X-Wing: The finality of Interceptors

Pre-calling it right now.

Alright guys, Imperial Aces is officially upon us and I'm very happy with my set of 4 of each ship.  I'm going to be pretty blunt here, the only thing that I'm happy about is the fact I got better painted ships.  When you look at what the actual set offers you from a competitive standpoint, it's actually quite lackluster.  Out of everything that they give you, you have one viable named pilot in the form of Carnor Jax and the other unnamed being the Royal Guard Tie.  Everything else in the box is loaded with upgrades and that does nothing but increase the cost of a ship that's already considered overpriced.

There, I said it.  I think the Imperial Aces box is a wash compared to what the Rebels got this time around.  When you look at the Rebel Convoy, you'll notice that Rebels got a ton of new tools to play with.  Not only are there more options to field for the X-Wings, but new Droids and missiles that inflict stress as well.  I pointed this out a couple of posts before, but why do I feel that the stress-inducers is a direct counter to Interceptors with Push the Limit.  To make things even more laughable, FFG kindly decided to provide 2x copies of PTL to every box of Imperial Aces.  I think they know deep in their hearts that Interceptors live and die by their actions.  An Interceptor under stress that he cannot shake is as good as dead.  When shooting at said target, you're basically nothing more than a 12 point Academy Pilot, but wait, you're actually a 30+ point elite pilot ship, 1/3 of your list's total firepower and durability.

To make matters slightly worse, when you check out the Rebel Aces box, you can't help but feel jealous. Where the Imperial Aces box is filled with stuff you wouldn't realistically take in a competitive game, you have a box that not only expand your options on A-Wings but B-Wings, but make them better.  A-Wings can get cheaper and you can load them up with double EPTs.  B-Wings get a few options and a new sensor that allows them to move at PS0, making sure they can always take their actions and not get blocked, not even by PS1 Academy Ties.  I just hope that the Imperials get some better upgrades and fast, because Enhanced Scopes, Advanced Sensors, A-Wing Test Pilot and Chardaan Refit was something I hoped Interceptors would get.

Then, you have the people.  Man, some people on the FFG forums and other places on the net seem to have difficulty understanding what we're seeing here.  One of the most popular arguments for these players is: "we'll see how it plays out."  I'm sorry, but when someone uses that argument on me, it's basically telling me you're incapable of logical thought and/or lack the experience to make an accurate projection.  Any experienced player will be able to judge scale, power, weigh the pros and cons, understand cause and effect, just by reading cards and letting their superior experience, game knowledge and skill guide them.  Saying "we'll see how it plays out" is quite simply a pillowfort for lesser players who lack the tools to decipher what's in front of them.

I know that sounds harsh, but it's the truth.  It exists in this game, other games, competitive sports, in business and in other aspects of the real world.  No great leader or successful person ever said "let's wait and see how it plays out".  They analyze, develop theory, critique, and learn all they can from what they have in front of them before they put their actions into motion.  This is what this blog is for and the reason I've built it up is so we can discuss higher-level gaming.

Now let's discuss!

X-Wing: Rebel Aces revealed!

And yet another exp for Rebels..

Just when you think things are looking up for the Rebels, here comes another Rebel-loving expansion from FFG.  Ladies and gentlemen, feast your eyes on the Rebel Aces.  The official link is here.

First, let's look at what's featured in this expansion.  It looks like the A-Wing will finally receive some decent buffs because it was basically forced into a missile carrier role previously.  Having the best dial in the game doesn't really matter if you're a second-string ship with questionable pilots flying them.  The only real use they had for what I've seen is that they're really at blocking people off and stripping them of their action.  Not so much now with this expansion as there's several things coming that makes them amazing.

A cheaper Vader with a better dial.

Before we get too carried away, I want to look at the newest Rebel Ace, Jake Farrell.  This guy is already flying one of the best dials in the game, so let's take that a little further with an ability that rivals that of Turr Phennir.  What makes him really special is his ability to close faster than Turr while still retaining his killing potential.  If you take an upgrade like PTL, you can easily squeeze three different actions out of him with the same stress token:  Focus, make a free Boost, after the free Boost, PTL for Evade or Barrel, then gain a stress.  Turr does something similar because he can Focus, get a free Barrel or Boost, then PTL for something different at the cost of an stress.  While we can't really compare the two aces in a vacuum, it's pretty clear that for 24 points, this guy is pretty good for what you're getting.

