TI4 Rules DeskTwilight Imperium 4
Living Rules Reference · v2.0
89

Tactical Action

The tactical action is the primary method by which players produce units, move ships, and extend their dominion within the galaxy. To perform a tactical action, the active player performs the following steps:

89.1
STEP 1—ACTIVATION: The active player must activate a system that does not contain one of their command tokens.
  1. To activate a system, the active player places a command token from their tactic pool in that system. That system is the active system.
  2. Other players’ command tokens do not prevent a player from activating a system.
89.2
STEP 2—MOVEMENT: The active player may move any number of ships that have a sufficient move value from any number of systems that do not contain one of their command tokens into the active system, following the rules for movement.
  1. Ships that have capacity values can transport ground forces and fighters when moving.
  2. The player may choose to not move any ships.
  3. After the “Move Ships” step, all players can use the “Space Cannon” abilities of their units in the active system.
89.3
STEP 3—SPACE COMBAT: If two players have ships in the active system, those players must resolve a space combat.
  1. If the active player is the only player with ships in the system, they skip this step.
89.4
STEP 4—INVASION: The active player may use their “Bombardment” abilities, commit units to land on planets, and resolve ground combat against other players’ units.
89.5
STEP 5—PRODUCTION: The active player may resolve each of their unit’s “Production” abilities in the active system.
  1. The active player may do this even if they did not move units or land ground forces during this tactical action.
The tactical action, step by stepFive steps in order: activation, movement (with space cannon offense), space combat, invasion, production.1ActivationPlace a token from your tactic pool in a system2MovementMove ships in (they may transport units), then Space Cannon Offense3Space CombatOnly if two players have ships in the active system4InvasionBombardment, commit ground forces, ground combat5ProductionUse PRODUCTION of your units in the active system
The tactical action, step by step. The steps always resolve in this order; a step with nothing to resolve — no combat, no ground forces landing — simply passes (LRR 89). Our illustration — not rulebook art.

Related topics

3 Action Phase5 Active System10 Anti-Fighter Barrage (Unit Ability)15 Bombardment (Unit Ability)19 Command Sheet42 Ground Combat49 Invasion58 Movement67 Producing Units95 Transport77 Space Cannon (Unit Ability)78 Space Combat

Components that mention Tactical Action 27

AetherstreamAetherstreamAntimatterBetray a FriendCommandDark Energy TapDominus OrbEmissary TaivraFlank SpeedGravity DriveImperatorIn The Silence Of SpaceIon StormIonian Fuel RefineryLazax Gate FoldingLazax Gate FoldingLost Star ChartMalevolencyNav SuiteReclaimerResonance GeneratorRevenantSlipstreamSolar FlareThe Crown of EmphidiaWarfareZ'eu

Source: Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition — Living Rules Reference v2.0 (September 22, 2020), page 33. Rules text reproduced verbatim; the rulebook’s diagrams are omitted (the diagram above is our own). Report an error on this page.

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