In-depth Look TIE Reaper

As a larger, more intimidating version of the TIE/sk Striker, the TIE Reaper brings the same Adaptive Ailerons pre-activation move when not stressed, while having different upgrade slots and a larger base.

With an interesting Action bar showing Focus, Evade, [Red] Co-Ordinate, and Jam, the TIE Reaper is a useful ship with some great options for offense as well as support or control.

At Initiative 1, the Scarif Base Pilot continues to offer a non-limited pilot that can mix well with other non-limited pilots on an equal level depending on where you look.  The points are fairly reasonable for the ship frame and the available access to upgrades.

With 2 Crew upgrade slots available, the TIE Reaper can provide many different roles at Initiative 1 to bolster your forces or cause frustration for the opponent you face.

Vizier gives you an extra point of Initiative and a White Co-Ordinate after your Adaptive Ailerons manoeuvre, for the low cost of four extra points over a Scarif Base Pilot, and skipping your Perform Action Step of activation.  This opens some opportunities up nicely, with an acceptable cost, especially if you plan of bumping another sip with your dial manoeuvre, coupled with avoiding the Stress of the native Co-Ordinate action.  When used this way, if you are looking at crew options, those with passive benefits can be of great help here, as can Minister Tua, as, once the shields are gone, you can start shutting down your ailerons and Reinforcing for some added survivability.

Captain Feroph sits at a nice, current 47 points, with the ability to switch a blank or Focus result to an Evade as long as your opponent doesn’t have a Green token.  This brings the Jam action into play a bit more for the Reaper, perhaps adding in some ISB Slicers, to keep tokens around until the next round.   This could also open up Jamming Beams, dependant on the list build you have chosen.  While it means Captain Feroph may stuggle without offensive modifications, Agent Kallus, for example, could work nicely.

Sitting opposite in ability with Captain Feroph is Major Vermeil, switching a Blank or Focus result to a Hit when the target lacks a Green Token.  As with Captain Feroph, watch out for Focus, Evade, Calculate, and Reinforce, judicious use of Jam can, again, make triggering the ability far easier.  All this for only 49 (currently) points, and the TIE Reaper can be something that should be taken seriously as a threat.

The TIE Reaper dial isn’t awful, for a medium-based ship, and can lend itself nicely to a Talent like Elusive, while the larger base can make triggering Predator or Marksmanhip a little easier too.  Regarding other upgrades, there has been talk of Angled Deflectors being useful on a TIE Reaper, sacrificing a shield in return for being able to Reinforce, but, that can impact the triggering of abilities on the Limited pilots.

All in all, I do think the TIE Reaper is in a good place at the moment, when flown by somebody who can grapple with the Medium Base, as, even a year after release, is still somewhat difficult for the more casual players, myself included.

Event Types – What’s Attractive?

So, with Wave 2 firmly released now, even if there are still issues with the FFG App, we can see a large number of alternate formats for designing events, adding flavour to casual games, and generally fiddling with the methods of list building to constrain, limit, and eliminate some of the most popular ships and pilots around.  While not always a bad idea, sometimes, these limits can leave a format rather boring to try and engage with.  At least, in my opinion.

We have, as you can see:

• Extended
• Hyperspace
• No Glory
• Playing Favourites v2
• Battle of Yavin
• Season of Giving
• Evacuation of D’qar

Extended:

Long-time collectors, with conversion kits, can use almost every ship they possess, with every upgrade available for the new edition, and is constantly up to date with each new wave released.

Hyperspace:

Hyperspace gives you selected ships, pilots, and upgrades, all of which can be found in either the FFG Squad Builder app/website, or here in the Points PDF files at the bottom of the page.

No Glory:

No Glory gives you access to non-limited pilots only, basically, anything without a name.  This carries over into upgrades as well.  If it’s a character, then it won’t be present.

Playing Favourites v2:

Playing Favourites gives you a certain pilot for every ship, but, it appears to have unrestricted access to upgrades.

Battle of Yavin:

Battle of Yavin restricts you to those characters who appeared at the Battle of Yavin in A New Hope.  Which, for Scum and Villainy players, leaves them out in the cold with nothing.

Season of Giving:

Season of Giving, again, restricts you to certain pilots in, it looks like, all available ships for a given faction.  Crew upgrades appear to be restricted as well.