If you take Vet Instincts on him, add a Hull Upgrade and take the missile-replacement upgrade that makes him cost -2 less, he comes out to 26 points.  Vader with the TIE Advanced with an Engine Upgrade comes out to 33 points and do roughly the same damage.  Hmm... I'm not sure how I feel about that just yet.

Alright, let's take a look at the big ace of the set.  I'm calling him the big ace because I honestly didn't think I'll see B-Wings get a buff.  If you think about it, B-Wings should be the last Rebel ship to get a buff because they're already god damn amazing.  They were amazing when they first came out and they're even more amazing when Advanced Sensors joined the party.  Why can't Imperials have nice things?  I find myself saying this more and more over the last couple of weeks because first the Rebel Convoy and now this.  Sigh.

Nice design there FFG.

What you see here is pretty stupid.  I think it's a poorly designed card because you can outright remove one of your stress tokens for an offensive boost.  Now, I don't want to cry too powerful or over the top just yet, but I don't think anyone should have the ability to outright remove a penalty.  Not only does he outright removes the stress, but he also translates it into a free offensive focus.  Does anyone else think that's ridiculous?!  Out of all things, this is on a B-Wing that can also take Advanced Sensors.  Add PTL to this ship and you will see absolutely no downsides.  He can move like an UFO due to Sensors and Barrel Roll, clears any stress he wants including those from a K-Turn, and turns it into an offensive Focus on the attack that stacks with Target Lock.  Next round, he doesn't need to run greens at all because the stress is gone and he can do it all over again.

Tell me again why something can outright remove stress and turn it into offensive power?  On a B-Wing too mind you!  Something that is already considered amazing and worth the points every single game.  To make things even funnier, they can also take an upgrade card called Enhanced Scopes so they can move first and shoot first (if they have high PS) in a round since you activate at PS0.  That opens up a lot of trickery as well, the type of trickery that I was expecting the Empire to receive.

I really hope they announce a Capital Ship Expansion for Empire really soon, or reveal some cards in the Wave 4 Imperial ships that will close the gap between the two factions.  Right now, I think Empire is behind by two good expansions in the Rebel's favor.

X-Wing: Rogue Squadron Brainstorm

This looks like it can get fun.

Yesterday's playfest has got me thinking about trying some new lists when Aces get released.  As you guys probably already know, I'm a huge nerd for elite lists because I like flying with fewer ships.  I also think they're hard to pilot well so I enjoy the extra challenge in making it work.

GOOD.  Because I'm thinking about giving Wes Janson a try once the Rebel Convy Expansion gets released.  When you first look at him, he's basically a X-Wing with PS8.  Unfortunately, the dude costs the same as Wedge and I'll tell you right now, he's no Wedge.  While Mr. Antilles can single-handily carry the Rebels to victory, Wes works a little differently.  The big standout about Janson is his ability to remove Focus, Evade or Blue Target Lock from whatever he's shooting.  This looks pretty good on paper.

This means that Biggs can sit out for a couple of rounds because Wes looks to be the better wingman to Wedge.  How you say?  Well, let's look at it like this:  Wes shoots first because I plan on giving him Veteran Instincts and he strips, let's say, an Evade off of Soontir Fel going for full evasive.  Fel is arguably one of the most difficult targets to be shooting at if he stacks defensive buffs like Focus, Evade, Stress, Focus, so let's change that a little.  Now that Evade is gone, you do Wes' results (let's say he does nothing) before Wedge shoots at Fel's 3 dice (Stealth and Wedge's ability cancels out) and Fel's relying on raw dice and focus.  All of a sudden, a super defensive Fel is much more likely to fall prey to bad dice.

Not just that, but there's some dirty tricks that Rebels have in that convoy box that makes things absolutely nightmarish to the Imperials.  Now, I don't know who goes around designing this game, but I wasn't aware that Rebels needed more buffs.  Just when you think Imperial Aces might help alleviate some of the B-Wing pressure, here comes the Rogue Squadron to save the day.


Anyways, here are some standouts:

Why do you hate Imperials FFG?

