The Phantom Menace

By Jike, in X-Wing

Sorry to anyone having flashbacks over the title.

Anyway, Phantoms look pretty good now. They kept their crew slot and not only did their basic cost go down, you now don't have to add on the 5 points for ACD and VI as you did in 1st edition. Also, the generics look usable and Imperial crew is pretty good. What are people's thoughts on loadouts? I'm thinking Juke is a pretty good fit given that you'll almost always want to retain your Evade token, and you're now freed from the requirement to run VI. The system slot could be either Collision Detector, which does work with your decloak action, or Advanced Sensors for even more flexibility but more cost.

Some sample loadouts:

Whisper (78 points)

  • Juke
  • Darth Vader
  • Advanced Sensors

A bit pricey at 78 points but it leaves enough for a decent mini swarm or a couple of solid wingmen. Vader looks like a great fit here, stripping tokens to make Juke better or just pushing through damage.

Echo (64 points)

  • Juke
  • Informant
  • Collision Detector

Informant is great for decloaking ships and Collision Detector opens up so many options. Trick Shot or Debris Gambit might also be a good fit for Echo, taking advantage of the ability to go almost anywhere you want. This build also looks pretty good on the generics, coming in at a pretty cheap 60 points or 55 without the unique Informant.

Either of these builds could also benefit from Shield or Hull upgrades. You get a bit of a discount on them because your base Agility is 2 but you will sometimes be up at 4 when you're going fully defensive.

I'm looking forward to putting Phantoms on the table and not needing to worry about loising half my list when I'm PS-killed (IN-killed?). I think just not having so many points invested in one ship will probably make them viable and they work quite well as a not-too-expensive ace or tricky generic, slotting nicely into a lot of different lists.

Imdar Test Pilot

Sigma Squadron
-Crackshot

Sigma Squadron
-Crackshot
-Krennec
-FCS

Sigma squadron
-Squad Leader
-Moff Jerjerrod

I know I am looking at a third Phantom now.

Just saying, I called that they'd be good the moment the card was spoiled ?

Theyre VERY well priced + Stygium array and decloak manueverability is going to put them FAR ahead of similarly priced and stated ships, provided you put in the practice

You can put in two juke sigmas, juke whisper, and a test pilot scrub in the same list

Only issue is predator Duchess costs the same as the scrub

36 minutes ago, ficklegreendice said:

Just saying, I called that they'd be good the moment the card was spoiled ?

Theyre VERY well priced + Stygium array and decloak manueverability is going to put them FAR ahead of similarly priced and stated ships, provided you put in the practice

You can put in two juke sigmas, juke whisper, and a test pilot scrub in the same list

Only issue is predator Duchess costs the same as the scrub

Also, I dont think anyone has seriously looked at Gonk Whisper, but she's one of the more durable pilots in the game right now.

1 hour ago, Rakaydos said:

Also, I dont think anyone has seriously looked at Gonk Whisper, but she's one of the more durable pilots in the game right now.

Maybe. I still think Gonk might be a little bit too much work for too little effect but it's certainly true that with action efficiency generally being a little lower you don't lose out on quite so much by taking the Gonk action. Maybe Gonk with Shield Upgrade and Elusiveness for ultimate tankiness. Probably not good, but probably also fun.

Elusive is probably just good in general

Though I personally wouldn't gamble on reds with only a focus. Juke helps push them through

I have an oddball desire for a semi-support Phantom with Krennic and Fire Control System. Only 8 points between the two of them, so fairly affordable. FCS allows you to not spend the TL unless you really need it. Optimized Prototype isn't nearly as strong, but I think it's still kinda nifty. A lot of Imperial ships probably want to save their focus token for defense, so eye results could be safely spent on OptProt.

Juke seems really good overall, or possibly Trick Shot if you're looking to save points. Phantoms will frequently be able to decloak out from behind a rock, so Trick Shot seems a bit easier to activate than on a lot of other single-arc.

Tie phantom was my favourite ship I am very curious about the V2 phantom. 3 attack , the price of a xwing. I will need practice, but I have faith in imdar spec!

10 hours ago, theBitterFig said:

I have an oddball desire for a semi-support Phantom with Krennic and Fire Control System. Only 8 points between the two of them, so fairly affordable. FCS allows you to not spend the TL unless you really need it. Optimized Prototype isn't nearly as strong, but I think it's still kinda nifty. A lot of Imperial ships probably want to save their focus token for defense, so eye results could be safely spent on OptProt.

Juke seems really good overall, or possibly Trick Shot if you're looking to save points. Phantoms will frequently be able to decloak out from behind a rock, so Trick Shot seems a bit easier to activate than on a lot of other single-arc.

I think Trick Shot on a Krennic/FCS Echo might be pretty good. You get 4 dice a lot of the time, the OP ability to spend dice and a lock if you roll poorly. Not as solid as the more consistent Juke option but with a lot more spike damage potential.

Do we have a confirmed maneuver dial?

cause some sources are saying that Phantoms don’t have the 1 turn anymore.

In the unboxing Video they have the 1 turn (8.22 bottom right)