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The Next Phase
by Spot Let's talk about the new Phased Cloaking Device and the one Romulan ship that comes equipped with it - the Apnex - both introduced in the Rules of Acquisition expansion. Being predominately a Romulan player, I was glad to see that my affiliation received the only ship with a phasing cloak built in. I thought it was a neat addition to the STCCG universe and have used the Apnex successfully a few times already. There are more advantages to using the Apnex than there are disadvantages, but first, let's look at some things that will be of advantage to anyone using a phasing cloak, whether through the Artifact or otherwise.
Of course, the down side has to be considered, too. The Apnex being the exception, you have to earn the Phased Cloaking Device before you can put it to use, and this isn't always easy. It can seed at Pegasus Search or any planet location, however, Pegasus Search isn't exactly the easiest mission to complete and it will probably draw your opponent's nastiest space dilemmas such as the Borg Ship. Seeding it at an easy-to-complete planet mission would probably be best. Also, when played, it's played as an Equipment card, which leaves it open to Disrupter Overload and dilemmas like Common Thief. If you're playing Romulan, however, earning the Phased Cloaking Device isn't necessary to gain the benefits from it. All you have to do is put the Apnex in your deck. In addition to all the benefits described above, the Apnex, while phased, has the highest RANGE available to any ship in the game (with the exception of the Future Enterprise), without using any enhancements such as Defiant Dedication Plaque or Plasmadyne Relay. Add in Captain's Log and it's matching commander, Mirok, and you have an 11-7-8 ship while phased. Why should you use Mirok in your deck? He's excellent for Romulan space decks, with his SCIENCE, Astrophysics and Physics. The ENGINEER skill doesn't hurt either and with Nutational Shields and/or Metaphasic Shields, the ship can be enhanced even more. In a Romulan battle deck, throw in Senator Cretak and give your Romulan ships the extra WEAPONS boost. All in all, I don't see any reason to use a regular cloaking device if you have the phasing cloak available to you, unless you need to use cards specifically worded for cloaking instead of phasing. The Phased Cloaking Device might be a bit difficult to earn, but the Apnex - with its standard Phasing Cloak - is an asset to any Romulan deck. Spot
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The most notable advantage to using the Phased Cloaking Device is that your ship is completely invisible and untouchable. This means that you won't be affected by external phenomena, such as Q-Net, Temporal Rift, Supernova, Wormholes or Subspace Warp Rift. This is a big advantage in itself. I've played many a game where a Temporal Rift was slapped down on my ship and I didn't have the AU Door in my hand to get rid of it. Lately, on the tournament scene in my area, I've seen a few Q-Net's. With a phasing cloak, you no longer have to worry about carrying two Diplomacy on board to bargain with our favorite omnipotent trouble-maker, Q. Also, a ship using a phasing cloak is not affected by cards that specifically affect cloaked ships, such as Tachyon Detection Grid and La Forge Maneuver. Decipher was thinking ahead when they created the Engage Cloak Objective and included phased ships in the text of that card. This can be a large advantage, as well. With your ship phased, you receive a RANGE bonus of 4; leave your ship on Engage Cloak for a couple turns and you'll have the power to "sneak" up on your opponent. Use Engage Cloak in multiples, in this manner, in combination with a Romulan or Klingon armada deck, and wreak havoc on your opponent. Playing Borg and want to surprise your opponent after you have targeted a ship for elimination? Use the Phased Cloaking Device in conjunction with Tomalak of Borg and Engage Cloak and there's very few places your opponent can hide.