Against something whose dodging is stupidly good (Ships with 3+ agility and relevant die manipulation, like the meta-defining Phantoms), the 1 point spent on Munitions Failsafe becomes a hard counter.

Or just a wasted point. A player that brings a ship that needs to avoid stress is going to focus fire on your stress source and kill it ASAP, which means you'll be lucky to use both shots even without the failsafe.

The enemy MUST either Take the Damage, which they really don't want to do, or let me keep stressing them, which leaves them supremely vulnerable to the other 69 points of my fleet.

Or just kill your b-wing. Remember, you have 8 HP, one green die, and no defensive upgrades or meaningful arc dodging ability. It's incredibly optimistic to talk about "keep stressing them" when your stress ship is probably off the table in 1-2 turns. For example, a phantom list can send its support in first to damage Nera (and you don't really care if an academy pilot takes stress), then once she's damaged the phantom comes into range and kills her in one shot. That is, if the support doesn't finish off the b-wing itself before the phantom gets a chance.

It assumes that the enemy is consistently able to stay out of Range 3 during Nera's target-lock, and is then able to move in for the kill.

This is actually a pretty good assumption in the early turns (and Nera is unlikely to survive until the late turns). At PS 5/7 you move before most of the ships that really care about stress, so very often you'll be out of range when you end your move and then watch helplessly as they move into range with theirs.

For Deadeye to be better than Veteran's Instinct in this case, their key-ship must be at PS 7+ (in this meta, a viable concern). For it to be better than nothing, 5+.

But most key ships ARE at PS 7+. Phantoms are PS 8-9, most phantom counters (Wedge, Corran, etc) are PS 9-11, Jake/Tycho/Fel are PS 9-10, etc. This metagame has been absolutely brutal on mid-PS ships, most of the time you're either facing PS 8+ aces or PS 1-2 generics. And the few mid-range ships you might expect to see are "jousting efficiency" ships like x-wings that are happy to do green maneuvers to clear stress every turn. VI on a PS 5 ship is almost always a waste right now.

Well, you have to expend TL just to fire flechette torps, but apart from that, okay.

Deadeye. Which is actually a good option since you weren't going to spend focus anyway, and now you can potentially have a TL from a previous turn or support ship to re-roll your hits. It's probably not worth it in general, but if you're going to use the "deliberately miss" strategy you might as well spend one point to get it.

Set up Nera with TL and focus, either through PtL or transfer of TL/focus from a buddy

Or deadeye + crew slot + recon specialist. Double focus, one to fire the APT and one to turn all of your eyes into hits. It's expensive as hell, but that's a threat your opponent really has to respect.

Deadeye allows you to do two things. Save a target lock, or change a target when it is that ships time to fire (especially if the target ship flew out of arc). Since Nera's trick shot allows her to fire torpedoes outside of arc deadeye is not that effective. I would rather R2-D6 Dead Eye Horton than Dead Eye E2 Recon Nera. Nera has little problems getting her trick shots off, it is making those shots count the most that is the problem, you will want something Dash(crew) or Mercenary Co-pilot.

If I was going for a tricked out Nera I would FCS + Ion Cannon + Adv Proton Torpedo x2. Ion them to predict their movement and get a target lock (plus the bonus damage) then move in close (maybe turning or banking off to the side to get out or arc) and focus and hit them with the range 1 APT ignoring my firing arc. Probably the easiest way to get APTs off since I don't have to align them in arc as well as be inside range 1.

Deadeye allows you to do two things. Save a target lock, or change a target when it is that ships time to fire (especially if the target ship flew out of arc). Since Nera's trick shot allows her to fire torpedoes outside of arc deadeye is not that effective.

It does a very important third thing (assuming we aren't talking about stupid "deliberately miss" tricks): it lets you take a single action and fire with a focus token for dice modification if you take a recon specialist. APTs with deadeye and recon specialist give you the near-guaranteed 5 hits without PTL or worrying about setting up a target lock on the right ship. You just take a focus action as usual and if someone is within range 1 at your PS step you remove them from the table.

Deadeye allows you to do two things. Save a target lock, or change a target when it is that ships time to fire (especially if the target ship flew out of arc). Since Nera's trick shot allows her to fire torpedoes outside of arc deadeye is not that effective.

It does a very important third thing (assuming we aren't talking about stupid "deliberately miss" tricks): it lets you take a single action and fire with a focus token for dice modification if you take a recon specialist. APTs with deadeye and recon specialist give you the near-guaranteed 5 hits without PTL or worrying about setting up a target lock on the right ship. You just take a focus action as usual and if someone is within range 1 at your PS step you remove them from the table.

That would be more of the Recon specialist job than the dead eye. Recon specialist gives you a double focus token so you can use it in conjunction with blaster turret, proton rockets or dead eye; or have 1 focus for attack and 1 for defense or; have 2 focus tokens to defend from 2 different attacks.

