Angle Rear Deflectors - Rethinking the Mechanics of Recharging Shields

                It has been awhile since I have written a Rethinking article. Since these posts usually deal with more controversial game aspects, I will start off today with a small disclaimer. I am not looking to prove that other viewpoints are wrong, or show that my thoughts are facts and therefore the best. I only write Rethinking articles to give alternate perspectives. Perhaps by thinking of things in a different light, players can find new ways of game application. With that being said, let's talk about a different way to look at the shield recharge mechanic.

                You've probably had the thought, I know I have. Why do Rebels have all the Shield Recharge ability? After sitting down and perusing through pilots and cards in the X-wing Miniatures universe, I have come to a conclusion: Rebel's don't. There are two parts to my reasoning, a short answer and a long one.

                The short answer is that Scum has access to shield recharge as well. IG88-A has the powerful ability to turn his kills into shield tokens. This means he can take a few hits in the early game and then recharge for the late game. Scum also has access to the Salvaged Astromech. While you do not actually place a shield token back on your ship card, it still "recharges" your health by stopping a Ship-based Critical. Coming in at 2 points, the Salvaged Astromech ability is only beaten in strength by the Integrated Astromech of the X-wing. Finally, there is some mystery surrounding the new Punishing One. The display picture of the expansion pack shows too many shield tokens needed for the ship. Players have theorized that the Gonk Droid, or possibly an "Overcharged Agromech", could bring more shield recharge. We'll just have to wait and see.

   

                 That's good and all. But Rebel shield recharge is still more powerful than Scum recharge, and the Imperial faction doesn't have any! Here is the where the long answer comes in. To understand Shield Recharge better, I looked at the game mechanics behind the ability. In essence, a shield recharge mechanic has you fulfill a certain parameter and, in return, you  attach another hit point to your ship. This is where I made a startling discovery: there is another mechanic in X-wing Miniatures that acts in almost the same way.

                I am speaking of the Evade action. When looking at the fluff of the game, there is no comparison. Flying evasive patterns with your agile ships is in not related to expending energy to revamp deflectors. But, on the mechanics level, the two are not that different. An Evade token, by definition, adds one extra evade die to your defense pool. Said die has an Evade symbol on each of its 8 sides, meaning that it always rolls an Evade result. That way, you always dodge an extra hit during the Compare Results phase of combat.

                However, we can stick a different fluffy definition onto this mechanic and we find that the same thing happens. Just imagine for a second that the Evade action was named the "Angle Deflectors" action. When performing an Angle Deflectors action, you place an extra shield token onto your ship. That way, when you Compare Results, you know you always dodge an extra hit. At the end of the round, if you didn't use your angled shield token, it is removed from your ship. Imperial TIE Fighters, lore-wise, don't have deflection screens, which is likely the reason why this game mechanic was named the Evade Action.

                When we look at it that way, Shield Recharge and Evade tokens are just two sides of the same coin. Both mechanics are used to prevent enemy shots from breaking through to your fragile hull points. They just do it in different ways.

                While it is correct that the Rebel faction has access to the most powerful recharge abilities, it is also correct that the Imperial faction has access to the most powerful evade abilities. When looking at all ships available to each faction (as of Quarter 1 of 2016) we see this stark contrast. For the Scum faction, only 36% of their ships have access to the Evade action. The Rebel faction only has 38%. But, Imperial players have the strongest access to the Evade action with 67%. If a player wants a ship with the Evade action, the Imperial faction has approximately twice as many ships to choose from. Moreover, since some Imperial ships come so cheap, an Imperial player could field two in the place of one.

Imperials	Rebels	Scum
TIE Fighter	A-wing	Aggressor
TIE/fo	Attach Shuttle	Firespray
TIE Interceptor	Ghost	G-1A
TIE Advanced	Millennium Falcon	Scyk Interceptor
TIE Advanced Prototype/v1	E-wing
TIE Defender/x7
TIE Phantom
Firespray

                All of this can be summarized as such: Rebel players can field only a couple of expensive abilities that each recharge a lot. Imperial players can field many cheap ships, each one with its own ability to "recharge" a little bit. Both mechanics work differently and have their benefits and drawbacks. First, Rebel shield recharge is permanent. If you don't spend the replaced shield token during combat, then you don't have to remove it at the end of the round. However, permanence can now be given to First Order TIEs with the Comms Relay. Second, Evade tokens are strong because they aren't predictable. They aren't limited by restricting circumstances, unlike specific recharge ability. While powerful, R2-D2 and R5-P9 can leave you vulnerable because your enemy has a better chance of correctly guessing your choices. Evade tokens paired with high agility and strong action economy give you ships that can be just as durable but are far more evasive. Third and final, shield recharge is an easier mechanic to apply. Like the Twin Laser Turret, it is straight forward and easy to learn, which explains why both are a big part of the meta. Evade tokens, on the other hand, are a little harder to apply because you have to know when the best time to use them, especially if your action economy is limited.

                And there you have it. While housing different fluff, the Shield Recharge and Evade mechanics are quite similar at their core. For Rebel and Scum players, this means you can use recharging abilities to overcome the slow and clunky ships you field. And for Imperial players, this means that your ships have their own unique advantage that you can learn and master.

