So a friend of mine was running this combo on a U-Boat and I'm not sure what he wanted to do was legal.

Aggromech says "When attacking, after you spend a focus token, you may acquire a target lock on the defender"

The exact wording is important because here's what my friend wanted to do:

1. Focus for 2 tokens with Recon Spec

2. Roll attack dice

3. Spend a focus token solely to acquire a target lock but NOT to modify eyeballs

4. Spend target lock to re-roll blanks

5. Spend second focus to change eyes to hits

I'm 99% sure this is not allowed. Aggromech says "After you spend a focus..." which to me seems to indicate that the focus would have to be spent doing some other normal mechanic and the Aggromech would trigger as a side effect. If you could spend a focus JUST to trigger Aggromech it would be worded like Calculation: "You may spend a focus to..." So the correct way to play it would be he would have to spend the focus to change eyeballs (which can be done even with no eyes showing) and then acquire the target lock which could then be used to re-roll blanks but those blanks could not be focused even though he has a token available because he already performed that action this attack and there's the rule about abilities resolving "once per opportunity".

I'm leaning towards yes. Spending a focus is any time you spend a focus. It has also been ruled that you can spend a focus without having focus on your dice. He could roll all blanks, and still spend a focus on nothing. (Someone correct me if this has changed recently)

There are many similar interactions that grant Target Lock mid attack, and it can still be used to modify dice.

R4 aggromech and blaster turret.

What your opponent did was legal. There is no limit to the number of focus tokens you can spend on an attack; you can spend it to change all [focus] results to [boom] results (even if that number is zero), get a target lock from your R4 Agromech, use the target lock to reroll all the blank dice, then use your other focus token to change any [focus] results that resulted from the reroll.

It's legal to spend a focus token if you didn't actually roll any focus results, however, if there are focus results, they must be changed to hit results. This still doesn't stop the opponent from using a target lock and rerolling any or all dice and spending another focus to change any more focus results.

The only thing you could trip him up with is spending the token and not changing any focus results he may have rolled, as the rules do not give you that option.

Dice can be modified numerous times but the only restriction is you can only reroll any particular die once.

What your opponent did was legal. There is no limit to the number of focus tokens you can spend on an attack; you can spend it to change all [focus] results to [boom] results (even if that number is zero), get a target lock from your R4 Agromech, use the target lock to reroll all the blank dice, then use your other focus token to change any [focus] results that resulted from the reroll.

Does spending the focus token to modify results a second time on the same attack roll violate X-Wing's "once per opportunity" rule? I would think that it does.

If it doesn't then there should be another step in the OP:

6. Use R4 to Acquire Target Lock.

What your opponent did was legal. There is no limit to the number of focus tokens you can spend on an attack; you can spend it to change all [focus] results to [boom] results (even if that number is zero), get a target lock from your R4 Agromech, use the target lock to reroll all the blank dice, then use your other focus token to change any [focus] results that resulted from the reroll.

Does spending the focus token to modify results a second time on the same attack roll violate X-Wing's "once per opportunity" rule? I would think that it does.

If it doesn't then there should be another step in the OP:

6. Use R4 to Acquire Target Lock.

I've asked that before, but the general Once Per Opportunity rules applies only to card abilities by RAW.

I think it should apply to spending focus tokens, but it would be tough to make a general rule for it that wouldn't block you spending multiple Evade tokens against a single attack as well, which feels more like it ought to be legal.

What your opponent did was legal. There is no limit to the number of focus tokens you can spend on an attack; you can spend it to change all [focus] results to [boom] results (even if that number is zero), get a target lock from your R4 Agromech, use the target lock to reroll all the blank dice, then use your other focus token to change any [focus] results that resulted from the reroll.

Does spending the focus token to modify results a second time on the same attack roll violate X-Wing's "once per opportunity" rule? I would think that it does.

No, its not. The once per opportunity rule applies to card abilities:

A card ability cannot be resolved more than once during the timing specified on the card.

