explain super dash

By period3, in X-Wing

I don't really get super dash. Nobody talks much about the YT-2400 pilots. Leebo, for example, has an ability I understand, and it doesn't seem that bad. Not great, but not bad.

But it seems like Dash is always favoured. Maybe it's because I suck at maneuvering (I don't play this game that much anymore -- waiting for the Raider to play epic), but Dash's ability doesn't seem that great to me; or at least, no better than Leebo's.

Is Dash taken mostly just because of the higher PS, or is it because his ability is part of some strategy or tactic?

He basically ignores tarrian is my understanding, and one of the biggest problems with big ships is that being blocked is a huge issue.

With the right Loadout he can do a boost, a barrel roll and still get a free focus. And with Dash's ability he can do all of that while overlapping asteroids. It's pretty hard for a mass of b wings or tie fighters to track him through a packed debris field without suffering consequences.

What makes Dash super is his ability to treat debris clouds as open space, while other ships take stress and possibly damage landing on them.

The high ps is a major boost. His ability is really helpful too if you are running a super dash with EU and PTL so that you can boost and barrel roll to your heart's desire.

High ps, dashing good looks, ignoring obstacles, and the ability to take a 4 die turret along with the best large ship dial make him a winner for me.

Edited by Geoffy

Higher PS is certainly a small part of it.

The ability to fly through asteroids and debris clouds should not be underestimated. Most ships do what they can to avoid them, though there is the occasional suicidal Z95 that blasts through one to get one last shot off, or block something. Point is, it's unexpected when lanes that would normal be potentially damaging and self-deny actions are suddenly available with no consequence*.

Note that Dash can still be blocked by other ships, and this is in fact often the best strategy against big, powerful monsters of ships ('fat' turrets and arc-dodging flankers alike).

The "super" part comes, most usually, with the following upgrades:

  • Heavy Laser Cannon + Outrider: throw 4 dice in any direction
  • Push the Limit + Engine Upgrade: coupled with Dash's ability = go anywhere
  • Kyle Katarn (crew): essentially get a third action, Focus, even when 'going anywhere'

Dash becomes one of the most maneuverable ships in the game, one of the hardest hitting, and always has at least one way to modify his dice (for offense or defense).

*Dash does still have to get off asteroids before firing, or he won't get a shot, like everybody else.

Maybe it's because I suck at maneuvering, ...but Dash's ability doesn't seem that great to me; or at least, no better than Leebo's.

You suck at maneuvering yet don't understand the appeal of being able to ignore terrain?

Maybe it's because I suck at maneuvering, ...but Dash's ability doesn't seem that great to me; or at least, no better than Leebo's.

You suck at maneuvering yet don't understand the appeal of being able to ignore terrain?

Sucks at maneuvering so much he can't hit debris if he tried.

With Dash you can place your asteroids to make a kill zone that you take advantage of with the Outrider title, PTL and EU. This lets you fly unhindered through an area that others have to navigate through, which limits their ability to keep you in arc, while you can still fire on them with your HLC or Mangler.

Seriously, it is a good thing that the outrider title is unique or Dash/Leebo outriders would rule.

I definitely prefer Leebo + Determination, but Dash's PS makes him very valuable in this metagame.

But it seems like Dash is always favoured. Maybe it's because I suck at maneuvering (I don't play this game that much anymore -- waiting for the Raider to play epic), but Dash's ability doesn't seem that great to me; or at least, no better than Leebo's.

Being less-than-stellar at avoiding obstacles is a fantastic reason to like Dash. Accidentally landed on a rock? No biggie, you still get your action(s), so boost or barrel roll away from it. Not a great pilot and moved yourself into a terrible spot? No biggie, you've got Push the Limit, so boost or barrel roll away from it. Still working on ship movement and hate feeling restrained by a dial? No biggie, YT-2400 has basically the best dial in the game, you can do anything you want to (and then boost and barrel roll away from it, if you don't like where you end up).

Dash the worst designed pilot in the game, lets make a pilot who ignores a primary mechanic of the game and who can also attach a turreted HLC.

