Just more X-Wing testing for the League...

Looking like I am gearing up for a game or two this weekend in our local League…  Not honestly overly confident with what I am flying as most of it is new to me.  Well, newish…  I’ve now flown with the 2 B-Wings in a half dozen games in this edition and they are quite solid.  Good, close in knife fighters.  They ARE on a clock as they have essentially zero Defense, but as Aahz says, the best Defense is a solid Offence. 

BBYNorraAP5 (200)

Braylen Stramm — A/SF-01 B-Wing	47
Jamming Beam	0
Ship Total: 47
Half Points: 24 Threshold: 4
Ten Numb — A/SF-01 B-Wing	46
Fire-Control System	2
Jamming Beam	0
Ship Total: 48
Half Points: 24 Threshold: 4
AP-5 — Sheathipede-class Shuttle	32
Leia Organa	2
Ship Total: 34
Half Points: 17 Threshold: 3
Norra Wexley (Y-Wing) — BTL-A4 Y-Wing	41
Ion Cannon Turret	4
Proton Torpedoes	12
R3 Astromech	3
Proton Bombs	5
Veteran Turret Gunner	6
Ship Total: 71
Half Points: 36 Threshold: 4

Dropping the ARC in favor of Norra in her Y-Wing is different, but doubling down on the “we’re here to shoot things” aspect.  A BIT concerned that I am throwing way too many points into the Y, but I need the ability to throw out Damage quickly and MAYBE survive a bit into the game…  Proton Torpedo on the way in, Ion Turret and Bombs when I get close I think is a better plan for this list than the ARC trying to roll in and bump.  AP5 replacing Sabine means I DO lose a “pocket X-Wing” where the Attack Shuttle for whatever reason was as well armed at least as a standard X-Wing…  Better if I had a Turret mounted, but points get tight when you have 4 Ships in a list.  Leia is really good in this list as the 1 turn in 3 where my Reds go White is pretty darn powerful.  So, AP5 is there to Taxi her about and Coordinate to try and give extra Actions here and there.  Suspect that will start with him Coordinating a Focus to Norra so that she can try to move up and fire the fully modified Proton Torpedo early with the 2 B’s following up with their own fairly accurate shots.  Nothing subtle, just line up and joust or at least move in a block formation I think.  NOT tied to a formation, but DO want to keep AP5 in Range 2 to Coordinate in extra Actions, even to the Stressed B-Wings.  PROBABLY way too much “stuff” on Norra’s Y-Wing, but I like having a lot of extra options.  The Astromech is “neat”, but easily cut.  Same I suspect for the Proton Bombs I suspect, but those are not the top of the “it can go” list.  The Vet Turret Gunner is edge case, kind of neat, but really I see it another way to just outright win out more Jousts…  All 4 ships HAVE Talent Slots, but nothing really jumping out to me as “I NEED this”…  Even System slots on the B-Wings..  Neat, but not building based on those here, so…

Looking at the X-Wing, Y-Wing and B-Win for the Rebels all are ~41 points for their most “Basic” build…  Essentially naked X and B with the Y having Ion Turret and Gunner.  Which wins out?  No clue I think all COULD do well, but the Y has options, the X is just more maneuverable at speed while the B is going to roll in and knife fight…  Interesting choices, I have to admit that I am liking this version of the game as it develops.  I suspect that there will be some people playing massed Y-Wings as they will just be a PITA to kill off before they get in their shots and especially if they have Ion shots in addition…  Of course, an Arc dodger will tear it apart one on one…  But 4-5 Y-Wings?  Tough to dodge that many Arcs, and getting the potential double shot out of each of them?  Eventually you WILL miss an Arc dodge or fail an Agility roll, and then?  Well, that is likely it…  Just thinking back to playing against Will’s 4 X-Wing list and THAT was rough.  Mind, he IS probably the best player with that I’ve ever seen by a long shot, but that shows the upper range of the potential for that list…  With the S-Foils, those ships are actually quite maneuverable, and with Biggs/Selflessness in the mix, they are frustratingly difficult to push Damage through on.  SLIGHTLY annoyed that 41 points is the break point on the Rebel things, I’d like to fly 5 generics in a list…  But that MIGHT just be too powerful at the moment I suppose, so best perhaps that is not an option. 