Additionally the RRG explicitly allows spending multiple focus tokens.

Modify Attack Dice: The defender can resolve any card abilities that allow him to modify the attack dice. Then the attacker can modify his attack dice in one or more of the following ways as many times as possible:

* Focus: ...

What your opponent did was legal. There is no limit to the number of focus tokens you can spend on an attack; you can spend it to change all [focus] results to [boom] results (even if that number is zero), get a target lock from your R4 Agromech, use the target lock to reroll all the blank dice, then use your other focus token to change any [focus] results that resulted from the reroll.

Does spending the focus token to modify results a second time on the same attack roll violate X-Wing's "once per opportunity" rule? I would think that it does.

If it doesn't then there should be another step in the OP:

6. Use R4 to Acquire Target Lock.

That was my concern when I realized the possibility was there in a game I played with that exact upgrade combo, but that rules does specify card abilities, not everything, as thespaceinvader points out.

And TBF, if you're getting R4/RecSpec solely to be able to spend one of the foci to get focus/TL when shooting... that's a lot to spend for that outcome.

I mean, you can spend 2 points less and just get a k4 droid. Makes you less vulnerable to bumping too.

And TBF, if you're getting R4/RecSpec solely to be able to spend one of the foci to get focus/TL when shooting... that's a lot to spend for that outcome.

I mean, you can spend 2 points less and just get a k4 droid. Makes you less vulnerable to bumping too.

That is assuming after you perform your green maneuver your opponent is in range for the target lock. Maybe the other pilot has a higher PS than you and after you move he is still out of range but then he moves and puts him in range. Then the R4/RecSpec will give you that opportunity to get the target lock that you couldn't get before.

And TBF, if you're getting R4/RecSpec solely to be able to spend one of the foci to get focus/TL when shooting... that's a lot to spend for that outcome.

I mean, you can spend 2 points less and just get a k4 droid. Makes you less vulnerable to bumping too.

That is assuming after you perform your green maneuver your opponent is in range for the target lock. Maybe the other pilot has a higher PS than you and after you move he is still out of range but then he moves and puts him in range. Then the R4/RecSpec will give you that opportunity to get the target lock that you couldn't get before.

It's not an identical effect, sure.

It's a similar one, but cheaper.

The contrary point being that if you bump, r4/recspec gets you nothing whatsoever, whereas k4/focus action at least still gets you a TL.

Thanks for the replies, from what I gather it seems like what my friend wanted to do can actually be done just not quite in the way he phrased it. He was thinking the same way I was, that you could only spend a focus to change eyeballs once per attack but based on what I'm seeing here and the Rules Reference I don't think that is actually the case. He was trying to say he could just buy a TL with Aggromech without changing his eyes to hits, which I'm still pretty sure is not allowed but it doesn't really matter because there's no reason not to change eyeballs if you can do it more than once anyway.

What he wanted to do

1. Spend Focus to get TL WITHOUT changing eyeballs (illegal Aggromech doesn't work that way)

2. Reroll blanks with TL

3. Spend focus to change all eyeballs

What he should be doing

1. Spend focus to change eyeballs AND get a TL

2. Reroll blanks with TL

3. Spend focus again to change eyeballs if needed

Scenario two ends with the exact same effect on the dice as the first one with the same upgrades. His only mistake was in how he was declaring it so we were kind of both right to a point.

Thanks for the replies, from what I gather it seems like what my friend wanted to do can actually be done just not quite in the way he phrased it. He was thinking the same way I was, that you could only spend a focus to change eyeballs once per attack but based on what I'm seeing here and the Rules Reference I don't think that is actually the case. He was trying to say he could just buy a TL with Aggromech without changing his eyes to hits, which I'm still pretty sure is not allowed but it doesn't really matter because there's no reason not to change eyeballs if you can do it more than once anyway.

