X-Wing List testing and Headhunters?

Ah, list testing is amusing…  Got in a game with the list I thought might replace my Dash/Roark list.  Running Lando in the Falcon in place of Dash, EU on both ships to run fast…  Well, the Falcon impressed me.  I suspect that with Han (Pilot) there might be something there.  Running this combo put me in a LOT of really bad positions.  I really WANT to take the obstructed shot, but with this build I am giving them extra Agility Dice, and the shot itself is only the 3 Dice vs the 4 of Dash (also denying the Agility bonus)…  So, it just does not hit hard enough.  Now, where it DID impress me is the survivability.  Re-rolls on the Agility is really powerful.  Probably more than most would realize.  It didn’t help of course.  Fenn just ran up on Roark and with the R1 shot erased him in a single shot when I blanked on Defense.  I tried to get cute with a Boost to set up a Proximity Mine drop the next turn assuming that I survived.  Odds were strongly in my favor, but the Green Dice WILL betray you as I should know well…  So for now, back to Dash for the League and likely the event over at the Red Raccoon in Bloomington.

I suspect that if I were to try Han in the Falcon for Hyperspace legal paired with Wedge or Norra in her Y-Wing (annoyed I cannot use the ARC of course)…  Might be a thing…  At least locally, we have a weird Meta.  Guessing with R2-D2 crew and all the re-rolls I could get a fairly survivable Falcon to at least compete...

Got a LinkedIn message from a Headhunter about an “IT Manager” job in Champaign…  So sent along my resume and have a phone meeting for tomorrow.  We’ll see.  In the ancient times when I was working in Chicago, this was such a regular occurrence that I frankly stopped even paying attention.  Was the 90’s and far more “Wild West” as far as the IT Industry seemed at least to those of us at my level.  But until our phone meeting I really have no idea where this potential position is, and so EXTREME caution is in order.  It would have to be an amazing offer to get me away from the University at this point.  Finishing up my cover letter for another one that frankly would be a VERY different direction for me, but would be amazing if I got it…  J  Of course, can’t say anything about it until and if it happens… 

X-Wing over the Break/into Jan's events...

So, been a few weeks…  I wound up winning the small Store Kit event at Titan with my Dash/Roark list…  Solid list and I suspect no one locally other than Jacob was prepared for it…  Jacob and I played the week previous to get in some practice so we had a fair idea what each other’s lists could do.  Unfortunately for him, his 4 ship S&V list was just not able to catch my ships in time before Dash erased enough of them to keep the win for me.  Dash DID die in that one, so it was fairly close to the end, but…

Not at all sure what to run going forward.  I’m sitting out Wave 2 with First Order and the Resistance for the most part…  Frankly, those factions simply do not interest me.  Some of the ships look like they will present challenges and be fun to fly against.  REALLY glad that the points are no longer on the cards as looking at the Resistance A-Wings and comparing them to the original Rebellion ones…  The new and far more advanced ones are actually cheaper…  Which SEEMS to point to a reduction coming for the Rebellion ones that no one seems like they are flying at the moment.  I know there is a fair bit of an argument going on out there about “Hyperspace vs Extended” for format going forward…  In general I am fairly neutral about this.  No really big events coming up it seems until Wave 3 drops and then my Jedi will all be legal in either format…  Looking at the lists I am flying now?  Nope, Extended only.  Could I go Hyperspace?  Sure.  But the Empire and Rebellion just seem severely limited in that format.  MAYBE Supernatural Luke or Vader would be enough to carry the Factions, but S&V simply has so many good options that it just seems bad.  Says nothing of the new Factions that show up ALMOST all legal in HS…  One probably problematic card not being legal on the FO side.  So, yes, there will be 3 Factions viable it seems, but that 2 of them just seem completely cut out is a problem for me.  I could fly a variant of Stu’s Fang list and probably do well enough, or Fen/Fenn for another Mandalorian team up…  Ironic, the Firespray that I flew so much in v1 is now probably the most powerful ship in either format at the moment…  I was NOT expecting that outcome.