Evacuation of D’Qar:

the Evacuation of D’Qar, like Battle of Yavin, restricts you to factions and pilots seen during that scene in The Last Jedi.

So, we have a list of game-modes that are available to use.  I have an event at Ace in Colchester in January that has chosen the Playing Favourites v2 format.  So, I need to pick a faction and what I want to take with me.  200 points is the standard limit here, so, let’s take a look at my favourite ships to use, and whether any of my preferred pilots/upgrades are available.

Rebel Alliance:

T-65 X-Wing – Luke Skywalker, Heightened Perception, R3 Astromech, Munitions Failsafe, Servomotor S-Foils.  79 points.

Modified YT-1300 – Chewbacca, Selfless, Perceptive Copilot, Jyn Erso, Hull Upgrade, Hotshot Gunner, Millennium Falcon.  115 points.

Total: 194/200

Total Health: 20.

A two ship list hasn’t done as well as it used to since the new edition release, but, maybe this list has enough teeth to get the job done.  This is option 1, and the only Rebel list I feel comfortable is potentially flying, seeing as I am missing out on Wedge Antilies, Gavin Darklighter, and Jek Porkins.

Galactic Empire:

TIE/d Defender – Onyx Squadron Ace, Juke, Fire-Control System.  85 Points.

TIE Advanced x1 – Maarek Stele, Outmanoeuvre, Fire-Control System, Cluster Missiles.  64 Points.

TIE/sa Bomber – Captain Jonus, Trick Shot, Proton Torpedoes, Proton Bombs.  51 Points.

Total 200/200

Total Health 18.

Without a Phantom that can take a Talent upgrade, and the vanishing of Vader, the Galactic Empire seem to be at a huge disadvantage.  However, maybe Jonus can help bolster Maarek, while the Defender goes around doing its thing, and perhaps targeting ships after Maarek and Jonus have stripped their tokens.  One thing is fairly clear though, the Bomber will be the most vulnerable ship here, while the Defender and TIE Advanced x1 will have to slow themselves down a bit in order to keep the bomber effective.

I haven’t decided which list to take to Ace yet, but, maybe some ideas will come to me as to the effectiveness of each list.  I can’t say, honestly, that I was excited for the event once I saw the restrictions, but, maybe that will change as it approaches and I potentially get some more practice in.

What is your experience of using alternate formats?  Are you looking forward to the restrictions placed on the upcoming Hyperspace Trials?

As always, leave a comment and share your thoughts.

In-depth Look Modified TIE/ln Fighter

The Modified TIE/ln Fighter, or, Mining Guild TIE is a new addition to the ranks of the Scum and Villainy.  At 24 points and with a Modification upgrade slot, the Mining Guild Sentry offers a great swarm option for the Scum and Villainy.  A great aspect of the Modified TIE/ln Fighter is the Notched Stabilisers ship ability, allowing you to ignore asteroids while moving.  A note of caution though, your opponents will attempt to outfox you by bringing debris clouds.

With the Focus, Evade, and Barrel Roll actions, there isn’t much difference between this and the basic TIE/ln fighter found in the Galactic Empire.

Despite thinking about swarming up, I’ve used a pair of Modified TIE/ln Fighters alongside Han Solo in Lando’s Millennium Falcon, and Outer Rim Pioneer, and 4-LOM to make best use of the obstacle field.  Even parking on top of asteroids will no longer be an issue while in Range 0-1 of the Pioneer.

The Mining Guild Surveyor clocks in at only 25 points for access to the Talent slot, and an extra point of Initiative.  This is another version that would swarm up well, especially packing Trick Shot.

With 6 Mining Guild Surveyors and an Outer Rim Pioneer, all armed with Trick Shot, carrying Tobias Beckett for last minute obstacle changes, seems like it will give a decent account of itself.

Overseer Yushyn is the same points and Initiative as a Mining Guild Surveyor, but without access to the Talent slot.  However, being able to swap a Weapons Disabled token for a Stress token is rather large for ships that utilise the Reload action, being able to reload and then fire is rather useful.  Sure, you become stressed, but, many ships will be able to cope with that easily enough.

