Where's the Meta These Days?
It seems old habits die hard
Well, pilots, don your helms and get your shiny new ships ready. We're going whale hunting.
Edited by ficklegreendice
On the Rebel side, the YT is still a very common sight, though I can't recall seeing a lot of Han. B-Wings were also still out in force, either as part of BBBBZ or a 4B control list.
The only time B-wings weren't out in force was wave 2 
Imperials everywhere
This is probably the biggest universal right now. The wrecking ball of "Decimator plus arc-dodger" is still the most common combo. Double or triple arc-dodgers (Soontir with a Phantom) are also common, along with people running various TIE swarms.
Am I just missing the sarcasm? The Empire seems like the minority faction according to the numbers I'm seeing. Is there a time-cut-off you're looking at the games since the release of Scum?
No sarcasm. I didn't get into any of last weekend's events, but the first weekend after Scum's release only saw 10% of players actually using them. Still seeing a lot of folks trying to hitch their wagon to Decimators, though Interceptor use is way up thanks to Autothrusters.
Interesting. I wonder why your specific gaming experience had that many Imperials, compared to the wider trend.
Where's the Meta These Days?
Don't say its name!
You might summon it.
Edited by TIE Pilot
Imperials everywhere
This is probably the biggest universal right now. The wrecking ball of "Decimator plus arc-dodger" is still the most common combo. Double or triple arc-dodgers (Soontir with a Phantom) are also common, along with people running various TIE swarms.
Am I just missing the sarcasm? The Empire seems like the minority faction according to the numbers I'm seeing. Is there a time-cut-off you're looking at the games since the release of Scum?
No sarcasm. I didn't get into any of last weekend's events, but the first weekend after Scum's release only saw 10% of players actually using them. Still seeing a lot of folks trying to hitch their wagon to Decimators, though Interceptor use is way up thanks to Autothrusters.
Interesting. I wonder why your specific gaming experience had that many Imperials, compared to the wider trend.
Not sure. What trends are you seeing in your area?
If I had to assume, the Decimator/Arc Dodge combo is still big for the same reason that Corran/Dash builds were: you have something that's really good at countering one pillar (the Decimator vs nimble arc dodger) and another that's really good at countering another pillar (the arc-dodger vs the swarm). It helps give you a balanced attack that hopefully won't leave you weak to whatever specific builds happen to show up across the table from you.
Edited by PhantomFOThe phantom/decimator has ceased to be a dominating force here (and it should've ceased being a dominating force sooner, but the "panic attack" I keep hearing about hadn't been invented yet and. locally, I hadn't ironed out the kinks in the Stress Wing until after Most Wanted came out) with the vested interest in wave 6.
I'm not sure they'll return, either, because Aggressors have proven more than capable of ploughing through them. Getting coverage from two wide arcs and packing incredibly accurate cannons (IG-88B being auto-include) numbers Whisper's days, while 3 agility 8 health auto-thrusters give poor Chiry fits.
While I wish we could just bury the goddamn Decimator, I'm happier now that it's stopped being the list and has instead become one of many incredibly powerful lists out there. It's a testament to the game's balance 
This is probably the biggest universal right now. The wrecking ball of "Decimator plus arc-dodger" is still the most common combo.
Pic and Gorc, for nostalgia's sake.
That also covers Fat Han / Super Dash + Corran Horn, incidentally, for a full 3-way archetype.
The phantom/decimator has ceased to be a dominating force here (and it should've ceased being a d6ominating force sooner, but the "panic attack" I keep hearing about hadn't been invented yet and. locally, I hadn't ironed out the kinks in the Stress Wing until after Most Wanted came out) with the vested interest in wave 6.
I'm not sure they'll return, either, because Aggressors have proven more than capable of ploughing through them. Getting coverage from two wide arcs and packing incredibly accurate cannons (IG-88B being auto-include) numbers Whisper's days, while 3 agility 8 health auto-thrusters give poor Chiry fits.
While I wish we could just bury the goddamn Decimator, I'm happier now that it's stopped being the list and has instead become one of many incredibly powerful lists out there. It's a testament to the game's balance
Decimator with phantom or fel is still top lost to best right now. No double aggressors does not completely destroy that list. Maybe if they aren't flying it well but aggressors aren't too hard to arc dodge.
The phantom/decimator has ceased to be a dominating force here (and it should've ceased being a d6ominating force sooner, but the "panic attack" I keep hearing about hadn't been invented yet and. locally, I hadn't ironed out the kinks in the Stress Wing until after Most Wanted came out) with the vested interest in wave 6.
I'm not sure they'll return, either, because Aggressors have proven more than capable of ploughing through them. Getting coverage from two wide arcs and packing incredibly accurate cannons (IG-88B being auto-include) numbers Whisper's days, while 3 agility 8 health auto-thrusters give poor Chiry fits.
While I wish we could just bury the goddamn Decimator, I'm happier now that it's stopped being the list and has instead become one of many incredibly powerful lists out there. It's a testament to the game's balance
Decimator with phantom or fel is still top lost to best right now. No double aggressors does not completely destroy that list. Maybe if they aren't flying it well but aggressors aren't too hard to arc dodge.
conversely, maybe the aggressor players aren't flying them too well because wider arcs are indeed difficult to arc dodge. we could go in circles guessing at the relative "skill" of our local players, but because we're on the forums and have zero method of verifying such guesses according to any established standards, it's probably best to never bring up the "maybe they sucked" argument in the first place
I would also like to remind everyone that the paint on the aggressor has yet to dry while Whisper + Chiraneau has been stale for quite some time now. The fact that it's the most played list now means very little, given the lack of time given to adjust to our shiny new toys.
