More League Testing... X-Wing

Got in a quick game today testing some theories…  So, going with the Ghost based list.

HeraSabineJake (100)

Hera Syndulla — VCX-100	40
Accuracy Corrector	3
Autoblaster Turret	2
Intelligence Agent	1
Nien Nunb	1
Ghost	0
Ship Total: 47
Sabine Wren — Attack Shuttle	21
Adaptability	0
Autoblaster Turret	2
Phantom	0
Ship Total: 23
Jake Farrell — A-Wing	24
Outmaneuver	3
Chardaan Refit	-2
Push the Limit	3
Autothrusters	2
A-Wing Test Pilot	0
Ship Total: 30

Tony ran a nice Rebel list with Jake, Tycho and Jan Ors in a HWK…  Pretty rough, the Proton Rockets tend to be especially brutal…  But Range 1 is a HUGE limitation…  Especially with the Accuracy Corrector/Autoblaster Turret simply erasing an A-Wing without any need to roll dice…  Got in some good practice flying the giant Ghost, and the A-Wing was pretty darn good…  PS 7 however was good for the ability to choose which ship activated and fired first…  Was “less useful” with ALL of Tony’s Pilots being 8+…  But I AM getting better at using the Intel Agent to estimate places to put my ships to the best effect.  Deployed the Shuttle after the Ghost took its third Damage…  Was the right call.  Sabine is REALLY good on the Shuttle.  The Phantom was amazingly maneuverable, and the other Autoblaster Turret on her…  That allowed me to pen in the Ace remaining nicely…  Free Barrel Roll, good dial and pretty decent shooting.  Gave me a REALLY good way to use the Intel Officer to put both of my ships on target…

Guessing this will be the build I bring next Month…  Pretty good, but looking at something else for the 30 points that Jake occupies…  He’s good, but…  He died pretty quickly and I think that is the expected result given the new and improved Ordnance these days…  The Proton Torpedoes on the Jumpmasters are really likely to get in enough hits to erase most Rebel fighters these days…  The A-Wing relies on Green dice to live, and those WILL fail.  But 30 points is NOT a lot…  Y-Wings?  Maybe a StressBot?  Limited to A, X or Y more or less I think…   Biggs?  Maybe.  Not really my play style though.  Have to come up with something I guess…  B-Wing?  Not quite enough to run something loaded out, but it would be another target, albeit a slow one… 

Apparently a few Cons local(ish) coming up but not sure the date of the events...

Titan Month 2 AAR

Titan AAR…        

So, went with the Jumpmaster list with Tel and Dengar…  Went 2-1, so did fairly well.  Missed the cut for final four by just a few points…  Think in my last game, had I killed one more ship I would have made the cut. 

First game was against a fairly new guy…  He had Corran Horn, Wedge and an A-Wing…  I think Gemmer Sojan…  He made a critical error early by leaving Horn too far from Wedge.  Proton Torpedo almost killed him, but in any case put him down low enough TO be killed later.  Wedge took the second Torpedo to the face, and that finished him.  Tel wound up dying once, but Dengar was insane with his movement tricks… 

Game 2 was against Ham’s Crack TIE swarm…  Was a TOUGH game…  But I wound up winning…  Barely.  But honestly I was surprised that the Jumpmasters could take them all out.  Turned out to be a Turn Zero win I think.  I placed the Asteroids in tight on his half of the field.  He had to split up to chase me, which allowed Dengar to do his thing… 

Third game was another Wedge, Biggs, Airen Craken and a TLT Y-Wing.  The Y-Wing died easily, as did Biggs…  Unfortunately my heavily damaged Dengar wound up not quite making a tight turn and flew off the table by a few millimeters…  He would have died to the Z-95 and Wedge, but at PS 9 I would have at least shot back…  Potentially doing enough to take one of the bastards with me…  Turned out to be the new “Integrated Astromech” that kept Wedge barely alive as Tel exploded and the Dead Man’s Switch had them at Range one…

So, like I said, 2-1 and a MOV that was just a few points shy of the top 4 cut…

So back to Rebels I think for the final Month…  REALLY liking the X-Wings with some of the new toys out there…  And the Ghost build I have…  Well, it would probably work well…  One of the final 4 was a 6 Z-95 build with Concussion Missiles all around…  So, that I think beats the TIE Swarms, and melts big ships in general…  Guessing the Swarms thing will have to be a serious consideration to deal with…

Titan League Month 2 tomorrow...

