So! I have read a nice article on one of X-Wing related blogs about Z-95's and their usefulness and then I thought about what recently has become a staple - all top tier pilots (including ships they fly) have at least 3 modified red dice or their equivalent. Not JUST 3 red dice, they also modify them. We have Soontir that gets free focus, we have all the gunners, HLCs, ATC Advanced x1, now it's the inquisitor with wave 8 that is going to always have 3 dice and enemy won't get range 3 bonus.

How do the 2 red ships fare now? Seeing how half the meta is focused on countering the threat of 3 red (autothrusters, C-3PO, Calrissian, stealth device) with either superior defense or enough hp to shrug them off the smaller caliber guns seem to be in a really bad position right now. What do you guys think?

I gotta be honest, being mainly an Imperial player I do find that my pea shooters don't always get past the high evades.

They will fare pretty well once tractor beams will get out.

Wait, Calrissian is seeing play?

They do just fine. Just don't depend on just 3 ships with 2 Atk dice, though.

I agree. However, I do see FFG making some kind of upgrade to boost 2 dice firing ships in general.

Extra Laser

0 pt.

Remove either a Missile or Torpedo slot

2 dice or less ships only. You may Add +1 attack die. Roll 1 attack die, on a Crit result suffer 1 damage.

Or something like that, Maybe turn 1 blank result to a hit. I know they have it with Tech, but I could see smaller 2 dice ship get it.

No, they won't.

Wait, Calrissian is seeing play?

I know a guy who swears by the Lando/3-PO combo.

The only time I really feel like 2 dice is subpar is when I fly a YT-2400 without a cannon. So never. Lol...

But seriously, I think for me at least it's cost related. A Tie /Ln for 12-17 points, sure I can live with 2 dice. More than that? Nah. Except on Vader, man if he had 3 reds? Whew! But then Vader has other things going for him so it balances.

They will fare pretty well once tractor beams will get out.

And that's why I'm bangin' on about getting more and more A-Wings. I'm a ****-near dedicated Rebel player and I need a good counter to the upcoming TIE/Ds with Tractor Beams that wanna' bend me over and call me Padme.

Because X-Wings are going to get hit HARD by that, and so are B-Wings.

Crackshot or juke (esp omega L) > 2 dice restrictions

Build accordingly

There are currently quite a few two dice ships entering the game that can hit above their dice weight (Crackshot, Juke, Omega Leader/A, Wampa, Scourge, Zeta Leader, the Inquisitor).

The Ghost also offers a ripe target for the Swarm with that zero agility, and it's not going to be quite as dodgy as Chiri.

Also, forgot GC bombers

Basically have hlcs for two shots

And with all the Y-wings around, 2 dice does very nicely.

Recently I've seen one friend of mine run Calrissian and in his hands (Chewie + Dash) he seemed to be much more useful than C-3PO. It might be because my meta doesn't contain that many attrition lists like B spam (yet), but overall a chance for 2 results, no matter what combination is really useful.

Chance for two results only if lucky

Usually it's just 3 points to take a focus or evade action

Just dont fill your whole list with 2 dice attack ships imo.

I think 2 Red ships need to provide something beyond dice. Usually this is as blockers, but it can be as ordnance carriers or support ships. In the case of blockers, this lets their buddies make the most out of their own attack and defense, you're giving up an attack to rob someone important of actions. Also, if you are a successful at blocking, it is easier to bring your 2-dice ships in at close range to make them 3-dice ships, and that makes them hit much harder. 2-dice ships are about teamwork.

The only time I really feel like 2 dice is subpar is when I fly a YT-2400 without a cannon. So never. Lol...

But seriously, I think for me at least it's cost related. A Tie /Ln for 12-17 points, sure I can live with 2 dice. More than that? Nah. Except on Vader, man if he had 3 reds? Whew! But then Vader has other things going for him so it balances.

But Vader has something much, much better than 3 reds! With ATC it's like 3 reds with at least one crit guaranteed! You should see the hilarity of running ATC on Vader, Juno and Stele or Colzet, that's a crippling critfest!

2 dice is garbage. It's ok in a Howlrunner swarm, and ok if you are getting another attack somehow, IE a bomber dropping a bomb and also attacking, or a Y-Wing with BTL title... but just plain 2 dice is garbage. Therefore the TIE Ad. prototype is garbage. Inquisitor is ok, but all others are trash IMO.

While crabbok is really overselling the crappiness of 2 dice (again, crack or juke more than compensate) I agree I see little use for the TAPs outside Inq

GCs are going on bombers WELL before it goes on a TAP

2 dice is garbage. It's ok in a Howlrunner swarm, and ok if you are getting another attack somehow, IE a bomber dropping a bomb and also attacking, or a Y-Wing with BTL title... but just plain 2 dice is garbage. Therefore the TIE Ad. prototype is garbage. Inquisitor is ok, but all others are trash IMO.

Having run Vader pre-ATC, I think it all comes down to how much you invest in 2 Atk. Swarming is good. But, having cheap 2 Atk guys is great support for those with bigger Atk. Running 3 ships with 2 Atk is a bad move, sure. But, running 4 guys, 2 with 2 Atk, isn't.

2 dice is solid as long as the ships cheap, problem comes when you use named pilots and hit 20+ points they struggle to be worth taking.

Advanced can take AC giving them the reliability of a three attack ship with focus and still take an action making them worth their cost.

But you wouldn't take Vader without ATC anymore.

The TAP will have a survivability edge over the fo in the TLT meta, I can see it pushing both it and the regular ln to the side.

Pretty much what Hobojebus said.

2-attack ships are perfectly fine. However, if you're investing more than 25 points into a 2-attack ship (non-AC/ATC), then there are better options. That's currently the problem with the TIE /fo with exception to Omega Leader and Zeta Leader.

At 12 points though, the humble TIE Academy is still great value. The key is to get into R1 for the extra red and blocking potential.

Two dice ships are awesome as long as they have another role in your list other than damage. Two Zs are better than a third or fourth TLT Y-Wing because they will do alot of damage at range one and are great for blocking. I think it's more about the points cost. I like how fun all the named A-Wing pilots are but because they don't have three attack dice and come in at about 25 to 30pts after upgrades; you're just better off with two prototypes.

When you play a list that has a number of different threats that cause more damage or control your enemy and you play well then your two dice ships will do more damage than you would think possible.