Advanced Combat Damage Assignment

Sum the current Might of your participating units that are not stunned (stunned units contribute no combat damage). An attacker with base Might 3 and Assault 2 contributes 5. A defending unit with base Might 2 and Shield 1 contributes 3. Negative Might contributes 0. Starting with the attacker, assign each side’s total to the opposing units.

Lethal damage needs at least 1 damage, even for a 0 Might unit. Existing marked damage - the damage already on that unit - counts. An undamaged 4 Might unit needs 4; with 1 already marked, it needs 3. Fully assign lethal damage before moving on, and do not assign excess while another unit still needs lethal assigned.

Tank units must receive lethal damage before the same player’s non-Tank units. You choose the order within the Tank group, but still finish one before moving to another.

Example - Two Tanks You have 6 damage. The defender has undamaged Tanks with 2 and 3 Might, plus an ordinary 4 Might unit. Assign 2 to the first Tank, 3 to the second, then the remaining 1 to the ordinary unit. Alternatively put 3 into the second Tank first. You cannot assign 1 to each Tank and send 4 to the ordinary unit.

Backline units wait until the same player’s non-Backline units have lethal assigned. Choose freely among units sharing that last place in the order.

Example - Two Backline units You have 6 damage against an undamaged ordinary 3 Might unit and two 2 Might Backline units. First assign 3 to the ordinary unit, then 2 to either Backline unit, then 1 to the other. Duplicate Tank or Backline on a single unit adds no extra requirement to go first or last. By contrast, multiple Assault or Shield values add together and can change the amount needed.

If one unit has assignment requirements that cannot both be followed, the assigning player chooses which requirement to apply to that unit. A unit with Tank and Backline can be treated as first or last, not placed in the middle while satisfying neither.

Example - Two conflicting units Two units each have Tank and Backline, alongside an ordinary unit. Choose Tank for both: assign to the two first, in either order, before the ordinary unit. Or choose Tank for one and Backline for the other: first unit → ordinary unit → last unit. Make the choice separately for each conflicting unit; it is not one cancellation of those keywords for every unit.

Replacement effects change what would happen, such as doubling damage or preventing it. Damage replacements apply during assignment, rather than again when the resulting damage is dealt. A 2 Might unit that prevents the first 3 damage this combat needs an assignment of 5 to produce lethal damage. If damage is doubled instead, an undamaged 3 Might unit needs an assignment of 2, producing 4 damage. While other units still await lethal, 3 assigned before doubling would be unnecessary excess.

When several replacements apply, use their legal ordering. In the FAQ’s Ki Barrier plus Lotus Trap case, a 4 Might unit receives the opposing 4 damage. Ki Barrier prevents the next 7; Lotus Trap doubles damage. Prevention first removes all 4, leaving 0 to double and 3 prevention remaining. Doubling first makes 8; prevention removes 7, leaving 1 damage and no prevention remaining. The affected unit’s controller (the player making decisions for it) chooses the replacement order. Do not perform the replacements again afterward.

A 0 Might Tank with no marked damage still needs 1 damage assigned before you can reach an ordinary unit. Zero contribution to its own side’s total does not remove its place in the opponent’s assignment order.

A unit that cannot be dealt damage is exempt from mandatory lethal assignment. A unit whose next damage is entirely prevented is different: it can still receive an assignment, but none of that damage becomes lethal through that prevention effect. Do not skip it as if it had a prohibition on taking damage. Once assignments are complete, both sides deal the resulting damage simultaneously; dealing first because you assigned first is not allowed.