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[Danthrax]

The ARC-170 dial is just... OK. I kinda feel sorry for it, I feel like it's not going to see any table time and people will only buy it for the thrusters card.

yyyyyyep

At least it's a cool little model.

The Shadowcaster has a great dial and some great upgrades. I don't think I like the mobile firing arc idea though, but at least they are doing some interesting things with it I guess. I'll buy one but I doubt I'll ever get one on the table. If I flew Scum I would probably think about it, but I think it looks absolutely hideous. If something doesn't look cool to me, it's hard for me to be interested in it (which is one of the reasons I don't fly Scum).
I did just score a Hound's Tooth for $20 though, so I have been thinking about putting a Scum list together to work it into ahead of the Fang fighters coming out.

I'll bet if they do an X-Wing 2.0, nothing will have a 360 arc ... all the turreted ships will have this mobile firing arc mechanic, perhaps with a step built into the rules for moving the firing arc arrow during a turn (instead of spending an action to do it). I'd be OK with it, I think.

A lot of the new tech that the Shadowcaster brings to the table has me concerned about the Interceptor Aces that I love to fly so much too. It won't make me stop flying them though. Here's hoping the Empire gets some cool tech for the Interceptors in Wave 10.

Eh, Interceptors have had the limelight for a year and a half, it's OK if they recede into mediocrity for a while.

 

[jstevenson]

 

[jstevenson]

 

[Danthrax]

Wave 10 announcement article is up: https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2016/8/5/ill-show-you-the-dark-side/

 

[jstevenson]

looks like Sabine's TIE may be the first expansion where you actually only need one. All unique upgrades and pilots

(well I guess you could fly all four pilots... so maybe not)

 

[daevv]

Here I was, excited that a friend is bringing me back a Shadow Caster and Fang Fighter from Gen Con, when Wave X is announced!

 

[EYEL1NER]

Buying an Upsilon shuttle for sure. I can't wait for that.
I'm not sure how I feel about the new condition card mechanic though. Kylo Ren's already seems a bit clunky and they could complicate the game a little bit more than I would like.

 

[Toxi]

Really disappointed that Sabine's TIE is the Rebel ship.

But man that Upsilon is cool-looking, and the Quadjumper is one of those obscure choices that actually looks really nice.

Buying an Upsilon shuttle for sure. I can't wait for that.
I'm not sure how I feel about the new condition card mechanic though. Kylo Ren's already seems a bit clunky and they could complicate the game a little bit more than I would like.

Yeah, I'm worried about this too. It's a fun idea, sure, but one of my favorite things about X-Wing is how simple the game is, and this makes the game a hell of a lot more complicated. Suddenly I have to keep searching and shuffling the damage deck and keeping track of critical damage.

 

[Slermy]

I'm actually excited Sabine's TIE is the rebel ship. As an Imperial Player, I'll be picking one up to add to my small Rebel collection. Though, I must admit, a "paint scheme variant" as a new blister is a bit different. Why not do thisI'm hopeful that the TIE fighter only modification there can also be used on an Imperial TIE.

Eh, Interceptors have had the limelight for a year and a half, it's OK if they recede into mediocrity for a while.

For someone that just started playing a little less than a year ago, this is disheartening to me. Weren't they given the Aces pack and Autothrusters as "fixes"? Doesn't this change make the Royal Guard Pilots worthless? The Interceptor (and Defender) are my absolute favorite designs and want to fly them.

Anyway, I'm assuming Turr Phennir is still a viable pilot though. As long as I can fly one without felling like I'm at a severe disadvantage, I'll be happy.

 

[jstevenson]

I'm actually excited Sabine's TIE is the rebel ship. As an Imperial Player, I'll be picking one up to add to my small Rebel collection. I'm also hopeful that the TIE fighter only modification there can also be used on an Imperial TIE.



For someone that just started playing a little less than a year ago, this is disheartening to me. Weren't they given the Aces pack and Autothrusters as "fixes"? Doesn't this change make the Royal Guard Pilots worthless? The Interceptor (and Defender) are my absolute favorite designs and want to fly them.

Anyway, I'm assuming Turr Phennir is still a viable pilot though. As long as I can fly one without being at a severe disadvantage, I'll be happy.

Interceptors will always be viable in the hands of a skilled player.

They may just not dominate the meta like they do now, which is probably a healthy thing.

 

[Tensketch]

My prediction is closer to Xmas, we'll have the U-Wing and TIE Striker added to this wave for the release of Rogue One.

I'm not sure how I feel about this wave, it's probably the first wave where I've felt truly underwhelmed. Also, I don't know how I feel about the conditions, I don't want this game to become needlessly compleX-Wing.

 

[EYEL1NER]

I just received a set of acrylic blue mirrored templates and range rulers from Kraken Skull Consortium. Mine are the light blue mirrored templates with Imperial logos that can be seen in their eBay auctions, etsy listings, and on their site. If anyone was thinking about ordering any of them, I can tell you that they are absolutely gorgeous in person. KSC's customer service is pretty great as well; I exchanged a few messages with them via eBay a couple weeks ago because I had some questions. They gave prompt responses and answered my questions perfectly. I ordered last weekend and they were delivered after a couple days. The largest range ruler was broken upon opening the package, so I sent them a message via their site really early this AM and had a reply in my inbox after a couple hours saying that a new ruler would be sent out first thing Monday.
So yeah, if anyone thought they wanted to upgrade from their cardboard or weren't satisfied with their current acrylics that they are using, check KSC out.
Here is an image of my templates, but it really doesn't do them justice:

 

[Toxi]

My prediction is closer to Xmas, we'll have the U-Wing and TIE Striker added to this wave for the release of Rogue One.

I'm not sure how I feel about this wave, it's probably the first wave where I've felt truly underwhelmed. Also, I don't know how I feel about the conditions, I don't want this game to become needlessly compleX-Wing.

My favorite ship from the wave is probably the Quadjumper, because it looks like it's gonna do something really fun that hasn't been attempted before with reverse maneuvers.

Sabine's TIE is the real thing that makes me feel underwhelmed. It's a TIE you can't swarm. Whoooooo.

The Upsilon feels like it's a good base with the statline and new-to-non-epic Coordinate action muddled up with this really convoluted Condition nonsense.