Gearing up for the second League Day at Titan…  After a few test games I’m going in with the following:

Jumpmasters 2 (100)

Dengar — JumpMaster 5000	33
Push the Limit	3
K4 Security Droid	3
Unhinged Astromech	1
Engine Upgrade	4
Punishing One	12
Ship Total: 56
Tel Trevura — JumpMaster 5000	30
Deadeye	1
Proton Torpedoes	4
Extra Munitions	2
K4 Security Droid	3
R4 Agromech	2
Dead Man's Switch	2
Guidance Chips	0
Ship Total: 44

After a few practice games this seems to be what shook out…  Dengar is pretty good, should be a decent match for a lot of the basic Ace types out there.  Tel is pretty much a Torpedo Boat with the twist of getting to come back after blowing up….  With the Dead Man’s Switch, I get to do a Damage to everyone at Range 1 each time I die, so should be interesting.  Keeping in mind that a lot of the Aces are REALLY wanting to be at Range one to keep out of Torpedo range…  It should be a surprise and might even clear out swarms if it happens right. 

Depends on what everyone else brings of course…  I think this list will do OK against Ace lists, should do well against other “big ship” lists.  Swarms will be an issue…  Pretty sure Tyler’s TIEs will kill it, but I should be able to kill off a few of the TIEs first..  Heck, it might even win J…  Not likely of course, but still…

Another X-Wing AAR... League Prep continues...

Got in another practice game against Tony…  It was S&V all around as both of us were bringing 2 Large Base ships…  He had a YV-666 and Dengar in the Punishing One.  Not 100% on the exact loadout, but I know Bossk was on Latts Razzi’s YV and Dengar had the Punishing One title along with an Unhinged Astromech, PTL and a K-4 Security Droid…  Pretty solid build.

I fielded:

Jumpmasters 2 (100)

Dengar — JumpMaster 5000	33
Predator	3
Zuckuss	1
R5-P8	3
Engine Upgrade	4
Punishing One	12
Ship Total: 56
Tel Trevura — JumpMaster 5000	30
Deadeye	1
Proton Torpedoes	4
Extra Munitions	2
K4 Security Droid	3
R4 Agromech	2
Dead Man's Switch	2
Guidance Chips	0
Ship Total: 44

Tel was solid…  Dengar died to his own Droid being overzealous with the counterattack.  I am REALLY liking the Proton Torpedoes.  Almost a guarantee 4 Hits/Criticals…  Zuckuss was not used at all.  One thing I noticed was a definite lack of any sort of Defense really.  The 2 Dice are OK but frankly there was always one or two Damage getting through…  And as most people know, the Green Dice are the most fickle out there J…  The YV died first…  The big ship just does not trade fire in a toe to toe slug fest with Dengar well.  6 Shields and 6 Hull just get melted through quickly these days…   

Tony focused on my Dengar, and it seems the right idea…  I killed his YV while he was tearing my Jumpmaster apart…  As I said, my Dengar died to R5-P9 as I was zipping away…  Not sure if I wound up shooting back, need to remember that as I fly in the League event…    But in any case, Torpedoes from Tel and finally just a long shot from just the 2 Dice Primary turret…  Had the Target Lock, so figured that I’d get one back by doing a green…  Worked, got the hit in and his 4 Dice evade came up a blank… 

So, need to figure out a few tweaks I think…

Quick S&V AAR for a test game...

A quick AAR from a very quick game against Allan…  He brought a pretty good Imperial Ace list, the same one he’s been flying for a bit…  Whisper, Fel and a Zeta Leader, all kitted out.  So PS 9,9, 7 which matches me…  I won Imitative, had him go first since I was sick of Aces arc dodging my lists all the time…  I might have taken the Player 1, but positioning is important…  Dengar with his dare them to joust just to get the potential 2 shots and one extra dice of Damage…  Tel is a Torpedo boat to get in front if needed, but she is a threat, in fact she wound up doing a LOT of damage. 

Jumpmasters 1 (100)

Dengar — JumpMaster 5000	33
Predator	3
Zuckuss	1
R5-P8	3
Engine Upgrade	4
Punishing One	12
Ship Total: 56
Tel Trevura — JumpMaster 5000	30
Deadeye	1
Proton Torpedoes	4
Extra Munitions	2
"Gonk"	2
R4 Agromech	2
Hull Upgrade	3
Ship Total: 44

It was a quick game, both of us more or less jousted and saw what our lists could do…  Dengar is awesome if someone decides to joust him…  Range 1, 4 Dice Attack when he is attacked, +1 Dice if I choose and then his normal Attack…  Whisper died in a single turn to that.  Even getting the Cloak back, my Attack Dice were hot and his Defense were not as much…   But Tel erased the TIE/FO and wound up getting in some Damage on Fel to kill the Stealth Device and put some Damage on the Hull… 

An interesting rules issue being “what happens if Dengar is destroyed?”  In ANY case other than Simultaneous (Same Pilot Skill) Attack, he’s just die…  Weird interaction if the same skill…  As written Dengar gets an opportunity to attack back…  So, BEST case for him is he has Imitative, shoots first then dies to the counter attack…  THEN I’d say he gets the opportunity to hit back before he dies, else…  Well, not good.  In any case, I got hit by the Critical reducing my PS to 0...  Did survive Fel's Attack in any case, so did not matter as I wound up getting the 2 Range 1 shots, the R5-P9 AND a Proton Torpedo to kill the TIE Interceptor...  Not a lot survives that much firepower...