An interesting use for Overseer Yushyn could utilise pilots like Emon Azzameen and a pair of Crymorah Goons.  Multiple uses for their devices or ordinance for even more shenanigans, you can always swap out one of the Goons for Boba Crew on Emon and add in an Outer Rim Pinoeer.

Captain Seevor is fairly great if you can keep him out of the Bullseye arc of an enemy ship.  Being able to Jam a ship to rob it of its green token or Lock while it’s attacking you is fairly strong.  At 28 points, it’s not going to limit you too much on what else you spend your points on.

Adding Predator to Captain Seevor while providing more tempting targets can give you the edge, while Ketsu Onyo can pull ships into the position you want them in while dealing damage, and IG-88A makes for a great alternate target too.

Ahhav has been the butt of many jokes since reveal, but has a rather strong ability.  Under the right circumstances, Ahhav can put out 5 attack dice, and doesn’t require the opponent to have any particular tokens.  Being more effective than ships on a Medium or Large base give Ahhav a distinct advantage while there are other, more tempting targets available.

Adding Ahhav with Trick Shot to a list containing an Outer Rim Pioneer, Unkar Plutt and Bossk gives your opponent three different ships to target, allowing you to set up your ideal engagement.  The Hound’s Tooth is set up to be difficult to kill, while Unkar Plutt is there to pull the larger ships into position for Ahhav to get that ideal shot.

Foreman Proach has an interesting ability whereby he gains a Disarm token at the start of his engagement, and assigns a Tractor token to a ship at Range 1-2 in his Bullseye arc.  This can be great for denying an enemy a shot at him by pulling them onto an Asteroid, or even pushing them out of arc completely.

I do feel I might have made a mistake with building a list for Foreman Proach, thinking that Overseer Yushyn can change that Disarm to a Stress and still allow Proach to fire.  I’m not sure whether the Replacement Effects rule would trigger here.  That being said, there are more than enough Tractor tokens being thrown about by the list to give even Large based ships pause for thought.

So, there’s a look at the Modified TIE/ln Fighter used by the Mining Guild.  Rather an interesting ship, with a change to the dial over the TIE/ln FIghter, not quite as fast, and a bit more difficult to shed stress, but, able to ignore Asteroids while moving.  All in all, not a terrible ship at all, and adds a decent swarm option to the Scum and Villainy faction.

Got some other ideas on how to utilise this ship on the table?  Leave a comment and share your ideas.

Tacticia – Firing Arcs

Taking a brief break from working through mistakes of previous games, until a game can be played via vassal, for a turn by turn picture of what happens once we learn from our mistakes.

The subject of firing arcs came up during a chat, and whether it was difficult, easy, or something else.

As we know, there are many types of firing arc to consider, and different triggers, but with symbols that can mean somewhat different things, meaning we have to interpret the meaning, if there isn’t a clear answer.

First up, the basic Primary Forward firing arc.  Almost every ship has this shaded in in the front V of their ship tile, as the A-Wing above shows.

This is usually the arc used for Primary Weapons, Missiles, Torpedoes, and Cannon upgrades, as well as Fearless, Outmanoeuvre and a few other Talents, and some great pilot abilities.

Next, the Turret Primary.  Some ships have a Mobile Primary fire arc as shown by the Jumpmaster 5,000 above.  This means they need to rotate their arc, usually as an action in order to assure a shot.

It’s important to note that the Mobile Primary fire arc cannot trigger abilities that specify specific arcs, as far as I am aware because the Mobile Arc doesn’t count as any other arc.

I could be wrong in cases of Bull’s Eye arc, but, we’ll get to that one shortly.

The 180 Degree fire arc is available to certain ships such as the pictured YV-666 Light Freighter and the Auzituck Gunship.  This gives you coverage across the full front of the base to half-way down the sides.

Like with the Mobile Primary arc, the 180 Degree fire arc cannot trigger Forward Primary arc abilities or talents.  It is able to trigger Bull’s Eye arc abilities though.

The Double Turret Primary arc gives you a firing position which covers a forward/backwards or left/right situation, potentially allowing two rounds of shooting with the correct upgrades and enemy positions.

Again, only certain effects can be activated with this type of arc.

This is slightly rarer, a ship with a Forward Primary arc and a Turret arc.  Useful for abilities that require something to be in an arc, and to potentially allow a bonus attack, depending on upgrades chosen.

