X-Wing: Autothrusters have arrived!

Alright boys, we're back in business.

When it comes to X-Wing, one of my favorite things to do is to fly my elite Interceptor list.  I've done very well with the list over the last couple of years, but the one hard counter it has are turrets.  Thankfully, that all changed yesterday and players will have to pay close attention to how they're playing their game instead of just flying around randomly and rolling dice.  That's one of the reasons why I despise lists like Fat Han with Gunner and all that crap.  What skill is there in flying something that re-rolls after re-rolls and doesn't need to worry about actions, damage negation or positioning?  No matter, times has changed and Interceptors are now back in style.

First, let's examine the card:

A mainstay for all Interceptors.

Elite Interceptor pilots like Soontir Fel and Turr Phennir were already incredibly slippery when flown correctly, but now this makes them even harder to take down.  Let's look at the first part of this card:  When defending, if you are beyond Range 2.. you may change 1 of your blank results into a evade result.

Playing in Range 3 is one of the Interceptor's chief abilities due to their speed and Boost/Barrel Roll actions.  You can easily take shots from Range 3 by giving yourself a slow approach, or getting in close and then using your 4K, 4-green or 5-straight to get yourself out of enemy fire.  Since you have outrageous speed, you easily change a bad engagement by just bailing yourself out of it.  If you boost, you can add even greater distance between you and your opponent.  Remember that when you boost left or right, you add greater distance between you and your opponent compared to a single 1-straight.

The second part of this card: ..or outside the attacker's firing arc.. is just something that every Interceptor pilot knows instinctively.  Why?  Because for a ship that's relatively high in price and sporting only 3 hull points base, you need to be avoiding damage completely in order to be successful.  This is the one reason why turreted ships gave Interceptors such a difficult time.  It negated their greatest strength on the battlefield:  Which is being able to do damage while negating damage in return.  With the introduction of this card, this forces the opposing player to think about their positioning or risk a free Evade.  For the Interceptor player, this helps reinforce two principles they lived and died from for years:  Speed and negation.

Personally, I'm very happy about the pricing of the card as well.  At 2 points and not 3, this makes the player think hard if he wants a guaranteed +1 HP from Hull Upgrade, a Shield for 4, or a chance at negating damage completely with Stealth Device.

Now you finally have a use.

One of the major problems with the Imperial Aces release was that all the upgrades available to the elite Interceptors were pricey.  When you factor in price of the ship, price of the pilot, one viable upgrade at 3-4 points, you don't really want another one if you have to pay for it.  Now, with Autothrusters being priced lower than Hull Upgrade, it looks to be quite an attractive option.  For me, I always take Stealth Device on my Interceptors because I see damage negation as stronger than taking damage.  Sure, dice will fail you sometimes, and God knows I've lost Fel more than Range 3 throwing 5 evades than I have at Range 1 taking 4 to the dome.  I plan on running him with SD and Autos for sure now.

So what will my list look like now for my Elite 3?  Here's what I plan on doing for my first run through:

789
Soontir Fel — TIE Interceptor
Push the Limit
Stealth Device
Autothrusters
Royal Guard TIE
 
Carnor Jax — TIE Interceptor
Push the Limit
Stealth Device
 
Turr Phennir — TIE Interceptor
Push the Limit
Stealth Device
Autothrusters
Royal Guard TIE

My other 789 variation (or rather 998) will have the same thing at 100 points, but Turr will be running Veteran Instincts so Jax can take Autothrusters as well.

You see, I can only put Autothrusters on either Jax or Turr, but I think Turr is a better candidate because of his extreme maneuverability.  His elite pilot skill allows him to play with both of the Autothruster's demands much more than Carnor Jax's ability to shut down Focus and Evade.  Sounds about right.

X-Wing: Crying about the Phantom

Seems appropriate.

I don't usually browse the forums, but when I do its to look for one thing:  Discussions centralizing around game imbalance.  Call it a hobby of mine, but I really like reading what others have to say and the arguments they put forth when talking about specific game features.  I find it highly entertaining because most of the time; the arguments are poor, the assumptions are premature and the theorycrafting is astronomical.  For example, there's this article on the official FFG forums talking about the Phantom being the best ship.  You can find the ridiculous 9-pager right here.

