Tuesday, December 10, 2019

X-Wing, Legion and more? Waiting on 9 January it seems...


So, Jan 9 is the date FFG has announced for the next points update…  Less than a month out now, so time perhaps to schedule an event over at Titan.  Since the announcement that everything except the System Open events are going to be Extended format, it does make list building a bit easier…  Been flying my dual Firespray list almost exclusively.  And while it hits 200 even I do have the 6 point buffer there with the Stealth Device on Fett’s ship that could just as easily just go away…  Mind, it is nice to have, but certainly not needed.  I suspect that this list will make it through the update more or less intact.  NOT so for my Jedi lists.  I suspect that the CIS and Jedi will be seeing some major shifts in their points, almost all going up, up, up… 

Locally, seeing a lot of malaise as most of us are waiting on the next round of points with the game being mostly “solved”?  Not sure that is the right word honestly.  There are a fair number of good lists, and this is where it differs greatly from the first edition state of the game.  Usually in v1 there was a “solved” state with the one to three really good lists dominating competitive play and then the rest of the lists languishing in the salt mines…  Now, there are good lists in just about every Faction.  And with the seven Factions out there it does make it at least interesting.  I do say “just about” as First Order is limited with only the bare handful of Ships at all and therefore only a few viable options.  Still, the Faction specific prizes at the larger events has encouraged diversity in the list building to the point of keeping things really well balanced.  I would argue that at this point CIS with the Droid Swarm led by a Nantex class ship is at least a little bit ahead of MOST of the other Faction’s best lists.  Does have a few bad matchups and you DO need to play it quite well, almost perfectly, but…  So, waiting on the Jan 9 update a lot of us are… 

Other than that?  My iritis was confirmed in my right eye, making painting impossible…  Going back to the Doctor Thursday for the next checkup.  It is feeling a LOT better, but with the medication (Atropine specifically) keeping my eye dilated and therefore impossible to focus for detail work my Clones have languished with just the primer/base coat on them…  Sat I have the next event and they’ll be hitting the field for me…  Still not sure if it will be Obi-Wan and 2 Squads or CPT Rex and 3 Squads…  With the delays in the new product hitting I have extremely limited options for the Republic so… 

Speaking of the Delays…  They have cancelled a few repackaged expansions.  Citing the general availability of the Ships, it made little sense to release the updated package.  Well and good I suppose.  And for reasons unknown several other things have been pushed back to January or later…  I guess there is still a chance that a “secret” wave could be released to coincide with the new Star Wars movie hitting in 10 days, but at this point is is seeming less likely.  Guess we’ll see?  The points update is holding things back more right now, but more toys is always better…

The Mandalorian has been airing on the Disney+ streaming service…  So far I have really liked it and it is doing a LOT of work for Disney to bring back many fans who were driven away with the Last Jedi…  Mind, some of us old timers see the almost direct “influence” of things like “The Seven Samurai” or the old Westerns, but that is fine…  Nothing that hadn’t been firmly established in Star Wars honestly…  And the people they have brought in to play the parts have all been quite good so far.  Werner Herzog as an Imperial Officer and the actress playing Cara Dune being some of the better ones I think.  Cara especially as they have her playing a Rebel Commando/Drop Trooper.  She is CLEARLY quite well trained as a close combat specialist and those action sequences just flowed well.  As opposed to the first season of Iron Fist where Danny Rand was clearly uncomfortable performing the martial arts and general close combat sequences required for the role…  And I suppose with my own background in things “similar” to what the Drop Troopers would have done, I was glad they got someone absolutely amazing for that role.  Will see how things play out with the remainder of the Season I suppose and since they are filming Season 2 now pretty much a guarantee that there will be another…   

