Can you link for 3 actions??

By Parakitor, in X-Wing Epic Play

I came up with this question while trying to make the Dodonna's Pride title work. It grants a CR90 "Focus -> red Coordinate" and "Evade -> red Coordinate."

Here are the relevant rules on linked actions:

" Linked actions allow a ship to perform an action after performing another action. Linked actions can appear on a ship or upgrade card in the linked action bar just to the right of the action bar. After the ship performs the action from its action bar, it can perform the attached action listed on the linked action bar.

"After a ship performs an action with an attached linked action, if the player wants to resolve the linked action, it is added to the ability queue.
"A linked action can be performed after performing the action it is attached to even if that action was granted by a card effect or other game effect."

So this makes me think you could, for example Focus -> Coordinate, then use that Coordinate to link into Calculate on the Comms Team upgrade. Then you're free to take another action because huge ships get two actions each round.

Am I missing something, or does this work? Does color matter?

Edited by Parakitor
On 1/31/2020 at 11:54 AM, Parakitor said:

So this makes me think you could, for example Focus -> Coordinate, then use that Coordinate to link into Calculate on the Comms Team upgrade. Then you're free to take another action because huge ships get two actions each round.

Gut instinct only here, but I'd rule against this... It doesn't feel right or the intent.

Late edit: Rule book as usual doesn't agree with gut instincts and feels. I still doubt this was as intended, but rules do seem to say it's correct.

Edited by LagJanson

I'm slightly in the "no" camp, because linked actions have specific colors. If Dodonna's Pride linked into a White coordinate, I think you'd be able to do it.

The color of the action does not keep you from adding linked actions to the ability queue. Usually the problem is the stress keeping you from performing further actions, which is no issue for a huge ship.

Therefore I would say it works.

My initial reaction was "no way!" But I couldn't find a rule to dispute it. Right now it doesn't get you much because you can throw another team on there to link into calculate from a different action, like reinforce with Damage Control Team. But if for some reason you really need focus, coordinate and calculate, I guess it's okay.

My real concern is future proofing. Most huge ship upgrades link into calculate actions. But the more upgrades that link into other actions the more they could be abused IF you can link off a linked action. That's why I thought I'd bring it up and see if you guys could spot anything I couldn't.

You are chosing the Focus action which is linked to Coordinate (granted by the title). The title doesn't grant Focus linked to Coordinate linked to Calculate. It only grants Focus linked to Coordinate. As of yet there aren't any actions that are double-linked in the game, only single linked.

Additionally, you can only perform a specific action once per turn, so you cannot do Focus link Coordinate, and then Coordinate link Calculate anyways.

54 minutes ago, Rydiak said:

You are chosing the Focus action which is linked to Coordinate (granted by the title). The title doesn't grant Focus linked to Coordinate linked to Calculate. It only grants Focus linked to Coordinate. As of yet there aren't any actions that are double-linked in the game, only single linked.

Additionally, you can only perform a specific action once per turn, so you cannot do Focus link Coordinate, and then Coordinate link Calculate anyways.

First: You don‘t have to perform the specific action on the action bar showing the link, you can even use an action granted by an effect to link into the action:

„A linked action can be performed after performing the action it is attached to even if that action was granted by a card effect or other game effect.“


Second: the rules do not forbid you to perform any number of linked action as long as you performed the action it is attached to.

The chain „Focus action > Coordinate action > Calculate action“ is therefore legal, because the ship in the example has a Coordinate action attached to a Focus action and a Calculate action attached to a Coordinate action.

To your first point, that text (to me at least) just means you can perform linked actions granted by upgrade cards. Nothing else.

To your second point, the game normally only allows only one action or one linked action. The fact that huge ships are allowed two actions thereby means that you are allowed two linked actions. The upgrade cards quoted in this thread only grant Focus link Coordinate and Coordinate link Calculate. Thusly, you would perform Focus and link it to Coordinate (one action) and could then perform Calculate normally (action from the bar, taking up the 2nd action granted by a huge ship) but not as a continuation of the first linked action, because the first linked action was Focus link Coordinate (which has no Calculate in it, since double-linked actions don't exist). Therefore, I disagree that performing a double-linked action is legal.

1 hour ago, Rydiak said:

To your first point, that text (to me at least) just means you can perform linked actions granted by upgrade cards. Nothing else.

