Hey guys,

I got to play a list today I've long been wanting to try since I first learned about the wave four stuff and I think I might have hit gold with this particular falcon build. One of the problems I have with falcon builds is your are usually limited to 3 total ships. In this build I'm able to get four with the Z-95.

The list is:

Bandit x 2

Blount + Assault Missile

Chewie + Predator + C3PO + Title + Gunner

It checks a lot of boxes for me in terms of what I like in a list (like my ever present assault missile to keep all those swarms honest). He thing that struck me he most was how bad*** Chewie was. With predator you never have to TL allowing you to either focus or evade depending on what situation you find yourself in. Additionally, 3PO gives you one free evade per turn and you're guaranteed two evades if you take evade as your action. If he survives to the endgame it would be quite a task to bring the bear down. Besides the lower PS I think Han Solo might never again see the light of day. Also, phantoms beware!

Thoughts?

TL;DR Is Han obsolete with the introduction of predator on Chewie and is this the best falcon build? Methinks yes.

Additionally, 3PO gives you one free evade per turn

This is not true. Assuming you guess zero on a one-die roll you have a 5/8 chance of getting an evade from C-3P0 and a 3/8 chance of getting an evade from your defense die. C-3PO has absolutely nothing to do with the 3/8 chance, when that happens you've just spent 3 points for an upgrade that did nothing. The whole "guaranteed evade" thing is purely psychological.

TL;DR Is Han obsolete with the introduction of predator on Chewie and is this the best falcon build?

No, Han is not obsolete. He has better damage output (with the traditional marksmanship + gunner) than your setup, and PS 9 is very relevant in a game where one of the main reasons to take a turret ship is PS 8-9 phantoms.

Additionally, 3PO gives you one free evade per turn

This is not true. Assuming you guess zero on a one-die roll you have a 5/8 chance of getting an evade from C-3P0 and a 3/8 chance of getting an evade from your defense die. C-3PO has absolutely nothing to do with the 3/8 chance, when that happens you've just spent 3 points for an upgrade that did nothing. The whole "guaranteed evade" thing is purely psychological.

TL;DR Is Han obsolete with the introduction of predator on Chewie and is this the best falcon build?

No, Han is not obsolete. He has better damage output (with the traditional marksmanship + gunner) than your setup, and PS 9 is very relevant in a game where one of the main reasons to take a turret ship is PS 8-9 phantoms.

As far as the PS 8-9 Phantoms I think even Han will struggle to actually get to shoot first (I'd imagine many such phantom builds will make a strong imitative bid) so while you will get to shoot first against Echo you wouldn't against a VI Whisper. Even assuming the phantom does get to shoot first, I'll take my chances at a lower PS bid with 13 hp, Gunner, mini TL, and up to 2 evades per turn if necessary.

Additionally, 3PO gives you one free evade per turn

This is not true. Assuming you guess zero on a one-die roll you have a 5/8 chance of getting an evade from C-3P0 and a 3/8 chance of getting an evade from your defense die. C-3PO has absolutely nothing to do with the 3/8 chance, when that happens you've just spent 3 points for an upgrade that did nothing. The whole "guaranteed evade" thing is purely psychological.

TL;DR Is Han obsolete with the introduction of predator on Chewie and is this the best falcon build?

No, Han is not obsolete. He has better damage output (with the traditional marksmanship + gunner) than your setup, and PS 9 is very relevant in a game where one of the main reasons to take a turret ship is PS 8-9 phantoms.

Perhaps I don't understand it completely, but if I didn't take an evade action 3PO makes sure I will get one per turn - every turn.

As far as the PS 8-9 Phantoms I think even Han will struggle to actually get to shoot first (I'd imagine many such phantom builds will make a strong imitative bid) so while you will get to shoot first against Echo you wouldn't against a VI Whisper. Even assuming the phantom does get to shoot first, I'll take my chances at a lower PS bid with 13 hp, Gunner, mini TL, and up to 2 evades per turn if necessary.

If you declare C-3PO as rolling 0 evades (so that you get are guaranteed to get at least one evade) and then roll the evade naturally, you've effectively wasted his ability. C-3PO does not equal an evade token.

Secondly as soon as your opponent takes down your Falcon, your Z-95's will probably struggle with whatever they have left. You have no ability to boost their effectiveness, so against something like Luke with R2D2, or an interceptor, you're hosed.