                I hope you enjoyed this small session of rethinking. Perhaps this small glimpse of things in a different light can help you apply your X-wing skills in a new way to overcome the challenges that face you. Thank you for reading and have a great week of flying! PGP out.

Obstacle Deployment - Advanced X-wing Miniature Aspects, Part 2

                Today I present part 2 of a series where I talk about some of the more advanced aspects of X-wing Miniatures. Last week we took a look at the Pillars of X-wing and how they affect players' game tastes and squad building. In this article I want to delve into some of the nuances of how one wants to place obstacles during a match. We will go over how obstacles play a role in competitive tournaments. Then we will take a look at how certain build types, pilots, and upgrades work best when paired with a specific obstacle deployment. Let's jump right in.

Overview of Obstacles

                For beginning players, here is a review of the use of obstacles in competitive tournaments. Each player picks three obstacles along with their 100 point squad. These obstacles are locked: you cannot change them and you have to use them in each match of the tournament. Your pick of three can come from any of the obstacles found in the New Hope Core Set, Force Awakens Core Set, Decimator Expansion, or Outrider Expansion. Obstacles that come with Epic expansion packs are not tournament legal.

                There are two types of obstacles that you can pick: asteroids and debris fields. Both are themed very well with the game mechanics they provide. Asteroids act like what they are: really big rocks. If your maneuver template clips one then you must roll an attack die to see if you take damage and have to skip your action phase as you "swerve" to miss the obstacle. If your final base position lands you on an asteroid then you can't attack for that round. Debris fields act as stationary flechette stressors. If your final base position or maneuver template touches a debris field then your ship immediately receives a stress token and you roll an attack die. You are only worried about critical results here as your ship passes through a cloud of deadly space shrapnel. The biggest difference, though, is that you can still attack even when your base is on a debris field. So while asteroids are big death traps you want to miss, debris fields can actually be tactical positioning tools.

                The next thing I want to review is Initiative. Usually the player's desire to take Initiative is based off of Pilot Skill. But it also applies to obstacles. The player with Initiative places the first asteroid and it goes back and forth till both players have placed their three. Now if your obstacle strategy is more casual or flexible then you're not really going to care who places first. But if you have a strict, specific deployment planned then it can be very advantageous to get Initiative and place first.

                One last thing before I move on. Since all players can take three of any of the obstacles to a tournament, there is a good chance that there will be repeat obstacles on the playmat. You can save a lot of time and stress by marking the back of your asteroids in a distinct way. I place a blue, circular sticker on each of mine. That way at the end of a game you can flip the asteroids and easily pull yours out. This eliminates any need to memorize obstacles as well as reduces risk of getting them mixed up.

Obstacles Paired With Squad Builds

Beginners

                The first obstacle deployment is the simplest: Beginners. If you are still working on mastering the basics of X-wing Miniatures then you probably don't want to be fussing too much over obstacle deployment. So the best thing you can do is pick the smallest obstacles you have and get them out of your way. I would greatly recommend picking the three smallest asteroids from The Force Awakens Core Set, including the "mustache" shaped one. Then take your three obstacles and place then at the minimum distance of Range 2 away from the edges. That way they will be out of the way and less likely to bother you. You will only have to worry about your opponent's obstacles as you deliberate your squadron's moves. Once you get some more experience and are feeling comfortable, try branching out to a different style of obstacle deployment.

Jousting K-turns

                This deployment is very popular among players with Jousting ships that rely on Koiogran Turns, especially Rebel fighters. In this deployment you place your three obstacles in three of the four corners of the board. (Corner being defined as the asteroid is at Range 2 of two of the playmat's edges.) The reason for this is because of the length of the range ruler. Range 2 on a ruler is longer than a 4 straight forward maneuver template. This means that if your X-wing or Y-wing is facing the edge but is behind your corner asteroid, it can successfully perform a 4 Koiogran turn. If your ship is facing the edge and is beyond your corner asteroid, then you need to pull a hard turn instead to not go off the board.

                It can also help with other lengths of K-turns. Since a small base is equal to the 1 forward template, you can use the base of your own ship to comparatively calculate its K-turn in relation to your corner astroid. A Headhunter is able to do a 3 K-turn so it can be 1 small-base-length past your corner asteroid and still make it. B-wings, with its shorter 2 K-turn, can be 2 small-bases beyond. And a TIE Bombers or Interceptor trying to do a 5 K-turn has to be 1 small-base in front of the corner asteroid to not go off the board. Take some time to practice these lengths and get comfortable using corner asteroids to help your Jousting K-turns.

Maneuvering Power with Obstacle Clusters

                Apart from ditching your obstacles at the edges, there are two other ways to position your asteroids: in clusters and in lanes. An Obstacles Cluster is defined as having three obstacles together and you CANNOT draw a straight line through them. To create a cluster, and to prevent your opponent from creating lanes, you want stagger obstacles so that they are never forming perfectly straight lines. You also want to pack obstacles tightly at the minimum distance of Range 1 away from each other. This creates weaving paths that give greater power to ships with strong dials and movement actions. You want to create clusters if your ships have better dials than your opponent, if your ships have access to Boosts and Barrel Rolls, and if you want to make it hard for enemies to fly in formations. That way ships like Arc Dodgers can capitalize more off of their advantages and have a greater chance to outmaneuver the enemy.