Still waiting on the Republic stuff…  Hoping to fly 2 Jedi and 2 other Ships…  My preference would be on ARCs of course, but…  Place holders I think for the N-1’s when THEY arrive.  Just having the 4 FAST ships out there I think will be a really fun list to fly.  Suspect I’ll struggle a bit to push Damage through like I did with my Imperial Ace lists, but my lads will survive well and win on points more often than not once I get the hang of flying them correctly…  Rebel Arcs start in the 50’s though, so I suspect that Republic ones will be at least that much making the 2 Jedi/2 ARC list something that simply does not happen…  Though I think the “generic” Inquisitors in the TIE Adv v1’s are sub 40 points, so MAYBE 2 of the Jedi Knights?  But with Anakin being my favorite of the Jedi Pilots, I do want to use that ship…  Just have to see what the points come to and since I think that was one that we do not yet know the Pilot Ability for…  Might change my mind?  No, I6 and 3 Force will be EXTREMELY powerful no matter the Ability.  The Supernatural Reflexes (thankfully) have been priced out of usefulness for him I think at 32 points, but even without that crutch?  I think it will be the best ship in the game, at least for my play style…

Jobs, life and just a bit of X-Wing to keep us sane :-)

So, the job hunt continues it seems…  The interviews I’ve gotten recently were…  Different.  Guessing that I have been on Campus for far too long and the idea of taking a job outside of Campus is almost foreign at this point.  I DO go over my 20 years in a few Months, so I am actually (more or less) free to look outside of the University at this point.  Good and bad that is…  As I interview in the “real world”, I am reminded why I did NOT for so long and why I was willing to take the lower pay in the University system.  The benefits and stability are REALLY important for the whole family thing.  But there do seem to be a dearth of opportunities here to move within the University at this time.  A shame, and as one of those Manager types who tried for years to get people hired in to replace folks who left without success I am “concerned” about the staffing levels.  Seems very much like another situation where nothing really gets fixed until it burns down.  Dealing with exactly that situation in my own building with the main power to half the building “down” with one of the busses having melted with flood water pouring over it.  Emergency repair in place and this weekend to fix it in a more permanent sense.  And this time they are actually going to put in the “shield” to divert the flood water from the power equipment that was “scheduled for some time next year” after having been an emergency request and filed under “deferred maintenance” for at least the last seven years…  So, they “saved” a bunch of money over those years by not implementing the (relatively) inexpensive fix of simply diverting the flood waters because of the “no consequences” over the years.  Then of course it DID fail catastrophically and there is a VERY expensive fix that is required.  The buss had to be manufactured as they are all custom, there were of course the OT charges for the Electricians who did an amazing job with the temporary emergency fix to at least keep SOME power to the building in the meantime and even more as the replacement is put in place over the weekend so we do not just shut down the whole Department during a normal business day…  Not everyone is happy about that as we are a VERY active Research Department and there ARE in fact labs that must shut down on Saturday because of this…  But overall of course we have to apply the 85% solution.  If it works for 85%, then it should be judged a success.  And so it goes….

Flu season is brutal and I got news that my building was one that was exposed to unvaccinated folks with active diseases…  Measles I think.  Mind, I was vaccinated ages ago as a child and again in the Army of course as we were exposed to very “exotic” things travelling many places…  Annoying as there ARE a few folks who have no immunity, and this poses an unnecessary risk to those people.  In GENERAL, I’m more of a “let everyone do their own thing” sort of person, but as this affects others including some of my own people…  The “do your own thing” only works so long as it does not harm others…  And since this DOES pose a risk to others I have less sympathy for those who wish to not be vaccinated. 

