Sorry I didn't read that detail, I've must have been destracted by that ewok snowball that hit my in the head

Okay, I'm clearly out of the loop on something--I feel like I keep seeing Ewok snowball references, and I don't get it. Can someone elucidate?

I started to use it, after I realiesed, that a Star Wars related post I once made, had snowballed from being a very short post to a much bigger rant.

In my wild imagination, I can just see a bunch of Ewoks push that small ball of snow down hill, and see it getting bigger the further it goes, while picking up one hapless stormtrooper after another.

So ever since I make a post that turns out bigger than intended, or if I was destracted by something (Ewoks) that made my respons to another post sound less clever than intended, and the post is related to a Star Wars topic.

I make the reference to Ewoks and Snowballs.

I hope the above explanation has not "Snowballed" into a too big Ewok for you to swallow

My love for the Vet captain is simple...


Commands are the highest value commodity in the game. You get six commands over the course of the game. Receiving a token outside of converting a dial is like getting an extra dial.

Getting the RIGHT token EXACTLY when you need it can absolutely swing the outcome of a game by a huge margin, and since commands are the scarcest and most valuable commodity we can have, I'll happily pay three points for such a versatile upgrade.

Then again, I'm a generalist, all-comer list builder. I value maneuverability over strength, and adaptability over raw power. These are the lists that can win consistently.

So my quandary Is do I place intelligence officer or vet captains on my two AF mark twos ( ackbar driven with gunnery teams) ?

Fighters are all rogues apart from jan ors

There are also a couple of CR90 As supporting...

Anyone got any thoughts.... Kill the brace, or have that move/engineering/concentrate fire token when I really need it.....

So my quandary Is do I place intelligence officer or vet captains on my two AF mark twos ( ackbar driven with gunnery teams) ?

Fighters are all rogues apart from jan ors

There are also a couple of CR90 As supporting...

Anyone got any thoughts.... Kill the brace, or have that move/engineering/concentrate fire token when I really need it.....

Well you dont need squadron command,

And you have gunnery teams so dont need navigate at a moments notice,

Killing the brace is more powerful than CF

So that leaves repair which is better served by Engineering captain if you want the flexibility, but tbh you dont need it.

You;ve built an inflexible list, so vet captain has no purpose for you. Drop the gunnery teams and vet captain becomes useful as you manouver for the double arcs.

So my quandary Is do I place intelligence officer or vet captains on my two AF mark twos ( ackbar driven with gunnery teams) ?

Fighters are all rogues apart from jan ors

There are also a couple of CR90 As supporting...

Anyone got any thoughts.... Kill the brace, or have that move/engineering/concentrate fire token when I really need it.....

Well you dont need squadron command,

And you have gunnery teams so dont need navigate at a moments notice,

Killing the brace is more powerful than CF

So that leaves repair which is better served by Engineering captain if you want the flexibility, but tbh you dont need it.

You;ve built an inflexible list, so vet captain has no purpose for you. Drop the gunnery teams and vet captain becomes useful as you manouver for the double arcs.

This is probably the most flexible list I have played todate and I've been play rebels since wave one released. I think a lot of people see ackbar as inflexible, but that's actually player mind set.

All lists will be optimised in a specific area, even very generalist lists, what makes a list inflexible is not its optimisation but having an in built deficit this stops it operate in a specific ways and gives rise to significant weakness that limits their function and are easy to exploit. This was very true of wave one lists but not so most wave two builds. The classic example was the all Victory lists ( immobile), this has massive in build inflexibility, I never lost a game against an all vic build.

As mentioned before the other aspect of a list that creates inflexibility is the player preception of a lists optimisation.... Or the I have ackbar and AFMK2s with gunnery team therefore I must drive in a line syndrome. You exploit your strengths when you can that does not mean you are defined and limited by them ( cuts you've just made your strength a weakness).

So my list. Simple with three elements that can work together or on their own.

Ackbar, this guy is the ultimate opportunist, why because my ships are best not running strait at you in a predictable way, I want to keep moving and dodging you, using speed, but most of my ships had problems dishing out damage. This guy just gives me the long range damage to do that and kill you hard at the same time. He makes the widest arcs of my AFmk2s very potent, and the weak side asks of my CR90 strong. He does not cause any weakness in my fleet.

The elements:

2 AFmk2s with ECM and gunnery teams. Fast, tough, and with ackbar high levels of damage output from one arc. Being dependent on two arcs for damage is a weakness due to forced inflexibility of manoeuvre, these can put 6 dice with a side arc or 6 with a front and back double arc, that's call flexibility. O yes and gunner gives me a chance of hitting two ships in the same arc or a ship and a fighter ball, I don't have to do this but if the opportunity is there I have the flex.

2 CR90 As the TLRC. These are very fast very manouverable ships, their major weakness/ inflexibility was that they die at close range and had their best arc on the front, forcing a closing engagement. Now mine have great side acres as well, so I can move how I want and still inflict 3-4 damage a turn from long range.

4 YT2400, including outrider, four very fast, tough, fighters that can be concentrated and activated in the fighter round or left as rogues. 3 black anti ship and one re role black bomber dice generating 4 ish hits a turn, or 16 anti fighter dice with up to four reroles. That's a very flexible fighter wing.

I can easily concentrate the lot on one ship for a one round take down, or go after a couple of lighter fast ships a round.

I can go first player or play my missions,

most wanted ( CR90 runs, AF mk2s hunt the other ship with 7 dice side arcs)

Hyper space assault, one AF mk2 at the back of your fleet throwing six dice at two of your ships.... And three black dice fighters all in the rear arc.....

Dangerous Terrian, CR90s pick up tokens, MK2s have free range of the board.....

So no need to conger, I just move and hunt with my side arcs or double arcs.....I don't care......

Some interesting stuff in here, I had never even considered using this guy before. And in the current type of list I prefer and play style I have I still probably wouldn't use him but at least now I "get" when/how he could be used.

I have gotten almost annoyingly good at having the right dial at the right time and banking tokens to complement what I want to do. Maybe one time per match do I feel that I could have really used a token I didn't have.

I think as I improve at the game (someday I will be "good") I tend to require flexibility less and less and start valuing synergy more and more.

Veteran Captains allow you a huge amount of flexibility. He can speed your ship up/down in a clutch moment, allow you to gain back/rearrange shields (very useful for Rebs with their broadsides where only one or two hull zones are taking damage), or (as others have said) act as a one-turn expanded Hangar. He's cheap and universally useful. Like, when would you go through a game without using his ability? Never. I think he's a great use of the officer slot.

To further your ideas, I currently use a Vet Cap with SW7s on a Raider II. Well, two of those. The Captain allows them to double up on Commands in a pinch, or do two disparate things as needed. Emergency Rhymer activation? Move a shield? Drop an additional point of Speed? Reroll that Die you added? The versatility alone is worth the 6 points.

Vet. Captain cost 3 points

Yup and he has 2 Raiderzz!