hey guys,
so, perhaps even more-so than our fun little ARC v Defender thread, the Tie/SF and ARC are ships that couldn't be more different than each other
the Tie/SF is a cutting edge, state of the art "this baby can really move" ship from a long time after even the original trilogy
the ARC was obsolete before the original trilogy, a sluggish clunker of an outdated toolbox made relevant through spit, prayer and ingenuity of a rather desperate rebellion scrapping fleets together out of whatever they could
funny, then, that the two ships are apparently so similar in their dials 
seriously, who would've thought that the Tie/sf could barely outpace a Y-wing!?
note, before we get any further, that I will not be talking about these ships in relation to the meta game.
By now, it should be pretty **** evident that inefficient, low agility ships are going to get devoured by torp scouts and that applies to both the ARC-170 and the Tie/SF.
The only pilot you could take against them with any confidence is "Quickdraw", because "Quickdraw" packs an obscene offense to help you melt a torp scout before it even gets to shoot. Granted, she'll probably get obliterated in the exchange (unless you're a **** good player), but she's 32 points (rage, e-baffle; tie/mk2) the same as the torpedo scout. Against palp aces, her obscene dice and potential ability to shoot before other PS 9s give her a lot of utility and while the ARC can bring plenty of game v palp aces, they don't have "Quickdraw's" ability to help you run through scouts.
as such, we're going to keep our fingers crossed for FFG's promised scout hard counter, and we're going to look at these ships more overall as inefficient jousters with auxiliary arcs and see what they can do to transcend their otherwise uninspiring profile
because if it turns out they can't do that, then we're still going to have to go through crack swarms and defenders after scouts have left the building
and so, onto the show!
1.) The Titles
Here is where the ARC-170 takes a distinct advantage
look guys, I know SOT looks cool
I know the promise of running in while blasting out of both arcs sounds awesome!
but not only is it immensely impractical (Good freaking luck getting two targets in two different arcs) but it might actually be worse than just taking a single 3-dice primary
despite the preview article's (laughable) attempts to tell you 2+2 > 3, it completely misses the point of how
a.) green dice can utterly screw you over when you're rolling less reds
b.) you kinda want to kill enemy ships in this game, not just flick red/green paint at them
Special Ops Training's double-tap benefit is both incredibly situational AND provides temptation for "irresponsible" gameplay behavior, namely the temptation to split fire across targets when you should be killing them ASAP
There are only two times in which you should be splitting fire
1.) you're dead ******* certain your target is going to die and you think you can greed out another 2-die shot (warning: Karma does not take kindly to your greedy nature)
2.) the target you're trying to kill is in your rear-arc anyway, and you magiced yourself a target in your front arc too so might as well shoot him right? This is far more likely to occur with "Backdraft", because his rear arc is stronger than his front.
meanwhile, Alliance Overhaul is just a simple, clean and useful dice modification that substitutes focus mods (which are, btw, much more difficult to come by than re-rolls. See LW, predator, target-lock gaining stuff whereas focus has...wired? recon spec?)
given how **** unlikely it is to ever get into the double-arc scenario (and how it's not even a great scenario to begin with), Special Ops Training is in my eyes a strictly inferior version of Alliance Overhaul
2.) Transcending Jousting (ie, "why bother if you could have a defender instead?")
so first, let's define "jouster"
Jousting, as per the knightly tradition of playing chicken without the option for chickening out, involves flying two ships at each others' faces and trading dice until someone flubs
note, a ship that joust doesn't have to joust exclusively but a jouster is a ship that is expected to joust when it comes to making an impact in the game.
For example, a Tie Defender can just plow through the opposition and you're probably going to use it to do just that.
This doesn't mean the defender can't also dance around certain opponents using b-roll and/or its white 4k, and it doesn't mean the Defender can't also block like an absolute bastard. It means it can neither dance as well as soontir nor cost as few points as an academy pilot (ie, a very good disposable blocker). What it does better than either is pimp in at 6 health and full defensive mods on top of a 3 dice primary and a unique white 4k that lets it perform actions when (barring adrenaline rush) no other ship in the game could (apart from the left seggs on a jm5k, of course)
Now, the Defender will probably run roughshod over both the ARC-170 and the Tie/sf as a jouster, given that it's basically the new most efficient jouster in the game (with x7) even before taking the white 4k into account. The ARC/Tie/sf do not have a white 4k and their dials are perhaps even more limited than the defender's (apart from green banks without needing TIEmk2). They also don't have Tie/x7 or even an evade action.