While the Forward Primary can activate the specific abilities, in general, the turret won’t be able to.

The Forward/Rear arcs.  Available to a select number of ships, which usually have their own rules regarding usage and abilities.  However, very useful when you joust an opponent or something strays behind you at the right time.

Bull’s Eye Arc:

I do believe every ship has a Bull’s Eye arc printed on it’s tile, if I’m wrong, please say so.  This usually extends no more than the width of the movement templates across the front of the base up to Range 3, and is required for many abilities, talents, and even some weapons.

I am pretty sure that, even with a mobile arc, if a ship is in that particular area, it is still considered to be in the Bull’s Eye arc.  Which does allow for some interesting upgrades.

Upgrade Arcs:

All weapons will show an arc that can be used in order to attack with said weapon.  Some of these will be available on the ship tile, while others won’t be.

The best example of this, is the Jumpmaster 5,000, with its Mobile Primary arc, equipping a set of Proton Torpedoes.  Now, the way I am abotu to say this might be slightly wrong, if so, forgive me.  When the Jumpmaster 5,000 declares the use of Proton Torpedoes, it gains a Forward Arc, even if its Mobile Primary arc is pointed elsewhere.  That Arc is only ever present for the resolution of the attack.

The same would apply for a Missile-toting YT-1300 or a Cannon toting YV-666.  Whatever arc is stated is the arc that is used, regardless of the base tile.

This is where things get interesting.

Unless an ability clearly states that it can only be affected by Primary Weapons, like Fearless or Crack Shot, it will work with the special attacks, for example, a YV-666 with an Ion Cannon using Outmanoeuvre, in an attempt to push through a greater chance of causing Ion tokens to be dealt.  Whereas if it used its primary weapons with the 180 Degree arc, it wouldn’t trigger.

Lining Up:

I’ve seen or heard people avoiding certain upgrades because they feel the Bull’s Eye arc is too difficult to line up often enough to be effective.

I’ll be honest here, and say that I disagree.

By having a plan in mind, including alternates for different situations, you should be able to trigger any Bull’s Eye effects more often than not.  Conversely, if you know your opponent is relying on them, you should be working to avoid being there at all times.

Larger based ships, in general, are the easiest to catch in the Bull’s eye, simply because there is so much base to find.  Similarly, Medium based ships will be slightly more difficult, but, nowhere near impossible.  The difficulty is the Small based ships.  However, with some sneaky tactics, maybe involving some luring, or even a balls-to-the-wall speed joust, it should be eminently doable.  You just have to plan how to do it.

Summary:

One thing to remember, when looking at Mobile arcs, especially, is whether you can afford to lose an action, or be caught with your arc facing the wrong way.  Support ships with Co-Ordinate or the Agile Gunner can help to mitigate this though.

When building your lists, have a think about what arcs you are choosing, and whether they are right for the job you want.  Is the ship highly priced?  Is it capable of doing what you want it to?  How many extra points do you have to put in to it to make is do what you want?

As an example, the Rebel Alliance YT-1300 is nearly 100 points, on it’s own with Han Solo flying it.  Adding upgrades is quickly going to leave you with roughly 50 to spend on a wingman.  Sure, it draws the fire, and can dish out some fire too, but, against three or four ships, it’s going to be bracketed fairly quickly.  However, if you are looking at flying straight up the middle of the enemy formation, you’d be hard-pressed to find a ship that can joust with a left/right fire arc, fire out both sides with a Veteran Turret Gunner, turn around, and do it again.

So, to wrap things up for now, don’t get caught out when building a list, because not all upgrades will work with every ship.  If you are ever in doubt, feel free to double check either the Rules Reference Guide, or in your favourite Facebook group or the FFG forums.  The only stupid question is one unasked.  If I’ve missed anything, or gotten something not quite right, please, get in touch.

Tacticia – The Plan

So, we have chosen our Obstacles while planning where we want them, we have looked at our opponent’s list and decided on our deployment type, it’s time to begin the openings of our plan.

Let’s take a look at the lists involved here:

The Imperial list is an approximation of what I faced at the weekend, while the Rebel Alliance list is the one I used.

