gotta be Omega Leader

there is no superior tie Pilot, not with so many modifiers flying around nowadays

Omega L (juke relay; aka the only way to fly) 4 black cracks and a Wampa make a list

What makes the Omega Leader such a great pilot / auto-include?

Thanks

gotta be Omega Leader

there is no superior tie Pilot, not with so many modifiers flying around nowadays

Omega L (juke relay; aka the only way to fly) 4 black cracks and a Wampa make a list

What makes the Omega Leader such a great pilot / auto-include?

Thanks

He's good, but I don't like him THAT much. I think Dark curse with a shield upgrade is almost as good, and he dosen't need a target lock for his ability.

What makes the Omega Leader such a great pilot / auto-include?

He eliminates all dice shenanigans from a single target for both offense and defense by target locking them. He is much more effective in the end game when it's him against a single enemy ship and he shines with Juke and Comms Relay. So he can TL someone like soontir fel who lives off of dice shenanigans and shuts him down, for example.

Say Soontir turtles up (focus, evade plus free focus from ability) and shoots at OL. Soontir can't spend his focus to modify his attack roll against OL. When OL returns fire he can use Juke to change an evade to a focus and then Soontir can't spend a focus to change it to an evade and can't spend his evade either. He has to live with his unmodified dice roll which is terrifying for an unshielded 3-hull ship.

I run the following quite succesful (will be on a tournament this saturday with it):

Howlrunner with Stealth Device, Crack Shot

Youngster with Expose

Wampa

3x Black Squadron Pilot with Crack Shot

it's "only" 4 Crack Shots, but the Alpha Strike is much better with 3 dice and Howl. So far it worked out really well against different lists. Last game Wampa was MVP, got a total of 3 crits (=3 autohits) thanks to Howl and Expose, one of them was the final blow against Vader :-)

I know that Howl and Focus is a bit better then Expose, but you can never score 3 hits per TIE with only Focus - you may have a better average damage output (but not much) but the extra die is really valuable against Aces and high health ships.

The math does not support your conclusion at all. Consistently dealing 2 + potential Crack >> Doing sometimes 3, every once in a while, but more likely only 1-2 + Crack. Sure, if your opponent's green dice go on a streak you might get lucky the latter way, but more often than not you are leaving damage on the table with Expose.

He's right, Expose just mathematically is worse than taking a focus. Do yourself a favor, put Expose back in the binder and forget it ever exists.

Expose (3 attk dice) vs 2 attk dice + Focus has the same expected value (against a 0 agility target) It does not have the same variance. Expose is more swingy, and could be useful if you know you're the underdog.

And actually, 3atk vs 3 def is more expected damage than 2attk+focus vs 3 defense. (Verified using http://xwingcalculator.x10host.com/diceuilm.html)

You lose a point of agility, however, and I'm not sure it's a good idea on a fleet of 3-hull ships.

gotta be Omega Leader

there is no superior tie Pilot, not with so many modifiers flying around nowadays

Omega L (juke relay; aka the only way to fly) 4 black cracks and a Wampa make a list

What makes the Omega Leader such a great pilot / auto-include?

Thanks

He's good, but I don't like him THAT much. I think Dark curse with a shield upgrade is almost as good, and he dosen't need a target lock for his ability.

Yeah no. Dark curse has NOTHING on omega L other than being cheaper. In terms of offense, though, omega L is worlds ahead

Omega L does the impossible by being the only tie fighter that can hit through thrusters

Doesn't matter if you're fighting soontir or an IG or anything in between, omega L can threaten it

When the green dice go **** up and your swarm fails to significantly hurt an enemy's late game, only Omega Leader will save your hiney. 1v1 he can solo any ace

gotta be Omega Leader

there is no superior tie Pilot, not with so many modifiers flying around nowadays

Omega L (juke relay; aka the only way to fly) 4 black cracks and a Wampa make a list

What makes the Omega Leader such a great pilot / auto-include?

Thanks

He's good, but I don't like him THAT much. I think Dark curse with a shield upgrade is almost as good, and he dosen't need a target lock for his ability.

Yeah no. Dark curse has NOTHING on omega L other than being cheaper. In terms of offense, though, omega L is worlds ahead

Omega L does the impossible by being the only tie fighter that can hit through thrusters

Doesn't matter if you're fighting soontir or an IG or anything in between, omega L can threaten it

When the green dice go **** up and your swarm fails to significantly hurt an enemy's late game, only Omega Leader will save your hiney. 1v1 he can solo any ace

Ok. Makes sense. I get the 4 Black Cracks. Why Wampa Fickle?? I looked at him, but don't see anything super. What am I not seeing??