Ah, on to more “fun” things…  More X-Wing games in and more information released about the upcoming Wave 3 and 4 for the game…  Wave 4 announced and several reprints with the Naboo N-1 fighter that I’ll be getting for my Republic forces.  Having the TIE Defender ability to get the Evade for the Speed 3+ maneuver REALLY fits my play style and I suspect it will pair well with the Jedi Fighters.  The new B-Wing sculpt is AMAZING.  Folding S-Foils, rotating ship AND Cockpit…  They really are stepping up their game with the new ships.  And as that was always one of my favorite Ships…  Flying 2 of them now, looking forward to them being Hyperspace legal soon J… Though I suspect my Rebels will become Republic very shortly when Wave 3 hits.  No points yet, so not SURE they’ll work, but all indications so far have been that they will be balanced and playable from the start.  2^nd Edition has been REALLY good so far for that.  The new stuff has 2-4 more previews yet to do if they follow true to their normal pattern.  The ARC-170, the Sith ship and maybe the individual packages for the Aethersprite and Droid ship…  But looking like it will be out well in advance of the next big event here in Bloomington on 4 May…

X-Wing League play testing

So, got in some more testing and modifying my B-Wing list it seems…  Looking like this is what I’ll use:

BBYNorraAP5 (197)

Braylen Stramm — A/SF-01 B-Wing	47
Jamming Beam	0
Ship Total: 47
Half Points: 24 Threshold: 4
Ten Numb — A/SF-01 B-Wing	46
Fire-Control System	2
Jamming Beam	0
Ship Total: 48
Half Points: 24 Threshold: 4
AP-5 — Sheathipede-class Shuttle	32
Leia Organa	2
Ship Total: 34
Half Points: 17 Threshold: 3
Norra Wexley (Y-Wing) — BTL-A4 Y-Wing	41
Ion Cannon Turret	4
Proton Torpedoes	12
Proton Bombs	5
Veteran Turret Gunner	6
Ship Total: 68
Half Points: 34 Threshold: 4

Norra is good on the Arc, so I’ll try the Y-Wing variant I suppose.  The one thing that I was having trouble with was actually doing Damage.  Proton Torpedoes are solid, even at 12 points, seems good to have Ion Turret and Bombs…  The list is a Damage Race as I have essentially zero Defensive capability (not sure the term to really use here) and I just need to throw out more Damage faster than my Opponent…  Coordinate is just SO much better than any other Action I think and it does make AP5 just a Taxi for Leia and a mobile Action for the actual hard hitters of the list.  Sabine is amazing, but I found I REALLY missed the Turret and frankly she is more of a Combat ship and she wants to be I there fighting.  SHE has a ton of Actions and can be an awesome blocker/Arc Dodger, but she really does nothing to aid the rest of the list I think.  Honestly the FCS on Ten is expendable I think.  Neat, but not really necessary.  Braylen is solid on his own getting the effective TL when Stressed.  Ten gets the Focus(ish) for Stress, which is great, but found I was not hitting often enough quickly enough.  Still need to figure out the last 3-5 points for the list…

I suspect that I was playing it wrong with it needing to just have the ARC to just bull rush in front of the B-Wings and Sabine just running a Flank or playing Linebacker.  Might still be a thing, but I suspect there will be far more hard counters to the “JOUST ME” list.  Thinking the YBB list with the Support ship to just throw in Coordinates and taxi Leia to allow some really interesting Turns where I can do the Red Maneuvers AND get Actions to have the better modified shots.  And of course the possibility of Norra dropping a Bomb, K-Turning while she has the target Locked and have the fully modified Proton Torpedo shot is amusing…  Will see I suppose…

Need a few more games for the League…  Looks like we’ll try to get in some games this Sunday and next Sunday…  Only way I think I’ll get in the last 4 games I think. 

New points for X-Wing, League continues

So, points have changed it seems…  Overall a VERY good thing I think.  Not seeing any obvious broken combinations and have gotten in a few games with the updated costs.  My Imperial triple Ace list is just fine.  Has some problems against the new and improved Brobot lists though.  Decent survivability and does SOME damage, but not enough burst damage to put down a hard target like a Brobot quickly enough to NOT die in the counterattack…

Probably going to test something like this:

FelWhisperSai3.6 (199)