The first thing you see here is the obvious and most embarrassing way to counter Interceptors with PTL.  Let me be straight with you guys:  Interceptors with PTL is the only saving grace of the ship due to the relatively high points cost.  An Interceptor without its actions is as good as dead.  This is where these two cards cause some serious trouble for Interceptors doing the jiggy.

Let's throw out a good hypothetical here:
Soontir Fel does his classic Focus, PTL Evade, receive Stress, gains Focus.  Let's say that Wes Janson shoots at him at PS10 with Vet Instincts and R3-A2.  I declare the attack, I choose to receive a stress token on Janson and strip Fel of his Evade.  Maybe do a damage, probably not but let's say Fel burns a Focus.  Okay, it doesn't matter.  What matters here is that Fel now has 2 Stress Tokens on him and he's dead as fuck next turn.  The same can happen if you shoot his ass with Flechette Torpedoes.

If you double-stress a PTL Interceptor, he is in some serious shit.  Here's the flow chart:

• You try to run away with some white movements and keep your 2 Stress Tokens --> No actions --> Dead as fuck.
• You try to clear with some green movements, but you still have a stress token on you --> No actions --> Dead as fuck.
• Either way, you can't K-Turn, thus limiting your movement and forcing you into more obvious maneuvers, most of which can be read by a good pilot who's familiar with how Interceptors move.
• The bottom line is:  No actions mean you can't Focus or Evade, nor Barrel or Boost your way out of firing arcs.  This directly translates to --> You're dead as fuck.

The moral of the story is:  An Interceptor with limited movement, no K-Turn, with no actions is a sitting duck.  What do you think Wedge will do to an Interceptor with no actions to Focus or Evade, or get out of firing arcs?  It's a god damn turkey shoot:  3 dice vs. 2 all day.

Even someone like Jek Porkins is starting to look pretty good over here.

I'm fat, but I can troll really hard.

Here's how you troll with Jek:
There are two upgrades you want to think about with him:  Veteran Instincts making him PS9 or PTL, because he can always attempt to clear his stress by taking a damage, allowing him to just freestyle white 2-turns all day next round.  Or it can make him a great K-Turn fighter since he can just clear it and then PTL for more damage opportunity.  Besides, you only have a 3/8 chance at messing it up.

Now add the troll with R3-A2.  You use Porky here to light up someone and give them a stress token.  In response, you can have a 3/8 chance to ignore the stress completely.  In fact, you can Target Lock the enemy and declare an attack.  The effects of R3-A2 triggers and let's just say you ignore it because you rolled a Focus.  Flechette Torpedoes goes on him and afterwards, he takes another stress token.  Grats man, you just locked someone down for two turns.  Add some Y-Wings with Ion Cannon Turrets into the mix and you've got yourself one hell of punch in the face.  I'm glad that both torps and stress bot only costs 2 points.

So yeah, wanna play Rogue Squadron with Interceptor PTL assurance?  Conveniently, this also shits really hard on Han Solo running Marksmanship since that 3-point upgrade will never have a chance to trigger.

100
Wedge Antilles - X-Wing
Push the Limit
R2 Astromech
Engine Upgrade

Wes Janson
Veteran Instincts

Jek Porkins
Push the Limit
R3-A2
Flechette Torpedoes

I'm not salty at all.  Nope.  I just think things got hell of a lot more interesting because of the new expansions.  I can't wait to see what else they're going to add this year.

X-Wing: Store Championship Results

Where the hell are my Aces?!

Hey everyone!  I managed to get some X-Wing in today and I played in the Brookhurst Hobbies store tournament in California.  The tournament was really cool, ran by cool guys and the people I played against were all awesome.  There was a lot of great sportsmanship being displayed on all tables and everyone was helping eachother while playing their games.  I really think the X-Wing community is one of the best I've ever played in.

Alright, so what did I take?  Since Imperial Aces isn't tournament legal yet, I took an elite Imperial list to the tournament.  The list I had was Vader, Turr and Fel.  It's about as elite as you can get without access to the Aces.

100

Darth Vader - TIE Advanced

Expert Handling

Concussion Missiles

Stealth Device

Soontir Fel - TIE Interceptor

Push the Limit

Stealth Device

Turr Phennir - TIE Interceptor

Veteran Instincts

Stealth Device

The list is pretty straight forward but it's pretty difficult to pilot.  You're looking at 11 Hull Points total with Vader's shields and everyone in the entire list shoots at PS9.  This is the biggest strength of the list:  PS9 allows you to move last, shoot first and out-deploy your opponents.  Vader is the alpha strike with Concussion Missiles while Expert Handling and Stealth Device makes him a difficult target to bring down.  Not to mention the natural 2 actions per turn is simply amazing.  Soontir Fel is my primary damage dealer and Turr Phennir is my flank attacker/duelist.

