Hi everyone!

I would like some advice on the choice of astromech for my Regionals list.

So far, I've been flying the following list with good success:

- Luke + R2-F2

- Tarn Mison

- 2x Gold Squadron + Ion Cannon Turret

Then someone with generally good advice at my store told me that R5-P9 works wonders on Tarn. Thinking about it, it seems it could also work great on Luke.

So now I'm not too sure about what to do! Do I keep R2-F2? Do I swap it for R5-P9 on Luke? Or do I put it on Tarn?

As a reminder here's R2-F2's ability:

" Action: Increase your agility value by 1 until the end of this game round."

And R5-P9:

"At the end of the Combat phase, you may spend 1 of your focus tokens to recover 1 shield (up to your shield value)."

Thanks for your input

R2-F2 costs you your action, to possibly not get shot at at all, or to add a green blank or eye with no focus.

R5-P9 lets you focus action, then gives you an option to spend the focus if you didn't need it during combat.

Yeah, R5-P9 is better.

That's a very good point, and helps the list being a little more offensive.

Now should it go on Luke to keep him alive a bit longer (generally Luke is the primary target), or should I put it on Tarn for late-game survivability?

That's a very good point, and helps the list being a little more offensive.

Now should it go on Luke to keep him alive a bit longer (generally Luke is the primary target), or should I put it on Tarn for late-game survivability?

Luke is much better to keep alive. If Tarn is the last ship, it's likely people are going to save him for late and gang up on him anyway. Plus luke's ability makes it more likely he will take less damage, so he may only take 1-2 per round. Repeatedly going up to full health is a good thing.

That's a very good point, and helps the list being a little more offensive.

Now should it go on Luke to keep him alive a bit longer (generally Luke is the primary target), or should I put it on Tarn for late-game survivability?

Luke is much better to keep alive. If Tarn is the last ship, it's likely people are going to save him for late and gang up on him anyway. Plus luke's ability makes it more likely he will take less damage, so he may only take 1-2 per round. Repeatedly going up to full health is a good thing.

Plus, Luke's ability is more like a mini-focus for defence, so you're possibly less likely to use the focus on him and so get the benefit of the droid. (although I'm not up on the X Wing pilots, so I don't know what Tarn does).

Cheerio,

Ben

It isn't released yet but the Astromech you want on Tarn is the R7. An enemy attacks you, you get to TL them and then the droid lets you spend the TL to reroll the dice you don't like; remember that if you make them reroll them they can't reroll the reroll.

When it comes to Luke you're much better off with R5P9 than you are with the R2F2. With R2F2 you spend an action and then wait to see if it did you any good. With R5P9 you take a Focus and use it normally; if you don't you can then use it to recharge a shield.

.

When it comes to Luke you're much better off with R5P9 than you are with the R2F2. With R2F2 you spend an action and then wait to see if it did you any good. With R5P9 you take a Focus and use it normally; if you don't you can then use it to recharge a shield.

Not true. I've tried R5-P9 on Luke and it doesn't work that well. R2-F2 is much better because of Luke's innate ability. Luke rolls 2+ evades with 3 green dice pretty constantly (not all the time, granted, but as reliably as you can expect with dice).

You might think that R5-P9 would be a good choice, because he doesn't need that focus token for defence. However, the reason its a bad idea is because when you attack and roll one or more 'eye' results, you will be forcing yourself to make a difficult choice: spend the focus token to possibly deal more damage, or save it to regenerate a shield.

Having said that, I think R5-P9 has a place in certain lists, but the 2 pilots I would never put it on is Luke & Biggs. If you are going to use R5-P9, you almost need Garven or Kyle to be in the list (although it can work without them, it just works better with one of them).

Edit: Luke's best droid choice will always be R2-D2, of course.

R5-P9 is the better choice hands down, he's like a cheaper R2-D2!

Had some luck with this list:

Wes Janson

+R3-A2

+Swarm Tactics

+Shield Upgrade

Garven Dreis

+R2-D6

+Opportunist

Biggs

+R5-P9

+Shield Upgrade

Wes strips a token and stresses target, Garven gets focused 4-5 dice at PS8 and then passes Biggs an extra focus, so he has one for defense and one to heal a shield if needed.

R5-P9 is the better choice hands down, he's like a cheaper R2-D2!

Wes strips a token and stresses target, Garven gets focused 4-5 dice at PS8 and then passes Biggs an extra focus, so he has one for defense and one to heal a shield if needed.

Um, no he really isn't near as good as R2-D2. The 2 main differences are timing when they trigger (R2's timing, during movement, is easier to manage from a tactical standpoint) and R2-D2 doesn't cost an action to use...which is huge.