Job search stalling I suppose…  Last real interview was with a University in Texas…  I thought the interview overall went well, but a number of the questions in the second round with the IT group raised a few flags for me…  WAY too technical questions leading me to believe that what they were really looking for was a Team Lead who would also be doing Management duties in addition to the normal Infrastructure work.  Not really at all what the advertisement would have led one to believe and frankly it leads to the dual problem I see with the further into “Management” I go, the less I deal with the day to day “IT work” coupled with the (in my experience) general lack of management potential for most folks who are really good at the back end (Infrastructure) skills.  MOST of the folks I have encountered over my 25+ years in the industry who are REALLY highly technical are also REALLY not “people people”.  Yes, I did a fair bit of Infrastructure work in the past, but generally speaking I was also the one sent out to meetings and to deal with those pesky humans to allow the others the ability to avoid such unpleasant contact…  So, long way of saying I was completely unsurprised to get the word from them that they failed out the Search without hiring anyone.  Of course it IS possible to find a great Infrastructure genius who is also a great Manager and loves to deal with meetings and people in general…  I have just never encountered such a person, so suspect they would be quite rare and therefore commanding extremely high salaries…  Of course, just guessing on my part and certainly NOT desperate at this point for a new job so I can afford to be relaxed and choose carefully…  And there is the fact that I really have no idea why the search was failed out.  This is just my own experience having served on a LOT of committees and of course by now having interviewed at a LOT of places… 

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

FFG news this week and...


So, another week and not a lot going on game wise…  FFG just announced that the format for almost all of their events will be Extended going forward though…  And I’ve put out the “Shall we run a Store Championship” question to the local group…  Maybe?  Scheduling might be an issue and I have no idea the cost of the kit itself, so we will see I guess…  But with Extended becoming the de facto standard for all events there is no longer the issue of having to be concerned about say my Firespray list having thise slight differences to stay legal in whichever style is being run for the current event…  

On one hand, that is great…  On the other hand of course, there ARE things that were never really well balanced for this edition of the game and there are simply too many things to playtest and balance to achieve perfect balance of course, but…  Nothing that seems too far out of balance that I can see of course, but then I did not see a lot of the Meta monsters coming either, so I may not be the one to judge I suspect…  Eh, time to get some of my more fun lists out onto the table I suspect but everyone is still in the “waiting on the points change” that is supposed to be hitting next month now.  No real point getting in reps with things that are “likely” to become far more expensive and be driven out of the current Meta…  Things like Regen Jedi for instance are almost certain to go up enough to no longer be the staple Squad they are now…  Or at least it is hoped by many.

Personally, I’ve been having a number of medical issues with my (formerly) good eye.  Iritis again.  So, pain, blurred vision and a generally bad time all around.  No motorcycle riding for a bit, no contacts, etc…  Painting has also taken a break as focusing clearly is an issue.  Makes doing things like say, working on computers a joy and a treat as well…  Back to the Doctor who did my last surgery this week to see what she says regarding a treatment plan going forward.

Next event is the 14th I think….  More Legion stuff as Ken is running that…  My Clones are at least primed/base coated by now, so I’ll be fielding either General Kenobi and 2 Squads backed by the Speeder or CPT Rex and 3 Squads backed by the same speeder…  Either way, seems good with the new 500 point rules FFG put up.  The Clones are a solid Infantry choice and liking how they play so far…

Friday, November 22, 2019

Interviews and short updates...


Well, another week and 2 more interviews.  One that was local went amazingly well, but I almost felt like my answers were entirely TOO practiced.  Got me thinking that I have by now been on a LOT of interviews in the last few years.  In almost every case there are the same basic questions, so the answers by now are just completely natural and flow out well.  PROBABLY a bit too well if one is paying attention I suppose.  The one today was for Texas A&M…  Some parts were completely outside of my (recent) comfort level.  A number of highly technical questions, and as I have not physically touched a real server in several years now…  Well, talking my way around it a bit, but…  The other questions regarding leadership style and the like I hit easily.  So, guess we’ll see what if anything comes of these interviews.