Okay, let's get down to the games.  I'm just going to sum it up with a couple of bullet points that I remember because after playing for 9 hours, I'm pooped.  Each of the games were 1.5 hours with 15 minute breaks in between.  We had an 1 hour lunch.

Game #1 vs. Malcolm
Wedge, 2x Blue Squadron, A-Wing

• I took a really commanding lead by maneuvering my guys in a way that I was able to focus and take down Wedge without much return fire.  I had the initiative and even though Wedge manage to shoot back, he was unable to do any damage to Turr Phennir who finished him.
• While I picked away at the Blue Squadron, one of the members made a ridiculous shot at Range 3, hitting with all 3 dice vs. Soontir Fel.  Alright, Range 3, Stealth Device, 1 Focus, I got this.  I roll 5 dice and roll all blanks.  Soontir dies before he gets a chance to do anything, that's just ridiculous.  Not gonna lie, I was pretty mad at this result but I kept focused in the game.
• Early focus from his B-Wings put some damage on Vader's ship.  I play keep away with Vader and eventually draw enough attention off of him that he was able to let off Concussion Missiles and finish off his last B-Wing.  I spend the remainder of the game chasing down his A-Wing with Turr and Vader.

1-0, Match Win, 100 points destroyed vs. 33 lost.

Game #2 vs. Pete
Wedge, Biggs, Luke

• I really enjoy playing against other elite lists because it comes down to the pilots, good maneuvering and good decisions.  Unfortunately, my opponent made some grave errors early on.
• I played very patiently in the beginning and moved my ships up full speed, followed by a soft 2.  I know I won't be able to outjoust the Rebel Dream Team, so I wanted to utilize my long-range play with multiple actions, Concussion Missiles and good maneuverability.
• My opponent, on the other hand, thinks that I'll be charging directly at him for a Range 1 joust so he makes a radical 3 K-Turn and falls directly in front of all my ships.  Since Turr was my flank attacker, I soft-turned with a 2 and avoided LoS to Biggs entirely, thus focusing all my shots on Wedge.  He rolls hot and Wedge lose all his shields and a critical damage which reduces weapon damage.  Meanwhile, Vader fires off his missiles at Biggs and Fel joins in on the action at Range 1, turning Biggs into a burning fireball.
• The next few turns was clean up since there's just nothing you can do with Interceptors riding you that close.  I think my opponent was going for a high-risk, high-reward play but it didn't work against my choice to take it slow.  Instead, the tables were reversed instantly and he paid for it with the lives of his pilots.

2-0, Match Win, 100 points destroyed vs. 0 lost.


Game #3 vs. Dan
Jan Orz, Biggs and Dagger

• This game is really one to remember because it lasted a very long time.  It started off pretty one-sided actually since I was able to jump on his Dagger and lay into it with everything I have.  Biggs was out of range so the Dagger was my only target.  Unfortunately, my dice were cold and his were hot on Evades (+1 bonus from Range 3) and I was unable to secure the kill on his Dagger.  Damn, that would of been really good too and would probably end the game quick.  Vader even lost his missiles while trying to bring the Dagger down, stripping his shields but doing no more after that.
• The next couple of rounds was quite a disaster for me actually.  The B-Wing was able to shoot with tons of dice with his Heavy Laser Cannon and thanks to Jan Orz, he was able to do tons and tons of damage.  Soontir was stripped of his Stealth Device early and Turr Phennir died in one volley due to me rolling a ton of blanks and eating a Direct Damage from a Critical.
• As I brought down Biggs and the Dagger, Jan Orz scored a 3 crits on Soontir and he exploded into a fireball after rolling poorly to save.  Direct Damage hit me again this time and I lost Fel the same way I lost Phennir.  At this point, it was just a untouched Vader left with no missiles vs. his Jan Orz.  It was really getting down to the wire but I felt that I had the advantage because I had a superior pilot and stronger craft.  I just hoped the dice weren't as cruel to me as the previous times.
• We spun around eachother, jousting and dancing for a very long time.  I'm not sure how long it took exactly, but eventually Vader emerged triumphant and took home the win for the Imperials.

