X-Wing as the Republic...

So, getting in more games with my Republic forces…  I DID try the 2 Jedi list for a bit, but with only Anakin and Obi-Wan on the field it was good but extremely unforgiving.  A single mistake or bad roll and it is over.  So, probably a no for me.  The 2 lists I have been having success with are the Obi-Wan and 3 ARCs and the Anikin/Mace with 2 Torrents.  With the first list flying a single 104th  Squadron with Sinker and Wolfe.  Obi-Wan is basically just there to support and I lack the points to put the 7B upgrade on his ship.  Trying a swap to Luminara to help mitigate Damage but losing the 3rd Force point and I5 might be bad…  That list I’ve been calling my “Iron Curtain” list as I grew up watching the Pittsburg Steelers a lot in the 70’s (my father was from near there) and it just seemed apt…  NOT subtle, just line up and bull rush the other side.  Even if they DO get behind you, not the end of the world as there are still Arcs covering that area and I’ve spent a long time flying the ARCs between the two editions and so am fairly used to the quirks of the ship.  I am flying a slightly different version as the 104th cards are only 1/pack and I have re-purposed my “Rebel” ARCs to fly for my Republic forces…  And I like having the slightly higher I and re-rolls for everyone…  Seems solid.

The 2 7B’s and 2 Torrent list is amusing…  I’ve skipped a bid and Mace has Sense to help assure Blocking and the Torrents are surprisingly good at that…  I can see why this list has been doing so well in Tournaments.  I’m getting better at the whole fly to block thing that is pretty much the opposite of my normal “Ace” flying where I am trying hard to avoid being blocked and shot at while getting in my shots where I can… Flew it last evening and the Torrents got in more blocks than they did shots…  Mace with Sense made it fairly trivial to place the ships to block and it allowed me to get in the hits while the target was out of position and off balance…  This list with Luminara in place of Mace works out fairly well…  Less direct damage from the Jedi, but those Torrents last bloody forever…

Signing up for some events at Gen Con…  Trying for Nationals (or whatever they are called now) on Friday and maybe another Hyperspace event either Friday or Saturday…  Will see, likely will still be running my Republic forces then against the likely field of Rebel Beef (Beef Wedgeington as it has been dubbed :-) )… 

Post HS event X-Wing and minor updates...

So, the Bloomington Hyperspace Trial happened…  LONG day and I wound up close to the top, but in no danger of making the cut to play on day two.  Had a lot of fun and played the list I thought would do well.  ONLY minor exception being my last game where my opponent went to an absolutely glacial pace once he was in the lead…  Frustrating and I had to sit down and center myself a bit so I did not lose my temper…  :-)  Some things I suppose become easier as I get older.  Had the game gone another 2 turns I know Anakin could have swept the board for me, but alas it was not to be.  Got a load of neat alt arts and acrylic prizes, but most important I did enjoy playing a LOT of X-Wing.  

Think going forward I drop the ARC and swap to Obi-Wan from Mace.  Supernatural Reflexes on Obi-Wan since Anakin is priced JUST outside of sanity level at 32 points for that upgrade…  Still, I5 with SNR and the double repositioning should be difficult to catch if I choose to break off and run.  Anakin drops the Spare Parts for Afterburners since the extra Boosts even if I am Stressed is just REALLY good on this ship I think…  As it happens I am fairly good at arc dodging and being able to then boost to Range 1 for the extra Dice should allow me to clear the field a bit quicker.  Obi-Wan’s Pilot Ability is “neat”, but certainly NOT why I am bringing him.  Well, aside from being one of my favorite Jedi…  I5 and 3 Force being the break point where things get good for him to be a “Jedi AND Ace”.  Yes, the list is only 2 ships and both of them are essentially X-Wings with the dials of A-Wings…  But these are ships I do really enjoy flying and since I have no need to stay in anything like a formation should be difficult to pin down for most folks…  

DID get the word from the Springfield TO that there will in fact be a Hyperspace event there in the second part of the season…  So July or later…  Signing up for some events at Gen Con as well, so there should be at least a few more big events that I am flying in.  Have to say I am rather enjoying the way my Jedi fly, will have to see if they stay more or less the same post the July points rebalance…  Not entirely sure how well I’ll DO at the events both in terms of placement and physically as it is extremely draining to be bending over those tables all day, but as I get more and more in shape these things do seem to become a bit easier…

Running a fair bit, typically ~5K/day and 3 days/week…  Lifting a bit, etc…  And now that the weather has cleared a bit (at least n terms of the temperature) I’ll be doing more yard work and the like so I’ll have my tan back in no time…  

