Vanguard: Normandy is LIVE and fully funded on Kickstarter! As we push towards the awesome stretch goals, we’re also giving you the ‘inside scoop’ on how the game works – today we’ll cover the Activation Phase!
Last time we explained how Vanguard: Normandy is split into three main phases. The Activation Phase is the second of the three, and as the name suggests covers the period of the game where you get your units to do things! What kind of things, you ask? Well, a unit can…
MOVE – Exactly what it says on the tin – the unit moves across the board! Naturally, different unit types have different movement rates. You can use this to move units around the board, and onto the board once you’ve recruited them.
RALLY – Got a unit that’s pinned? Just like in Bolt Action, get them to Rally and lose those pin markers! Units are far more effective when not pinned, so this is a crucial action once the action heats up in Vanguard: Normandy.
WITHDRAW – Run away! Sometimes discretion is the better part of valour, and you just need to get a badly damaged unit out of dodge. WITHDRAW takes them off the board and out of the game! This can be very useful, as it allows you to free up a space for a new unit to take their place, fresh to the fight.
ATTACK – Get stuck in and engage the enemy! Every unit has its own unique attack profile and statistics listed on its card, based on the weapons it can bring to bear. This is your primary method of destroying enemy units.
ABILITY ACTION – Many units have special abilities listed on their cards that can be used in the Activation Phase. Usually, these will help aid friendly units… but not always! In addition, some are considered ‘innate abilities’, and don’t require an action to work.
All of these actions require Action Points to use – you can see how many Action Points a unit has, and how many points each action costs, on its card!
There’s also one other thing you can do in the Activation Phase, and it doesn’t use Action Points. These are called…
COMMAND ACTIONS – These cost Command tokens (denoted by a yellow symbol) as well as other resources and can have a powerful impact on a unit’s performance and abilities – a unit can only use or be affected by each Command Action once per Activation Phase. You only have three Command Points per turn – so use them wisely!
As we move towards the launch of Vanguard: Normandy, we’ll see in more depth what many of these actions do, and how they can impact the action on the board!
Vanguard: Normandy is live on Kickstarter until 22nd November! Don’t miss your chance to pledge!
Vanguard: Normandy was fully funded on Kickstarter in just 90 minutes, and backers have already unlocked a series of fantastic stretch goals. Your pledge will guarantee you all the Kickstarter-exclusive content, and all unlocked stretch goals – for the most definitive version of the game possible.