 

[chubigans]

To be fair we've already had a condition card in a sense with this guy:

 

[Tensketch]

I feel that the new rules this wave brings just takes things a step too far. We don't need new rules every wave. Just give us new ships and upgrades that give us more interesting options and people will be happy. New rules just bring confusion to new players who only own a core set and a few other ships.

 

[MisterAnderson]

Off topic, but I figured you guys might be interested in this really cool mech skirmish board game that is currently in its final hours on Kickstarter:

http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?p=212871312

 

[Danthrax]

For someone that just started playing a little less than a year ago, this is disheartening to me. Weren't they given the Aces pack and Autothrusters as "fixes"? Doesn't this change make the Royal Guard Pilots worthless? The Interceptor (and Defender) are my absolute favorite designs and want to fly them.

Anyway, I'm assuming Turr Phennir is still a viable pilot though. As long as I can fly one without felling like I'm at a severe disadvantage, I'll be happy.

When I say "fade into mediocrity," I mean at the highest levels of competitive play. TIE Interceptors will not suddenly suck for every application on every table once Wave 10 is released. They'll still be good ships to fly casually or at lower-level tournaments. I'm just saying that for Regionals and higher-level tourneys, you probably won't see as many of them because they won't be as effective as other ships.

And to be fair, you still have time to fly Interceptors in this age of Interceptors! Wave 10 probably won't be out until February.

 

[Tensketch]

Played my first game of epic last week after having owned all 4 epic ships for near enough a year. It was a heck of a lot of fun. We played for 2 and a half hours and my team lost by 9 points.

Anyone looking to play something a bit more fun in the tourney off season, try team epic. Just be prepared for the time investment.

 

[Danthrax]

Played my first game of epic last week after having owned all 4 epic ships for near enough a year. It was a heck of a lot of fun. We played for 2 and a half hours and my team lost by 9 points.

Anyone looking to play something a bit more fun in the tourney off season, try team epic. Just be prepared for the time investment.

I've played one epic game, and it was a lot of fun, but yeah, it takes a super long time.

 

[EYEL1NER]

Welp, I've got a Summer OP event today. Not sure what to take at the moment. I took a standard Soontir, Countess Ryad (tried out a TIE/D with tractor beam rather than the X7, but forgot about my primary attack after the tractor beam hit on my only attack with her before she died), and OGP Doomshuttle to a FLGS a couple nights ago after being on vacation and not playing the game in three weeks. The store owner beat me pretty handily with Wedge, two more X-Wings, and a Gold Sq Pilot w/ Ion Turret. I thought taking in Soontir, the OGP shuttle, and another Ace today, but now I am thinking about something different.
I started reading about Triple Interceptor lists last night and was interested in how hard they are. Having no one beefy available like a shuttle to draw some fire would definintly mean I would need to be that much better with how I fly the Interceptors and how I read my opponent's moves. I don't know if I am ready for a list like that, but I am interested in trying it (should have probably tried it out BEFORE the OP though, when a set of Acrylic Stress Tokens wouldn't have been on the line).
I'm looking at Fel, Jax, and Turr. I've never flown Carnor Jax before and looked up a couple interesting builds he has. I would be looking to put PtL on him so I could boost and barrel roll into range one to pop his ability but stay out of arc, Authothrusters in case of turrets, and a Shield Upgrade to give him a tiny bit more HP if I screwed up when zooming into range one. I toyed with a Shield Upgrade AND a Hull Upgrade because I thought a tanky 4HP 1Shield Interceptor was intriguing, an Interceptor that could take 5 hits, but I don't know a couple people who are attending the event today and figure at least one of them will be flying something with a turret on it, so Autothrusters it is.
Turr would have Adaptability to try to boost his PS a bit and make sure he would be firing before even a couple other ships (I know VI would be optimal but I'm sitting at 100pts right now), a Targeting Computer (because I have never tried out an Interceptor with Target Lock capability but know that they have their fans), and a Stealth Device. And Soontir would be regular PtL/AT/SD Soontir.
I may change my mind on this list in the next three hours, maybe I'll drop Jax and slot the OGP Doomshuttle in and get VI on Turr. I'm not sure what I want to do at the moment.
I'll post what I went with and how I did when I get home after midnight though. Here's hoping no more than 8 people show up in total, so I can be guaranteed to get a set of Stress Token no matter how poorly I fly. I've tried to resist buying a set of stress tokens on eBay because I knew this OP was coming up quick, but for as much Pushing the Limit as I do on Fel, I NEED a cool acrylic stress token to use.

 

[EYEL1NER]

So I didn't have the best showing yesterday, that's for sure. I was outflown and outclassed in both matches I participated in. But hey, I got the bye in round two, so on paper I officially won a match! Ugh... Luckily only five people showed up, so I still got a Predator card and set of stress tokens. I kind of wish more people had shown though, because I could have flown more. After the last match wrapped up, everyone said peace and left. It was almost 9PM though and I wish I could have kept playing. Anyway, here is how it went:

I went with Soontir, Turr w/ VI and Targetting Computer, and an OGP Doomshuttle with Vader, Gunner, and Tractor Beam. My first match was against a RAC Decimator equipped with Vader/Gunner and a Whisper. I had never flown against a Decimator, haven't really flown against a large-based ship all that much, and have never had Vader used against me. I lost initiative by a couple points and had to go first. I set my Interceptors in the middle of the table with clean routes through the asteroids to the edge or through the center, and placed the Lambda in a corner sideways so he could slowly come in behind the Interceptors after banking. Whisper was placed along the same edge as the Lambda and RAC was placed in the middle facing Turr and Soontir. I gave the INTs each a 3 straight and was surprised as hell when the Decimator did a 4 straight + a boost and was attacking Turr on the first round. It was a quick introduction to facing a large-based fast ship. And like I said before, I a, usually the one Vader-ing people and haven't been on the receiving side. I found out how quickly the Empire doesn't like getting hit by Vader's crit, as my Interceptors shattered like glass before him with no way to avoid the damage. Luckily I didn't pull a Direct Hit, so he had to use up more health to kill me. He killed Turr and Vader'd himself down to zero hull to kill Soontir as well. I think I hit him with the Lambda once? Whisper easily took down the Lambda and I had easily lost the game. I'm not sure how long it lasted, at most 30 mins, but it felt like it could have been as short as 15 minutes. My opponent, the guy with the first round bye, and I certainly had a lot of time to talk about X-Wing while waiting for the other match to end. I learned something though: Vader crew kills Interceptors easily and Decimators can cover a huge distance quick.

