Welcome to SG Protocol. Today we will have a short and hopefully useful reference article about the difference between a Round, Turn and Activation. 1. Round
A Round is the combination of the Power Phase, Activation Phase and Clean Up phase.
Neither players nor characters have rounds. The game itself does. The game usually ends after it's sixth round is concluded unless a player has reached 16 VPs before that or the players are tied in VPs at the end of the sixth round. If 16 VPs are reached by only one player the game immediately ends and if the players tie at the end of the sixth round it will go on until there's one winner.
Rounds are marked and tracked on the score tracker.
Some abilities will be once per Round and some last for the rest of the round.
That means they can only be used a single time across all turns during the round (see below what a turn is).
Many players, including multiple content creators, have the unhelpful habit of calling rounds "Turn 1, Turn 2 etc." When they should call them rounds instead as a turn is a distinct different thing in this game.
2. Turns
Players have turns. Characters don't have turns.
The activation phase of a rounds has alternating turns between the two players. (Starting with the one who has priority)
During your turn you can:
Play Active Team Tactics Cards
Pass
Activate a character and thus start it's activation (see below).
Beware that you can play the TTC(s) before you chose a character to activate.
2.1 Leaderships that are: Once per Turn vs. Once per turn each character vs. non limited
A Day Unlike Any Other let's each allied character reduce the cost of the first superpower used that turn (regardless of whether it is your turn, or your opponents turn). It is a "Once per Turn per Character" leadership.
Defensive example:
Hulk gets targeted by an attack. Steve is in Range 2 and used his Bodyguard reactive superpower. It only costs him 1 power as 1 power is reduced by the leadership. Cable is in Range 3 to Steve and uses his Shields to increase the defensive dice by two. It only costs him 1 power instead of the usual 2 as it is the first superpower Cable uses this turn. Now Steve also uses the Vibranium Shield superpower. It costs the usual 2 power as it is not the first superpower he uses this turn.
Oscorp Weaponry is a "Once per Turn" leadership. That means it can be used on one attack action during a players turn. Assuming you play the Surprise, Webhead Team Tactics card at the start of your turn, before you activate a character and have three of your characters make attacks you can still only use it once and if you use it on one of these three attacks, the character you choose to activate later won't be able to use it as it is still the same turn.
If you have models that can attack during an enemy models turn, like Ultimate Spider-Man, you can use the leadership as your opponents turn is also a turn. But again only once.
Shadow War has no "once per turn" limitation. That means it can be used an unlimited time during either players turn as long as you meet the conditions for it.
3. Activations
Characters have activations. Players don't have activations.
As we've seen above during a players turn they can choose to activate a character. That starts that characters activation.
During a characters activation it can:
- make two actions
- use active superpowers
- use TTCs that say "Active: Action" (which then costs one of their actions) or specify that it has to be used during that characters activation
Guns Blazin' is a good example of an Active: Action TTC. It can be played to replace one of Iron Mongers actions with the attack on the card.
Mind Transfer is a card that doesn't cost an action but does require to be played during Emma Frost's Activation.
Do You Know Who I Am does not specify that it has to be played during Juggernauts activation so it can be played in any of your turns.
4. Reactive Superpowers
Reactive Superpowers can happen anytime their triggering event happened, but the wording of the superpower is important.
If the Reactive Superpower on a characters card says that it can only be used once per turn, it means it can't be used in the Power and or Clean Up phase as those aren't turns.
If a character would move during the Power or Clean Up phase (this can happen as part of the crisis for example) Heimdall would not be able to use his Forefend reactive superpower as it is once per turn.
If the Reactive Superpower doesn't have that limitation it can be used in the Power and or Clean Up phase.
Electro can use his Live Wire in the Power and Clean Up phase. It is not once per turn.
I hope this is helpful and can be used as a reference whenever the confusion about Rounds, Turns and Activations rises up again.
Thank you for reading and Cheers from Germany 🍻
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