My Clones are assembled for Legion now…  Primed and the painting is moving along slowly.  Trying some of the GW Contrast stuff and Nuln Oil…  The lads seem to be coming along well, and I was quite impressed with their play on the field.  The Phase 2 Clones are coming “soon” and they will bring in some more stuff that should work well.  But honestly, not sure how much more I will actually need for that game…  I now have a solid 500 point force, will expand to the 800 level easily enough, but beyond that?  Probably not…  Still, quite a fun game.

X-Wing?  Well, been play testing my next Republic squad…  Mace, Luminara, Wolfe and either Matchstick or Broadside in the Y-Wing…  Solid, mid-level ships.  Some tricks, but mostly just solid ships all around.  My Firesprays are my backup plan.  Good ships, but…

Monday, November 18, 2019

Life update and even some gaming stuff (Legion and X-Wing)


So….  Between getting more serious about running and actually taking the diet thing serious (my wife started WW and I joined her there) I am now officially lighter than I was when I entered the Army back in 1990…  I am wearing a sweatshirt that my Aunt got me when I was back in High School (so late 80’s) when she was rather hoping I would go to USC…  I went to the University of Illinois for Engineering instead.  Well, for a bit J  Before joining the Army on the “Stripes” plan of course.  Things there seem like they are going well.  Losing a few pounds every week and my run times are getting better every week as well.  NOT nearly what they were at my prime playing Army of course, but the 15-minute miles have become 12-minute miles and I run effectively 3 5K’s every week.  Not really lifting much, mostly doing body weight workouts as my “prison workouts” I can do at my Office.  So, I just keep moving I suppose and we’ll see how this work out as time goes on…

Job search is continuing.  Amusingly I have 2 interviews this week…  One local but not at the University and the other in Texas (via video chat, not flying out there)…  We will see I suppose?  Both sound interesting and would be a major change for me, but of course I have to actually get the real offers before J….

Gaming wise?  Got in a Legion event this weekend and my Clones won out…  They are surprisingly solid troops.  Obi-Wan is a GREAT support leader.  NOT as good offensively as Luke or Grievous, but better by far for the Army he is leading.  The lads are primed now, and I am going to head out to the Gopher to pick up some of the Contrast paints to give them a shot I think… 

X-Wing?  I think I’ll throw this on the table:

Mace Luminara Wolfe Matc… (200)
"Matchstick" — BTL-B Y-Wing
43
Ion Cannon Turret
5
R4 Astromech
2
Ship Total: 50
Half Points: 25 Threshold: 4

Mace Windu — Delta-7 Aethersprite
45
R4 Astromech
2
Calibrated Laser Targeting
3
Ship Total: 50
Half Points: 25 Threshold: 2

Luminara Unduli — Delta-7 Aethersprite
43
C1-10P
7
Ship Total: 50
Half Points: 25 Threshold: 2

“Wolffe” — ARC-170 Starfighter
50
Ship Total: 50
Half Points: 25 Threshold: 5


Something to keep the power creep out of it and make for a more friendly game I think…  Though if I play it well, I suspect this will be competitive.  This and my standard Dual Firespray lists will be my staples I think…


Wednesday, November 13, 2019

More X-Wing... Just stalling for time I suppose?




So, going forward I suppose I have a few options in my travel kit… 

The Firesprays are amusing, but I suspect strongly that at the very least there will be some “adjustments” made on Boba Fett’s ship as he is actually a bit too good at the moment.  Krassis?  Eh.  Amusing, but at the end of the day an I3 Firespray, so nothing that should cause TOO much concern.  Well, for most people.  The low I swarm type build actually does fear this ship quite a bit.  Aces?  Well, iff I get lucky on the Snap Shot that could be an issue for them, but in general it is nothing to be overly concerned about.  So, this is an absolutely solid build and likely the one I would fly were I to be entering a serious competition today.

