The Round Sequence
Chapter 2
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In this section we will introduce the sequence of Phases that make up a round and set up the flow and rhythm of the game.
To keep events moving cleanly, we split the battle itself down into a series of Rounds, each of which is further divided into a series of Phases. Both you and your opponent act in each Phase, harnessing every ounce of wit and guile in an attempt to seize the advantage for your stalwart troops.
When a Round starts, play proceeds through its Phases, and you must complete each one before beginning the next. Once all Phases are complete, so is that Round, and another Round begins. This process continues until the number of Rounds given in the Scenario are complete, or either you or your opponent has fulfilled the respective Scenario's Victory Conditions, or has conceded.
Round Summary
I) Reinforcement Phase
- Both Players Roll for Reinforcements, i.e., those Regiments and Characters that have been chosen from the player's collection to participate in the battle but have not yet entered the field.
- Any Reinforcements due to arrive are placed to one side and will March onto the Battlefield during the Action Phase. Each Player will be aware of all the Regiments arriving on any given turn and can plan the next step accordingly.
II) Command Phase
- Both Players assemble their Command Stacks simultaneously, arranging their Regiments' and Characters' Command Cards in order to determine the order of play in later Phases.
III) Supremacy Phase
- Both Players Roll Off to determine who is going to be the First Player, i.e., the player who will Activate their Command Stack first, or Activate their Supremacy Abilities.
IV) Action Phase
- Starting with the First Player, the Players take turns Activating a Regiment or Character corresponding to the top Command Card of their Command Stacks, acting with each Regiment and Character in turn until both Command Stacks are empty.
V) Victory Phase
- Check the Scenario's Victory Conditions to see if either Player has won.
- If neither Player has won, a new Round begins.
I) Reinforcement Phase
Regiments are not deployed at the start of the game. Instead, they arrive as Reinforcements as play progresses.
Before the first Reinforcement Phase of the Battle begins, place each Character into an eligible Regiment in their own Warband. A Regiment is eligible if it shares the same Type with the Character.
From there, during each Reinforcement Phase, group your Regiments set aside as Reinforcements by their Class. You may then select a single Regiment that is able to arrive from Reinforcements this Round, immediately
reveal it to your Opponent, and have it count as having automatically arrived from Reinforcements, or have it remain in Reinforcements.
This Regiment can belong to any Class that is allowed to arrive from Reinforcements this Round but must arrive from Reinforcements the Round its Class is required to enter the Battlefield automatically.
Then, proceed to roll a die for each Regiment in each Class that is to arrive this Round as shown in the Reinforcement table. Do not Roll a die for the Regiment you selected to automatically arrive or remain in Reinforcements. Characters do not Roll separately and adopt the Class of the Regiment they are currently attached to. This is the Reinforcement Roll.
For every successful Roll per Class, you select which Regiment of that Class will be arriving from Reinforcements and immediately reveal it to your Opponent. The rolls required are shown below:
Reinforcement Table
| Round | Required Roll |
|---|---|
| Round One | Light Regiments arrive on a roll of "4" or less. |
| Round Two | Light Regiments arrive on a roll of "4" or less. Medium Regiments arrive on a roll of "2" or less. |
| Round Three | Remaining Light Regiments arrive automatically. Medium Regiments arrive on a roll of "4" or less. Heavy Regiments arrive on a roll of "2" or less but may only enter the Battlefield from the Player's Reinforcement Zone this Round. |
| Round Four | Remaining Medium Regiments arrive automatically. Heavy Regiments arrive on a roll of "4" or less. |
| Round Five | Remaining Heavy Regiments arrive automatically. |
Reveal any Regiments that are selected to arrive this Round to your Opponent and place them to one side. They March onto the Battlefield during the Action Phase (see page 31).
II) Command Phase
At the start of the Command Phase, take all of the Command Cards for your surviving Regiments on the Battlefield, and any Command Cards for Regiments arriving as Reinforcements this Round, and arrange them in a face-down Command Stack. You should arrange your Command Stack carefully, placing the Regiment you want to act first right at the top, the Regiment you want to act last at the bottom, and the remainder organized in between. At this point, make sure that Command Cards in your Command Stack correlate to the Regiments that are currently in play. You may need to remove Command Cards belonging to Regiments or Characters that have been destroyed earlier in battle.
You may want to give some thought to how your opponent is organizing their Command Stack, as the sequence in which you activate Regiments and Characters Stands can bring huge advantages in the right circumstances. You may look at your Command Stack at any point during the Round, but you are not allowed to reorder it unless a rule instructs you to do so.
III) Supremacy Phase
Now it is time to see who is going to seize the initiative and strike the first blow!