Second match I had the bye, so I got to watch a Dengaroo vs twin Scum Firespray match and the Decimator/Phantom took on a YT-2400, StressHog, Double X-Wing list. Dengaroo and the Decimator/Phantom list won their matches.

Third round I faced Kath and Boba. Two large ships, so the tractor beam on my OGP would be useless. And he beat me on initiative and matched my two Interceptor's pilot skill of 9. So his two Firesprays moved AND fired after Soontir and Turr. Kath was lining up shots with her rear arc all day and I think had Dengar on the ship causing rerolls; Boba had extra munitions on the ordinance he brought and hit me with a good bomb and missile barrage. I didn't stand a chance and only knocked the shields and a bit of health off of Boba. He really knew what he was doing with those Firesprays.

I felt like against Vader in a 360-degree arc in the first round, there wasn't much my Interceptors could do to survive. And I was highly disappointed with my performance in the other match. I was grateful to be able to play though and thanked my opponents for the matches. I had a decent-enough time playing and had a lot of fun just being able to talk about the game with people.

Towards the end of the month there is a tourney in Charleston that I think I will go to, so I've got that. And then there is a big Super X-Wing event next month that I have planned on attending. That one will have a huge turn-out to be sure; It's got a $20 entrance fee, follows full official tournament rules, and has prizes including choice of a free Epic ship to 1st place, store credit, a Summer OP kit, and more, as well as door prizes of Star Wars movie posters (I was told that one of the posters being donated, depending on the condition it's in, will be worth several hundred dollars, so I'm assuming these are vintage posters from the 80's). I'm hoping to win a door prize and maybe trade for a different prize, because I damn sure know I won't place anywhere near even the middle of the crowd in my matches. I think one of the guys from Shuttle Tyderium is being asked to attend, and the guy flying the Decimator/Whisper list placed in the top 16 at NOVA, and there is sure to be a lot of other stiff competition from the region. I still expect to have fun though.

I had lined up a match today with a local guy but it fell through. He is down to play next weekend, so either on Wednesday or next weekend I plan to try out a list without Soontir in it. I am still reluctant to leave him out, because I love him so much, but I want to try some other things out and cannot fit him in easily. I've got three lists I am looking at:
-The first one would be my first time playing Scum :
Bossk with Predator, Mangler Cannon, Outlaw Tech, Gunner, EU, and Hound's Tooth title
Guri with PtL, FCS, Glitterstim, AT, and Virago title
I thought about a Party Bus but I really need a U-Boat to get Dengar and I also don't like any of the ships I would have to fly alongside it.

-Second list is a two Defender, TIE/fo list:
Vessery with VI, Tractor Beam, and TIE/D title
Ryad with PtL, Twin Ion Engine Mk II, and TIE/x7 title
Zeta Leader with Juke, Comm Relay, and Twin Ion Engine Mk II
The Colonel has the highest PS so would start off with a TB/Primary attack and then the other two get to take advantage of the lowered agility from the TB.

-Third list is similar to the second but with Whisper in place of Vessery:
Whisper with VI, FCS, and ACD (not sure if I want FCS on her, but that is what everyone seems to include)
Ryad with PtL, Twin Ion Engine Mk II, and TIE/x7 title
Zeta Leader with Juke and Comm Relay
I've been wanting to fly Whisper for a while but I might tweak that list a bit because I really want EU on Ryad in place of the Twin Ion Engine Mk II, for 2K+BarrelRoll+Boost shenanigans.

I think any of those three might be fun. I still want to fly triple Interceptors though like I talked about in my last post. The guy flying the Decimator and Whisper yesterday said Carnor Jax is who got him into the top 16 at NOVA when I asked how he liked Jax. So I want to give him a shot soon, probably with PtL, Hull Upgrade, and Shield Upgrade to turn him into a tank who can boost+BR into R1 but stay out of arc.

Long post, but that was my yesterday and my thoughts for my coming week. Hope everyone else is getting some good matches in.

 

[Tensketch]

Good report. Sorry to hear you didn't do all too well. Turrets are interceptors worst nightmare, you pretty much need to have Authothrusters on them if you even want a chance to survive.

If you're gonna fly Jax, you gotta fly smart with him or he goes down way too fast. He absolutely needs to move last so you can get his ability to trigger AND be out of arc.

 

[One Foul Note]

Sorry to hear it didn't go so hot, I've been on the receiving end of tournaments where I've just been hammered and it can be a little deflating afterwards.

 

[EYEL1NER]

Good report. Sorry to hear you didn't do all too well. Turrets are interceptors worst nightmare, you pretty much need to have Authothrusters on them if you even want a chance to survive.

If you're gonna fly Jax, you gotta fly smart with him or he goes down way too fast. He absolutely needs to move last so you can get his ability to trigger AND be out of arc.

Thanks.
I had AT on Soontir (but eschewed them in favor of a Targeting Computer on Turr) and they didn't come into play at all. That Decimator was right in my face at the beginning of the match with the 4 Straight and Boost and Vader death all the damage. I don't face many turrets and never faced Vader but that is definintly a good combination, better than my Shuttle with Vader in it. More HP, the zero defense doesn't matter so much to me since I never roll an evade with my one green die on the Shuttle, and the turret means Vader can always activate at least once if you are in R3 of any enemy ship, whereas I get to use him maybe three times before I don't have a shot anymore with the Shuttle.
I tell you one thing: it made me want to go out and buy a Decimator immediately after playing that match. Somehow I've gone this whole time since it released without knowing that it didn't have any red moves on its dial. I plan to buy one within the next week or two if I can get one for a good price.

Jax does seem like he will be harder to fly. Or at least different than how I regularly fly Interceptors, which means the change in tactics will make him harder initially. I fly Soontir and Turr very cautiously, stay at range, and only wind up at Range 1 of a ship after many turns, when I have dodged enough arcs and stayed at Range 3 or beyond enough that I finally guess correctly on an opponent's move and swoop in. I'll have to play more aggressively with Jax, I imagine. And when I get aggressive with Soonitr and Turr, I typically slip up and they pay the price. So maybe the extra hull and shield on Jax will help me out with closing in and give him some durability. It might also throw an opponent who sees the Interceptor and thinks 'Oh, three quick hits and I won't have to worry about that guy anymore' off their game a little.

