Played a big game yesterday and came upon a couple of uncertainties. Thanks for any help.

Sensor Jammer: "When defending you may change one of the attacker's hits to a focus."

So if the attacker has a focus token can he use it to change it back to a hit? As the defender modifies attack dice first, in this case with the Sensor Jammer, then I assume the answer here is yes.

Also a movement issue: on the first move friendly ship A bumps flush into the back of friendly ship B, where they both remain stopped. On the next move they do the same straight maneuver, same speed. Do they bump again or is it assumed that ship A in the back already made compensation and is no longer theoretically touching? Thanks

Read the rest of the card....

The Sensor Jammer has the Defender modify an attack die and prevents that die from being ROLLED again. The attack can later modify it any way possible except by re-rolling.

Two ships that are parallel after overlapping which perform the same straight maneuver will not automatically overlap although their final positions may appear to be in physical contact. If B moved first and then A moved into the back of it as long as B moves first the next time A should be able to perform the same straight maneuver and avoid an overlap situation.

The problem with the sensor jammer, in other words, is that it is a 4-point card, the benefit of which is obviated entirely if the attacker has a focus token.

People learn very quickly how to reduce it's value to zero.

And every ship can focus (except Huge ships).

But is it always a problem if you force your opponent's action and the use of that Token?

Sensor Jammer may not be a top choice for a system slot but it can have its days.

If B moved first and then A moved into the back of it as long as B moves first the next time A should be able to perform the same straight maneuver and avoid an overlap situation.

As long as they aren't moving speed 1 (or 2 for large ships) the order they move in the second round shouldn't matter. Though it is a lot easier to measure if B moves first.

Played a big game yesterday and came upon a couple of uncertainties. Thanks for any help.

Sensor Jammer: "When defending you may change one of the attacker's hits to a focus."

So if the attacker has a focus token can he use it to change it back to a hit? As the defender modifies attack dice first, in this case with the Sensor Jammer, then I assume the answer here is yes.

Yes.

The order of attack and modification goes thusly:

Declare Attack

Attacker rolls Attack dice

Defender modifies Attack dice (Sensor Jammer goes here)

Attacker modifies Attack dice (Focus goes here)

Defender rolls Defense dice

Attacker modifies Defense dice

Defender modifies Defense dice

Compare Results

Sensor Jammer is very, though subtly, potent.

Scenario 1: Your opponent has no Focus tokens, due to defense, lack of action, or choosing another action.

Result: Free evade token.

Scenario 2: Your opponent has a Focus token, and would spend it offensively anyway

Result: No effect. :'(

Scenario 3: Your opponent has a Focus token, and would not have spent it offensively if not for SJ

Result: You have removed their Focus token, negating their action

Scenario 4: Your opponent has a Focus token, and would have performed a different action if not for SJ

Result: You have negated their entire action bar.

So, yes. SJ is great.

Also a movement issue: on the first move friendly ship A bumps flush into the back of friendly ship B, where they both remain stopped. On the next move they do the same straight maneuver, same speed. Do they bump again or is it assumed that ship A in the back already made compensation and is no longer theoretically touching? Thanks

This is the one of very few methods two ships can become Adjacent without Touching, wherein they do not actually overlap.

However, in a tournament, force your opponent to measure! The rules allow for the subtle shifting of the maneuvers that are natural to actual humans, and this can result in the ships Overlapping again. Moreover, slight differences of angle at any point in the gameplay means that they're not wholly parallel, meaning that the same maneuver would result in overlap anyway.

Not in a tourney? Fly casual.

Read the rest of the card....

Most useless reply. In future, perhaps offer to help instead of just being something of a nerfherder.

Read the rest of the card....

Most useless reply. In future, perhaps offer to help instead of just being something of a nerfherder.

Woah there paladin! Take a load off and have a cool one for a bit...

I thought the rest of the card answered his question. I was wrong. It happens.

Read the rest of the card....

Most useless reply. In future, perhaps offer to help instead of just being something of a nerfherder.

Woah there paladin! Take a load off and have a cool one for a bit...

I thought the rest of the card answered his question. I was wrong. It happens.

Its just a very frustrating reply to see; If reading the card answered their question to their satisfaction, they wouldn't have a question to ask us.

What is simple to one is not simple to all.

Moreover, slight differences of angle at any point in the gameplay means that they're not wholly parallel, meaning that the same maneuver would result in overlap anyway.

Actually, slight differences in angle should guarantee that ships will not touch or overlap if performing the same STRAIGHT maneuver. In most cases, you should gain a small gap between ships, as long as ships are not bumped or shifted during final position. Pefectly parallel ships performing the same straight maneuver will touch but not overlap (as noted in the FAQ) but with banks or turns, you may still end up overlapping due to small differences in angles.

The problem with the sensor jammer, in other words, is that it is a 4-point card, the benefit of which is obviated entirely if the attacker has a focus token.

People learn very quickly how to reduce it's value to zero.

And every ship can focus (except Huge ships).

On the surface, yes.

But I've been told to think of Sensor Jammer as an /offensive/ upgrade that forces the expenditure of Focus tokens that could otherwise be used for defense. Sp that ship that spent its focus token nullifying your Sensor Jammer? It's now rolling unmodified defense.

And if your opponent doesn't have focus tokens to begin with? Great, now your ******* Lambda is invincible haha.

I look at a card like this from a "net value" and the probabilities.

I'm not arguing against anyone else's perspective on its utility - indeed I'm learning from others and I appreciate that very much. Thanks.

So take my favorite EPT really: Determination

There is about a 25% chance when you take a critical hit, and you are equipped with determination, that you discard the hit entirely.

For one point.

The more hit points your ship has, the lower the agility of that ship, then the higher the chance Determination will earn you that discarded hit. It's extremely difficult to gauge because you may never take critical hits in a game, making it meaningless. But because critical hits tend to get through to your hull (based on how evade dice are allocated to hits), again, the more hull and the less agility, it becomes worth way more than 1 point. I would easily pay 2 points for it when I run a Decimator. Maybe more.

So with a Sensor Jammer, you start at 4 points and you leave its effectiveness in the hands of what you face from your opponent. I don't like expensive cards whose effectiveness is determined by my opponent. Especially with the Focus action obviating it.

The sensor jammer does not work as well against high-initiative opponents.

It works less well the more appealing your ship (with the SJ) is as a target (and the SJ usually goes on juicy targets). The juicier the target, the more likely your opponent is to be sure to keep the focus (and shoot at higher initiative).

If you are relying on another friendly ship to remove a target's focus before it fires at your SJ-ship, then you are effectively changing the point cost of the SJ. You are paying for that other ship, possibly paying for a higher initiative than your SJ-ship.

Now add in any ship with a Push the Limit card or the ability to gain a free focus or other action such that he can take a focus and get a free action from someone else (and there exist quite a number of ways this is achieved) and you are looking at an even worse chance that your opponent will not have his focus.

For its cost, I find it never does enough. It is just too easy to render it useless.