There was this upgrade card released back in wave 6. All of a sudden it was hailed as the savior of the Empire, from now on TIE Interceptors would be more powerful than Phantoms and Fat Han and all the ships from Wave 5 would be obsolete and never bee seen on the tables again.

But hold on, a couple of weeks and yet Decimators are still running about along with Han. SO what has happened? Well if you look at Auto thrusters there are some notable weakness. So I will describe them here. Not as a way to help noobs playing turrets but to help those with auto-thrusters get the most from their upgrades.

Auto-thruster vulnerabilities

• Range 1 firing arc

Or range 2 yes this is the most common as one of two conditions have to be met. Range 3 or out of firing arc. Turreted ships have firings arcs still so if you are at range 2 but in front of them you will not get the bonus evade from autothrusters. Also for firespray lovers they have 2 firing arcs so either you are getting shot at at range 1-2 or you are not getting any bonus because you are not getting shot at.

• Blocking

Autothrusters don't really require an action but one action that must be included with autothrusters is focus. Autothrusters change a blank to an evade result not a focus. So if you roll 3 or 4 eyeballs and you have no focus you dodge nothing the autothrusters have malfunctioned.

• Boost

Safe at range 3 and just out of firing arc then FAT HAN pulls the engine upgrade and now you are at range 2 in arc. WARNING AUTOTHRUSTER MALFUNCTION. Barrel roll may also be an issue with going back into arc but it can't pull the range in as much as boost. SO watch out you may need boost to equip this but boost can also be your worst enemy.

Even with these limits, it remains the most no-brainer use of two points in the game. Turrets have to actually try to get Soontir in arc. On Aggressors, it's usually the equivelent of taking ten Shield Upgrades for as often as they can force R3 or out-of-arc shots.

There's also one other limitation that you left out: Automatic damage sources. Things like Ten with Mangler, Vader Crew, or Feedback Array. Imperial Kath with Calculation or Mangler also serves as a form of punishment for this card, as your automatic evade will now come with a stress token.

Control lists have also probably seen a rise in part due to this card. Warthog Y-Wings worry more about the arc-dodge than the R1-2 limit. Same with Tactician B-Wings, who were going to try and get you into range 2 anyway.

Only Rebel apologists though autothrusters would make ANYTHING obsolete. It only made some obsolete builds playable again.

Way too powerful for 2 points imo.

Way too powerful for 2 points imo.

It's really only powerfull against turrets, anything else it's a good buy but certainly not OP.

If anything i would question if Aggressors really needed them with their 8hp and 3 agility.

Autothrusters were never going to drive out turreted ships. They were only going to make arc dodgers playable again.

Way too powerful for 2 points imo.

It's really only powerfull against turrets, anything else it's a good buy but certainly not OP.

If anything i would question if Aggressors really needed them with their 8hp and 3 agility.

They only feel "questionable" on Aggressors if you look at the ships individually. When you take into account that you're only ever going to get two of them into a list, leaving you at a meager 16 total HP (by comparison, a TIE swarm has 21-24, Fat Han has 25, and BBBBZ has 36), they start to feel a little squishy even with Autothrusters.

EDIT: Math is hard...

Autothrusters help, but I'm not sure why anyone thought they were going to be all that strong. They still only marginally assist against high-agility ships' oldest enemy: gunner.

Avoiding an initial shot with focus+evade+autothruster reroll is great, but if it forces you to spend one or more tokens to avoid damage then you are still weaker against the second shot. I'm still trying to decide how I feel about autothrusters versus the old shield+hull upgrade combo on interceptors, at least then you could sometimes choose to take one point of damage rather than risk the gunner reroll. Autothrusters can give you extra evade ability for both shots but if you lose all your tokens on the first shot you could be in a worse position than if you still had the extra HP.

Our 15-person SC on 3/28 only had one turret in attendance. Didn't make the cut.

Avoiding an initial shot with focus+evade+autothruster reroll is great,.

Autothruster reroll..? Ain't no rolling involved!

Everything you said can be summed up with five words. You must outfly your opponent.

Which is why autothrusters is a cool upgrade, it makes flying important to both the dodgey squints (or A-Wingss or StarVipers) but also to the turreted ships they are trying to kill.

