Coordinate and Grit in Star Wars Unlimited
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Coordinate depends on controlling at least three units; Grit increases a unit's power by one for each damage on it. Both consult the current board continuously. Coordinate supplies the ability printed after it, while Grit supplies power rather than extra HP or damage prevention.
The distinction matters when a third unit leaves play or a damaged unit enters combat. Use the Star Wars Unlimited comprehensive rules v9, available through the official rules page, rather than treating either keyword as a one-time bonus that remains permanently locked in.
Count your units for Coordinate
Coordinate checks whether you control three or more units. Count across both the ground and space arenas. The unit carrying Coordinate counts itself, so it can satisfy the threshold alongside two other units you control.
Unit tokens also count as units while you control them in play. Your base does not count, an upgrade is not an additional unit, and a captured card is not simply another unit under your control in an arena. Read the actual object and its state before adding it to the total.
The opponent's units do not contribute to your Coordinate threshold. A board with two units on your side and four on the opponent's side still gives you a count of two. The keyword asks about the controller's army, not the total number of unit cards visible on the table.
| Your board | Coordinate threshold met? |
|---|---|
| The Coordinate unit and two other units | Yes |
| Two ground units and one space unit | Yes |
| Two units and your base | No |
| Two units and an attached upgrade | No |
| Two units and a unit token you control | Yes |
The threshold enables the following ability, not a universal bonus shared by every Coordinate card. One card might gain a combat ability; another might gain something else. Read what follows the keyword on the specific unit.
Coordinate changes as the army changes
If you control three units and one leaves play, the threshold can fall below three. The Coordinate-granted ability is then no longer active unless another effect supplies it independently. You do not retain it until the end of the round merely because it was active earlier.
If a new unit brings the count back to three, the Coordinate condition can be satisfied again. This is a current-state check. It does not require playing the Coordinate unit again or remembering whether it was originally deployed beside a complete army.
A unit below the threshold still has the Coordinate keyword for effects that check whether a unit has Coordinate. The condition determines the availability of the ability following it. Losing that granted ability is different from erasing the printed keyword itself.
Watch the actual granted ability
Suppose a hypothetical Coordinate unit gains a power bonus while the threshold is met. Losing a third unit changes that bonus, which can affect later combat calculations. If another hypothetical unit gains a different ability, its consequences must be evaluated from that ability's own rules.
Do not carry an example involving extra power over to a card granting something unrelated. Coordinate supplies a condition; the following text supplies the result. Learning both parts prevents the inaccurate shortcut that every Coordinate unit gets the same statistic increase.
Calculate Grit from damage on this unit
Grit adds one power for each damage currently on the unit. A unit with two damage receives a two-power increase from Grit. Damage elsewhere on your board or on your base does not increase that unit's Grit bonus.
This is damage marked on the unit, not missing HP treated as a separate resource. The unit's HP value does not rise from Grit. A unit can gain substantial power and still be close to defeat because the same damage remains on it.
Healing removes damage and therefore reduces the Grit power increase. Adding damage can increase power if the unit survives. Resolve defeat rules normally; Grit does not stop lethal damage or allow a unit with damage equal to its HP to remain in play merely because its power is now high.
Multiple instances of Grit do not stack
The comprehensive rules specify that multiple instances of Grit do not stack. A unit with two instances and two damage does not receive four extra power just from those two instances. Its Grit result remains based on one application of the keyword.
Other power modifiers can still apply separately. An upgrade or effect giving a power increase is not another copy of the Grit calculation merely because it appears on the same unit. Work out each relevant modifier according to its own text.
For a board calculation, begin with the unit's relevant power value, apply other modifiers and account for the Grit bonus from its damage. Keep HP and damage visible in separate notes. Combining power and remaining HP into one unexplained number makes combat decisions harder to audit.
New combat damage does not retroactively increase the hit
Combat damage is simultaneous. A unit does not take the opponent's damage, recalculate Grit, and then deal an enlarged hit within that same simultaneous exchange. Determine the damage it deals using the relevant power before that exchange.
The rules give an example with an undamaged 2/2 Grit unit attacking a 1/3 unit. The Grit unit deals two damage and receives one. It then has three power because of the new damage, with one damage marked against its two HP. The opponent did not retroactively receive three damage from that exchange.
This is particularly important when predicting whether an enemy unit will be defeated. A hoped-for increase after damage arrives cannot be used to make the preceding hit lethal. If the Grit unit survives for a later attack, its changed power can matter then.
Coordinate and Grit can operate together
A unit can be affected by both a Coordinate condition and Grit. Evaluate the army count and the damage on that unit separately. Adding a third unit might enable one ability while healing damage reduces the Grit bonus at the same time.
Consider a hypothetical unit whose Coordinate text grants extra power and which also has Grit. Its final power depends on the enabled bonus, current damage and other modifiers. If the third unit disappears, only the Coordinate-dependent contribution is affected by that count change.
Avoid treating either keyword as a resource you spend. Coordinate is not consumed after one attack, and Grit does not remove damage when it supplies power. Their ongoing consequences continue to follow the current conditions and the specific abilities involved.
Plan attacks with two different checks
For example, suppose you control exactly three units, including a Coordinate unit, and plan to sacrifice another unit through an effect. Before making that play, read what Coordinate currently grants and calculate the board after the sacrifice. The army count will be two unless something else adds a unit. The sacrificed unit's earlier presence does not keep the condition satisfied for the later attack. Separately, if the Coordinate unit also has two damage and Grit, its damage-based power contribution continues to use those two damage unless another event changes them.
Before an attack, count the units keeping Coordinate active. Identify whether another action might remove one before the intended attack occurs. Then calculate the attacking unit's present power, including damage already marked for Grit.
Estimate survival separately. High Grit power can make an attack threatening while leaving the unit vulnerable to a small amount of additional damage. It is useful to know both what the unit can deal now and how much further damage it can survive.
After the exchange, update the board before evaluating another play. A defeated third unit may switch off Coordinate. A surviving Grit unit may have gained power through the new damage. The old calculation should not be reused without checking those changes.
For a rules disagreement, show the actual unit count, damage markers and granted text to the judge. “Coordinate is on” or “Grit makes it stronger” leaves out the quantities and timing needed to determine the result.
Frequently asked questions
Does the unit with Coordinate count towards three?
Yes. It is one of the units you control. Units in both arenas and unit tokens can contribute to the count.
Does Grit increase HP?
No. It increases power based on damage on the unit. The damage remains, and the normal defeat rules still apply.
Does damage received during combat increase the damage dealt in that same exchange?
No. Combat damage is simultaneous. The resulting Grit increase can affect later calculations if the unit survives, rather than retroactively changing the completed hit.