At the most basic level, the phase switch in effect just swaps the two wires feeding the sub. Where the cone was pushing out, it now sucks in.
If you are equidistant between two subs and one is anti-phase to the other, the sounds should exactly cancel at the listening position. Not what you want.
If you are not equidistant, the exact effect depends on frequency, which affects the wavelengths and hence cancellation / reinforcement of the sounds being played.
At 20-Hz, the cancellation half-wavelength is about 30-feet, dropping to 3-feet at 200-Hz and 18-inches at 400-Hz. So if your speakers are playing a 400-Hz tone and they vary in distance from you by 18-inches you should not hear that tone.