One of the first things to keep in mind when reading stuff like this is that most of the time, it's coming from an inexperienced player.  Experienced, tournament-faring players with lots of games in a diversified meta do not outright claim game imbalance when they get beaten.  They first analyze their play, see what went wrong and try to adjust their plan of action for next time.  That's what I did when I played pro (in other games), that's what my colleagues did and that's what every competitive player I ever knew did.  They analyze their mistakes and rectify it first thing.  What do they do next?  Play it again, and again, and again until it's clearly in both players' minds that there's nothing more can be done.

Most of the time, competitive players have played the game a lot.  They played it enough that they know what's in their meta, but also in the national and global meta as well.  If a competitive player starts to present anecdotal evidence through several playtests against equally competitive players who are also pitching in their feedback, and no one agrees that the ship in question is answerable, then there might be an issue.  This is a natural form of check and balances to make sure there's no weak link, and that the argument for the eventual problem is clear, concise and accurate.

This is one of those times where people misunderstand the concepts of game imbalance and things that change the metagame.  Like I said in that thread, this is Wave 4, a major release that throws 4 different ships into the meta with all different kinds of upgrades and options.  Just before that, we got the Rebel Transport that had a good amount of Rogue Squadron upgrades.  Shortly before that, we got Imperial Aces and now in the next couple of weeks, we'll get Rebel Aces.  What this means to the game is that everything will change:  Not just a little, but a lot because of all the different player options coming into the mix together.

When you look at what has been released before this, you'll find a common thread of meta-changers out there.  The Falcon and Han Solo changed how the game was played because of 360 firing arcs, solid damage output as well as fire consistency.  Not to mention the Falcon has a crap ton of health.  Then you look at the Imperial equivalent in the form of the Slave, the release of the TIE Bomber, named Interceptors like Soontir Fel and Turr Phennir, turret-based Rebel ships like the Y-Wing, Ion Cannons, Heavy Laser Cannons, Carnor Jax.. the list goes on and on.  The point is:  Whenever something new is introduced into the fray that people are not comfortable with yet, the most common reaction on the internet is to panic and post shitty threads crying imbalance.  Most of the people who post this shit are inexperienced players who haven't seen enough game time.  Even fewer are players who think they know what they're talking, but end up talking out of their ass because they play in a meta where the competition is weak, thus destroying the check and balances anomaly I talked about earlier.  I think I read in that thread somewhere where some dude proclaims that the Phantom single-handily destroyed 100 points worth of enemy ships.  That just smells like scrub-bashing.

I personally can't wait to get my Phantom and fly it around in a few games.  While I think it's a powerful ship, it's the epitome of a glass cannon and there's a huge number of counters out there.  Specifically, I'll target "Echo" for the purposes of listing out some counters:

• Higher PS pilots who shoots before him at his 2 defense dice before ACD triggers.
• Ships who ignore his maneuverability e.g. 360 turrets, Falcons.
• Player-induced stress tokens e.g. Flechette Torpedoes, R3A2.
• Ion Cannons are seriously bad news if they hit the ship.
• Bad luck, because it happens and I've lost Fel with full health off 5 evade dice before.

So the moral of the story is this:  Before you cry imbalance about a near 40 point ship with 4 hull points, at least have the common courtesy to know the difference between changing the meta and a balance concern.  Once you figure that out, at least try to defeat the problem instead of complaining about it on the forums like a giant bitch.  Maybe if you think about the issue long enough, it'll suddenly dawn upon you that there is no spoon [problem] in the first place.

X-Wing: Echo, echo

Ooo, new toys!

Yes, I'm making a pun off that Disney movie that's about a cute little robot alien.  You know what game I haven't played in a long time because of overtime?  X-Wing.  You know what game I need to play immediately?  X-Wing.  It's a shame I wasn't able to find a game tonight, but then again I'm not too upset because I didn't get my TIE Phantom yet.

Just so you guys know, I plan on fielding a TIE Phantom in my next list just so I can do all the outrageous things with it that you think it can.  I'm planning to field "Echo" along side two of my favorite Saber Squadron pilots, Soontir Fel and Turr Phennir.  Combined with the new TIE Phantom, I plan on making quite an impact on the battlefield as all the ships I have are ridiculously maneuverable.

First, let's take a look at Echo:

Seems good.