3-0, Match Win, 99 points destroyed vs. 62 lost.


Game #4 vs. Daniel
Chewie, 2x Blue Squadron

• I think out of all the games that I played, this game was the one I was looking forward to the most.  There were basically 3 lists to beat at this tournament and it was this one, XXBB and Tie Swarm.  As I looked across the table and saw a hull disparity of 29 vs. 11, I knew I was in for one hell of a fight.
• The game started off pretty standard.  Soontir and Vader played very aggressive while Turr was more of an opportunist looking for a way to get in.  His deployment was across the table from me with Chewie on the far edge of the board and the B-Wings with Advanced Sensors close to it.  As we advanced up the board, the B-Wings barrel rolled in unison and moved away from Chewie while the mandog advanced straight.
• On my side of the board, I initially chose to play defensively, utilizing my Stealth Devices at longer ranges and pick away at the Falcon's laughable defensive die before I can close in for a more precise kill.  This immediately changed when the B-Wings moved away from the Falcon and came down my flank.  Since I was out of the range of the first engagement, I needed to make an accurate guess where the B-Wings were going to be next round.  I thought to myself:  If I focus on the Falcon barreling down my left, he's going to be able to swing his B-Wings around and flank me from behind.
• I decided to surprise him and went balls to the wall to intercept his B-Wings.  Since I moved last, I guessed correctly and his B-Wings changed course and moved into flanking position up the center.  Unfortunately for him, my Interceptors made an immediate change of direction and ended up in front of his face.  Vader joined in on the action with his Concussion Missiles and before you know it, the lead B-Wing had 1 HP left and the furthest B-Wing lost 4 shields.  His reply fire was mainly directed at Vader because he blew his Focus and my other Interceptors were in bad arcs/loaded with Focus/Evade.  Vader took a beating and got stripped of his Stealth Device and his shields.
• My next move was to concentrate on the remaining B-Wings and finish them off ASAP.  I knew that if I was able to save Vader and kill off his B-Wings, there would be no coming back because my Interceptors can play the long game vs. his Falcon as long as the dice don't suck.  Vader is also the most expensive member of my crew so he needed to just double-stack defensive buffs and stay away from the main firefight.  This strategy proved to be successful.
• After the initial joust, being able to K-Turn at 5 gave me Stealth Device + Range 3 so it was an incredible uphill fight for the B-Wings meager 1 agility + range bonus.  Concentrated fire dropped the B-Wing with more health before Fel, boosting and barrel rolling between asteroids, was able to deal the death blow to the last B-Wing.  I virtually ignored Chewie for the vast majority of the time because I was running away with Vader while stacking Focus/Evade tokens on my Interceptors as much as I can.  He tried shooting at Turr a few times but he was just unable to do any damage to him unfortunately.  A few turns later, my Interceptors ran Chewie into the ground and it was gg.

4-0, Match Win, 100 points destroyed vs. 0 lost.

I came in second place overall once all the points were calculated.  The only other player to get 4-0 was another Imperial player piloting a Tie Swarm list with Howlrunner + 6.  After scores were tallied up, it came down to "strength of schedule" as we were all pretty tired and didn't want to play a tie-breaker.  The scores were pretty close, so I didn't care too much.  I congratulated the winner, traded away my Store Championship tokens + ruler for a promo Wedge and Mauler Mithel card.  Not a bad showing considering I haven't played X-Wing since last November.


What I learned from the experience:

