A thought just occurred to me. While the phantom has been nerfed, there is a potential opportunity here. Because phantoms will now decloak before any ships move, phantoms have the ability to be blockers that still get to move and take actions. Theoretically, a phantom could decloak to block an opponent, then later take it's own maneuver. Possibly retaining it's action.

Sigma pilots could decloak to block ps2 ships then move on their turn to activate.

Shadows can block up to ps4 like dagger b-wings which we might see more of with lessened use of phantoms.

echo gets even crazier with blocking potential

Whisper could move to block almost any ship at ps 9 or under, then be able to move on it's own activation turn.

While it would take a good player and a situational opportunity to make use of this, the option is there.

What are your thoughts on the matter?

Yeah, it's a boost to the Phantom. It's not as good as the ultimate arc-dodging capability they had before this rules change, but it does mean there's a new use for them.

if the phantom finds new strengths from the errata, then it's not exactly a nerf is it ?

but yeah, the potential for blocks and not being blocked too are going to be immense and the savy phantom players will seize this opportunity and go on to be just as lethal as before

I don't see how a glass cannon being told that getting a nice shot of is a headache for you now, but you can throw yourself in front of other ships now... How is that a boon again? Why not use a different ship as a blocker. like a cheap 12 pt tie, or big ship.

if the phantom finds new strengths from the errata, then it's not exactly a nerf is it ?

but yeah, the potential for blocks and not being blocked too are going to be immense and the savy phantom players will seize this opportunity and go on to be just as lethal as before

Yeah the blocking potential is there, but it is dependent on your opponent not seeing the 'trap'. With the exception of Echo, a phantom's decloak spots are pretty easy to visualize, so I think most decent players will learn to watch out for it and avoid the block. Having said that, there's still some interesting repercussions, since it creates a sort of 'no fly' zone (or accept getting bumped and losing an action if you really want that spot), and it comes down to player skill being an important factor in making the most of this new mechanic, and I think that's a good thing ultimately.

I don't see how a glass cannon being told that getting a nice shot of is a headache for you now, but you can throw yourself in front of other ships now... How is that a boon again? Why not use a different ship as a blocker. like a cheap 12 pt tie, or big ship.

try it out beforehand with ships such as Guri or Keyan

these guys give exactly 0 ***** about bumping and can be used to set up very effective blocks, which not only remove the actions of the bumped ship (generally) but make you completely immune to their attacks for that turn. It's literally the only way to escape turrets, for example.

Whisper in particular still gives 0 ***** about bumping if she happens to block herself (free target-lock, free re-cloak, free focus...). It's a great way to survive pursuing ships or a mass of firing arcs, especially when a phantom's 4 dice generally blow an opposing ship out of the water before it can fire having another completely unable to shoot can be gamebreaking. It's not as trivial a skill to utilize as her reactionary de-cloak, but it's a new capability to exploit.

25 points minimum for one blocker sounds like a bad investment of points

25 points minimum for one blocker sounds like a bad investment of points

I don't see how a glass cannon being told that getting a nice shot of is a headache for you now, but you can throw yourself in front of other ships now... How is that a boon again? Why not use a different ship as a blocker. like a cheap 12 pt tie, or big ship.

I'm not saying it will be a go-to tactic or prudent most of the time. I'm just saying it's there and available if it's useful.

I think it'll be important to use them as blockers, but it will not be equivalent to their former arc-dodging.

Your premise that blockers somehow don't get actions is false. Blocking implies that you get in the way of another ship and take your action. The bumped ship loses its action. The only scenario where a blocker doesn't get an action is one where the ship has to bump to occupy a suitable space that is "in the way" of a target ship. But you can't do that with decloaking (same overlapping rules apply as before), so they're the same.

The difference lies in attacking. A blocker can't attack the target ship, since it was setup to block. The phantom has the potential to block and attack the same ship, although I can't find a reason to do so (unless it's the last ship on the board). For instance, decloak to block, then 4-k behind that ship. It's still something you won't see often, if ever.

