Arena Rex Forums

Dictate allows sulla to use maneuver (tactic) and exploit (tactic) at the cost of fatigue instead of favor. Maneuver was the second one I was referring to.

Gotcha. That's true, obviously.

But if that limitation (only only being usable during a clear turn) was a hard one, how would Dictate work? Do you think Dictate would make the affected models use the indicated tactic during their next clear turn? I.e. at some point in the future, rather than right now?

If not, then Dictate cannot be used at all, if you are right. Then Sulla would try and use Dictate, tell another model to Maneuver, and that model goes "I cannot, because it is not a clear turn", and then Sulla wasted his breath.

Because Dictate cannot be used itself during a clear turn, since it is not a tactic.

Unless you think that it is simply implied that Dictate is an ability that only works during clear turns, because it refers to tactics, rather than an ability that works during Sulla's activation. I can see how you could read it like that. The main reason I think that's not how it is is that Exploit refers to being used during an activation.

Is confusing. We need to talk it through.

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Oooo I didnt catch that exploit could be used during a clear turn OR activation. That does change everything.

I think Dictate is an ability that allows alternate payment for tactics. That's all really. Instead of spending favor during a clear turn, you can spend fatigue on Sulla.

If thats all it was then why the inclusion of "clearn turn OR activation" ?

I originally thought the same thing reece but that wording changes things a bit.

Yep yep...

So... maybe it's JUST an action ability and not a alternate method of payment during a clear turn.

...or both. Hell... I dunno. I'm good with whatever on this one. It's unclear to me.

I think it's just an action ability, personally, and that the idea behind the ability is to be uniquely able to use tactics outside of a clear turn. But you're right that it doesn't say either way, it has to be inferred from context.

It's not one of the two things that you can normally only do as your action (move or attack). How many alternate action abilities are there, I wonder? I'm thinking of Anum's Alpha as the other example I can think of, and the point of it is the same - exhaust model A during its activation (I assume at least) to make model B do something instead.

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I was just gonna bring up Anum haha

That's the one thing making me somewhat lean towards Dictate being used outside of a clear turn

The way I read it, Dictate is not a Tactics itself (Tactics specifically say so), so it can't be used during a clear turn. It is also not a Reaction (Reactions also specifically are labeled so), it is not a Passive ability since it has a cost. So the only way it makes sense to me is that it is an ability available to Sulla when he is activated. He takes the fatigue and as a General, dictates another model to take a specific Tactic (Maneuver or Exploit).

Now, Exploit clearly states it can only be done once per clear turn or activation... but in the rulebook under Tactics (PDF, pg 15) it says Tactics can only be used during a clear turn and it makes no concession for special abilities. So how does Sulla use Maneuver during his turn? We either go with a) the often used rule in other games that when a card conflicts with the rule book, we go with what the card says. Or b) Sulla can only use Dictate to activate Maneuver when he is Last Model standing... but that makes no sense because then there is no one to use Maneuver on.
So I tend to go with a). If we go with that interpretation though, then Maneuver simply says that it can only be done once per model on a clear turn... there is no limit on its use during an activation (as written) so you could theoretically fatigue and then exhaust Sulla to have a model Maneuver twice.

Furthermore, as written you could technically use Dictar to activate Exploit on an Exhausted model, since the way it is written it simply says to resolve a ... but you could not use it to activate Maneuver on an Exhausted model since that would make the mode take a Move Action and the rulebook (PDF, pg 4) says that an Exhausted model may not take an Action.

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Yep, I agree with pretty much everything here at the end... except that I have a feeling that exhausted models won't be able to Exploit either. It doesn't say that technically anywhere, but we had a long thread with RRG input about Zephyri abilities, and from that, my impression was we ended up agreeing that exhausted models should basically be able to do nothing whatsoever other than wait for a clear turn. So I feel like the intent with Exploit is most likely that exhausted models also cannot do it, even though it isn't explicitly forbidden as it stands.

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