And for Biggs to regenerate a shield, that means your opponent is only attacking Biggs once or twice per round??? Its unlikely that you will have a focus token to regain a shield after all the attacks that come at Biggs...

Almost anything is mathematically better than R2-F2. You absolutely need a 2nd action, or a token handoff to make R2-F2 better than other defensive options.

Almost anything is mathematically better than R2-F2. You absolutely need a 2nd action, or a token handoff to make R2-F2 better than other defensive options.

Not in the case of Luke. In fact, R2-F2 is a decent alternative if you can't afford R2D2 on him. Better than R5-P9 anyway. Specifically for Luke. R5-P9 is better for anyone else of course (except Biggs...its not really a great droid for Biggs, honestly).

The non-statistical analysis of R5P9 and R2F2 on Luke:

R5P9:

1. Luke takes Focus action.

2. When Luke attacks does he need/want to use that Focus to boost damage?

b. Does added damage destroy or otherwise hinder target?

c. GREAT, now the rest of the game gets easier.

3. If Luke doesn't use Focus on Attack does he get attacked and roll multiple green [eye] results to spend Focus?

4. May spend Focus to reduce additional damage or hold Focus to recharge shield which may be damaged by unavoidable damage.

R2F2

1. Luke takes action to active droid.

2. Luke makes attack without other aid.

b. Target not destroyed/hindered? Great, another attack coming your squads way.

3. Is Luke targeted by an attack? Maybe, but only if there isn't an easier target to shoot that doesn't have so many dice.

4. Luke is targeted. Great, now that extra agility die provides one more chance to get an [eye] although if you get two it doesn't help.

5. What about damage from other things? Sorry Luke, you need to suck it up.

If you want to say R2D2 is the best Astromech for Luke I will not disagree. I will disagree if when you say that R2F2 may be the next best choice and that it is better than the R5P9. I can see the point that R2F2 brings more green dice to the table which makes Luke's ability more likely to trigger and may discourage attack but it does nothing to help Luke's offense and in this game a good offense is often the best defense. I'll also also admit Focus may not be as essential to Luke defensively but that makes it more likely to be around to use on R5P9 (if Focus would prevent damage you'll probably want to use it anyway instead of saving it for the droid) but can also be used offensively if the opportunity presents itself.

When you look at R2F2 vs. R5P9 the difference is the versatility they allow with whatever fighter they go on. R2F2 is purely defensive while doing nothing to help your offense and often not being much better than just using a Focus action. R5P9 is highly conditional (are you missing a shield and do you have a Focus?) but also doesn't hinder actions and allows for Focus which can be offensive or defensive.

I like R5-P9 in generally, but I LOVE it on Luke and Garven.

In the former's case, he typically doesn't need to spend focii defensively, and so R5-P9 becomes "Spend your focus offensively, or regen a shield"

In the latter's case, it means he doesn't need to spend his focus on a non-result offensively to ditch his focus. He can hang onto it to defend himself when he's not a guaranteed target if he wishes, and still be able to pass it off to the Moldy Crow's holding tank.

In other news, this is yet another interaction where I know we'll never get Astromechs and Crew slots on the same ship. Recon Specialist, anyone?

Almost anything is mathematically better than R2-F2. You absolutely need a 2nd action, or a token handoff to make R2-F2 better than other defensive options.

Not in the case of Luke. In fact, R2-F2 is a decent alternative if you can't afford R2D2 on him. Better than R5-P9 anyway. Specifically for Luke. R5-P9 is better for anyone else of course (except Biggs...its not really a great droid for Biggs, honestly).

I really don't like R5-P9 on anyone(except garv in certain situations) without a way to generate a second focus, (plenty of ways to do that though) because usually if you have a focus spending it to cancel a hit(or 2 or 3) on defense is better than saving it to regen a shield, at which point you just spent points for nothing.

Garv in my opinion is the exception if you have a HWK with moldy crow near by because then they can bank the spent focus and recycle it, (Garv and Kyle like this is fun) or maybe Corran and Garv so Corran can use the focus from Garv spending it. in the end phase. E-Wings and Y-wings may see more use from it I think

Any day you can get shields back up is a good day. R5-P9 is awesome for just that, regardless of the pilot. R2-D2 is good, but costs more and restricts your move to greens in order to work. R5-P9 is more versatile.

And there's also the possibility of running 3 regenerating X-WIngs now, and 2 of them with DTF shenanigan capabilities.

One with R2-D2 (Someone with a stressful EPT, like PTL.)
One with R5-D8 (Probably Porkins with a Hull Upgrade)

One with R5-P9 (Garven or Luke)

And there's also the possibility of running 3 regenerating X-WIngs now, and 2 of them with DTF shenanigan capabilities.

One with R2-D2 (Someone with a stressful EPT, like PTL.)

