Ko-Tun's class ability "Stockpile" reads:
When a friendly figure within 3 spaces interacts with a crate, that figure may draw 5 Supply cards and choose 1 non-VALUABLE card to keep, shuffling the others back into the deck.

Let me start by saying I think this is clearly a RAW vs RAI issue. https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2017/7/26/scour-the-streets-of-coruscant/ shows clear intent that this should be an either/or situation. However, without the inclusion of " ... that figure may instead draw ... " this appears to be a case where two effects ({draw supply card} and {Stockpile}) are occurring during the same timing instance({Interact with crate}). With purely rules as written, shouldn't this be player does one of the following:

1. Draw a card; then draw 5 cards, pick 1 to keep and shuffle the rest back into the deck
2. Draw 5 cards, pick 1 to keep and shuffle the rest back into the deck; then draw a card
3. Draw a card; choose not to resolve Stockpile

I feel like this should definitely be errata'd for clarity, but which way should it go? How strong would the ability be if it allowed for drawing 2 cards per crate? At first it seems like it would be on par with MHD-19's "Medical Loadout". You're limited to only 3 or 4 extra supply draws per mission instead of up to 7 (I think with expansions) on MHD, and you're limited by needing to be within range of the activating figure.

Thoughts? Are their any rulings that clearly state this should be an either/or case instead?

First, I wouldn't count on promotional articles for rulings on rule interpretations. They frequently make rules mistakes in those articles.

Second, if her ability allowed you to draw 2 cards, it would be way too powerful. So I think in terms of balance it's clear that it's intended to be instead of the normal "draw 1 card." But you're right that as written it should be interpreted as drawing an additional 5 cards and choosing 1 to keep.

What would you say makes it so much more powerful? In terms of extra card draw, it's capped much lower than Medical Loadout, has the same cost, and has more restrictions on when it can be used. There is better action economy, 2 draws for 1 action (0 with Mak, Loku, Onar...), and you do get to choose something that better fits your situation.

26 minutes ago, Methantilus said:

What would you say makes it so much more powerful? In terms of extra card draw, it's capped much lower than Medical Loadout, has the same cost, and has more restrictions on when it can be used. There is better action economy, 2 draws for 1 action (0 with Mak, Loku, Onar...), and you do get to choose something that better fits your situation.

You know, I originally interpreted it as @Stompburger did, but you make a fair point. After all, the true value of crates is also in the credit you get for cashing them in.

Plus, the word "Stockpile" does thematically seem to imply more than a single item.

Not sure which is correct now- wouldn't mind an official answer.

4 hours ago, Methantilus said:

What would you say makes it so much more powerful? In terms of extra card draw, it's capped much lower than Medical Loadout, has the same cost, and has more restrictions on when it can be used. There is better action economy, 2 draws for 1 action (0 with Mak, Loku, Onar...), and you do get to choose something that better fits your situation.

Supply cards are very powerful. Medical Loadout is 1 card for 1 action and a strain. This Stockpile would be 2 cards for 1 action, and one of them is your pick out of 5.

It's true that there is better action economy, but they are different:

1. Mak's is not only quite expensive at 3XP, but it also costs a strain; however, some of that cost is due to it being usable on other interacts.
2. Loku's is cheap (only 1XP and 1 Strain) because it can only be used on crates and requires an additional investment (one of his 2 recon tokens)
3. Onar's costs 3XP and requires an ability test. Again, it has other uses, so some of its cost is due to that.
4. The R-5 Astromech lets you get an extra card, but you have to spend a bunch of credits and risk the droid being killed.
5. None of them are a starting ability.
6. None of them let you draw 5 and pick 1.