The greatest thing about this guy (or girl?) is the ability to go anywhere I want on the battlefield with his ability.  As you can see from this article on the FFG website, Echo can fly anywhere he wants as long as there's enough room to move around.  While this is great and all, I'm quite worried about how the presence of asteroids will limit his ability.  When you think about competitive play, players have the opportunity to place asteroids one after another, in alternating fashion.  A lot of the better players know exactly how these asteroids can affect how the battle plays out:  Tightly clustered asteroids gives TIE Swarm players a fit while more sporadic placement of rocks gives Interceptors and flankers an edge.

Regardless, I think the sheer number of movement tricks will make Echo worth his points.  So what will the layout be do you ask?  Well, I'm thinking about taking Veteran Instincts, Recon Specialist and Advanced Cloaking Device.  This will bring his price up to a whopping 38 points, but hopefully the Recon Specialist and ADC will be worth it.  The reason I chose these abilities is pretty well-reasoned I feel:  Veteran Instincts gives me PS8 so I can move later and shoot quicker.  Recon Specialist gives him double Focus tokens so I can choose to Decloak, Focus x2, Attack and trigger Advanced Cloaking Device.  I will then either have a focus to make my attacks more powerful and keep a another with 4 dice on defense.  If I hit with everything and I'm satisfied with my result, I can hold back both focus for two rounds of enemy shooting.  This greatly prolongs the life of a relatively lightly-armored ship.

Again, just like the motto of the TIE Interceptors, the idea here is to not get dead.  It's a lot harder than it looks when you're playing against skilled opponents, and even harder when they're well-versed in fighting against Interceptors.  To make matters worse, what hurts Echo is the same thing that hurts Interceptors and that's good ol' Stress.  If you get stressed in a Phantom, you're going to feel it as soon as your opponents start opening up.  Since Cloak/Decloak itself is an action, and ADC is a free action, if you can't take actions you're not going to be well-off on defense.  In fact, you're probably going to lose your 38 point ship.  I guess it's also important to point out that ADC only triggers after you attack with Echo.  This means that PS9 pilots or anything that outspeeds you (including pilots shooting first) is going to have the advantage offensively vs. your ship.  Hence why I chose to go with a 99 point list.

This is the other 789 list I have.

As for the rest of my dudes, Soontir and Turr will be flying escort for Echo.  The list itself looks like this:

99 points

"Echo" — TIE Phantom
Veteran Instincts
Recon Specialist
Advanced Cloaking Device
 
Soontir Fel — TIE Interceptor
Push the Limit
Hull Upgrade
 
Turr Phennir — TIE Interceptor
Push the Limit

Let me know what you guys think about the list.  I'm pretty confident it'll do well.  I'm used to flying elite lists by now and this one is no different.

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

X-Wing: Making Interceptors work

Push that limit to the max.

Despite all the flak that Interceptors receive on the forums and from tourney players, I still think they're solid ships.  Overall, they might be a few points more expensive than I would like, but I think a properly built Interceptor can do wonders on the battlefield.  I've been playing with Interceptors in every Imperial list I've built so far and I don't think that's ever going to change.

One of the most important upgrades to have on Interceptors is Push the Limit.  Unlike other ships in the game that can work with virtually any upgrade, I think Interceptors need PTL to be truly competitive.  In case you guys didn't know, Push the Limit allows your ship to preform an extra action while taking a stress token.  While other ships look at the stress token with worry, Tie Interceptors rarely care.  With 7 green movements on the dial including the awesome straight 4 and godly 2-turn, the Interceptor can clear stress very easily.  I often use the straight 4 to clear stress and build space between my opponents' ships and mine, or maintain aggression with the hard 2.  Building space between you and your opponent is especially effective because this gives you time to turn, while hopefully putting you in range 3 of your opponent's guns (increasing your Agil to 4).  Best of all, you can push for a second time after you reset to focus and evade defensively, or boost out of range completely.

I would consider Push the Limit to be mandatory on Interceptors for a number of reasons.  Movement is arguably the most important part of the game and no one does it better than the Interceptor with PTL.  Being able to Boost and Barrel Roll with PTL is simply godly if you're facing targets that require firing arcs to shoot you.  You know what's better than rolling all evades when someone shoots at you?  Not rolling evades at all because they have no shot.  Being able to inflict damage while denying any kind of retalitory action is invaluable in a game where unit preservation is king.  For Interceptors, this can be done either by avoiding firing arcs or entering combat with focus and evade on the same ship.  Focus is by far the most flexible action in the game, capable of enhancing both offensive and defensive abilities.  Being able to take an Evade action on top of that is just icing on the cake.  In any given combat, having 3 dice on attack and 3 dice on defense with both focus and evade is extremely powerful.  Once you start combining the Interceptors' impressive movement dials with their numerous actions, the Interceptor starts to become a real threat.