Non-Maneuvering Power with Obstacle Lanes

                The opposite of Obstacle Clusters are Obstacle Lanes. An Obstacle Lane is defined as having three obstacles together and you CAN draw a straight line through them. To create lanes, and to prevent your opponent from creating clusters, you want to place your first two obstacles randomly so your opponent doesn't see what you are doing and try to stop you. Then place your third in the middle to create the Tic-Tac-Toe, three in a row. You also want to place your obstacles between Range 1 and 2 of enemy obstacles. That way your opponent cannot fit another obstacle in between the two. Overal, this makes obstacles more spread out on the board. And this creates wide open lanes that give power to ships with weaker dials and no movement actions. It also gives more maneuverable enemies less places to hide. That way ships like Jousters,Turrets, and Supporters have less chance of being outmaneuvered and more chance of forcing the enemy to meet them where they want them.

Bombers

                Obstacle Deployment that benefits bombers is actually a lot more fluid. It all depends on what your opponent is flying and how you want to deal with it. If you opponent has non-maneuverable ships then you need to capitalize off that. You can create Obstacle Clusters and place bombs on the edges. That way enemy ships have to either go through the cluster or else skirt far around the edges to avoid the bombs and possibly be away from the action. Or perhaps you want to do the opposite, create lanes that would benefit the enemy ships but then clog the lanes with your mines. That way you mess up enemy movement and also have a bit of surprise up your sleeve.

                And it is the exact opposite when your enemy has highly maneuverable ships. You can lure them into Obstacle Clusters that they like and then block the exits with bombs. Or else you can make wide lanes and then force even more strict movement with your mine placement. Since Bomber effectiveness is based on bomb placement, your obstacles will play a huge role. So if you like flying Bombers be sure to practice long and hard on getting your Bomb & Obstacle placement synergy right.

Obstacles Paired With Specific Cards

Stress Loving Ships

                Now let's apply obstacle strategy to certain cards. Let's start with ships that love stress. Even though stress is meant to be a negative game mechanic that players are to overcome, there are certain pilots out there that thrive on stress tokens. These pilots, by extension, prefer to have debris fields deployed during games. For example, Tycho Celchu or Soontir Fel can use debris very effectively. The former doesn't care about the stress he receives and the latter still gets a focus token assigned to him. That way these pilots aren't limited in movement options and can take unsuspecting opponents by surprise.

                Another example is flying a B-wing piloted by Keyan or Ibtisam. These aces don't worry about getting stress because it triggers their pilot abilities. And since B-wings are very slow, running through a debris field means that enemies chasing you will be less likely to follow.

                One of my personal favorite pilots is Eaden Vrill. He loves when there are debris fields because of his pilot ability. He gets an extra attack die when enemies are stressed and that makes your debris punish enemy movement mistakes even more.

                Other abilities that like stress include Wired, 4-LOM, Captian Yorr and Jek Porkins. And there are plenty more to choose from so have fun exploring and picking what you like.

Barrel Roll Before Moving

                Another interesting obstacle deployment is using abilities that let you Barrel Roll before you move. This includes using Advanced Sensors, Expert Handling, and/or BB-8. This combo allows a ship to move right up in front of an obstacle for cover and still not run into it. While both you and the enemy receive an extra green die from the obstacle, it can be in your favor as your Ace pilot is probably facing more than one enemy and therefore gets to roll more green dice. Then the next turn you can do a barrel roll before you move and therefore not hit an asteroid or debris. You can really gain the advantage over a surprised opponent who didn't expect that sort of move. This strategy can be used by a list of ships with the right builds. And that is longer than you might imagine: B-wing, E-wing, T-65 X-wing, T-70 X-wing, Rebel Y-wing, Aggressor, TIE Advanced/x1, Mist Hunter, and Star Viper. So learn to place your obstacles to give you excellent opportunities to fire, especially when you are directly facing them.

Dash Rendar

                Dash Rendar gets his love for asteroids from the Shadows of the Empire video game. Technically Han Solo also traversed an asteroid field but he received a pilot ability that deals with his smuggler's luck. Dash Rendar, on the other hand, brings a unique ability to X-wing by being able to ignore obstacles. When piloting the Outrider he wants to have an asteroid cluster in the middle and to lead enemy ships on long chases around the cluster. Then when he runs out of room on the board he wants to swing over an obstacle to have another clear lane while his opponents get stuck. All the while he is blasting away with an HLC or Mangler turret. It is essentially the opposite when you are flying against him. You want to place your obstacles in the corners and edges so he has no places to run away. Then you can hunt him down easier.

                While Dash the pilot deals with the Activation and Action phases, Dash the crew deals with  the Combat phase. Crew Dash isn't obstructed when attacking past obstacles and can even allow your ship to still shoot when on top of an obstacle. This allows any Rebel ship with a crew to be less restricted. You can place big asteroids and debris in lanes where you ship can shoot unobstructed while enemy ships have to take obstructed shots back. Or perhaps you put a huge cluster in the middle and have no fear overlapping it and still being able to shoot.

