More X-Wing V 2.0, other hobby stuff...

Well, V2 of X-Wing being almost completely spoiled by now I have to say I am almost completely on board with it.  It fixes ALMOST everything that I have an issue with the game as it stands now.  The ONLY thing I am slightly concerned about with the cards being spoiled is the Force abilities.  So, the Space Wizards have a lot of extra POTENTIAL power.  Not sure how often if at all it will affect the game overall.  But the Luke Skywalker crew card allows one to move a turret arc to another facing by spending a Force point.  So, back to the “pretty much” 360⁰ Arc for ships like the YT-1300 or YT-2400 that he is likely to be placed on.  Maybe.  Will see, I am betting that it will be expensive and not really something that hits all that frequently.  The other one being Vader…  Spoiled fully is the “Intel Agent” Force card as well as his Pilot ability of “Spend a Force Point to take another Action”.  So, with 3 Force Points, he COULD take 4 Actions in a single Turn…  With the limits on the Actions, not really THAT many Actions that he could realistically take and of course he is mortgaging his future Turns by doing this.  Getting only 1 back/turn it would be a while before he could do it again.  I think it would be a “neat” thing, but honestly hoping it is NOT as bad as it could be.

So many good things that we have seen so far…  The PS wars will be over.  The giant skill gap is gone and there is a lot of overlap.  Oh, and NO VI!!!!  That was just silly.  The only down side I see so far is that I have the entire SC season and I signed up for the Continental Championships at Gen Con in August.  So I will be playing in the LAST V1 event it seems.  So, I have two builds that I will be running for the next few months:

Firestorm Special (99)

Ten Numb — B-Wing	31
Veteran Instincts	1
Trajectory Simulator	1
"Mangler" Cannon	4
Extra Munitions	2
Sabine Wren	2
Proton Bombs	5
B-Wing/E2	1
Ship Total: 47
Captain Nym (Rebel) — Scurrg H-6 Bomber	30
Veteran Instincts	1
Twin Laser Turret	6
Extra Munitions	2
Harpoon Missiles	4
Thermal Detonators	3
Proton Bombs	5
Trajectory Simulator	1
"Genius"	0
Long-Range Scanners	0
Havoc	0
Ship Total: 52

Or the other:

Mandelorians 1 (97)

Boba Fett (Scum) — Firespray-31	39
Veteran Instincts	1
Ion Cannon	3
Dengar	3
Harpoon Missiles	4
Glitterstim	2
Bomblet Generator	3
Engine Upgrade	4
Andrasta	0
Ship Total: 59
Fenn Rau — Protectorate Starfighter	28
Push the Limit	3
Proton Torpedoes	4
Autothrusters	2
Concord Dawn Protector	1
Ship Total: 38

The first is often dismissed as a “Meme List”…  I don’t see it I guess.  Played on Vassal, wiped the Miranda/Nym off the field in less than 4 turns.  NOT a friendly list, so NOT going to bring it to Mattoon next week…  The SC out there…  Well, maybe.  But turns out that if I can just force a Joust, I can wipe almost any ship off the table.  Yes, RAC is only “almost dead”, same with the Falcon, but they are usually hurt quite badly by the end of the initial contact turn.  Miranda…  Well, good chance she just dies.  You know, assuming they are silly enough to play MY game…  And thinking that it is just a “Meme List”.  Tyler with RAC/Vader in this edition is one of the few I think who would be able to beat this list.  No one local at least plays RACLo to that level.

The second one is just a lot more interesting to me.  “Fun” I suppose.  An Ace and a Swiss Army Knife.  So, more my play style.

Otherwise, assembling more 15mm Tanks…  Have my German Pumas done, American M-4 Shermans and M-3 Stuarts assembled and ready to paint.  Star Wars Legion stuff is coming along, have the base coats on most of my Rebel things…

  

X-Wing Version 2 announced...

