I love this card.

1.) Tarn with an R7 is stupid durable, I think that much is clear. I'd even go so far as to say he's the best 25 points you can spend in the game.

2.) A generic X Wing with R7 is not far behind Tarn in survivability provided you correctly guess which ship is going to be shooting at which x wing, which gets easier if your opponent has less ships.

3.) Biggs with R7? Probably the best defensive Astromech for him IMO, also cheaper than the others besides for R4-D6 or whatever that weird 1 point unique one is.

But what I'd most like to point out with this thread is a subtle thing about the card and lists built around it that makes it surprisingly good.

So, when playing a non-R7 ship, ideally you'd want to TL first incase you roll well this attack, and save it for when you need it/combo it with focus. However, this comes at the cost of unmodified defense dice on the turn you choose TL instead of focus.

With an R7 however, what happens is that now a TL also doubles as a defensive action. So you can dump TL's first turn with no consequence, and if you don't need the defense it stays during the cleanup phase, unlike defensive focuses.

I guess when I put it that way, it's kind of obvious, but the R7 helps you out much more than forcing your opponent to reroll his hit hit hit focus attack, it optimizes your action economy by giving you a defensive action that can be saved until it's needed, and you still have the option to use it offensively. A defensive target lock sticks around after you K turn, sticks around when you bump or go through an obstacle. If your opponent rolls like crap and you don't need a defensive modification it isn't wasted. It also stacks with defensive focus, so it adds another layer of defense to an otherwise fragile X Wing.

You get the flexibility of the focus token being usable on either defense or offense with the optimization of action economy the TL provides by not getting discarded at the end of every turn.

Oh, and another thing. It's better to reroll incoming attack dice as a means of defense than reroll/focus your own defense dice, you're more likely to stop hits that way due to evades being a 3/8 chance (5/8 if focus) on agility dice and hits being 4/8 (6/8 if focus).

I have been considering the implications of r7 in biggs myself. What have your in game experiences been?

Tarn with R7 (AKA the TaR-7) is a match made in heaven. Anyone that shoots at Tarn gives Tarn a trigger for the R-7 that Tarn can use there. R-7 can only work once per turn so Tar-7 can still be focused down. Put him with Point fortress Han and you got a frustrating list that save the MOV.

Biggs and R-7 might work but unlik Tarn Biggs has to set up the activation of R7 himself. Which means Biggs has to pick a target lock of what he thinks will be attacking him. On higher skilled pilots this can be a problem as they might be out of target lock range when Biggs activates but after Biggs has moved then the higer skilled pilots can boost in and focus down biggs without R-7 triggering. B-ggs with R-7 might be a good build but it is weak against the High Pilot skill builds that have become a part of the meta. Biggs will just meet Soontir or Whisper and eat it.

I flew:

Biggs

2x Red Squadron + 2x R7

Tarn Mison + R7

What happened is that Biggs always died because my opponent was either forced to shoot him, or he didn't have an R7 like the others and was thus easiest to kill of the 4 anyways. I'd change a red to a rookie to get 2 more points in for an R7 on Biggs. Even then I still did decent.

If Tarn Mison is invincible, then surely other X Wings would be if you plan your target locks ahead right.

Also, unmodified dice are crap. But what's even worse than unmodified dice? Unmodified dice that have a further -25% chance to hit on them.

R7 spam shines against 2 ship lists though, as guessing which ships need to be target locked defensively is easier when there is one 1-2 things shooting at you. Soontir and Whisper are typically part of 2 ship meta lists.

R7 spam shines against 2 ship lists though, as guessing which ships need to be target locked defensively is easier when there is one 1-2 things shooting at you. Soontir and Whisper are typically part of 2 ship meta lists.

I still don't think this is the case against an opponent that flies well and uses their PS against you accordingly. Maybe you should post a replay video. You seem to be extremely adamant about this and it just doesn't make logical sense.

So, how does the R7 re-roll affect other re-rolls? And who gets to re-roll the red dice first? Does the R7 ability trigger before Predator, for instance?

So, how does the R7 re-roll affect other re-rolls? And who gets to re-roll the red dice first? Does the R7 ability trigger before Predator, for instance?