As for dead eye alone the only modification saving thing it does is save the target lock so you can use it in case you roll all blanks. If you can get an additional focus that turn and assuming you already got a TL on the defender then you can dead eye with both TL and focus, but it is not dead eye that is giving you the extra focus it is wes or kyle. But then again I could say po-ta-to and you say po-tat-o.

That would be more of the Recon specialist job than the dead eye. Recon specialist gives you a double focus token so you can use it in conjunction with blaster turret, proton rockets or dead eye; or have 1 focus for attack and 1 for defense or; have 2 focus tokens to defend from 2 different attacks.

Yes, but it's deadeye that lets you take one action and fire the APT with focus available. Without deadeye you need two actions to set up your APT shot regardless of recon specialist. And I really don't understand what blaster turrets and proton rockets have to do with b-wing choices.

As for dead eye alone the only modification saving thing it does is save the target lock so you can use it in case you roll all blanks.

Err, what? Do you understand how APTs work? You automatically turn all blanks into eyes (outside of the 1% chance that you roll 4+ blanks), so target lock re-rolls are irrelevant. All that matters with an APT is that once you spend the focus/TL to fire it you have a single focus token available to (almost) guarantee five hits. Deadeye + recon specialist lets you get two focus tokens with a single action: one to fire the torpedo, one to get five hits.

If you can get an additional focus that turn and assuming you already got a TL on the defender then you can dead eye with both TL and focus

See above about how APTs work. And if you have TL + focus you've had to take two actions instead of one to fire a max-damage APT. Recon specialist + deadeye lets you fire the APT with a single action.

but it is not dead eye that is giving you the extra focus it is wes or kyle.

No, it's the recon specialist in the back seat of the b-wing giving you the extra focus. And deadeye is what lets you spend two focus tokens on one torpedo shot (one to fire, one to maximize damage) instead of needing two different tokens (focus and TL) to get the same result. Without deadeye the APT combo is a lot more difficult.

A player that brings a ship that needs to avoid stress is going to focus fire on your stress source and kill it ASAP, which means you'll be lucky to use both shots even without the failsafe.

....

Or just kill your b-wing.

If the enemy MUST kill my ship for their fleet to be viable, then I have dictated the way they shall play.

If I have dictated they way they shall play, I must be a damned fool to lose from that position.

(in this meta, a viable concern)

But most key ships ARE at PS 7+.

A point I conceded. In the original post. With no editing.

...You're the type of person who, when asked to help a Swarm defeat 5 assault missiles just says "Don't fly in formation", aren't you.

If the enemy MUST kill my ship for their fleet to be viable, then I have dictated the way they shall play.

Sure, but how many points have you spent to do it? I could spend half my points on Farlander with a HLC and 2x APT and the rest on Jan to support him, and you'd obviously kill Farlander first. But dictating the way my opponent will play isn't very valuable when my list sucks and the way I'm forcing you to play almost guarantees that you will win.

When you look at the point costs you realize that a "must kill" Nera Dantels is ~30 points to duplicate the effect of Biggs. Is that a good deal? Not really.

If I have dictated they way they shall play, I must be a damned fool to lose from that position.

And this is just laughably wrong, otherwise every list that takes Biggs (which does a very good job of dictating how your opponent will play) would be unbeatable unless the player sucks. We know very well from experience that this is not even close to true.

A point I conceded. In the original post. With no editing.

Sure, but why even make the argument in the first place? It's like saying that predator is great when your opponent's 100 point list consists of a single academy pilot. It might be true, but the situation happens so rarely that it's not even worth talking about. Same with action-dependent ships at low PS in the current metagame. You just aren't going to face expensive stress-vulnerable centerpiece threats at less than PS 8. So it's not worth talking about how VI on a PS 5 ship helps against a threat that simply doesn't exist.

Jan Ors — HWK-290 25

Decoy 2

Ion Cannon Turret 5

Nera Dantels — B-Wing 26

Deadeye 1

Advanced Proton Torpedoes 6

Advanced Proton Torpedoes 6

Recon Specialist 3

B-Wing/E2 1

Biggs Darklighter — X-Wing

The problem with Nera is that she becomes a fairly expensive counter to Phantom's and other high agility craft, but is largely mediocre against everything else. She needs torpedoes to use her ability, which makes her expensive, and the requirement to fire out of arc against ships that aren't arc dodgers like Phantoms and Squints is very low. So you end up paying a premium for a glorified ordnance carrier a lot of the time.

Give her a bit of credit, she's still a B-Wing against everything else. And B-Wings are pretty solid.

As far as Phantom counters go, I'd pair her with Roark + ITC. Fill out the rest of the list with whatever you want. X wings, B wings, whatever. Nera to stress the Phantom before it shoots, ITC if the opportunity presents itself and blast it as best you can before it cloaks.

Outside of that specific threat, a HWK and 3 B wings are still strong.

Give her a bit of credit, she's still a B-Wing against everything else. And B-Wings are pretty solid.

But the reason b-wings are solid is their good jousting efficiency. They have a 3-dice gun and a lot of HP for a very reasonable point cost. But once you start adding on points they lose that efficiency and you need to be doing something awesome (HLCs, Farlander, etc) to justify spending that much. And Nera isn't awesome when you aren't making good use of her torps (and even then she's questionable).