• Playing with cool guys with good sportsmanship is the most important thing about this game.  People helped me move my ships, I moved their ships, we talked, laughed, joked and raged about the crazy stuff that happens during the game.  Once the dust settles and there's a clear winner, we still joke around and congratulate each other.  This is the best part about playing X-Wing.
• Flying the 3-ship Imperial list is really quite challenging.  The thing about Imperial ships is that they don't have the bonus of shields outside of Vader, and you're literally holding your breath everytime someone lands hits.  Even with 5 agility dice and a Focus, Soontir Fel still managed to disappear because of bad dice rolls.  Unlike other lists that can afford losing a 12-point Tie, I can't do that because it's literally a third of my entire army's shooting strength.  Once the shooting ability of the list goes down, your chances to win decrease dramatically.  You really have to out-think, out-anticipate, play your best and pray to the dice gods from time to time.
• The top 3 lists being flown was: Tie Swarm (the winner), my list and XXBB.  I really wanted to fight either the XXBB list or the Tie Swarm list.  The Swarm list could have been difficult to fight, but with good asteroid deployment and smart maneuvering, I think I could have a good chance at taking first.  Against the XXBB, this is one of the most flown lists I've seen on Vassal, so I have a pretty good understanding how to fight against this specific list.  It's a naturally good list and probably one of the most common "to beat" lists in any tournament setting.  Oh well, maybe next time.
• Lastly, if I was to change anything about the list, it would be to drop Vader and pick up Carnor Jax.  There's so many times that I was riding someone's ass with my Interceptors and I wished they didn't have Focus/Evades or be able to spend any of it.  I really think Carnor Jax will change how the game is played because his battlefield effect is massive.  You will be able to outjoust most people with your Interceptors, which is something Interceptors should never do but at least now you have the option to do so.  The ability to deny Focus and Evades will make the matchup vs. Tie Swarms even better since Evade tokens is mostly an Imperial trait.  Oh, and there's Targeting Computer too.  There's just way too many times I'm riding someone's ass with Fel and I have to pick at them with Focus, Evade, Focus.  I would much rather Target Lock, Evade, Stress, Focus because this drastically boosts my attack proficiency.

Alright, that's all folks.  Thanks for reading, catch you next time.

X-Wing: Excited for Imperial Aces

The real Dream Team.  Step aside Vader.

Just to let you guys know how excited I am, I pre-ordered 4x boxes.  There's quite a few lists I want to try with it, but I think I'm excited about my 789 list the most.  To give you guys a quick preview on what the list will look like, it's basically running 3 named Interceptor pilots:  Soontir Fel, Carnor Jax and Turr Phennir.

This is the first list that I ever designed for my Imperials and one of the reasons I got in the game.  I really hope I can make this list work because I understand just how difficult it is to succeed with Interceptors.  To give you guys some perspective, here's how I feel about the state of the game.

Statistically, more ships means more hull points and attack dice to throw at your opponents.  This is a proven mathematical concept.

There is a reason why lists like Howl Swarm and XXBB are common in the tournament scene.  Count it up, go ahead.  The Howl list can have 7x2 attack dice at range band 3 with re-roll hits on each attempt.  The list itself sports a combined 21 hull points easy.  XXBB throws out 12 attack dice and packs a whopping 26 hull points, and all the ships are shielded before taking critical damage.

• One list throws out more consistent damage, but is subject to more damage in return = Howlrunner + Friends.
• The other list throws out lower damage, but has much more durability, especially vs. Crits = XXBB

Why do 3x or 4x Interceptor lists suffer?  Or hardly ever seen at Nationals or Worlds?  Because they have 9-12 Hull Points total and questionably lower damage output than either of these lists.  The maneuver dial and higher PS helps, but it does not account for half the durability.

Most of you have figured this out by now:  Killing enemy ships results in a very polarizing effect on the battlefield, and that's because he's less capable of doing damage to your ships in return.  Less ships means less dice and less dice means less damage to you.  Losing 1 Interceptor out of 4 is a lot different than losing 1 Tie out of 7.

The concept of Interceptors is that it's very... for the lack of a better word, absolute.  Skill comes from using the superior dial for sure, but the key point is that you're fighting with a 12+ hull point disparity against other lists and you only have 3 HP per ship.  Evade dice are mathematically weaker than attack dice, so in order for you to win out, you need to be 100% on top of your game on top of other factors.  There is virtually no room for mistakes and if you get hit (which you will), you need to pray to the dice gods every time.  To be a successful Interecptor pilot, you must rely on skill as much as luck.

Personally, I think there 3 major things and 1 minor thing to come out of this expansion pack.

