Incapacitate is one of those powers that tends to get overlooked. Rarely will it sit atop someone’s list of best powers in the game (myself included). It remains, though, one of my absolute favorite powers to use. Incap, unlike powers like Pulse Wave or Precision Strike, isn’t something that you’ll always want to use. Proper use of this power, however, can cripple your opponent and swing the pacing of a match in your direction.

Incap 101

Incapacitate: Give this character a close combat or ranged combat action to make an attack that deals no damage. If the attack hits, give the target an action token; if the target already have 2 action tokens, deal the target 1 penetrating damage.

As far as the PAC goes, Incap is short and simple. You’ll note that it can be triggered with either a Close or Ranged Combat Action, meaning that it can be combined with both Charge and Running Shot. Where some people stop with Incapacitate is “…make an attack that deals no damage.” Let’s get it out of the way: this is objectively worse than an attack that does deal damage. Where the magic of Incapacitate happens is the text after this line.

The result of Incapacitate is an action token for the hit opponent. If they lack Willpower and already have one token, they’ll take a second token and a pushing damage! The last update to the power added the provision for penetrating damage to opponents with 2 tokens, meaning that you can always count on Incap to have some effect.

Now that we’ve looked at the basics of the power, let’s talk about how to take advantage of it.

Incap 201

First of all, let’s look at where Incapacitate should be used on your team. Under most circumstances, it’s not a power that you’ll want your primary attacker to use. The points you’re investing in that figure should go to heavier forms of damage. This means that the majority of your Incapacitating will be done by either your secondary attacker or a support figure with the power (there are a good many of these!)

Secondly, you’ll want to be aware of the best target for Incap on the opposing team. Any time their primary threat already has one token, they’re the best target, almost without fail. Being able to effectively remove a high-impact figure from the game for a turn can be huge. If your opponent is playing a swarm team without a true primary figure or is protecting that figure from your Incap, then there are a few things to consider:

Does the target have Willpower? If not, go nuts. If so, and they don’t already have a token, look elsewhere if possible.

Is the opponent relying on a figure as a source of powers like Telekinesis or Support? Feel free to slow them down.

If the target has Mystics, the pushing damage from Incap will deal them one damage without incurring the Mystics damage. Note that this will not work if they already have two tokens, as the damage dealt then is penetrating and will cause Mystics.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Special Powers that behave like Incapacitate, but aren’t specifically Incap, do not benefit from the ability to deal penetrating damage to figures with two tokens. If you target a figure with two tokens with one of these powers, no token is assigned, and no damage is done as a result. This damage is unique to Incap itself.

Spreading the Love

Like Energy Explosion, Incap becomes significantly better with each additional target your figure possesses. Using Incapacitate with a single target means that, after the action, you’ve assigned the enemy the same number of tokens that you took for using the power–one token. With two targets, you’ve assigned the enemy twice as many tokens as you’ve taken. With three targets…you can see where this is going. Handing out three action tokens in exchange for one is a huge swing in pacing every time it occurs.

As a result of this, the very best Incap users (barring those with fancy special variants) are the ones who can target the most enemies at once. In our sub-100 point attackers list, we looked at SLOSH010 Polar Boy. He’s a great example of what to look for in an Incap figure. He’s inexpensive, he has multiple targets, and he sports a decent enough attack value to have his Incap stick. His special ability to apply two tokens if the enemy has none is just a huge bonus.

Another now-common example of what to look for in an Incapacitate user is AOU005 Wasp. She has the double targets we’re looking for, and her special damage power means that if an opponent tries to take her out to stop the constant stream of action tokens, they may very well waste even more actions trying to get through her Shape Change.

Shutting it Down

Incapacitate is a relatively straightforward power, so there’s little need for me to go on at great length. Often overlooked, the power is a great way to shift one of the more intangible aspects of the game into your favor. Denying your opponent’s primary figure the ability to act while keeping yours free to do so will always help to put you in a position to press your advantage and win games.

I’d love to hear what you guys think of the power, some of your favorite users of it, and some ways you like to use it in your games. Feel free to comment below and let me know what you think!

Editor’s Note: This article has been a long time coming; my goal is to get new content to you at least once a week. Unfortunately, I got caught up in finally beating Final Fantasy VII 18 years after first starting it. That’s not your problem; it’s mine. I just wanted to let you know that I haven’t vanished!

Sub-Note: I don’t have an editor. The previous note was mine.