Sorry to hear it didn't go so hot, I've been on the receiving end of tournaments where I've just been hammered and it can be a little deflating afterwards.

Thanks. I was a bit deflated, but like I said, I was still happy to have played any matches. It was a bummer coming off my vacation where I couldn't play in the Philippines though, and thinking about this OP every day I was over there and building lists and reading the FFG forums and Wave 9 previews, and then loosing so badly. Dont get me wrong, I had fun on my vacation, but I had X-Wing floating in the back of my brain the whole time I was there. And then I get back and disappointed myself on both Wednesday and Saturday. I didn't expect to take first place over the weekend but I expected that I would win my warm-up game on Wednesday and then win at least one match at the event. I still had fun, learned a couple things, and interacted with some friendly and knowledgable people, so it wasn't a bust for me. And the stress tokens were worth the five bucks I paid to enter too, so I don't feel like it was a waste at all.
I'll hopefully be able to redeem myself a bit on Wednesday with one of the three lists I posted about above.

 

[Tensketch]

Jax does seem like he will be harder to fly. Or at least different than how I regularly fly Interceptors, which means the change in tactics will make him harder initially. I fly Soontir and Turr very cautiously, stay at range, and only wind up at Range 1 of a ship after many turns, when I have dodged enough arcs and stayed at Range 3 or beyond enough that I finally guess correctly on an opponent's move and swoop in. I'll have to play more aggressively with Jax, I imagine. And when I get aggressive with Soonitr and Turr, I typically slip up and they pay the price. So maybe the extra hull and shield on Jax will help me out with closing in and give him some durability. It might also throw an opponent who sees the Interceptor and thinks 'Oh, three quick hits and I won't have to worry about that guy anymore' off their game a little.

The key with Jax is your actions. Some people go PTL Jax because the boost and barrel roll is almost essential. You want to position yourself, as you say, aggressively at range 1, but also out of arc, which is where the repositional power of the boost and barrel roll (with PTL to ensure you either use both, or get yourself a token to keep yourself alive) so when you have ships like your decimators and jumpmasters attempting to shoot you, they have little to no bonuses AND your autothrusters kick in for that additional evade.

Build Jax like you would Fel, PTL, AT and Stealth. He's meant to be a thorn in your opponents side.

Throw him against U boats, fly him right and get him range 1 out of arc and watch your opponent cry because he can't fire his torps and has no means of modifying his 2 disce attack (ok 3 if he targets Jax, but Autothrusters babyyyyyyyyy) and then send the rest of your squad in to utterly destroy their tokenless defence.

Interceptors in general work as a hit and run ship. You wanna get in, use Jax as appropriate and then gauge whether or not it's worth going another round, or flying off and setting up another attack. I've not flown them in over a year and I think your post and my talking about them has inspired me to get them back onto the table dammit!

 

[EYEL1NER]

The key with Jax is your actions. Some people go PTL Jax because the boost and barrel roll is almost essential. You want to position yourself, as you say, aggressively at range 1, but also out of arc, which is where the repositional power of the boost and barrel roll (with PTL to ensure you either use both, or get yourself a token to keep yourself alive) so when you have ships like your decimators and jumpmasters attempting to shoot you, they have little to no bonuses AND your autothrusters kick in for that additional evade.

Build Jax like you would Fel, PTL, AT and Stealth. He's meant to be a thorn in your opponents side.

Throw him against U boats, fly him right and get him range 1 out of arc and watch your opponent cry because he can't fire his torps and has no means of modifying his 2 disce attack (ok 3 if he targets Jax, but Autothrusters babyyyyyyyyy) and then send the rest of your squad in to utterly destroy their tokenless defence.

Interceptors in general work as a hit and run ship. You wanna get in, use Jax as appropriate and then gauge whether or not it's worth going another round, or flying off and setting up another attack. I've not flown them in over a year and I think your post and my talking about them has inspired me to get them back onto the table dammit!

Thanks for all the advice. The first time I decide to fly him (hopefully really soon, if I decide to fly triple Interceptors in the next week or so), I'll forgo the Hull Upgrade and Shield Upgrade I wanted on him in favor of kitting him out Soontir-style as you suggested. I don't face any turrets here locally in town really, but I still always equip AT on Soontir since I try to keep him at R3, so flying one on Jax won't be unfamiliar for me. And I am partial to the Stealth Device anyway. I benefit greatly from them because I don't typically take a small hit and lose one; the situation where I lose the Stealth Device is usually one where I am getting one-shotted and am dead anyway.

If you fly some INTs soon, have fun with them. I fell in love with Interceptors the first time I saw the miniature. I bought one expansion and two Imperial Aces (which was nice for getting cool variant paint jobs but not a good idea if I ever wanted to fly an Alpha Squadron 5-ship swarm since I only have one card; best I can do is 4 Royal Guards each with PtL). I saw an image on BGG of the ways Lt Lorrir could position himself with his curved barrel rolls and saw another image elsewhere of how easily a Turr with PtL on him could escape an arc after a shot and decided that the maneuverability that the Interceptor offers (with PtL, of course) was exactly the style of flying I wanted to have in the game.
I actually didn't remember Interceptors being in any of the original films at all when I first saw them but I read up on the ship, read up on the pilots, bought a Soontir Fel alt-art promo (I don't expect them to ever do it but I would love it if FFG did more Interceptor alt-art cards), and have been thinking about buying a Soontir Fel action figure or miniature TIE Pilot bust to sit in front of my Soontir card when I place them in my set-up area. I need to pick up another couple Imperial Aces red Interceptors at some point too so I can affix the 3D-printed Royal Guard fins to the wings like in image on the pilot card. I like them a lot. Which is why it was hard for me to create those three lists I posted earlier on the page; I haven't flown a list without an Interceptor in it in a long time. I just love 'em too much.
Maybe taking a small break away from the Interceptor will allow me to have some fun with other lists though. I've wanted to fly rebels for a while but have ignored them in favor of Imperials. And Scum hasn't appealed to me at all until I bought this Hound's Tooth but now that I have it, I want to fly it. EDIT: I was just thinking too that it will be nice to not be absolutely beholden to PtL also (though the StarViper and Ryad in my earlier lists have it on them). That's all I am doing typically is Pushing the Limit and then pulling a green, PtL then do a green maneuver, Push and clear the stress... I can finally try out some other EPTs like Predator or maybe Ruthlessness (I see that recommended on some Vessery builds) or others.