Got me thinking about the basic game balance as the editions evolved and changed…  The basic game was 2 TIE Fighters and 1 X-Wing.  Looking at the cheapest option for both ships, the game is actually fairly even…  TIEs are ~ half the cost of the more durable X-Wing, and have a slightly worse Pilot.  The X-Wing CAN in theory erase a TIE it catches in Arc, while the TIE cannot even punch through the Shields in a single shot outside of Range 1.  On the other hand, the v1 X-Wing had no ability to reposition after its maneuver, making it very predictable and of course the good TIE commander will simply not be where the X-Wing will likely land.  Now, jumping ahead to v2 you have an X-Wing with Boost (via the S-Foils being closed) as well as the Barrel Roll, a much better dial and more Hull.  The TIE is essentially unchanged.  At the most basic level looking at JUST the box set, the Rebels look like they’re a bit OP.  Expand that out to the Hyperspace stuff however and the Rebels (barring point adjustments which ARE supposedly due in Jan) are simply left in the dust overall.  A few notable exceptions being things like the Dash/Roark list as the “I brought a Shotgun to the fight” option for erasing enemy ships quickly.  In Extended Empire has what is probably the most powerful list in their “Aces of Legend” or whatever many are calling it…  Redline (TIE Punisher), Soonter Fel (TIE Interceptor) and Whisper (TIE Phantom) loaded out and with an insane bid, the deepest being 18 points?  So, their I5 ships will almost always be moving last for the Arc Dodging they need to live.  Fell being I6 does not need this, but there ARE other I6’s and he REALLY does not want to be shot at.  S&V has the Drea swarm with the Y-Wing leading out a mess of Tugs (usually 3) and Z-95’s (another 2-3?)…  REALLY rough to face that, and why I do not feel particularly bad bringing Dash (or Lando)/Roark to the field…  Now, NONE of those ships are HS legal.  So, I suppose the balance is enforced that way and FFG gets to push the ships they have released for v2 heavily…  Probably a good business model… 

Not sure how it will play out locally though.  One of the local stores (Gopher) has announced that they’re done with X-Wing, so we have only the one location in Champaign.  Mattoon has gone silent as well, but Bloomington seems to be quite active…  I AM heading over there for the big event on the 26^th of January, so definitely want to have my “A” game ready for that…

Looking at this as a viable alternative to the Dash/Roark one:

LandoRoark (197)

Lando Calrissian — Modified YT-1300 Light Freighter	92
Trick Shot	1
Han Solo	12
Nien Nunb	5
Perceptive Copilot	10
Engine Upgrade	9
Millennium Falcon	6
Ship Total: 135
Half Points: 68 Threshold: 7
Roark Garnet — HWK-290 Light Freighter	38
Trick Shot	1
Proximity Mines	6
Jyn Erso	2
Engine Upgrade	3
Moldy Crow	12
Ship Total: 62
Half Points: 31 Threshold: 3

MORE or less the same idea…  Lacks the base 4 Dice Attack of the YT-2400, but is not punished at Range 1…  Lando has a built in PTL like effect as I can add an Action when I do a Blue move, and Nien gives me the Banks as Blue.  Both ships have Engine Upgrade to Boost, Roark just has to keep Lando in AN Arc for the extra shot, and with him dropping Mines to punish pursuit while boosting to put distance between himself and the pursuers it seems pretty decent…  The Falcon can likely do the Focus Action, take one as an Evade and then have a re-roll on Defense if needed.  Both have Trick Shot and I am bringing the biggest terrain I can to litter the field.  With the Mines to help close some gaps this might be amusing…

Another X-Wing event this weekend in CU, and next month?

Ah, what to play going forward….  Well, in v1 I played a LOT of Firespray based builds…  Problem I am having is that the Firespray or at least Boba Fett is probably now one of the strongest ships in the game now.  Especially if I am stuck in the restricted builds (NOT Extended), but overall so many powerful builds based on Fett’s Firespray.  Guri was another on that I enjoyed flying in v1, now?  Well, not as powerful overall as Fett, but still quite good.  So, most of what I enjoyed flying previously is just a bit to the OP side of things at the moment.