Well, started a longish post about the current state of the Meta and why I thought FFG needed to do a major FAQ…  Well, they went further than that and “X-Wing 2^nd Edition” was announced yesterday…  I fall into the “cautiously optimistic” range on it I think.  The biggest downside will be the new Core Set and the Faction Upgrade packs.  The Core Set changes the templates slightly with the line in the center, so Barrel Rolls changed slightly with the Action requiring you to place it to the Front, Rear or Center of the Base.  Dice and Damage deck is supposed to be the same, but will not chance it I think.  The other thing is the Faction Packs… $50 each and as I play all three current factions…  Well, Rebel and S&V will be where I go initially at least.  So, I’m in for the $130 or so… 

An excellent roundup here:

http://stayontheleader.blogspot.co.uk/2018/05/let-past-die-kill-it-if-you-have-to.html?m=1

The biggest complaint so far has been that for players, it will be a $200+ buy in to even keep playing.  Probably true.  One of the local plays all three Factions and his two sons also play, so he is looking at a LOT potentially to drop just to keep current.  I understand and it does suck…  On the other hand, I came from the 40K world where they did version changes every few years and it was: $50 for the rulebook, $20 (in the old days) – 40 for EVERY army book, then add on the “spell” decks, etc…  And hope your Army did not get the “Squat” treatment and just get dropped altogether or just have major chunks become suddenly useless for the current edition…  I played a LOT of armies back then, so this was a MAJOR expense for me, especially when money was a lot tighter.

Watched a fair bit on FFG’s Twitch stream and most of what I saw looks quite good overall.  No more unlimited free Regeneration, NO TLT!!!  You can only Evade up to your Agility, no longer going to have a Falcon with 1 Agility somehow evade 4 Hits from a Harpoon…  No mixing of Rebel and Resistance or Imperial and First Order, so most of the “uber lists” are simply gone as of the v2 implementation. 

Hopefully the local Stores will be able to get the promo Damage Deck for the pre-order of the new Core Set, they do look quite nice…  And I am ESPECIALLY glad I did not break down and buy one of the Vader or Boba Fett Damage Decks that people have been selling recently…  I DO have to wonder how widely known this change really was…  I suspect some knew of it, there was some talk of certain players in the online league refusing to schedule matches because they knew it was all changing soon…  Not perhaps as soon as they thought, still a few months off…

X-Wing, next build to test for SC season...

So…  Might be missing the next Titan event, will see I guess.  Wondering what will be banned, and while it might be interesting, no real bearing on other events…

Looking like I have my initial list for the upcoming SC season:

Mandalorians 1 (97)

Boba Fett (Scum) — Firespray-31	39
Veteran Instincts	1
Ion Cannon	3
Bomblet Generator	3
Dengar	3
Harpoon Missiles	4
Glitterstim	2
Engine Upgrade	4
Andrasta	0
Ship Total: 59
Fenn Rau — Protectorate Starfighter	28
Push the Limit	3
Proton Torpedoes	4
Autothrusters	2
Concord Dawn Protector	1
Ship Total: 38

Stealing it from Phil GC over at https://suchanxwinghipster.wordpress.com/  He also talked about it on the Warlords YouTube, so a MUCH more detailed accounting of what the list is and what it does…  I think this fits nicely between my liking the Firespray (and that stubborn desire to make it work) and my desire to actually play “Ace(ish)” lists…  Fenn Rau is solid, if fragile.  Fett is kitted out as an absolute “Swiss Army Knife” or toolbox I think.  The Ion Cannon for the small based low Agility ships (Miranda, Nym, etc…) to control them and keep them where I know their location the next turn and can swin a ship or both of mine to deal with it.  Or, if the opportunity presents itself, simply walk it off the table.  But more likely, hold it and have Fenn roll up and do Fenn things with the Range 1, TL/Focus shot…

Jousting is likely what I will OFFER when I set up.  If they are foolish enough to take me up on that, so be it…  This list should be able to out-joust just about anything else out there now.  My Firespray list might be an exception, but… 

Of the big Meta lists like Ghost/Fenn, Rey/Lowrick, Miranda/Nym and X/Stress Ezra/Lowrick are all ones that I think just get taken apart by this.  The multiple Wookie lists I would lump in here as well, just have to be careful not to get over Stressed while rolling in…  But with Boosts all around, especially on the Firespray, it should be possible to fire at Range 3, likely taking one off between the two ships and then choose one and rush it with one or both of my ships…