I would have liked an offensive upgrade for Squints instead of a defensive one. I feel more games are running long or being called on time during this wave than before. Soontir with Stealth Device and Aututhrusters against a Falcon with C3PO plus title (even R2D2) is just painful, too much automatic evasion going on. The new Advanced title is a step in the right direction since it gives an automatic crit (with a target lock). I think it would be more helpful to the current tournament format if more upgrades were offensive rather than defensive so most games could be decided before time. Before this wave Soontir Fel was actually used quite a bit, often with Targeting Computer. Now, it´s just too tempting to use Autothrusters (because they´re great), so Soontir has become a defensive Stalwart instead of a lethal killer.

It's a two point upgrade. Never forget that.

Everything you said can be summed up with five words. You must outfly your opponent.

Which is why autothrusters is a cool upgrade, it makes flying important to both the dodgey squints (or A-Wingss or StarVipers) but also to the turreted ships they are trying to kill.

You can still out shoot your opponent. unless they have a way of doubling focus autothrusters they can only guarantee at least 1 evade for 1 attack only. No focus still has a chance for 0 evade results against a turret out of arc ship.

I would have liked an offensive upgrade for Squints instead of a defensive one. I feel more games are running long or being called on time during this wave than before. Soontir with Stealth Device and Aututhrusters against a Falcon with C3PO plus title (even R2D2) is just painful, too much automatic evasion going on. The new Advanced title is a step in the right direction since it gives an automatic crit (with a target lock). I think it would be more helpful to the current tournament format if more upgrades were offensive rather than defensive so most games could be decided before time. Before this wave Soontir Fel was actually used quite a bit, often with Targeting Computer. Now, it´s just too tempting to use Autothrusters (because they´re great), so Soontir has become a defensive Stalwart instead of a lethal killer.

Oh, Soontir is still a lethal killer. Just as he's always been. All that's changed is that he no longer dies the moment a turret looks at him.

It's easy to counter them just get them in arc, only people reliant on turrets could consider them OP.

It does not make things immortal but it does let that 30pt a-wing or interceptor survive past turn three.

I for one was happy to hear someone ran triple autoceptors and did well.

I would have liked an offensive upgrade for Squints instead of a defensive one. I feel more games are running long or being called on time during this wave than before. Soontir with Stealth Device and Aututhrusters against a Falcon with C3PO plus title (even R2D2) is just painful, too much automatic evasion going on. The new Advanced title is a step in the right direction since it gives an automatic crit (with a target lock). I think it would be more helpful to the current tournament format if more upgrades were offensive rather than defensive so most games could be decided before time. Before this wave Soontir Fel was actually used quite a bit, often with Targeting Computer. Now, it´s just too tempting to use Autothrusters (because they´re great), so Soontir has become a defensive Stalwart instead of a lethal killer.

Remember it wasn't Turrets that killed Interceptors as they were well in use in Wave 3 and came out the same wave as the Falcon and were still used a lot by imperial players. It was the Tie Phantom that can do everything that Interceptors can do but only better. Now the only advantage that Interceptors have over phantoms is that Tie Interceptors can take autothrusters but Tie Phantoms can't. Even then that is still 3 green dice with a defense modifier against 4 green dice that can relocate before the move.

Its a 2 pt insurance policy. We've all been there for that flub Range 3 roll, where you roll 5 dice because you're sitting behind a rock, and you wiff on all of them. Autothrusters has your back. Its like State Farm i suppose. Just hum the jingle right before you roll the dice. And as far as turrets, it forces them to actually fly. You can force them into bad paths, make them actually chase you into rocks or get too close to the edge because now they have to point their nose at you, or they lose damage efficiency.

Fel with PTL, SD, and AT, at either R3 or an out of arc shot, has something like a 10% chance to get hit by a 3 hit attack. Thats insanely good. Even 4 dice only gets up to 27% or something like that with any given attack.

Pre wave four there was a lot more variety that the game got flooded with turrets and everyone but fel became way too fragile and he was only allowed to live because the phantoms were the priority.

