I just played against a Boba & VI, Doom Shuttle, and Echo & VI and “Advanced Cloaking Device”. I was running Jonus and 2 Scimitars and a Gamma. I destroyed Boba and the Shuttle with in 3 turns, with only two damage on Jonus.

But after that, Echo destroyed all the bombers. I would use target locks, (and focus if it took two turn to get him in arc.) and I would Fire at range 1. I will say that his dice where hot, because no matter how many hit and crits I rolled, he always managed to roll just enough evades not to take damage. Three attack dice Against four defense dice.

How can I get My Bombers to be effective again the Phantom?

Also My opponent when he decloaked, would take the 2 bank template and place it on the board and then compare every possible move before he would actually move his model. Can he just take his time and place the template down and see where he is going to land before he commits to his move?

How can I get My Bombers to be effective again the Phantom?

Proximity mines. Attempting to shoot an insanely maneuverable 4-agility ship with a 2-dice gun is the definition of futility. Instead, just drop a proximity mine on them and ignore their defense dice. Since you're lower PS you don't have to predict their maneuver, you just aim for the spot they're sitting on when you set your dial and automatically hit.

Also My opponent when he decloaked, would take the 2 bank template and place it on the board and then compare every possible move before he would actually move his model. Can he just take his time and place the template down and see where he is going to land before he commits to his move?

Depends on what level of rules you're using. FFG's "casual" rules allow it, their "competitive" levels require you to declare a side (including curve direction for Echo) before placing the template and if it is a legal decloak move you are committed to it. If your opponent insists on doing this with every decloak I suggest asking to play the game under "competitive" rules.

Your opponent is not allowed to pre-measure his moves. This would include barrel rolls or the boost action. Once he lays down the template on whichever side of the ship, he just committed to that move for decloaking, barrel rolling or boosting.

Unfortunately Phantoms are just one of those things you have to build in counters for into your list.

The scariest things for phantoms are PS 10+ and stress.

If you can juggle your points a bit, see if you can get some Flechette Toroedoes on your Bombers. Ideally you want to hit him with 2 or more. With munitions failsafe if you don't actually hit him, you keep your torpedoes but he still gets the stress.

Regarding his decloak, in a tournament he had to declare the side and direction of his decloak before he puts the template down, but it's still good to play against optimal decloak moves.

Can he just take his time and place the template down and see where he is going to land before he commits to his move?

Under "normal" rules, yes. Under tournament rules, no; he'd have to pick a direction before measuring and could only change his mind if his original choice was impossible for some reason.

Honestly, I don't think your Bombers could be that effective against a Phantom. You're not manoeuvrable enough to keep it in arc, even if you do you're going 3v4 at best on the dice, most often 2v4, and on defence you're going to get shredded. Sounds like you did all you could, but the matchup is really badly weighted against you.

Proximity mines. Attempting to shoot an insanely maneuverable 4-agility ship with a 2-dice gun is the definition of futility. Instead, just drop a proximity mine on them and ignore their defense dice. Since you're lower PS you don't have to predict their maneuver, you just aim for the spot they're sitting on when you set your dial and automatically hit.

I found that out the hard way. But what do you do after you use the bombs. Is there any method to help drop the Phantom's evade dice?

I just played against a Boba & VI, Doom Shuttle, and Echo & VI and “Advanced Cloaking Device”. I was running Jonus and 2 Scimitars and a Gamma. I destroyed Boba and the Shuttle with in 3 turns, with only two damage on Jonus.

But after that, Echo destroyed all the bombers. I would use target locks, (and focus if it took two turn to get him in arc.) and I would Fire at range 1. I will say that his dice where hot, because no matter how many hit and crits I rolled, he always managed to roll just enough evades not to take damage. Three attack dice Against four defense dice.

How can I get My Bombers to be effective again the Phantom?

Also My opponent when he decloaked, would take the 2 bank template and place it on the board and then compare every possible move before he would actually move his model. Can he just take his time and place the template down and see where he is going to land before he commits to his move?

I don't think bombers can really catch Phantoms the conventional way. They are just a little too cumbersome. You could put some Prox Mines on Scimitars. I wouldn't run a shuttle vs Phantoms either. Just wayyy too hard to catch.

If you must, I run the shuttle along the edge and then turn in slightly to completely cut off a large area space. This should force the Phantom into the Bomber's attack area.

After that, if the Phantom isn't dead... you're pretty dead.

If you're learning and casual, you can do whatever you want. In the tournaments as they've said, you cannot do that at all. I think after this game, you should request that both of you play by that tournament style. Same applies for BR and Boost. Declare direction, tilt, forward/back vertical shift (BR), and if it works, you must do it. No touching templates.

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Really for us casuals... If you want to use the POWER of the PHANTOM, you must have the RESPONSIBILITY to play it well. No forgivance!

... And if its a really good player you can't win against and you're not having fun. Tell him that kindly, and play a more casual fun game.

How effective do you think Proton bombs would be?

How effective do you think Proton bombs would be?

Literal effectiveness per BOMB THAT YOU: 1.5 hits. meaning 1 or 2. Expect one.

Percentage of bombs I expect to land: about 50% of them. If you carry 4, expect to get 2 on the phantom, for about 3 damage. That means you just need to hit it once more. (Easier said than done, but hey! luck! ive landed 2 hits from 2red vs 5 green before!!)

Proton Bombs are activation-phase detonation, right? If so, then not a chance. Only the most incompetent of Phantom pilots would put his ship anywhere near the bomb.

How effective do you think Proton bombs would be?

