problem is it's not a one-shot

it could be oneshot

you just don't have any control over when or where, and therefore no real control over its strategic application

either it sticks and you've cloaked (yay) but only move next turn, or it blows up and you get to immediately launch yourself into a de-cloak for an explosive potential escape. You just don't get to choose, which would've been a great bit of gameplay for the player.

But no, FFG left it to the dice

what you end up with is an upgrade that you should be preparing in advance (as with any good ACD-less claok), but which can utterly fail for no reason, or a 25% chance to escape a shot you didn't deserve to dodge

I hope you can modify your preorder of G-1A transports down from 7 to 1 pack before it's too late

Nope. I still need 10. Or 20. Better make that 30 just to be safe.

Played someone who prox'd this. They rolled a focus first round after cloaking. Yay.

Even outside of this experience, I'm in the party that feels the benefits are far too small for the risk/points.

BUT...

The card does have value. The issue right now is that players are having trouble distinguishing the defensive value of cloaking we see with Phantoms with the maneuverability benefits of cloaking. Lets get this straight right away- Cloaking is not a good action option on its own. You get no shot, and even though you get a couple extra dice on defense, anyone who has played this game more than once knows it doesn't matter how many dice you're rolling. They will still find a way to fail you.

Instead, the value of the Cloaking device is the DECLOAKING. Think of it as if it was an alternate version of BB-8, where instead of a barrel roll when you reveal your maneuver, you do a barrel roll or a boost with the 2 template at the beginning of activation... But you have to spend an action the turn before to do so... And it has a 25% chance of never being available to you again...

Sounds bad right? Well, ya, it's not great. At least not on MOST ships. But, on Talonbane, or a VI Xizor, it actually may have a place. The turn before you are going to be in range for combat, take the cloak, and you instantly have a positioning advantage for your top ace that next turn. Here are the only Cloaking Device builds I'm currently considering.

Talonbane Cobra (28)

Push the Limit (3)

Engine Upgrade (4)

Cloaking Device (2)

Pts: 37

Prince Xizor (31)

Veteran Instincts (1)

Virago (1)

Advanced Sensors (3)

Cloaking Device (2)

Autothrusters (2)

Total: 40

and maybe Ndru

N'Dru Suhlak (17)

Lone Wolf (2)

Cloaking Device (2)

Stygium Particle Accelerator (2)

Total: 23

And while I don't think this build is particularly competitive, the fact that you can perform 5 actions in a round is reason enough to run this build-

Guri (30)

Push the Limit (3)

Virago (1)

Fire Control System (2)

Cloaking Device (2)

Stygium Particle Accelerator (2)

Total: 40

Beginning of Activation

1) Decloak

2) Stygium evade action

3) Push the Limit off of evade for barrel roll/boost

Guri's activation

4) Green maneuver clear Push the Limit stress

5) barrel roll/boost

Combat

6) Gain focus from ability

7) gain target lock from Fire Control Systems after attack

At some point scum is going to get a modification illicit that allows you to discard it instead of those 1 use illicits. Maybe that's even what the Dual ... Something already does. When that happens this and hot shot will be awesome®.

Holy cow! That's an awesome idea! I think the card is called "Adaptable." It has "Dual Upgrade" where other cards say "Modification" or "Title." Maybe the dual upgrade rules let you put a dual upgrade in the same slot as another upgrade. Maybe if "Adapt-" is put in a slot with an upgrade, you can discard "Adapt-" instead of that upgrade.

Honestly, I doubt that's how it will work, but I like your thinking!

I don't get why people are pissed over this 2 point upgrade. Countermeasures cost 3 points and give you a one point agility increase, for the price of discard and not using an action. The rolling an eyeball bit is no different than rolling 5 blanks on Soontir and losing a Stealth Device.

Also, no-one has been paying attention to the last line of the card text:

"discard this card and decloak or discard your cloak token."

Losing it still gives you a free decloak move, so you are always guaranteed one turn's worth of full use.

Luckily I don't play that many tournaments, so I can play these uncertain upgrade cards, have a fun game, and bear the loss if it be so !

Funnily, but best use is just DERping it onto a HWK with little to no upgrades.

IT flies around, cloaked, debuffing foes, sometimes, when the enemy expects the least, it decloaks and blocks some pesky ace, and takes out his Ion\TLT to derp somebody.

post-nerf decloak doesn't make it an auto-include for Cobra

I don't get why people are pissed over this 2 point upgrade. Countermeasures cost 3 points and give you a one point agility increase, for the price of discard and not using an action. The rolling an eyeball bit is no different than rolling 5 blanks on Soontir and losing a Stealth Device.

Also, no-one has been paying attention to the last line of the card text:

"discard this card and decloak or discard your cloak token."

Losing it still gives you a free decloak move, so you are always guaranteed one turn's worth of full use.

sh*tty cards existing is no justification for making what could have been an awesome, fun card sh*tty

I don't get why people are pissed over this 2 point upgrade. Countermeasures cost 3 points and give you a one point agility increase, for the price of discard and not using an action. The rolling an eyeball bit is no different than rolling 5 blanks on Soontir and losing a Stealth Device.

Also, no-one has been paying attention to the last line of the card text:

"discard this card and decloak or discard your cloak token."

Losing it still gives you a free decloak move, so you are always guaranteed one turn's worth of full use.

Countermeasures has the same issue as Cloaking Device. It's an upgrade which has a great effect which just doesn't quite reach its potential as an upgrade due to point cost and/or wording. Putting that aside, I'm totally missing what point you're trying to make here. I only see a very vague correlation between Cloaking Device and the examples you shared.

And yes, you can count on at least 1 cloak and decloak. Unfortunately that decloak comes before your opponent sets their dials, so its effectiveness is limited. But it is still worth something in that case, so even if you roll the eyeball in the first roll, you get to place your ship in a superior position for battle in the next round.

I need to point out that dials should be set before you decloak.

Not with the wording of the card. It might be FAQ'd, but if it isn't, it's a pre-manoeuvre decloak (because you check at the end of the round, not the start of the next one)..

I need to point out that dials should be set before you decloak.

As stated above, not in the case that you roll the focus. That happens during the end phase, meaning you will decloak during the end phase. Unless I am missing something.