What he wanted to do

1. Spend Focus to get TL WITHOUT changing eyeballs (illegal Aggromech doesn't work that way)

2. Reroll blanks with TL

3. Spend focus to change all eyeballs

What he should be doing

1. Spend focus to change eyeballs AND get a TL

2. Reroll blanks with TL

3. Spend focus again to change eyeballs if needed

Scenario two ends with the exact same effect on the dice as the first one with the same upgrades. His only mistake was in how he was declaring it so we were kind of both right to a point.

Actually the Agromech does kinda work like that. It's the basic modification rules that require you change all focus results. The Agromech only requires the token to be spent for you to acquire the target lock, and if there's no focus results, then it can still be spent.

Thanks for the replies, from what I gather it seems like what my friend wanted to do can actually be done just not quite in the way he phrased it. He was thinking the same way I was, that you could only spend a focus to change eyeballs once per attack but based on what I'm seeing here and the Rules Reference I don't think that is actually the case. He was trying to say he could just buy a TL with Aggromech without changing his eyes to hits, which I'm still pretty sure is not allowed but it doesn't really matter because there's no reason not to change eyeballs if you can do it more than once anyway.

What he wanted to do

1. Spend Focus to get TL WITHOUT changing eyeballs (illegal Aggromech doesn't work that way)

2. Reroll blanks with TL

3. Spend focus to change all eyeballs

What he should be doing

1. Spend focus to change eyeballs AND get a TL

2. Reroll blanks with TL

3. Spend focus again to change eyeballs if needed

Scenario two ends with the exact same effect on the dice as the first one with the same upgrades. His only mistake was in how he was declaring it so we were kind of both right to a point.

Actually the Agromech does kinda work like that. It's the basic modification rules that require you change all focus results. The Agromech only requires the token to be spent for you to acquire the target lock, and if there's no focus results, then it can still be spent.

No it doesn't.

You spend the focus, then you convert any eyeballs you have currently to hits.

Agromech is triggered by this, but it doesn't change what spending the focus token does.

Sharrrp's second sequence is the correct one.

From the Rules reference page 11:

A ship can spend a focus token even if it did not roll any [focus] results.

So yes you can spend a focus to change all eyeballs and get a TL even if you don't roll any eyeballs, then reroll blanks with a TL, and change spend another focus if needed

This is the sequence, during the Modify Attack Dice step, assuming a normal attack or triggering a munition via a TL rather than Deadeye, and assuming starting with two focus tokens.

1: Spend focus, modifying any eyes to hits (including if you rolled no eyes at all).

1a: Trigger R4 Agromech, immediately acquiring a TL on the defender

2: Spend TL, rerolling as many dice as you want to.

3: Spend second focus token, modifying any eyes to hits.

3a: Reacquire TL with R4 Agromech (R4 is once per opportunity, each focus token spend is a separate opportunity, but focus tokens can be spent as many times during the attack sequence as you want and as you have tokens)

You're missing my point spaceinvader. What sharrrp said was that not changing the focus results was an illegal use of the Agromech. But not changing the focus results is actually an infraction of the dice modification rules, and nothing to do with the Agromech. The Agromech merely requires you to spend the token in order to acquire a target lock on the defender. It doesn't stipulate any other requirements or conditions on that token. The rules cover that part. They state you change all focus results to hit results, and it's that particular rule that his opponent was missing.

And yes, his second scenario is the correct one. There's no argument about that.

Ah fair enough.

I just took that as a general statement that not changing the eyes when spending focus was against the rules, which is true.

If you spend that focus token and you gots eyeballs on the dice, then you better change those eyeballs mister! I said change them! I don't care what you just said about some **** droid or TLs, change the **** eyeballs!!!!!"

If you don't got no eyeballs then go ahead and spend that token if you want to. It's ok, go ahead. Oh look, your little droid gave you a TL, ain't that special! Oh, you want to reroll? Ok. Oh, look, eyeballs! Too bad you don't have another focus token!

Oh, you do? Well ok, go ahead and spend it. But you better change those eyeballs, mister!

(Masterpiece Theater summary)