League final this weekend, X-Wing

Looking like I might end up as the backup TO for the event this weekend…  Not a big deal, just wanting to play more games J…  So downloaded the software and familiarizing myself with it.  Good for the (hopefully) soon to be scheduled Gopher events, so I’ll be able to run it off my laptop.  JAR file, so it took a bit of convincing on my “slightly more secure” machine to actually run what is a likely “less secure” program.  But simple enough stuff once it comes up, and it more or less runs the pairings, etc… 

But in any case, it is Thursday and no Imperial Veterans…  So, unlikely to have the good Defenders available…  I’m not in the running for the League prizes, I think, unless a LOT of the previous top finishers simply do not show up…  In any case, I’m looking at either the S&V Aces or the Ghost and ? to fly…  Looking at the loaded out Y-Wing I think or Jake’s A-Wing…  Or maybe I fly an Imperial scrub fleet with my 3 “sort of” Aces?  Or the Decimator/Whisper list now that I have that option perhaps?

Listening to the Mynoc Squadron podcast (http://mynockpodcast.libsyn.com/) on Variance…  Good stuff, and I’m calling it Live or Die by the Green Dice”…  Pretty much the same thing, they are of course using the correct terms…  I am finding the “LoDbGD” to be a fun one…  I got the one game where I had the TIE/fo behind a rock and was able to fly away from a volley of 3 Concussion Missiles only down a Shield.  On the other hand, I’ve also blanked out on the Green Dice to lose a full health fully loaded out uber-TIE in a single shot…  So, while your dice are hot, you are unstoppable, and you might well win it all…  Or you might not win ANY games and lose it all.  Variance hits a lot harder on the Greens as the Red dice DO have one more “hit” result on the 8 side dice, and there are simply a LOT more ways to modify or re-roll the Attack to GET more results…  So, this is one area where X-Wing mirrors STAW I think albeit on a MUCH more in controlled way…  STAW you could easily get 8+ Hit results on an attack (Yes, I play Federation and Dominion, so fly Fleets that can do this regularly), and since there is almost no way to dodge that many hit…  Well, barring the silly attack cancellation BS…  But I digress J and might have interjected some of my opinions on why that particular game is failing locally…  But back to X-Wing…  Have to admit I have REALLY enjoyed flying the Imperials over lunches with Tony…  Win or lose, I get a MUCH better understanding of the ships and I think I have a decent handle on them now.  So, depending on who actually shows up, I might even fly my Imperial Blues out to see how badly I get smacked about…  I haven’t faced a Crack Swarm, but I do not think that is so much the worst matchup for my Blues…  U-Boats would be rough, but arc dodging and patient pack hunting evens that up…  Ace v Ace?  Well, whose dice are hot matters more than anything else…  So, while the odds are not the greatest, I do tend to play aggressively and make my own luck that way…  Not a lot of people are really prepared for that, and as I’ve said this game directly rewards you with the “Attack is just better” design philosophy…

Other X-Wing news, they have just announced Wave 9 (https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2016/6/2/stay-in-attack-formation/) ….  Looking like 4 REALLY good ships, and the ARC-170 from the Episodes 1-3, so Republic Era fighter getting a retrofit…  Have to admit this is one I have REALLY been looking forward to.  The wave is going to hurt as I’ll be getting ALL of the ships now that I play Imperials as well…  But the previews all look REALLY good so far…  S&V get 2 good ships that fill in some holes I think…  All in all, looking great.  So, excited for the future of this game…

Planning for League finals... X-Wing

So, looking over a few alternate lists…  I am suspecting that the Imperial Veterans will NOT be here by next weekend (5 June for the event)…  I have a few “neat” builds I’ll look into flying if it is out, but…

That leaves me with a “fun” Imperial build, the Rebel “Bowling Ball” list or a S&V Aces build of sorts…

S&V Aces 1 (100)

Talonbane Cobra — Kihraxz Fighter	28
Predator	3
Cloaking Device	2
Engine Upgrade	4
Ship Total: 37
Zuckuss — G-1A Starfighter	28
Veteran Instincts	1
Outlaw Tech	2
Fire-Control System	2
Tractor Beam	1
Engine Upgrade	4
Mist Hunter	0
Ship Total: 38
N'Dru Suhlak — Z-95 Headhunter	17
Lone Wolf	2
Concussion Missiles	4
Glitterstim	2
Guidance Chips	0
Ship Total: 25