Basically, we gotta give these two something else to do, and the aux arc is probably what that something is (in theory)
[1.1, The ARC-170]
Now the ARC-170 knows it can't joust for ****; it's not even trying to. You see how FFG didn't even bother to give it generic pilots? Well, that's why, my friends!
But how does the ARC-170 avoid jousting? It can't even barrel-roll!
well, the solution comes from the three astro amigos
The god of stress allows you to neuter high value targets regardless of what your dice roll. You just gotta have a shot to make, you don't actually have to land it. It's also generally pretty hard for enemies to joust while stressed, unless you're a defender ofc.
Between the ARC's two arcs and Braylen actually maybe being able to do actions even after stressing himself twice, it's a pretty good platform for the little god
you can also put it on Norra with Kyle Katarn to free up her EPT slot, turning her into either a runaway railgun (predator) or a PS 9 ace-hunting badass (VI and vector thrusters)
"Arc-dodger" in a box. Note, just having a b-roll won't magically make you Soontir Fell, but BB-8 is no ordinary barrel-roll! No sir, BB-8 also turns you into a Rebel Arc-dodger, by allowing you to roll pre-move such that you intentionally shove your face into the enemy's bosom and clinch like you have no shame!
you can even combo it even Intelligence Agent! imagine the frustration you can cause!
BB-8 is extra potent on the ARC-170 relative to other astro ships because of the combination of rear arc (less need to red maneuver: more bb-8!) and the promised 6 green maneuvers, and it has what it takes to make one ARC much more than just a jouster
plus, with Alliance Overhaul and PTL, you can guarantee full modifiers on the aux arc shot even after ramming your face into the enemy
R2-D2 ie "the long con" jouster. Regeneration in general gives you a unique capability in the game, namely the capability of breaking off the engagement to return later potentially just as strong as you started while your opponent keeps any damage he sustained (unless he's also a re-generator, the magnificent bastard!)
while you can't slap r2-d2 on anyone and expect miracles, Norra Wexly's ability combined with c3po in the crew slot can make for a decidedly difficult to move object. Granted, she can be ovewhelmed by concentrated fire and mowed down by torp scouts (be honest, who couldn't be) but r2-d2, played well, has the potential to make her last far beyond the point that the ARC has an right to
in addition to the 3 astro amigos, we also have the aux arc. As I claimed earlier, I believe Alliance Overhaul is superior to Special Ops Training; especially when you're doing your damnedest to avoid jousting your opponent. Add the potential for Tail-gunner, and the ARC-170 seems far more capable of abusing its auxiliary ARC than its First Order (very) distant cousin
lastly, because we don't actually know what it does, Seismic Torpedoes (yet unspoiled) seem completely unlike any ordnance we've ever seen. Fired on ACTION:, they seem completely removed from the process of jousting altogether
of course, they'll probably end up on an Advanced SLAM K (or in the garbage if they cost too much; don't think I've missed the dice results on the card!) but the ARC can take them while the SF cannot
[2.2 The Tie/SF]
alright, what can the Tie/SF take that helps it get over jousting?
well, lets just start by disregarding tech
Tech, sadly, just kind of sucks atm. Neither weapon's guidance nor reverse-weapon's guidance really have a big enough impact for 2 points (especially considering there is no upgrade to substitute the effect of focus, whereas there are many that allow re-rolls)
well, there is "Pattern Analyzer" (probably) from Heroes, which seems to promise to put "perform action" before "check pilot stress" on red maneuvers. I.e, a jouster's dream! While it will be pretty dang spiffy on our red-riddled Tie/sf (at 1 point...don't **** this up, ffg!) and even help you perhaps dodge an arc or two with a seggy's roll, it's not going to turn you into an arc-dodger on its own
oh right! how could I forget comm relay! I love this thing, it's action efficient, it enables juke and it's kinda like r2-d2 because you can disengage to re-fill on your evade and...WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE SF CAN'T EVADE!?!?!?
So, onto systems
we have e-baffle...nope! (Well yep, technically, as it allows crazy barrel rolls, but it also kills you for your enemy SO NOPE)
we have scopes...nope!
Fire Control System, which incidentally seems pretty **** awesome with our red riddled SF especially if you're trying to get anywhere with the aux arc. So...little bit?