Dash the worst designed pilot in the game, lets make a pilot who ignores a primary mechanic of the game and who can also attach a turreted HLC.

Yeah, and while we're at it, I better not see anybody using Autoblasters!

This is what I would say most people think of when you say Super Dash

Dash + PTL + HLC + Outrider + Kyle + EU (58pts) You have a 4 attack turret ship that can boost and barrel roll and get a free focus from Kyle. You have a hyper mobil ship that can arc dodge and shot 360. While other ships have to change course to avoid asteroids/debris fields you can go right through them and use that to your advantage to get better angles. Because he's a large base ship and he can boost and barrel roll this makes him one of the fastest ships in the game. He's not without weaknesses but he's naturally very strong.

I like the other YT-2400 pilots and you do see Leebo talked about quite a bit. There's several good builds with Leebo and Chewie that's lots of fun and work very well.

Maybe it's because I suck at maneuvering, ...but Dash's ability doesn't seem that great to me; or at least, no better than Leebo's.

You suck at maneuvering yet don't understand the appeal of being able to ignore terrain?

No. It just doesn't happen that often. In a game, I might hit an asteroid once or twice. (I play 200 point games, 3x3, 6 asteroids). It's just not a game changer.

Asteroids also don't affect my maneuvers that much, as I'm not that adverse to just plowing through them. The 0.5 HP penalty isn't that big of a deal when a B-wing has 8 HP, and upgrades like advanced sensors negate the action penalty.

Dash's ability still doesn't let you attack if you're on an asteroid though.

With Dash you can place your asteroids to make a kill zone that you take advantage of with the Outrider title, PTL and EU. This lets you fly unhindered through an area that others have to navigate through, which limits their ability to keep you in arc, while you can still fire on them with your HLC or Mangler.

Seriously, it is a good thing that the outrider title is unique or Dash/Leebo outriders would rule.

But it seems like Dash is always favoured. Maybe it's because I suck at maneuvering (I don't play this game that much anymore -- waiting for the Raider to play epic), but Dash's ability doesn't seem that great to me; or at least, no better than Leebo's.

Being less-than-stellar at avoiding obstacles is a fantastic reason to like Dash. Accidentally landed on a rock? No biggie, you still get your action(s), so boost or barrel roll away from it. Not a great pilot and moved yourself into a terrible spot? No biggie, you've got Push the Limit, so boost or barrel roll away from it. Still working on ship movement and hate feeling restrained by a dial? No biggie, YT-2400 has basically the best dial in the game, you can do anything you want to (and then boost and barrel roll away from it, if you don't like where you end up).

Yeah I didn't think about barrel rolling off a rock I landed on. I can see how that might be an OK ability, but it still doesn't seem that great compared to any of the falcon pilots, for example. I will try a super dash again in my next build and see how it goes.

here's super dash in my experience:

1.) Most of your game will be determined by planning around PTL

PTL with Kyle Katarn gives you an ideal maximum of a Target-lock and two focus for trading dice. This makes Dash second only to aggressors (maybe butt-arc super Kath) at long range dice trading.

The weakness of PTL is that you limit yourself to green maneuvers or severely cut down your offense in order to perform a maneuver listed on your more open dial. Dash's ability and roll help severely mitigate the risks of PTL, but unlike Han's C3po/predator/gunner/ability you will screw yourself over if you get blocked. Even with Dash's ability you also can't shoot while standing on a space peanut.

you want to do into basically every dice trade with KK up, meaning you'll want to have stressed yourself a turn in advance. Reason being: Dash has zero guaranteed damage mitigation. You'll get your ass kicked in more often than not. Against every other fat ship apart from the aggressor, you'll want to be at range 3 for your extra green die and because outrider will ignore theirs.

you'll also want HLC. Without damage mitigation, you need to be doing more damage if you expect to survive a one on one with the literally unavoidable fire from a PWT.