The Jedi are another I enjoy…  Obi-Wan loaded out with the Droid to adjust his dial, Sense and CLT is almost certainly going up, up, up in Jan…  Simply WAY too good for the points now.  Yes, it is an I5 that relies on the 3 Agility to survive in the very fragile frame.  3 Force means I will likely have at least SOME modification for my Defense and it is probably the best dial in the game with the Fine Tuned Controls ability to double reposition without Stress.  Anakin is there because he is an I6.  His Pilot Ability is so very situational that I seldom actually use it honestly.  But at I6 with the double reposition I can line up the CLT shot or just not get shot with frightening regularity.  Goes back to my days when I was a more serious Martial Arts student (mostly Aikido), turns out that it hurts a LOT less when you do not get hit as often…  So, I got better at the blocks, evasions and break falls…  REALLY good at the falls because being a bigger guy I was asked to help demonstrate things and work with the folks going for their Blacks a lot that they might perfect their techniques against a competent and larger opponent.  That helped me a LOT turns out as time went on.  And a good philosophy in general, work with and compete against the best.  Learn from every exchange and you WILL get better a lot quicker for it.  Now with the Republic list, I have to come up with a third Ship…  I’ve tried the Y-Wing a bit, Broadsides is good, but does not fit with my more aggressive style with which I fly the Aethersprites…  Same for the ARCs frankly.  Solid ships and quite good, but just not really my play style.  Ric in the N-1 fits well enough, and if I have Anakin loaded out with the CLT I can load the N-1 out with things that include Juke and FCS to make it a solid Offensive threat.  Takes some time to set up, and he is ALWAYS my flanker.  Force the opponent to choose between chasing the N-1 or the Aethersprites.   Either can just cut and run better than most ships in the game, and in the meantime the other one just hammers their flank…  “Klingon Saber Dance” with the long ranged engagement, I have decent odds to do a little Damage while avoiding taking any (ideally, “much” is far more accurate of course) Damage in the exchange.  Down side of this one being that games often run to time and the sheer number of repositions and the like are just brain melting for a long event…  Solid though and a blast to fly…

Other than that?  I’ve been running Toreni Kulda with Snap Shot on the Kimogila and Guri, usually paired with Fett…  Solid, and decent I suppose.  Just have REALLY bad matchups against actual Ace lists.  They DO kill most Swarm builds, so the Rock/Paper/Scissors effect is there.  Just have to dodge those matchups I suppose to do well in an event?  J  Sounds like a winning strategy…  My Dash + 1 builds are all “meh” as well.  Best one I have found is ironically the Dash/Roark combo…  The Hawk giving Dash the I7 shots is of course a gimmick, but it is throwing a LOT of Dice, so…  But of course, 2 mid-range I ships that are just not all that hard to hunt down in the long run…

Frankly, seeing a lot of malaise in the scene now…  Seems like a long pause between content being added, and with the major Events now past most are just waiting on the points adjustment (presumably) coming in January…

Other than that?  I have my Clones assembled for the Legion event coming Saturday at Titan…  Will NOT be fully painted, but they will be on the table.  Neat?  Seem solid and more my speed as far as troopers go, I was really never comfortable with the “IG” like Rebel builds with the waves of unarmored “meh” troopers on the table.  The Republic is just in a bad position having only the Basic Clone Troopers and a single Vehicle to accompany Obi-Wan as their only Commander.  Good base, but more options will make it FAR more interesting I suspect.

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

X-Wing, what to fly next?


So, what to fly now in X-Wing?  My driving goal was to get my Dice and to have paid the “Iron Price” for them (yes, GoT reference)…  Got that and more.  I wound up winning the Prize Templates as well.  So, “neat” and I think I have officially lost my drive to “try hard” and prove that I am actually fairly good at the game.  But this does leave me in a rather odd position as I really have no idea what to fly from this point on…  The Dual Firesprays are fun and quite effective against a lot of things, but lack the ability to deal easily with Aces.  Can I?  Sure, if I play it well and (ideally) the opponent makes a few mistakes.  But against a top tier player on their game it is not a good matchup for me.  