• The first is Carnor Jax and his ability that benefits your entire board.  This is absolutely huge because it'll actually allow the PTL Interceptors to outjoust most things in close range.  Attack consistency is king, and as long as you have the evade dice + odds in your favor, this WILL change how the game is played.  Look at it this way:  It turns that X-Wing's 3 focus and a hit into 1 hit that you will free evade with PTL into no damage.  At the same time, being able to dish back 4 dice + Focus of your own to full effect.  This is the difference between a dead ship and a free kill, the effects are utterly devastating and completely one-sided.
• Royal Guard Ties are 25 points on the nose with PTL.  This means you can take 4 of them in a list and outpace Red Daggers and every Tie-Swarm list outside of Howlrunner herself (unless she starts taking more costly named pilots, which reduces the amount of Ties, which leads to a better matchup for you).  This is a huge metagame boon.
• Lt. Lorrir being 23 points and outpacing PS4 pilots while retaining good value.  Sure, no EPT sucks, but he is a mini-Turr Phennir in every sense of the word.  The true question is:  Is he more cost effective than a Saber + PTL at 24?  Or RGT + PTL at 25?  I don't think so because he has to burn an action and gain stress for it, but only vigorous playtesting will tell.
• Mini-buff for Soontir Fel is the Targeting Computer via Royal Guard Tie 0 Upgrade.  I think he's the only pilot that will be able to utilize this well since he gets that free focus.  He actually maintains his maneuverability but for 2 points, vastly increases his killing potential.

With that said, there are 2 lists I want to try right away.

789 - 98 points

Soontir Fel w/ PTL, Stealth Device, RGT Upgrade + Targeting Computer

Carnor Jax w/ PTL, Stealth Device

Turr Phennir w/ PTL, Stealth Device

Royal Guards - 100 points

4x Royal Guard Tie w/ PTL

Bringing back Teferi EDH

Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir

As the Magic EDH trend continues, I've made some adjustments to two of my favorite mono-blue decks.  The first one is the Kira deck that you guys saw last time and the second is my duel Teferi deck that I revamped for competitive multiplayer.  Both the Teferi and Kira links will send you to my deck on TappedOut.

Here's my thread on Teferi on Magic Salvation.

It's up for Primer status right now and I'm quite proud of this particular guide.  As for Kira, here is what the deck looks like now:

Creature (20)
1x Arcanis the Omnipotent
1x Body Double
1x Consecrated Sphinx
1x Deadeye Navigator
1x Duplicant
1x Glen Elendra Archmage
1x Grand Architect
1x Guile
1x Kira, Great Glass-Spinner*
1x Memnarch
1x Palinchron
1x Phantasmal Image
1x Phyrexian Metamorph
1x Sakashima the Impostor
1x Snapcaster Mage
1x Solemn Simulacrum
1x Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1x Treasure Mage
1x Trinket Mage
1x Venser, Shaper Savant

Land (40)
1x Academy Ruins
1x Cavern of Souls
1x Halimar Depths
1x Maze of Ith
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Riptide Laboratory
1x Seat of the Synod
30x Snow-Covered Island
1x Strip Mine
1x Tolaria West
1x Wasteland

Enchantment (2)
1x Copy Artifact
1x Rhystic Study

Instant (16)
1x Blue Sun's Zenith
1x Capsize
1x Counterspell
1x Cyclonic Rift
1x Evacuation
1x High Tide
1x Hinder
1x Long-Term Plans
1x Mana Drain
1x Memory Lapse
1x Muddle the Mixture
1x Mystical Tutor
1x Remand
1x Spell Crumple
1x Stroke of Genius
1x Trickbind

Artifact (13)
1x Basalt Monolith
1x Caged Sun
1x Gauntlet of Power
1x Gilded Lotus
1x Grim Monolith
1x Sapphire Medallion
1x Scroll Rack
1x Sculpting Steel
1x Sensei's Divining Top
1x Sol Ring
1x Thran Dynamo
1x Venser's Journal
1x Worn Powerstone

Sorcery (9)
1x Fabricate
1x Merchant Scroll
1x Recurring Insight
1x Temporal Manipulation
1x Temporal Mastery
1x Time Spiral
1x Time Warp
1x Transmute Artifact
1x Wash Out

Needless to say that the deck got a little bit of a speed increase, dropped a bunch of stuff for more mana rocks, cheaper counterspells (more too) and Time Warp mechanics.  I dropped some of the creatures I wasn't entirely happy about, built kept in the more powerful elements that had to do with mana-doubling. The only thing that really needs to go in now is Thassa, God of the Sea.  I'm not sure what I want to cut for her though, probably another creature or counterspell to keep the count at 20.  I'm OCD like that.