hey guys,

this is just going to be a quick and dirty rundown of the newest in the rebel line-up of r2-d2 (and one r5p9) abusing bad-asses, Norra Wexley

Now, I don't want to suggest that this is the only way to run her (she seems perfectly able to be kit out as an effective offensive platform too) as much as look as what she brings to the table as part of this fairly recognizable rebel archetype

the general standard for this club seems to be two guaranteed damage canceled per turn (including the regenerated shield)

for example, (Poe's ability + thrusters) + r2-d2 = 2 guaranteed damage canceled per round

Corran's evade + r2-d2 = 2 guaranteed damage canceled per round

Miranda's ability + c3po = 2 guaranteed damaged canceled per round

disclaimer: fickle is not responsible for injuries sustained through things such as Plasmas, TLTs, Juke and Crackshot. "Guaranteed" is relative; you should know better

etc.

not counting the contribution of focused green dice (which...varies, shall we say?)

to further illustrate Norra's place among the hierarchy, here are the popular builds of her peers

[8] Miranda Doni @ 38 points

*Twin Laser Turrets

*C3po

1. Ps 8 TLT + PWT at range 1
2. TLT offensive power (no range 3 bonus for enemies; two rolls split the effectiveness of defense tokens and once-per-round abilities)
3. SLAM for powerful defensive re-positioning (at the cost of a shot; allows "Arc-dodging" by slamming into base-2-base contact)
4. bare minimum green dice defense

[10] Poe Dameron @ 37/38 points

*Veteran Instincts

*r5-p9 or r2-d2

*autothrusters

1. PS 10
2. one focus --> hit modification on a 3 dice primary, which in my experience varies wildly in effectiveness. Needs to set up target-locks late game to reliably hit through other hard to kill pilots
3. consistent defense roll modification through ability + thrusters; really effective v a lot of nippy bastards

[8] Corran Horn @45/49 points

*Push the Limit

*Advanced Sensors

*r2-d2

*Engine upgrade if there's room

1. never played him in this get-up; can't comment much

and then there's Norra

[7] Norra Wexely @39/41/43 points

*Push the Limit (3)

*C3po (3)

*R2-d2 (4)

*optional Vector Thrusters or engines (2/4)

so lets go down what she can do

1.) Pilot Skill

first and foremost, the most immediate downside: PS [7]

the lowest pilot skill of all the re-generators and a crucial downgrade given the popularity of the Inquisitor, this isn't a con that can be easily overlooked. So, I'm making mention of it here.

Sadly, there's no way to build around this while maintaining a self-sufficient regenerator build. You can build her with r3-a2 and KK (grab target-locks with normal action to trigger ability) and then VI her up to 9, but now she's not regenerating anything.

2.) Offense

Norra's ability makes damage calculation for someone not so mathematically inclined, such as myself, an absolute nightmare. So, let's just say she has at least (or better than) fully modified 3-dice primary out the front and a weird 3-dice primary out the back (her ability + Alliance Overhaul = free crit!)

The ARC-170 has a pretty nice set of guns, to say the least. Not sure if it beats out Miranda's TLT or how it matches with Corran's double-taps, but it easily leaves Poe's crapshots in the dust when it offense to reliable offensive potential round after round

It also bears noting that the ARC-170 has a set of guns, meaning two arcs. This is the most coverage you'll get out of any rebel regenerator not named Miranda, and that gives you a surprising amount of freedom despite being limited to greens for r2-d2

