So I've been cruising some of the 'List help' threads and I'm still noticing an awful lot of PS 1 and 2 pilots in a bulk of the builds. I for one have been terrified of putting Blues in list, without a PS buff coming from somewhere. Bandits for 12 points are great, but I'd rather spend 1 more and get something the Tala which cannot be re-rolled for 2 atk dice. So is predator just not that big of an impact? I saw it in action when a supped up Chewy predator'd my Blues to death in my regional. It's a serious card that I've given serious consideration to countering. Maybe it's not as popular, because PTL cost the same and can still give you a TL/F stack, with some added flexibility. Now certain ships should have PTL, Interceptors and A-wings, because they can shred the stress so easily. But X's and B's and Y's. They become a lot more predictable when they have a stress token. So am I over reacting? Does the current meta not really respect or use predator? I've faced it a couple of times and it always plays a part. I either focus fire the predator ship, or get torn apart. Thoughts?

IMHO Predator is the best EPT in the currently in game. It brutalizes weenies and is still very effective vs PS3+ targets. And its actionless, and stressless.

Predator is brand-new, and it's still working its way into the metagame. It is a very, very good upgrade, and you're right that it just brutalizes ships with PS1-2.

We're never going to get away from the low-PS generics, because they're so efficient, but I think over the next couple of months--by November, say, when Worlds is held--their usage is going to shrink subsantially.

TL;DR: "Scared" might not be the right word, but I think lots of people should be taking Predator into account as a vulnerability of those highly efficient PS1-2 ships.

It is a serious card, but I think it got lost in the phantom/Falcon noise. It's also not enough of an issue right now to consider it when building a list.

On Bs : Ibbitsam wants to be stressed and ten nub is almost never played

On Y : you only see them cheap with a ion turret.

On named Xs, it might make sense, but it adds points to an already expensive ship.

It does make sense on Chewie/lando, but the gunner/c3P0, MF title is already expensive, so it really limits you for the rest of the list.

The beauty of it is that even if going against a high PS, rerolling one attack die without burning your action is niiiiiiiiiiiiiice

It is a great card. They put it in with that wonderful TIE Defender, because it is supposed to be a killer.

It IS.

it does work and it DOES work. at a LGS tourney last night, the amount of times I took 3 or 4 hits without them using their focus/TL, WAY to many. I would say its overpowered, but its not just a single pilot, so its something alot of pilots can take

I've taken into consideration. I think some ships can do more about it than others, though. Z's and TIE/lns pay only a point to get out of PS2. They're still cheap, too. Others have to spend 2 points, usually.

It would seem to be a waste on firepower 2 ships like Ties and A-Wings since you're likely to roll 1 hit on 2 dice anyway. I'd rather have outmaneuver on these guys since it plays more to the strengths of their dials and helps them with what they're weak against, which is high agility opponents.

On a 3+ firepower ship? Yes, it could be a great advantage.

I'm loving predator. I consider it a 1 reroll, and still love it. And when there's a 2nd due to low PS, that's just gravy!

3F = 2.25

3R = 1.94

3 = 1.50

It's more than half an action when you otherwise wouldn't have a modifier. Which is great since normally high PS folks are the ones with EPTs, and they are prone to action denial, which can make PTL inert. *Shrug... I like it at least.

On a ship that rely more on maneuvrability and can clear stress easily, PtL is a better choice (A-Wing, E-Wing, Interceptor). For others, I prefer Predator (Flacon, X-Wing, Tie Defender). Of course, there is also some pilots that feed on stress like Keyan that will also prefer PtL.

But it is a very good EPT, and I hope that FFG continue down this road, it really give value to the EPT slot.

It is a serious card, but I think it got lost in the phantom/Falcon noise. It's also not enough of an issue right now to consider it when building a list.

Translation: Take Predator. If people don't consider it an issue, then the card gets more powerful.

I've been running this list with success:

34: Wedge w/ Predator, R3-A2

40: Etahn w/ VI, Adv Sensors, R2-D2

13: Tala

13: Tala

Wedge w/ Predator is expensive, and a high-priority target, but he usually causes serious problems before he goes. And Etahn is really good in the end game. In my last game, he took on Corran with the exact same upgrades and came out on top.

It is a serious card, but I think it got lost in the phantom/Falcon noise. It's also not enough of an issue right now to consider it when building a list.

On Bs : Ibbitsam wants to be stressed and ten nub is almost never played

On Y : you only see them cheap with a ion turret.

On named Xs, it might make sense, but it adds points to an already expensive ship.

It does make sense on Chewie/lando, but the gunner/c3P0, MF title is already expensive, so it really limits you for the rest of the list.