                For some extreme fun, try putting Chopper and Dash on the Millennium Falcon. You now have the Rebel version of a Darth Vader Doom Shuttle. It is a ship that destroys itself in the attempt to gain advantage over the enemy. And there are plenty of other fun builds out there.

Red Ace

                This is a fun little trick you can use when flying a Red Ace combo with R2-D2 and the Comms Relay. Already your T-70 X-wing is a tank and can absorb a lot of shots. But we can start out with an even stronger alpha strike. Place an asteroid in front of your starting edge. Then in the first few rounds of movement, fly Red Ace right over the asteroid. You roll a red die and have a 50% chance of taking a damage. If you take a damage you will lose a shield and that will activate Red Ace's pilot ability. Comms relay will then hold onto your evade token and the next round you do a green move to recharge the shield. Play it right and all of this can happen before the alpha strike happens. That way your X-wing can go into battle with the an Evade token already attached.

Advanced Targeting Computer

                While there are very few upgrades that allow you to directly ignore obstacles, there are many that don't care that obstacles exist. The most notable of these is the Advanced Targeting Computer. Normally, shooting at an enemy through an obstacle is a hassle because they get the extra evade die. But this is a favorable trade when your TIE Advanced is shooting at an enemy with its Advanced Targeting Computer. Your opponent gets one more green die, which gives a 33% chance of adding an extra evade result (without a focus token). But your Advanced Targeting Computer is already giving you a 100% chance of adding an extra critical result, so you'll win most statistical exchanges. This means the TIE Advanced is a Jouster that doesn't need Obstacle Lanes to properly dish out its damage. It can instead prey on ships across obstacle clusters.

                And it is the same for Secondary weapons at Range 3. They don't care as much if the opponent gets an obstruction defense die because they already aren't getting the Range 3 bonus die. So if you are running ordnance, Cannons, or Twin Laser Turrets, consider making Obstacle Clusters and getting cover for yourself without giving cover to your opponent

TIE Phantom

                TIE Phantoms aren't like other Arc Dodgers because they don't want tight Obstacle Clusters. The reason for this is because the decloak action uses the 2 straight rather than the 1 straight. To accommodate the cloaking action and allow your TIE Phantom the option of decloaking with a barrel roll, you will want loose obstacle deployment. In fact, you'll want your obstacles to be almost Range 2 away from each other. On the flip side, if you are facing a Phantom, you'll want to pack asteroids and debris in tighter formations in order to limit the movement of your enemy.

Conclusion

                These few examples we've covered are good ways to think about how Obstacle Deployment applies to your squadron. But in no way are they the only ones out there. There are plenty of other applications so be sure to follow the basic patterns of placing obstacles and then experiment to see what works best with the ships you fly. I hope you enjoyed this look at using obstacles in the bigger picture and I wish you the best of luck in your games this coming week. Happy flying!

Afterwards:
For further study of obstacle placement, check out this article by Paul Heaver and this video by YouTube's X-wing Strategy Tips.

The 5th Pillar - Advanced X-wing Miniature Aspects, Part 1

                You know the drill. Build a viable squad, understand what your enemy is doing, and then outmaneuver them. That is the way you win a game of X-wing Miniatures every time. But that is much easier said than done. All of these skills - effective squad building, correctly reading your opponent, precision in your own flying - require time and practice to get right. However, these aren't the only aspects of strategy in X-wing. Once you have mastered the basics of building squads and flying them into combat, there are other aspects of the game that can draw your attention. These higher game skills can turn a mediocre game into an exciting one, as well as brings wins when you would have had losses. Whether you are a beginner who feels they are ready to move on from the basics or a veteran looking to mix up their normal play, these aspects can be a blast to learn and implement.

                When I first got into X-wing Miniatures, I was slightly overwhelmed with how much there was to learn past the simple basics of the Core Set. Things didn't really start clicking into place until I had gone to my first tournament, and had read an article about the three "Pillars" of X-wing by Paul Heaver. It was a big discovery to me to learn that the ships I liked to fly were Jousters and Turrets and to understand why I disliked being beaten by Arc Dodging ships so much. And when Wave 7 was introduced, FFG released an article talking about a new, fourth Pillar: Bombers.        

                Today's will be the first in a series where I talk about some of the more advanced, and somewhat less mentioned, X-wing game aspects. I want to cover three things in this article. First I want to give an overview of the 4 different Pillars in X-wing Miniatures. (And for further learning I would greatly recommend studying the two articles I linked above). The second thing I want to cover is Support-class ships, what I believe to be the 5th Pillar of X-wing. It is a ship role that is very much a part of the game but rarely addressed directly. And third I want to I talk about ways to apply the knowledge of X-wing Pillars to Squad building. I hope by the end that you, whether a beginner or experienced veteran, will have some new ideas as to what kinds of ships you like to fly and how to counter the inherent weaknesses associated with each.

