Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Random Motorcycle/Tariff thoughts and X-Wing v2 building...




So, go to thinking a bit about Tariffs recently as apparently we are in another cycle of such things now.  As I specialized in the “Industrial Engineering” side of Mechanical Engineering when I went to school in the ancient times this was something that came up as we were just getting out of the 80’s and into the 90’s at the time.  Now, looking at the situation in as unbiased a fashion as possible there are a few factors that you must account for.  Specifically, the United States has “Anti-Trust” laws that are lacking in many (most/all IIRC) of our competitors.  So, for instance we have company “X” that produces say, motorcycles.  They are unable to share ownership of say, Steel Mills, Coal Mines, etc. with those companies in any significant way.  Not so for say a Japanese company or Keiretsu.  That is essentially a group of companies that share a common ownership and purpose.  This allows the overall Keiretsu to achieve a profit MUCH easier as they have no need to achieve profitability at any specific level (thinking of manufacturing process as the various levels that these companies exist at).  So, competitive advantage taken to extremes.  Now, I used motorcycles as an example because I have only ever owned Honda motorcycles.  So, these tariffs would be why my Silverwing had a 497cc engine and my Goldwing technically has an 1196cc engine.  My Goldwing is a 1984, so they also got around restrictions by assembling the bike here in the United States, technically making it an American manufactured motorcycle for the purposes of Tariffs…  Now, where this example falls apart is that while TECHNICALLY there were American manufacturers (Harley Davidson being the largest) at that time, they were manufacturing absolutely terrible bikes, so the protection for American jobs was good and all, but they were producing horrible bikes, so probably should have failed sooner than they did…

Ah, but back to X-Wing…  Mostly just theory crafting at the moment as I am just not getting out to play all that often.  The girl’s big Show Choir fundraiser event was this last weekend and there was simply no time for anything else and frankly I am still exhausted from that.  Good cause I suppose, and the new Choir Director is FAR more involved with the kids and there is actual excitement and people coming back to the program after the last few years just bleeding people off…  But silly real life interfering with the whole gaming thing for me J 

Rebels:  A few lists I am looking at, Luke Skywalker in his X-Wing loaded out with Proton Torpedoes and the “But, I’m a Jedi and the Rules Do NOT Apply” card (Supernatural Reflexes) means he CAN line up on say, Whisper and just erase her with his Torpedo shot.  She has at most 2 Agility, he is likely to get 4 Hits/Crits so the math is pretty bad for the Phantom here.  And the Phantom is fragile.  Back Skywalker with Sabine in her Attack Shuttle and the pocket “Advanced Sensors” for loads of extra actions and Nora in the Y-Wing to just be a Tank…  Solid list, but pretty unexciting and nothing there which really has good answers to things like the stupid Trajectory Simulator Bombs, massed Torpedoes, etc…  So, solid and PROBABLY will do well, but looking like there are simply some things that are going to be hard counters for it.  Frankly not a lot standing out for me in the Rebel faction at the moment.  NOT to say they are bad, just that nothing that suits my play style at the moment…

S&V:  Fett is STRONG in the current edition.  Probably too strong frankly.  But will I feel bad flying that ship for at least the first few events?  No.  I flew the Firesprays for a LONG barren stretch in v1, so now that the worm has turned, so be it.  Emon is frankly the one I am looking more forward to flying and I suspect that my dual Firespray list will appear again with Kath being replaced.  Emon was one I tried REALLY hard to make work in v1, but the chassis was just THAT bad.  Now, he is looking quite solid with the potential infinite Proton Bombs getting chucked with the 1 or 3 Templates…  Fun, but probably not overly competitive.  But fits my style, so…  Other than that?  The Mandalorian Fangs are solid, just like the TIE Interceptor, so they’ll hit the table for me.  And as I HAVE 3 now, I can go swarm(ish).  The Star Viper is awesome and loads of fun.  Have a swarm of them, so they are more that WILL hit the table for me…  But all in all, I think S&V is more fun than competitive.  I DO think they have a fighting chance to win anything that is not artificially limited (like Corresant), but the Imperials are just a bit stronger overall I think.

Imperials:  So, what I HAVE flown the most so far.  The TIE Interceptors are amazing.  Cheap, fragile and you live and die by your Agility Dice, but fun to fly.  The Phantoms are likewise strong and I do suspect a BIT too strong.  Coming in ~ the same point cost as an X-Wing, they are just better on the table in my experience and so I suspect they’ll be adjusted upwards in cost.  But they are FUN to fly.  Not the overpowered sledgehammer they were in v1, but flying with finesse, skill and caution they hit hard and live long enough to get the job done.  Fragile as Hell though, so if they DO get caught, they will not likely survive.  Otherwise?  I’ve been flying the continuation of my v1 list with the Reaper with MAJ Vermeil with the Phantom and Interceptor.  Solid, fun list.  Other things I have flown or looked at seriously are the Defenders and the Punisher.  Have flown the Defenders, and they are a blast.  EXPENSIVE as Hell, but worth every point.  Stupidly resilient and just fun to fly.  The Punisher is one I got to see in action on streams.  The Trajectory Simulator and Redline’s ability to get fully modified Proton Torpedoes is just WAY too good, so another on the points elevator I suspect…  I HAVE one of those ships, I tried to get it to work in v1 to no avail, but now?  Probably just too good and not really my play style overall…

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