Talk:Targeting Synchronizer/@comment-31119284-20170428233208/@comment-454133-20170502214353

I like the dress reference. That's actually kinda perfect for describing the division in opinion right now. :D  But yea, it's a card that just screams for an explicit FAQ entry, and FFG hasn't done that yet. Until that official ruling drops, none of the major interpretations are officially wrong; but it's very difficult to use the card with the wider interpretation because you don't want to disrespect your opponent by looking like you're pulling a fast one on them. Nor does it feel good to try to enforce the more restrictive interpretation on someone who understood it differently (and was depending on it working that way). FFG needs to resolve this, and I fear we may need to wait until the C-ROC has been out for a month before we'll get the next FAQ. >:(

I can explain my position though: The best analog we have is the Bossk (Crew) card, which gives us an insight into how FFG views their rules wording. Its trigger is "After you perform an attack that does not hit...". Everything on the card that follows is tied to that trigger. Even if you're not stressed, you assign 1 focus token etc. The Bossk crew card is wonky because that's not how most people would interpret that card -- normally you'd expect "if you are stressed" to be part of the trigger, but by the FAQ apparently it is not.

From what I can gather, TS work the same way. Its trigger is "When a friendly ship at range 1-2 is attacking a ship you have locked...", and everything that follows uses that trigger and references that friendly ship. Thus "that ship" is the friendly ship that's attacking, whether or not that same ship needed to replace its attack header. Just like with Bossk, the sentence that follows is independent of whether that ship had the first benefit.

If that still sounds wonky or devious to you, you're not alone. I still see my interpretation get push back, and I haven't dared use the card as a result -- it just feels poisoned until this is resolved. Without a rules interpretation guide from FFG, people are left to argue. And on teh internets, you've gotta keep things cordial or it all gets ugly very fast (e.g. the FFG forums turn into toxic, pedantic arguments whenever this is brought up, and at times it gets really personal).