It means that it does not matter how you perform the Focus action, you can always link into to the Coordinate action:

If Jake Farrel Boosts near the CR-90 and grants it a Focus action the CR-90 can use it to link into that Coordinate.

2 hours ago, Rydiak said:

To your second point, the game normally only allows only one action or one linked action.

The rules don‘t say that at any point.

• During the Perform Action step of a ship’s activation, the ship may perform an action.

• Some ship and upgrade cards have a linked action bar which allows the ship to perform linked actions.

-Rules Reference, Page 3, Actions

LINKED ACTION
Linked actions allow a ship to perform an action after performing another action. Linked actions can appear on a ship or upgrade card in the linked action bar just to the right of the action bar. After the ship performs the action from its action bar, it can perform the attached action listed on the linked action bar.

-Rules Reference, Page 13, Linked Action

My argument is not that Calculate can't be linked from Coordinate (it can, from Comms Team). My argument is Coordinate was the result of linked action from Focus, and Focus does not share a link (granted by any card or game effect) with Calculate. Focus was chosen as the action, and because of the title Focus is linked to Coordinate. Had Coordinate been chosen as the action, then Calculate could be performed after it because it shares a link to Coordinate (Comms Team). But Coordinate wasn't chosen as the action, Focus was. Thus, Focus links to Coordinate. Calculate can still be taken as a separate action afterwards (the second action allowed to Huge Ships during activation), but not as a linked action with Focus because A) no link exists and B) you can't perform Coordinate a second time in the turn because it was performed as a linked action with Focus. Thus, you cannot go Focus to Coordinate to Coordinate to Calculate, nor Focus to Coordinate to Calculate (which doesn't exist as a linked action path).

Edited by Rydiak

The rules you quoted never restrict Linked actions to one. You are adding a restriction that is not written there.

Whenever you perform the first action you are allowed to add the linked one to the ability queue.
And this rule is stackable as often as you have a matching linked action.

6 minutes ago, Singulativ said:

The rules you quoted never restrict Linked actions to one. You are adding a restriction that is not written there.

Whenever you perform the first action you are allowed to add the linked one to the ability queue.
And this rule is stackable as often as you have a matching linked action.

Again, Coordinate is linked with Calculate and Focus is linked with Coordinate. Show me ANYWHERE on a card where the Focus (link) Coordinate (link) Calculate action exists. You can't, because it doesn't exist. Coordinate is performed as a linked action FROM Focus. Focus is THE action, Coordinate is just performed because of it. That ends the one action. You can then perform a second action that hasn't already been performed this turn and any action linked to it that also hasn't been performed this turn.

Linked Actions are explicitly defined. I don't need to add a restriction, because what a linked action constitutes is clear as day.

Edited by Rydiak
4 hours ago, Rydiak said:

Coordinate is performed as a linked action FROM Focus. Focus is THE action, Coordinate is just performed because of it. That ends the one action.

Which is the wrong part. The Coordinate action is still an action (!) and not "just performed because of it". And as an action it can still trigger effects such as linked actions.

A bit more detailed:

Quote

Linked actions allow a ship to perform an action after performing another action. Linked actions can appear on a ship or upgrade card in the linked action bar just to the right of the action bar.

The Action bar of the CR-90 equipped with Dodonna's Pride and Comms Team therefore contains the following:

Action Bar -> Linked Action Bar

Focus -> red Coordinate

Coordinate -> Calculate

With this the CR-90 is allowed to do:

Quote

After the ship performs the action from its action bar, it can perform the attached action listed on the linked action bar

If the CR-90 performs the Focus action it is allowed to add a red Coordinate action into the ability queue:

  1. Focus action
  2. red Coordinate action

There is also one clarification to the origin of the action:

Quote

A linked action can be performed after performing the action it is attached to even if that action was granted by a card effect or other game effect .

It therefore does not matter why I perform the Coordinate action or that it was added to the queue as a linked action.
The fact that I perform one allows me to trigger the linked Calculate action and add it to the queue:

  1. Focus action
  2. red Coordinate action
  3. Calculate

Obviously Coordinate is still an action, but it is still performed because it is linked to Focus, which is the action you took that lead to the linked action. That is not under any argument or dispute from me.