To play a more challenging list I WAS flying the YT-2400 with Dash…  Now, he is the basis of one of the broken combinations with Roark/Han Gunner.  I’ll probably still give it a shot, but it is REALLY powerful.  My Dash/Norra list is fun to fly and will probably do well(ish) locally.  But even that has the potential to just run over a fair number of things if people are playing the normal “odd” builds we see here.  Listening to the 186^th Podcast one of the guests mentioned my build but replacing Lando for Dash and a few other things that needed changing

LandoRoark (197)

Lando Calrissian — Modified YT-1300 Light Freighter	92
Trick Shot	1
Han Solo	12
Nien Nunb	5
Perceptive Copilot	10
Engine Upgrade	9
Millennium Falcon	6
Ship Total: 135
Half Points: 68 Threshold: 7
Roark Garnet — HWK-290 Light Freighter	38
Trick Shot	1
Proximity Mines	6
Jyn Erso	2
Engine Upgrade	3
Moldy Crow	12
Ship Total: 62
Half Points: 31 Threshold: 3

I was going from memory, so there are likely things in there that were not in the original or I might have missed a few things…  But Lando doing Blue maneuvers gives him free Actions (or another ship), Focus for 2, take one as an Evade if needed.  Rerolls on Defense, the HWK can actually MOVE if needed with the EU making the Boost action White.  Proximity Mines to drop them to “discourage” pursuit…  The HWK is needed for the double tap from Han Gunner, so still a lynchpin for the build, but I suspect not nearly so much a situation of “I lose if they kill the HWK”…

Played a few more games with the Dash/Roark list…  It IS powerful.  I have not faced a very “Ace” centric list with it, but pretty happy with how the list performs overall.  And saying that, this is just practice for the January event over at Red Raccoon.  I suspect this will land me solidly at the middle tables among some excellent players over there.

And moving on to the Champaign League?  Well I will definitely be flying the Lando version above but this got me thinking:

Unsaved Squadron (200)

Cavern Angels Zealot — T-65 X-Wing	41
Servomotor S-foils	0
Ship Total: 41
Half Points: 21 Threshold: 3
Braylen Stramm — A/SF-01 B-Wing	50
Ship Total: 50
Half Points: 25 Threshold: 4
Ten Numb — A/SF-01 B-Wing	50
Ship Total: 50
Half Points: 25 Threshold: 4
Norra Wexley — ARC-170 Starfighter	55
Intimidation	3
“Zeb” Orrelios	1
Ship Total: 59
Half Points: 30 Threshold: 5

2 B-Wings, an ARC and filler…  I1 X-Wing as a blocker, but Sabine in her Attack Shuttle fits well there for even more silliness…  Nothing really subtle about this list, just 4 decent ships, Norra being the Blitzer who just runs in to block or “get blocked”…  She still shoots, has the additional Evade and lowers the Agility of anything in Base…  Should allow a fair bit of Damage to get applied in a surprisingly short period of time…  Not sure if there is anything to this list, but…

The first wave of Hyperspace Legal stuff has been announced and I’m pretty “meh” on it all at this point to be honest…  NOTHING I am currently playing would be legal.  On one hand, it is good and more balanced I suppose with Punishers, Tugs and the silly Han Gunner (Rebel) trick simply not being legal…  But…  I have a LOT of ships and I want to fly a variety.  Rebels have X-Wings, Y-Wings, YT-1300’s and SOME of the U-Wings…  No B-Wings, no YT-2400, no HWK…  So, the Rebel list can be 3 X-Wings (or 2 X’s and a Y) or…  I suppose Han in the Falcon and filler?  Pretty bad compared to the S&V options.  Imps have Vader and basic TIE’s…  Yes, technically they have Reapers and Strikers as well…  But nothing I am overly interested in flying frankly.  The TIE Advanced is just not as interesting for me to fly as the Interceptor or Phantoms frankly.  Basic TIEs are not for me at all…  Scum?  They DO lost the Tugs and Star Vipers, but keep Fett and Fenn for probably the most powerful Pilots in the limited setting.  So, the massive “Oops” of the 28 point uber-Tugs go away, but they keep some of the best ships in the game…  Just not overly interesting for me I suppose, but I CAN fly my triple Fang lists I suppose if I feel like it… 

