Phantoms? Meet Nerf Bat

[Munkie]

Repost from FFG forums:

 

Check it out:

 

https://images-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com/filer_public/47/23/47235202-b9a8-413f-91be-24b40de724dc/xwingfaq_v30.pdf

 

Edit:

 

 

 

 

Decloak Reference Card

This card should read:

 

At the start of the Activation phase, after players have resolved all other abilities that trigger at the start of the Activation phase, each ship may spend

 

 

a cloak token to decloak, starting with the ship with the lowest pilot skill (using initiative to break ties). When a ship decloaks, it must choose one of the following effects:

• Perform a barrel roll using the [ 2] maneuver template.

• Perform a boost using the [ 2] maneuver template.

Decloaking is not an action or a maneuver, and a ship can decloak while it has a stress token.

A ship cannot decloak if it would overlap another ship or an obstacle token, or if the maneuver template would overlap an obstacle token.

After all decloaking has been resolved, the Activation phase continues as normal.

 

 

Edit edit:

 

Q: Can a ship decloak if it is ionized? [/size]

A: Yes. Because decloaking occurs at the beginning of the Activation phase, a ship may decloak regardless of whether a dial is assigned. [/size]

 

 

Edit x3:

 

https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2015/3/26/updated-pilot-manuals/

 

 

These changes will go into effect on April 15th, 2015.

 

[Munkie]

So in summary:

 

Phantoms decloak before any other ships move. This means:

1) They now have to guess where other ships are headed before they decloak.

2) Any ship with repositioning ability can now react to a decloak. B-wings, TIE fighters, A-wings, etc., can all reposition based on the phantom's new location.

 

Discuss.

[Murphy'sLawyer]

Well yes, it is a Nerf but let's face it Whisper lists were winning every tournament for the last year and the upgrade combos made the Phantom the King of the hill by a Long lead. Now it will be harder to arc dodge, yes but it is still a great ship with 4 deffense and 4 attack dice. That is still better than any other ship on the table.

[Munkie]

I don't mind this change in the least. It's no longer king of everything but also has some really cool new options.

 

You can actually use it to block anything lower PS, then move away and blast it or blast something else.

 

I don't think it's bad by any means and I'm actually excited to fly against it again!

[Burk]

Well yes, it is a Nerf but let's face it Whisper lists were winning every tournament for the last year and the upgrade combos made the Phantom the King of the hill by a Long lead. Now it will be harder to arc dodge, yes but it is still a great ship with 4 deffense and 4 attack dice. That is still better than any other ship on the table.

actually this is not true.  This is just the  thread about puget sound store championships   Only 2 of 7 there, by your rational, it is dash render that is a problem also as he won 2.  it gets more lopsided when you look at the full store championship thread, phantoms are less than 15% IIRC.  There are more hans 

[Murphy'sLawyer]

actually this is not true.  This is just the  thread about puget sound store championships   Only 2 of 7 there, by your rational, it is dash render that is a problem also as he won 2.  it gets more lopsided when you look at the full store championship thread, phantoms are less than 15% IIRC.  There are more hans

 

Well on the Rebel side of things I have believed Fat Han needs to go on a diet. Also hasn't the Auto Thrusters helped against Han and Dash?

[smashthedean]

My first reaction to this change was that Phantoms have already been nerfed enough with all of the stress builds out there so this is pretty stupid, but upon reflection this could actually reduce the prevalence of stress builds since they aren't really necessary to combat the Phantom anymore, especially with the change that lets Phantoms decloak out of ionization.

 

So yeah, bad for Phantoms on an individual power level scale, but good for them and the game as a whole on the balance scale of hopefully changing the meta away from stress builds. I still think more needs to be done to shift the meta and keep those builds from being so crazy prevalent, but this is a step in the right direction and a smart move from FFG to change the meta by looking at the root of the problem rather than the aftereffects.

[Wiccus]

I really like this change. It keeps them from being as completely dominant as they were while still remaining powerful. This change along with auto thrusters to help against turret ships should make for an interesting and diverse meta. That is my hope at least

[thatdave]

I think they are still good, albeit not quite as good, just in a different way.  As mentioned you can get some nice blocking and you will still be very action efficient with the right upgrades:

 

Named Pilot of Choice (Echo for me with this set up), PtL, AS, SPA (Stygium Particle Accelerator), Recon Specialist

 

Decloak gets you an Evade (SPA), Advanced Sensors gives you an action before you move so you Cloak and Focus (which gets you a free Focus via RS) and then make a green move to shed the PtL stress.  So you are double Focused, Cloaked and have an Evade - this is a good setup if you chose poorly on your dial and/or are not going to be in a good position to shoot this turn.  If you need to Barrel Roll to get in a good (out of arc) position just forego the Cloak for the Roll and blaze away.

 

I like that the change will diversify builds, even if only a little.  The Whisper/VI/Gunner/ACD/FCS build will still be good and viable, we'll just have to be a bit more crafty when flying them.

 

So I say still good, only different.  And opposition will have to adjust to the changes as well.  Ion, blocking and Stress are not nearly as effective counters as they once were.