This list looks like fun…  I’ve been flying Cobrabane’s ship for a while and it can be effective…  37 points is pretty steep though, and I’m not sure about it, but the EU making the R1 shot more likely is nice…  The Cloak I HAD run with the Stygium Particle Accelerator, making the Cloaking Device a 4 point upgrade…  Effective while it kept working, and the Evade token was nice, but…  This is only 2 points more for something that ALWAYS works…  Zuckuss looks like another solid platform.  A S&V B-Wing really.  Potential for a 5 Dice attack at R1, barrel roll and boost…  Outlaw Tech to get me a Focus when I have to do a Red maneuver…  Looks solid(ish)…  And N-Dru…  I swap out Concussion Missiles for a single (I hope) 5 Dice Attack with re-rolls and Focus conversion along with the 2 blanks rolling over to hits…  Should hit solid at Range 2-3…  The Cluster Missiles WOULD get me the two 4 Dice attacks, but that also doubles up the Evade dice…  I have seen enough of the 4-5 Dice attacks get that one through on a hard to hit target that I would prefer to minimize the variance/luck factor…  One solid hit then he peels off to harass a flank for as long as he lives basically…  Per my usual list building, it is a VERY aggressive list based on the philosophy of: close fast, hit hard and if they are dead, you will not need to worry about defending against their counter…  So, “Klingon” basically, or per my call sign “Garau”.

For the Rebels I have:

HeraSabineJake (160)

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
Gold Squadron Pilot — Y-Wing	18
Twin Laser Turret	6
Proton Torpedoes	4
Extra Munitions	2
Guidance Chips	0
Ship Total: 30
Wes Janson — X-Wing	29
Adaptability	0
R4-D6	1
Integrated Astromech	0
Ship Total: 30

With the Ghost/Phantom being fixed at 70 points…  The choice is of the remaining 3 for the 30 point fill as it were…  OR I could drop the extra Torpedoes on the Y-Wing to make it a Stressbot…  But in any case, the Ghost is meant to roll in fast, seeing a Dial and choosing where to go for the best shot wither with the Primary or the AB Turret…  The Turret would then potentially get ANOTHER shot at the end, so in most cases I can erase an Ace with that alone…  Wes is “neat”, but at the end of the day, still just a T-65 X-Wing…  Was obsolete in the original movie/game.  Good Pilot though and a nice trick for token removal, but…  Y-Wings are “OK” at best now, I suspect they’ll go extinct when the new IV set drops…  The A-Wing is a good one, but still just a 2 Dice attack on a VERY fragile frame.  When luck is with me, he does REALLY well, if not…  Well…

IF the IV set hits this next week, then I fly:

SteleRyadOmega (100)

Maarek Stele (TIE Defender) — TIE Defender	35
Predator	3
Ion Cannon	3
Twin Ion Engine Mk. II	1
TIE/D	0
Ship Total: 42
Countess Ryad — TIE Defender	34
Push the Limit	3
Twin Ion Engine Mk. II	1
TIE/x7	-2
Ship Total: 36
"Omega Leader" — TIE/fo Fighter	21
Crack Shot	1
Ship Total: 22

Tricks and Defenders…  Should be fun.  I suspect that the big “power” lists will still be a challenge, and I frankly do NOT look forward to flying against Tyler’s Crack Swarm as I think he is the best I’ve ever seen with that…  But, per usual I am going in with the attitude of I get to play at least 3 games, THAT is a win for me…  If I win, great, but…

Looking at running a tournament over at the Gopher at some point, need to schedule that out with Dave, but again being flexible on it and not really stressing myself, it will be fun I suspect…

X-Wing, Imperial Squadron colors test...

Painting up my Imperial Squadron, I want mine to be different enough on the table that I can tell which are mine without effort...  Ironically, Vallejo's "Imperial Blue" is the color I used for my Warmachine Cygnar army and so...  Imperial Blues they will be...

I think it is coming along quite nicely for a quick and dirty first pass...  Touch ups and highlights to come, but thinking this will be what I end up with...

Imperial Learning Curve... X-Wing

More games in…  Some good and some bad.  Plus side I now KNOW why no one uses the TIE Punisher.  Had it kitted out fully, and between the FCS and the Autothrusters it performed “OK”…  But coming in at almost half of my points for a REALLY low agility ship?  Really does not fit well with the rest of my Imperial stuff…  So, experiment run and confirmed my initial thoughts about the ship.  It will only get worse when the Imperial Veterans are released.  And as I am HOPING they hit before the next League day at Titan… 

Ran against Tony with his Dash/Ghost list.  Since I learned to play the game on the YT-2400, I had a pretty good idea how it flew and how to chase it down.  My Punisher died early and without doing much at all.  The Valen/TIE Advanced Prototype and Omega Leader on the TIE/fo flew quite well but in the end just do not put out enough damage to bring down a VCX-100…  Well, at least not before the BFG gets them lined up.  The Autoblaster Turret/Accuracy Corrector was the perfect foil to the normal tactic of “get to Range one, dodge arc, fire and repeat until you are dead or they are…”  So, lesson learned and I am getting far more used to the dials and how the ships fly…

Second game today was against Allan’s Rebel list..  Chewie on the Falcon and a trio of Z-95’s with Concussion Missiles/Guidance Chips.  Turned out a lot more one sided than I expected, but this was mostly due to some odds being defied.  Omega Leader flew in behind a rock, and he lined up the Z-95’s…  3 Concussion Missiles, ended up with one point of damage.