The job hunt is still ongoing and I am applying further out as I am now over my 20 years here at the University…  Faculty positions as well as “IT Director” type positions as I’m qualified for either really…  Sadly some that I’ve interviewed with have what I consider extremely unrealistic salary expectations.  One required a Masters, 10+ years experience, Industry Certifications, etc…  And they were offering $35,000-40,000 for the salary.  Since that is below the range we START people here, I think I know why they are having a difficult time attracting qualified candidates.  Especially when those qualifications would command several times that salary elsewhere…  The CIO here is leaving in June and looking at the list of retirements there should be some local opportunities as well.  I would MUCH prefer to stay here I suppose given that I know so many people and am very familiar with the environment…  Will see what comes up as I’ve now gotten a LOT of interview practice and even several offers over the last few years.  Just none that I’ve accepted yet :-) …

X-Wing Déjà vu all over again?

Still testing with the Chromebook…  Seems solid, but finding a few more “gotcha” issues..  Some I never really considered like the Mersive Solstice connection App for Android not being compatible with this device.  Never considered that this is not running “real” Android, and so I incorrectly assumed that this device would just work there like everything else I encountered previously.  Opened a ticket with the Vendor, so we will see.  AFAIK I am the first testing this device type in this environment so it is certainly NOT a major issue.

The other issue I am having with the device is related to the physical size of the device I suspect.  The keyboard is just SLIGHTLY smaller that the ne I am used to and so typing is JUST a  bit off…  For me, not as much of a problem as I am certainly not a “professional level” typist like my wife…  I suspect she would have a major issue with this keyboard…

Watched a bit of the Denver System Open over the weekend between Prom “stuff” (2 daughters both going makes for an interesting time) and Endgame/GoT watching…  The winning list was one that one of the Podcasts I listen to brought as a group.  And it’s Palp Aces again…  Déjà vu all over again…  So, having some flashbacks to v1 with the cycle of TIE Phantoms leading to Fat Han leading to Palp Aces…  Mind, they brought a specific “Alpha Class Star Wing” as the second “Ace”, so not really a traditional Ace…  But an Ordnance carrier that does just throw out a LOT of Damage quickly even (and frankly MOSTLY) after performing a SLAM maneuver.  Mind, the SLAM has a Weapons Disabled token as part of doing the Action, but the Alpha has the ability to fire despite having the weapons disabled.  With the Advanced SLAM they can also perform a second Action as part of the SLAM, so Locks an Focus are usually there.

I think this is where my objection to a lot of the Extended stuff at least comes.  There are the rules of the game and then there are things that either ignore the basic rules of the game or are simply FAR too efficient as they get free extra Actions.  Looking specifically at the TIE Phantom here as they get the free Evades when they De-cloak.  Now, with the Evade, it activates Juke making their Offense unnaturally efficient along with their Defense being just better than another similarly priced Ship.  Probably illustrates an issue that FFG should balance sooner rather than later.

Han is another issue, and the current one is the interaction between Han, R2-D2, the Inertial Damper and the infinite Regeneration that comes with that cycle.  And of course the I6 means that most if not all of your opponent’s Ships have moved when you reveal your Dial.  Giving you the option with full board knowledge of where best to put your Ship.  Choosing from 1 of the 8 potential placements as the YT-1300 has a native Boost Action.  Going full Fat Han gives you the Engine Upgrade (making the Boost white rather than Red) and Kannan Jarus to pull away the Stress that the Damper gives you.  Luke Skywalker Gunner is 30(!!) points, but with an additional Force and the ability to change your Turret facing after everything is done moving?  Turns out it is really good in this one particular application.  Especially where cost is a feature rather than a downside…  With a good player, good luck killing or even getting to Half Points this Han build.  And with re-rolls that are defined as “not re-rolls”, this is another area that there is an exception to the basic rules of the game…  You start to get too many exceptions in the game and the rules start to mean less and less over time…

Looking like this is what I am going to fly this weekend at the Hyperspace Qualifiers:

Anakin Mace Wolfe (199)

Anakin Skywalker — Delta-7 Aethersprite	60
R2 Astromech	4
Delta-7B	18
Ship Total: 82
Half Points: 41 Threshold: 3
Mace Windu — Delta-7 Aethersprite	46
R2 Astromech	4
Delta-7B	16
Ship Total: 66
Half Points: 33 Threshold: 3
“Wolffe” — ARC-170 Starfighter	51
Ship Total: 51
Half Points: 26 Threshold: 5

3 solid ships and Anakin being the perfect ship for the way I play...  Mace is another one that I tend to play a bit more aggressively and Wolfe is just solid...