Yes, it will trigger first, and the opponent isn't allowed to use Predator.

So, how does the R7 re-roll affect other re-rolls? And who gets to re-roll the red dice first? Does the R7 ability trigger before Predator, for instance?

I believe the defender modifies attack dice before the attacker (otherwise Sensor Jammer would work...differently). So yes, it triggers first, unless I'm mis-remembering.

I've actually been looking at trying out the R7 astro in some builds -- it's good to hear that others are having success with it. Perhaps on a Rebel warthog....

Edit: Rebel warthog + R7 + Dutch could be quite interesting

I some success with using R7 on Y-wings. If anything they are the best candidates since they prevent more damage overall (well relative to their health at least, since their green dice rarely do them any favours). The problem always seems to be the wasted action.

Was really looking forward to being able to have a crew and an astromech on the Y-wing for Weapons Engineer shenanigans, but that likely won't happen anytime soon anymore (if ever).

The other problem is that work best in TL/predator free environment, thats seems to be less common to come across these days.

So, how does the R7 re-roll affect other re-rolls? And who gets to re-roll the red dice first? Does the R7 ability trigger before Predator, for instance?

Yes, it will trigger first, and the opponent isn't allowed to use Predator.

Just to clarify, they can't use predator to reroll a dice that was rerolled, but could reroll a blank (or possibly a focus) since the R7 owner obviously wouldn't force a reroll on a blank.

R7 actually shines on E-Wings. Throw in a Fire Control System, and you get the target look for free.

Of course, Corran has better options than an R7, and the other pilots are only rarely used. But if you're jousting against a lower PS pilot, you can evade and get the target lock, so you have two defensive actions. That might be useful on Etahn, since you want him around longer. And if your opponent wastes shots an him, even better.

R7 Biggs is great if paired with Rebel action passing pilots - Vander, Graven, Cracken, Kyle, or Lando.

Cracken could be good because hes cheap and Biggs would make up for his fragility.

So what's better? Biggs with R2 F2, Biggs with an R7, or Tarn and R7?

I feel like Tarn with R7 would be good, but you'd not get much mileage from it because people simply wouldn't target him. I mean, that means he gets to spend Target Locks willy nilly, because he'll always have one when he gets shot at though. Gosh, I really want to put him in a list but I don't want to have to buy the rebel transport to do it. I mean, I'm probably going to buy the transport anyway at some point... so I might as well...

Well, out of the three from a pure offense perspective, Tarn with R7. R2-F2 isn't very good unless you find a way to pile a bunch of actions and tokens and stuff on him.

That's exactly what you want to happen with Tarn. You want enemies to not target him so that way he survives until the late game. Against any one single attack Tarn is hard to kill. Plus if he's not being fired upon then he can manually target lock for offensive purposes. When an R7 ship gets into late game typically they'll be facing less ships and everyone will be spread out making R7 defensive TL's easier to correctly place.

yay for R7 Tarn!

he's one of very few viable X-wings when faced with the diluge of two ship nonsense. He's quite durable, and opponents will also be very much punished for flubbing attacks against him because he can then use his target-lock offensively

I wouldn't say he's the best 25 points because "best" doesn't say much of anything definite in such a hotly contested point range (both tactician B-wings and R3-A2 BTL-A4 ICT Y-wings) but he is a solid counter to lists that can't output high numbers of attacks

R7 spam shines against 2 ship lists though, as guessing which ships need to be target locked defensively is easier when there is one 1-2 things shooting at you. Soontir and Whisper are typically part of 2 ship meta lists.

I still don't think this is the case against an opponent that flies well and uses their PS against you accordingly. Maybe you should post a replay video. You seem to be extremely adamant about this and it just doesn't make logical sense.

I don't own a camcorder so I have no means of recording matches.

It's also a matter of picking which ship is the biggest threat and TLing that one.

I'm extremely adamant about the R7 because it's a fun card that is also fairly effective. What doesn't make sense? I have a defensive action that stays around until I need it. TL is the better offensive action, so if it also gains the ability to defend me then that is quite a benefit.

Biggs normally has to be targeted so that makes it a little easier too, as you know he's going to get shot at first so worrying about the others getting shot isn't a problem until Biggs dies, at which point ships will be spread out and defensive TL's will be easier to correctly place.

