Technically Strom is also an independent ace that can slug it out with most ships at range 1

The fact that friendlies can benefit from his ability is just a happy accident

I disagree as I find "aces" need to be at least PS 7, if not 8. Also, I find abilities that just work on one person tend to lean towards "ace". Strom's ability is meant to work with a group. I want Strom, Carnor Jax, and a bunch of Ties to go face to face w/ BBBB. They each get 3 red dice, but the B's won't get to use Focus and the Ties will have 3 green dice.

The problem with that definition is that it's far too restrictive (ships like guri don't need PS to kick ass) and potentially misleading as it could relegate a pilot to the category of "support ship"

Just like jax or eathn, Strom is just a self-enabling badass that happens to support your squad.

Kyle or garven would be more along the support alley

So what about Juno (28) title/ATC(1) EU(4) Lone Wolf (2) and use her as a flanker?

35 points and consistantly capable in both offense and defense.

Real question is what to run with her?

I'd use her as a distraction carnifex in this engagement.

And you're still packing just 2 red dice. 2 Red dice on a 31/35 pt ship is a garbage decision.

And being able to change your maneuver on the fly should keep you from bumping anyway. Not all the time, but more than you would normally.

Exactly. She's not a bad candidate for Accuracy Corrector, but ATC is going to be the real star of the show. Often enough you'll be able to adjust speed to blitz past a block (and TL for the next pass) or stop juuust short, and TL with a Range 1 shot. We already know the Advanced is pretty hardy, so trying to make it more defensive doesn't yield return the same way adding attack damage does.

I'd argue that she's a terrible choice for accuracy corrector. Advances sensors is good, but she doesn't really need more agility.

2 hits can be dodged REALLY easy.

a crit and a hit or two.. different game.

I would be very hesitant to run PtL or EI on a TIE Advanced. Sure, Juno has 8 possible green maneuvers, but none of them are hard turns.

I'd argue that she's a terrible choice for accuracy corrector. Advances sensors is good, but she doesn't really need more agility.
2 hits can be dodged REALLY easy.
a crit and a hit or two.. different game.

Well... A crit and a hit is as easy to evade as 2 hits.

You really need 2 hits and a crit if you want it to be harder to evade

And you're still packing just 2 red dice. 2 Red dice on a 31/35 pt ship is a garbage decision.

And being able to change your maneuver on the fly should keep you from bumping anyway. Not all the time, but more than you would normally.

Exactly. She's not a bad candidate for Accuracy Corrector, but ATC is going to be the real star of the show. Often enough you'll be able to adjust speed to blitz past a block (and TL for the next pass) or stop juuust short, and TL with a Range 1 shot. We already know the Advanced is pretty hardy, so trying to make it more defensive doesn't yield return the same way adding attack damage does.

I'd argue that she's a terrible choice for accuracy corrector. Advances sensors is good, but she doesn't really need more agility.

2 hits can be dodged REALLY easy.

a crit and a hit or two.. different game.

I agree with where you're coming from, but I get to a different conclusion: AC on a 3-AGI ship is an incredible defensive boon, because you can Evade and Barrel Roll without fear of poor Attack rolls. You know what you're getting, and so does your opponent. Falcons, B-Wings, Decimators, et al loathe Accuracy Corrector! It's not a ton of damage, and yes a R3 shot at Auto-Fel isn't likely to be doing much, BUT: the Evade token Juno was able to take makes her pretty hardy right back. Juno's speed and unpredictability more than make up for low damage if she can't be killed quickly, but the rest of her squad is going to really determine how much you want AC over ATC (and, for the record, I'd prefer ATC in general, but I also think AC is one of the best upgrades in the game). As ever, you can't trust green dice!

Edited for being cranky.

The problem with that definition is that it's far too restrictive (ships like guri don't need PS to kick ass) and potentially misleading as it could relegate a pilot to the category of "support ship"

Just like jax or eathn, Strom is just a self-enabling badass that happens to support your squad.

Kyle or garven would be more along the support alley

I don't consider Guri an ace, though. Neither do I Eathn. I only consider high PS pilots "aces". Not all low to mid PS named pilots are support, though.