REALLY looking forward to Wave 3, and frankly hoping it hits VERY early.  I know it will be out before Gen Con, but since they’ll be Hyperspace legal from the beginning, I suspect this will be wat I fly should one of those events pop up before mid-2019 in Illinois…  Sitting out Wave 2, will watch with interest as Kylo appears to be mostly unchanged and hoping that my initial assessment of “Did they learn nothing from v1?” proves to be incorrect…  I want that ship to be good and powerful, but not the entirely negative play experience it was in v1 where you simply could never catch it and my list of Kylo/Whisper and some stupid high bid (18 points IIRC?) actually won me events by simply having Kylo never die while Whisper killed just a bit more than her point value…  And running EVERY game to time.  I suppose that as of now every Faction looks to have an I6 to hunt him down, and the CIS just looks like it will have a massive swarm to have arcs on him every turn…  I’m just not liking the “You must field ‘x’ or automatically lose”…  J  Just me overreacting I hope and it might be fine… 

Any case, regular Tournament this weekend at Titan (Champaign)...  And our new League starts up with sign up then and play to begin in January.  And Red Raccoon in Bloomington has a larger event mid Jan...  MUCH larger event I suspect with players coming from across central IL...  Should be fun...

X-Wing, did they break Dash?

So…  As I was playing the Dash lists as a “Well, maybe there is something here” sort of thing and have been fairly happy with my ARC/YT-2400 list in what was its final form with Zeb/Intimidation on the ARC and Kannan on the YT…  Well, turns out someone else saw something that is FAR more effective. 

DashRoark (197)

Dash Rendar — YT-2400 Light Freighter	100
Trick Shot	1
Han Solo	12
Perceptive Copilot	10
Outrider	14
Rigged Cargo Chute	4
Ship Total: 141
Half Points: 71 Threshold: 5
Roark Garnet — HWK-290 Light Freighter	38
Squad Leader	4
Tactical Officer	2
Moldy Crow	12
Ship Total: 56
Half Points: 28 Threshold: 3

Now, theirs had no Rigged Cargo for the 7 point Bid.  Me?  I REALLY like the Cargo as it adds another piece of terrain that Dash at worst ignores or at best causes Stress and additional Attack Dice for me.  The ability to just drop the Cargo is huge, and could potentially double Stress an opponent who did not see it coming.  Potentially a Critical or two, but with that being only a 1 in 8 chance, not something to count on. Great when it DOES hit, but… 

In any case, where this one seems like it breaks things is the interaction between Roark, Han Gunner and I 7.  Roark gives I 7 to Dash in the Engagement Phase, he shoots.  Then he chooses to activate Han Gunner who also shoots at I 7.  Gets around the restrictions of not being able to shoot out of the same Arc as the restriction specifies “cannot attack from that arc again this round”.  Han IS the one Bonus Attack allowed by the rules, so no longer a restriction.  Roark can also Coordinate an Action to Dash, allowing him to double Focus, Target Lock, Rotate Turret, etc…  Typically I think going to Focus for the potential modification to both shots.  Brutal as if I can get an “obstructed” shot at Range 2-3 I shoot twice for 5 Dice while the Defender does not get the additional Agility due to the Outrider Title.  Potentially erasing most things Medium Based or below before they get to shoot…

Now, it IS a fragile combination… I 4-5 for movement, Range 1 sucks with only 3 Dice Attacks, and the whole combo hinges on the HWK surviving and being in range/arc to give Actions and I 7 to Dash.  But facing someone not prepared for it?  Like I said, it could very well erase 2 Swarm Ships each turn (thinking TIE/Z-95)…  Things like T-65 X-Wings or TIE Phantoms?  If I catch them in Arc, double tap and barring bad variance I think one just dies each turn.  The Title also allows Dash to run over or land on an Obstacle to remove a Red or Orange Token…  So, Target Locks or Tractors?  No thank you.  No help against I 6 of course rolling in to TL, but…  I still shoot first, so…

The biggest counter play I see against it would be someone who CAN close quickly, or just be REALLY good at Arc Dodging…  Having played against some who are in fact that good (Will and Tyler out of the Peoria are come immediately to mind), I know it can be done…  I suspect this list will be the big fish in the small pond, but when I get to Bloomington or the like, it will get me to the middle tables.  Not bad, just not likely to win me a big event.  WILL be fun though…  Maybe.  I might well go back to using the version with Norra in the ARC as that one is just fun, not competitive…  And frankly I suspect this combination (Roark/Han Gunner) will be one that gets the FAQ treatment as it seems pretty bad...  Just my opinion of course, but...

X-Wing: my Rebels hit the table (like a lead zeppelin) and looking forward to Wave 3...