 So, something to keep in mind, but with PS 9, he SHOULD be shooting first more often than not… 

One thing I am concerned about would be a Swarm setup…  Pretty sure that will be a bad matchup for me.  But the Proton Torpedoes are a decent answer for TIEs at least…  So, I should be able to kill one or two easily enough.  I get to Arc Dodge a bit as well…  Means I NEED to fly well, and honestly hope I do not end up matched against Tyler J…  Debating the Dead Man’s Switch on Tel just as insurance here…  Then bumping and blowing up only to survive (hopefully) for a bit longer at least…  Dengar to hunt the sides of the board I guess…  The dials on the Jump Master are REALLY good…  Almost as good as the YT-2400 honestly…  And with the S-Loop, I would probably argue every bit as good… 

Need to get them finished for the repaint I guess…  This weekend looks good J

X-Wing, S&V Aces?

Getting ready for the next League event at Titan next weekend…  Here I have what is for me a fairly standard “Ghost” list…  Essentially, Hera with the ability to change her dial a lot, the Autoblaster Turret with the Accuracy Corrector for the automatic 2 Damage at Range 1…  Well, 4 Damage assuming they cannot get out of Range 1…  Knowing when to deploy the Attack Shuttle as well is going to be important…  The AS is every bit as good as an X-Wing really, better I think with Sabine and an Autoblaster Turret of her own…  Jake in the A-Wing?  Not 100% sold on Juke really…  Lone Wolf maybe?

HeraSabineJake (100)

Hera Syndulla — VCX-100	40
Accuracy Corrector	3
Autoblaster Turret	2
Intelligence Agent	1
Nien Nunb	1
Ghost	0
Ship Total: 47
Sabine Wren — Attack Shuttle	21
Crack Shot	1
Autoblaster Turret	2
Phantom	0
Ship Total: 24
Jake Farrell — A-Wing	24
Juke	2
Chardaan Refit	-2
Push the Limit	3
Autothrusters	2
A-Wing Test Pilot	0
Ship Total: 29

The S&V list I am looking at interests me a bit more I think…

Jumpmasters 1 (100)

Dengar — JumpMaster 5000	33
Predator	3
Zuckuss	1
R5-P8	3
Engine Upgrade	4
Punishing One	12
Ship Total: 56
Tel Trevura — JumpMaster 5000	30
Deadeye	1
Proton Torpedoes	4
Extra Munitions	2
"Gonk"	2
R4 Agromech	2
Hull Upgrade	3
Ship Total: 44

Since as I see it, S&V have Aces, but none on small bases…  IG-88, Dengar, Fett, etc…  Comparing them to their Small Base counterparts?  I’ve flown Talon Cobrabane a fair number of times, and if he had even one more action on his action bar, his Kihraxz would actually be almost in the same league as the Rebel Aces certainly, close enough to the Imperials to actually compete I think.  The Cloaking Device was great while it worked, but +4 points for one that is not nearly so good as the Imperial one.  If I had a Barrel Roll or native Boost for repositioning that I think the real Aces need to remain competitive.  Kavil is the only other named one I use regularly.  Good, solid Pilot, but certainly NOT what I would call an Ace.  The Fighters that S&V have are not quite as good as the main Military ships the other Factions have.  The M3A, the Starviper and

In any case, with this build, I was finding the PS 3 of the Contracted Scout to be too great of a disadvantage really.  Dengar kitted out like this IS a decent Ace himself and he should be able to hunt down his Imperial counterparts easily enough.  Tel is kitted out as a Torpedo Boat herself…  And with the ability to not die the first time I can just use it as a tank to take risks and put the ship in positions I would avoid normally…  Hull upgrade in place of the Guidance Chips…  Not 100% on that.  That would free up 3 points for something else…  Just no clue what that would be honestly…  These 2 ships are pretty much maxxed out as it

Looking like I’ll play test this list next week over lunches…  Access to a lot of conference rooms means I can schedule stuff like this J…

More X-Wing list building...

