Echoes of the Force

ASK FANTASY FLIGHT 

Q: Can I use Echoes of the Force to commmit or remove from the Force a card that is "considered committed to the Force"?

A: A unit that is committed to the Force cannot be committed a second time. A unit that is considered committed would not be eligible to be committed. In addition, an attempt to remove a unit that is “considered committed to the Force” would fail, in that the textual constant effect that causes it to be “considered committed to the Force” would still be active after the removal attempt resolves. Note that blanking the text box of such an effect would effectively remove the unit from the Force.

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Q: May a player use Echoes of the Force to voluntarily remove his own unit from the Force struggle (in contravention of the rulebook statement that commitment cannot be voluntarily removed), whether that unit is committed in the usual way or by game text which "considers" them committed?

A: Yes, you may remove your own unit from the Force via a card effect. The “players may not voluntarily remove Force cards from their units” rule is there to prevent players from doing this on their own, without any effects.

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Q: How does units like Mara Jade (Echoes) interact with Echoes of the Force?

A: A unit that is already committed to the Force may receive a “considered committed” effect on top (like Mara Jade's Lightsaber), at which point there is a redundancy. Committing Mara Jade (Echoes) with a Force card, and then giving her the lightsaber, is fine, although there is nothing that automatically removes the Force card at this time. An effect like Echoes of the Force, however, can be used to remove the card itself. She would still be considered committed because of the lightsaber. Note that if she has the lightsaber first, and therefore is already "considered committed", she could not be committed a second time via a Force card.