Ahhh...wait a second...I see. I have 14 points left from 4 BCs and Omega L...Better Wampa than a plain Black Sqd with no crackshot.

You lose a point of agility, however, and I'm not sure it's a good idea on a fleet of 3-hull ships.

Except when Howlrunner and Youngster themselves don't Expose and screw with targeting priority.

I run the following quite succesful (will be on a tournament this saturday with it):

Howlrunner with Stealth Device, Crack Shot

Youngster with Expose

Wampa

3x Black Squadron Pilot with Crack Shot

it's "only" 4 Crack Shots, but the Alpha Strike is much better with 3 dice and Howl. So far it worked out really well against different lists. Last game Wampa was MVP, got a total of 3 crits (=3 autohits) thanks to Howl and Expose, one of them was the final blow against Vader :-)

I know that Howl and Focus is a bit better then Expose, but you can never score 3 hits per TIE with only Focus - you may have a better average damage output (but not much) but the extra die is really valuable against Aces and high health ships.

The math does not support your conclusion at all. Consistently dealing 2 + potential Crack >> Doing sometimes 3, every once in a while, but more likely only 1-2 + Crack. Sure, if your opponent's green dice go on a streak you might get lucky the latter way, but more often than not you are leaving damage on the table with Expose.

He's right, Expose just mathematically is worse than taking a focus. Do yourself a favor, put Expose back in the binder and forget it ever exists.

Expose (3 attk dice) vs 2 attk dice + Focus has the same expected value (against a 0 agility target) It does not have the same variance. Expose is more swingy, and could be useful if you know you're the underdog.

And actually, 3atk vs 3 def is more expected damage than 2attk+focus vs 3 defense. (Verified using http://xwingcalculator.x10host.com/diceuilm.html)

If you assume the defender doesn't have a focus token as well sure....

Also, one of those things you paid points to have and is less flexible. The other you did not. The opportunity cost of Expose and the fact that it doesn't improve anything and only hurts you on the defense is exactly the argument.

Anyone tried this yet?

Youngster + Rage (19)

Epsilon Leader (19)

OSP + Crackshot X4 (60)

Thought about that as the only sort of Rage Swarm that would work but even with Epsilon Leader you're limiting yourself to green moves. It'll be good for the first round of shooting, maybe two, but when you have to try to clear stress on a Tie they become massively predictable and drop really quickly. So you're probably lots of future actions for a round of slightly better shooting.

Ok. Makes sense. I get the 4 Black Cracks. Why Wampa Fickle?? I looked at him, but don't see anything super. What am I not seeing??

12.5% chance per round to deal Hull damage, to ANYTHING. And that is after you get to see the defense roll+mods. So with a good roll you'll land 2-3 hits regardless.

For 14pts.

Wampa, accept no substitute.

Anyone tried this yet?

Youngster + Rage (19)

Epsilon Leader (19)

OSP + Crackshot X4 (60)

I was about to say, whatever happened to the Raging Crackswarm? Trickier to fly, but some pretty savage damage potential and no need for Howl...or put Howl in too to really screw targeting priority.

Ok. Makes sense. I get the 4 Black Cracks. Why Wampa Fickle?? I looked at him, but don't see anything super. What am I not seeing??

12.5% chance per round to deal Hull damage, to ANYTHING. And that is after you get to see the defense roll+mods. So with a good roll you'll land 2-3 hits regardless.

For 14pts.

Wampa, accept no substitute.

It is 12.5% on each die. It is actually 23.4% to throw a crit on two dice without a reroll (with the ~1.6% chance of throwing two crits making it not 25%)

Ok. Makes sense. I get the 4 Black Cracks. Why Wampa Fickle?? I looked at him, but don't see anything super. What am I not seeing??

12.5% chance per round to deal Hull damage, to ANYTHING. And that is after you get to see the defense roll+mods. So with a good roll you'll land 2-3 hits regardless.

For 14pts.

Wampa, accept no substitute.

It is 12.5% on each die. It is actually 23.4% to throw a crit on two dice without a reroll (with the ~1.6% chance of throwing two crits making it not 25%)

also, he's basically Biggs

pretty huge improvement over adaptability black squad imo

I had Wampa shooting at Soontir. Range 3, obstructed and Soontir still had 2 focus and an evade. I rolled a crit and my opponent looked at the six dice in his hand and sighed.