Might as well pre-empt this, too: vassal and the table-top are different animals.
Edited by ficklegreendiceVery much in flux. You got to recognize that Wave 6 is a fairly large wave (the biggest to be exact) giving 8 new ships (even if 5 of those were reprints) in a single wave with the new faction, most other waves only brought 4 new ships. Even the reprints work differently from their imperial/rebel counterparts. The most dramatic change since that has been Wave 2 with the addition of the large based ships and the boost action. (runner up would be wave 4 with the cloaking action).
Also the time frame is relatively new. Compared to the others. The gap between Wave 4 and 5 was larger then the gape between wave 5 and 6 which gave some time for the meta to be solidified. The Rebel aces between 4 and 5 didn't bring a lot of stuff new to the table and not to mention wave 5 was only a 2 ship expansion so it didn't take long to reform the meta from wave 5 which wasn't all too different from wave 4 meta.
So with the wave 6 meta I think it will remain in flux for some time. Maybe it will iron itself out just in time for the Imperial raider but as for now it is just too soon after a wave release of this magnitude.
Edited by MarinealverVery much in flux. You got to recognize that Wave 6 is a fairly large wave (the biggest to be exact) giving 8 new ships (even if 5 of those were reprints) in a single wave with the new faction, most other waves only brought 4 new ships.
Proportionally, Wave 1 was the biggest, and I think Wave 2 may have been proportionally larger as well, but I don't know which ships are actually included in it.
Definitely bigger than Wave 3-5, though.
Very much in flux. You got to recognize that Wave 6 is a fairly large wave (the biggest to be exact) giving 8 new ships (even if 5 of those were reprints) in a single wave with the new faction, most other waves only brought 4 new ships.
Proportionally, Wave 1 was the biggest, and I think Wave 2 may have been proportionally larger as well, but I don't know which ships are actually included in it.
Definitely bigger than Wave 3-5, though.
Wave 2 included the Falcon, Slave I, A-Wing and TIE Interceptor.
Looking at all of the ships together is fun.
If you just think about what we have and what we may have in a year is cool for me...
I do not give a flip about meta, cause I can make anything work fine... and it is always fun!
Yeah but I got Porky zooming all round!
The phantom/decimator has ceased to be a dominating force here (and it should've ceased being a dominating force sooner, but the "panic attack" I keep hearing about hadn't been invented yet and. locally, I hadn't ironed out the kinks in the Stress Wing until after Most Wanted came out) with the vested interest in wave 6.
It's a **** near perfect list, for the existing meta.
Edited by UniJustinInteresting. I wonder why your specific gaming experience had that many Imperials, compared to the wider trend.
Not sure. What trends are you seeing in your area?
I haven't been to all that many tournaments lately, so most of what I see is what I see on the game nights. I have noticed (from a few months ago) that people in my area are much less experimental on what they bring for tournments, with netdecking being a little bit of a thing. I usually get creamed with my own go-to list, so I'm trying to come up with something new without netdecking.
However, the things in my area that I've noticed is that rebel builds have outnumbered Empire by about 3:1. Dash is/was hugely popular. I've also seen some people with the dual Aggressor lists at the game nights.
Interesting. I wonder why your specific gaming experience had that many Imperials, compared to the wider trend.
Not sure. What trends are you seeing in your area?
I haven't been to all that many tournaments lately, so most of what I see is what I see on the game nights. I have noticed (from a few months ago) that people in my area are much less experimental on what they bring for tournments, with netdecking being a little bit of a thing. I usually get creamed with my own go-to list, so I'm trying to come up with something new without netdecking.
Play around with scum. Other than dual aggressors, netdecking isn't really possible with that faction yet. And the aggressors don't really count since the IG 2000 title really pushes you in to that build.
Start with what you're curious about, then switch into what performs for you.
I find bombers quite workable if you're canny with them.
I had a really good game a few weeks back with two 'loaded for bear' bombers and a phantom.
Made sure i got the ordnance off quickly which then left the bombers as high hit point interference while the phantom nipped about.
Cant remember the exact build but i know i won against a tie int list and against a mate who is normally a pretty good player.
It's still too early. I think we will have a better idea once Wave 6 has been out for a month.
Here's 32 tournaments worth of data that's been collected since Scum's release.
RAC is the most popular named pilot right now, followed by Dash, Han and Soontir (though this is factored by points spent so pure appearances would have Soontir higher). Fairly small sample but Whisper's seen a decent drop in play, IG-88B is just about to pass her in ranking. Blues and Bandits dominate in terms of generics, mostly due to BBBBZ but also 6Z+Tarn.
Edited by stmackThe Meta in my neighborhood has one recurring flavor:
Those who like to play with autothrusters and those who hate to roll against it
Seriously though, that 2 point upgrade screwed up all the typical lists, so now everything is up for grabs and people are trying new things on a regular basis. I love it
Cant wait until this weekend to try the autothrusters on my favorite a-wing pilot. lol
The Meta in my neighborhood has one recurring flavor:
Those who like to play with autothrusters and those who hate to roll against it
Seriously though, that 2 point upgrade screwed up all the typical lists, so now everything is up for grabs and people are trying new things on a regular basis. I love it
The less Fat Han we see the better, if you ask me. But Fat Han is still shockingly good, possibly even better now that you can take Fringer+Mango Cannon+Outrider as support.