Here are some of the lists I've built so far with Interceptors:

• Soontir Fel, Carnor Jax, Turr Phennir
• Soontir Fel, Turr Phennir, Saber Pilot, Howlrunner
• Soontir Fel, 2x Royal Guard, Howlrunner
• Soontir Fel, Howlrunner, Mauler Mithel, Dark Curse, Night Beast

In the above lists, you can see that I've tried quite a few Interceptor builds.  The elite Interceptor list with 3x pilots is arguably the most challenging to play because there's absolutely no room for errors.  Unfortunately, bad dice rolls can cause the demise of the ship despite all 3 of them carrying Stealth Device.  The next few lists has at least 3x Interceptors with PTL.  A Saber Squadron Pilot with PTL is 24 points and the Royal Guard Pilot is 25 for PS6.  While both options are really solid, I think the 1 point extra for PS6 will be the way of the future.  No matter what, both of these 3+1 lists feature Howlrunner because the re-roll gives me the ability to play a ranged game at 2-3.  Howlrunner really gives me a more effective shooting phase and so far, I've been having huge success with my Fel + 2x Saber builds.  As for Turr Phennir, make sure to take PTL on him as well.  After many games with Veteran Instincts, he definitely needs the added flexibility of push to stay around.  Lastly, I'm trying a 1+4 build where a small batch of elite support Ties to carry Fel to victory.  It's especially effective because the PS5+ ships and 5-speed option allows me to close quickly and deliver a pretty strong alpha strike.

Well, there you have it folks.  I'll be rolling out some more games with Interceptor builds over the next few weeks and I'll let you know how it goes.

X-Wing: Results from Worlds and Interceptors

Shooting stuff in space.

Check out some of the winning lists from the X-Wing World Championships this year.  It's been pretty hectic for me all week so I apologize for the lack of posts.  BlizzCon was also this week and I swear, I'm getting too old to be working 64 hours in a single week.

Anyways, let's talk about X-Wing!  Take a look at some of the lists.

Paul Heaver (World Champion)

Biggs

Dagger Squadron + Advanced Sensors

Dagger Squadron + Advanced Sensors

Rookie Pilot

Dallas Parker (World Finalist)

Howlrunner + Stealth + Determination

Dark Curse

Academy Pilot

Academy Pilot

Academy Pilot

Academy Pilot

Academy Pilot

Jonathan Gomes (Top 4)

Luke Skywalker + Shield Upgrade + R2-D2 + Draw Their Fire

Rookie Pilot

Rookie Pilot

Rookie Pilot

David Bergstrom (Top 4)

Howlrunner + Stealth Device

Backstabber

Obsidian Squadron

Obsidian Squadron

Obsidian Squadron

Academy Pilot

Academy Pilot

Jim Blakley (Top 8)

Rookie Pilot

Rookie Pilot

Blue Squadron

Gold Squadron

Gold Squadron

Brandon Barthel (Top 8)

Wedge + Push the Limit + R2

Biggs

Rookie Pilot

Rookie Pilot

Neil Howard (Top 8)

Captain Jonus + Squad Leader + Seismic Charge

Scimitar Squadron + Cluster Missiles + Concussion Missiles

Scimitar Squadron + Advanced Proton Tropedoes + Proton Tropedoes

Academy Pilot

Academy Pilot

What I find strange is that there's not a single list here that has Interceptors.  A lot of comments from several players I've communicated with lately is that the meta is very spammy.  More ships means more hull points, means more survivability, and thus more attack dice to throw out right?  Do you think this is the general direction that the game is going?  More dice with re-rolls that can be thrown out at you from Howl + Ties, 360 turrets, a good amount of shields/firepower from Bloody Daggers?  That can lead to a really stale meta for sure, especially if people have no reason to include the latest Wave 3 ships.

Let's talk about Tie Interceptors for a second..

What is it that makes Tie Interceptors lackluster in performance from a point-cost perspective?

