP then PTL's

5. BSP does whatever

Howlrunner doesn't technically need VI, but at ps10, it makes the whole squad play ace-wing.

But technically, when does the stress from PTL and EI happen? Would you have to resolve all the SL's first? Ouch head hurt.

It would all happen in the stack, so it would all happen at the end, I think.

But in practice, it would make little difference because each pilot would get two actions and a stress, regardless, and all at basically the same time. I could work out the nesting, but it would get ludicrously awkward to describe and it's an awful lot of effort to go through to get one pilot an extra action, albeit its real benefit is actually delaying one of each pilots' actions until a higher initiative which might actually not suck. If it weren't for the fact that the only available repositioning is Barrel Roll, which is likely to bump and not do THAT much to get a whole formation out of arc. might be different if they all had TL I guess.

I guess the funny thing there is everyone taking an action at PS 10 although as you point out the only action those ships have that benefit at that point is BR.

Otherwise known as "1, 2, 3, BREAK!"