3.) Defense

Norra's two guaranteed damage cancels come from the plucky pair of c3po and r2-d2

a small point on r2-d2 in that the ARC has a promised 6 green maneuvers at speed 1-2 (no more outside of that). If our assumptions of straights and banks are correct, then Norra actually matches Corran's range of greens to an extent (loses the 3-foward, but gains the 1-banks). Combined with the auxiliary arc, and you have a surprisingly flexible ship on your hands (not as flexible as r5-p9 Poe or TLT Miranda, but still flexible)

but wait, there's more

If you're completely willing to forgo your offensive modification, Norra's ability + PTL will land you a total 3 guaranteed damage canceled per turn

that's...kind of ridiculous

so, let's say you're fighting Palp Aces (a rare breed of barely seen squad, to be sure) and it comes down to a late game of you versus Soontir. Lets say the forum's overblown image of him is actually correct, and he is impossible to ever get in either arc

well, it's also impossible for him to kill you outside of range 1. Seriously, his 3 hit results are going to bounce off of Norra's ability + c3po + r2-d2 regeneration (assuming you don't roll a focus on your green die, in which case you don't even need r2-d2!)

you're worth more than he is and you're never giving up half points

just let that sink in for a second.

4.) Manueverability

and we're back to cons.

Norra's lack of maneuverability is of course tied to her lower PS, but it's also a product of her ability requiring both focus and TL. This means that devoting an action to either VT roll or EU boost is going to turn off your ability for the turn (provided you didn't have a lock from last round, ofc)

PTL also bites back in that Norra is the only popular regenerator that ends her activation stressed. Corran's PTL stress gets shed by sensors, and no one else relies on the ept to enable their abilities (poor Miranda doesn't have an ept at all )

Finally, even with engine upgrade, she's going to be the slowest regenerator of the lot. PTL stress + low speed greens also means that we're going to have to learn to abuse her auxilary arc to keep her safe while still contributing to battle

compare to Miranda SLAMs and Poe/Corran 3 forward + boost

TL;DR

compared to other rebel regenerators, Norra

+Hits pretty dang hard

+Has an auxiliary arc

+Can choose to tank up to 3 guaranteed damage a turn (admittedly, mileage may vary on usefulness depending on how good your green dice are on Poe/Corran)

-Has the lowest PS of the bunch; crucially below the Inquisitor

-When the tough needs to get going, she is the slowest of the bunch; no shenanigans (aside from blocking people; work those low speed greens + b-roll!)

To condense everything into a simple analogy, Norra is the tank of the line-up. She's a lumbering sledgehammer of a ship that relies on brute force and two arcs over high PS + shenanigans the likes of which Miranda and Corran love

Once you deliver her into the lategame, where she can just focus on eating 3 damage a turn without loss from a single enemy, her other drawbacks kind of melt away

For this reason, even more than usual, she'll probably need Biggs. Biggs guarantees a temporary position of safety where you can focus on applying Norra offensively and is probably your best bet for getting her into the late game. Plus, if stress control ever makes a comeback (looking at you, r3-a2 Braylen) there's no better way to soak it

anyway, that's regenerating ARC Angel Norra at a glance. Seems like she'll be fun

I won't promise any miracles against jumpmasters, but otherwise Norra is definitely a pilot I look forward to using

Nice write up. i still think Nien Numb may be a better fit for her than c3p0. Especially if he is on miranda or some other ship. And combined with R2D2 that gives her a lot of movement potential to still regen a shield.

Definitely worth considering. Thanks for the read.

forgot to mention

though you're out PSed by the inquisitor, the inquisitor literally cannot kill c3po r2d2 Norra with his attack one on one, unless something horribly stupid happens with crits (assuming you don't have at least a single shield to soak his shots with in the first place)

and hey, new tournament faq

apparently mod wins don't exist anymore

so you just get full wins for being invincible

removed previous content... mistaken post

my only arguement about the defense is that maybe 3 guaranteed evades per turn, its also ONLY 3 evades per turn barring some **** good roll luck. 2 ships focusing her will take her out pretty quick, 3 will take her just as fast as a Punisher. Regen means nothing if you die in one swoop

my only arguement about the defense is that maybe 3 guaranteed evades per turn, its also ONLY 3 evades per turn barring some **** good roll luck. 2 ships focusing her will take her out pretty quick, 3 will take her just as fast as a Punisher. Regen means nothing if you die in one swoop

same as every regenerator

bring biggs

won't save you v jumps, most likely, but he'll help v everything else

So, a list like this:

Norra Wexley (29)
Push the Limit (3)
C-3PO (3)
R2-D2 (4)
Alliance Overhaul (0)

Poe Dameron (31)
Adaptability (0)
R5-P9 (3)
Autothrusters (2)

Biggs Darklighter (25)

Total: 100

View in Yet Another Squad Builder

Biggs loses R4 and IA, but is still biggs, and Poe is a known meta lategame ship. That puts Nora likely as the last ship to be killed.