I've been rolling with Interceptors since I started playing and although I've lost games, I don't think it's a complete wash.  I manage to perform well vs. a good number of lists/players so I'm wondering what the issue is.

Let's compare something really quick, with a list that's been pretty popular as of late.  The same could be compared to the winning list from Worlds this year with the only variation of downgrading the RSP for a Rookie + Biggs.

2x Red Squadron Pilots

2x Dagger Squadron Pilots w/ Advanced Sensors

With Imperial Aces coming out, we will see a fair share of competitive options.  The biggest is Targeting Computer being available to Royal Guard Ties and Soontir Fel.  However, this does come at a price and some will argue that Fel is the only one that will be able to properly use it.

For the points, I think a Saber Squadron Pilot with PTL (24) or a Royal Guard Pilot with PTL (25) is pretty competitive with all things considered.  You're looking at double actions can be be cleared with some of the best maneuvers in the game.  The ability to Evade + Focus every turn gives you the ability to put out good damage from all ranges, and being able to Boost + Barrel allows you to fly around firing arcs with ease. Sure, you're vulnerable to 360 turrets, but you can play a ranged game and still preform decently since you're throwing out 3 dice per attack with focus while advancing 2-green, and your opponents are shooting back at long range + 3 agil + Evade.

I would like to hear your thoughts on this, especially if you've recently participated in Worlds.

X-Wing: List Building Analysis

Welcome to flight school.

Over the last couple of days, I've been doing some serious in-depth thinking of X-Wing list building.  Having played a ton of games with both Imperials and Rebels by now, I have a pretty good understanding of things work.  I've spent the better part of my research time focused on the competitive metagame and the types of lists being fielded by players all over.

Let me take you through some of the important facets when building an X-Wing list and how you can maximize your chances on the battlefield.  I will say one thing though:  No matter how much you min-max your list for damage and survivability, player skill, experience, and dice will always be stronger.  This is the one thing I really enjoy about X-Wing and why I think it's a solid game.

First, let's take a look at an Rebel list that I've been toying around lately:

That's no moon..

100 points

Red Squadron Pilot
 
Red Squadron Pilot
 
Dagger Squadron Pilot
Advanced Sensors
 
Dagger Squadron Pilot
Advanced Sensors

The first thing when I look at when I have this in front of me is the offensive and defensive stats.  If I'm looking at raw firepower, I'm looking at a list that can throw out 12 dice at ranges 2/3 and 16 at range 1.  Then I consider the abilities that these pilots offer, such as the ability to Focus and Target Lock onto enemy ships.  It goes without saying that when you look at firepower, you have to pay close attention to what Pilot Skill a ship has.  A higher pilot skill means they you'll be shooting first, and that's very important when it comes to deciding what kind of list you're building.  It might be a meta specific thing, but if you're looking to shoot before a swarm of Obsidian Pilot Ties (PS3), then PS4 Red Squadron Pilots would be something to look at.  If your meta is packing Academy Pilot Ties (PS1) without any means to buff them via Swarm Tactics, then you might want to consider a pair of Rookies or Blue Squadron instead and take R2 Astromechs for better maneuverability.  This is where the beauty of list building kicks in and things really start to get interesting.  I love it.

Aside from analyzing a list's firepower, one must pay close attention to what kind of ships he's fielding.  You have to realize as a player that with each ship lost, your firepower also decreases.  This can be huge when constructing an army worth something because you need a reliable way to do damage as the game goes on.  Putting all of your points into Super-Han might look like an awesome idea, but what if he goes down and you have nothing left that can do damage?  Every time you get one of your ships killed, you lose firepower on the battlefield.  For every bit of firepower that drops, so does your chances of winning.  After all, your ability to damage enemy ships on the battlefield is what's eventually going to win you the game.

When choosing your ships, you also have to look at their defensive stats.  In a list with 2x X-Wings and 2x B-Wings, you're looking at 26 total hull points from Hull and Shields combined.  This is absolutely huge compared to some of things you can take at 100 points.  Shields are gigantic in a game where the luck factor can see a crit rendering your engines, pilot or abilities inert.  With each B-Wing packing 5 shields before the 3 Hull, and X-Wings giving you 2 before the same, you feel good about the amount of durability on your side of the field.  Another thing to consider here is your ship dials and what kind of maneuvers your ships can pull off.  After all, you need to be able to fire on your enemy to do damage, so setting up the right angles is very important for fielding a list like this.  Sure, you have a godly number of total hull points, but you can't defend very well because of your relatively low agility and lack of evade tokens.  That's OK, we got a few tricks here with Advanced Sensors so we can pull off some wacky plays and maintain fire superiority.