2.) The rest of your game will be determined by abusing Dash's ability and not ******* up with your doughnut hole

Dash will get straight up ****** over by IG-88s in a dice trade. You will not beat 3 agility and auto-thrusters throwing out the same dice with basically the same mods. Victory will hinge 100% on your maneuvers and IGs hate of obstructions.

the limitations placed by the YT's limited greens would make maneuvering nearly impossible without Dash's ability, but with it you can keep up your dice modifications while moving in the proper directions (preferably through a field of obstructions)

similarly, you're not going to enjoy games against PWT if you find yourself often in range 2. At range 1 you basically throw the game. Because PWTs don't have PTL to depend on, they're going to outmanuever you in the open handily. How do you go about resolving this? Dash's ability. PWTs and do boost shenanigans through rocks and if they land on them or debris they're stuck and down on guaranteed damage mitigation (or worse, an entire attack)

that's the gist of it, anyway. Dash is a pilot who lives and dies almost completely based on how you maneuver him. If you do it well, you'll get near guaranteed returns on your powerful HLC and do some incredible amount of damage. If you don't, you'll get stuck in bad trades (the worst of which occur in range one, for obvious reasons)

Tl;Dr Dash thrives at range 3 and his ability is absolutely essential to keeping him there

Edited by ficklegreendice

But it seems like Dash is always favoured. Maybe it's because I suck at maneuvering (I don't play this game that much anymore -- waiting for the Raider to play epic), but Dash's ability doesn't seem that great to me; or at least, no better than Leebo's.

Being less-than-stellar at avoiding obstacles is a fantastic reason to like Dash. Accidentally landed on a rock? No biggie, you still get your action(s), so boost or barrel roll away from it. Not a great pilot and moved yourself into a terrible spot? No biggie, you've got Push the Limit, so boost or barrel roll away from it. Still working on ship movement and hate feeling restrained by a dial? No biggie, YT-2400 has basically the best dial in the game, you can do anything you want to (and then boost and barrel roll away from it, if you don't like where you end up).

Yeah I didn't think about barrel rolling off a rock I landed on. I can see how that might be an OK ability, but it still doesn't seem that great compared to any of the falcon pilots, for example. I will try a super dash again in my next build and see how it goes.

But if you hit an asteroid or debris field with anyone else it's not just a chance of taking damage it's also a loss of action.

Now if you are playing 200 point games typically and just 1 ship in your list is affected by an obstacle that's clearly going to impact you less than when it happens in a 100 point list where you have far fewer guns to bring.

But it seems like Dash is always favoured. Maybe it's because I suck at maneuvering (I don't play this game that much anymore -- waiting for the Raider to play epic), but Dash's ability doesn't seem that great to me; or at least, no better than Leebo's.

Being less-than-stellar at avoiding obstacles is a fantastic reason to like Dash. Accidentally landed on a rock? No biggie, you still get your action(s), so boost or barrel roll away from it. Not a great pilot and moved yourself into a terrible spot? No biggie, you've got Push the Limit, so boost or barrel roll away from it. Still working on ship movement and hate feeling restrained by a dial? No biggie, YT-2400 has basically the best dial in the game, you can do anything you want to (and then boost and barrel roll away from it, if you don't like where you end up).

Yeah I didn't think about barrel rolling off a rock I landed on. I can see how that might be an OK ability, but it still doesn't seem that great compared to any of the falcon pilots, for example. I will try a super dash again in my next build and see how it goes.

Yea, but don't just compare pilot abilities when you're comparing YT-1300 to the 2400.

1. Being able to give Dash the Outrider HLC is a huge offensive boost and makes it one of the most damaging ships in the game

2. Having 2 agi makes Focus actions actually useful on defense. RecSpec becomes gold with or without PTL.

3. Barrel roll with PTL boost (engine upgrade) makes the 2400 significantly harder to keep in arc.

You're right that Dash's ability might not be better than Han's for example, and if the YT-1300 had the above traits, I think the case for Dash would be much weaker. But taking into account everything above and his ability to cut through debris fields that other ships have to risk flying through makes it superior in my opinion.

I don't really get super dash. Nobody talks much about the YT-2400 pilots. Leebo, for example, has an ability I understand, and it doesn't seem that bad. Not great, but not bad.

