Skirmish Setup

 Each player brings up to 40 points worth of deployment cards (be sure to select the skirmish, not campaign,
versions of deployment cards, if there is a campaign or skirmish icon near the name of the deployment card)
o Maximum of 1 of each “unique” deployment card (cards with a bullet point next to the name of the card), 2 of each
elite (red) deployment card, and 4 of each regular (gray) deployment card
o “Skirmish upgrade” cards with a negative deployment cost allows the player to include more than the standard 40
points of deployment cards in the deck (for example, if a card has a -4 cost, the player can include 44 points worth of
deployment cards in their deck)
 Each player brings a deck of exactly 15 command cards, with a total cost of 15 or fewer points
o Command cards have an icon or dot next to the card’s cost. Each icon or dot represents how many copies of that
card can be included in the command deck (most cards only have one icon or dot).
 The player with the lowest total point cost of deployment cards chooses which player starts with the initiative token
(choose randomly in case of a tie)
 Players shuffle the entire skirmish mission deck and draw one card. That card is used as the skirmish mission to be
played, and the board is set up. The skirmish mission deck cannot be customized.
 The player with initiative chooses either the red or blue deployment zone, deploys their figures to that zone, and then
their opponent does the same in the other zone
o If a player cannot fit all of their figures in a deployment zone, they must fill as many spaces as possible, which may
require removing some figures and redeploying in a different order. If all the figures still cannot fit, the player deploys
the remaining figures in the spaces closest to the deployment zone.
 Each player draws 3 command cards, and the skirmish begins!

Skirmish Turns
 Activation phase
o Resolve any “start of a round” abilities, including on the skirmish mission card
o The player with initiative activates 1 deployment group, and then the other player activates 1 deployment group, then
the player with initiative, etc.
o If a player has fewer ready deployment cards than their opponent, that player can choose to pass (if a player passes,
their opponent will activate 1 deployment group like normal, then the player who passed last time may pass again if
their opponent still has fewer ready deployment cards, etc.)
o There is no hand limit for command cards, no limit to the number of command cards that can be played per turn, and
command cards can be played at any time (even during the opponent’s turn)
o A player cannot play multiple copies of the same command card at the same time
o If multiple effects resolve at the same time, the player with initiative decides the order of resolution
o Once all deployment cards are exhausted, players proceed to the status phase
 Status phase
o Ready exhausted deployment cards
o Draw 1 command card, plus 1 additional card for each terminal the player controls (a player controls a terminal if the
player is the only player who has a figure on or adjacent to a terminal). If there are no command cards in the deck,
the player does not draw any additional command cards.
o Resolve any “end of round” effects, including on the skirmish mission card
o Pass initiative to the other player and proceed to the activation phase

Skirmish Win Conditions

 When a figure is defeated, the opposing player immediately scores victory points (VPs) equal to that figure’s figure cost
 Don’t score extra points once all figures of a deployment card are defeated, but do score the points of any “attachment”
cards attached to the deployment card (if the attachment has a negative deployment cost, reduce the VP score by that
negative number)
 As soon as 1 player accumulates 40 or more VPs, the player with the most VPs immediately wins
 Ties: The player with the most VPs from defeating hostile figures wins. If still a tie, count the number of damage tokens
on players’ remaining figures, then add the health value of any defeated figures corresponding to deployment cards still
in their play area, and the player with the lowest total damage tokens and health wins. If still a tie, roll a dice.
 Players may also immediately win by defeating all of a player’s figures

Skirmish Differences
 Attachments: When deploying units during skirmish setup, if a player has 1 or more attachment cards, place up to 1
attachment card on each non-upgrade deployment card (some attachment cards can only be placed on certain types of
deployment cards, such as “trooper” cards)
 Attacking: Only 1 of the 2 actions a figure receives may be to attack, including “special actions” (actions with an
“action” icon) that involve performing one or more attacks, but “abilities” (text on a card without an “action icon”) that
cause damage are the exception
 Crate tokens: Figures do not draw supply cards from crate tokens
 Skirmish upgrade trait: Rules and abilities that reference “deployment cards” do not affect, include, or manipulate
“skirmish upgrade” cards unless stated otherwise (for example, a card that exhausts a deployment card cannot exhaust
a card with the skirmish upgrade trait)
 Strain: If a figure suffers any amount of strain, they suffer that amount of damage instead, or may discard 1 command
card from the top of the command deck to prevent 1 damage (may discard multiple cards to prevent multiple damage).
Figures cannot recover strain in a skirmish.
 Rest: Figures cannot rest in a skirmish

Four Player Skirmish

 Choose either “free for all” (game ends when 40 VPs reached, or all other players’ figures are defeated), or “team
battle” (team members sit across from each other, not next to each other, and game ends when a team reaches 60
VPs, or all of the other team’s figures are defeated)
 Build the skirmish mission deck with only special four player skirmish missions
 When deploying units, the player with initiative deploys first to any available deployment zone, and then proceed in
clockwise player order
 During the activation phase, the player with initiative goes first, and then proceed in clockwise player order
 Pass the initiative token every round clockwise
 If an ability allows a player to “claim” the initiative token out of turn, that player receives the first activation on that turn,
but does not claim the initiative token. If multiple players claim the initiative token out of turn, they all get first activations
that turn, going in order of initiative.
 If all of a player’s figures are defeated, that player is eliminated, they cannot play cards, and their skirmish upgrade
cards no longer have any effect
 If more than 1 player included the “Devious Scheme” skirmish upgrade card in their army, then all copies of “Devious
Scheme” have no effect
 Timing conflicts: Mission rules resolve first, then player with initiative, then clockwise order. “Team battle” attack timing
conflicts: mission rules resolve first, then effects from the attacker and attacker’s figures, then effects from the defender
and their figures, then the attacker’s teammate, and then the defender’s teammate.