Rules Lawyer- Phantom Cloak

FFG recently made some updates to the FAQ for their Xwing Miniatures game. At first this might seem like a common occurrence, they have updated the FAQ shortly after the release of every new Wave of ships, very few times have they actually changed a previous ruling. Most often these updates have been merely clarifications. In the case of unclear rules, this can often feel like a rule change if the ruling is significantly different from the way most players have played it.

Sometimes, it becomes necessary to actually completely change a rule, as FFG did with this update. Previously, the Deloak action occurred right before a ship revealed it’s dial. This meant that ships with high pilot skill would not need to decide if they wanted to decloak until their turn, which in the case of Whisper would often be after every other ship had already moved. Now, with the new rule, ships must decloak at the start of the Activation Phase, which means they must decloak before any ship has moved.

Some would argue that this effectively neuters the Phantom’s incredible maneuverability advantage. In away it does do this. No longer can a Phantom wait until every other ship has moved and then get to decloak, move and barrel roll to find the perfect position. This does destroy the primary way a Phantom has been used to date. But I don’t think it’s the doom and gloom it appears to be at first glance.

Let’s look at how this changes the dynamic of playing a Phantom. First, needing to be PS 9 loses a small part of it’s appeal. Granted, you still benefit from firing first and activating Advanced Cloaking Device. And all of the other usual benefits for a high pilot skill. But it no longer feels like a requirement. For so long Whisper has been regulated to only ever equipping Veteran Instincts as her elite pilot talent. Now, you might consider some other options.

Second, this change gives new life to the red-headed stepchild of cloak upgrades, the Stygium Particle Accelerator. While seeing some use on the lower PS ships, this upgrade was never something you’d want on Whisper. But now, the new timing for the decloak action opens some really interesting options. Primarily, when you make use of Push the Limits (PtL).

Push the Limits allows you to take a second action after you take a first, in exchange for a stress. Because it can be triggered by any action, and Stygium gives you a free Evade action after decloaking, you can trigger PtL before anyone has moved. This gives you a lot of interesting options.

After decloaking, you can then barrel roll to get really far away from your previous position, potentially forcing a block on your opponent. You could also ready up a focus should your planned move result in you losing your action due to a bump. No matter what you do, the main thing is that you can acquire a stress immediately, before making your move. That way, when it’s your turn to move, if you’ve selected a green maneuver you can immediately clear that stress, allowing you to take a third action as part of your regular turn. Should you end up in a bad position you can then feel free to use this action to recloak.

Now, obviously the disadvantage is that without an Advanced Cloaking Device you won’t be recloaking very often. But if you can be patient and use this to set up a great position or attack for yourself, it can be just as deadly as the old way.