You and your opponent Roll Off. The Player whose Command Stack has the fewest Command Cards may subtract one from the score shown on the die after it has been rolled to a minimum of 0 and a maximum of 7.
The Player with the lowest score (after any modifiers have been applied) chooses whether to be the First Player this Round.
If the die Roll is tied (after any modifiers have been applied), you and your Opponent keep Re-Rolling until there is a clear winner.
Supremacy Abilities
When constructing your Army List, choose one of your Characters to be your Warlord, this Character's Supremacy Ability will be available during the battle. Supremacy Abilities are powerful Warlord specific Special Rules that may well turn the tide of the battle and can spell the difference between victory and defeat!
There are three types of Supremacy Abilities. Supremacy Abilities are always considered to be active regardless of whether the Character is currently on the Battlefield, in Reinforcements or having been destroyed.
Supremacy Abilities are considered to be active while the Character is currently on the Battlefield.
Finally, Supremacy Abilities can only be used once per Battle and requires the Character to currently be on the Battlefield. Once Activated the effects last until the end of the Round regardless if the Character has been removed from the Battlefield in the meantime.
Supremacy Abilities are Activated in the Supremacy Phase as follows:
Once the First Player has been determined, the First Player declares if they are going to Activate their Supremacy Ability. Regardless of whether the First Player chooses to Activate a Supremacy Ability, the second Player then declares if they are going to use a Supremacy Ability.
IV) Action Phase
The Action Phase is where the majority of the Action of the battle takes place. Regiments march and march again, charge into melee, or fire volleys at distant foes. As a result, the Action Phase is also usually the longest and most exciting Phase of the game, and needs breaking down into more detail than the others.
Order of Play
The First Player draws the top card of their Command Stack and performs Actions with that Regiment or Character. Once the Regiment's or Character's Actions are complete, the second Player draws the top Card of their Command Stack and performs Actions with that Regiment or Character.
Performing Actions
When it is your turn to perform Actions with a Regiment or Character, follow the sequence of steps shown below:
1) Draw Command Card
Draw the top Card from your Command Stack and reveal it to your opponent. Then indicate which Regiment or Character on the battlefield you wish to Activate with it. In order to select a Regiment or Character to Activate, the Army List Entry name on the Command Card must correlate with the Regiment or Character you wish to Activate. Furthermore, the Regiment or Command Card you wish to Activate cannot have been Activated before during the same Round. A Command Card may only Activate a single Regiment unless stated otherwise by a Special Rule.
If you are not able to Activate any Regiments or Characters either because they have been destroyed previously in battle or because they all have been Activated previously in the Round, discard the Command Card, and draw the next Command Card as replacement. If there are no Cards remaining in your Command Stack, play passes to your opponent.
Example: A Nord Player draws a Raiders Command Card and reveals it to their opponent. Currently there are three Raiders Regiments on the battlefield, none of which have been Activated previously in the Round. The Nord Player is
free to choose any one of the three Regiments and Activate it.
Example: A Spires Player draws a Stryx Command Card and reveals it to their opponent. Currently there are three Stryx Regiments on the battlefield, all of which have already been Activated previously in the Round. This Command Card was meant to Activate a fourth Stryx Regiment that was destroyed earlier, before the Spires Player drew the last Stryx Command Card. The three remaining Stryx Regiments have already been Activated this Round and therefore cannot be Activated again. Since there is no other Stryx Regiment to Activate, the Spire Player must discard the Command Card and draw the next.
2) Resolve Draw Event
If the Regiment or Character's Command Card you have just drawn has one or more Draw Events, select one to resolve now. Draw Events are effects, similar to Special Rules, that are triggered the moment a Regiment or Character is Activated following the draw of its respective Command Card. You are free to choose whether a Regiment under your control will activate its Draw Event, unless a Special Rule or the Draw Event itself makes its use mandatory.
Multiple Draw Events
If a Regiment or Character has more than one Draw Event (as the result of a Spell or a Character's Special Rule, for example), you choose one of them to resolve. Should there be an instance in which a Special Rule or ability allows you to use multiple Draw Events, then the Active Player chooses the order in which they activate, fully resolving one before moving onto the next.
Not on the Battlefield
If the Regiment or Character Activated is not currently present on the Battlefield (normally because it is arriving as Reinforcements this Round), its Draw Event is not resolved unless stated otherwise. Some Draw Events – normally those used by some Characters – grant the opportunity to enter the Battlefield and are an exception to this rule.
3) Take First Action
Assuming the Regiment survives its Draw Event (you never know!), it now takes its first Action. Choose one of the Actions from the Action list (see page 24) and follow the rules provided. Note that a Regiment that has arrived as Reinforcements must choose a March Action as its first Action in the Round when it comes onto the battlefield and cannot Charge during that Round.
