Does Field Test require an actual action to be taken?

[MuMantai]

Prince Unathi has an action called "Field Test". It makes a fireteam take a prototype action, then draw a card.

Question is, does this actually require an action to be taken? What if:

1. The fireteam does not have a prototype asset attached?
2. The fireteam has nothing in range of it's prototype assets action?
3. I do not want to discard a card to use the prototype assets action?

Or, easier, can I use the action  to just draw a card? And if yes, what would be the necessary circumstances?

This quote from the rulebook I found seems to allow that:

"ADDITIONAL ACTIONS
Some Actions (or their Triggers) are capable
of generating additional Actions.
If a Fireteam is unable to take an additional
Action (perhaps because there are no
targets within range), the additional Action is
ignored." (page 23)

[solkan]

According to the Targeting rules, if the action required the "Target Fireteam" to have an attached Prototype asset, it would have to say so.  It doesn't, so it looks like it's not necessary to declare the action.

Let's say that you've got a unit of Crow Runners with the Shock Batons Prototype asset attached.  (Shock Baton is a Prototype Asset which doesn't require discarding a card to use the action.). If you targeted one of the Crow Runner fire teams that didn't have an enemy unit in range of the Shock Batons actions, you'd be all set--the Fireteam can't take an action which satisfies the requirements, so you skip it and then draw a card.  If you targeted one of the Crow Runner fire teams which did have an enemy unit in range of the Shock Batons action, you have to take the action.

Prince Unathi's a Commander, so he can take Field Test twice during his activation.  Most of the Prototype assets have Versatile, which among other things says "Actions on this card may only be taken once during a unit’s Activation."  If Prince Unathi used the Field Test action to target the same fire team twice and that unit only had one Versatile Prototype asset, that's another restriction that will make the action impossible.

To be frank, I don't think "I do not want to discard a card to use the prototype asset's action" or "I do not want to take the prototype asset's action" are valid reasons to not declare and resolve the action.  If you can discard a card to take the action, you need to do so.  Compare the wording in the actions "This Action may only be taken by discarding a card." to the wording in Electrotioners "Fireteams in this unit do not need to discard a card to use Actions on Prototype Assets."

So the simplest conclusion to reach is:

• If it's valid for you to declare the action, you have to.  If the action requires you to discard a card, and you have one, then you have to discard the card when you declare it.  "I don't want to" doesn't matter.  If you can't because you don't have a card to discard, you don't take the action.  

Disclaimer:  Taking the Field Test action and only getting a card draw out of the deal feels like a "Consolation prize" situation rather than an exploit.  It's a five turn game, so Prince Unathi is going to get somewhere between 5 and 7 activations, and as a result take somewhere between 10 and 15 actions.  

[solkan]

3 minutes ago, retnab said:

"Target Fireteam takes an Action printed on one of its attached Prototype Assets, then draw a card."

I would argue that since you "then" draw a card that if you don't take the Action you don't draw the card (taking the Action would essentially be the "cost" for drawing).

This argument has been shown to be false concerning the Malifaux rules.  In those rules, which the authors also worked on, "then" does not indicate such a thing.

Can you provide evidence that the TOS rules are written differently?

[retnab]

"Target Fireteam takes an Action printed on one of its attached Prototype Assets, then draw a card."

I would argue that since you "then" draw a card that if you don't take the Action you don't draw the card (taking the Action would essentially be the "cost" for drawing).

[trikk]

The way I see it, then is not a conditional requirement "If X, then Y" but a timing mechanism "Do X, Finish X, Do Y, Finish Y". Conditional requirements in Malifaux are stated most of the time "If the target recieved X/did Y then do Z"