Interesting topic, as interceptors are my favorite ship here's my thought on the list:

1. Range 1 arc on a falcon or decimator.

Yep, I'm unlikely to close on a decimator or falcon at range 1 (I added that extra detail) unless it is focusing fire for the kill and I have higher PS. An exception is a decimator with Vader, and then your ability to crit requires an all out kamakazie like attack to eat your hull like a buzz droid buffet. Other than the Vader scenario, keeping you from getting that 4th red dice and trying to get me a 4th green is usually the objective. More distance also helps protect me from mines and bombs dropped as I follow your decimator. I don't mind getting to range 1 on a YT with a HLC doughnut, in fact I love that. Y-wings and Hawks with turret blaster or ion cannons I'd still prefer to kill from outside of your range 2 weapon as well.

2. Blocking.

This is just a good strategy against squints in general, even without autothrusters. If I suspect that a squint, other than perhaps Carnor, will be blocked then I'll usually pick a 3-5 move and give up an attack just to save my skin for a round with better positioning. Even going over a rock with a 5-k is better than being blocked in multiple arcs. You just don't have the jousting prowess to let that happen in most cases.

3. Boost/Higher PS.

You mentioned boost, but I added higher PS to that combo because any ship with higher PS raises my flying challenge about 200%. That's because arc dodgers survive on being able to boost and roll after they see your final position and a higher PS means I have to guess, not react to your final position. Also, if you have my tail, I'll use boost to either get to range 3+ or out of arc, granting a bonus green and autothrusters. So when I initially saw boost I thought, wait a minute that's one of my squints best qualities. But I see what you mean from your side of the higher PS table with Han.

So, what should be added:

4. Bombs/mines.

But mines only if I'm really close to your tail, otherwise they can be avoided.

5. Vader crew.

Really? I think you should have to hit to use Vader crits. Auto crit after whiffing just doesn't sit right with me. The decimator has enough strength without this. Shuttle and firespray with Vader are more balanced. OK, just had to have a soap box moment.

6. Gunner on a turret ship.

Shame on me if you catch me in arc with gunner on a non-turret. Gunner on a turret though is sure to burn tokens or make me choose to lose one very valuble hull and sometimes stealth device in order to avoid your second shot at blowing me into oblivion.

7. 60 minute rounds.

Favors beefier builds usually.

8. My own dice.

Enough said.

In sum, I take autothrusters for needed turret insurance. It is a small insurance policy, not overpowered at all in my opinion given the hull ratio between interceptors and most turreted ships, as well as your crew, secondary weapon and bomb/mine options, not to mention illicit options for some now too. Tourneys still favor the big guns so don't fear the squint too much. Perhaps you only fear because you didn't even have to worry before. ;-)

Pre wave four there was a lot more variety that the game got flooded with turrets and everyone but fel became way too fragile and he was only allowed to live because the phantoms were the priority.

Everyone decided to run turrets in order to deal with the Phantom. You wouldn't see turret builds half as much if the super phantom wasn't so powerful.

It's easy to counter them just get them in arc, only people reliant on turrets could consider them OP.

It does not make things immortal but it does let that 30pt a-wing or interceptor survive past turn three.

I for one was happy to hear someone ran triple autoceptors and did well.

AND he beat a Falcon/Outrider list for a tournament win!

It is detailed on his blog at www.tabletopgeneral.com. I know him personally, he's a great player. Also a frequent player on our stream at twitch.tv/fcbcomicsgames. You can see a bunch of his games archived there and our YouTube channels FCB Games and North Atlanta Games.

Interesting topic, as interceptors are my favorite ship here's my thought on the list:

1. Range 1 arc on a falcon or decimator.

Yep, I'm unlikely to close on a decimator or falcon at range 1 (I added that extra detail) unless it is focusing fire for the kill and I have higher PS. An exception is a decimator with Vader, and then your ability to crit requires an all out kamakazie like attack to eat your hull like a buzz droid buffet. Other than the Vader scenario, keeping you from getting that 4th red dice and trying to get me a 4th green is usually the objective. More distance also helps protect me from mines and bombs dropped as I follow your decimator. I don't mind getting to range 1 on a YT with a HLC doughnut, in fact I love that. Y-wings and Hawks with turret blaster or ion cannons I'd still prefer to kill from outside of your range 2 weapon as well.