Chromebook and upcoming X-Wing (Jedi)

Testing from the new Chromebook…  Went with the Dell Inspiron 3189 (I think), so a nice “convertible” laptop that can flip over and become a Tablet.  Running the Android OS, so feeling very similar to my Samsung S8 phone…  Bigger of course and a real keyboard, but slight learning curve hitting as I am so very familiar with the “standard” Windows laptops having used them since the Win 95 days…  One HUGE advantage of working in IT, I always had access to the beta builds of the newest OS and starting in the Hardware end of things would build or re-build my own laptops… So far as I have been managing my expectations for this device (I am typing the post ON it) It has been fairly solid.  Spent most of my day today wandering about in meetings and the battery is still showing 95%+…  For the price it seems to be an excellent device so far.  One of my co-workers did remind me that I can install the Microsoft RDP app on this thing, and I did, but honestly I doubt I will use it.  This device is a secondary “for use in meetings or when wandering about” only, so…

Getting in a LOT of reps in with my “Republic” squadrons for X-Wing, mostly Jedi…  Have to say, Anakin Skywalker’s ship is the perfect one for me and my play style.  VERY aggressive, I use the -7B variant and an R2 Astromech for him to give me the X-Wing profile with the A-Wing’s dial and Regeneration.  I DO have to play it a bit cagy as I cannot just joust things out of existence…  Well, NOT full health things.  I6 and the 3-4 Dice Attack I CAN usually kill something already damaged, but better by FAR to dodge their Arc and get in the shots unanswered.  Other than that though?  Ahsoka is solid as well, but I3…  One list I have tried a fair bit is Anakin, Ahsoka and 2 Torrents.  The Jedi have the -7B and R2 and the Gold Squadrons Torrents are just the base model…  198 points, so no real bid and those Torrents are frankly terrible.  The 3 Aethersprite lists with Anakin, Mace and Ahsoka work and Obi-Wan can slot in for Mace easily enough.  Force management is a hard one for me, I am ALWAYS running out so 3 Force is needed on the second Ace…  Obi-Wan has the I5, but his Pilot Ability is not so good in this sort of list.  Mace has an Ability I like (Regain a Force when you do a Red maneuver), but is only I4… 

Turns out I have painted a ship up in purple/grey that looks good for him, so leaning toward that…  DO want a bigger bid though.  Anakin works SO much better if he moves AFTER everyone else.

Brings me to the meme list I am actually considering.  Anakin with Supernatural Reflexes (32 points!!!), R2 and the -7B paired with Obi-Wan sporting the -7B and an R2 unit…  12 point bid, so I might use the Spare Parts Canister as well, but…  It is solid, but VERY unforgiving…

X-Wing, after Wave 3 hit...

Well, after a number of games into the new edition with the Wave 3 stuff on the table I have come to a few conclusions…

Hate:  I hate it J…  “Just a bit” under costed (Now say that in Bob Uecker’s voice ala “Major League”) at 3 points.  Compared to the “Light Side” upgrades available to the Jedi in the Republic?  Just ludicrously cheap.  Mind, just my opinion per usual, but with most of my powers being set on a “sliding” scale where something almost completely useless like “Brilliant Evasion” coming in at 6 points for Anakin Skywalker?  So, double the points for something that MIGHT hit once in a blue moon and MIGHT save me a Force point?  Compared to the gain a Force for EVERY Damage taken (Shields, Hull, whatever…)?  So, the Sith Infiltrator will almost always be full up on Force negating the hard choices WRT resource management I face with the Jedi…  Seems a bit too good.  Now, the Supernatural Reflexes was the obviously OP thing that needed to be adjusted before Wave 3 hit and the I6 Anakin would have been way too good.  I get it.  But now it seems Hate is taking the place as the abusive one.  Hoping it is not a “wait for July” thing. 

As it stands now, none of my Jedi are taking Force abilities as I am finding the resource management portion to be the thing I am struggling the most with.  Anakin with the 7B modification is REALLY good.  And I’m a fairly decent Ace player and dodging Arcs is the key to playing that Ship.  My experience playing Soonter Fel is coming in handy, but I DO think Anakin is a superior version of that Ship.  Costs a lot more, so that follows… 

Other than Anakin?  Well…  Some of the Arcs are solid, but I think ALL of the named ones are slightly overpriced…  Wolfe being the one I think I’ve flown the most for slightly obvious reasons …  