Now, let's look at an Imperial list I've had success with lately:

It's a space station!

100 points

Soontir Fel
Push the Limit
Stealth Device
 
Saber Squadron Pilot
Push the Limit
 
Saber Squadron Pilot
Push the Limit
 
"Howlrunner"
Determination

On first glance, you'll notice that I have less overall firepower than my Rebel list in terms of sheer dice.  You're looking at 11 dice at 2/3 and 15 at range 1.  However, you have to factor into a few other things like PS and Howlrunner's ability to let me re-roll 1 attack dice per attack.  With both Fel and Howl shooting things before they have a chance to shoot back, and I'm getting re-rolls in combination with Focus, the damage potential for this list is pretty respectable.

Where the damage potential might be higher depending on the situation, the defensive side is very different.  When you compare this list with the 26 HP rebel list above, you can see a huge disparity of raw bulkiness.  The Imperial list featured here only has 12 total hull points, less than half of what the Rebel list can field and with the presence of NO shields at all.  No shields means you're susceptible to getting hit by crits that can do a number of bad things to your ships.  This includes but is not limited to receiving a Direct Hit! and dying instantly after you've already suffered a hit.

Don't panic though, Imperial pilots makes up for this in a number of ways.  The first is better movement dials to deal with faster speed, sharper turns, deeper K-Turns, and numerous green maneuvers to clear stress.  Second comes in the way of Barrel Roll, Boost, and Evade tokens.  As if this isn't enough, Push the Limit allows the Interceptors to enter combat with both offensive and defensive typing (Focus and Evade), as well as allowing the player to Boost and Barrel Roll back to back.  Setting up smart firing lanes is one thing, but not getting hit entirely while still being able to train enemy ships is something else.  With a natural 3 agility dice to throw when defending and being able to move like a UFO, this list represents the pinnacle in avoidance shooting.  Due to the complexity of movement and need to move as a squadron, rookie pilots tend to shy away from these kind of lists.  Quite fitting if you know anything about the elite 181st Imperial Fighter Wing.

Well, there you have it.  List building is very fun and intuitive in this game since every option feels viable to some degree.  All you have to know is find out what kind of ships molds your to particular playstyle and build a list around it.  It won't be easy with so many options, but hopefully this article will broaden your horizons.

X-Wing: Easy flying

Let's Push the Limit!

Over the course of the last two weeks, I've flown a crap ton of games in X-Wing.  I started off getting the feel of the game with Tie Interceptors and found out just how vulnerable they are to turret ships.  As the games went on, I started flying Rebel ships and tried out a whole number of viable builds for them too.

Here's what I've tried so far:

Imperials:
Howl + Swarm, Mauler + Vet, Dark Curse, Backstabber, 2x BSP + DTF
A strong list with lots of moving parts.  There's a reason why this list is so strong and its because it has a lot of bodies, ways to disperse damage, and a lot of attack dice that re-rolls.  I'd say this is a pretty medium difficulty list to fly and you have to know how to fly in formation.

Fel + PTL + Stealth, Turr + Vet + Stealth, Vader + Conc Missiles + Engine
With a little more than 9 HP total in your entire force, losing one ship means you're cutting down the firing power of your squad immensely.  You're essentially flying around with paper airplanes armed with daggers, so there's no room for error here.  Runs into a pretty hard counter if someone brings plentiful shields and turrets.

Fel, 2x Saber, Howl, all PTL
A little beefier than the above list above, but not as elite.  Still pretty strong because you get the firepower from three Interecptors, and you can play off the benefits of Push the Limit and Interceptor movement.  Howl is actually the most expendable because most of the damage is coming from your elite Sabers.

Fel + PTL + Stealth, Howl, Mauler + Vet, Backstabber, Winged Gundark
The same thing here really.  You're looking for Fel to lead in a group of Ties that will do good damage if played correctly.  It's basically a mini-Tie Swarm list but you're fielding Fel for an extra flanker and damage dealer.