I am curious if the raging crack swarm might not see play as a counter to U-boats. You have a fairly good chance of dropping a JM5K before it ever gets to shoot. The OL, Wampa, CS/BSx4 is probably a better choice overall though.

It had reached that point in the game where Kenkirk was almost dead, but nearly invincible with Palpatine and Isarde against my remaining Ties. Wampa took his last hit point.

There are a few troubles with Blacks with Crack Shot:

1. PS4 is good against some things, but very bad against many others.

2. Crack shots are great for the alpha strike, but they are a one-time use. Once the crack shots are gone, now you just have a PS4 TIE fighter.

3. All of the lists mentioned so far are Howlrunner dependent. Without Howl, the efficiency drops off significantly.

Instead, here is what I am flying lately, and consider it against your Black Crack Swarm:

Howlrunner with Swarm tactics

Mauler with Crack Shot

Scourge with Crack Shot

Backstabber

Wampa

Academy Pilot

98 points for init bid. (I've been flying Chaser over the AP, but I think I need a PS1 blocker and the init bid more.)

Howlrunner swarms Wampa to a PS8, who will then shoot before Mauler and Scourge, thus becoming more likely to trigger Scourge's ability.

It's got 3 "Extra Dice" attackers in the given situations. It's not Howl dependent. (I mean, she's nice, but if she dies first, I'm still rolling 3-4 dice attacks often.) Plus my attacking PS is 8, 8, 7, 7, 6, 1 (or 4, depending), which means I will be getting my shots off before your Black Crack Swarm, likely taking at least 1 off of the board before they get to shoot. I also have a blocker to foul up your tight formation. Plus it's better vs Brobots and other higher PS builds, I think.

True, it only has 2 Crack Shots, but it has 3 TIEs that are capable of rolling 4 dice, possibly with Howlrunner and focus as well. And man, that second combat round, those 4 dice hurt. I can split Backstabber off from the group and make you pick your poison. It's a better long game squad over CrackBlacks IMO.

Just something to consider.

With this unit would you use a standard box/pinwheel formation or go with the offset setup (drunken shark or something?) that you mentioned on the NOVA podcast?

I run the following quite succesful (will be on a tournament this saturday with it):

Howlrunner with Stealth Device, Crack Shot

Youngster with Expose

Wampa

3x Black Squadron Pilot with Crack Shot

it's "only" 4 Crack Shots, but the Alpha Strike is much better with 3 dice and Howl. So far it worked out really well against different lists. Last game Wampa was MVP, got a total of 3 crits (=3 autohits) thanks to Howl and Expose, one of them was the final blow against Vader :-)

I know that Howl and Focus is a bit better then Expose, but you can never score 3 hits per TIE with only Focus - you may have a better average damage output (but not much) but the extra die is really valuable against Aces and high health ships.

The math does not support your conclusion at all. Consistently dealing 2 + potential Crack >> Doing sometimes 3, every once in a while, but more likely only 1-2 + Crack. Sure, if your opponent's green dice go on a streak you might get lucky the latter way, but more often than not you are leaving damage on the table with Expose.

He's right, Expose just mathematically is worse than taking a focus. Do yourself a favor, put Expose back in the binder and forget it ever exists.

With Howlrunner around I roll the equivalent of 4 dice. That gives an average of 2 hits - 2 hits is already the best result you can get with Focus only (and even that's not guaranteed), with Epose there will be some 3 hits attacks too, and most will still be 2 hits! The problem with Expose in the past was that you needed a "expensive" plattform for it (for the EPT slot), and there are always better EPT for that slot. With Youngster you give that EPT to ships that have no access to it (and many ships too, 7 TIE swarm with Howl and Exposter is possible), or that fill it with Crack Shot to maximize damage.

I just returned from a tournament, and besides Wampa that really shines with Expose (the more dice the more likely you roll a crit) those Exposing TIEs were a real problem for the opponents (shooting at Autothrusted Carnor or Inquisitor with only 2 dice is not getting you far no matter how good you roll, rolling 3 dice with reroll and a crack shot ready did the job!) - because I can choose each turn if I want to do it or not, I simply have more options now!

Instead of talking about math you should go out and play, really!

Well, I won the tournament today with My list, no Omega Leader required...

Well, I won the tournament today with My list, no Omega Leader required...

Congrats! What squads did you face on your path to victory?

Does anyone have the list that won the New Mexico Regionals?