 

[EYEL1NER]

I was able to play a bit last night. I played Whisper, Ruad, and Zeta Leader vs Dengar and Bossk. I have to say, I get the hate that the JM5K has. That dial combined with that upgrade bar and stat line and those upgrade options PLUS a turret? Scum big ships have seemed for a while like something I didn't want to go up against anytime soon but yeah, I'm not looking forward to fighting another Punishing One anytime soon. Now I am really glad I didn't face Dengaroo on Saturday...
It wasn't that great match for me though. I brought my stuff in and started setting up and the only other guy to show came over and asked what I was running. I let him see, thinking he already had a list ready. He saw that I was bidding for Initiative to hand it over to him at 98 pts and had VI on Whisper, so he then went over and whipped up a 100-pt list and put VI on Dengar to get PS10 and when we started set Dengar on the side facing Whisper.
Bossk was in the middle facing my Zeta and Ryad, so I just did 2-Ks or slow moves and turns to buy me time to hard turn Whisper toward the other side of the board and try to race over there so I could get behind Bossk. Bossk did a 4 and a boost with EU to get in range of Zeta and Ryad and he banked in toward the center with Dengar too when he saw Whisper running. He wound up taking Whisper out with Dengar in a couple turns without me being able to line a single shot with Whisper; he trapped me up along the edge of the board uncloaked when I took an evade because I thought I was only gonna be fired on by Bossk's side arc. Bossk's Mangler Cannon and pilot ability made short work of Zeta. I finally caught a break when Dengar got assigned the wrong direction turn and flew off the board at full health.
Ryad and Bossk were left and were respectively pulling K's or circling to get a shot off. I got lucky again when Bossk found himself with two stress but I bumped him two times in a row when I should have been able to get a good lock on him. Bossk was down to three or four hull left and Ryad only lost two hull. The store had already been open for half an hour past closing at that point so the other called suggested we call it a draw.

It wasn't the most enjoyable match I guess. But I'm excited over the Decimator sitting in an Amazon box in the apartment office waiting for me to pick it up, so I've already shrugged last night's game off.

 

[Tensketch]

So, I flew 4 Interceptors today... Just the wrong types.

For a laugh, I threw together 4 M4-A Scyck Interceptors. They died in 2 turns of combat. Jesus christ what we're FFG thinking when they put together that piece of shit? It was a funny game but it's proof that FFG cannot get small scum ships right (except for the mist hunter). Whoever designed that ship should be ashamed.

It was a funny game though. My opponent tested some fang fighters using the TIE fo dial and they are not something you want to joust with, they kick hard.

Was good to play some games again. Also flown some Z95's with concussion missiles and guidance chips. Took out a ghost with em. It's a great combo that guarantees 2/4 hits unless you roll all eyes with no focus.

 

[EYEL1NER]

So, I flew 4 Interceptors today... Just the wrong types.

For a laugh, I threw together 4 M4-A Scyck Interceptors. They died in 2 turns of combat. Jesus christ what we're FFG thinking when they put together that piece of shit? It was a funny game but it's proof that FFG cannot get small scum ships right (except for the mist hunter). Whoever designed that ship should be ashamed.

It was a funny game though. My opponent tested some fang fighters using the TIE fo dial and they are not something you want to joust with, they kick hard.

Was good to play some games again. Also flown some Z95's with concussion missiles and guidance chips. Took out a ghost with em. It's a great combo that guarantees 2/4 hits unless you roll all eyes with no focus.

Ha! I finished that first line and immediately thought 'Oh, so he flew an Interceptor mini-swarm with 4x Royal Guards with PtL on them.' Then I read on a bit and saw they were M4-A Scycks and said "Well that couldn't have gone well."

 

[EYEL1NER]

I just got back from a great match. I had a lot of fun with it. I've had a lot of heavy stuff weighing on me lately and have been playing as many games and doing as many activities as I can to get my mind away from what I keep thinking about. But the four X-Wing matches I have played since returning from vacation have all left me a bit disappointed with my performance afterward. This one has me feeling pretty good though.
I faced Darth Vader, a low-PS Defender with ordinance, and PS1 TIEs with my RAC Decimator and Whisper. It was my first time flying my new Decimator and I loved it. So much more maneuverable than the Lambda I have flown a lot, what with its red-free dial and EU. And the high health meant I had a lot of wiggle-room with the Vader/Gunner crew and didn't need to sacrifice my health every turn with him.
Last week when I flew Whisper, she died without me getting a shot off, despite lasting six or more turns. This time I flew her like a champ. I had Intelligence Agent on her and curse myself after 20 minutes or so for forgetting about it, but the Intelligence Agent put in a TON of work after that when I had remembered to use it every turn and helped my line up perfect shots or evade great shots with my decloak. I got into some great positions, just a hair's width away from bumping a couple times, with a decloak>maneuver>barrel roll.
The Decimator raced forward and took out a TIE on the first turn. The Decimator and Vader did some damage the next turn but the Decimator took out the Defender in two more turns. RAC died at that time, sacrificing himself to take out the Defender, but Vader had no shields at that point. Whisper was able to dance around and take out Vader, leaving her left against a TIE. I put myself into the TIE's arc intentionally a couple times hoping to one-shot it on a following turn and paid with some life, two shields and a hull. With one hull remaining a managed to evade its arc while getting repeatedly in R1 until my 5 dice finally beat his 3.
The game went two and a half hours or so. We did time it, because my opponent has yet to play in an official event and has one coming up in two weeks, so I recommended timing it so he could get a feel for how much he could play in an hour. At the end of the hour, if we went by points, he would have won by two points since the Decimator killed itself and was worth almost 60 points. I think his TIE and Defender that were dead at that point were worth 2 to 4 points less than my Decimator. It felt good to destroy all of his ships though becuase I flew pretty well, and got some great Direct Hits with the crits I landed. Makes me wish I didn't miss the Decimator/Phantom combo's heyday. I got wrecked by it at the OP two weeks ago though, so I knew I wanted to give it a shot and that is why I bought the Decimator. Why did the combo fall out of favor though? Was there a hard counter to it (I know the decloak nerf hurt Phantoms in general but I my decloaks tonight were great and not once did I wish I could have performed them later) or did they just stop getting used often?

