EW Activation

We've never required an action for EW to be activated. If a unit is giving
orders, and an opposing unit wants to use its EW to spoof the orders, it just
spends a counter without using an action.

I'm not sure that's the *official* way to use EW, but that's what we do.

How do you spoof an enemy commo attempt if you have to activate to use EW?

Kevin

> > Is EW activation an action?

> On Thu, 31 August 2000, Kevin Balentine wrote:

> I'm not sure that's the *official* way to use EW, but

Interesting interpretation.

> How do you spoof an enemy commo attempt if you have to

The way we have played it, you don't get your chits until EW is active. To do
that, you have to activate the EW unit. That means the EW unit is almost
always the first unit activated. You don't get to spoof your opponent until
you activate your EW unit. Mind you, he doesn't get to counter EW until HE
activates his, so it sort of evens out.

The confusing part seems to be whether ECM is active or not. If you don't have
to spend an action to make it "active", why not make it active all the time?
There seems to be no reason for EW to not be active. Unless, of course, there
is a modifier to hidden units using EW.

This one I can answer (as I just read it on p. 52). "During its activation, an
EW unit may elect to have its equipment either ACTIVE or INACTIVE; if the
systems are placed on 'active', then the unit gets three EW markers...These
three markers represent the three attempts at EW tasks that the unit can now
make between then and its next activation." You activate the unit to get chits
not to use the chits. Once the chits are used, you have to wait unit the unit
is activated (and the EW action taken if it is an action) before you get the
EW chits back.

We looked in the rules for a reason why an EW unit would ever want to be
"inactive" and couldn't come up with one.

I can think of "Real Life" (tm) reasons, but none represented in game terms.

Also, do you play that ECM must be made "active" each turn? Or, do you play
that, once activated, it's on until it's turned off?

We just assume that that in absence of a reason to be inactive, an EW element
would come on table active.

> --- agoodall@canada.com wrote:

> On Thu, 31 August 2000, Kevin Balentine wrote:

> We looked in the rules for a reason why an EW unit

Me too, which is one reason I thought it required an action to activate EW. I
can see a house rule, though, where by turning on EW puts a hidden EW unit on
the board. Or, failing that, I can see scenario rules that don't allow EW to
be active in an ambush setting.

> Also, do you play that ECM must be made "active" each

That IS specifically stated in the rules, on page 52. The ECM is "active"
until the next time the unit is activated. This is another reason I thought
the unit had to spend an action to turn EW "active".

> agoodall@canada.com wrote:

> On Thu, 31 August 2000, Kevin Balentine wrote:

That's the way I play it, too. Otherwise, there is no reason NOT to
voluntarily go inactive. It also makes sense, too. You're not going to be able
to make a double move and still attempt to use EW. If making the EW active
costs an action, then it forces the player to make a decision; that's good.
You end up having to choose between moving, returning fire, and activating the
EW kit. You're only going to be able to do two of them, which is it going to
be? I also allow a supressed unit to activate EW while supressed. Then you
have to decide how important it is to attempt to remove supression versus
using the EW kit.

-Mike