So, not really anything he did that was bad tactically, nor was it really anything I did…  I moved to get the best Agility I could to try to force him to use up as many missiles as I could.  In the end, it is a dice game, and they were VERY much in my favor.  Things went downhill quickly for him after that.  Omega Leader ended up dying, but not before pulling a few of the Z-95’s with him and piling on some damage on the YT-1300…  The Defender was absolutely brilliant…  The dial is forgiving, the Agility is huge…  REALLY wanting to fly some of the new ones.  I suspect they will be even better… 

Flew Valen twice, and to be honest, the Inquisitor is just better until someone either has no other shot and gives me free actions, or it is the last ship…  In every case for me today, the Inquisitor with the Range 1 silliness would have been better.  And it flies SO much better against actual Aces who depend on Autothrusters to survive…  So, that one I will be flying I think…

Imperial Builds for X-Wing... And anyone looking for 40K stuff/Motorcycles?

Imperial builds…  Something VERY unconventional when compared to the winning builds I am seeing.  I see a LOT of the Imperial Aces and Emperor/Aces lists and the Crack Swarms…  NOT bad lists in any way, just not really my play style. 

DeathrainValenOmega (100)

"Deathrain" — TIE Punisher	26
Fire-Control System	2
Proton Torpedoes	4
Extra Munitions	2
Concussion Missiles	4
Seismic Charges	2
Cluster Mines	4
Autothrusters	2
Ship Total: 46
Valen Rudor — TIE Advanced Prototype	22
Push the Limit	3
Autothrusters	2
TIE/v1	1
Ship Total: 28
"Omega Leader" — TIE/fo Fighter	21
Juke	2
Comm Relay	3
Ship Total: 26

This is just straight Ordinance…  I want to run it at least once.  A neat ship, and I honestly think it is at least as good as the K-Wings.  I’ve kitted it out more as a Bomber than anything, but I find it amusing that I can use Autothrusters and a FCS on it…  Only 1 Green Dice, but I should see it come up as an Evade more often than not.  Proton Torpedoes and Concussion Missiles along with the FCS should give me a decent base to fire from…  The 2 other TIEs are just there to keep things off of the Punisher to allow the missiles and bombs to do the damage…

Or “In Valen’s Name”:

RudorBrathOmega (100)

Valen Rudor — TIE Advanced Prototype	22
Veteran Instincts	1
Autothrusters	2
TIE/v1	1
Ship Total: 26
Rexler Brath — TIE Defender	37
Predator	3
Heavy Laser Cannon	7
Twin Ion Engine Mk. II	1
Ship Total: 48
"Omega Leader" — TIE/fo Fighter	21
Juke	2
Comm Relay	3
Ship Total: 26

REALLY waiting on the Imperial Veterans to come out.  The TIE Defender will get SO much better, and there will be more Pilots.  Stele and Ryad along with the titles should make for an interesting list…  NOT a lot of room for more stuff, so the TIE/fo Omega Leader is about the best fit for the remaining points.  Been flying that a fair bit and it is solid for the points.  Like the way the Defender flies but the Heavy Laser is “OK” at best…  It is expensive, but a solid ship.  Still playing with the Elite Talents, but really Predator and PTL are the ones that are almost guaranteed to be the ones on the “post Veterans” builds, and pretty much what I’ll use now…

Trading for some Warmachine stuff, getting rid of some STAW stuff…  Prizes I’ve won, so NOT dumping the game.  Wanting to get more players playing locally, so essentially giving away some decent things I’ll not use myself in any case…  Some of the ships from the “Enterprise” series I never actually watched in any case…  But Scott is a good kid, and I know he’ll actually get some use out of them.  I AM dumping a bunch of 40K stuff…  Will fill out my X-Wing stuff I guess as I have a LOT of Warmachine/Hordes…  Waiting on the new edition to drop next month in any case for that…  We’ll see.  Cleaning basement and garage…  STILL needing to be rid of motorcycles and likely some ancient firearms/ammo…  

X-Wing, living and dying by the green dice...