PS 11 Imp Aces or the Palp Aces might be an issue, but with the Bomblet Generator giving me infinite bombs to threaten anyone ABLE to Arc Dodge the Firespray (and more severely punish lower PS Arc Dodgers) this allows me to lead out a bit with the Firespray, and have Fenn hang back a bit to cover the flanks a bit.  The thing about the PS 11 Aces is that usually they are running pretty darn lean.  And lacking the Autothrusters on Vader or Quickdraw it gets dangerous for them.  I have the Hull to tank a shot or two just to line them up, and they do NOT have the Hull to get hit.  Not a great match-up, but one I think I can do well enough in.

The one I think is just outright bad is the RACLo match-up.  But even there, line up and joust as best I can.  There are only 2 “Blinded Pilot” cards in the deck, and between bumping and bombing I can still do damage.  Fenn hanging out at Range 3 to chuck in the Proton Torpedo is actually a fairly decent threat and not one overly likely to get hit by the PWT of the Decimator at least.  Just CANNOT end up Range 2 in arc…  Frankly the only player I KNOW that can easily outplay me is Tyler, and if I draw that match-up, so be it J…   At least he’ll know he was in a fight, even if it is just because my lads are bleeding on his J…

So, to get in more testing I suppose…

Mattoon League 2 Month 1 AAR

So, decided to fly the Silencer/Phantom build…

KyloWhisper (91)

"Whisper" — TIE Phantom	32
Veteran Instincts	1
Sensor Jammer	4
Rebel Captive	3
Advanced Cloaking Device	4
Ship Total: 44
Kylo Ren (TIE Silencer) — TIE Silencer	35
Push the Limit	3
Advanced Sensors	3
Advanced Optics	2
Autothrusters	2
First Order Vanguard	2
Ship Total: 47

Whisper is hyper defensive in this build…  Only big negative being that she hits like a noodle.  4 Dice base attack so a lasagna noodle, but a noodle…  Usually.  Sometimes you do roll over the average…

Round 1 was against Tim…  He flew his Palp Aces build, and I was fairly sure it was a loss for me…  Another excellent game that went to time*…  The * is because they were using 60 minute rounds…  I think that it would have resolved more in my favor had we gone to the normal 75 minute round…  Turns out, even hyper-defensive TIE Phantoms melt when Quickdraw is able to roll over debris and use Palp to hit herself with a Crit to shoot me before I token up…  He did it twice, I anticipated the first one, but not the second one…  So, Whisper did some damage on the way down, but died to Quickdraw.  Plus side for me, QD was triple Stressed and out of Shields…  So, Kylo was able to finish her off.  Got half onto the Shuttle, and glad Whisper hits hard…  But CLOSE game.

Game 2 was against Ben…  Decent Rebel build.  Miranda scares me, so I hunted her down quickly.  These two ships are just stupidly maneuverable…  And my PS 9 was over everything he had, so he never did have much chance to try and corral my ships.  So, Killed Miranda, then it was clean up mode.  100-0 win.

Game 3 was against Ken and his new Rebel build…  He WAS able to corral Whisper when I got greedy and did a De-Cloak/3 Turn and ended up at Range 1 of 2 of his ships…  Should have realized he would go slowly.  The 2 Turn would have put me out of one arc, and I could have PROBABLY survived one shot…  So, just more things to get used to.  Playing Aces that are hyper Defensive, do NOT get greedy and forgo the shot if I have to.  You dodge 100% of the shots they do not take.  But Kylo was able to clean up…  2 Damaged ships and a B-Wing…  Sadly, the B-Wing is simply outclassed these days… 

Take a ways?  This is a surprisingly solid build…  Might be one of the SC rotations for me.  Might pick up a second Alpha Class gunboat…  I know people have discounted the Kylo/2 Gunboat build as just not good enough, but I do think it is a fairly strong one.  At least a “Gatekeeper” list I suspect.  Will see what I can come up with…

X-Wing in Mattoon this weekend, and motorcycles?