Soontir Fel — TIE Interceptor	52
Lone Wolf	5
Ship Total: 57
Half Points: 29 Threshold: 2
“Whisper” — TIE/ph Phantom	54
Juke	5
Collision Detector	6
Fifth Brother	9
Ship Total: 74
Half Points: 37 Threshold: 3
Lieutenant Sai — Lambda-class T-4a Shuttle	47
Advanced Sensors	10
Jamming Beam	0
ISB Slicer	3
Shield Upgrade	4
ST-321	4
Ship Total: 68
Half Points: 34 Threshold: 6

With the free Jamming beam and the ISB Slicer, I can get Jamming to act almost like it did in v1…  Whisper is pretty decent still of course and Fel is Fel J… Whisper lost Vader as a Crew, but Fifth Brother is still pretty darn good with Criticals being brutal in this edition.  So, Fel takes a flank and Whisper escorts the Shuttle to get the silly level of Action efficiency. 

Probably will try something like this if I make it to this evening’s “casual” night and get in another League game:

BBArcWren (199)

Braylen Stramm — A/SF-01 B-Wing	47
Jamming Beam	0
Ship Total: 47
Half Points: 24 Threshold: 4
Ten Numb — A/SF-01 B-Wing	46
Jamming Beam	0
Ship Total: 46
Half Points: 23 Threshold: 4
Norra Wexley — ARC-170 Starfighter	55
Intimidation	3
“Zeb” Orrelios	1
Ship Total: 59
Half Points: 30 Threshold: 5
Sabine Wren — Attack Shuttle	42
Debris Gambit	3
Dorsal Turret	2
Ship Total: 47
Half Points: 24 Threshold: 2

Seems interesting enough, and with the exception of the ARC they are ships I have not flown in v2…  I DID fly the Attack Shuttle a bit in v1, but it was not nearly so good.  Sabine did go up in the points adjustment, and it was well warranted.  She has Advanced Sensors like maneuverability and with the Debris Gambit, I can get in the free (white) Evade if I do the Barrel Roll near terrain.  The B-Wings?  Seem solid knife fighters and I’ll see if they fit my play style…  I am not so sure, I REALLY like the fast Aces with the repositioning and ability to get out and move, but if I play the B’s right?  I think I could keep the guns on target easily enough and do the Damage needed to win out…  Hopefully before getting shot to pieces of course…  I flew them a bit in my early days in the game and the 4BZ list was a solid one (I played 4B with FCS/HLC), but then the dark times came to X-Wing and the Arc Dodging Aces simply were better in every respect so that list died at least until the very end of the edition… 

Other random things?  I am seeing an annoying number of the “rental bikes” just abandoned on sidewalks, in building entrances and basically wherever the person riding it last just got off the bloody thing and left it there.  Shows the lack of ownership as they are just dumped there.  Given a basic understanding of human nature, this is unsurprising to me, but somehow most people are still surprised at the result.  I am reminded that the Nietzschean race from the old “Andromeda” series.  Genetically engineered and technologically enhanced humans who were to be the “Warrior Poets to lead Humanity to a new Golden Age”, but of course they wound up simply attempting to take over and enslave the other humans…  The likely outcome that anyone who understood human nature would have foreseen…  A great idea at the start I am sure, but…  J  And I see the bike rental as a VERY small similar situation/outcome…

Job hunt continues I suppose…  NOT unemployed, so no real pressure.  Going over 20 years here in a few Months, but have enough sick/vacation time to be turned in to “buy” the remaining time to lock in my Medical benefits for life as I retire and go to another job.  Tried for a few Faculty positions, but with Illinois’ budget “issues” several of the Colleges have pulled back hiring and so am in a holding pattern there.  Being recruited for another position back in the “real industry” and will see if something comes of it.  Am hopeful of course as I seem to be a very good fit for the position having done the whole “build the team you want” thing several times in the past.  Will see what, if anything comes of it but it has been quite nice having Headhunters and Industry Recruiters actually seeking me out.

X-Wing this weekend and running again?

