"Supporting unit" and retreat questions

By mask5, in StarCraft

Hiya. I was just wondering what to make of the Zerg reinforcement card that sais "Gain +1 attack if you have at least one supporting unit in this skirmish". We've come across some wierd situations while playing that are really, really counter-intuitive. For example:

Does the Zerg player get the +1 attack bonus if the unit supporting is an assist unit, like a queen, even if the unit doesn't acctually give any support bonus?

Does the Zerg player get the +1 attack bunis if the unit supporting is unable to attack the opposing front-line unit, like a Zergling supporting a Scourge against a Wraith? Again, the scourge would get no "natrual" support bonus.

In both of these examples it'd seem a bit wierd if the card worked, but I wondered I can't find anything in the rules saying that they don't.

Also; If I have a fight between two Wraiths, and they both destroy one another and one uses cloaking, what happens? Is the area in which the battle was fought left empty, or can I retreat into it since it's now empty?

Thanks a mil!

Mask said:

Hiya. I was just wondering what to make of the Zerg reinforcement card that sais "Gain +1 attack if you have at least one supporting unit in this skirmish". We've come across some wierd situations while playing that are really, really counter-intuitive. For example:

Does the Zerg player get the +1 attack bonus if the unit supporting is an assist unit, like a queen, even if the unit doesn't acctually give any support bonus?

Does the Zerg player get the +1 attack bunis if the unit supporting is unable to attack the opposing front-line unit, like a Zergling supporting a Scourge against a Wraith? Again, the scourge would get no "natrual" support bonus.

In both of these examples it'd seem a bit wierd if the card worked, but I wondered I can't find anything in the rules saying that they don't.

Also; If I have a fight between two Wraiths, and they both destroy one another and one uses cloaking, what happens? Is the area in which the battle was fought left empty, or can I retreat into it since it's now empty?

Thanks a mil!

The way we play at my place, we accept the +1 bonus even if the supporting does not have the necessary attack capability (therefore includes assist units). The game stays balanced, I think, and is a very good zerg card indeed. In the case where you need one SU to have the appropriate attack capability, the card would considerably loose it's usefulness.

I agree it seems anti-logic at first sight but see it as a zerg tendancy to strike harder when they feel backed up (by anybody)

In your other case, I believe the cloaked wraith is obliged to withdraw (according to the cloaking rule) and the contested area becomes empty. Notice if one party had an assist unit, that one would have gain/held control of that area.

The card counts even with supporting units, so it is the more the reason to build up queens (and these units are really worth their gas!).

Cloaking doesn't make your units invicible. You just can make a choice: to destroy your unit or to withdraw.

cyb3k said:

Cloaking doesn't make your units invicible. You just can make a choice: to destroy your unit or to withdraw.

I didn't know you could choose to destroy your unit !?

So if your wraith is vs a scout and a dark archon, you cloak and he mind controls you and he has enough strength to make you withdraw, you could choose to destroy it instead of letting him be mind controlled!

cool cool.gif

You can't choose to destroy units during battle, check rulebook page 22 (sidebar) "During the active player's turn. except during a battle , he may voluntarily destroy his own units, bases, and transports."

But if the scout has enough attack value to destroy the cloaked wraith than this wraith may be chosen not to use cloaking and die instead of being mind controled. Cloaking gives you an option to withdraw a unit not an obligation to withdraw. This works also against splash damage, usually it is beter to let a cloaked ghost die by the splash damage than for example a siege tank.

cloaking is a may, but it is either let the unit die or withdraw, not let the unit stick around until it is time to resolve splash damage. There really isn't a way to save anything from splash by not withdrawing. It also doesn't change the outcome of mind control either, if there is sufficient strength to force the cloaked unit to withdraw then mind control can't steal the unit because it is no longer in the contested area/battle.