What I dislike about blocking with Phantoms at the moment is that if you manage to block somebody with the decloak, escape maneuvers are few. If you block a large ship, depending on angle, only the 3-speed maneuvers and the 4's will help you escape. Otherwise the blocked becomes the blocker, and I assume you both have to lose from that.

Because of these maneuvers, I assume you will need another ship that can take advantage of the bumping and hit the bumped ship really hard. Double Phantoms might not suffer too much from the "nerf" after all. One Phantom used to bump you and not allow you to chase while the other has free reign to shoot at you.

Using the decloak to block might be good for a couple of laughs and someone will no doubt have a match that was won by clutch blocking but for the most part it isn't something that Phantoms are going to want to do much of. The Phantom's moves to get clear of the block are going to be limited and the Phantom is taking a higher risk of finding themselves blocked, especially if their opponent does something un expected.

Block me, Phantom! I like that so bad!

- Arvel Crynyd

Block me, Phantom! I like that so bad!

- Arvel Crynyd

and then Arvel's crappy, unmodified 3 die attack bounces harmlessly off of whisper's 4 greens + focus

Arvel Crynyd (23)
Chardaan Refit (-2)
Predator (3)
Autothrusters (2)
A-Wing Test Pilot (0)

Total: 26

Your premise that blockers somehow don't get actions is false. Blocking implies that you get in the way of another ship and take your action. The bumped ship loses its action. The only scenario where a blocker doesn't get an action is one where the ship has to bump to occupy a suitable space that is "in the way" of a target ship. But you can't do that with decloaking (same overlapping rules apply as before), so they're the same.

The difference lies in attacking. A blocker can't attack the target ship, since it was setup to block. The phantom has the potential to block and attack the same ship, although I can't find a reason to do so (unless it's the last ship on the board). For instance, decloak to block, then 4-k behind that ship. It's still something you won't see often, if ever.

What I dislike about blocking with Phantoms at the moment is that if you manage to block somebody with the decloak, escape maneuvers are few. If you block a large ship, depending on angle, only the 3-speed maneuvers and the 4's will help you escape. Otherwise the blocked becomes the blocker, and I assume you both have to lose from that.

Because of these maneuvers, I assume you will need another ship that can take advantage of the bumping and hit the bumped ship really hard. Double Phantoms might not suffer too much from the "nerf" after all. One Phantom used to bump you and not allow you to chase while the other has free reign to shoot at you.

With advanced sensors, the maneuvering options become much more varied after the block. You can barrel roll away and 1 turn back at the ship you just blocked for instance.

actually, phantoms are going to have to block now, to be effective. so, start learning folks.

Also, I think theyre' gonna be funny squishy against turrets even more. and die much more often to random stuff.

Your premise that blockers somehow don't get actions is false. Blocking implies that you get in the way of another ship and take your action. The bumped ship loses its action. The only scenario where a blocker doesn't get an action is one where the ship has to bump to occupy a suitable space that is "in the way" of a target ship. But you can't do that with decloaking (same overlapping rules apply as before), so they're the same.

The difference lies in attacking. A blocker can't attack the target ship, since it was setup to block. The phantom has the potential to block and attack the same ship, although I can't find a reason to do so (unless it's the last ship on the board). For instance, decloak to block, then 4-k behind that ship. It's still something you won't see often, if ever.

What I dislike about blocking with Phantoms at the moment is that if you manage to block somebody with the decloak, escape maneuvers are few. If you block a large ship, depending on angle, only the 3-speed maneuvers and the 4's will help you escape. Otherwise the blocked becomes the blocker, and I assume you both have to lose from that.

Because of these maneuvers, I assume you will need another ship that can take advantage of the bumping and hit the bumped ship really hard. Double Phantoms might not suffer too much from the "nerf" after all. One Phantom used to bump you and not allow you to chase while the other has free reign to shoot at you.

With advanced sensors, the maneuvering options become much more varied after the block. You can barrel roll away and 1 turn back at the ship you just blocked for instance.

That's cutting it quite close. A barrel-roll and a 1-turn will not work, for instance, if you bump head-on. So you need both the space to do those maneuvers and know exactly how the bump will look like. But still, it would be nice to pull off, and definitely doable with Advanced Sensors. Good catch.