 

[One Foul Note]

Why did the combo fall out of favor though? Was there a hard counter to it (I know the decloak nerf hurt Phantoms in general but I my decloaks tonight were great and not once did I wish I could have performed them later) or did they just stop getting used often?

The increase in use of higher PS ships like Vader, Corran, Fel and Inquisitor certainly didn't help Whisper although the real nail in the coffin was the Stressbot build. Phantoms don't have great green on their dial and having 2 stress unloaded on them first turn of combat is more often then not a death sentence. Twin Laser Turrets certainly didn't help either. They have always been a high risk, high reward type of ship but I think the risk just became too great overall.

Decimator falling out of mass popularity is a trickier one, autothrusters damaged it although I think the real reason is it just got short circuited by Palpatine. Palp is such a powerful card that he is almost 100% chance of being taken if you are flying Imperial (with the exception of crack shot swarm lists) and high agility arc dodger ships can make better use of Palps ability rather then the Decimator who is much more self sufficient (and doesn't even roll a dice to dodge.)

I still see both ships now and then, Whisper more so given that Rebels are in a real bad place right now, but yeah their age of terrifying dominance is over.

 

[EYEL1NER]

The increase in use of higher PS ships like Vader, Corran, Fel and Inquisitor certainly didn't help Whisper although the real nail in the coffin was the Stressbot build. Phantoms don't have great green on their dial and having 2 stress unloaded on them first turn of combat is more often then not a death sentence. Twin Laser Turrets certainly didn't help either. They have always been a high risk, high reward type of ship but I think the risk just became too great overall.

Decimator falling out of mass popularity is a trickier one, autothrusters damaged it although I think the real reason is it just got short circuited by Palpatine. Palp is such a powerful card that he is almost 100% chance of being taken if you are flying Imperial (with the exception of crack shot swarm lists) and high agility arc dodger ships can make better use of Palps ability rather then the Decimator who is much more self sufficient (and doesn't even roll a dice to dodge.)

I still see both ships now and then, Whisper more so given that Rebels are in a real bad place right now, but yeah their age of terrifying dominance is over.

Yeah, I do know that because of the high PS Aces, fighting for Initiative is important with Whisper. I have made sure to not build 100- or even 99-pt lists (which is what irritated me so much last week when I gave myself a couple points of wiggle room for initiative and then the guy I played looks at my list and goes and builds a 100-pt Scum list and gives Dengar VI to put him at PS10 to counter Whisper). I have yet to play anything that deals a lot of stress though, outside of the occasional Flechette Torps.

As for the Decimator, I don't have Palp so I won't be building a list around Palp and not taking a Decimator. I could see Autothrusters being a pain though. I have used AT a ton on my Aces but last night was my first time flying a turret ship, so I've never felt AT's pain yet.

I think I might play the same list tonight against another guy. I don't know that I'll take it to an event down in Charleston this weekend though, but that means I don't have anything else prepared to fly then.

One question, since I have another crew spot available on the Decimator: Should I switch the Intelligence Agent to the Decimator? Last night I took Whisper down the furthest side from the enemy and came up behind them while the Decimator did a 4 and boost to tie enemy up on turn one (and kill a ship immediately). When Whisper was finally able to get into the mix, the Decimator was near-death. When it was just Whisper and two enemy ships, the IA helped a lot with knowing where to decloak and was invaluable. But I got to thinking that if I had it on the Decimator, I would know as early as turn two what at least one enemy ship was going to do, and that could help me get Whisper in there and attacking a lot quicker if I know where to flank at. I'm sitting at 98-pts right now though, should I put an Intelligence Agent on both of them and hope that 99 is good enough?

Here's what I ran, if anyone thinks there is something I should trim to put IA on both ships and keep a lower point total than 99 (or other suggestions):

Rear Admiral Chiraneau (58) - VT-49 Decimator
Adaptability (0), Darth Vader (3), Gunner (5), Engine Upgrade (4)

"Whisper" (40) - TIE Phantom
Veteran Instincts (1), Fire Control System (2), Intelligence Agent (1), Advanced Cloaking Device (4)

98 points

 

[Askani]

So I ended up with one of the $20 Force Awakens core sets from a B&N that had them marked down. A friend and I played three games and we liked it well enough I want to get some more ships going.

Currently, I'll be buying all ships for the pool of what's available between us or anyone in my local group of friends who may play with me. From that standpoint I think I'm more into the possibility of many smaller ship battles versus larger and fewer ships. I know we could just increase the squad points but I also don't want to dump $250 or more from the start.

I'm considering the Imperial Aces, Rebel Aces, and one or two single ship packs. If you think the bigger ships are really much more fun, MAYBE the Millennium Falcon and Slave One since I'm a fanboy at heart. I feel like right now the swarm aspect of smaller ships seems more appealing.

Currently I'm staying away from the Scum faction to limit the early spending scope. Any suggestions?

Also, how's the TTS or Vassal communities? Does anyone here play on them?

 

[Danthrax]

U-Wing and TIE Striker added to Wave 10! I'm honestly surprised; I didn't think we'd get these until Wave 11. https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2016/9/2/go-rogue/

 

[EYEL1NER]

Nice. I'm really glad that they decided to do something more with flip cards. Being able to flip that U-Wing card multiple times in-game (presumably, we can't see the back side) opens up some interesting possibilities. EDIT3: Oh wow, the back of the card is in the image gallery. The (Landing) version lets you rotate your ship 180 degrees after pulling a zero stop maneuver from your dial, and then flips to give you an extra agility again? I am finally gonna build a rebel list when that comes out, I mean it. I like the looks of the ship and I am really digging the things it can do.

I'm bummed about there not being a Chirrut Îmwe crew card for the U-Wing though. I was really hoping to have a Donnie Yen crew card in the game, that would have been awesome. I just noticed too, that highest-PS U-Wing pilot is only 27 points? I wonder how good the U-Wing's dial and other pilot abilities and upgrades will be. The rebels have needed some help for a while on the tabletop and a large-based ship that is this cheap could be really nice for them if it ends up being decent.