The V-19’s?  Seem like overpriced garbage.  I’ve not flown any, but faced several and they fall in somewhere below the Z-95 and TIE with respect to their utility.  Issue being they NEED Ordnance to become effective.  They’re too expensive and simply not as good as a basic TIE.  Putting on the Missile puts them as too expensive to be effective as filler or even a Swarm.  Lacking Shields, and their Dial is just bad…  Had the Homing Missiles not jumped in price?  Maybe they would have been good, but as it stands now?  A single Missile slot and no Reload action locks them to just bad choices for the Missile upgrade.  Having to spend 4 more points to go to I3 and getting the Talent Slot?  Nope.  Crack Shot or the Dedicated one might be amusing, but I3 still just gets killed too quickly and compared to say the Vulture where jumping from I1 to I3 is only 2 points?  Not worth it, so the V-19 is going to be a “Shelf Unit” for me in my office it seems… 

The other Jedi?  Mace is decent, Ashoka is good I suppose…  I3 though and only 2 Force limits her.  Mace being I4 is extremely limiting.  His 3 Force is good though…  Will likely be running Obi Wan I think as I am finding I5/3 Force to be the break point between the good/mediocre Jedi…  All are perhaps a bit expensive, but I can work with it as long as I can field 3 of them with upgrades.  I DO think that they made the Configurations for the Aethersprite just a bit too expensive though…  Hopefully this is something that gets adjusted down as few of us seem to be flying the Jedi now… 

Droids are solid:  Yes, surprisingly difficult to kill overall…  Calculate is not bad, and the sheer number of them on the field makes for a VERY interesting game…  They have good Ordnance options, excellent synergy within the Faction and are frankly darn cheap.  And with so many customization options there are a lot of different lists that they slot into…  I think that we will see a fair number of good lists from the Faction with these as a big part of it…

Sith Infiltrator:  Another solid one…  Coupled with Hate being too good makes this a solid choice I think.  I5 on Darth Maul, the crew options are all pretty good, Cloak and Barrel Roll on a Large Based Ship that has a pretty solid Dial.  2 Sloop, 5 K-turn, solid Turns, etc…  Maul with the double tap knowing that he is likely to have full Force due to Hate being stupid cheap is not a hard choice I think.  So, it comes down to having to Arc Dodge him well enough to ignore him or be able to kill him REALLY quickly.  Seeing a fair number of lists with either 2 of the Infiltrators or Maul with a mini Swarm of Vultures…  All of them seem solid.

So, the game seems to be in a VERY good place with so many viable options, and with the next big event being Hyperspace I am really looking forward to flying either 3 Jedi or 2 Jedi and an ARC...  Should be fun at least...

Taquerias and X-Wing?

Mkay, heard one that I had not heard before today and it got me thinking.  The writer essentially said that the restaurant in question had a menu that was too high in quality to maintain profitability.  With a new Taqueria that opened across the street from my office I had been thinking something along those lines…  They have their burritos priced at $7 which is a full dollar or more less than every other local place.  AND they are not doing them as the more “Mission Style” burritos with a lot of what I would consider “filler” in the form of rice and beans (cooked and/or refried).  I should preface it with it only opened Monday and I’ve been there only once, so it might be incorrect in the longer run of course…  But that was the best Al Pastor that I’ve not had that good outside of Mexico/Texas border in the ancient times…  And I was actually fairly concerned about the longer term viability of the place given what I felt was the quality of the food I got…  Guess we’ll see over the longer run, and I am of course hopeful but I suspect the odds are not in favor of the place lasting...

Got in my first actual game with my Republic forces, I played:

Unsaved Squadron (197)

Anakin Skywalker — Delta-7 Aethersprite	60
R4 Astromech	2
Delta-7B	18
Spare Parts Canisters	4
Ship Total: 84
Half Points: 42 Threshold: 3
"Sinker" — ARC-170 Starfighter	54
Ship Total: 54
Half Points: 27 Threshold: 5
"Wolffe" — ARC-170 Starfighter	51
Veteran Tail Gunner	4
R2 Astromech	4
Ship Total: 59
Half Points: 30 Threshold: 5

