"When you reveal your maneuver dial or after you perform an action, you may perform a Bomb Upgrade card action as a free action."

Does this still make you discard the bomb card for using it?

Yes.

Yes.

This has been another episode of "short answers to long questions".

Yes.

This has been another episode of "short answers to long questions".

You think that's a long question?

Yes.

This has been another episode of "short answers to long questions".

You think that's a long question?

It was longer than the answer. Isn't that the yardstick by which we measure if a thread is worthy of "SATLQ" status?

Do what the cards (and rules) say:

Deathfire:

"When you reveal your maneuver dial or after you perform an action, you may perform a [bomb] Upgrade card action as a free action"

Prox Mine:

Action: Discard this card to drop 1 proximity mine token......

Conner net:

Action: Discard this card to drop 1 Conner net token.......

Cluster mine:

Action: Discard this card to drop 1 cluster mine token set ......

Free Actions (rules reference p12):

A free action is an action granted to a ship through a card ability or other effect. It does not count as the one standard action that a ship performs during the “Perform Action” step.

Don't do what the cards don't say

Yes.

This has been another episode of "short answers to long questions".

When the question does not even make sense when you just read the card...

Why explain more then yes, any other explaination would be condescending...

Every Bomb Upgrade say discard this card... so why even have the question in the first place... why would using the action as a free action would change the text on the card.

"Free action" confuses people pretty regularly. "Discarding this card is basically a cost I have to pay to perform this action, but this other card says this action is free, so..." isn't even in the Top 5* weirdest wrong directions people have been sent down by "free action".

*: Okay, probably that number is exaggerated.

Free Action = Free Opportunity to perform an action (specified or not) without spending your single action per round.

It is not a free use of the content of the action utilized.

The action performed is still done as per the core rules of the game or card text.

There is 1 Mars Bar left on the shelf in a shop, it is labelled as 'Free Mars Bar'.... you take it..... do you now get to spend more money to buy a Mars Bar? no, because it has gone. but you now have money left to spend on another item in the shop.

Free Action = Free Opportunity to perform an action (specified or not) without spending your single action per round.

It is not a free use of the content of the action utilized.

The action performed is still done as per the core rules of the game or card text.

There is 1 Mars Bar left on the shelf in a shop, it is labelled as 'Free Mars Bar'.... you take it..... do you now get to spend more money to buy a Mars Bar? no, because it has gone. but you now have money left to spend on another item in the shop.

Mmmmmm..... Mars bars..... (drool, drool)

I want a Mars bar now.

Free Action = Free Opportunity to perform an action (specified or not) without spending your single action per round.

It is not a free use of the content of the action utilized.

The action performed is still done as per the core rules of the game or card text.

There is 1 Mars Bar left on the shelf in a shop, it is labelled as 'Free Mars Bar'.... you take it..... do you now get to spend more money to buy a Mars Bar? no, because it has gone. but you now have money left to spend on another item in the shop.

Mmmmmm..... Mars bars..... (drool, drool)

I want a Mars bar now.

Psh, please. Mars bars are the T-65 of candybars. They are iconic and have always been there. But for the same price, you can get a Snickers (which, coincidentally, is super deadly to some people...).

"Free action" confuses people pretty regularly.

Yeah I bet a good 8-12% of all questions asked here perhaps more, are based on a misunderstanding of what Free in Free Action means.

I kinda wish that FFG would of picked a different term, although it's a good one in the context it leads to a lot of misunderstanding.