Loku's is the closest comparison, because it only affects crates and is cheap. So lets compare those:

Lokus:

• Costs 1XP
• Costs 1 Strain
• Exhausts, so limited to once per round (unless Loku has 2 activation tokens)
• Ties up 1 of 2 Recon tokens
• Doesn't give any more total Supply cards (only 1 card per crate)
• Doesn't give you your pick of 5 cards
• Can be used no matter where Loku is, but only on that specific crate
• Don't need to use an interact action to get the draw

Ko-Tun's

• Costs 0XP
• Costs 0 Strain
• Unlimited uses per round
• Ties up no Recon tokens
• Gives you an extra supply card from each crate
• Gives you your pick of 5 cards
• Can only be used near Ko-Tun, but on any crates close enough to her
• Do need to use an interact action to get the draw

Ko-Tun's ability is better in almost every way, and she gets it for 0XP? I don't think that's the intent. No other starting secondary ability gives that level of action economy for so little cost.

Alright, need to clear up a minor misunderstanding. When I stated, "There is better action economy..." I meant still comparing MHD and Ko-Tun. Mentioning the other three was only meant for accuracy as those three can pick up a crate for 0 instead of 1... which when combined with Stockpile = 2 for 0.

That being said, I agree with your points that overall this ability is stronger than all other similar abilities when compared side by side. But what about it's place in her kit? Outside of spending credits on her (as you would anyone), Self-sufficient is the only ability she has that improves her damage output. She could never do what Loku or Mak does better than they can. Every single other ability in her kit is about supporting her team (exception: Opportunist, which only gives her health, speed, and occasional movement). This is what she is designed to do... hand out buffs whether they be power tokens or extra supply cards.

Fire Support Specialist, Auxillary Training, Combat Logistics and her core ability all can be used to buff her as well.

But I think that's a little besides the point. While it is true that abilities can be more powerful due to the context of the hero who has them (for example, Onar having no defense die opens up a lot of abilities that would be overpowered on every other hero), getting ~4 extra supply cards per mission at no cost is not justified by her kit. You can try it if you want, but I'm willing to bet it will be game breaking. Just one supply card can change the outcome of a mission; 4 of them, best of 5 each time, is going to have a huge impact.

2 hours ago, Stompburger said:

• Unlimited uses per round

While technically true, this is a bit disingenuous. The likelihood of actually trying to pick up more than one crate in a single activation is already quite low, not to mention having her there for multiple pickups.

Also, gamebreaking? Hardly. She loses the ability when she flips. None of the supply characters are affected that way. She can't nuke a single target for a million damage like Loku or Mak, or blow away 3+ deployments like Vinto or Verena. She's not really a hybrid. Sure, she COULD do some damage, but she is better off boosting everyone else around her.

However, I do believe the intent was to draw 1, the wording is definitely wrong and should be errata'd.

Stockpile:

"When a friendly figure within 3 spaces interacts with a crate, that figure may draw 5 Supply cards and choose 1 non-VALUABLE card to keep, shuffling the others back into the deck."

I see this as one interaction that you have two choices to pick from - draw one card OR draw five cards and pick one non-valuable card.

If you look at it the other way you get two interactions.

Wow, I was totally playing her effect as either/or and thought she was a really good hero, but RAW it's correct that you would be drawing in addition to the supply card you are already getting from interacting with a crate.

I can definitely see why the devs might have intended for it to be a bonus card on top of the one you already get, as it is agreed by most players that crates are just not worth the 2 actions required to grab them (1 action to interact and 1 action to Move up to the crate if it is out of the way).

Anybody who thinks they have a lock on what they devs intended with this ability is wrong unless they have proof from the devs. Without input from the designers, the intent on how this card is supposed to work can be argued either way (which is why can't use RAI in the first place).

Stockpile has may in it. Would you ever choose to not use Stockpile if it gives an additional card? Why would the ability have may if you can do both? Even if you want to avoid drawing a specific supply card to let some other hero draw it, you're still choosing from 5, and can avoid it.

Btw, I have a new saying: RAW is for the skirmish, RAI is for the campaign.

(One more entry to my list of questions for the IA team.)