Looking at 3 potential builds for the 1 May League tournament at Titan…  MOSTLY looking at the first 2, both of which are essentially 2 ship builds.  In one, the Attack Shuttle CAN pop out and potentially be a pretty decent fighter…  The second has a ship that does not die the first time, so I essentially get a redo with it…  “Cheat Death” from STAW, but better here I think…

HeraSabineJake (100)

Hera Syndulla — VCX-100	40
Accuracy Corrector	3
Autoblaster Turret	2
Intelligence Agent	1
Nien Nunb	1
Ghost	0
Ship Total: 47
Sabine Wren — Attack Shuttle	21
Crack Shot	1
Autoblaster Turret	2
Phantom	0
Ship Total: 24
Jake Farrell — A-Wing	24
Juke	2
Chardaan Refit	-2
Push the Limit	3
Autothrusters	2
A-Wing Test Pilot	0
Ship Total: 29

With the first, I am looking at swapping Leebo in for the Intel Agent and Crack Shot…  Having the ability to DO a boost with the Ghost, even if it gives me an Ion Token? Might be the thing that puts her into Range 1 at a really important time, or gets me out of a jam…  Besides, need 2 Ions to hurt the ship so it is not nearly so bad…  But the Intel Agent and ability to change my own maneuver on reveal is pretty huge…  So, kind of depends on where I want to go with this.  The Attack Shuttle as I said is a decent Fighter on its own, frankly it is a bit better than the iconic X-Wing I think…  Sabine has the ability to position herself fairly well, only really outmatched by the real Aces like Fel or Vader…  With Crack Shot and the Autoblaster Turret, she should pose an actual threat…  And bear in mind, it IS a 4 Dice attack at Range 1…  Not HUGE of course, but not to be ignored I think…  I cannot imagine an instance where the Ghost with its 5 Dice Attack and the Phantom’s 4 Dice would be able to hit the same target, but facing say, a Y-Wing TLT spam list?  Or a U-Boat list perhaps I could throw out enough damage to really mess up that list quickly…  But giving up the rear arc and the additional Turret attack?  More likely to be a deploy when shields are gone and there are 6+ Damage through on the hull…  Jake goes with Juke or Lone Wolf to be a fast flanker…  Decent fighter, but with only 4 HP/Shields, he is not very survivable should his Green Dice fail…  But VERY fun to zoom about the board with…

Second is:

Jumpmasters 1 (100)

Dengar — JumpMaster 5000	33
Predator	3
Zuckuss	1
R5-P8	3
Engine Upgrade	4
Punishing One	12
Ship Total: 56
Tel Trevura — JumpMaster 5000	30
Predator	3
Proton Torpedoes	4
Extra Munitions	2
"Gonk"	2
Hull Upgrade	3
Ship Total: 44

With the second list…  Well, Scum & Villainy have Aces, but as far as I can tell the only good ones are the ones on Large Base ships…  Boba Fett is quite good, the IG-88’s are all excellent…  I think Dengar has a LOT of potential.  Especially with Predator and Zuckuss to allow me to force re-rolls…  Dengar is really daring people to joust with him…  Tel I have kitted out as a Torpedo boat/tank…  If no other actions are needed, “Gonk” stores a Shield or replaces one…  With the 6 Hull, I get to stay on the board after the first death and just end up with 4 new face down Damage cards…  So, I SHOULD be able to run away, Regenerate up Shields and potentially even deny the 50% points for the ship being below 50%...  Allows me to make some what would otherwise be foolhardy choices with this ship, knowing I can likely survive…  This one I see more as a “fun” list…  Nothing too serious, but it could throw a big wrench into the Imperial Ace lists that are dominating locally…

Third list is:

XXX (100)

Poe Dameron — T-70 X-Wing	31
Adaptability	0
R5-P9	3
Autothrusters	2
Ship Total: 36
Wes Janson — X-Wing	29
Adaptability	0
BB-8	2
Integrated Astromech	0
Ship Total: 31
Wedge Antilles — X-Wing	29
Adaptability	0
R2-D2	4
Integrated Astromech	0
Ship Total: 33

Nothing much to this one frankly…  3 decent X-Wings, some nice Pilot Abilities that mesh well together…  Wes has the ability to strip tokens from a Defender after attacking…  Focus, Evade or Target Locks…  So he should be able to really mess with anything relying on Ordnance to hit my ships…  Also, the Uber Aces camping on tokens?  Hit or miss, they become use it or lose it things then, should allow the other X-Wings to get in some decent shots…  Problem is, they’re still just X-Wings…  Sounds bad, but like 40K where the iconic thing in that universe (the Space Marine) is “meh” at best in the game…  Well, that’s where I think the X-Wing fits in here…  Is OK, but seems a few points too expensive across the board, especially as time goes on and new thing come out…  The T-70 X-Wings are better, but that does leave a lot of the older T-65’s feeling like the game simply passed them by.  And even the T-70’s are going to have a difficult time against most of the modern “top tier” lists…  But something to think about at least…