But it seems like Dash is always favoured. Maybe it's because I suck at maneuvering (I don't play this game that much anymore -- waiting for the Raider to play epic), but Dash's ability doesn't seem that great to me; or at least, no better than Leebo's.

Is Dash taken mostly just because of the higher PS, or is it because his ability is part of some strategy or tactic?

His ability stacked with a large ship boost and/or large ship barrel roll means that he can move wherever the **** he wants and since his HLC is a ******* turret he can do this with no consequence. Often times a ship will be in a place during the planning phase where an asteroid will block one of its manuevers and you can be reasobaly sure that your opponent will not intentionally land it on an asteroid, but with Dash you don't have that so he's super unpredictable.

The shenanigans are off the charts, super unfun to play against. Not quite pre-nerf Phantom tier game ruining shenanigans, but up there.

The shenanigans are off the charts, super unfun to play against. Not quite pre-nerf Phantom tier game ruining shenanigans, but up there.

With the decline in Phantoms and the introduction of debris fields, Super Dash is relatively much better now than before.

Fel can still be a problem but he's not THAT bad compared to pre-nerf phantoms.

Here's why 58 Dash is good:

His HLC removes the range 3 disadvantage unless they have auto thrusters. His 2 agility makes him better off at range 3 than 1 agility turrets if he saves a focus... unless the enemy has canons or ordnance. Taking Kyle gives him a focus, useful for defense and offense. With PTL he can use TL to measure range to ensure a boost or barrel roll keeps him at r3, ideally from only one enemy ship and out of arc from the rest. His boost and/or barrel roll lets him adjust his location after the TL ranging and his ability lets him ignore obstacles so he doesn't lose those important actions and can reposition with impunity.

All these abilities work together so Super Dash can range, isolate, arc dodge, chase down, and fire very accurate shots all game long. He generally beats all other turreted ships 1v1.

Think of Super Dash this way: he's Soontir Fel with more than 3x the hp, a turreted HLC, an arguably better dial, a targetting computer, and he ignores all obstacles. For that, he costs less than twice as much, pays 2 ps and 1 agil.

Edited by Koshinn

I have been using Nien Nunb (all straight maneuvers are green) rather than Kyle Katarn as the crew, as I have found the extra focus is not as effective (for my style of play at least) as having more green options on a PTL build. Being able to leap 4 forward and lose a stress really gives me options, and makes it less predictable where I am going to end up.

I lost to a Leebo-Chewbacca build in the regionals - but it came down to each of us having a single hull point - and I had the misfortune of having received that crit which reduces your pilot skill to 0. But for that card, it would have been Dash on top. I ended up placing higher in the Swiss (missed the cut by one), but that game was the most fun I've had in a long time.

The shenanigans are off the charts, super unfun to play against. Not quite pre-nerf Phantom tier game ruining shenanigans, but up there.

This is true, pre-nerf phantoms were a great counter to Dash.

With the decline in Phantoms and the introduction of debris fields, Super Dash is relatively much better now than before.

Fel can still be a problem but he's not THAT bad compared to pre-nerf phantoms.

Here's why 58 Dash is good:

His HLC removes the range 3 disadvantage unless they have auto thrusters. His 2 agility makes him better off at range 3 than 1 agility turrets if he saves a focus... unless the enemy has canons or ordnance. Taking Kyle gives him a focus, useful for defense and offense. With PTL he can use TL to measure range to ensure a boost or barrel roll keeps him at r3, ideally from only one enemy ship and out of arc from the rest. His boost and/or barrel roll lets him adjust his location after the TL ranging and his ability lets him ignore obstacles so he doesn't lose those important actions and can reposition with impunity.

All these abilities work together so Super Dash can range, isolate, arc dodge, chase down, and fire very accurate shots all game long. He generally beats all other turreted ships 1v1.

Think of Super Dash this way: he's Soontir Fel with more than 3x the hp, a turreted HLC, an arguably better dial, a targetting computer, and he ignores all obstacles. For that, he costs less than twice as much, pays 2 ps and 1 agil.

This. Only one thing missing: Dash is the best blocker out there as the greens on the dial + BR will take you anywhere. If you are facing Soontir block him and let the escort blow it up :)