Been playing around with a few other Scum builds and even a Super Dash list…  Pairing him with Wedge makes it interesting, but at the end of the day it is still just a 2 Ship list and not a particularly good one.  Sure, Dash and Wedge both can hit like trucks and Dash with the Focus and Bistan can get 2 Shots/Turn (albeit at different Targets) each of which is essentially a Proton Torpedo…  Still, a good opponent or just a Beef list will cause issues.

On the Scum side I tried a list with CPT Nym and Torini Kulda…  Amusing, but putting too many points in Nym means I have a 3 Ship list that is “meh” for the most part.  I suspect that Kulda is solid in a stripped down role (Snap Shot is nice here), and Nym for the Bomb chucking…
Nym Kulda and (200)
Torani Kulda — M12-L Kimogila Fighter
48
Snap Shot
8
Homing Missiles
5
R2 Astromech
3
Ship Total: 64
Half Points: 32 Threshold: 5

Captain Nym — Scurrg H-6 Bomber
48
Ion Cannon Turret
5
Veteran Turret Gunner
8
Proximity Mines
6
Proton Bombs
5
Havoc
4
Trajectory Simulator
10
R2 Astromech
3
Ship Total: 89
Half Points: 45 Threshold: 5

Crymorah Goon — BTL-A4 Y-Wing
31
Ion Cannon Turret
5
Veteran Turret Gunner
8
Seismic Charges
3
Ship Total: 47
Half Points: 24 Threshold: 4


WAY too much on the Skurrg there.  Amusing to fly, but…  Mostly I wanted to see if there was something to the Trajectory Simulator on that ship.  It is solid, but for a Critical Hit here or there?  Simply too expensive.  Mind, devastating against say, an unshielded Swarm build, but most other things simply ignore it while they kill him.

Still have my Jedi of course.  They are solid and fun.  I have a few ideas with Imperial things as well as we saw the TIE Advanced prototype and the Inquisitors start to really shine…  Imps can use the Force quite well, and it is really good it turns out…  Who knew?

Friday, October 25, 2019

X-Wing, on to something different...


Looking at playing something completely different going forward…  The Dual Firespray list is actually quite good, but…  I do tend to get bored and want to fly different things.  And as there are currently no “highly competitive” events in the local area, time to get back to flying “weird things” again.  As Dash’s YT-2400 was the first ship that my wonderful wife bought for me to get me started in the game, it has always had a special meaning for me…  Yes, it is massively expensive (points wise), but it hits like a bloody truck, and I can kit it out to fire twice every turn…  So:

Dash Wedge 1 (199)
Dash Rendar — YT-2400 Light Freighter
98
Expert Handling
6
Bistan
14
Perceptive Copilot
8
Outrider
14
Ship Total: 140
Half Points: 70 Threshold: 5

Wedge Antilles — T-65 X-Wing
55
R2 Astromech
4
Servomotor S-Foils
0
Ship Total: 59
Half Points: 30 Threshold: 3


Nothing really special and as I have the one ship clocking in at 140 points that does severely limit what I can pair with him as the tournament rules specify 2-8 ships…  So, Wedge it is for me.  I tried Jake in his little A-Wing, but…  Was difficult to keep him close to Dash to give the bonus Focus Action, he just does not hit hard and one “oops” Agility roll and that is it for him…  With Wedge at least I have a solid X-Wing chassis and with his I6/Pilot Ability I have the ability to hit really hard as well, potentially I-killing something and at least keeping things like other “Aces” honest.  Wedge is not himself what I would consider an “Ace” as he lacks the ability to double reposition, but I6 is VERY powerful.  Besides I have the nice acrylic indicator as well as neat Alt Art cards for him that I’ve never used… 

I’ll probably keep the Jedi and maybe the Firesprays in the travel kit giving me 3 totally different lists to have options wherever I do go…

Legion tomorrow and playing my Rebels again…  “Kill Points” mission, so short and small games it seems…  I’ll see if they have the Clone Wars Starter I ordered in and if so, I’ll have clones and Obi-Wan to assemble and field…  Anyone looking for some older (mostly) 40K things as I should probably dump some of those to make room in the Basement of Doom™…