Again, for the third time, I am arguing that you performed a Coordinate that was LINKED to Focus. That is an action/linked action that is explicitly listed on a card. Similarly, there is a linked action that is composed of Calculate linked to Coordinate. However, you did not perform a Coordinate (link) Calculate, you performed a Focus (link) Coordinate. So again, show me anywhere on a card where the Focus (link) Coordinate (link) Calculate action exists.

I just found my first use of this last Wednesday myself.. Funny part was I kept trying to find one for a while and have up the search only to slap dash one together on a Transport by accident 😂

We ruled it works.

The game currently, has nothing to tell us otherwise.

I noted that the final action in the chain was always a calculate, which really isn't that much of a bonus anyway, so I figure for now it's actually part of the intent for the Huge ships to be able to get up to basically 5 actions for now (a 2-link and a 3-link) Also of note is the links usually have a coordinate involved and probably will maintain that going forward so what's really getting the benefit of one step in the three action chain is notable.

Add to the ongoing uses of this. In case yourselves hasn't caught this, turns out you can dock a Sheathipede to a CR90 to get one of those coordinate link triggers at the start of activation, if you bring the right title on the Corvette 😁

42 minutes ago, Rydiak said:

That is an action/linked action that is explicitly listed on a card. Similarly, there is a linked action that is composed of Calculate linked to Coordinate.

But that directly contradicts the rules:

Quote

A linked action can be performed after performing the action it is attached to even if that action was granted by a card effect or other game effect .

As mentioned before: Jake Farrell grants a Focus action which is according to the cited rule a trigger for a linked action attached to a Focus action even though you did not perform this specific Focus action on your action bar. Performing "the" Focus action is the trigger not "this Focus action on Dodonna's Pride".

Jake Farrell grants a Focus action to the CR90, which possesses an upgrade card that gives a Coordinate linked action to Focus. No argument there that this works. I fail to see how this interaction working still allows you to link a separate linked action off of another linked action. Focus (link) Coordinate and Coordinate (link) Calculate are still two separate linked actions.

On 2/1/2020 at 4:35 PM, Rydiak said:

I fail to see how this interaction working still allows you to link a separate linked action off of another linked action.

Because there is no distinction between them. That's the whole point of the rules clause "even if that action was granted by a card effect".

Did you get to take a Coordinate action, for whatever reason? Then you can link into the followup.

ANY TIME you perform a Coordinate action, you may follow up with Calculate. Any time, for whatever reason.

Edited by Hatemonger
spelling is hard
6 hours ago, ForceSensitive said:

I noted that the final action in the chain was always a calculate, which really isn't that much of a bonus anyway , so I figure for now it's actually part of the intent for the Huge ships to be able to get up to basically 5 actions for now (a 2-link and a 3-link) Also of note is the links usually have a coordinate involved and probably will maintain that going forward so what's really getting the benefit of one step in the three action chain is notable.

This. I don't know if it would become problematic should new upgrades be released that link to different combinations of actions. It might - it smells an awful lot like 1.0 com-bombo wing. For now, I really don't think it breaks anything, but FFG should probably take a look at this before releasing anything like, oh I don't know, a crew that grants Coordinate -> Jam (kind of like Suppressor for the Gozanti). I think it could get out of control in a hurry.

But maybe they intend to keep most huge ship linked actions as "link into calculate" or "link into coordinate." I don't know.

At worst, they could add a single line to the RRG and it would close off abuse for a at least a good while:

You can not link an action off of a red action.

I'm pretty sure that would work?

It's a really tough nut. Is there any chance to get an official ruling? This seems rather important.

58 minutes ago, Stefan said:

It's a really tough nut. Is there any chance to get an official ruling? This seems rather important.

I'm working on getting an official ruling. It won't be truly 'official' until it's published in the rules reference, but it's better than nothing.

7 hours ago, Stefan said:

It's a really tough nut. Is there any chance to get an official ruling? This seems rather important.

I mean... as Parikitor points out, it could be a problem, someday. But is it now? Because getting an extra couple specific actions for taking a specific set of upgrade cards doesn't seem all too game breaking at the moment.

🤨 As long as the CR-90 has the energy available (stress removes energy charges until the ship has no energy and only then do red actions or maneuvers apply stress tokens to the ship) this works. You're in effect spending one energy to do the double linked action in addition to any other costs involved.

I would say that you can only link one action per action. So, if you have 2 actions with a huge ship and you have 2 Linked actions, you could get 4 total. I would say you can't link a linked action to a linked action, but that's just me. I have zero rules to back up my assessment.