Does the attacking player get another action after the defender plays an action card, if the attacker had already passed their initial action?
Ruling: Yes, the attacking player gets another action after the defender's action resolves. Focus passes back and forth between players, and passing focus automatically when a chain resolves is different from voluntarily choosing to pass focus.
Sequence:
- Attacker has focus and passes without playing anything
- Defender has focus and plays an action card
- Attacker can react with reaction-speed cards (optional)
- Defender's action resolves and attacker automatically receives focus
- Attacker can now play an action card (like Cleave)
- This continues until both players consecutively pass focus without playing anything
Nuances:
- You can only play one action at a time, but action-speed cards can effectively be used to "react" to opponent plays by waiting for focus to return
- If a chain resolves and kills a unit (like Kai'sa), you still gain focus and could play Cleave, but not on the dead unit
- Passing focus automatically when a chain resolves does NOT count as voluntarily passing focus for the purpose of ending the showdown
- Both players must consecutively pass focus without playing anything for the showdown to end