Kath + PTL + Gunner + Engine, 2x Sabers + PTL
Here's a list with the Slave-1 rocking PTL + Engines to close and do damage with Focus and Gunner.  Sabers with PTL for additional firepower.  Gives me a little beef over the standard Imperial chicken.

Rebels:
Wedge + R2 + PTL + Engine, Luke + DTF + R2D2, Biggs + Shield
The supreme team, three amigos, holy trinity or whatever else corny name for a team goes here.  Biggs soaks up the shots and adds his firepower when he can, Luke DTFs any crits off of Biggs and then heals it up with R2D2, and Wedge just does what he does best:  Kill everyone.  This is probably the hardest list to fly here because of all the synergetic components that actually requires you to be in range.

Wedge + R2 + PTL, Biggs, 2x Rookies
A pretty straight forward list with 4x Xs here.  Wedge brings the pain, Biggs dies honorably while soaking up damage for your 2x Rookies to do damage.  Very straight forward, just push models forward and shoot.

Wedge, 2x B-Wing + Sensors, Rookie
B-Wings are essentially better X-Wings with their Advanced Sensors.  I don't know about you guys, but I've seen these things do pretty ridiculous things, including Focus K-Turns or barrel roll craziness.  Why do they have 5 shields and 3 damage dice again?  Who knows, add Wedge and a Rookie for good taste.

Han + Marks + Gunner + Chewie, 2x Rookies
Super Han goes in there and does good damage while people freak out and ignore the 2x Rookies.  Big mistake here because the Rookies actually do good damage.

Han + Marks, Chewie + DTF + Gunner + Recon
I need a shower after playing this list.  I've only played it once and my opponent had some 2x Interceptor build with some Ties.  It was just bad times with him because of all the traffic jamming and me congo-lining through his army until there was nothing left.

Overview:
From what I've noticed in all of my games, I always feel that I have a much harder game with Imperials.  Even when piloting something like the Tie Swarm (which a lot of players see as played out and overly strong to begin with), I still have to be mindful of my movement at all times.  With the Elite Interceptor builds totaling 9 HP total, there's absolutely no room for error.  Even with you're playing your movements well, bad dice and poor evade rolls can still mean the end for your ships.

Slow and steady wins the race.

When I compare this with the Rebel ships, I feel like most of the time I can joust for days and just K-Turn as many times as I want.  Poor firing arcs are negated by having shields, the same with crit damage for the most part.  When one of my Interceptors get hit by a crit, they always get smacked with something like damage sensor array, damaged engine, or worst of all, direct hit.  The fact that B-Wings are packing 5 shields and put out as much damage as a an X-Wing is pretty ridiculous.  Target Locks are one of the best actions in the game to take when someone is out of your firing arc, giving you a drastic damage boost if one simple prediction goes wrong.  Lastly, the slower flying speed of the Rebel ships allow you to take advantage of your shooting phase a lot more.  Between the plentiful Target Locks, turrets and shields, combat seems to be a lot more intuitive than Imperial ships.

This is just my observation from two solid weeks of hardcore gaming.  I love the game to death and I feel there's still tons more to explore, but I can't help but think that Rebels are just easier to fly.  Good thing I chose Imperials.

X-Wing: Some more observations

Let's do this.

After a good amount of X-Wing games under my belt, I'm feeling pretty good about my game overall.  Having piloted both Imperial and Rebel ships, I still think Imperial is my favorite.  Don't get me wrong, I love how some Rebel ships play off each other and start the synergy train.  One of my favorite lists to pilot is the Holy Trinity or Three Amigos; Wedge, Luke and Biggs.  That list just has a lot of flavor on top of the fun, which is always nice when throwing down on some games.

Tonight, I played 2 games vs. some friends of mine, and I really think my Soontir Fel is cursed.  He has a nasty habit of just dying from pretty unseen circumstances and it's probably my fault in the first place.  The best thing to do with Interceptors is to do your damage and get out, but no, after some miscalculation on my part, Fel makes a hard right turn into a clusterfuck of guys and loses out on his action.  I'll tell you one thing:  This is what gets Fel killed the most.  Any Interceptor without action is as good as dead.  Unless you roll like a god (which I did NOT), the chances of you getting focused down is pretty high.  Anyways, in the first game ;Fel takes 2 damage from Concussion Missiles and then manages to clip a asteroid and explode.  In the second game, my opponent rolls 3 hits from long range, I roll 5 evade from range 3 + Stealth Device and roll straight blanks.  I don't know what kind of nonsense is that, but the last two games have been pretty bad for Fel.

