Hello Star Wars enthusiasts! Strap in as we delve into a piece of lightsaber lore that might not be as famous as Luke’s sky-blue blade or Darth Vader’s menacing red, but it certainly stirs up its share of controversy.
Today, we’re talking about the flickerphase lightsaber, a weapon that, by its very nature, challenged the Jedi’s sense of fairness and honor in combat.
Flickerphase blades are detailed in Knights of Fate, a sourcebook released in 2018 by Fantasy Flight Games for their Star Wars: Force and Destiny role-playing game.
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What is a Flickerphase Lightsaber?
Unlike your standard lightsaber, which boasts a reliable, steady blade, the flickerphase lightsaber has one unpredictable feature: its blade can ignite and extinguish at random moments.
Imagine dueling with a lightsaber that flickers on and off without warning. Not only does it make for a visually perplexing fight, but it also leaves the enemy perpetually on their toes, unsure when or from where the next attack might come.
Why the Jedi Disliked It
Firstly, combat for the Jedi is not merely about winning; it’s about engaging with honor and integrity.
The flickerphase lightsaber challenges these values due to its inherently unpredictable and, some might argue, deceitful nature.
To wield such a weapon means to adopt a style of fighting that relies on trickery and confusion—tactics that the Jedi Order finds dishonorable.
In the eyes of the Jedi, a fair fight is one where both combatants know exactly what they are up against and can measure their skills against each other without deceit.
The flickerphase lightsaber’s random ignitions make it nearly impossible to anticipate and defend against effectively, which can be seen as exploiting a technical advantage over genuine skill.
Secondly, this lightsaber is essentially a cheat code.
It’s akin to trying to have a lightsaber duel while your opponent’s blade plays peekaboo. You never know when it will appear next, or if you’re about to swing at thin air.
This unpredictability makes defending against it an almost impossible task. Blocking a regular lightsaber is challenging enough, but when the blade flickers in and out of existence? Good luck!
This unpredictability doesn’t just annoy the one facing the blade, but also frays the nerves of any Jedi watching.
The essence of their training is to anticipate and react, but how do you anticipate a lightsaber that can’t decide whether it wants to be visible or not? It’s like trying to hit a light switch in a pitch-dark room while blindfolded.