So, a few more games in and this is what my list is evolving to:

DashNora2.5 (200)

Dash Rendar — YT-2400 Light Freighter	100
Trick Shot	1
Kanan Jarrus	14
Shield Upgrade	6
Outrider	14
Rigged Cargo Chute	4
Ship Total: 139
Half Points: 70 Threshold: 6
Norra Wexley — ARC-170 Starfighter	55
Intimidation	3
“Zeb” Orrelios	1
Tactical Scrambler	2
Ship Total: 61
Half Points: 31 Threshold: 5

I tried the Veteran Gunner/Turret Gunner on the ships but have yet to get it to actually go at all…  Not once.  So, Kanan comes back and we’ll see.  Norra becomes the Blitzer who just runs right at the enemy and blocks…  With Zeb, Intimidation and the Scrambler I should be able to shoot in base contact while they are -1 Agility.  Yes, they can shoot back, but I get the +1 Evade.  Also, Dash should be trailing at a distance to pile in the heavy Attacks…  Will see I suppose how this works out.  This sort of list flies so much differently than the Ace type lists I am good at where I can just fly and react as things happen…  Trust in my ability to fly it well.  This seems the other side of that coin where Dash needs to stay far away at all costs.  Not a lot of the Daffy Duck “Parry, Dodge, Lunge” that I do with the Aces…  Still not convinced the Rebels really have much of a chance at this point, but will keep trying I suppose...

Had my Dash go from full to almost dead in a single round today, so getting in close and bumping is bad, but the Critical Cascades are just beyond brutal…  Fuel Leak being the second (of three) Criticals that hit him in a single attack…  So, 3 Damage became 5 like that.  So, not entirely convinced that Large Bases are going to be usable in this Edition with the Damage just piling up that quickly…  Certainly NOT like they were in v1 with Dash being a Meta staple until the end there.  Faced a Dengar in the JM5K in the last Event…  Was unimpressed.  The ship itself just is nowhere as good and the abilities lock you into a forward Arc that can be dodged easily enough.  And of course with the game itself getting so much more deadly he lacks the staying power he had in the old game.  Will see how this list plays out over time I suppose…  It IS fun, and likely what I’ll play until the Third Wave hits…

Speaking of that…  SO looking forward to my beloved Jedi J…  Since I identify pretty well with Anakin (the Clone Wars version at least) with the…  Let’s call them “anger issues” coupled with the being really good at the whole fighting thing…  Pretty much summed up here:

The Jedi Fighters (Delta 7’s) look amazing.  Fly like the Fang or TIE Interceptor, but with Force users and what look to be Force actions.  Not sure if they will be efficient, but they look perfect for me and a lot of fun to fly.  The ARC-170’s are back and look amazing as well…  Not so sure about the V-19 Torrents…  Seem “OK”, but almost like something closer to a Z-95 in terms of abilities…  So, filler ships I suspect for me, and so not really something I am overly interested in.  Will see.  Much depends on the points they end up costing of course, and as that is not information we have at this point is I think pointless to try to build lists or anything.  Just looking forward to snagging these when they DO come out.  

Re-watching the “Clone Wars” series, had forgotten how good it actually was.  I did prefer “Rebels” personally, but like I said, I could see where the older series was really quite good.  NOT a kids show, really aimed at the Star Wars crowd and I think they hit their mark well.  So much so that the much maligned “prequel” movies actually seem a lot better…  Well for me at least J… And even then I am ignoring/forwarding through the parts with Jar Jar and some of the more overly dramatic parts with Anakin.  In the Clone Wars, he was portrayed as a real bad ass who could be a cold blooded killer when push came to shove…  So, his fall to the Dark Side was not a surprise at all as it was in the movies…  Well, we all knew it was coming, but it just seemed to be lazy writing how “and this happens” hit…  But of course, I have no clue how much got cut out of the movies that might have made it make more sense watching it…  But watching the Clone Wars between the second and third movie made it all fit in quite well.

First v2 X-Wing event in Champaign... What to bring?