Personally I think you've spent way too much on Chewbacca and not enough on his supporting cast.

3PO is actually capable of getting you 3 "evades". First one comes from the falcon title. The second "evade" comes from the results guess, always guess 0. The third also comes from the guess. If you guess 0, and roll a focus, it counts as 0, so you get 3PO's evade. But, you may then use a focus token to turn that eyeball into an evade. 3 evades. Granted rolling a focus will only happen 25% of the time, and you still need to have a focus token to change the die, but he can still engineer 3 evades 1 or 2 times a game, maybe.

Hello Mr. C-3PO.

My name is Wedge [or anyone with the Outmaneuver EPT].

I'm afraid you don't get to roll any agility dice. Yes, yes guess away, but it will not make any difference.

That aside I do agree that Chewie and C-3PO make a nice couple.

Hello Mr. C-3PO.

My name is Wedge [or anyone with the Outmaneuver EPT].

I'm afraid you don't get to roll any agility dice. Yes, yes guess away, but it will not make any difference.

In this instance you would roll 0 dice and C-3PO's ability would still trigger. That is actually the best situation for having C-3PO.

Edit: I was wrong, C-3PO's card requires that you roll at least one dice.

Hello Mr. C-3PO.

My name is Wedge [or anyone with the Outmaneuver EPT].

I'm afraid you don't get to roll any agility dice. Yes, yes guess away, but it will not make any difference.

3PO is actually capable of getting you 3 "evades". First one comes from the falcon title. The second "evade" comes from the results guess, always guess 0. The third also comes from the guess. If you guess 0, and roll a focus, it counts as 0, so you get 3PO's evade. But, you may then use a focus token to turn that eyeball into an evade. 3 evades. Granted rolling a focus will only happen 25% of the time, and you still need to have a focus token to change the die, but he can still engineer 3 evades 1 or 2 times a game, maybe.

And you would need at PTL too in order to do that, otherwise you cannot have your evade token + the focus! ;-)

Hello Mr. C-3PO.

My name is Wedge [or anyone with the Outmaneuver EPT].

I'm afraid you don't get to roll any agility dice. Yes, yes guess away, but it will not make any difference.

Also, his Predatored Gunner will be sending his regards in precisely four Pilot Skill increments. You did save that Focus token, yes?"

Hello Mr. C-3PO.

My name is Wedge [or anyone with the Outmaneuver EPT].

I'm afraid you don't get to roll any agility dice. Yes, yes guess away, but it will not make any difference.

In this instance you would roll 0 dice and C-3PO's ability would still trigger. That is actually the best situation for having C-3PO.

Part of why it's truly a stupid card to include only with the Tantive.

Personally I find Navigator to be a better use of three points on a Falcon instead of C-3PO. Choosing a bank or straight maneuver gives you a lot of flexibility on your final position which means that you can often dodge out of arc, position for range 1 shots on an almost dead ship, avoid bumping a lot of the time or at least choose how you might bump, and can position yourself for range 3 instead of range 1-2 when people bring their ships to focus on you. It goes very nicely with VI on Chewie to boost him to PS7.

At the end of the day, not getting shot at is better than being better at evading hits.

Hello Mr. C-3PO.

My name is Wedge [or anyone with the Outmaneuver EPT].

I'm afraid you don't get to roll any agility dice. Yes, yes guess away, but it will not make any difference.

In this instance you would roll 0 dice and C-3PO's ability would still trigger. That is actually the best situation for having C-3PO.

Threepio's card specifically requires you to roll one defense die.

Part of why it's truly a stupid card to include only with the Tantive.

I stand corrected.

Take a look at the wording of C-3PO. It clearly states that it is activated "before you roll 1 or more defence dice" - I'm convinced we will see this spelled out in the next FAQ - and it would need an outright errata if it is meant to be used without rolling dice. Zero is not 1 or more.