4) Take Second Action
Once the Regiment's first Action is complete, it immediately takes a Second Action. A Regiment may not repeat an Action it took earlier in the same Round (i.e., a Regiment must take two different Actions each Activation) except for March Actions. A number of Special Rules and abilities can allow a Regiment to perform more than the standard two Actions per Activation. The timing and limitations of any of these extra Actions will be described in detail in the Special Rule or Draw Events that allow them.
5) Deactivate Regiment
Once the Regiment has taken two Actions, its Activation ends. Place the Command Card near the Regiment or Character it was used to Activate to remind you it has been activated this Round. Play then passes to your opponent. A Regiment that has been Activated cannot be Activated again in the same Round.
"Until End of Round" Draw Events
If a Regiment is granted a Characteristic bonus or Special Rule "until the End of the Round" as the result of a Draw Event on its Command Card, place an appropriate token beside the Regiment as a reminder. Remove the token when the effect is lost at the end of the Round.
Unable to Act
If, for whatever reason, your Regiment or Character cannot Act, simply skip the Action Phase and let play pass to the next Player. A Regiment or Character that forfeits its Actions, counts as having Activated but not having performed or attempted to perform any Actions. Resolve any relevant Draw Events and Special Rules that would be activated before the "Take First Action" step, and then Deactivate the Regiment or Character.
The Action List
For ease of reference, they are split into In-Combat Actions and Out-of-Combat Actions. Out-of-Combat Actions can only be used if the Regiment is not in base-to-base contact with an enemy Regiment. Combat Actions can only be used if the Regiment is in base contact with an enemy Regiment.
Out of Combat Actions
(see page 28)
March
Choose a March Action if you want your Regiment to move around the Battlefield. March is the only Action that can be performed more than once in an Activation.
Charge
Use a Charge Action if you want your Regiment to move into contact with an enemy to attack them in close combat.
Rally
A Rally Action restores your Regiment's morale. You may have your Regiment take a Rally Action only if it is Broken.
Reform
Use a Reform Action if you want your Regiment to alter its number of Ranks and Files or to turn to face a new direction.
Take Aim
Use a Take Aim Action to give your Regiment a bonus to its next Volley Action this Activation.
Volley
A Volley Action is used to allow your Regiment to shoot at an enemy.
Pass
Pass does not count as an Action but simply represents ones unwillingness to perform one.
In-Combat Actions
(see page 44)
Clash
Use a Clash Action if your Regiment is in base contact with one or more enemies, and you wish to strike blows against those enemies.
Combat Rally
A Regiment will want to attempt a Combat Rally if it is Broken, in order to minimize the chance of it fleeing the battle.
Combat Reform
Use a Combat Reform Action if you want your Regiment to alter its number of Ranks and Files and bring greater numbers to bear on an enemy in base contact.
Inspire
An Inspire Action can be used to give your Regiment a bonus to its next Clash Action this Activation.
Withdraw
A Withdraw Action is used when you want your Regiment to disengage from close combat with enemy Regiments.
Pass
Pass does not count as an Action but simply represents ones unwillingness to perform one
'Free' and 'Additional' Actions
Some Special Rules, Draw Events and other abilities will allow a Regiment to perform 'free' and/or 'additional' Actions.
A 'free' Action allows a Regiment to perform the respective Action for free during its Activation without needing to use one of its two Actions. However, this does not allow you to perform that same Action again in the same Activation if you would not normally be able to.
E.g. A free Clash Action would not allow you to then spend another Action and perform a second Clash.
An 'additional' Action allows a Regiment to perform the respective Action an additional number of times, as per the effect, using one of its Actions.
E.g. A Regiment performing an 'additional' Clash Action could then spend another Action to Clash again.
Regardless of Free and/or Additional Actions a Regiment can never perform more than 3 Actions in total during its Activation regardless of however many Free or Additional actions it may have access to.
Out-of-Sequence Actions
Some Special Rules, Draw Events and other abilities will allow a Regiment to perform Out-of-Sequence Actions.
These Actions are often performed outside of a Regiment's Activation and do not count towards the 3 Action limit. In addition performing an Outof-Sequence Action does not cause the Regiment to count as having Activated unless otherwise stated.
V) Victory Phase
With the Action Phase completed, it is time to see whether you or your opponent has won. If your opponent has conceded, or has had their Army wiped out, then you are the victor! Otherwise, the victory conditions for each battle are determined in the Scenario you are playing, and you will need to consult the Victory Conditions section of the Scenario you're playing to determine who (if anyone) has won at this point.
If neither Player has won the game, a new Round begins starting from the Reinforcement Phase until there is a clear victor, or the Scenario ends.
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