R7 spam shines against 2 ship lists though, as guessing which ships need to be target locked defensively is easier when there is one 1-2 things shooting at you. Soontir and Whisper are typically part of 2 ship meta lists.

I still don't think this is the case against an opponent that flies well and uses their PS against you accordingly. Maybe you should post a replay video. You seem to be extremely adamant about this and it just doesn't make logical sense.

I don't own a camcorder so I have no means of recording matches.

It's also a matter of picking which ship is the biggest threat and TLing that one.

I'm extremely adamant about the R7 because it's a fun card that is also fairly effective. What doesn't make sense? I have a defensive action that stays around until I need it. TL is the better offensive action, so if it also gains the ability to defend me then that is quite a benefit.

Biggs normally has to be targeted so that makes it a little easier too, as you know he's going to get shot at first so worrying about the others getting shot isn't a problem until Biggs dies, at which point ships will be spread out and defensive TL's will be easier to correctly place.

It's a fun combo. I don't know about it on Biggsy though; great for Tarn.

I have tried a few times to fly Biggs but found he gets squished too quickly. I know it is my flying and I need some practice using other ships to put down the hurt while Biggs is taking the heat.

I was interested in this thread as I thought it may help me give our moustached rogue some survivability. A question arises though, I see people talking about R2-F2 (increase your agility value by 1 until the end of this game round). I understood that to be a 1 time use (despite the card NOT saying 'then discard this card'). The reason being, the wording states 'until the end of this game round'. If R2-F2 is usable every game round, why specify the timing of the card?

Is this astromech a one time use, does it remain effect the entire game or have I completely stooged myself and not understood/overlooked something?

the specific timing of the card refers to the ability

if it wasn't there, it'd go like this

Biggs starts the game at 2 agility, goes up to 3 next round, then 4 the next, then 5 the next...

+1 agility lasts until the end of round and the droid stays (or else it'd be the most worthless thing in the game, since stealth device already exists)

and I'm already very dubious about r2-f2, for very good reasons

I have tried a few times to fly Biggs but found he gets squished too quickly. I know it is my flying and I need some practice using other ships to put down the hurt while Biggs is taking the heat.

I was interested in this thread as I thought it may help me give our moustached rogue some survivability. A question arises though, I see people talking about R2-F2 (increase your agility value by 1 until the end of this game round). I understood that to be a 1 time use (despite the card NOT saying 'then discard this card'). The reason being, the wording states 'until the end of this game round'. If R2-F2 is usable every game round, why specify the timing of the card?

Is this astromech a one time use, does it remain effect the entire game or have I completely stooged myself and not understood/overlooked something?

Nevermind, I just re-read the card .. and this time I saw the word ACTION. Makes sense now

the specific timing of the card refers to the ability

if it wasn't there, it'd go like this

Biggs starts the game at 2 agility, goes up to 3 next round, then 4 the next, then 5 the next...

+1 agility lasts until the end of round and the droid stays (or else it'd be the most worthless thing in the game, since stealth device already exists)

and I'm already very dubious about r2-f2, for very good reasons

Thank you. This all paints this little droid in a more favourable light for me.

I have tried a few times to fly Biggs but found he gets squished too quickly. I know it is my flying and I need some practice using other ships to put down the hurt while Biggs is taking the heat.

I was interested in this thread as I thought it may help me give our moustached rogue some survivability. A question arises though, I see people talking about R2-F2 (increase your agility value by 1 until the end of this game round). I understood that to be a 1 time use (despite the card NOT saying 'then discard this card'). The reason being, the wording states 'until the end of this game round'. If R2-F2 is usable every game round, why specify the timing of the card?

Is this astromech a one time use, does it remain effect the entire game or have I completely stooged myself and not understood/overlooked something?

R4-D8 on Biggs is great It keeps him alive and only adds one point.

Luke and E'tan with draw their fire and the two shield regenerating Astros is a fun way to go. Pull any crits to the regenerators and stress stack the damage thrown at Biggs. If you get lucky defense rolls you can end a match practically untouched looking. Crits from E'tan are good damage addition too.