Also I don't fly Wedge myself, as he is a rebel scum, so I am not surprised to hear that he is a coward staying at a distance, but my buddy Colonel Vessery outmaneuvers and eats C-3PO for breakfast at close range

Personally I find Navigator to be a better use of three points on a Falcon instead of C-3PO. Choosing a bank or straight maneuver gives you a lot of flexibility on your final position which means that you can often dodge out of arc, position for range 1 shots on an almost dead ship, avoid bumping a lot of the time or at least choose how you might bump, and can position yourself for range 3 instead of range 1-2 when people bring their ships to focus on you. It goes very nicely with VI on Chewie to boost him to PS7.

At the end of the day, not getting shot at is better than being better at evading hits.

While I can see the merits of the navigator, I prefer to fly my falcon unpredictably. This way I can still evade in hairy situations and hopefully dodge what arcs I reasonably can. The falcon has a fantastic dial that really allows some fancy maneuvering - not to mention the ability a lower PS ship such as this has to block other higher PS enemies.

However, to each his or her own.

I would love to fly against you guys. I'm sure it would be a challenging match.

PhantomFO beat me to it.

I haven't invested in the Huge ship - as the Imperial Fleet wouldn't fly such irregular ships - but I imagine having heard something about an upgrade that can give a Huge ship an Agility rating?

PhantomFO beat me to it.

I haven't invested in the Huge ship - as the Imperial Fleet wouldn't fly such irregular ships - but I imagine having heard something about an upgrade that can give a Huge ship an Agility rating?

A huge ship still gets a bonus defence dice at range three and I think gets the bonuses for range four and five when versing another Epic ship (although I'm not 100% sure on range four and five).

Chewie + Predator + C3PO + Gunner

4 Bandits

Chewie + Predator + C3P0 + Luke + Engine Upgrade

3 Tala

These lists ended 1st and 2nd respectively in the a 35+ man regionals. I'd say the list is tough but not unkillable. I played against the 2nd list but ran into difficulties due to my bad bad piloting (uncloaked Phantom on asteroid).

I prefer Expert Handling on Chewie because dodging firing arcs, getting in closer for a range 1 attack and defying the laws of physics is awesome. But I learned yesterday that C-3PO on a really dodgy ship like the Falcon title is where its at. Guaranteed 2 evades each turn is nothing to laugh at.

I saw several Chewie + C-3PO lists at a tournament 2 or 3 weeks ago, so I expected even more of them at another tournament yesterday, but there were actually less of them.

I guess it was mostly because people had gotten their Wave 4 ships in-between and wanted to field all the new shiny stuff. I'm sure C-3PO will see more rotation in the coming months.

PhantomFO beat me to it.

I haven't invested in the Huge ship - as the Imperial Fleet wouldn't fly such irregular ships - but I imagine having heard something about an upgrade that can give a Huge ship an Agility rating?

A huge ship still gets a bonus defence dice at range three and I think gets the bonuses for range four and five when versing another Epic ship (although I'm not 100% sure on range four and five).

Ahh, okay. It does seem to corner out C-3POs use quite a bit and I do agree that it is a bit weird that he came with the huge ships - not just because they have to be shot at from a large range for him to do his thing, but also because I imagine a huge ship will be target by more enemies once it gets target.

That the Imperials would rather concentrate fire to destroy it in fewer rounds than spread the attacks too much in time; which reduces the value of something that can only be used once per round even further.

Chewie + Predator + C3PO + Gunner

4 Bandits

Chewie + Predator + C3P0 + Luke + Engine Upgrade

3 Tala

These lists ended 1st and 2nd respectively in the a 35+ man regionals. I'd say the list is tough but not unkillable. I played against the 2nd list but ran into difficulties due to my bad bad piloting (uncloaked Phantom on asteroid).

You guys have me thinking too. Maybe I drop the two bandits for something a little spicier, like tarn or somezing.

Chewie + Predator + C3PO + Gunner

4 Bandits

Chewie + Predator + C3P0 + Luke + Engine Upgrade

3 Tala

These lists ended 1st and 2nd respectively in the a 35+ man regionals. I'd say the list is tough but not unkillable. I played against the 2nd list but ran into difficulties due to my bad bad piloting (uncloaked Phantom on asteroid).

Well the first build with the 4 bandits does not work because it made 101.I tthough of it myself and unfortunately that **** 1 point is ruining everything... Now if the guy won a tournament at 101 and nobody realized that before... That's kinda sad... :-( The one who ended up second with his 98 pts should be declared the winner

I'm sure I made an error somewhere - his list was legit.