Titan, Champaign SC AAR (X-Wing) and the next iteration going forward...

Titan Champaign SC AAR (X-Wing)

Well, went in with the latest iteration of my Firespray list:

BobaKath1.5 (99)

Boba Fett (Scum) — Firespray-31	39
Fearlessness	1
Seismic Charges	2
Tactician	2
Glitterstim	2
Ship Total: 46
Kath Scarlet (Scum) — Firespray-31	38
Expertise	4
Heavy Laser Cannon	7
Dengar	3
Burnout SLAM	1
Long-Range Scanners	0
Slave I	0
Ship Total: 53

So, not quite min/maxxed but about as efficient as I could get it without exposing even more weaknesses.  Kath was SOLID.  During the event she accounted for a lot of the Damage since I could really count on the sheer accuracy she brings to the table.  4 hits were the expected result EVERY shot and I think that was the case.  Note I said Hits and not Damage.  She really has no way to force through Damage other than say, hitting Fenn Rau with the HLC for 4 and him having only 3 Agility to potentially evade with.  So, not an unexpected result seeing Fenn lose half his Hull in a single Range 3 shot.  I did it several times.  In the games I won the other player failed to Arc Dodge.  When I lost, well the Arc Dodging was pretty much it.  Biggest down side of the list I am seeing at the moment is the lack of repositioning.  This was not such a problem when I started flying the Firesprays, but as the local Meta evolves and “Begun this PS War has”… 

Faced a PS 10 Quickdraw, a LOT of PS 9 stuff and saw at least one table where there was nothing but 9’s…  Tyler and his opponent had 5 PS 9 ships out there.  Seems that we’re back to the Ace Meta and the Firesprays simply cannot compete in that.  Well, I COULD give Fett a PS 10 and probably EU to get in on the game myself.  A possibility if I cannot come up with another list I like by 23^rd of July when the last Titan League event is held I guess.  The SC at Red Raccoon Games in Bloomington is the 29^th and I’ll need to have something figured out by them.  Might be some combination of Dengar, Fenn, Cobrabane,  N’Dru, Fett, Kath…  Would be awesome if the Wave 11 and/or Hired Guns expansion hit before then, but as they JUST changed Wave 11 to “on the boat” for Status it does seem…  Less likely.

Bombs are looking like they are becoming another answer to the Aces.  I know a lot of people gripe about the unfairness of the Bombs, but they are a pretty solid counter to the Ace silliness of “Look, Soonter Fel gets the equivalent of 6 Actions, has 4 Agility and cannot be touched by normal firing…  You need to learn to fly better”.  Rock/Paper/Scissors I guess.  Alpha Strike and Bombs tend to be the things that kill Aces, the 4 TLT Y-Wing list is still winning events so that is still a thing that is another natural predator for a lot of lists…  Ironically my Firesprays HATE TLTs of course…  We’ll see if I come up with another build involving say, Miranda…  Combines the 2 things AND Regeneration so she is a REALLY solid ship.  Almost at the broken level.  So, chances are if I go Rebel the chances are I’ll be flying Miranda.

Imperials have some good options, but they are SO dependent on Agility Dice…  A single bad roll and it could be the end for their Aces.  TIE/sf and TIE Defenders are a bit more resilient and so seems like there is something there.  With the PS wars it does somewhat limit what to bring.  Mind, the Defenders are pretty fun to fly…

Still, the more I think about it the more I go back to the stubborn refusal to allow the Kihraxz to be a useless ship.  I REALLY want Cobrabane to work well and might just go with something like this:

Manaroo — JumpMaster 5000	27
Attanni Mindlink	1
Intelligence Agent	1
Unhinged Astromech	1
Rigged Cargo Chute	1
Anti-Pursuit Lasers	2
Ship Total: 33
Fenn Rau — Protectorate Starfighter	28
Attanni Mindlink	1
Autothrusters	2
Concord Dawn Protector	1
Ship Total: 32
Talonbane Cobra — Kihraxz Fighter	28
Attanni Mindlink	1
Engine Upgrade	4
Ship Total: 33

2 point bid since I need to be able to react to the other player’s PS 9 stuff or do I say “All In” and put the cloaking device on the Kihraxz?  Might be fun and as the busy time has begun I am not getting much practice in…  The rumor has the next Wave hitting in 2 weeks so they’d be legal for my next 2 events toward the end of July.  The SC in Springfield 12 August is more likely to have the Wave, but it does break the pattern FFG had of releasing the stuff at Gen Con, but I and I suspect EVERY retailer in the country would be fine if they broke that particular pattern.  We’ll see I guess.  But in any case, the JM5K set up as a Bumpmaster and 2 Aces that hit REALLY hard is a list that fits my play style pretty well…  Would be better with the Kihraxz fixes, but alas J…