So, first local X-Wing event coming up Sunday…  I have 2 lists of course because I’m silly that way…  And stubborn.  The first is:

FelWhisperSai3.5 (199)

Soontir Fel — TIE Interceptor	52
Lone Wolf	4
Ship Total: 56
Half Points: 28 Threshold: 2
“Whisper” — TIE/ph Phantom	52
Juke	4
Collision Detector	5
Darth Vader	14
Ship Total: 75
Half Points: 38 Threshold: 3
Lieutenant Sai — Lambda-class T-4a Shuttle	47
Advanced Sensors	8
0-0-0	3
Shield Upgrade	4
ST-321	6
Ship Total: 68
Half Points: 34 Threshold: 6

The “Standard” list I’ve been flying more or less since the beginning of v2 ALL the way back both Months…  Suits me well with the 2 Aces, it does get a bit heavy on the Min/Max in terms of Action Efficiency for my taste…  So, it might well be one that is simply too good for “Casual Play”.  Guess it depends on what else I see, and if the folks from say, Bloomington, Peoria and Springfield make the trek over here to Champaign…  Springfield is having an Event the same day, so I suspect it will not be well attended by travelers, but who knows…  And it IS Veteran’s Day, so will likely be meeting my wife later to snag a meal (Yes, one of those silly Veterans, was once a 12B2V, or so my DD-214 asserts).  It is REALLY good as lists go.  Lacking the Redline that a lot of the truly competitive players are fielding now, but the “Cloak & Choke” Whisper is just insanely good.  Soontir Fel is cheap and fragile, but quite a good Ace and an absolute blast for me to fly.  Yes, always one bad roll from dying, but to me that is a big part of the fun of this game.  The Shuttle?  “Let’s stack up a way to get 3 Actions out of the Ship before it moves and therefore cannot be blocked”…  Coordinate a Focus, gain a Focus and TL for the Shuttle.  Then just roll in.  Fearing the Tugs, this ship just becomes my bulldozer and bullies them off the field.  The Aces are going to flank and hopefully not get caught while the dumpster fire in the middle rages and they get a few kills.  Against other “not S&V Swarm” lists?  3 solid ships with excellent Action Efficiency all around.  And I HAVE flown this a while now.

On the other hand, my stubborn streak kicks in and since I REALLY like the Rebels…  Hearing over and over how they are simply unplayable now, I came up with:

DashNora (199)

Dash Rendar — YT-2400 Light Freighter	100
Trick Shot	1
Veteran Turret Gunner	8
Shield Upgrade	6
Outrider	14
Rigged Cargo Chute	4
Ship Total: 133
Half Points: 67 Threshold: 6
Norra Wexley — ARC-170 Starfighter	55
Expert Handling	4
Veteran Tail Gunner	4
R3 Astromech	3
Ship Total: 66
Half Points: 33 Threshold: 5

Just 2 Ships.  Not hugely maneuverable or durable…  Well, Nora is a TANK if I can get her close to an Enemy Ship.  Pro Tip, not really that hard for a Medium Based ship with a White Barrel Roll to get close.  Might not have Arc, but just adding the free Evade means she lasts a LOT longer than she should under fire.  And the ARC-170 is actually a surprisingly good ship…

Dash?  What if I were able to get 2 (!) 5 Dice Attacks each turn while denying the Enemy the additional Agility Dice for an Obstructed Shot?  Seems pretty good to me…  Guessing it will not get the “dream shot” often, but just having that threat there should cause people to approach with caution.  Even a basic 5 Dice Attack has the potential to erase things.  Dash being “Easy Mode” for movement since he can simply ignore Terrain for Movement. 

Probably nowhere near optimized, really just an idea I had to play with Ships I really like and combinations of upgrades that seem like they might give me a fighting chance against a lot of things.  So, guessing I’ll throw that down if it looks like not many folks are there as I have less interest in playing the hyper competitive list in that setting… 

Other news?  The first real previews of the CIS and Republic X-Wing Ships hit today.  REALLY looking forward to my Republic stuff hitting the table for me…  Q1 of next year, so a bit off, but…  Jedi Starfighters, 2 different Clone ships…  One being the ARC-170 J…  Hoping the ETA-2 hits as well and Ashoka Tano is one of the Pilots…  Like the Delta, and Anakin Skywalker looks REALLY good, so not going to be lacking for “Ace” ships to field…  Heck, generic Jedi are going to be a thing.  The CIS looks interesting but definitely not my play style, so likely to be safe from me purchasing them…  Some VERY interesting mechanics and the ships themselves look quite nice, but…  No, not my thing really.