Despite the bad rolls, I still think Fel is my favorite pilot in the game.  His ability to remain combat effective after boosting and barrel rolling due to Push the Limit is amazing.  I just love how much flexibility he has with the ability to stay super defensive with Evade + 2x Focus, or maneuver into a position where he can deal damage without return fire.  For this reason, I kept him and changed the rest of my list.

Here's what I'm currently packing for Imperials:

A lot of elite pilots up in hurr.

100 points

Soontir Fel + PTL + Stealth Device
Howlrunner
Mauler Mithel + Veteran Instincts
Backstabber
Winged Gundark

I'm really liking this mini-Howl list with 4 named Ties led by Soontir Fel.  If I need all the damage that I can get, I fly the ships as close together as possible so everyone gets the benefit from Howlrunner.  Otherwise, Fel goes on a flanking mission and attacks whatever he can get once he hard turns in.  With his superior agility and PTL for extra focus, he can change direction and charge into the fray ASAP.

In the first game I played tonight, my friend Chad was caught off-guard with the damage potential coming in from these elite pilots.  Being a 100 point list, he had the Initiative and this game me a better chance at out-maneuvering him.  Since I had higher Pilot Skill on most of my guys, I was able to secure some fast kills, downing both an A-Wing and B-Wing in good time while tragically losing one of my ships due to all blank evades.  I swear something is wrong with my greens!  In the second game I played vs. Norm, in the opening volley from his Luke and Wedge, 6 hits translated into 5 blanks on evade for me, losing both Gundark and Backstabber in before they even got to fire.  I think it's time I look into new dice... or something.

Anyway, the list is pretty simple.  Fly tight and focus big ships like the Falcon with everyone, or pounce forward with the group of 4 ties flying in good formation while flanking with Fel.  This gives me a total of 15 hull points to play with instead of 9, 11 attack dice with Howlrunner re-roll at ranges 2-3, and 16 at range 1, with two pilots shooting at PS9.  At least I know with this, I have a much better chance at killing Falcon lists because of the increased firepower.

X-Wing: Let's try another list

In Vader we trust.

Alright, this is proving a little more difficult than I thought.  There are quite a few options when dropping Carnor Jax from the list because I don't think he's worth it.  Having 3 more hull points and another ship to damage is a very good thing.  The key to making a successful list at this point is to make feint importance and make it so every model on the table is a threat somehow.  Whether this is Soontit Fel by himself, or his wingman Turr Phennir flying hard flank, or the two named Ties coming straight in, it's all good.

Here's what the list currently looks like:

100 points

Soontir Fel

Push the Limit

Stealth Device

Targeting Computer

Royal Guard TIE

 

Turr Phennir

Veteran Instincts

Stealth Device

Targeting Computer

Royal Guard TIE

 

"Mauler Mithel"

Veteran Instincts

 

"Backstabber"

The Elite 4.

With this list, I'm going for more hull points and more potential damage in the ways of Mauler Mithel and Backstabber.  This puts the list's pilot skills up to 9/9/9/6 and increases the total hull points to 12 from 9.  I'm planning to take Soonit Fel and Turr Phennir in every single Imperial list I make from here on, but everything else is adjustable.  I know, this doesn't really leave many options, but I really like the fluff and look of the 181st Saber Squadron.  Nevermind, I take that back:  I bought a Slave 1 last night so I'll be making some lists with that in the near future.

Here's the tricky part with the above list:  I can drop Targeting Computer from Turr and get Howlrunner to run with my list.  Likewise, I can drop Mauler Mithel completely and replace it with Howlrunner.  The problem with running Howl in my list is that she really works better with more ships.  What really sucks is that if I take Howlrunner in my lists, I'm begging myself to fly in formation just so I can utilize her special ability to shoot better.  With Tie Interceptors, this doesn't work well because standard Tie Fighters can't really keep pace with them.  With Targeting Computer as an option, they also don't benefit too much from Howl's re-roll.  With that said, Howl's also a giant target on the battlefield.  I feel that if I want to take her, I'll want to take her with protection and thus, increase her points cost.  That's something I want to avoid as I'd rather have regular Tie Fighters that can do good damage by themselves.

It's all good, the above is the list I'm going to run for a few games and see what happens.