The question is whether the squad con kill palpatine in time, or survive torpedo boats.

ARC Angel, ARC Angel,

will you be mine?

[Edit: If I have to have it stuck in my head for the rest of the night 'cause of Fickle's thread title, so does he!]

List list?

idk

Norra

*PTL

*c3po

*r2-d2

*vector thrusters

[41]

Biggs

*r4-d6

*integrated

[26]

Jake

*PTL

*VI

*prockets

*thrusters

[33]

100

Jake mainly for the two hardest match-ups, which are JM5ks and crackswarm. He helps nuke down jm5ks hopefully as well as ties before they shoot and he has arc-dodging plus thrusters for game v crackswarm

v palp aces, you're not getting soontir so just focus on nuking the inquisitor and the shuttle and then crutching on the fact that Soontir basically can't touch Norra 1v1

that's the theory, anyway; don't think Jm5ks will ever be a walk in the park or even anything reasonably difficult though

What about dropping vector and using Wes with Vi to hunt deadeye and Soontir?

Though, your offense punch does take a hit.

Presenting an alternative Norra ARCangel:

Norra Wexley (29)
Veteran Instincts (1)
Kyle Katarn (3)
R5-D8 (3)
Experimental Interface (3)
Alliance Overhaul (0)

Total: 39

View in Yet Another Squad Builder

Each turn, Norra clears stress* with a green maneuver to gain a focus, target locks someone who has her in arc, and Expirimental Interfaces* for a stress and hull-regen droid (even if she doesnt need him, because it sets up Kyle next turn). When shot she pops the TL and spends Kyle's focus.

Norra Wexley (29)
Veteran Instincts (1)
Kyle Katarn (3)
R5-D8 (3)
Experimental Interface (3)
Alliance Overhaul (0)

Blue Squadron Novice (24)
R3 Astromech (2)
Comm Relay (3)
Integrated Astromech (0)

Blue Squadron Novice (24)
R3 Astromech (2)
Comm Relay (3)
Integrated Astromech (0)

Total: 97

View in Yet Another Squad Builder

What about dropping vector and using Wes with Vi to hunt deadeye and Soontir?

Though, your offense punch does take a hit.

VI bb-8 Wes is 32 points, 1 cheaper than Jake

no need to drop VTs (and I like my brolls)

Why not push the limit or experimental interface and Ezra?

ARC-170: · Norra Wexley (29)

Push The Limit (3)

R2 Astromech (1)

Vectored Thrusters (2)

· Ezra Bridger (3)

Alliance Overhaul (0)

This is assuming the droid gives you some great stress clearing options.

Should hit like a truck. Uses the target lock to basically add a crit.

Why not push the limit or experimental interface and Ezra?

ARC-170: · Norra Wexley (29)

Push The Limit (3)

R2 Astromech (1)

Vectored Thrusters (2)

· Ezra Bridger (3)

Alliance Overhaul (0)

This is assuming the droid gives you some great stress clearing options.

Should hit like a truck. Uses the target lock to basically add a crit.

Pretty redundant, don't you think? Why spend 3 points on a crew that your ship already does, albeit out the back? If you're going to dump 3 points, go for Lando or C3P0. At least those give defensive buffs instead of unnecessary offensive ones.

Norra already hits hard. I think effort should be taken to shore up her defense, as that's her real problem area at AGI 1.

We need more post lile this with quality here (content & layout)