Planetary Landing

After any Space Battles are completed, the active player may now commence Planetary Landings by landing ground units from his ships onto planets in the activated system. If a system contains multiple planets, the active player may split any landing forces between them in any way he sees fit, but may not change his mind once the Invasion Combat step begins.

There are three types of Planetary Landings; Friendly, Neutral and Hostile.

Friendly Landing: A player lands units on a planet already under his control. Simply add the new units to the ones already there, if any.

Neutral Landing: A player lands units on a neutral planet (i.e., a planet not controlled by any player). After landing at least one ground unit (except PDS) on the neutral planet, the active player takes the corresponding Planet Card from the Planet Deck and places it, exhausted, in his play area. Note that only a Ground Force, Shock Troop or a Mechanized Unit can take over a planet. If a PDS unit lands alone on a neutral or enemy planet, it is immediately destroyed.

Hostile Landing (also called an "Invasion"): A player lands units on a planet controlled by another player. If the planet contains one or more enemy ground units, this will result in an Invasion Combat during the Invasion Combat step. If the planet is controlled by an opponent but does not contain any enemy ground units, the planet falls without resistance. The invader simply removes the opponent’s Control Marker and takes the corresponding Planet Card from the opponent, placing it exhausted into his play area. If there was an enemy Space Dock on the planet it is immediately destroyed (unless the invader landed an Agent or Shock Troop and is able to capture it.).