This card already seems very powerful. It may let you do +1 damage when you need it for just 1 point, whereas +1 Hull or shield point costs 3 and 4 points.

THAT part, IMHO, is a bit annoying.

So I spend 3 points on an extra point of hull that gets discarded on first use...and you spend one point on an upgrade that completely nullifies the three points I spent.

WTF?

It's an EPT, though. EPT is a crowded slot.

So is the 'modification' slot. Ships can only take one of those, too.

True, but usually a ship only has 1 or 2 mods that are good on it, where as most ships have several EPTs that they work well with, and those EPTs tend to be stronger than the mods.

It's a nice one-shot counter to Autothrusters too, for those R3 shots against Soontir.

Green Squadron Pilot w/title/Crack Shot/Lightning Reflexes/Proton Rockets x4

Hell of an alpha strike.

Edit: 4 pts left over for fun stuff: autothrusters on 2, swap LR for a 2pt EPT like intimidation... fun.

I think Tawnos has got it. Some ordnance (and Mangler) do more than just one more damage if they hit. The difference between an AHM hitting and missing is a face up damage card or nothing, regardless of the defender's shielding I might add.

But I agree that the ordnance fix is a gradual process. Here's to hoping September 4th gives a reason to put Torps on an X-Wing...

I'm assuming that by September 4th you mean Wave 7. It is best not to use future dates when describing FFG X-wing products.

Well I said Plasma Torpedoes will only be good in a meta that uses 5 shielded ships. Lo and behold the list that won nationals is nothing but 5 shielded ships (B-wings, YT-2400). Plasma Torpedoes may have more use to them than I give them credit for. I still think proton is slightly better.

As for Crack Shot It would be great on Wedge, or against Emperor Kenkirk or Falcon C-3PO. But Crack shot doesn't turn a blank roll into hits so as for a torpedo/missile fix maybe not. It helps but just because some features need all the help they could get a partial help is not a fix.

I'm assuming that by September 4th you mean Wave 7. It is best not to use future dates when describing FFG X-wing products.

Pretty sure he is talking about force awakens stuff. Sept. 4 is the date that companies are allowed to start announcing toys and games that tie into the new movie. (And he is assuming an x-wing fix will come with TFA x-wings).

I'm assuming that by September 4th you mean Wave 7. It is best not to use future dates when describing FFG X-wing products.

Pretty sure he is talking about force awakens stuff. Sept. 4 is the date that companies are allowed to start announcing toys and games that tie into the new movie. (And he is assuming an x-wing fix will come with TFA x-wings).

At the *VERY* least, we'll be getting more astromechs with the Episode VII stuff.

As many of the better proposed 'fixes' to the X-Wing involve the astromech slot (as that doubles up fixes for Y-Wings and E-Wings, which also need it), that makes this a promising place for a substantial improvement to the X-Wing.

IF they can come up with astromech abilities that improve one ship sufficiently, without overpowering another.

IF they can come up with astromech abilities that improve one ship sufficiently, without overpowering another.

I had a few ideas here:

https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/184855-astromechs/

Which shouldn't be too overpowering I think.

The main problem with crack shot supporting ordnance is that, as noted, an ordnance boat with an EPT is generally expensive - so it's tempting to spend a couple more points and take Push The Limit or similar, which will often increase damage/odds of hitting by the same amount due to scoring more hits but keep working.

I think it's still a good elite talent - I can see it working very nicely on cheap ordnance platforms - something like the Green Squadron Pilot (which, thanks to A-wing Test Pilot, has a 'spare' elite talent slot as well as access to missiles)

You could pair Advanced Homing Missiles with Maarek Stele and Crack Shot (or similar) but then you might be starting to invest too much in getting that one critical. Unless we're talking Tycho or Corran Horn, you're still probably not going to One-Hit-Kill someone, and landing that one hit's still not that easy due to the weapon's finnicky range restrictions.

It's a nice card, but it's exactly as good with primary attacks as it is with ordnance.

