Here is a fun (stupid and wish I'd never thought of it) question I came up with while watching a stream. One person thought it was one way, another thought another way. I figured I would throw it to the community as a whole.

Situation: Paige Tico drops a concussion bomb in a turn and doesn't reload i.e. concussion bomb now has an inactive charge. On the next turn if she drops a different device would she also have to drop a concussion bomb?

The concussion bomb says it must be dropped if able. Paige would still be able, given her ability, to drop a concussion even if she dropped a different device beforehand.

Does the MUST of concussion bombs override the MAY of Paige Tico?

Does the ability queue in the RR come into play and potentially negate the card requirement of "must... if able"?

I honestly don't know but I lean toward her having to drop a concussion bomb as well (if she didn't drop a second of the other device) because that is the simplest application of the rules in my opinion + cards supercede RR rules and all that.

Thoughts?

My personal take, is that the "if able" clause on Concussion Bombs covers standard drops only. If you are able to drop a bomb (i.e. haven not already dropped something), and are able to do so with the 1-straight template, you must do so. You are not , however, required to use replacement effects (such as a TIE Bomber's "curved" bombs, or trajectory simulator launches, or Finch Darrow's "placed-touching" ability) to fulfill this requirement.

On that note, since Paige Tico's ability is similarly fully optional, you are not required to use it to drop a concussion bomb.

I'm with @emeraldbeacon , Paige isn't forced to drop Conc with her ability. I think that the "drop if able" trigger on Concussion Bombs is a "once per opportunity" in the systems phase, and by dropping something else, the opportunity will have passed. It's strange in English usage to talk about an opportunity for a mandatory effect, but this isn't standard English, this is a semi-technical jargon.

"may" is never mandatory. it's always an option. now, i'm sure someone will argue that the "if able" on concussion bombs means the "may" is suddenly a "must", since the "may" does give you the option to drop a concussion bomb. that's not clearly stated in the rules though. what is clearly stated is that "may" means the ship has the option, but can also decline.

I had this one asked to me yesterday as well, and it took me a while to unpack it. My opinion (for whatever that's worth) is that the mandatory nature of concussion bombs requires you to resolve the concussion bomb ability if you are able to; however, it does not affect other abilities that are in the queue--only its own resolution. Therefore concussion bombs do not force you to use Paige's ability to drop a concussion bomb if you have not yet dropped one in the systems phase.