X-Wing League, final run coming up...

So…  Got in 4 of my 6 League games.  First was just my Dash/Roark list to practice for the Bloomington event.  Next 3 were 2 B-Wings and Norra.  The first was the ARC and Sabine.  Successful, but felt like it was seriously lacking hitting power.  Last 2 were Braylen and Ten in their B-Wings with AP5 taxiing Leia and Norra in her Y-Wing to provide the hammer.  She WAS seriously overloaded with the R-3 mech, Vet Gunner, Proton Torpedoes AND Bombs to go along with the Ion Turret…  Think I can count on one hand the number of times I actually got to fire the bloody Ion turret and NEVER used the Gunner.  The Torpedoes and Bombs on the other hand…  THOSE were awesome.  The R-3 to give 2 TLs was nice, and having the Reload action in my pocket as it were meant I was not overly concerned about “holding” my Torpedoes if I had ANY shot.  The threat of the fully modified Proton Torpedo was enough to keep things like Fenn Rau REALLY cautious.  He and Guri dodged Arcs as often as they could to avoid Norra, and usually meant they had no shot, so that worked for me.  Braylen and Ten were solid work horses in the list.  USUALLY having the fully modified shot, and the FCS on Ten proved its worth I think.  In each game I dialed in Reds thinking I would activate Leia and have Actions, etc…  And then forgot to activate her.  Ouch.  Didn’t hurt me TOO badly as the Reds I dialed in were moves that the opponent did not anticipate as “only a fool would do THAT”…  Well, I did J…  Took a turn or two to swing back around to line it up again and then it was devastating with the Y and B’s forming a kill box and having fully modified shots to take down whatever I had in the box…  Still, it was good, but I think there is another iteration due for my remaining games in the League:

BBYNorraAP5 ver2 (199)

Braylen Stramm — A/SF-01 B-Wing	47
Elusive	3
Jamming Beam	0
Ship Total: 50
Half Points: 25 Threshold: 4
Ten Numb — A/SF-01 B-Wing	46
Trick Shot	2
Fire-Control System	2
Jamming Beam	0
Ship Total: 50
Half Points: 25 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
Ship Total: 65
Half Points: 33 Threshold: 4

Trick Shot on Ten Numb can become a 3 point Talent for Norra should such a thing present as a better option?  Or just move TS over there to the Y-Wing I suppose…  Double down on the “I’m here to hit things” that she does.  NOT giving up the Torpedoes or Bombs as they were golden for me.  And of course my willingness to call in “Danger Close” and bomb my own stuff to put the Criticals on their Ships seemed like it shocked my opponents…  Side note, I HAVE called in Air Strikes and Artillery and do not think I ever called it in anything other than “Danger, Close” since I had a great deal of faith in the US Army’s ability to deliver ordnance where I was directing it…  Well, that and of course I needed it where the enemy WAS, so J…  But in any case, my last Proton Bomb hit Norra AND Ten Numb, stripping a Shield on Ten and hitting Norra for a Critical to put a Critical onto Fenn Rau…  Fuel Leak showing, 2 Hull remaining  so it was a death sentence since he could not have avoided it having K-Turned onto the bomb to line up the Range 1 shot into Norra to kill her…

I think Elusive on Braylen is a decent call…  I do a fair number of Reds with the B-Wings, and so regenerating the Charge should be possible easily enough.  Seeing that Talent used a fair bit, and it is “ok”…  Rerolls are nice, and it should extend the timer I am on with this list.  All about Offence, Defense is just the sheer amount of Hull/Shields I present on my gun line…  Leaves me with 3 points as I am trading the Vet Turret Gunner in…  Trick Shot doubled all the way to 2 points, and it is still too cheap I think, so that is a contender.  Ten with Elusive is I suppose a possibility, but I would prefer to put in something Offensive to keep with the theme and obvious synergies within the list…

Match up wise?  Seems like it does well against the “large” ships and Ace type builds.  Have yet to face a real Swarm in this edition outside of some very early practice games, so not thinking I’ll see them locally at least.  One Swarm I AM concerned about is the 5 Y-Wing squad I have seen on the table…  I have 4 Ships technically, so I should match fairly well if only my ships were not mostly Agility 1 and easy prey for Ion Turrets…  THAT could completely wreck my squad.  Guessing I’ll be doing the “Go FAST, hope to avoid them” using Leia to give me the ability to move quickly with 3 Banks and 4’s to close and have modified shots.  Close in, take the flank off the table and run like Hell…  Circle around and repeat, daring him to chase my Bomber…  Still, not a list I relish facing and I suspect it will not exist in the longer run as it is just a bit TOO efficient…   

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…