Thanks for your input, A44bigdog. The end results can indeed sometimes be a little different depending upon how you intrepret this rule. In the example that started this thread, the casualties taken by the defender can differ if the attacking sub hits. If the attacking sub and at least one fighter hit, under our interpretation the defender would lose both the sub and the destroyer. However, under Mojo’s interpretation the sub hit would be resolved first, and the defender could take the destroyer as a casualty, leaving the sub safe, as it’s immune to fighter attack.
This is but one of the quirks inherent in the combat system due to the interaction of subs, destroyers and fighters. It adds a layer of stategy to unit purchases and deployment.
@mojo:
dd negates “first strike ability”, not “first strike attack” subs always fire first. it says usually because the attacking sub can submerge. if you read step 2 to launch a first srtike attack, after you hit and remove casualities, theres a note about dd’s. so the steps stay the same. the dd only comes into play when you remove casualites.
it doesn’t say anything about if a dd is present all attacking units fire at the same time. it still goes in steps.
I’m sorry, but you’re just reading a lot into the rules here that just isn’t there. There’s nothing in the rules in step 2 about moving sub casualties behind the casualty line if there’s a defending destroyer. The rules simply say that attacking subs don’t get a First-strike if there’s a defending destroyer. Saying that “First-strike attack” and “First-strike ability” are two different things is just splitting hairs. I agree that the rules could have been written more clearly, but you’re really stretching them.
@mojo:
again i do believe i have it correct, i even called a A&A buddy of mine, who freaking knows all the rules inside and out to all the games, and told me i was correct. i hope to have more input, because luckyday & i just wanna get it correct.
Again, I believe that you (and your buddy) are applying rules from Revised to Pacific. In Revised, it does indeed work in the way that you describe. However, in Pacific it doesn’t.
I’m not sure what else I can do to convince you on this issue, short of asking Larry Harris himself. Every game of Pacific that I’ve ever played has treated subs as I’ve described, including many on-line games (including a tournament) at the Days-of-Infamy club. The officials of that club prided themselves on adhering to the rules as published, going so far as to have Rob Daviau (one of the designers) clear up any ambiguities in the rules for them.