Not quite. A key benifit of most ordnance is doing heavy damage quickly, and Crack Shot augments this further. I think the key difference is it can let you finish off ships that would otherwise survive. When we are talking about ships with as little a 3 HP, the +1 damage an ordnance might provide over a primary, with the +1 damage of Crack Shot, combined may be enough to kill a ship that may survive without either one.

An x-wing is very unlikely to 1 shot a tie at range 3 with primaries. Throw in a proton torp, and the shot is still rather unlikely. But add in the Crack Shot and you have a decent chance. I'd be interested to see some real math though.

Now if you have 3 or 4 of these in your list, that is up to 4 extra damage on the alpha strike, and suddenly your alpha strike can take out much more expensive ships more reliably.

Utility torps/missiles/turrents/cannons on the other hand are very good with this upgrade, as they typically only need one damage to go through do do their maximum damage/effect, and here it does not just +1 damage, but the damage plus the control effect that would have otherwise missed.

I personally think the biggest benefit of crackshot will be forcing a critical through. Since crits are cancelled last, if the defender JUST evades, you pull one dodge with crackshot and they take the crit. The nice thing about the card is you decide to use it when you want and after defense dice can't be modified by the defender, so it'll always do something unless you just wait too long and the ship is destroyed.

I personally think the biggest benefit of crackshot will be forcing a critical through. Since crits are cancelled last, if the defender JUST evades, you pull one dodge with crackshot and they take the crit. The nice thing about the card is you decide to use it when you want and after defense dice can't be modified by the defender, so it'll always do something unless you just wait too long and the ship is destroyed.

Even then, you'll have forced the defender into taking into account the possibility of you using it.

As Tarkin said:

Rule through the fear of force, rather than force itself.

It's a nice card, but it's exactly as good with primary attacks as it is with ordnance.

Not quite. A key benifit of most ordnance is doing heavy damage quickly, and Crack Shot augments this further. I think the key difference is it can let you finish off ships that would otherwise survive. When we are talking about ships with as little a 3 HP, the +1 damage an ordnance might provide over a primary, with the +1 damage of Crack Shot, combined may be enough to kill a ship that may survive without either one.

Yes, Crack Shot will typically add 1 damage, which may put you over the threshold for killing a target with this shot, rather than having to wait 'til the next one. But in general, that's still exactly as true for primary weapon attacks as it is for missiles and torpedoes.

An x-wing is very unlikely to 1 shot a tie at range 3 with primaries. Throw in a proton torp, and the shot is still rather unlikely. But add in the Crack Shot and you have a decent chance. I'd be interested to see some real math though.

Assuming the TIE has a token to spend, Crack Shot moves the mode and median from 0 to 1.

Utility torps/missiles/turrents/cannons on the other hand are very good with this upgrade, as they typically only need one damage to go through do do their maximum damage/effect, and here it does not just +1 damage, but the damage plus the control effect that would have otherwise missed.

Sure, but that's not really about ordnance. It's about maximizing your ability to apply on-hit effects, which includes things that aren't ordnance and leaves out a number of things that are.

It's a nice card, but it's exactly as good with primary attacks as it is with ordnance.

Not quite. A key benifit of most ordnance is doing heavy damage quickly, and Crack Shot augments this further. I think the key difference is it can let you finish off ships that would otherwise survive. When we are talking about ships with as little a 3 HP, the +1 damage an ordnance might provide over a primary, with the +1 damage of Crack Shot, combined may be enough to kill a ship that may survive without either one.

An x-wing is very unlikely to 1 shot a tie at range 3 with primaries. Throw in a proton torp, and the shot is still rather unlikely. But add in the Crack Shot and you have a decent chance. I'd be interested to see some real math though.

Now if you have 3 or 4 of these in your list, that is up to 4 extra damage on the alpha strike, and suddenly your alpha strike can take out much more expensive ships more reliably.