4 Pillars + 1

                A "pillar" in X-wing Miniatures is the main role or class a ship can have. I assume that the designation of "pillar" was chosen because these ship classes are the core of what drives X-wing game mechanics. Before Wave 7, there were three distinctly defined ship classes: Jousters, Arc Dodgers, and Turrets. Let's look at the details of each of these three.

Jousters

                Jousters have the best cost for their raw stats. They are the cheapest ships to buy but that discount comes at a cost. Generally, they have little or no movement actions and are required to fire inside their forward firing arc. This means that they have the hardest time lining up shots at enemies but when they do, they do the most damage. Torpedoes, Missiles, and Cannons all fall underneath this category. Dogfights are straight forward with Jousters: if you can get consistent shots on your enemy then you will win. If you can't get consistent shots then you will lose. Because of this, Jousters are very strong versus Turrets and very weak versus Arc Dodgers.

Examples: B-wing, TIE Fighter, Headhunter, BTL-A4 Warthog

Arc Dodgers

                Arc Dodgers have the opposite story of Jousters. These ships usually trade durability for strong maneuver dials, strong movement actions, and high agility. Their best defense is not getting shot at and they are well equipped to do just that. If they can consistently get shots on their enemy without getting shot back at then they will win. And if they are consistently getting caught in enemy arcs then they will lose. Because of this they are strong against Jousters but not against Turrets.

Examples: TIE Interceptor, A-wing, E-wing

Turrets

                Turreted ships don't care about their bearing when it comes to shooting. Because of their ability to fire outside of their forward firing arcs they generally have slower dials and fewer movement actions. And because so many squad points go towards paying for weapons that shoot outside of arc, they are more expensive to field than other ships. Turrets have only one job to do in battle: kill the enemy before it kills them. Because of this Turrets are strong against Arc Dodgers and weak against Jousters.

Examples: Y-wing, Decimator, Falcon

                Like Rock Paper Scissors, these three X-wing Pillars form a triplet of hard counters to each other that continuously make the game new and fresh for players. However, things were somewhat thrown for a loop with the introduction of strong bombing tactics.

Bombers

                Bomber class ships have been around since Wave 3, when the TIE Bomber was introduced. But it wasn't till until Wave 7 that many new bomber upgrades were brought to the game and allowed Bombers to be considered their own Pillar. Bombers are quite strange when compared to the first three pillar ships. They have the same desire to arc dodge as Arc Dodgers but they don't care where their forward firing guns are pointed. This is because bombs are deployed from the rear guides of a ship's base, rather than the front (with the exception of Deathrain). For the most part they are more costly ships, like Turrets, but have action movements to help them get into the best positions to get the most out of their ordnance. A Bomber's success is based off the skill of its bomb-laying. Whether Jouster, Arc Dodger, or Turret it doesn't matter: if it gets caught by enemy mines then it is going to be having a hard time. Because of the strangeness of this class compared to the other three it makes sense to me that it is taking a long time for it to affect the meta game. It will take longer for players to master the mechanics of the Bombing Pillar, as suggested by the fact that no strong Bombing lists made it into the finals of X-wing Worlds 2015.

Examples: K-wing, TIE Punisher, TIE Bomber, Y-wing, Firespray

                And that is the 4 Pillars of X-wing. However, what is surprising to me is that there is not much talk of one other X-wing mechanic and ship class. And this class was introduced in Wave 3, the same time as Bombers. I am speaking of Support ships.

Supporter

                Support ships were introduced via the Hawk and Lambda Shuttle expansions in Wave 3. If Bomber ships are strange then Support ships are even stranger. They are distinctly noted by their bad stats and bad dials. However, they aren't usually the first ships targeted because their allies are so much more powerful. They are much better at giving support fire rather than destroying the enemy themselves. Their pilot abilities don't help themselves but rather help their allies. And in that same context, Support ships usually have one or more Crew slot, the upgrade type with the most helping abilities. In regards to counters, there is no contest. In most one-on-one fights, any other ship class will beat a Supporter.

Examples: Hawk, Lambda Shuttle, E2 B-wing, Rebel Transport (Epic)

Applying Pillars To Squad Building

                So here is the question: are Bombers and Support ships viable? Clearly the other three pillars have proven themselves over the years. It is this author's opinion that these other two are viable, but not in the way you think. Thinking of a 4th and 5th pillar does not necessarily mean that the game is now Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock. The way I see it, it is still the same triplet mechanic but Bombers and Supporters turn things on their head.

                Let's think about a Support Lambda Shuttle giving covering fire with an Ion Cannon. This Supporting ship can ionize enemy Turrets and then your fragile Arc Dodgers are safer to go in for the kill. Or perhaps consider Kyle in the Moldy Crow. He can give out a focus to allied Jouster who got outmaneuvered by an Arc Dodger. That way your Jouster can boost its defense to try and withstand long enough to get the shots it needs. And it is the same with Bombers. Take a TIE Bomber with your TIE Fighter swarm and your Bomber can clog up the asteroid lanes with mines. That way your Jousters can more easily find and kill Arc Dodgers with no movement options.

