What's the ruling on an x7 Defender moving though an obstacle but not landing on it, will it still get it's free evade action as free actions aren't prevented by the maneuver templates going through obstacles?

CHeck out the Advanced SLAM FAQ. If your template overlapped an obstacle, you don't get your free action evade.

Before the most recent FAQ, the title only referenced adding an evade token, not taking an evade action. This meant you could overlap and still get the evade off it. The most recent FAQ has it changed to getting a free evade action, so you would lose out if your base or templates overlapped an obstacle during the activation phase. So, make the best of it for the next two days.

4 minutes ago, thespaceinvader said:

CHeck out the Advanced SLAM FAQ. If your template overlapped an obstacle, you don't get your free action evade.

Hmm, that's interesting. I was going to say that moving through and overlapping is two different things (the wording in the rules reference indicates that), but the Advanced SLAM FAQ indeed says otherwise.

As do email responses since the FAQ.

6 hours ago, Juunon said:

Before the most recent FAQ, the title only referenced adding an evade token, not taking an evade action. This meant you could overlap and still get the evade off it. The most recent FAQ has it changed to getting a free evade action, so you would lose out if your base or templates overlapped an obstacle during the activation phase. So, make the best of it for the next two days.

Small point, overlapping an asteroid with your template means that you have to skip your "Perform Action Step" which is distinct from a "Free Action". Something granting you a free action would not necessarily be stopped automatically by that. However, in this particular case the new errata specifies that overlapping an obstacle does stop that free action and based on the ruling for Advanced SLAM that would include template as well not just final position.

Also, the card does specify "obstacle" so it does include debris. Which is at least theoretically relevant because debris does not actually make you lose an action directly. It is the stress is causes that does that. So Tycho can fly through debris and still get an action, as could any ship that is able to shed the stress before it's action phase kicks in, but since the X7 title specifically says "obstacle" rather than "asteroid" it would still apply even if the stress wasn't relevant.

And a similar situation came up in a shop tournament yesterday: x7 flies through a ship (friendly or not). It doesn't lose its normal action, of course, but does it lose its free evade? We didn't know so I let my opponent have it.

It does not lose its free evade. Flying through another ship is not overlapping.

Thank you. We were wondering whether the movement template counted for the overlapping rule because it does for obstacles - unless that's wrong too? (See above discussion; consistency would be nice. )

Overlapping templates for both obstacles AND ships ARE clearly defined by separate rules in the manual. It counts as overlap for obstacles but not for ships.

It's a little ambiguous. Stunned Pilot and Advanced SLAM have very similar wording but get different answers in the FAQ.

6 hours ago, kraedin said:

It's a little ambiguous. Stunned Pilot and Advanced SLAM have very similar wording but get different answers in the FAQ.

Similar but not the same. Stunned Pilot is 'if you are overlapping' - a current condition checked at a specific time - after executing a manoeuvre. It doesn't look backwards. ASLAM and x7 are 'if you overlapped' which checks backwards as well - and per the ASLAM faq, takes account of whether your template overlapped the rock as well.