Re-rolls...on Green (evade) Dice?

By Tiltowait, in X-Wing

Targeting Computer, Target locks, Predator, Gunner.

Not including unique pilot abilities I've noticed they are several ways to re-roll those attack dice.

However...I was wondering what options we had on the defensive side. We've all had those amazing hot streaks of evades...followed by the agony of nothing but blanks. :D

Itbisam in her B-Wing when stressed gets both...but I don't recall a standard ship upgrade or modification that allows for the same.

I suppose having a TL with R7 is sort of a re-roll as it makes the attacker re-roll...but that's Republic only as well.

Of course the best solution is to not be in your opponent's firing arc. This thought struck me as I happened to be chasing down another Chewtank build so it wasn't really an option :)

So is there one out there? This could be a deliberate design mechanic...I suppose if ships have too high defense then games can get even longer, arc-dancing notwithstanding.

Edited by Tiltowait

Ibtisam is female.(for reference)

The issue with rerolling defense dice, is that it is statistically worse than focus unless pakred with a focus. I think they've avoided major use of it for this exact reason. Flight Instructor allows for it, but is a mediocre card due to only allowing rerolls of focuses against most ships and being expensive. Non unique defensive upgrades have proved to be very expensive, likely to keep the game moving at a reasonable clip.

This could be a deliberate design mechanic...I suppose if ships have too high defense then games can get even longer, arc-dancing notwithstanding.

I think this is the crux of it right here. I believe they deliberately made evade dice weaker to encourage/reward smart maneuvering, punish poor maneuvering, and to shorten the time it takes to play the game.

That said, I wouldn't be surprised if we see a pilot with a Han Solo-esque ability for green dice. I wouldn't be surprised to see another system upgrade that allows green dice to be modified, either.

Also, don't forget the sensor jammer system upgrade--even though it does modify red dice.

Yeah, I'm glad that there are barely any defense modifiers. I like that ships blow up very fast. Just like in the movies!

For the Empire, there is Dark Curse and Jax that can mitigate the attack by denying the use of some tokens.

For the Rebels, there is Luke and Ibtisam.

For upgrades, there is Sensor Jammer, Flight Instructor, R7 astromech and Elusiveness.

Other than that, I'm not sure there is something else that can help you in defense (not including those that raise your agility, like R2-F2). Most of those upgrades/pilots is more about modifying the Attack roll than the Agility one. An EPT that work the same as Predator but for defense would be nice.

Don't forget stealth device. It was never that overpowering and they still made a silver bullet in the form of Blount to nerf it. They want ships to shoot and maneuver. They don't want powerful turtling effects.

Also there are evade tokens and no "hit" tokens

Don't forget stealth device. It was never that overpowering and they still made a silver bullet in the form of Blount to nerf it. They want ships to shoot and maneuver. They don't want powerful turtling effects.

C3PO?

More specific: Chewie in MF (=evade) + C3PO, gunner and predator.

Feel free to add another hull.

Gunner & predator = deadly. Best dial in game. First two hits evaded per turn.

Immune to crits.

Add a sprinkling of Tala's to round up to 100 pts. ;)

(yes; I beat this. Yes; I still think it is stupid and easy mode)

Edited by Elkerlyc

Don't forget stealth device. It was never that overpowering and they still made a silver bullet in the form of Blount to nerf it. They want ships to shoot and maneuver. They don't want powerful turtling effects.

C3PO?

More specific: Chewie in MF (=evade) + C3PO, gunner and predator.

Feel free to add another hull.

Gunner & predator = deadly. Best dial in game. First two hits evaded per turn.

Immune to crits.

Add a sprinkling of Tala's to round up to 100 pts. ;)

(yes; I beat this. Yes; I still think it is stupid and easy mode)

Only once a turn on C3PO. If it worked for every attack like stealth device you would have a real gripe. One guy was trying to use it like that at Imdaar Alpha until I called him on it.

Chewy with the C3PO is good but there are great answers for him now. Rexler gets used a lot in my meta due to falcons hating on phantoms. Phantom builds are adding Rexler to hurt Chewy and Han.

Also there are evade tokens and no "hit" tokens

Closest to a hit token would be Kir Kanos's ability, or Darth Vader crew.

But yeah the game is certainly designed this way. This is why attack is more important than defense, and this is why the base X-Wing at 21 points, is far better than the Base TIE Advanced also at 21 points... even though the attack and defense are flip flopped... the 3 attack ends up being far more powerful than the 3 defense dice.

Additionally, we have critical hits, but no critical evades.

Don't forget stealth device. It was never that overpowering and they still made a silver bullet in the form of Blount to nerf it. They want ships to shoot and maneuver. They don't want powerful turtling effects.

C3PO?

More specific: Chewie in MF (=evade) + C3PO, gunner and predator.

Feel free to add another hull.

Gunner & predator = deadly. Best dial in game. First two hits evaded per turn.

Immune to crits.

Add a sprinkling of Tala's to round up to 100 pts. ;)

(yes; I beat this. Yes; I still think it is stupid and easy mode)

Only once a turn on C3PO. If it worked for every attack like stealth device you would have a real gripe. One guy was trying to use it like that at Imdaar Alpha until I called him on it.

Chewy with the C3PO is good but there are great answers for him now. Rexler gets used a lot in my meta due to falcons hating on phantoms. Phantom builds are adding Rexler to hurt Chewy and Han.

I think I clearly said; 'first' two hits evaded per turn.

Not quite sure what you are trying to say here. :)

The issue with rerolling defense dice, is that it is statistically worse than focus unless pakred with a focus. I think they've avoided major use of it for this exact reason. Flight Instructor allows for it, but is a mediocre card due to only allowing rerolls of focuses against most ships and being expensive. Non unique defensive upgrades have proved to be very expensive, likely to keep the game moving at a reasonable clip.

A reroll is better if you only have one green die (and no need of offensive focus). Flight Instrustor's usefulness comes from being used against every incoming attack without using your action, whereas you can only spend a focus token once. Its primary niches of swarm defense (fewer swarms nowdays) and non-action defensive buff (largely replaced by C-3PO) have been reduced in the current meta. Still worth its point if it saves you 2+ damage.

Want consistency in evade dice? Roll less of them. Those little green bastards are evil. The Decimator will be the most consistent evading ship out there.

It seems that defensive upgrades in general (barring OP3O) are overcosted and ineffective for their points. Sensor Jammer should be 1, as should Elusiveness, and the trouble is most of them can only be used once a turn (R7, Elusiveness, Expert Handling) so their general utility is much reduced, as focus fire is a powerful and common tactic.

That said, I would love to have re-roll green dice as a pilot ability on a 3-dice ship. E-Wing (PS 8 Jaina Solo) or Interceptor (PS 8 Jagged Fel)

Sensor Jammer should be 1,

Seriously? It would be nuts broken at 1 point.

When Sensor Jammer helps you avoid just one hit, it has basically acted as a Shield Upgrade. Any avoided hit after the first is icing on the cake. Remember that Sensor Jammer triggers every time that you are being attacked.

I would love to have a way to give imperial ships an agility reroll along with its focus, just like you can get with a target lock & focus. I think it's something the game severely lacks, along with action sharing for imperials. I sometimes think they don't give imps these abilities because they made howlrunner and the academy ties so good, they now must be extra careful to avoid imbalance when introducing new upgrades and pilots to the empire.

The ability to reroll a single green die as a special ability or in the form of a unique upgrade could easily be balanced.