Using this example, as the Rebels, I’m going to want to advance slowly, using the E-Wing to take a Turn 1 Lock on both the Punisher and the Interceptor while the X=Wings advance slowly and taking a focus token.  Nothing too scary here, while we can expect the TIE/ph Phantom to head forward and cloak, the Punisher to, perhaps slow roll, in order to keep up with and support Fel while not overtaking him, being on the slightly larger base.

If things work that way for you, then you are in luck.

A first turn that the Rebel Alliance would be proud to face, as it plays exactly to their advantages.

The last thing you want to do is to get too close before you are ready, and, should that happen, you really should have a backup plan to alter your outcomes.

As you can see, the Redline and Soontir Fel have approached far faster than the Rebels were ready for.

So, the question is, as your desired engagement outcome does not look likely, and there can be no exchange of fire this turn, how would you proceed?

Now, there are some options that do depend largely on your list, that can assist you in trying to bring the engagement on to your terms.  One such thing is to have a cheap, low Initiative pilot in a fast ship to tempt your opponent into diving towards it.  Perhaps upgraded just enough to make it tempting, and dangerous if it’s ignored.  Perhaps you decide on a Primary Weapons only list that doesn’t rely on range-limited munitions such as Torpedoes.

While you can attempt to anticipate every eventuality in the list-building stage, you can guide an engagement with Obstacle placement as well as your deployment and opening move, you are going to be caught out by a super-aggressive opening from your opponent, or even a slow and cautious approach.  Have a plan, and have two or three variations of said plan, just in case, and so you don’t panic when something strange happens.

To that end, sometimes working on Vassal, when you are thinking about a list can be to your advantage.  It can give you some ideas on how to create a backup plan to many outcomes you could face.  Play solo, or even ask somebody random in the X-Wing Vassal server for a game, if you can’t get to the table often enough to understand your list.

Let’s leave that there for now, as we have the outline, and two possible openings we have to deal with.  The next part of this mini-series will go over some options that can limit unexpected outcomes from the first turn or two.

Tacticia – Advanced Manoeuvring

Advanced Manoeuvring is when you perform certain manoeuvres that aren’t generally available to all ships.  These manoeuvres are usually Red, unless you have a way to alter the difficulty, which means that, in general, you will receive a Stress token and be unable to perform an action.

The Reverse Manoeuvre is the simplest of the advanced manoeuvres to begin with.  Basically, you dial in the manoeuvre you wish to take, and place the template into the Rear Guides of the ship base, pick up the ship, and place it so the Front Guides are at the opposite end of the template from where you started.

The biggest question around the Reverse Manoeuvre is when to perform it.  Are you attempting to maintain a firing arc in preparation for the Engagement Phase?  Are you attempting to get out of range of a Bomb?  Are you attempting a block or bump?

Two ships that can perform the Reverse Manoeuvre are the Quadrijet Transfer Space Tug and Sheathipede Class Shuttle.  Both ships have vastly different roles in a list as well as differing Initiative levels.

Reversing can be a great way to pull yourself out of range after hinting you are going to go a different route, or even to draw an opponent into a position you want them in.

The Segnor’s Loop is, basically, a bendy Kiogoran Turn for a select number of ships.  This can be great for getting into position around areas of the board where an allied ship won’t have room, either because a K-Turn would end up on an obstacle, or the firing arc requirements aren’t right.

The Tallon Roll is, at its best, a rather fancy barrel roll with extended board movement.  Great for some interesting turns to gain a firing arc while avoiding return fire.

2 T-65 X-Wings and an E-Wing get ready to change their position.

As you can see, either dodging an obstacle, or replacing that with an enemy ship, you can see how powerful a move like this can be, even if it does leave you stressed afterwards.  However, there are some ships that either don’t mind being stressed, or, rather enjoy being stressed, such as Ten Numb or Braylen Stramm in their A/SF-01 B-Wings.

Of course, it’s not just small ships or even 3-speed manoeuvres that apply here.

As you can see here, both the ASF-01 B-Wing and Fang Fighter can make turns other ships would have much more trouble doing, as well as in much tighter spaces.  The Firespray-Class Patrol Craft, on its medium base can cover more ground than the smaller based ships with its Tallon Roll.

