But is it? We don't know. As it is, we know the Advanced is the equal of an X-wing one-on-one. That seems to argue that the points are balanced that way. The alternative is that FFG made a big mistake. Possible, but unlikely.

But is it? We don't know.

Of course we do. You know, presumably because you've had it on the table, that it's correctly costed in one-on-one play. I know, from having it on the table (not to mention a year and half of tournament results, and not to mention just about any mathematical analysis of its performance) that it's undercosted in typical play.

EDIT: That is to say--if table time is evidence that it's correctly costed in one-on-one play, then table time is also evidence that it's incorrectly costed in typical play.

But is it? We don't know.

Of course we do. You know, presumably because you've had it on the table, that it's correctly costed in one-on-one play. I know, from having it on the table (not to mention a year and half of tournament results, and not to mention just about any mathematical analysis of its performance) that it's undercosted in typical play.EDIT: That is to say--if table time is an argument that it's correctly costed in one-on-one play, then table time is also an argument that it's incorrectly costed in typical play.

What if our only X wings we had to play with was Rookie, Red, Luke, and Wedge. Would we feel the same about the Xwing as we do the Advanced?

Try an Advanced with a free FCS in a one on one with an X-Wing. I think you'll find that the Advanced mops the floor with the poor rookie every time. What I think it needs is something that makes it valuable in a group.

We had some play testing reported in the 23-page "Fixing the TIE Advanced" thread that did exactly that. It was about even, maybe still favored towards the X-wings. I would need to go back and check specifics, but the sample size wasn't very large, maybe a half a dozen games at most.

What if our only X wings we had to play with was Rookie, Red, Luke, and Wedge. Would we feel the same about the Xwing as we do the Advanced?

To chime in on this, over on the Store Championship thread, the X-wing is doing VERY well, but a lot of those points spent are from the named pilots, since their abilities are very good. B-wings almost see as much % points spent, but it is almost exclusively on PS2/PS4 birds. It leads me to believe that the X-wing as a base craft probably isn't quite as good as the B-wing, but its pilots' abilities make up for it. This is, not coincidentally, what's predicted by those pesky formulas of mine. I might further break down the winning squads by named and generic pilots, that would also be interesting.

We see this to a lesser extent with the TIE Advanced, but its a FAR more extreme case: in 90 games Vader has been used exactly twice (as pilot). So the TIE Advanced base ship is absolutely horrible, but Vader's ability is good enough that he found his way into a couple of lists. It'll be interesting to see if Imperial Aces makes Vader completely obsolete in the Vader / Turr / Soontir combo.

The thing is, in 1v1 it may be fairly costed. However, the game is not built around 1v1 play. It is built around 100 point games as the standard. Ships should be costed for that setup, because that is the standard. Support ships become much more useful if you go over 100 points as well, the advanced is not unique in its cost effectiveness being determined by the game setup. But it doesn't matter if its fair in 25 pt games or whatever, because that's not the standard.

What if our only X wings we had to play with was Rookie, Red, Luke, and Wedge. Would we feel the same about the Xwing as we do the Advanced?

We see this to a lesser extent with the TIE Advanced, but its a FAR more extreme case: in 90 games Vader has been used exactly twice (as pilot). So the TIE Advanced base ship is absolutely horrible, but Vader's ability is good enough that he found his way into a couple of lists. It'll be interesting to see if Imperial Aces makes Vader completely obsolete in the Vader / Turr / Soontir combo.

I've been play testing Vader/Soontir/Jax and Vader/Soontir/Kanos. I WANT Kanos' build to be the better one, with Vader giving him another action as needed, but I'm finding Jax to be the best new amigo so far.

Jax looks to be the best new Interceptor pilot for sure, his ability is game changing. The trick is keeping him alive.

... just like keeping howlrunner alive ...

Yeah, but Jax needs to be in range 1 of the enemy!

... but he is able to avoid arcs. Howl don't.

Yeah, but Jax needs to be in range 1 of the enemy!

He can equip PtL, which makes this easier. Also, his ability makes him useful in a fight, even if Jax himself is not one of the ships in line to fire. I've played a few games now where I have purposely shot him past my next target and used other ships to fire upon the now sitting duck.

Back on topic, Vader with Squad Leader also helps with this. But, as stated many times over, the x1 isn't the issue. The Z-95 brings in a nice new mod the Advanced will be able to take advantage of as well. While more expensive, the Advanced w\ Munitions Failsafe is a better all around ship than the Z-95. Sure, the Z with a missile only costs 12+price of missile, but it's dial and lack of agility make it a sitting duck after it has fired its missile.