                Essentially, there are two ways to prevent enemy ships from hard countering the pillar you choose for your squad. You can pick the third pillar in the triplet or you can pick a Bomber/Support ship for assistance. For example you can fill your squad with Jousting Warthogs but they will be very vulnerable to enemy Arc Dodgers. So you can take away one of the BTL-A4 titles and make that Y-wing a Turret. That way he provide protection against Arc Dodgers while your Warthogs provide heavy hitting. The second option is to take a Supporter or Bomber. You could possibly take Palob Godalhi so he can remove an action a potential Arc Dodger would try to use. (And he can equip a turret as well). In both ways you are using a different pillar to shore up the weakness of your squad and be ready for any type of enemy build.

                Apart from composing your squad, referencing ship classes can also help you with upgrades. There are two different ways you can pick upgrades: to bolster your current pillar or to provide a complementing one.

                For this scenario let's use the popular X-wing pilot Wedge Antilles. Wedge's pilot ability is very strong offensively and this lets him be a better Jouster. But what upgrades are best on Wedge? It depends on what you want him to do. Give him Predator and the R2 Astromech and he is more powerful offensively. Or give him R2-D2 and Determination and he is very durable. Either way you are making him stronger in the Jousting pillar. But that is not the only thing you can do. On a completely different vein, consider giving him BB-8 and Stay on Target. Now we have a PS 9 X-wing that can barrel roll and change course when it isn't stressed. Wedge is now part Arc Dodger and he still is a well-priced Ace.

Offensive Wedge - 33 points

                Predator

                R2 Astromech

                Integrated Astromech

Defensive Wedge - 34 points

                Determination

                R2-D2

                Integrated Astromech

Arc Dodger Wedge - 33 points

                Stay on Target

                BB-8 Astromech

                Integrated Astromech

                Bolstering your current pillar or providing a complementing one is about risk vs reward. Picking Jousting upgrades on Wedge means he now has double the jousting power but it also means he is doubly delicious to the Arc Dodgers that hunt him. If you pick Arc Dodging upgrades instead it means that he won't be as powerful of a Jouster but he can respond favorably to more situations.

                There are many examples in the meta game of how two complementing pillars in the same ship build can be very powerful on the playing mat. Fat Han with an Engine upgrade is both a Turret and an Arc Dodger. The build is very strong and helped Paul Heaver win X-wing Worlds in 2014. Currently, a Lambda Shuttle with an Omicron Pilot and Palpatine is very popular and powerful in the meta. The combo is both a Support ship as well as a Jouster, especially if you attach a Cannon upgrade. The ship can hit hard it its forward firing arc and then use Palpatine anywhere on the board. A final example that is worth mentioning is the yet-unreleased Rebel Ghost and Phantom. They are the first ships that can just be plain Jousters but can also take a Turret upgrade. That way they can provide their own defense against Arc Dodgers.

Conclusion

                Although there aren't as many options for Support ships, the Support Pillar still has a strong impact on gameplay. And practicing this less know semi-pillar can perhaps give you an edge over other players in your region. I enjoy flying my Hawk and am really excited for the introduction of TIE Bomber Shuttles in the Imperial Veterans expansion. My hope is that FFG will continue to release more Support class ships in the future and the Supporter can officially become the Fifth Pillar of X-wing Miniatures.

                In regards to which pillar you should fly, it all depends on what you prefer. X-wing Miniatures is a deep game that can meet the needs and likes of many players. What matters is how well you fly the pillar you chose and how you plan to counter the inherit weaknesses of each. You can bolster your ships' current pillars and rely on your own skill to outmaneuver your opponent. Or you can complement your build with different pillars. It's all up to you. What kind of squads do you like to fly? And what preferences do you have in squad building? Let me know in the comments below. Thanks so much for reading and have a great week of flying.

Wired - An Action Economy Niche

          One of the most exciting aspects of the X-wing Miniatures game is knowing the right choices to make. No matter the luck of the dice or which ships you fly, if you don't make good choices in movement and actions then you won't be having much success. There are many upgrades that can help remove some of the hurt of wrong choices. And probably the most powerful of these are the ones that give you better action economy. From the R4 Agromech to the Experimental Interface, there are tons of upgrades that can help make it easier to choose an action. The best Action Economy Upgrades are the Elite Pilot Talents, hence the name. So when I opened The Force Awakens Core Set I was excited to see the Wired upgrade included. I am always on the lookout for good upgrades that are low cost and a 1 point Action Economy EPT really intrigued me.

          Here's the big question: Does Wired's low cost make it a steal-of-a-deal or just another underwhelming card? Since I learn well by comparison I took a look at Wired and three other action-giving EPTs.

Action Economy EPTs

          Push the Limit is the first EPT I looked at. It is the most popular talent and for a good reason. The upgrade is powerful, versatile, and well-costed for what it can do. In-game you only need to take a stress token and you can double up on actions. And having the freedom to chose which actions means that you can get the upgrades you need the most in the moment. You can take an evade and focus to turtle up on defense. Or you could take a target lock and a focus for a powerful attack. You can even take movement actions and still take a focus for dice modification. The only thing you need to worry about is taking care of your own stress and watching out for stress-control enemies.