The YT-1300, with its 3-speed Sengor’s Loop can also cover a rather large amount of space, gaining either position for both firing arcs or gets out of danger that much quicker.

In general, there is no real hard and fast rule when it comes to using any of these manoeuvres apart from ensuring that is the right decision for the table situation.  The last thing you want to do is Tallon Roll or Sengor’s Loop, and end up with an enemy ship behind you at Range 1.

While it can make you doubt yourself, to intentionally receive stress, there is no real debating the fact it can be used effectively.  The main thing here is to practice, as much as possible.  FlyCasual gives you an interesting method for this, or check around on Vassal if you can’t get table time sorted often enough.

Got some other ideas about using these manoeuvres?  Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

 

Tacticia – Obstacle Choices and Deployments

Whether you are attending an Organised Play event or just playing on any space that is 3’x3′, you are going to have thought about which obstacles you want to use, and why.  Do they synergise well with your list?  Will they get in the way of your opponent?  Are you taking the biggest you can for maximum effect of your Seismic Charges?

When it comes to choosing obstacles, there is as much to think about as there is the will to grab whichever ones are to hand and make do.  I’ve watched on streams where people have discussed how they want the obstacle field to look, the reasoning behind their placement, and how they hope to guide their opponent into placing the obstacles in a manner that is most beneficial to them.  I’ll be honest, I’ve not figured out how to do that yet.  I guess it must be an experience-based thing.

The full, current range of obstacles available if you had the First Edition of X-Wing.

As you can see above, the range of obstacles is rather large, especially if you had access to both the Original Core Set and The Force Awakens Core Set, alongside the VT-49 Decimator and the YT-2400 Light Freighter.

However, if you are new to X-Wing, it is likely that the above obstacles are all you’ll have, and that’s fine too.

Obstacles come in two different types, both with different effects.  First up, you have the asteroids.  Free-floating lumps of rock, that, if your manoeuvre template overlaps during activation or your ship’s base overlaps after moving, causes you to miss your Perform Action step, roll an attack die and suffer either a Hit damage or a Critical damage, (usually only important if you don’t have shields), and lose your turn to shoot if your base is overlapping.

Debris, on the other hand, gives you a stress token and damage if you roll a Critical result.  You can still fire while sitting on a Debris field, which makes it more attractive in the short term.

Above, you can see a selection of upgrades available that allow you to either ignore obstacles or their effects, or, actually benefit yourself when shooting through them.  There are also a few pilots, such as Dash Rendar for the Rebel Alliance or Scum and Villainy’s own Han Solo in Lando’s Millennium Falcon that either ignore or benefit from a cluttered table, so much so, they could take a Rigged Cargo Chute to add to the obstacles.

In some cases taking a mix of both Asteroids and Debris can give you a wide open field in which to fly, which is especially important for large-based ships that can’t benefit from or ignore them, but, does leave you with less hiding options.

One common tactic when placing obstacles is to use a 2×2 approach, which is Range 2 from both edges, giving you a corner to guide you for when you are going to perform a K-Turn, it allows you to have a guide for how much space you have.

Another open type of obstacle deployment where each object is at Range 2 of the deployment edge, and Range 1 from the other obstacles in the row.  Again, you have your corner marks for K-Turns as well as a guide for range finding in the opening turns.

Some people prefer the larger obstacles because they cover more of the board and force you to think a lot more about where you are flying, while others prefer smaller obstacles because it gives you more space to concentrate on the opponent, rather than worrying about whether you are going to have to constantly dodge a rock.

Simply put, there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to obstacle choices and placement.  What counts almost as much is how you want your list to interact with them.  Of course, a valid choice can be to load up on Seismic Charges to clear the board, especially if you know your opponent is going to be relying on them.

Have you got any thoughts about the importance, or not, of Obstacle selection?  Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Tacticia – Blocking and Tactical Bumping

Blocking is causing an enemy to intentionally ‘bump’ or overlap one of your ships in order to either keep them in areas you wish them to be in, or, to just deny an action.

As a tactical ploy, this is rather a strong one when you guess right, as not only have you denied the target ship an action, but, you’ll also, usually, have performed your own action before hand, if using low initiative pilots to block the enemy.

Here we see Luke ‘bumping’ into an Academy Pilot as he partially completes a manoeuvre and losing his action step.