I would be very hesitant to run PtL or EI on a TIE Advanced. Sure, Juno has 8 possible green maneuvers, but none of them are hard turns.

And neither does anybody else besides A-wings and Interceptors, and they practically telegraph that move. I didn't realize that Green Hard moves were the prerequisite for taking PTL. Somebody go tell various Firespray and Aggressor builds that they're rubbish. Corran too, he's only got 4 green moves, and none of them are Hard turns. Oh Super Dash too.

Woah hey ease up there pal. Yeah PtL works just fine on a bunch of ships, but you've got to admit the versatility of green hard turns make the A-Wing and Interceptor the best platforms by far. It just gives them so many more maneuver options, and both of them need those options to really survive. SuperCorran is great, but the real synergy of PtL comes with R2-D2 and an Engine upgrade, 11 points later. A PtL RGP for 25 points is a real solid ship that can hit hard and then dance into just the right spot for another shot, or book it out of the fray, and those green turns are the reason.

That's part of why I don't think we'll ever see another ship with a native green turn, PtL is almost auto-include.

A flying ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more.

So, the pilot skill rating has nothing really to do with it, per se, however the high skill does help facilitate getting a kill.

Yes, but in a game that doesn't carry over kills, how else do you describe high PS pilots? I usually say "ace". Not technically correct, but most people understand.

I would be very hesitant to run PtL or EI on a TIE Advanced. Sure, Juno has 8 possible green maneuvers, but none of them are hard turns.

And neither does anybody else besides A-wings and Interceptors, and they practically telegraph that move. I didn't realize that Green Hard moves were the prerequisite for taking PTL. Somebody go tell various Firespray and Aggressor builds that they're rubbish. Corran too, he's only got 4 green moves, and none of them are Hard turns. Oh Super Dash too.

Woah hey ease up there pal. Yeah PtL works just fine on a bunch of ships, but you've got to admit the versatility of green hard turns make the A-Wing and Interceptor the best platforms by far. It just gives them so many more maneuver options, and both of them need those options to really survive. SuperCorran is great, but the real synergy of PtL comes with R2-D2 and an Engine upgrade, 11 points later. A PtL RGP for 25 points is a real solid ship that can hit hard and then dance into just the right spot for another shot, or book it out of the fray, and those green turns are the reason.

That's part of why I don't think we'll ever see another ship with a native green turn, PtL is almost auto-include.

I'll apologize for being overly harsh, but the point still stands. PTL works well on ships that have a 3+ actions, getting the most out of the points they pay for those actions. It works even better on ships with a multitude of greens. But there's plenty of ship builds that don't have a ton of greens on them. Juno has 4 actions on her bar, and thanks to how ATC works, she really doesn't need to use many actions for offense beyond her initial TL. She gets to spend them on defense or re-positioning. You dont take PTL on Vader because it doesnt work right due to timing, and Maarek was paying points for a garbage ability.

Oh, three actions a turn with Vader is fun. A little overkill, but fun.

Ships don't need green turns to run PTL effectively. Corran, IG-88 and Dash do just fine with PTL and no green turns. I agree that the based Advanced dial doesn't have enough green to allow PTL, but Juno's ability fixes that.

I'll apologize for being overly harsh, but the point still stands. PTL works well on ships that have a 3+ actions, getting the most out of the points they pay for those actions. It works even better on ships with a multitude of greens. But there's plenty of ship builds that don't have a ton of greens on them. Juno has 4 actions on her bar, and thanks to how ATC works, she really doesn't need to use many actions for offense beyond her initial TL. She gets to spend them on defense or re-positioning. You dont take PTL on Vader because it doesnt work right due to timing, and Maarek was paying points for a garbage ability.

No worries! I tend to like PtL on any ship with an Evade action, but there's plenty of exceptions to that! Dash, Corran, any Decimator with the Isard/Engine/PtL schtick, etc etc. Maarek doesn't really have much going for him, and Vader gets by just fine with two actions and his full dial. Juno will be a lot of fun in general, but I definitely see the appeal of PtL!