          Predator was the next one. This upgrade is strong because it is a passive ability and you don't have to fulfill special circumstances to activate it. However, its passiveness also means it is not versatile. It is essentially a Push the Limit where you don't get a stress token but you always have to take a partial target lock for your second action. Normally this is fine since the name of the game is destroying your enemy! But the effectiveness of the upgrade drops to half power when firing at Pilot Skill 3 or higher. And when the tide of a match changes and you need to go on the defensive, the upgrade can't switch with you to help your defense dice.

          Number three is Lone Wolf. This upgrade is cheaper than Push the Limit but it still has the same flexibility to help both offense and defense. The downside, though, is that it has a very hard set of parameters to fill. If you aren't at Range 3+ of your allies then you can't get the bonus. However, from practicing strict flying - or by being your last ship on the board - you can get strong action economy. You reroll a blank on your attack as well as a blank on each defense.

          And finally we come to Wired. After my comparing and playtesting I realized why this EPT only costs 1 point. It requires a parameter to be fulfilled, that you be stressed, but afterwards it only lets you reroll your focus results. While Push the Limit gives the strongest action economy, Wired's reroll ability is actually the weakest.

          Here is my final ranking:

Offense - 1) Push the Limit, 2) Predator, 3) Lone Wolf, 4) Wired.

Defense - 1) Push the Limit, 2) Lone Wolf, 3) Wired, 4) Predator.

          My ranking was based on the assumption that you can fulfill all parameters. And while it is true that a strong offense is a good defense, my defensive ranking is based off giving power to defensive dice.

          In most situations Push the Limit or Predator is going to be your best choice. However, that doesn't mean that there is never a time to take Wired. Even if the ability is the weakest niche of Action Economy EPTs, it is still a niche. Before Wired was introduced, you had to either pick an expensive one or not pick one at all. Furthermore, there are certain select builds out there that are already planning on being stressed. So Wired is an upgrade you can take to complement the build and bring more power for a cheap cost. Finally, Wired is an ability that gives incentive to make red moves. Let's delve into each of these points in more detail.

Squad Points & Budget Players

                Wired brings the option of a cheap action economy EPT. This means that when you are working on the last ship of your squad and you are low on squad points you don't have to take away from your other ships. It also means that you can take a cheaper EPT to make sure an Ace build doesn't become overcosted. And in that same style it is a good EPT for middle PS generics with talents because it keeps them cheap.

          But more importantly, Wired is the cheapest of these four EPTs when it comes to your wallet. It comes in one of the two Core Sets which means it will be a part of most players' collections. To get the others you have to buy the specific expansions and that is no fun for players on a budget. I love the Predator upgrade but I have never had a strong enough desire to get a TIE Defender or a Kihraxz Fighter. My budget was always going towards other ships I wanted more. The Ghost set is the first one that I want to buy that has Predator in it. So if you are a budget player, try out Wired and be patient for the others as you build your collection.

Complementing Self-stress Builds

          The dichotomy of the Wired talent is that it requires you to be stressed but it takes up your EPT slot, the upgrade slot with some of the best self-stressing abilities. Of course this isn't a problem for A-wing Test Pilots and that means they really love Wired. Since Tycho is already going to be stressed, Wired will help him focus and keep his cost low. Or perhaps you don't like the A-wing's low attack. Running Green Squad Pilots with Opportunist and higher PS allies can give you a very strong offensive. And with Wired they can get more action economy to go with their extra die. This makes a 22 point ship that can be as powerful as a B-wing but trades high shields for high agility and a good dial.

A-wing w/ Green Pilot - 22 points

                Chardaan Refit

                A-wing Test Pilot

                Wired

                Opportunist

                But apart from EPTs, the next best way to self-stress is pilot abilities. Wired is very powerful when paired with Jan Ors or Dace Bonearm. Their pilot abilities will make sure that Wired will be activated. And the Hawk is a ship you really want to keep cheap on squad points. Wired gives constant focus modification for offense and defense and that makes it a weaker, but cheaper, Moldy Crow title.


Hawk w/ Dace - 30 points
                Wired
                Ion Cannon Turret
                Inertial Dampeners

          Another pilot that I love pairing with Wired is Zeta Leader. By self-stressing, this First Order pilot can attack as hard as an Interceptor for a much cheaper cost. And Wired means you can take a barrel roll or evade and still have dice modification.

TIE/fo w/ Zeta Leader - 22 points

                Wired

                TIE Mk. II

          Next is Hera Syndulla in the Attack Shuttle. This Twi'lek Ace has a built-in Stay On Target ability when performing red moves, yet there is a catch. Getting into the right position won't help if you don't have dice modification and your dice fail. But Hera's ability doesn't synergize with Push the Limit. Predator, on the other hand, is a great choice and comes in the same expansion as the Attack Shuttle. However, you have to be very careful with a Predator build because you can easily make the little ship cost too much. The Attack Shuttle is only a bit more durable than a Z-95 Headhunter. Since Hera wants to use her ability on red moves, Wired can give her action economy as well as low squad cost.