2. Blocking.

This is just a good strategy against squints in general, even without autothrusters. If I suspect that a squint, other than perhaps Carnor, will be blocked then I'll usually pick a 3-5 move and give up an attack just to save my skin for a round with better positioning. Even going over a rock with a 5-k is better than being blocked in multiple arcs. You just don't have the jousting prowess to let that happen in most cases.

3. Boost/Higher PS.

You mentioned boost, but I added higher PS to that combo because any ship with higher PS raises my flying challenge about 200%. That's because arc dodgers survive on being able to boost and roll after they see your final position and a higher PS means I have to guess, not react to your final position. Also, if you have my tail, I'll use boost to either get to range 3+ or out of arc, granting a bonus green and autothrusters. So when I initially saw boost I thought, wait a minute that's one of my squints best qualities. But I see what you mean from your side of the higher PS table with Han.

So, what should be added:

4. Bombs/mines.

But mines only if I'm really close to your tail, otherwise they can be avoided.

5. Vader crew.

Really? I think you should have to hit to use Vader crits. Auto crit after whiffing just doesn't sit right with me. The decimator has enough strength without this. Shuttle and firespray with Vader are more balanced. OK, just had to have a soap box moment.

6. Gunner on a turret ship.

Shame on me if you catch me in arc with gunner on a non-turret. Gunner on a turret though is sure to burn tokens or make me choose to lose one very valuble hull and sometimes stealth device in order to avoid your second shot at blowing me into oblivion.

7. 60 minute rounds.

Favors beefier builds usually.

8. My own dice.

Enough said.

In sum, I take autothrusters for needed turret insurance. It is a small insurance policy, not overpowered at all in my opinion given the hull ratio between interceptors and most turreted ships, as well as your crew, secondary weapon and bomb/mine options, not to mention illicit options for some now too. Tourneys still favor the big guns so don't fear the squint too much. Perhaps you only fear because you didn't even have to worry before. ;-)

5) I disagree on Vader requiring a hit. He's not manning the gun. He's standing on the bridge, watching your ship, and deciding whether to crush it using only his pure hate. So great is his anger that it actually causes minor structural damage to his own ship.

6) Don't automatically assume Gunner is going to just work every time. It's not too hard to roll an evade and a blank with three dice, which is usually enough to counter the two hits you rolled on three dice with that first attack. And, unless you're running Crew Luke or flying a weird Falcon with a Gunner/Recon combo, your second attack might also be missing tokens.

7) A well-flown Aggressor squad has no trouble with 60-minute rounds. They can match you for beef, and will do everything they can to push for range 3 exchanges that allow their Autothrusters to mitigate damage taken.

It's easy to counter them just get them in arc, only people reliant on turrets could consider them OP.

It does not make things immortal but it does let that 30pt a-wing or interceptor survive past turn three.

I for one was happy to hear someone ran triple autoceptors and did well.

AND he beat a Falcon/Outrider list for a tournament win!

It is detailed on his blog at www.tabletopgeneral.com. I know him personally, he's a great player. Also a frequent player on our stream at twitch.tv/fcbcomicsgames. You can see a bunch of his games archived there and our YouTube channels FCB Games and North Atlanta Games.

I'll give them ago I have run triple autoceptors myself I had fun but my friend using a yt 2400 really didn't and still hasn't forgiven me for taking apart his favourite ship without taking a hit.

6. Gunner on a turret ship.

Shame on me if you catch me in arc with gunner on a non-turret. Gunner on a turret though is sure to burn tokens or make me choose to lose one very valuble hull and sometimes stealth device in order to avoid your second shot at blowing me into oblivion.

6) Don't automatically assume Gunner is going to just work every time. It's not too hard to roll an evade and a blank with three dice, which is usually enough to counter the two hits you rolled on three dice with that first attack. And, unless you're running Crew Luke or flying a weird Falcon with a Gunner/Recon combo, your second attack might also be missing tokens.

I totally agree. I played two games at Store Championships against Decivader, one of which had Gunner, and in neither game did my squints take any damage from the attack -- only from Vader. Autothrusters is an amazing upgrade! It's so liberating not to fear turrets any more...but I do fear Vader more than ever now. Guess you can't have it all.