One with R5-D8 (Probably Porkins with a Hull Upgrade)

One with R5-P9 (Garven or Luke)

I'd be cautious about saying the R5D8 is "regenerating" as it only help you get rid of cards, costs an action, and isn't very certain. With all of that said I can see running it on Porkins with his "avoid a stress, MAYBE get a card" as R5D8 is "spend an action, MAYBE get rid of a card."

Almost anything is mathematically better than R2-F2. You absolutely need a 2nd action, or a token handoff to make R2-F2 better than other defensive options.

Not in the case of Luke. In fact, R2-F2 is a decent alternative if you can't afford R2D2 on him. Better than R5-P9 anyway. Specifically for Luke. R5-P9 is better for anyone else of course (except Biggs...its not really a great droid for Biggs, honestly).

Hadn't thought about Luke, good point. I ran some scripts that calculate multi-attack damage for dozens of scenarios comparing against something like 8 different baselines. I'll have to add Luke.

Alright, I've put the kids to sleep, so maybe I can explain myself a bit better:

The non-statistical analysis of R5P9 and R2F2 on Luke:

(stuff clipped)

When you look at R2F2 vs. R5P9 the difference is the versatility they allow with whatever fighter they go on. R2F2 is purely defensive while doing nothing to help your offense and often not being much better than just using a Focus action. R5P9 is highly conditional (are you missing a shield and do you have a Focus?) but also doesn't hinder actions and allows for Focus which can be offensive or defensive.

First of all, yes, I agree with you that R2-F2 provides nothing but a defensive option....if you have him, your action is spent purely for defense, and that is limiting, agreed. However, R5-P9 is similarly limiting...its just not as obvious. Think about it: you HAVE to focus when you have him because you can't be sure how much damage Luke MIGHT take so you need that focus 'just in case'. If you were thinking of taking an engine upgrade with R5-P9...don't bother. Want a target lock? Good luck...there won't be many opportunities for it. For me this is a big deal since I prefer to Target Lock with Luke as an offensive action...although technically Focus should work just as well, it just doesn't seem to (again for me, ymmv).

Also, don't forget that R5-P9 requires an action. Your opponent can stop you from using it (low PS bumps, Carnor Jax, possibly even an asteroid you misjudged, etc). Granted, this applies to R2-F2, but you didn't mention it in your analysis, so I feel it should be stated.

Another thing: consider the not-unlikely-scenario that Luke is in a match and has lost his shields (maybe even has taken a damage card). Its the planning phase and you know its very likely that more than one enemy ship can get a shot on Luke. Assuming you aren't in a likely position to kill the ships before they shoot, there is a decent chance that R5-P9 can't help you (Luke might be dead before you get to regen that shield). R2-F2 in this case gives you a bit of a relative edge.

Now having said all that, I don't think R2-F2 is in fact the 2nd best droid for Luke. Obviously that depends on the rest of your build, so perhaps I was a bit hasty to declare R2-F2 is always better on Luke than R5-P9. Having thought about it more, I think if you are going to use either of these droids on Luke, you do have to tailor the rest of your build around them to some extent. In that sense perhaps its a wash. Off the top of my head, I can see Luke w/ R2-F2 working well in conjunction with Dutch, Jan (esp. with Squad Leader) and even something like B-wings with HLC/ion cannons (since they can slow roll and Luke can rush ahead and get in the enemy's face to draw enemy fire away from the supporting B's).

I should also clarify that I am basing my conclusions off of personal experience which may be anecdotal, admittedly. I've flown Luke 3x with R2-F2 and 7x with R5-P9. I only ever really used R2-F2 late game (earlier I just had Luke doing TL mostly with occasional Focus). My list that included R5-P9 was:

Luke, R5-P9 & DTF

Garven

2 rookies

Unfortunately, Garven was focussed on early in every game (always first to die), so even with DTF, he wasn't around when Luke really needed him (after the rookies were gone and the enemy focussed on Luke). Granted 3 of the games this was moot since I only lost Garven (my choice of droid was almost irrelevant, really). The other 4 games I felt R5-P9 was really only useful to regain shields lost through DTF. Once I made it to endgame, I hardly even used it because I wanted the focus for offense most of the time (hoping to take out a ship). There were also 1 or 2 games where DTF didn't even come into play, so again R5 didn't seem worth the points in those cases. Over the course of the 7 games, i would say that he was in fact worth his 3 points, because in total he probably regenerated at least 8 or 9 shields....so in comparison to shield upgrade, that's a good deal. But in my games with R2-F2 I had similar feelings...although its much harder to gauge that droid's relative worth considering you don't know how much damage that extra green die is actually mitigating...