B-wings are good 1on1 when cheap but they die fast when you focus fire on one, my last game I did eight damage in one turn to a b-wing it's really not inconceivable that she'll die before using all her ordinance which is why it's not worth making her the most expensive ship in the list.

I cant see why you would take a B wing pilot with a great ordnance ability and *not* take ordnance?

I've yet to try it but im thinking proton and adv proton mean you can wang a shot off on the way in then also get in a killer blow once you're at close range. with MF just to make sure its not wasted. In my list I was hoping that Keyan with HLC and a *nearer* stock bwing are enough of a threat to give Nera time to get that ordnance off.

I personally like Nera. You can do a lot of different things with her. she is PS5. you can load a flechette and a PT or APT, you can give her recon and deadeye and FCS. I think she has a lot of potential. i like flying her with Garvin and giving her deadeye, or dutch. always love me some dutch, then she can take advance sensors. I don't know how many times I have had my bwing get chased down and killed because of poor manueverability. well, There's now a B-wing App for that. I still think as a control ship, a y-wing is better, but Nera can do control, alpha strike, or a mixture of both. Having the option for EPT and crew opens up lots of possibilities. I think we will be seeing more of her, and I agree she gets overlooked, especially with Keyan around.

I was hoping to try her out in a game with the girls this weekend but we got drunk and played Dungeonquest instead as its easier to play both drunk and the next day with a hangover.

I was hoping to try her out in a game with the girls this weekend but we got drunk and played Dungeonquest instead as its easier to play both drunk and the next day with a hangover.

Dungeons quest eh not heard it called that before.

You dont know how near the mark you are there heheheh

I cant see why you would take a B wing pilot with a great ordnance ability and *not* take ordnance?

EPT, PS.

I cant see why you would take a B wing pilot with a great ordnance ability and *not* take ordnance?

EPT, PS.

And with an EPT she is almost or exactly the same cost as Farlander, whose ability will outweigh most EPTs and has higher PS. Try it, but it won't be as cost effective as just taking Farlander.

I tried Nera out the other day. She was pretty fun — until I drew Munitions Failure for a crit. That was upsetting. The target lock requirement is still a bit of a hamper, though. I think she'd do well with Deadeye. Munitions Failsafe isn't a bad idea, either.

Dantel

Deadeye

E2

Rec.Spec.

APT. x2

You're welcome, 2 focuses, and a range 1 bubble to fire APTs with 1 of the focus tokens, and spend the other offensively.

I cant see why you would take a B wing pilot with a great ordnance ability and *not* take ordnance?

EPT, PS.

And with an EPT she is almost or exactly the same cost as Farlander, whose ability will outweigh most EPTs and has higher PS. Try it, but it won't be as cost effective as just taking Farlander.

Correct, i was just listing other reasons to get her.

The problem with her is ordnance tho. It is just weak.

I tried Nera out the other day. She was pretty fun — until I drew Munitions Failure for a crit. That was upsetting. The target lock requirement is still a bit of a hamper, though. I think she'd do well with Deadeye. Munitions Failsafe isn't a bad idea, either.

Dantel

Deadeye

E2

Rec.Spec.

APT. x2

You're welcome, 2 focuses, and a range 1 bubble to fire APTs with 1 of the focus tokens, and spend the other offensively.

APT are furiously weak for their cost, even with Recon + Deadeye.

I tried Nera out the other day. She was pretty fun — until I drew Munitions Failure for a crit. That was upsetting. The target lock requirement is still a bit of a hamper, though. I think she'd do well with Deadeye. Munitions Failsafe isn't a bad idea, either.

Dantel

Deadeye

E2

Rec.Spec.

APT. x2

You're welcome, 2 focuses, and a range 1 bubble to fire APTs with 1 of the focus tokens, and spend the other offensively.

APT are furiously weak for their cost, even with Recon + Deadeye.

And the rec spec becomes dead weight once the APTs are gone, more or less. Han Solo does a better job. Give her an FCS so you can grab the lock on the way in, and then blammo with the APTs, and Han remains solid even after they're away.

Now, this doesn't correct the fact that they are overcosted, but it is still a funish combo, and makes Phantoms and Interceptors think about range 1 more carefully.

If you are focusing for your attack, the recon spec becomes just less than half a c3p0, giving you 1/4th of an evade each turn.

I tried Nera out the other day. She was pretty fun — until I drew Munitions Failure for a crit. That was upsetting. The target lock requirement is still a bit of a hamper, though. I think she'd do well with Deadeye. Munitions Failsafe isn't a bad idea, either.

Dantel

Deadeye

E2

Rec.Spec.

APT. x2

You're welcome, 2 focuses, and a range 1 bubble to fire APTs with 1 of the focus tokens, and spend the other offensively.

15 points worth of upgrades on a B-Wing?

Bring it! I will eat you up and spit you out, all from range two where you can't do squat. That ship build is a disaster in the making.