Warmachine/Tactics/Gameplay Basics

The Turn

Each game is made up of rounds, which are broken down into turns (one for each player). A turn is made up of three phases; the Maintenance Phase, the Control Phase, and the Activation Phase.

Maintenance Phase (aka the "Am I on fire?" phase)

This is the part of the turn where you resolve continuous effects ("Am I on fire? Am I being corroded by powerful acids?") and generally clean up after the previous turn; remove AOEs that expire and clean up your spells that weren't upkeeps.

Control Phase (the 'Hmm' phase)

Usually you plan your turn during the other guy's turn, but this is where it starts; refresh and allocate Focus, pay for upkeep spells and generally get ready for shit hitting the fan. For Hordes players, this is the earliest stage in which things can go wrong, as it is the Phase where 'beasts Frenzy and eat their own warlocks.

Activation Phase (Shit Gets Done)

Shit gets done in this phase; each element of an army activates individually in their own mini-turns; a unit that has activated can move, perform an action, then ends its activation.