RAI rulings are called house rules, so I guess in that case it's fine to say house rules are okay in campaign but not so much in skirmish, I certainly use them in my own campaign.

22 minutes ago, a1bert said:

Stockpile has may in it. Would you ever choose to not use Stockpile if it gives an additional card?

Yeah, I can't think of a legitimate reason why you would ever choose not to draw the second card. I firmly believe the intent was to replace the standard draw effect. I mainly wanted to invite discussion on whether or not we think it should allow the second card draw. Some people believe it would be too powerful,... personally I'm not convinced. I think there are enough restrictions in place to limit its effective use (limited crates, required proximity, lost when wounded), that it could work well for her both thematically and for her overall role/design.

Its possible the "may" is indeed superfluous. However, two Shock Grenades can certainly change the tide of a lot of missions. Even one can do it very often.

It's interesting to see how both ways of playing work in the campaign.

I don’t know... I sort of feel like this logic could also be applied to Air of Command. It doesn’t say “instead” either, so I think this opens up the argument that Gideon would be choosing two figures with each instance of Command.

Maybe I’m over looking something in this specific example, but my point is that this would open a can of worms.

I don't think the parallel/analogy works.

1. Air of Command doesn't have anything to resolve. Choosing a figure doesn't do anything by itself.
2. The abilities are from different eras. Ability wordings have evolved.

1 hour ago, a1bert said:

I don't think the parallel/analogy works.

1. Air of Command doesn't have anything to resolve. Choosing a figure doesn't do anything by itself.
2. The abilities are from different eras. Ability wordings have evolved.

Yeah, #1 occurred to me but I sort of felt that using that logic would mean that Air of Command wouldn’t do anything begin with (which leads into your second point). Although, my point was more that it would lead to players trying to make those arguments or asking those questions.

Either way, I know it’s not a perfect example.

It seems pretty obvious to me that the ability only allows one card to be drawn, rather than being an additional card. The may is so that it's optional. Maybe you don't care what you draw and just take the first card, maybe you don't feel like having to decide between five...

If we're going for precise wording, grammatically it would have required "may then" to allow to draw a card and then another five.

I heard that Stockpile is indeed intended to be alternative to the normal draw. Should be errata'ed.

Right now, I'm not worried about anything with Stockpile being overused/abused. Remember that loot from loot crates goes away at the end of the mission, unless a card or effect says otherwise. And the crates themselves are worth only a set amount at the end of the mission. Given that the majority of missions are on timers, the players may not have the inclination to go hunting down every single crate on the board. And even if they did, anything they find is going to be used and/or gone by the next mission, as previously stated. So yeah...you may have someone traipsing around with ALL the loot cards, but he's not going to be able to keep them, and hes only going to get a pittance for the crates, themselves.

I wouldn't call it a pittance. If the Rebels manage to get their hands on some of the crates during a mission (and some, like Mak, can do so without having to even spend an action) those credits can really build up, to the point that together they're almost as good as a mission reward themselves.

5 hours ago, subtrendy2 said:

I wouldn't call it a pittance. If the Rebels manage to get their hands on some of the crates during a mission (and some, like Mak, can do so without having to even spend an action) those credits can really build up, to the point that together they're almost as good as a mission reward themselves.

Depending on the mission and which campaign you're running, sometimes an extra 150-450 credits is worth more than the mission reward.

Note: 450 assumes 4 crates, + Valuable Goods and Chance Cubes (successfully rolled).

24 minutes ago, Methantilus said:

Depending on the mission and which campaign you're running, sometimes an extra 150-450 credits is worth more than the mission reward.

Note: 450 assumes 4 crates, + Valuable Goods and Chance Cubes (successfully rolled).

And if we're really stretching it, we can add the pit droid in there, too

Came across this ruling that only the chosen card gets resolved when an ability chooses between multiple cards from the supply deck.

Can you copy and paste the ruling in text? The attached link is broken. TYVM