Utility torps/missiles/turrents/cannons on the other hand are very good with this upgrade, as they typically only need one damage to go through do do their maximum damage/effect, and here it does not just +1 damage, but the damage plus the control effect that would have otherwise missed.

Two problems with the theory that it is an ordnance fix. First, it should benefit all ships that carry ordnance. This only helps pilots with an EPT and not generics. Second, since the EPT slot is one of the best in the game in terms of variety and holds the best upgrades, so even though the card itself is cheap interesting card and is useful with ordnance, it is a pretty significant opportunity cost. I think most people would agree that fixes shouldn't have that kind of opportunity cost (For example, it's a reason people weren't completely happy with the Chaardan refit, which indirectly made missiles more expensive on the A-wing).

I think, as a couple of others have pointed out, this could be nice on some a-wing builds, especially when combined with prockets, advanced homers, or other EPTS like predator or lone wolf.

I will say it is nice with regular homing missles, as they prevent tokens from being used, so its essentially canceling two evades at that point. but at 5 points its a steep investment for 1 shot.

I personally think the biggest benefit of crackshot will be forcing a critical through. Since crits are cancelled last, if the defender JUST evades, you pull one dodge with crackshot and they take the crit. The nice thing about the card is you decide to use it when you want and after defense dice can't be modified by the defender, so it'll always do something unless you just wait too long and the ship is destroyed.

Even then, you'll have forced the defender into taking into account the possibility of you using it.

As Tarkin said:

Rule through the fear of force, rather than force itself.

What does that look like, though? Always taking DTF? Always running a pilot like Chewie? No one is going to consistently modify their list to account for someone taking a 1 point EPT

Even then, you'll have forced the defender into taking into account the possibility of you using it.

As Tarkin said:

Rule through the fear of force, rather than force itself.

What does that look like, though? Always taking DTF? Always running a pilot like Chewie? No one is going to consistently modify their list to account for someone taking a 1 point EPT

It looks like somebody spending an evade token they didn't need to in case you pop this EPT.

I agree it helps ordinance, but it helps primary weapon and cannon attacks just as much. Yes, key shots with certain ordinance need to get through to trigger effects, but I feel on ordinance carriers that crack shot may not be the best choice. Primary and cannon attacks get just as much power through with this EPT because of how it works.

The real power with Crack Shot comes with when you get to use it. Because you can wait until after the results are on the table, the power is in your hands to use this effectively. This card alone helps overcome the common scenario where you just need to get one final damage card through to your opponent's ship. If that card is a crit, then even better. Essentially all the cards are out on the table (die results) before you have to choose to use this card. It's rather amazing. Yes, other EPTs compete for it, but at one point, it is an offensive powerhouse that I look forward to using in the right circumstances. The first thing that comes to mind is Jake + Crack Shot + Proton Rockets + EPT of choice (PTL works great). Proton rockets is already efficient in that you just need to HAVE a focus...Jake lets you get into range one of your target. PTL will let you take additional movement if necessary or get a TL. Five red dice + Focus + TL + Crack Shot canceling an evade is huge damage.

Even then, you'll have forced the defender into taking into account the possibility of you using it.

As Tarkin said:

Rule through the fear of force, rather than force itself.

What does that look like, though? Always taking DTF? Always running a pilot like Chewie? No one is going to consistently modify their list to account for someone taking a 1 point EPT

It looks like somebody spending an evade token they didn't need to in case you pop this EPT.

Oh good point, it didn't occur to me that you can use this card after they declare using an evade token.

I will say it is nice with regular homing missles, as they prevent tokens from being used, so its essentially canceling two evades at that point. but at 5 points its a steep investment for 1 shot.

Right now I'm imagining Black Sun Ace Kihraxz's with Homing Missiles, Crack Shot, and Glitterstim. You can get 3 of those for quite the alpha strike, and good defense for that round. Not sure though if the alpha strike will be enough to level the playing field to your 3 spent Kihraxz's, though.