I'll be buying the Striker for sure, but it seems really light on the upgrades. Can't wait to see what that "TIE Only" mod is though and how it could possibly buff my beloved Interceptors or a Punisher or Defender.
EDIT: Oh, man. I'm just thinking about the positioning possibilities with that Striker using its title. Equip the title, PtL, and EU, do the equivalent of a boost before revealing dial, do your maneuver, boost, PtL, and boost. Or do the 1 straight, go whatever the maximum speed is (possibly a 5 straight like the Interceptor, since this is supposed to be a fast and agile ship), then do a one boost straight to cover almost as much ground as a large ship on turn one? Man...
EDIT2: In regards to my edit above, maybe that wouldn't work. There is already a lot of chatter elsewhere about whether the movement from the title overrides your dial. It doesn't seem to indicate that from the card text but the example somewhat does. But the previews and examples used in them have gotten things wrong before. So we'll see, I guess.



In other news, the big CoolStuffInc sale going on for the holiday weekend got me to spend some money. I bought an Imperial Raider for $58 and an IG-2000. I'm thinking about getting a Rebel Transport from B&N using their 40% off promo too. If I do, I'll be at the point where I have at least one of every ship up to Wave 9 except for the Ghost, JM5K, and Tantive.

 

[5taquitos]

That U-Wing dual card gives me hope that we'll someday see an S-Foils dual card for X-Wings.

 

[Danthrax]

In addition to that CSI sale, Barnes and Noble has a 40% off coupon on anything over $25 plus free shipping when you use the code LMQCJGX26KQFK ... there are quite a few X-Wing things including the Starfield playmat over there.

Being able to flip that U-Wing card multiple times in-game (presumably, we can't see the back side) opens up some interesting possibilities. EDIT3: Oh wow, the back of the card is in the image gallery. The (Landing) version lets you rotate your ship 180 degrees after pulling a zero stop maneuver from your dial, and then flips to give you an extra agility again? I am finally gonna build a rebel list when that comes out, I mean it. I like the looks of the ship and I am really digging the things it can do.

Yep, just spotted that and edited it into my post. The Landing side is kinda ridic!

 

[EYEL1NER]

In addition to that CSI sale, Barnes and Noble has a 40% off coupon on anything over $25 plus free shipping when you use the code LMQCJGX26KQFK ... there are quite a few X-Wing things including the Starfield playmat over there.



Yep, just spotted that and edited it into my post. The Landing side is kinda ridic!

Yeah, I'm torn between the Rebel Transport or the Ghost from that B&N coupon. Both are cheaper than usual OLGS prices, but neither has anything I really need in it. The Transport has some good X-Wing pilots like Wes and some good astromechs, like the one needed for a StressHog. But I don't fly rebels really. The Ghost just plain doesn't have that many useful upgrades for other ships besides ordnance that I already have from other ships, and it is a rebel ship that I won't fly much. I'll probably get the Transport though, that way I am one Epic ship away from owning all of them.


Seems like my concerns over the Striker tile can be laid to rest. They updated the article with a new image that reflects the title card NOT overriding your maneuver. So a 1 forward or 1 bank, followed by a maneuver, then a boost, then a PtL barrel roll is still possible with the right upgrades. That can put you into almost any positioning/orientation that you could want, and can get you 8 base-lengths ahead of you close to the enemy deployment zone on turn one.

 

[lewismistreated]

Kanan Jarrus and Jyn Erso are my new power couple. Great synergy.

 

[Slermy]

My takeaways from the new reveal:

1.) I had no idea the U-Wing had folding wings. The design is a lot more appealing to me now.
2.) The TIE Striker design is slowly growing on me.
3.) It looks like the TIE Striker comes with a (Title/Modification) for all TIES. I will be curious to see what this does.
4.) The TIE Striker has a Segnor's Loop!
5.) I wonder why the TIE Striker has two Focus tokens.
6.) The Adaptive Ailerons title sounds like a neat mechanic.
7.) It irks me a bit that the Strikers in Rogue One, as well as in the cards are grey (which makes sense, with the Imperial Navy using blue colored TIES ones only in later films), however, this blister is blue. I feel like they've already planed to release a grey one further down the line.

 

[Danthrax]

The X-Wing previews are coming fast and furious now. https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2016/9/6/the-garbage-will-do/

I'm surprised Smuggling Compartment can be used on the YT-2400, too. I see a little balancing in the whole "can't equip a second modification that costs 4 or more" thing... no Engine Upgrade if you take an Illicit card!

 

[EYEL1NER]

Glad we are getting some HotR previews now. Nice to see another ship get a SLAM move, too. I'm really liking that Han ability of being able to deploy almost anywhere on the mat.


That big Super X-Wing Event I mentioned a few times happened on Saturday, the one with a choice of free Epic ship for the winner, store credit, an OP kit, and door prizes of vintage posters. I had been waiting months for this, my first actual tournament. It was rumored that one of the Shuttle Tyderium guys was going to be there, that people from neighboring states that go to Nova and Worlds were going to travel here to play, and more. Only three other people showed up. It was almost a two-match day until someone said "$20 is kind of stiff entry fee for only playing two games. Everybody want to turn it into a round-robin tournament so we each play each other?" after the first match ended, so luckily it wasn't over in two hours. I played Soontir Fel, Carnor Jax with PtL/AT/Hull Upgrade, and Omega Leader with Juke and Comms. I had been wanting to fly Jax for a while but had never used him. I thought that Omega Leader and him would have nice synergy though.
First match was against the guy who beat me at the last OP in the first match with the Decimator and Whisper list. He was flying Biggs, Wes, and Corran and took me out pretty easily. Next match was against Dengar and Boba, and that didn't go so well for me. Third match was against a local dude's list that I have faced a bunch: four TIE Advanced with title and accuracy corrector and a TIE Advanced Prototype with accuracy corrector. I only took out one TIE Advanced in the whole day and lost horribly. The rebel Biggs/Wes'Corran list won it all.
Due to the low turnout, the prizes were scaled back drastically. The winner still got his epic ship, a Tantive that he needed, and the rest of us got stress tokens and Predator cards. It was a pretty disappointing day for me though. I had been eagerly awaiting it for over two months, spent $20 to play with the hopes of at least maybe getting a cool door prize, and then lost every match. I expected this thing to last a while and wasn't expected back at home for the rest of the day, so I asked the other players if anyone wanted to play some more after the winner was declared, maybe try out a different list or something (I had some stuff I wanted to toy around with) but everyone else wanted to bail. The hour long drive home left me with a lot of time to think and for a while I was debating taking a couple weeks off from X-Wing because of how low the tournament got me feeling. Luckily I snapped out of that in the evening when someone texted me and asked if I wanted to play on Monday (but then cancelled yesterday).
Oh well. Hopefully the next one goes better for me. There is an OP scheduled for next month, Fall kits should go up for order on the FFG site sometimes soon, and then a Regional event in November.


