Incorrect

With int agent you can position yourself far more flexibly.

Discounting manuevers, every fighter you have has maximum 3 potential positions, zeta has 5, and phantoms have 3 from decloak (4 if counting the decision not to) and then 3 from the potential roll.

So, ratther than guessing what the opponent will do (or assuming he'll just play into your hands for some reason) and potentially screwing yourself over, you KNOW what he will do and how to react reliably. You remove all uncertainty when it comes to knowing exactly how to screw someone over

The more ships you have, the better you can respond to any maneuver the opponent selects. Similarly, the more options you have (decloak and roll direction) the more into agent seals the deal by giving you 100% returns

If you outmatch your opponent by so much that you never use int agent, then you're probably going to win regardless of what you take

My favorite list in the weird period between Raider and Wave 7:

• Darth Vader
• Veteran Instincts
• Engine Upgrade
• TIE X1
• Advanced Targeting Computer

• Howlrunner
• Veteran Instincts
• Stealth Device

• Echo
• Decoy
• Recon Specialist
• Advanced Cloaking Device
• Advanced Sensors

Total: 99

This list is extremely mechanic - but the gist is that I'm using Howlrunner and Vader as PS dolls for Echo to Decoy with - having the option to have her shoot at either 10 or 11 depending on he situation. Vader wants to shoot last anyway, because of a higher chance of a crit hitting hull - he just needs the high PS in activation to position better. This list has lost a bit of its legs because of TLT spam but it's still a fun play.

Incorrect

With int agent you can position yourself far more flexibly.

Discounting manuevers, every fighter you have has maximum 3 potential positions, zeta has 5, and phantoms have 3 from decloak (4 if counting the decision not to) and then 3 from the potential roll.

So, ratther than guessing what the opponent will do (or assuming he'll just play into your hands for some reason) and potentially screwing yourself over, you KNOW what he will do and how to react reliably. You remove all uncertainty when it comes to knowing exactly how to screw someone over

The more ships you have, the better you can respond to any maneuver the opponent selects. Similarly, the more options you have (decloak and roll direction) the more into agent seals the deal by giving you 100% returns

If you outmatch your opponent by so much that you never use int agent, then you're probably going to win regardless of what you take

I'm just not understanding how this seems useful. Yes, you know for certain where 1 ship of your opponent will be going, but you can't change your maneuvers and rarely have I seen a place where every single maneuver and post move adjustment are open, much less remotely good ideas. I really don't think you're getting anything good out of intelligence agent that you couldn't have gotten with the foresight you mention. Maneuvers affect your final position so much more significantly than just a barrel roll that the majority of the guesswork is done before intelligence agent triggers. If you guessed close enough that a barrel roll is the key to success then you likely could have figured that out without intelligence agent and if you've guessed poorly enough that what you see from the agent surprises you, a barrel roll likely won't help much at all.

Ignoring the fact that barrel-roll is huge (and part of the reason the rookie will never ever trump the blue squadron pilot unless it suddenly become obscene),

Project the knowledge of a ship's maneuver across every ship you have and every possible position they could occupy post maneuver (or premanuever)

Basically, instead of a haphazard guess, you create a net of blockers thanks to int agent. You need only one ship in the vicinity of where you KNOW (not guess) where the opponent is going to be, and then you only need to move that one ship with a roll.

You can even go so far as to block yourself by activating out of order by same PS pilots

The amount of shenanigans are VAST (don't forget the decloak!)

then, cross-reference that against all the Vaders/soontirs/corrans/dashes that get absolutely hosed without actions

And that's not even getting into low PS arc dodging higher PS, or knowing when it's safe to commit to offense/to gtfo

You seems to assume that:

-The ship you want to block started the round in a range 1-2 of the Phantom in the first place

-All your ship is actually able to move in a position to block the target

-The opponent didn't saw it coming and didn't planned his move accordingly, or his previous move to not get into this kind of precarious situation

-You achieved to block the target in a position where you will actually have a good shot on it

-The ship that you plan to block is alone and doesn't have 60+ worth of allied ship that can also do their part in the fight. If you concentrate all your ship to block one, Intelligence Agent or not, there is a very good chance that you'll be able to do it anyway. Regardless, it might actually put you in a bad position against the rest of your opponent team

Intelligence Agent is not a bad choice of crew, but I don't consider it as good as you make it sound. It helps and can serve its purpose from time to time, it helps to plan your decloak against one particular ship or reposition your blockers, but then serve no purpose against all the rest of the team. Soontir, Vader or the other arc dodger that can boost and barrel roll post move can do all their shenanigans after the opponent has already commited to their move. Of course they can be blocked, but it's part of their game and should plan their move with that in mind in the first place. Vader has 13 possibles position where he can end his move before arc dodging, it should give you enough choice to prevent the block.

Of course, it's a matter of opinion and if Intelligence Agent works for you, then by all mean, use it and dominate your region.

I'm a big fan of intel agent on a phantom, but if I had to pick its best match, it would be on echo. It makes her into the slipperiest of eels, with a choice of seven lovely maneuvers to choose from once you've seen that dial. That, and she only comes in at 38 points too (ACD, FCS, VI & intel, of course), compared to 42 for your average whisper. With Whisper, as I said, I prefer to take my chances with brute superiority - recon specialist, rebel captive, or maybe tactician...