Command Phase
During the Command Phase, players select a Command Card from their command hand, reveal and resolve their Command Cards, determine priority, issue orders, and create the order pool.- Select and Play Command Cards
- Resolve Command Cards
- Determine Priority
- Nominate Commanders and Issue Orders
- Create the Order Pool
- Create the Pass Pool
Select and Play Command Cards
Each player secretly chooses a Command Card to play from their hand and places it facedown on the battlefield. If a player does not have at least one undefeated
or 
unit, they may not play any Command Cards this round.Some units have several unique Command Cards, which may only be played if that unit is included in a player’s army and is not defeated. Those Command Cards belong to that unit. When that unit's name is included in the effects section of that Command Card without specifying friendly or enemy, it refers to only friendly units with that name.- ...that occur when the Command Card is revealed, starting with the Blue Player
- ...that do not have a specific timing, starting with the Blue Player
- ...that occur when a unit issues orders, starting with the player with priority.
- ...that occur at the start of the Activation Phase, starting with the player with priority.
- ...that occur during the Activation Phase, starting with the player with priority.
Resolve Command Card Effects
After both players have played a Command Card facedown, they then reveal their Command Cards by flipping them faceup and proceed to resolve the effects of the Command Cards. Fully resolve the effect of each Command Card before moving to the next Command Card. If both players have an effect that occurs at the same time, the blue player resolves their Command Card effect first.Determine Priority
Once players have resolved all relevant Command Card effects, compare the number of pips on the Command Cards that were played this round. The player whose card has the least number of pips has priority for the round.If both players reveal Command Cards with the same number of pips, one player rolls a red defense die. If the result is a
, that player has priority. On any other result, the other player has priority.If one player was unable to play a Command Card due to not having a or unit, the other player automatically has priority. If neither player played a Command Card, one player rolls a red defense die to determine priority.Michael and Kevin are choosing their Command Cards for the turn. They each secretly choose a card from their hands to play, then they reveal their cards at the same time. Michael has played a 3-pip card, Assault, and Kevin has played a 1-pip card, Ambush. Because Kevin played the card with the fewest number of pips, he gains priority for the round.
Sarah and Michael are choosing Command Cards for the turn. Both of them play the 4-pip card Standing Orders. Because they revealed cards with the same number of pips, 1 of them rolls a red defense die. Michael rolls the die and rolls a blank. Because he did not roll a , Sarah has priority for the round.
Sarah and Michael are choosing Command Cards for the turn. Both of them play the 4-pip card Standing Orders. Because they revealed cards with the same number of pips, 1 of them rolls a red defense die. Michael rolls the die and rolls a blank. Because he did not roll a , Sarah has priority for the round.Issue Orders and Nominate Commanders
After determining priority, players nominate commanders and issue orders to their units.If the played Command Card corresponds to a specific unit, that unit must be nominated as the commander. Otherwise, players may nominate any one unit to be their commander.Once all players have nominated a commander, they issue orders to their units, starting with the player who has priority. The number of orders and the units they can be issued to is listed on each Command Card. For a commander to issue an order to a unit, the following must be true:- The unit cannot have already received an order during the current Command Phase.
- The unit must match the type (if any) listed on the Command Card.
Some rules or abilities allow units to be issued orders from sources other than the nominated commander. These units do not have to follow the above criteria when they are issued orders in this way, instead following the rules of the effect granting that order. A unit cannot be issued more than one order each round.
Create the Order Pool
After issuing orders, each player creates their order pool by taking one order token that matches the rank of each undefeated unit that was not issued an order and shuffling those order tokens together.Create the Pass Pool
After creating the order pool, each player counts the number of undefeated units they control. The player with fewer undefeated units adds a number of advantage tokens to their pass pool equal to 1 fewer than the difference in those counts. Once players have created their pass pools, if any, the Command Phase is over, and the Activation Phase begins.Nick has 8 undefeated units and Ben has 12. The difference between the counts is 4. 1 fewer than that is 3, so Nick adds 3 advantage tokens to his pass pool.