And I faced a S&V force with Han (trick shot), Fenn Rau and 2 of the Mining Guild TIEs…  Solid build and the player was good…  I lost the Initiative roll so was player 1 which I suppose is something I need to be concerned about with the I6 Anakin, but honestly?  I think I was OK going first as I was able to get the “dream move” out there with the 2 Sloop, remove Stress and drop the Spare Parts on Fenn Rau who was already Stressed.  He took no damage of course, but a triple Stressed Fenn is NOT a happy Fenn.  Wolfe was a bowling ball, got the double shot off a few times before he finally died.  The ARCs take a surprising amount of Damage before they die, and with the Barrel Roll they actually make decent blockers.  Oh, Han had the Hotshot Gunner de-incentivizing the taking of Focus as an Action…  Rerolls from Sinker were nice and it is fairly easy to maintain that “Side Arc” condition.  Anakin was a monster Slooping and K-Turning around Han until I killed him after Fenn died…  Oh, Anakin killed him but lost his Shields and took a Crit in the exchange.  Range 1 Fenn Rau is ALWAYS dangerous, even if I get to shoot first…

Going forward I suspect my next build will have a pair of the Aethersprites with an Arc.  Either Mace or Saesee seem like they’d fit in well enough.  Guessing I’ll have to put in an actual bid as well to continue testing for the 4 May event… Asoka with 3 ARCs is also a possibility…  Bring her as a Support Ship and keep the big “Wall o’ Beef” in front of her?  Maybe…  Just not sure that the low maneuverability of the ARCs combined with the low Agility will keep them on the field and relevant long enough to win…  One of the locals brought out the 4 ARC list and lost to the 2 Sith Infiltrators…  While the named ones seem good, I question the base Ships en masse being viable. 

Bunch of other things got immediately added to Hyperspace as well…  I do not think anyone was really expecting this, but in the words of the Seventh Sister “A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one”.  TIE Interceptors, TIE Bombers, B-Wings, A-Wings and Star Vipers are all legal now…  So, the Rebel list I WAS flying in the League itself is almost HS legal.  Just need to swap AP5 for a U-Wing I suppose…  Just think that list is no longer closer to the top tier with everything else out there.  I could go toe to toe with some of the Torpedo Alpha Strike lists and come out on top, but B-Wings are just not maneuverable enough or high enough I to deal with actual Aces… 

Seems to be a fair number of people griping about the announcement that X-Wing Worlds will be the Extended format rather than the Hyperspace everyone assume it was going to be…  Me?  I’m fairly neutral about it as I have no real chance to make the cut and go…  I really just do not want to watch it devolve to the camping TIE Phantoms or whatever other “technically legal” but actually broken and sill lists bubble to the top by then.  Eh, we’ll see I suppose…  At the end of the day, not really anything I’m overly invested in..

Next week X-Wing League...

Came in first so ended up with a Bye for the end of League tournament.  Got in a few test games and was not really happy with what I had...  

So, looking like I will be running a different Bomber list next week:

Scurrg Swarm (200)

Sol Sixxa — Scurrg H-6 Bomber	46
Ion Cannon Turret	4
Skilled Bombardier	2
Proton Bombs	5
Proximity Mines	6
Hull Upgrade	3
Havoc	4
Collision Detector	6
“Genius”	2
Ship Total: 78
Half Points: 39 Threshold: 6
Lok Revenant — Scurrg H-6 Bomber	43
Ion Cannon Turret	4
Veteran Turret Gunner	6
Proton Bombs	5
Hull Upgrade	3
Ship Total: 61
Half Points: 31 Threshold: 6
Lok Revenant — Scurrg H-6 Bomber	43
Ion Cannon Turret	4
Veteran Turret Gunner	6
Proton Bombs	5
Hull Upgrade	3
Ship Total: 61
Half Points: 31 Threshold: 6

Almost the same, but making my Bombers…  Well, you know, Bombers.  Played a few practice games with the Drea based swarm and it was solid, but unexciting.  And of course Drea herself was ALWAYS the primary target to strip the re-rolls…  Nothing in that list has much any chance to avoid Damage, so anyone shooting at her likely hit her.  This way, I have just the Scurrgs and while they also are not dodging much, the extra Hull on all of them might buy me a bit more time, and Sol?  REALLY glad they did not put Reload on these ships…  I am already liking the Skilled Bombardier and Sol’s ability combined with Genius for some absolutely silly threats…  Much like v1’s CPT Nym honestly.  But using ANY 1 or 2 maneuver to drop Bombs or Mines means I can put it LOTS of places…  I moved to Ion turrets in place of the Dorsal.  I found that in general, they were only doing a single Damage in any case barring of course the odd times I got the Range 1 double tap…  And the Ion starting out at 3 Dice should get me the same number of Hits that the re-rolls from Drea got me along with the bonus of possibly Ionizing the enemy and leaving them easier prey for the Bombers and maybe even a few Proton Bombs as a parting gift…  So, an Extended list for another week or two I think.

Hyperspace is looking very much like my Jedi will be out by 21 March…  So 2 weeks out and I’ll be back to my Aces…