Played out another test game…  I fielded a basic TIE Phantom, Rexlor Brath’s TIE Defender and the Inquisitor’s TIE Advanced Prototype… Tony fielded N’Dru’s Z-95, Mantoo’s Jumpmaster and Talon Cobrabane…  Loads of Ordnance.  I wound up running all three ships I fielded with pretty bare bones, and I see that there were a few things REALLY needed.  PTL on the Inquisitor’s ship, and probably Predator on the Defender…  So next time I drop the Phantom to a TIR/fo so that I can get the two main ships where they need to be.  Waiting on the Imperial Veterans to field the eventual build…  HOPING it is out pre next League day… 

Was weird playing fighters that depended SO heavily on the Green Dice…  The Defender not as much, but even that is pretty heavily in that area.  One blank roll and that could well be it for the ship…  Completely different, but seems like it is fun to play, so we’ll see how it goes.

X-Wing... I guess I'll fly Imperial as well...

So, I guess I’ll fly Imperial too…  I already HAD a few of their ships like the TIE Phantom for a few of the cards…  Turned out to be a good thing as my S&V got Cloaking Devices…  Well, kind of J…  But in any case, I’ve been using a few of the cards. 

The Phantom is a REALLY solid ship.  The 4 base Primary Weapon is huge for a Fighter.  Maneuverable as all get out, and even after the rule change to “nerf” it, still annoyingly difficult to pin down.  Minus?  Well, it is only 2 Shields and 2 Hull…  Relies on the Green Dice and Actions/Tokens to survive, and they WILL let you down eventually.  I’ve beaten them in the past forcing bumps then just attacking with everything until they go down…  PS 7 is the normal maximum, but pretty standard Veteran Instincts (VI) makes it a 9…  So a solid Ace level PS, but now something that is easily matched or even surpassed.  Still, I play “a bit” more aggressively than most people, and the idea of an extremely maneuverable 4 Attack ship fits well into my play style.

The Defender is another I snagged…  With the Imperial Vets set coming out “soon”, they get a HUGE boost on what I consider an already solid ship.  Solid, not “optimal for tournament play" J…  Now?  Give up your Missile and Cannon slots for -2 points AND the ability to just get a free Evade for a 3+ Speed maneuver?  Wow.  THAT is really quite good…  And some of the new Pilots are pretty solid…  Countess Ryad’s ability to take ANY Straight and make it a K-Turn?  So a Green 2-5 K-Turn on the dial…  Do the Green 3, gain a free Evade, PTL for 2 more actions?  Or Predator for the passive re-rolls?  36 points seems a bit low to me, but it is still PS 5, and only the 3 Hull/3 Shield ship with the dependency on Green dice to live…  A gambler’s rig, and one I am perfectly comfortable with.  Fly right at them, and dare them to stop you…

Defender’s OTHER title gives you the ability to fire a Cannon (3 or fewer points) THEN fire your Primary…  For free.  So, I guess at least it is NOT a negative point value upgrade, but I think the clear winner is the Ion Cannon at 3 points…  Does damage, Ion is a real problem for almost everything (need 2 for Large Base ships, but…)…  So, I think this really does kill off the Rebel ships easily, and presents a problem for a LOT of the S&V ships.  K-Wings being Small Based are especially vulnerable to this and I think this is just another nail in their coffin.  Y-Wings are right up there as well…  Yes, both are fairly durable ships, but I would not expect either to survive 2 turns against a Defender set up like this.  And there is a VERY real chance that the vaunted TLT simply misses against the 3 Agility of the TIE.  The Defender will be able to pile on Damage and Tokens (Ion) to pretty easily kill anything low Agility…  And frankly I’d put anything 2 Agility in the “Lowish” range…  I’ve had too many T-70’s and Jumpmasters just fold under the piled on attacks…

So, avoiding the obvious high powered builds at the moment…  Locally we see a LOT of Imperial Aces with Soonter Fel, The Inquisitor, Darth Vader and company in most of those builds…  The Emperor in a Shuttle and a pair of Aces to back it up are a VERY popular build as well…  With my “higher than average” use of Ordnance and things like the Ghost and her 4 base Attack, this is less a problem for me…  But it kills the basic U-Boats and anything Rebel pretty regularly…  The Aces made me change up my builds to the higher PS stuff to compete, and that has worked VERY well for me so far…  NOT saying that someone flying generics or hordes of low PS stuff will do poorly, just not my style, so I would not do well with it I think.  The TIE swarm is still a VERY real thing, albeit with Crack Shot on say 6 TIEs rather than the old version of 8 basic ones...

But for my Imperial Squadrons?  A Defender or two…  A Phantom likely…  J  Well, that’s about it as I get close to 100 with just 3 of the basic fighters there…  Just have to choose the Pilots and upgrades to keep at or below the 100…  Will be fun, but NOT anything overpowering I suspect…