1 Bank (green), barrel roll, and then boost does pretty well. Of course, you are stressed again right away, but hey!

Ships don't need green turns to run PTL effectively. Corran, IG-88 and Dash do just fine with PTL and no green turns. I agree that the based Advanced dial doesn't have enough green to allow PTL, but Juno's ability fixes that.

extenuating circumstances, namely:

*what the hell are obstructions? + thanks Kyle, you're a bro + wheeeeeeeeeee~ rolls/boost

or

*well **** it not shooting next turn anyway + oh hai R2

you really don't want to make yourself overly predictable, especially in a ship that isn't that durable without actions. Soontir gets absolutely wrecked when blocked, and while Vader isn't as poorly off he's also far easier to predict

Ships don't need green turns to run PTL effectively. Corran, IG-88 and Dash do just fine with PTL and no green turns. I agree that the based Advanced dial doesn't have enough green to allow PTL, but Juno's ability fixes that.

extenuating circumstances, namely:

*what the hell are obstructions? + thanks Kyle, you're a bro + wheeeeeeeeeee~ rolls/boost

or

*well **** it not shooting next turn anyway + oh hai R2

you really don't want to make yourself overly predictable, especially in a ship that isn't that durable without actions. Soontir gets absolutely wrecked when blocked, and while Vader isn't as poorly off he's also far easier to predict

I would say Juno's ability makes her the opposite of predictable. Having 8 green maneuvers and being able to change your maneuver on the fly doesn't qualify as "extenuating circumstances"?

well, maybe?

I know the high number of green manuevers seems like a lot, but after flying against aggressors I'm far more interested in the "Variety" than the "amount" and she's simply missing the green hard turn

of course, take this with a grain of salt because I can in no way predict how awesome/not-awesome Juno will be until table-time and because she's on a small base + ability, making her not nearly as susceptible to blocks as aggressors

Still, PTL is a huge "maybe" imo on Juno. I'm considering predator and outmanuever before PTL. PTL doesn't seem to have the same obvious gain as PTL does on Dash or Corran, as far as I can see with numbers and prior experience with the rebel ships.

She does carry the absolute best case for PTL out of all the Advances, though. Question is: is that going to be worth it over Vader's ability?

SoT I don't think we'll see at all (action-less Advance = ficklegreendice + wait, what the hell am I doing with ATC?)

I think the big thing to remember in terms of Juno shedding stress and/or being predictable is when her power triggers. Being able to adjust your speed on the fly is gonna be huge in terms of letting her get off a green maneuver safely. Dial in a two bank, then when the time comes do a 3 or a 1; it's not JUST that the 3 and 1 are green, also, it's that she can choose which one to do when it's her turn to go. That's pretty spiffy.

I'm still not sold on PtL (I'm awful tempted, personally, to just go with VI and call it a day), but...I'm not completely sold against it, either.

I think the big thing to remember in terms of Juno shedding stress and/or being predictable is when her power triggers. Being able to adjust your speed on the fly is gonna be huge in terms of letting her get off a green maneuver safely. Dial in a two bank, then when the time comes do a 3 or a 1; it's not JUST that the 3 and 1 are green, also, it's that she can choose which one to do when it's her turn to go. That's pretty spiffy.

If you dial a 2-bank, your final maneuver will be white regardless of whether you perform it at speed 1, 2, or 3.

I think a lot of people are misunderstanding stay on target. I say this because I see statements like "you can only use it every other round."

SoT does two things...

It stresses you and it lets you react to a lower p.s. Move.

You don't take SoT to use it every round - with the possible exception of Keyan farlander. If you've played Keyan with it, you know all about setting the 2 k turn, or a maneuver you know you don't want to change it to the move you do want, in this case it's about causing stress mostly.

When not used for stress, SoT is insurance, it lets you keep an arc when the opponent does something very unexpected, or lets you get out of dodge when you're going to be blocked, trapped and killed... When the maneuver you chose isn't good enough. Most of the time, you don't need to trigger stay on target. It's unlikely you'll need it two turns in a row.

On a pilot like Juno, it gives massive options, which can let you be offensive or defensive, (gaining or dodging arc, setting range) it can be great when you need it, but that flexibility costs you more efficient choices (ptl/predator).