I searched the forums (albeit quickly, in what I'm told was a "boys" look) and couldnt find an answer

If all of my leaders from my leader pool are already on the board and I am attacked in a system I do not have a leader in, what happens?

Then you have to fight without drawing tactic cards. Neither space or ground. Of course you can gain them with dice rolls but still, having no leaders in battle is pretty crippling.

Ah right thanks. I couldnt find this answer in the rules reference or learn to play guide either.

The other drawback if you don't have a leader there is that you cannot retreat in case you need to

You may already know this perfectly well, but your wording in your original post suggests you might not: you're never required to send a leader to defend if you're attacked. For smaller engagements that you're sure to lose, it's often preferable to not waste the leader's action.

Incidentally, a frequently overlooked rule is that if the defender already has a leader with tactics skills in the battle zone, he cannot freely move another when attacked. So if you catch poor Jerjerrod in charge of an Imperial fleet and attack it, your opponent can't deploy the Emperor for free to get a competent leader there.

14 hours ago, Tarvalar said:

You may already know this perfectly well, but your wording in your original post suggests you might not: you're never required to send a leader to defend if you're attacked. For smaller engagements that you're sure to lose, it's often preferable to not waste the leader's action.

Incidentally, a frequently overlooked rule is that if the defender already has a leader with tactics skills in the battle zone, he cannot freely move another when attacked. So if you catch poor Jerjerrod in charge of an Imperial fleet and attack it, your opponent can't deploy the Emperor for free to get a competent leader there.

Thanks! I did not know that you could elect to have no leader during combat!