Attack Shuttle w/ Hera - 24 points

                Wired

                Intelligence Agent

          Wired also benefits players that love Stress Control Lists. In the past, Luke with Veteran Instincts, R3-A2, and an Engine Upgrade made a strong ship that could hunt and stress enemy Aces. While expensive, he has high PS and a strong pilot ability to make him very powerful. With Wired we have another option. Luke himself doesn't pair well with Wired but we don't need him anymore. Consider taking a Red Squadron Veteran with Wired and R3-A2. Not only is this pilot build much cheaper, he already has the boost action and so can replace an Engine Upgrade with an Integrated Astromech. And T-70s have a green 3 forward which will make clearing the stress much easier. The only problem is the pilot skill. So in the rest of your squad building you need a crew slot filled by an Intelligence Agent. That way your Red Veteran can lock down on the right lanes with his boost action. Finally, Wired tops of this combo by giving your X-wing attack modification and similar defense modification to Luke.

T-70 w/ Red Veteran - 29 points

                Wired

                R3-A2

                Integrated Astromech

          The last stress combo I want to talk about is the Fleet Officer. Normally this card is placed on a Decimator or Shuttle to be a large-based support ship. And Wired would benefit the former since the ship has pilots with the EPT slot. But now we have a new option with the announcement of Imperial Veterans. The TIE Bomber can be turned into a TIE Shuttle. This made me take a look back at the supportive Bomber pilot, Jonus. I love flying Captain Jonus as support to my other ordnance ships but I never liked putting missiles on him. He doesn't get help from his own ability. But now we can make Jonus a TIE Shuttle and he can better fulfill the supportive role. Give him a Fleet Officer and he can give out focus tokens as well as rerolls for friendly secondary attacks. Since he will already be stressed, Wired can make sure he gets dice modification for himself. And then we finish off the combo with the new Twin Ion Engine Mk II to help him clear the stress. I don't fly many Imperial lists but I love the TIE Bomber and can't wait for the new Imperial Veterans pack.

Bomber w/ Jonus - 27 points

                Wired

                TIE Shuttle Title

                Fleet Officer

                TIE Mk II

Making Use of Red Moves

                The Wired talent fills a niche in Action Economy EPTs but it also fills another niche: upgrades that give incentive to pick red maneuvers. Keyan Farlander makes such a great B-wing Ace because he isn't limited by his ship's slow dial. He can make a red move and still get an offensive "focus". Ibtisam has a similar ability by using stress to get offensive and defensive rerolls. This style of game mechanic has been expanded with the introduction of the Targeting Astromech and the Wired EPT. The former gives incentive to make red moves because you still get to target lock an enemy. This means that you can K-turn or T-roll and still be able to have a modified attack. And it is the same with Wired. You can take the EPT and not be pressured by bad dials. It can make your ships faster and less predictable, as well as give dice modification while stressed. While Wired is redundant on Keyan or Ibti, it is great on Ten Numb and Nera Dantels.

          I really like Wired on Poe Dameron. True, this means he can't take Veteran Instincts but that is a trade I'm ok with. First, I only have one copy of VI and so I like using it on middle PS pilots in my squad, for example Jake Farrell. Second, Wired relieves some of the pressure of making a wrong move with my Ace. If I do a red move at a bad time then I can mitigate some of the damage. And when flying Poe, movement is even more important. Like R2-D2, Poe wants to fly a certain way to get his bonus. So of course your opponent will think you are going for a focus token. Poe with Wired is much less predictable. He isn't as worried about a lack of focus because he still gets focus rerolls when he performs hard maneuvers. And that will make you less predictable as you switch between your red, green, and white moves.

          Let's return again to Koiogran Turns. This move is normally good because most ships need it to get back into better positioning. However, the maneuver has always been near-useless on Interceptor class ships since they are fast enough to turn around without it. And while I wouldn't put Wired on just any Interceptor, I really like it on a few. For example, Tetran Cowall or Serissu. These ships now K-turn with less risk and can take unsuspecting opponents by surprise.

Interceptor w/ Tetran - 27 points

                Wired
                Autothrusters

Scyk w/ Serissu - 24 points

                Wired

                Stealth Device

          My final thought on red moves is the Y-wing. Rebel Y-wings now have the option of taking a Targeting Astromech or R2-D6 + Wired (both options costing 2 points) in order to get some good use out of their red moves. A Grey Squadron Pilot with Wired and a Twin Laser Turret is unpredictable and fast. And since Wired's reroll is constant you can use it with both shots of the TLT and on defense, unlike a focus token. Horton Salm also is great with this combo. When stressed, he will be able to reroll both blank and focus results, meaning that he gets a constant target lock whenever he shoots. This ability is stronger and more reliable than Predator.

Y-wing w/ Horton - 33 points

                Twin Laser Turret

                R2-D6

                Wired

Conclusion

                Whether you are a budget player just jury-rigging action economy until you get new expansions or someone who loves self-stressing synergy, Wired can be the perfect fit for your squad's needs. It is the cheapest and most accessible of the four main Action Economy EPTs. And it pairs well with so many combos. So give Wired a try and let me know in the comments what kind of crazy things you've done! Have a great day and fly casual!