Well, did the “retro” event with the Rey/Horton build…  First game got stomped by dice variance.  Would likely have still lost I think, but it would NOT have been the 0-100 pasting.  The Y-Wing died in a single round of shooting between a Harpoon Missile that hit for maximum damage then the TIE Defender, also hitting for 2 hits and a Critical…  Down to just the Falcon, and while it tried to do damage, my opponent had the hottest Dice I’ve ever seen, shrugging off the 4-5 Hits I can throw out and hitting back just as hard against my 1 Agility…  So, quick game and convinced me even more that the Y-Wing is just completely outclassed by the more modern ships.

Game 2, Bye..  Technically a “win”, but boring…  So watched a lot of the games…  Some interesting builds, but it was a LOT of TIE Defenders and Palpatine in a lot of the Imperial builds.  Guessing that I am in the minority thinking that the TIE/D’s are still pretty powerful and that the Emperor is still overpowered even after the nerf.

Game 3 put me back into the 1-1 tables against Chris flying an extremely odd 2 HWK and Y-wing list…  I ended up winning 100-0, but really it was a LOT closer than the score would have you believe.  First time Chopper actually did work for me.  Regenerated 4 Shields keeping the Y-Wing alive on 1 Hull (and the -1 Agility Critical) and the Falcon was at 7 Hull remaining JUST above the 50% mark with it being an odd number on the YT-1300’s…  Fun game, and the Sloop title did what it was supposed to. 

Down side, it convinced me that I will NOT be playing a Falcon during SC season.  Just not something I really enjoy flying.  I’ll probably give the Wookies another shot, but I suspect they’ll be in the same “Not Fun” category for me.

Up side, I got an awesome 3-D printed Proton Bomb that Stu made… 

Looking at a few odd test lists for Mattoon this weekend…  First one brings to mind the following quote:

KyloVynder "Bring me EVERTHING… (97)

Kylo Ren (TIE Silencer) — TIE Silencer	35
Push the Limit	3
Advanced Sensors	3
Advanced Optics	2
Autothrusters	2
First Order Vanguard	2
Ship Total: 47
Major Vynder — Alpha-class Star Wing	26
Push the Limit	3
Proton Torpedoes	4
Harpoon Missiles	4
Advanced Proton Torpedoes	6
Ion Pulse Missiles	3
Advanced SLAM	2
Os-1 Arsenal Loadout	2
Ship Total: 50

 

It has a ludicrous amount of Ordnance and could actually use the “Swiss Army Knife” approach for throwing whatever is the best for any given instance down range…  And since he can SLAM, Reload, PTL for a Focus/TL (assuming he did not use one that does not burn the Lock like Harpoon or Ion), if I can keep far enough away…  2 or 3 Turn followed by the SLAM of the same type does get me 180 degrees around and ready to fire again…  Silly, but Kylo is pretty good on his own and this Gunship just has the missiles to be a PITA for a lot of things…  Like a Ghost where I can really Ion Pulse it EVERY turn…  Doubt it will be something longer term, but looks fun.

Otherwise the Kylo/Whisper list I flew before is a LOT of fun…  Very “Ace” build with 2 things that would rather not be shot at…  Whisper still hits like a truck and when you DO shoot at her in my build, assuming I remember all of the triggers, you gain a Stress for declaring her a target (turning off Expertise immediately), I can change a Hit to a Focus which cannot be re-rolled and then I SHOULD have 4+ Agility if my Cloak is up…  Fun at least, and not really in any way overpowered…

Otherwise might go with a S&V build:

FennThweekBumpmaster (97)

Fenn Rau — Protectorate Starfighter	28
Push the Limit	3
Autothrusters	2
Concord Dawn Protector	1
Ship Total: 34
Thweek — StarViper	28
Advanced Sensors	3
Inertial Dampeners	1
Autothrusters	2
StarViper Mk. II	-3
Virago	1
Ship Total: 32
Contracted Scout — JumpMaster 5000	25
Snap Shot	2
Intelligence Agent	1
Rigged Cargo Chute	1
Ion Projector	2
Ship Total: 31

Interesting build I think…  The Bumpmaster is pretty solid, and anything that gets multiple shots in a turn is far better than its points would lead you to believe.  The Viper is a decent Arc Dodger and Fenn is…  Well, Fenn.  Solid, if extremely fragile.  So, I have to be aggressive and agile to do well with this list. 