I didn't have that many more to buy, but between CSI's Star Wars sale all last week, the CardHaus Labor Day sale, and the Barnes & Noble 40% off coupon, I now own at least one of every ship up to wave 9. I picked up two JM5Ks, an IG-2000, an Imperial Raider, a Ghost, a Rebel Transport, and a Tantive over the past week for under $200 total. Feels good...

 

[SpruceMoose]

Repainted one of my A-Wings last night. I've had this one on my mind since I got the model. I figured the A-Wing was perfect for the Italian spirit of breakneck speed.

I shall call him.. Enzo.

 

[EYEL1NER]

My Imperial Raider just arrived and I have to say that I am a bit disappointed. The Interceptor-style wings are very floppy and feel like they could snag on something easily and pop off, the whole thing feels light and cheap, and the pegs/bases don't align correctly. The off-centered aspect of the rear peg and base means that after placing the tile on it and assembling it, it puts pressure on the first base and the peg pops off of it when lifting it.
I'm glad I didn't spend close to full price for it.

 

[Toxi]

Welcome to crazy town. 10 PS, 4 attack dice, 2 defense dice, what's basically an always on Lone Wolf, and Kanan removing the stress penalty from the Sloops granted by the title. And this isn't even getting into the Smuggling Compartment options like Glitterstim and Inertial Dampeners (Which Kanan also removes the stress penalty from). I'm gonna love Heroes of the Resistance.

 

[jstevenson]

Welcome to crazy town. 10 PS, 4 attack dice, 2 defense dice, what's basically an always on Lone Wolf, and Kanan removing the stress penalty from the Sloops granted by the title. And this isn't even getting into the Smuggling Compartment options like Glitterstim and Inertial Dampeners (Which Kanan also removes the stress penalty from). I'm gonna love Heroes of the Resistance.

all for the low low price of 55 points!

 

[Toxi]

all for the low low price of 55 points!

Rebel Dengar doesn't come cheap.

 

[SpruceMoose]

Welcome to crazy town. 10 PS, 4 attack dice, 2 defense dice, what's basically an always on Lone Wolf, and Kanan removing the stress penalty from the Sloops granted by the title. And this isn't even getting into the Smuggling Compartment options like Glitterstim and Inertial Dampeners (Which Kanan also removes the stress penalty from). I'm gonna love Heroes of the Resistance.

What if you swap Kanan for 3PO? You add 1 blank die to your roll with Finn and guess aloud zero evades. If you roll the one die and get a blank you get an evade and Rey can reroll both. If you roll a focus you still get the evade but can only reroll Finn's blank.

 

[jstevenson]

What if you swap Kanan for 3PO? You add 1 blank die to your roll with Finn and guess aloud zero evades. If you roll the one die and get a blank you get an evade and Rey can reroll both. If you roll a focus you still get the evade but can only reroll Finn's blank.

you gotta keep them in your firing arc for the re-roll, which the Sloop helps the Falcon with a lot as it then has three different 180 turns it can always use.

Otherwise after a sloop it has to clear stress.

I think the re-rolls + always can sloop is more powerful.

 

[EYEL1NER]

I had a decently-fun match earlier. My Ghost arrived a couple days ago and I wanted to fly it, so I flew my first Rebel list in like two years. I flew a Lothal Rebel Ghost (Autoblaster Turret, Accuracy Corrector, and Hera and "Chopper" crew), Sabine in the docked Phantom (PtL, Autoblaster Turret, and Nien Nunb), and Biggs (R2-D2 and Integrated Astromech). My opponent had a Cartel Spacer M3-A Interceptor, Bossk, and Talonbane Cobra. It went well for me and the 2 uncancelable hit double-tap from Autoblaster+AccCorrector+Phantom out in some serious work; it killed the Interceptor in one volley, took Talonbane Cobra down to 1HP in one volley, and put took out four shields from Bossk. I found it hard to keep Biggs in Range 1 of the Ghost and made the mistake of setting him up on the outside of the Ghost next to the edge, meaning he was just out of Range of the enemy while they could still hit the Ghost on the first two rounds where combat occurred. Bossk's Mangler Cannon took out Biggs shields and dealt a crit, which ended up being a direct hit, but my opponent let me sacrifice R2-D2 after drawing the damage since I let him take a couple missed actions, so R2-D2 didn't even get to activate one. After the Ghost took down the Spacer and Talonbane, my opponent was ready to concede. I talked him into playing it out because Biggs was shieldless and the Ghost only had 1HP left while Bossk had full hull and two shields, but he wound up misjudging a 4 straight a turn or two later and caught the corner of his base off the board. I said it looked "in," but we agreed that even if he did a hard stop with a red zero on the next turn, the turn after that he would have to move and would leave the board no matter what, while I only needed to chip away at the ship's rear or disengage. So I wound up winning.
Like I said, I had fun. I can't believe I put Biggs where I did though. I also used the wrong Autoblaster cards, using the Autoblaster Cannon instead of the Turret. I was using the rules for the turret and rolling 2 dice vs the cannon's 3, but it kept throwing me off every time I would read the text on the Phantom card and then look for the text on the Autoblaster indicating that I could perform the attack on a ship outside of arc (I kept thinking "I know that this combo works and specifically built it to do this, but the text doesn't match up. Have I been cheating this whole time?" I guess technically I was, since I had equipped the wrong card by accident, but my opponent more than likely would have let it slide had I realized my error before I left).
I can't wait to use the Ghost again. I just wish there was an easy way to make it tankier, like how you can use Yssan Isard on Kenkirk to make the Decimator more agile (1 Agility plus a free evade) as it takes hits. That is why I used Biggs, to (try to) take some heat off the Ghost. Without Biggs in R1, every shot will chip away at the Ghost and there isn't a cheap way to mitigate damage. The crits could have hurt too, had I not had Hera and the Auto+Accuracy combo (I drew a crit that made some hard turns red, which Hera crew didn't care about, and the crit that makes me roll one less attack die, which Accuracy Corrector doesn't care about).