While Luke Skywalker probably isn’t the best example to use because of his Force Tokens, perhaps think of Wedge there instead, it still illustrates how 3 Initiative 1 pilots have caught a higher Initiative pilot out, and denied modifications or a reposition, depending on what the player would have chosen.  Generally, this will mean you have pulled off the tactic perfectly.  However, blocking is not always in your best interests…

The Academy Pilot thought he’d pulled off an excellent block, until he realised Norra was equipped with Intimidation and ‘Zeb’ Orrelios.

Sometimes, you will want to avoid getting bumped, or, as a higher Initiative pilot, cause the bump yourself.  In the above example, Norra Wexley in the Arc-170 has both Intimidation and ‘Zeb” Orrelios, not only reducing the TIE/ln Fighters agility by 1, but, is also allowed to attack at Range 0, what’s more, she will also benefit from the extra attack die for Range too.  So, for Norra, that’s 4 attack dice against the two of the TIE/ln Fighter.  Should the TIE/ln FIghter survive, the it could return fire at Norra, rolling its 3 attack dice, agaisnt her 1 defense die, but, here is where Norra’s ability comes in, and she adds an Evade result to her roll.

‘Zeb’ is a staple on a ship that you want to bump if you are confident you can destroy it before it fires back.

There are many cheap ships and pilots out there that can take the Intimidation Talent, either for use themselves if they have a way to attack at Range 0 or to just be used to lower agility, perhaps in combination with a Tractor Token from somewhere.

As a Talent designed for bumping, Intimidation gives you a decent advantage.

At the moment, the ability to attack at Range 0 is somewhat limited, either by Core Rules for Primary Weapons, or, minimum ranges for special attacks like the Cannon, Turret, Missile, and Torpedo upgrade, however, if you have the ability to manipulate the range of Special Attacks, you can also use them at Range 0.

Rules Reference Page 14

 

Major Rhymer allowing certain special attacks at Range 0.

With the distinction between special and primary weapons clear, Major Rhymer shows that the Imperials have ways to fire at Range 0 too, meaning a bump may, or may not, be a valid tactic here.

Well, there’s some talk around blocking and tactical bumping, which, I hope is somewhat useful to those who may be new to the game.

Have you got a favourite list which works around bumping, or suggestions on how to actually force the bump when you can’t tell what your opponent is thinking?

Tacticia – To Swarm Or Not To Swarm – Part 3 Scum and Villainy

When it comes to swarming up, the Scum and Villainy have a fair few options themselves, usually from the larger organisations and cartels that aid in making up their faction.

Just like the Rebel Alliance, the Scum and Villainy have access to the humble Z-95-AF4 Headhunter

The Scum and Villainy can produce a swarm of 8 Binayre Pirates who, while being Initiative 1, can still produce a huge amount of fire power.  Many people discount the 2 attack dice at Range 2-3 that can be thrown, but, when you are rolling often, you are playing the odds that they will begin to run out of modifications and tricks to counter the sheer weight of fire they are suffering.  On the occasional roll, a 2 dice defense will usually do ok.  But, the more rolls you are forced to make, the harder it feels like you are going to actually evade anything.

You can drop 1 Z-95-AF4 Headhunter and upgrade the other 7 to Black Sun Soldiers with Crack Shot to intimidate your opponent even more.

The Cartel Spacer equipped with a Tractor Beam can make things incredibly difficult for even the nimblest ship.

The M3-A Interceptor gives you up to 6 ships while using the Cartel Spacer where the only variable is on how you want to arm them.  By going with Cannon upgrades, you are reducing your reliance on Target Locks (even though you should probably have one anyway), in order to get your attacks off.  The mixture demonstrated in the link enables your Ion Cannons to potentially begin firing at a target that has its agility reduced by a Tractor Beam.

The Jakku Gunrunner, in such numbers is extremely intimidating.

This brings us around to one of the cheapest ships you can field multiples of, with a fun ship ability, the Quadrijet Transfer Spacetug, or, Quadjumper.  Putting 7 Quadjumpers on the table is certainly goign to be an experience.  2 should be able to pull, push, or roll even a large-base ship into a difficult position, and, if you dare, even push them off the board, by leaving them with no other manoeuvre option, trusting your numbers to allow it to happen.  While they only have 2 offensive dice as standard, sheer weight of fire should prove out in the long term, even against Aces, as you have the opportunity to place them into difficult positions and potentially denying a shot.

