Today we will take an in-depth look at the most complex and important rule in MCP: the attack timing chart. We will go through all the 14 steps one by one and add examples of what happens at each step. (Klick on each image to enlarge it if necessary).
This part is pretty easy you choose one of the attacks on the characters stat card that it has enough power to use. Importantly you don't pay the power yet.
Steps a, b and c will realistically not happen a lot because you will have pre measured if your desired target is in range before committing to an attack most of the times. Where it is important though is when attacking with a Beam or an area attack and getting interrupted during resolving it by something like a Heroes for Hire. Because even if your character gets displaced before all attacks are resolved you don't check Range and LOS again.
Some effects like the TTC Eye in the Sky or the Lifesaver superpower on Ghost-Spider specifically call out, that Range and LOS have to be checked again after the effect is resolved. Only then do you have to do it.
At this step you also play any superpowers that add dice to the attack roll and any reactive superpowers that trigger of a character being targeted. Cables Shields or Crimson Dynamos Disruption Field are examples for reactive superpowers for the Defender here, while Baron Mordos Ferocity of Cyttorak is one for the Attacker.
Importantly this is also the step where Bodyguard (for example found on Captain America) or "Taunt" (superpowers that work like Bodyguard, but the character has to be in Range 2 to the Attacker not the targeted model, like Gorgon's "You will have to deal with me first") superpowers have to be used.
Step 3 is very straight forward. It also shows that, if an attack is interrupted by Eye in the Sky (or similar effects) and you're no longer in range and LOS (unless you targeted multiple characters with the attack) you also don't spent the power for the interrupted attack.
Step 4 is again pretty straightforward. Your stat card tells you how many dice your attack has at base and then you apply effects that add or remove dice like the aforementioned but also the Shock special condition and Shockers If the Ground is Rocking innate superpower.
In step 5 the Defender creates it's dice pool according to it's defensive profile and adds or removes dice with reactive superpowers (which have been used Step 2d), Incinerate and Honey Badgers Ankle Biter innate superpower. An important part here is the second sentence of Step 5b, which states that the defenders dice pool can never be reduced to fewer than one die.
Per the rules the attack and defense rolls are not simultaneously. This is important if the Attacker is Malekith, Domino or under the leadership of Red Skull, Master of the World as their abilities have to be used after the initial attack roll, before seeing the Defenders dice.
As long as none of these effects are involved in your attack it's fine to roll simultaneously as it speeds up the process.
Really nothing to add here.
Officially these are once again not done simultaneously but even with the treat a Skull (failure) as a crit rules it doesn't really make a difference here.
Step 9 is more complicated but if you just follow it from a.i to b.ii everything should be quite clear.
9a is pretty easy to understand: if you have a rule that lets you reroll one or more dice you do it now, starting with the Attacker. Importantly you can reroll the same die an infinite number of times as long as you have different sources of rerolls. For example Baron Zemo who used Master Swordsman, which allows him to reroll any dice in his attack role, can still reroll one of those dice (even if it has been rerolled already) with his Strategic Genius superpower. What also happens in this step are effects that change a die face for a specific trigger like Gamoras innate superpower Deadliest Woman in the Galaxy or the Advanced Idea Mechanics leadership on MODOK, Scientist Supreme. A typical defensive one here is cover.
9b is for effects that change a dice in the roll of your opponent. First the Attacker modifies the defenders roll. The most common example of that is the Pierce special rule, for example found on X-23, or Green Goblins Oscorp Weaponry leadership. The last step 9bii here is for modifying the attackers dice. There's currently three characters that have this ability: Amazing Spider-Man, Maximus the Mad and Crimson Dynamo. The last one has to commit to it when targeting as seen before whereas ASM and Maximus can wait until this step to use their superpowers.
Now there as effects like Recalibration Matrix and the Time Gem, that lets either one or both player reroll all of their dice at the end of the Modify Dice Step. So any dice that have been added (through crits and/or other effects) are rerolled, too. This will not include Skull (failure) results unless the character has a rule that allows it to reroll those.
Another important distinction here is reroll "all" vs. Reroll "any". For the first it's all or none. No picking of success to keep. The later allows exactly that. Keep any dice you like to stay the way they are and reroll any number of the remaining dice.
I don't think this step is all that complicated. Subtract the defenders successes from the attackers and what remains is your damage that will be dealt (at a later step).
Some attacks, like Abominations Spender, have an effect that occurs before damage is dealt. At the top of my head the TTC Fall Back is the only example for a Defenders effect happening in this step.
Basically exactly what it says. Importantly the Attacker doesn't gain any power yet.
There's a lot of effects that will happen in either Step 14a or 14b. Most of the Conditions, Pushes and Throws will happen after the attack is resolved for example. And many reactive superpowers that a defending character can use will also be in this step. Prominent examples are Winter Soldiers Got your Back and Bullseye's Parting Shot.
And that's all for the attack timing chart. It takes some getting used to but if you follow it step by step it will quickly become second nature.
Let me know about any additional questions and if I got something wrong of course!
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Cheers from Germany 🍻
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