MUCH more my speed than the Falcon builds.  Still have the Wookies and the Firestorm ready to go…  Both seem like they have extremely good match-ups and could well get me to a cut, but neither I think will win any of the larger SCs…

Otherwise?  Have an interview tomorrow…  Not likely to take it even if I get an offer, but looking at it as good practice.  Guess that is where I am with my job search, practice and hone the interview skills since that is where I failed the last few times.  Go slow, get it right next time.

Bike is running well, just the weather has been crazy…  Got in a great ride Saturday and then Sunday it snowed again…  Will likely be 70 by Thursday, so JUST a bit odd…  Have the application to join the “Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association”, filling that out now that I have a working bike I am confident I can ride distances on…  JUST a bit different than the  Tres Hombres I ran with in the old days, especially since there is an application and it states several times “We are NOT a Motorcycle Club”…  With the Hombres it was a bit different J…  The old days were interesting at least, or so I am told…

X-Wing the next 2 weeks...

Looking like I’ll have a few X-Wing events coming up in the next few weeks.  This weekend is at Titan here in Champaign, and is the “Back to Basics” event: https://www.facebook.com/events/152085798844972/

Then another League starts in Mattoon the next week…

Looking like I will NOT run the triple Star Viper list again.  I was really disappointed how poorly that one performed.  Well, to be fair how poorly I performed WITH that list.  It is not really in my nature to avoid a conflict, so with that list requiring a lot more dancing around than actually getting in and shooting things I think it is not a list for me.

So, either the BAY list or the Rey/Horton one…  Though Tony did point out that my Firesprays list from last year would actually still be legal…  Dammit J… So, thinking about that one, have a fair bit of experience with it…  It is “OK”, certainly nothing really OP.  BAY is “fun”, Rey/Horton is somewhat more competitive…  The REAL list would be Rey/Lowrick or Miranda (or Poe I suppose). 

The REAL version of the Rey list is one reason I do think that my Firestorm list will be viable for SC season…  I think that it just dies to the FS if I fly it correctly.  I have the higher PS, can adjust to get in or out of Arc as needed, at least a little with the Barrel Roll.  Throwing the Proton Bombs and following up with the Harpoon Missile and automagic Critical from the Mangler should erase a K-Wing on the approach.  Only cripples the YT-1300 most likely, but leaving the Falcon with no Shields and 4-5 Hull remaining from the first exchange should work out well for me.  Imp Aces is probably a 70/30 or 60/40 split…  A LOT depends on whether they have seen what my list can do and correctly react to it.  Not many will, this list gets dismissed as a “meme” list and so few will play it or even bother to try and figure out what to do against it.  RACLo builds are probably the mirror of that with me looking at the 30/70 split I think.  I CAN beat it, but it will take luck.  Since I KNOW Tyler Tippet will be at several of my SC runs, I am likely to run into at least one run by someone who knows VERY well how to run it…  Tilting my odds to “even worse than that”…  OTOH, I always have good games against Tyler and Will, so…  At least I’ll have fun dying…

Other builds I am looking at: 

Control Brobots…  Solid, but another one that is both exhausting to play and not entirely my style…  Have to be willing to run, snipe in at range and avoid a lot of combat until you have worn them down completely.  The old SFB “Klingon Saber Dance”.  So, a solid one I have painted up and ready, but…

“A Wookie Mistake” is my 3 Gunship build…  Expertise and Tactician on all three.  Courier Droids on the PS 3 generics and Lowrick gets Rey to build up Focus…  Solid build…  Another “Gatekeeper” build though I suspect.  There will be some lists that this is a hard counter to, some it is a good match and a few REALLY bad ones.  But easier to fly over the long day…

S&V “Aces”…  Fenn Rau, Kulda and ?  Likely a Kihraxz of some sort…  So, 3 higher PS ships that hit hard and likely have a few tricks.  Third ship could be a Bumpmaster, that is a solid build.  Likely to be a “Gatekeeper” build as the Birmingham Barons I their Episode 41 (https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/bhambaronsxwing/episodes/2018-03-28T08_04_29-07_00) put it…  I THINK I could do well enough to stay in the top half certainly and maybe even be close to a cut…  Not likely at all to win though.