Any day you can get shields back up is a good day. R5-P9 is awesome for just that, regardless of the pilot. R2-D2 is good, but costs more and restricts your move to greens in order to work. R5-P9 is more versatile.

Sure R2-D2 restricts your move, but your opponent can't stop you from getting back that shield. Nothing your opponent does can keep you from getting a shield when you reveal your green move. This is huge. R5-P9 can be stuffed, and for that reason, may 'restrict' your moves to only those you feel are safe from being blocked by your opponent. Also, consider the timing of their abilities: R2-D2 gives you your shield before shots are fired...R5-P9 doesn't regain a shield until AFTER shots are fired...Luke could be dead by then (for ex: its the planning phase and Luke has 2 hull left. If you got R2-D2, there's no problem unless you absolutely have to K-turn to get a shot and if you don't, you even have the advantage of using your action for offense. With R5-P9, you can't afford to use your action offensively; save it to regen your shield and you will do less damage unless you get real lucky. And that's assuming your opponent doesn't deal the 2 damage necessary to kill Luke before you even get your shield back...)

Oh yeah, and while it might be a small thing, I think its worth pointing out that the 1 bank & 1 straight moves available to the x-wing happen to be the most common and often most effective moves on the whole dial....so R2-D2 is not always that restrictive on movement (granted, there are times when it does suck, like when you really want a hard turn to get the best shot...)

I think R5-P9 works great with Tarn his PS 3 so he will most likely move before most others so his action will most likely be Focus also because his ability lets him get a free target lock from the attacker why would you not focus almost every time

If 2 ships attack him one lands a hit vs only 1 focus u can take the hit to save the focus to defend against the next attack hoping if you evade it you can get a shield back when the second attack comes and you roll 2 eyes to 2 attack you'll be even more happy you saved it

I agree with Major Juggler R2-F2 is good for Luke if you can't afford/use R2-D2

I think R5-P9 works great with Tarn his PS 3 so he will most likely move before most others so his action will most likely be Focus also because his ability lets him get a free target lock from the attacker why would you not focus almost every time

If 2 ships attack him one lands a hit vs only 1 focus u can take the hit to save the focus to defend against the next attack hoping if you evade it you can get a shield back when the second attack comes and you roll 2 eyes to 2 attack you'll be even more happy you saved it

I agree with Major Juggler R2-F2 is good for Luke if you can't afford/use R2-D2

Yeah, I agree that R5-P9 fits well with Tarn. R7 droid will too when it comes out (and for 1 pt less). BTW, it was me, not Major Juggler that suggested using R2-F2 as a decent alternative to R2-D2

Almost anything is mathematically better than R2-F2. You absolutely need a 2nd action, or a token handoff to make R2-F2 better than other defensive options.

Not in the case of Luke. In fact, R2-F2 is a decent alternative if you can't afford R2D2 on him. Better than R5-P9 anyway. Specifically for Luke. R5-P9 is better for anyone else of course (except Biggs...its not really a great droid for Biggs, honestly).

Hadn't thought about Luke, good point. I ran some scripts that calculate multi-attack damage for dozens of scenarios comparing against something like 8 different baselines. I'll have to add Luke.

Here's a topic that calculated Luke's survivability with various options, including R2-F2 : http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/94952-just-how-good-is-lukes-ability/

Thanks everyone for your fantastic input and this great debate. It's still a tough call I find.

Going back to my list I now clearly think the astromech should be assigned to Luke. I don't want to change the ships or pilots, as I like it a lot like it is. I have 3 points to spend on upgrades (after the ICT on the Y-Wings), hence why before the Rebel Transport came I went for R2-F2 (along with Swarm Tactics and a Rookie instead of Tarn). I know this works fairly well, since Luke with 3 green dice is a good deterrent and pushes the opponent to fire on the other X-Wing.

With R5-P9 and Luke shooting first most of the time, if it turns out I use the focus action to improve his firing, he then clearly becomes the target of choice and will have to suffer at least 2 rounds of shooting before recovering his shield. That's a lot to live through, even with Luke's ability.

I think R5-P9 works great with Tarn his PS 3 so he will most likely move before most others so his action will most likely be Focus also because his ability lets him get a free target lock from the attacker why would you not focus almost every time

If 2 ships attack him one lands a hit vs only 1 focus u can take the hit to save the focus to defend against the next attack hoping if you evade it you can get a shield back when the second attack comes and you roll 2 eyes to 2 attack you'll be even more happy you saved it

I agree with Major Juggler R2-F2 is good for Luke if you can't afford/use R2-D2

Yeah, I agree that R5-P9 fits well with Tarn. R7 droid will too when it comes out (and for 1 pt less). BTW, it was me, not Major Juggler that suggested using R2-F2 as a decent alternative to R2-D2

opps must learn to read

R7 will be good to bad it only works once