Well, I won the tournament today with My list, no Omega Leader required...

Congrats! What squads did you face on your path to victory?

Thanks! I faced a scum-swarmy list twice, Z95's and stuff, and Denger + Tel, so two jumpmasters.

I tried a version with some Hull Upgrades and one of the Black squadrons with Draw their Fire, and it kind of worked. I won the two games I played with it. I don't remember where I saw the idea with Draw their Fire, but I wanted to try it. I loose one Crack Shot but hopefully Howlrunner survives a bit longer.

I run the following quite succesful (will be on a tournament this saturday with it):

Howlrunner with Stealth Device, Crack Shot

Youngster with Expose

Wampa

3x Black Squadron Pilot with Crack Shot

it's "only" 4 Crack Shots, but the Alpha Strike is much better with 3 dice and Howl. So far it worked out really well against different lists. Last game Wampa was MVP, got a total of 3 crits (=3 autohits) thanks to Howl and Expose, one of them was the final blow against Vader :-)

I know that Howl and Focus is a bit better then Expose, but you can never score 3 hits per TIE with only Focus - you may have a better average damage output (but not much) but the extra die is really valuable against Aces and high health ships.

The math does not support your conclusion at all. Consistently dealing 2 + potential Crack >> Doing sometimes 3, every once in a while, but more likely only 1-2 + Crack. Sure, if your opponent's green dice go on a streak you might get lucky the latter way, but more often than not you are leaving damage on the table with Expose.

He's right, Expose just mathematically is worse than taking a focus. Do yourself a favor, put Expose back in the binder and forget it ever exists.

With Howlrunner around I roll the equivalent of 4 dice. That gives an average of 2 hits - 2 hits is already the best result you can get with Focus only (and even that's not guaranteed), with Epose there will be some 3 hits attacks too, and most will still be 2 hits! The problem with Expose in the past was that you needed a "expensive" plattform for it (for the EPT slot), and there are always better EPT for that slot. With Youngster you give that EPT to ships that have no access to it (and many ships too, 7 TIE swarm with Howl and Exposter is possible), or that fill it with Crack Shot to maximize damage.

I just returned from a tournament, and besides Wampa that really shines with Expose (the more dice the more likely you roll a crit) those Exposing TIEs were a real problem for the opponents (shooting at Autothrusted Carnor or Inquisitor with only 2 dice is not getting you far no matter how good you roll, rolling 3 dice with reroll and a crack shot ready did the job!) - because I can choose each turn if I want to do it or not, I simply have more options now!

Instead of talking about math you should go out and play, really!

I like how you assume all I do is talk about math and don't play. Math is helpful for making more educated choices in the game. Making choices that are mathematically unlikely to help you are probably bad choices. I am pretty sure you can agree with that, Especially when said choices cost squad points to get and have a single point of failure.

Shooting Carnor/Inquisitor/Fel and consistently getting 2 damage + Crack is a huge problem for them, not sure why you think it isn't. They have to consistently get 3 evades on 3 dice somehow, or lose at least 1/3 (well, 1/4 in INQ case) of their health. That sounds plenty horrifying to me, especially when it happens 4+ times potentially.

How did you do in the tournament?

I like how you assume all I do is talk about math and don't play. Math is helpful for making more educated choices in the game. Making choices that are mathematically unlikely to help you are probably bad choices. I am pretty sure you can agree with that, Especially when said choices cost squad points to get and have a single point of failure.

Shooting Carnor/Inquisitor/Fel and consistently getting 2 damage + Crack is a huge problem for them, not sure why you think it isn't. They have to consistently get 3 evades on 3 dice somehow, or lose at least 1/3 (well, 1/4 in INQ case) of their health. That sounds plenty horrifying to me, especially when it happens 4+ times potentially.

How did you do in the tournament?

Played Jumpmaster+Mux+Misthunter, twice against Inquisitor+Strom+Carnor (one win, one loss), 4 attack shuttles with autoblaster (very clear win).

Lost the one game in the first round of shooting, he OSK Howl, Youngster AND Wampa inn one turn - I rolled 4 blanks with Howl, 3 blanks with Wampa and 3 focus with Youngster (Carnor was in R1 to him) Never trust those green dice...

Except for that spectacular loss I ended every game with at least 4 ships on the table, because I were able to severely cripple or remove one ship from the opponent at R3 were I still get +1 defense die, so Expose doesn't hurt that much while I throw 18 dice with rerolls!

Made 6th out of 20 (MOV too low for better placing).