All those Y-wing EPTs, amirite?

It's really not "much" more of a threat to your PS1&2 ships then it was before predator when ships took PTL for offensive purposes.

I'm loving predator on a couple of flanking black squadron pilots right now. It gives you that offensive modifier that's quite powerful with only 2/3 attack dice. Being able to use it after a K turn, or when taking an evade/barrel roll is just great! I've not needed/had occasion to reroll both dice yet, but just having that Howlrunner like mod without keeping in range or dragging her 18pts around gives a lot of flexibility and manueverability.

It would seem to be a waste on firepower 2 ships like Ties and A-Wings since you're likely to roll 1 hit on 2 dice anyway.

I'm not sure what you mean. Getting 2 hits is better than getting 1 hit, and (even without a focus token) Predator changes half of those 1-hit results to 2-hit results.

Predator is really good, it's getting used almost exclusively as the EPT for named Falcon + support. Te meta game is still digesting everything, but it'll likely end up being used about as much as Push the Limit overall.

Historically (pre wave 4), PS1&2 pilots have made up almost 40% of points spent. In that context, Predator will do really well, and encourages the PS bids to even out a little, rather than having a massive hump at the bottom.

It's really not "much" more of a threat to your PS1&2 ships then it was before predator when ships took PTL for offensive purposes.

Predator is much more of a threat then PtL is against PS 1&2 ships, because now instead of taking Focus+TL and getting stressed I can achive the same effect by just taking focus, and not getting a stress.

That means many more options on the next turn.

Also on a A-Wing with the prototype title, you could take PtL and Pred, effectively giving you 3 actions per turn. Focus, Boost/Barrel Roll and a free partial TL.

yep. predator is awesome.

That is all.

Predator is really good, it's getting used almost exclusively as the EPT for named Falcon + support. Te meta game is still digesting everything, but it'll likely end up being used about as much as Push the Limit overall.

Historically (pre wave 4), PS1&2 pilots have made up almost 40% of points spent. In that context, Predator will do really well, and encourages the PS bids to even out a little, rather than having a massive hump at the bottom.

Named Falcon with C3PO, gunner and predator seem like a match mad in heaven. Although it's up for you to decide if it's overkill. With the reroll you may not need gunner. But if it's your biggest investment, you may feel like you need the offensive insurance. I'm looking forward to PTL and Predator on the A-Wing. I've also seen, but haven't flown

Luke

+Predator

+R5-P9

nasty little combo.

Predator is much more of a threat then PtL is against PS 1&2 ships, because now instead of taking Focus+TL and getting stressed I can achive the same effect by just taking focus, and not getting a stress.

That means many more options on the next turn.

Just as importantly, it works like a TL even if I wouldn't ordinarily get an action at all, like when I'm blocked or K-turning (or, on a B-wing, when I'm using that 1-turn).

Named Falcon with C3PO, gunner and predator seem like a match mad in heaven. Although it's up for you to decide if it's overkill. With the reroll you may not need gunner. But if it's your biggest investment, you may feel like you need the offensive insurance. I'm looking forward to PTL and Predator on the A-Wing.

My only real issue with this is that Predator is largely wasted on Han, and I don't really care for Lando in about 90% of my Falcon builds. So that means "Named Falcon" really means "Chewie", and I'm getting awfully bored of Chewie.

Luke

+Predator

+R5-P9

nasty little combo.

I call this the Honey Badger of X-wings, because he just doesn't care. He's got a mini-TL on every attack and a mini-focus on every defense, plus (often) a regular focus token floating around to be used wherever--and if you don't force him to use it, he's going to regenerate the damage you did last round. It's like having PTL + R2-D2, but a point cheaper and without any maneuvering restrictions.

Just as importantly, it works like a TL even if I wouldn't ordinarily get an action at all

Good point, you get a TL lite even if stressed/blocked, although if you an reroll 2 out of 3 dice I'm not sure how lite that is.

Luke

+Predator

+R5-P9

I'm going to have to steal this

It would seem to be a waste on firepower 2 ships like Ties and A-Wings since you're likely to roll 1 hit on 2 dice anyway.

I'm not sure what you mean. Getting 2 hits is better than getting 1 hit, and (even without a focus token) Predator changes half of those 1-hit results to 2-hit results.

agreed... on a TIE it's like saying you can reroll at least HALF your dice

agreed... on a TIE it's like saying you can reroll at least HALF your dice

In someways it's even more important on a 2 attack ship, because with only 2 die you really want them both to hit or else you're unlikely to get any damage though 3 agl. But a X-Wing or Interceptor at range 1, having a single blank isn't nearly so painful.