Other than that?  A few 4 Ship builds for pretty much all 3 Factions…  Kind of wanting to avoid the “OP” Rebel combos…  Well, until towards the end and then I switch to “Try Hard” mode like last year. 

We got one preview so far for the next wave, but nothing else.  Waiting on FAQ and the next wave to hit at this point.  We are in a decent place I think, but there is a VERY clear line between the “Top Tier” lists and the rest.  I think there are maybe 5-6 top tier lists at this point.  A number of other ones that are close, so tier 2…  I put the Firestorm in there, so “Gatekeepers”.  And then there are a bunch that are essentially unplayable.  Well, playable, but no realistic chance of winning.  This would be why I think they absolutely need to change to keep the game healthy.  Too many things that make unhealthy combos that break the game.  Just my opinion of course, so YMMV….

Picking up the base set for Legion…  Turns out I had some gift certificates, etc. to spend, so…  Will see, but even if it flops, I should have some decent shelf minis…

X-Wing at Mattoon this weekend...

Anyway, back to X-Wing it seems.  Played “Tanks” this weekend.  Beer & Pretzels WWII tank combat.  Fairly simple game, but fun.  The German Puma was actually pretty darn solid for me.  I was surprised, but then I did a fair bit of the whole Armored Cav thing in the old days, so am fairly familiar with how that works.  So perhaps a few more to hit the tables for me.  and motivating me to get my American M-3's built...  

Looking like I’m playing either my BAY list or a Rey/(Y-Wing or B-Wing) list in Mattoon.  Not so much that I am going easy, but I think I need to practice with these things:

ReySalm2 (99)

Rey — YT-1300	45
Expertise	4
Finn	5
Kanan Jarrus	3
Engine Upgrade	4
Millennium Falcon (TFA)	1
Ship Total: 62
Horton Salm — Y-Wing	25
Twin Laser Turret	6
Bomb Loadout	0
Extra Munitions	2
"Chopper" (Astromech)	1
Thermal Detonators	3
Guidance Chips	0
BTL-A4 Y-Wing	0
Ship Total: 37

Now this one is amusing…  Horton on the Y-Wing can chuck a BUNCH of the upgrades through Chopper to regenerate Shields.  The wording on the Extra Munitions card adds an EM token to every bomb, missile and torpedo upgrade.  Combine that with the fact that the EM card and Bomb Loadout both would then technically gain tokens that could be discarded to add Shields.  So, more shields than I should ever be able to regenerate during a normal game at least.  Rey's ship I have 2 basic builds...  Kanan or C3-P0 and the new vs. the old title.  C3-P0/old title is a tanky build that can realistically just completely evade a HLC or Harpoon Missile.  The Kanan/TFA title is maneuverable and I think more fun...  So, likely what I'll play here.

Other potential build is the BAY build:

BAY (100)

Horton Salm — Y-Wing	25
Twin Laser Turret	6
Bomb Loadout	0
"Chopper" (Astromech)	1
Guidance Chips	0
BTL-A4 Y-Wing	0
Ship Total: 32
Jake Farrell — A-Wing	24
Push the Limit	3
Chardaan Refit	-2
Veteran Instincts	1
Autothrusters	2
A-Wing Test Pilot	0
Ship Total: 28
Ten Numb — B-Wing	31
Veteran Instincts	1
Collision Detector	0
"Mangler" Cannon	4
Operations Specialist	3
B-Wing/E2	1
Ship Total: 40

This one is a LOT more fun...  The A-Wing is slippery, but still just a 2 Dice Attack.  Ten Numb is amusing and Horton is pretty solid...  Just dies against a higher end "Meta" list, but fun to fly and another contender for the Titan event with the wave restrictions...  This or the Star Viper list with three of the bastards...