Well, gearing up for the weekend with the big (I HOPE) event in Bloomington (https://www.facebook.com/events/2343101475918609/) …  Looking like I’ll likely be running Dash/Roark again:

DashRoark3 (199)

Dash Rendar — YT-2400 Light Freighter	100
Trick Shot	1
Han Solo	12
Perceptive Copilot	10
Outrider	14
Ship Total: 137
Half Points: 69 Threshold: 5
Roark Garnet — HWK-290 Light Freighter	38
Squad Leader	4
Proximity Mines	6
Tactical Officer	2
Moldy Crow	12
Ship Total: 62
Half Points: 31 Threshold: 3

+/- on it being the Proximity Mines on the Hawk…  I found them useful, but 1 point is not a real bid.  It is just the “I had nothing else to add” I suppose…  With the 2 “new” Factions being legal, there is a fair number of viable lists and I suspect this one is going to be a “mid-tier/table” list for me.  Almost no way I win out, but I should end with a winning record I hope…  Assuming that I do not just suffer from brain fatigue over the long day.  One reason I do not play the “Ace” build this time… 

One build I am actually kind of worried about facing is detailed quite well here:

https://midwestscrub.wordpress.com/2019/01/21/triple-upsilons-and-the-rule-of-four/

3 Upsilon class shuttles from the First Order…  SO much to shoot through, and they hit HARD.  Built out that way, there is a Turn 1 Alpha Strike that is very difficult to avoid…  Tyler talked about it at length on the OCX podcast this week as well, but his was NOT the “sell out for the Alpha” list…  With my Dash/Roark list?  I set up against the Alpha Strikers with “I’m just running” in mind.  Surprisingly, the HWK has a boost and with the 4 Straight and Boost running along the board edge I might avoid the strike there…  The 2400?  Well, 4 Straight on the Large base does move quite a distance…  So likely Turn 1, start with that…  Can I dodge most (all) of the Arcs?  Maybe.  Trading shots is not a good option since on the first Turn, they are front loaded and they will NOT be later in the game.  A few things to remember for me are that I can shed a Red/Orange token by going over Terrain and so a TL that appears on Turn 1 might not be there…  Tempted to run right at the Shuttles, but Dash does NOT like close combat.  I suspect that this knife fighting approach is the “Ace” answer to the 3 Shuttle list.  Draw it out, drag them through the terrain.  Their Collision Detectors have 2 charges, and mine does not J…  Roark just needs to skirt the field and run like Hell…  The Mines might well be something that makes a difference as not many players of this list use them…  Or they might still be on the racks when all my Ships die J… 

More previews are hitting for Wave 3, but it is all the CIS stuff and I have no real interest in that…  Looks REALLY interesting though and I am actually quite excited to see them coming.  My Republic stuff should be the next few previews and if they stay true to form, the real release might well be in March or even February…  And I’ll have my Hyperspace legal Ace list I suspect…  The Jedi should be amazing on the table, and I’ve gotten one of my old ARCs (started on) repainted…  Nothing TOO extreme, Blue stripes in place of the Red so it at least looks different… I am HOPING that an ARC and 2 Jedi will be a list I can field…  And one of those Jedi will pretty much have to be Anakin for me since the I6 is going to be absolutely vital I suspect.  But of course until points are released, no one knows…

Job search?  Continues.  Had a few interviews, but not the one I am REALLY kind of hoping for.  Long shot, but a completely different career direction.  Amusingly, it would be a Faculty position, and Professor Chappell does sound pretty good J…  Will see.  But things continue where I am and I have a job I could well retire from, so no real pressure to jump.   

Running 3 days a week locally, and joined the Krayt’s Running Group on Strava.  I’m basically doing a 5K each time (just a bit over 3 miles), but of course NOT going overly fast…  My brother is the marathon runner, he is REALLY good.  Me?  I’m just running to get closer to “back in shape”.  Once upon a time I maxxed out the Army PT test pretty easily, and looking at the ancient DD-214 showing me as a 12B20V for MOS…  Well, once upon a time I was able to do a lot of those things my RPG characters can do like the meme says J

J…  Losing weight again, eating better and getting back to where I once was…  Finding that the general pain level is back down to almost pre-Army levels…  Just need to drop another 25 or so pounds to get back there.  Will see, if I can keep this going through the Summer, it is actually likely…

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…