I’m sure there are creative people out there who are rather interested in what else they could put together in a swarm for the Scum and Villainy faction.  Perhaps 5 BTL-A4 Y-Wings with turrets?  Whatever you manage to fly in a swarm situation, please, leave a comment and get involved.

Tacticia – To Swarm Or Not To Swarm Part 2 Galactic Empire

To continue this mini-series inside a series, we look at the swarm options for the Galactic Empire.  The most obvious of which are the numerous TIE/ln Fighters.

When looking at just the TIE/ln Fighter, one of the biggest calls to make is on how many ships you want, then you get to decisions on Initiative, Talent availability, and whether to include a Limited pilot up to the First Player bid you want to take.

8 Obsidian Squadron Pilots showing 2 different formations that could be used.

With up to 8 TIE/ln Fighters available you have quite a few options that don’t cut down on number of ships you have available, depending on the Initiative you choose, and whether Limited pilots are chosen.  As you can see above, the biggest benefit to a large number of ships is the area covered by their firing arcs.  As you are flying a large number of low Initiative pilots, this concentration of fire is key.  It also reduces the number of ships you should lose per round as each ship demonstrated above has a high agility value, making it somewhat harder to hit.

The TIE/ph Phantom is a force to be reckoned with in multiple numbers.

One swarm list I’ve heard about around the internet is a list of 4 Sigma Squadron Aces all with Juke.  Having tried this out on FlyCasual agains the AI, I was rather impressed.  With the fun of finding out where ships end up after decloaking, the Evade action granted by their Stygium Array, you can outfox even the highest of Initiative pilots, while knocking their defenses down, especially if they spent their Focus token during their attack.

Due to the nature of the TIE/ph Phantom, there are, generally, two ways to fly a mini-swarm of them.  Either in pairs, whether offset as shown, or as a single block, like shown in the TIE/ln Fighter example.  Both ways offer overlapping fields of fire, and both give you an the means to focus your own fire.  With a 3 dice Primary weapon, it may, perhaps, be less important to have all your ships in one place, however, you are the only person who can make that call, depending on what you are facing.

The TIE Interceptor can make a decent swarm list when used by an experienced player.

The last swarm idea I have is the TIE Interceptor using 5 Alpha Squadron Pilots to use their speed and manoeuvrability to get around behind the opponent were it is generally safer.  You’ll notice there is an Academy Pilot TIE/ln Fighter in this version too, mainly to fill a large points gap and add in a ship that you don’t mind throwing into the thick of things, to give your Interceptors the opportunities they need.  Now, you could remove the Academy Pilot and upgrade all 5 Interceptors to Saber Squadron Aces, for a higher Initiative, however, you won’t have a bid, nor points to fill the Talent slot.  Like with the TIE/ph Phantom, it will take practice to learn to fly a swarm of TIE Interceptors, with the outcome being uncertain until you have worked on moving around obstacles, avoiding traps, and concentrating your fire.

These aren’t the only Imperial ships that could be used in swarm situations, the TIE/sa Bomber has received some attention when armed with Barrage Rockets, the TIE/ca Punisher also has a low points cost to get at least 5 on the board, and there is also the TIE/sk Striker, giving you a huge amount of manoeuvrability and unpredictability thanks to the Advanced Ailerons.

As always, it’s above maximising your output and reducing incoming fire.  While blocks of ships can make that difficult, it’s nowhere near impossible to achieve, especially with decoys or clever blocking.

One other thing to mention, is the distinction of “swarm” and what it means to who.  On a personal level, I’ve felt that in order to swarm a certain ship, you should be able to provide a minimum of four of the same ship.  Some people will disagree, and, that’s fine.  However, some ships should certainly be considered for a swarm or even mini-swarm, but, the overall deciding factor in X-Wing is points available versus points for each ship.  Sure, in truly massive game, almost any ship-type could be swarmed to one degree or another, however, for regular play, it’s generally going to be the smaller ships that gang-up.

Next up will be the Scum and Villainy, with what they have to offer on the swarm front.