Literal effectiveness per BOMB THAT YOU: 1.5 hits. meaning 1 or 2. Expect one.

Percentage of bombs I expect to land: about 50% of them. If you carry 4, expect to get 2 on the phantom, for about 3 damage. That means you just need to hit it once more. (Easier said than done, but hey! luck! ive landed 2 hits from 2red vs 5 green before!!)

I think you're thinking about Prox Mines.

Non-Prox bombs are difficult against higher PS targets, especially against those that have as much choice in their maneuvers as Phantoms.

I'll agree that you have to load Bombers with stuff that will take down a Phantom, if you want to have a fighting chance. I also fly lists like yours. If that's all the ships you had, what were you packing?

4x Scimitar Squadron Pilot (16)

Proximity Mines (3)

I can see that as being a lot of fun. But I'm not going to find myself the proud owner of four Prox Mines any time soon. I imagine the same is true for most people.

I'm think of a Auto Blaster!

I'll agree that you have to load Bombers with stuff that will take down a Phantom, if you want to have a fighting chance. I also fly lists like yours. If that's all the ships you had, what were you packing?

Jonus had ST plus homing missile, the Gamma had a Assault Missile, the Scimitars had a assault missile and prox mines. 100 points.

Homing Missiles don't cost the TL, and prevent spending Evade tokens.

Flechette Torpedoes cause a stress even if they miss. Stack a couple on the same Phantom and he should be easy to finish the next round.

Proton Bombs are activation-phase detonation, right? If so, then not a chance. Only the most incompetent of Phantom pilots would put his ship anywhere near the bomb.

All bombs are used in the Activation phase, Seismic charges & Proton bombs are dropped before you reveal you dial which makes then pretty useless against phantoms. Proximity mines are dropped as an action, and if they're dropped underneath a ship, then detonate immediately for a 3 dice, undefended attack. So you could fly right next to a Phantom an drop one. I think Experimental Interface would help a lot, since you could barrel roll into position before dropping the mine, but thats 6 points for the two cards.

Omicron Group Pilot (21)

Darth Vader (3)

Scimitar Squadron Pilot (16)

Proximity Mines (3)

Scimitar Squadron Pilot (16)

Proximity Mines (3)

Scimitar Squadron Pilot (16)

Proximity Mines (3)

Scimitar Squadron Pilot (16)

Proximity Mines (3)

Total: 100

View in Yet Another Squad Builder

4 bombs. Lots of HP. Plays very well against Falcons!!!!!

This build was at worlds. I think Dom cairo played it? Not sure. dont quote me.

Darth Vader guarantees a hit. There you go:

4 bombs 50% = 2 bombs x 1.5 = 3 hits. + 1 Darth Vader force choke = dead phantom.

I can, and did field a similar list. I had 4 Scimitars and Jonus.. all the scimitars had the prox mines.. lots of fun, and it's not that the pilot of a phantom is bad if he gets hit by one, it's that the bomber pilot is smart. I don't know how many times I pull 3 turns and drop one, sometimes your opponent forgets ypu can move a bit.

Having the 4 Firesprays has helped my bomber lists emensly..

I'll agree that you have to load Bombers with stuff that will take down a Phantom, if you want to have a fighting chance. I also fly lists like yours. If that's all the ships you had, what were you packing?

Jonus had ST plus homing missile, the Gamma had a Assault Missile, the Scimitars had a assault missile and prox mines. 100 points.

ST... Swarm Tactics?

I haven't played with homing missiles much. I do think that Flechettes are good in case of Phantoms. They're also cheap in points.

It just doesn't look like your list considered the possibility of Phantoms with just one other ship. It was loaded to go against numerical superiority. Are Phantoms just rare in your local meta?

A long while ago, I flew a match similar to yours. I lost, so take it for what it's worth. It was also my first time flying against a Phantom, or even seeing one. Instead of going after the Slave I, I decided to take down the Phantom first. It took a lot of shooting, but eventually I did shoot it down. Unfortunately that left me to face a fairly healthy Fettigator. Still, I nearly won that match.

So, you can take down Phantoms with bombers, but you have to be serious about hunting the Phantom.

Prox mines are the most effective Echo counter for Bombers.

So, you can take down Phantoms with bombers, but you have to be serious about hunting the Phantom.

I'm trying to build a list that is all around good against all lists. I didn't use the Proximity bombs correctly. I know after I did it to.

So, you can take down Phantoms with bombers, but you have to be serious about hunting the Phantom.

I'm trying to build a list that is all around good against all lists. I didn't use the Proximity bombs correctly. I know after I did it to.

The funny thing is: after the match I mentioned above, I really started building against Phantoms. Ironically, I found that all my efforts were pretty much for naught, as I just didn't encounter all that many Phantoms after that. I think I can count my matches against Phantoms on one hand since then.

So, one part is building against them. The other is flying against them. There are a number of tactics that you can employ to counter Phantoms.

One is to not stay in a formation, but to diversify your firing arcs. That way you're almost always able to shoot at them, and the green dice will fail the Phantom at some point. And when green dice fail a Phantom, the green dice FAIL a Phantom.

Another is to swarm around it and deny it opportunities to decloak.

Of course, much of this is from theoretical thinking and hearsay. Like I said, I haven't flown against Phantoms all that often, but I think I've been fairly successful against them.

I wish I could just Duct Tape an AutoBlaster to one of my bombers!

They should do that! hahaha. Lego bombers come with a spring loaded cannon anyway...

Yes I meant Prox Mines guys SORRY!