Accuracy Corrector? well, sure, it performs the same function as FCS in giving you mods even post b-roll or red maneuver. problem is it's more expensive and that AC has been done already on Tie Advance generics to very poor results. Two hits just isn't enough to cut through all the tough crap present in this game, so I personally wouldn't recommend it. Sure, it's better for your aux arc and double-tap, but neither of those are optimal ways to use the Tie/SF and "Backdraft, the one Tie/sf you want to be aux arcing with more often than not, is actively countered by the wording on AC
And then we have Sensors, which should have been the Tie/sf's "get out of jail free" card
sadly, we're not looking at much compared to BB-8. Granted, the pre-move roll on sensors can occur on far more maneuvers, but it is only one action compared to bb-8's free roll. Even with PTL, you're going to end up with one modifier after one barrel-roll, and you don't even have Alliance Overhaul to help pick up the slack on modifiers (which, yes, you will still need to get anywhere)
Sensors can help you transcend jousting, but I am not convinced they will be enough simply because they lack the action efficiency of bb-8 (esp with ptl)
and finally, Collision Detector. To keep it simple, Collision Detector is so freaking situational that you would NEVER use it if it cost more than 0. That said, hey, barrel-rolling onto an obstacle is a hell of a lot better than taking shots, especially if you roll in such a way that your front pegs clear the obstacles (so you won't overlap it with a maneuver next turn). And it's free!
if you're not using FCS, might as well right?
so far, though, nothing inspires next to the ARC's methods. While sensors sort of less efficiently emulate bb-8, the system slot offers nothing independent of dice such as R3-a2's stress or r2-d2's regeneration
And so, we turn to the named pilots
see? "Backdraft" gets what's up. He takes Alliance Overhaul and cranks it up a notch.
the immediate problem with "Backdraft", though, is that he cannot offer anything to you other than his dice and at that point we have to square him off with Soontir Fel (who costs the freaking same!).
See, Soontir Fel can't slap stress on opponents or faff off to regenerate shields before coming around for another pass, but he can boost and have a far less limited dial and take thrusters and roll around in defensive tokens and...
well, "Backdraft" has an auxiliary arc (the only Tie/sf auxiliary arc that is even the least bit scary too!) so you can see why he doesn't seem so impressive
honestly, I don't think "Backdraft" is going to take off very much,
HOWEVER
in an effort to remain optimistic, I will say instead that you don't want to stuff him full of upgrades like you would Fel. See, Fel can almost guarantee his safety between his manueverability and token stacking, but "Backdraft" can only crutch on you making crafty use of his auxiliary arc to keep him alive. Sadly, the TIE/SF just isn't very durable and it cannot be made to be very durable (unlike the regenerating ARC), so you're going to have to thread very lightly on upgrades
for my money? Veteran Instincts and Fire Control System (and pattern analyzer, if it costs one point, FFG!)
nice and simple, though a bit pricey at 30, you get a PS 9 with (eventually) a pretty dang modified essentially 3-dice attack from either arc
if you're comfortable with PS 7, you can consider predator and Collision Detector, or perhaps even Outmanuever given the two arcs?
okay, the basically default loadout for "Quickdraw" is rage + baffle. it's just too dang efficient and too dang punchy
but how are you going to transcend jousting with a walking railgun that's even less durable than your standard Tie/SF?
simple, we're applying the gurren laggan method
that's right, lads! **** being subtle, **** being clever; we're going straight through these bastards! They can't joust you if they're dead!
although there's an understandable appeal in quickdraw being able to e-baffle fire before combat, there's an even greater appeal beneath that in the fact that Quickdraw can still attack normally at Ps 9 afterwards
Unlike Special Ops Training, this is a double-tap worth using! One target, one arc; 6 to 8 total dice
The trade-off for her obscene damage potential is, of course, that she's a Tie/sf that helps your opponent kill her. That's just something you're going to have to accept if you're using "Quickdraw", she's an utter glass cannon who will only live if you kill them before they kill her
(or you're some kind of savant when it comes to flanking and can use your squad to keep the enemy off of her while she dices them to bits)
3.) Conclusion
overall, I am far more optimistic overall for the ARC-170 than the Tie/SF, and not just because the model is the sexiest **** thing I've seen in a while
although the specter of the jm5k looms large over the rebel side of x-wing, the ARC has quite a few interesting combinations between a few stellar astromechs and crew (and with hopefully more to come, come on Finn and Rey and...unique astromech whose name I do not know!!!!)
the Tie/SF, meanwhile, does not have anything in its available upgrade slots that make it stand out as something that can do more than roll dice at the enemy. Advanced Sensors come the closest with all the shenanigans it is capable of, but given the expenses and the lack of action efficiency, I am not inclined to put much faith in it
I can, however, say that there is some hope also coming in Heroes. Pattern Analyzer (probably) won't magically make you a bomber or something, but it does open up a world of shenanigans that will well be worth experiencing...if the point cost is right, FFG....
And while neither of the named pilots can astromech themselves into stress-dealers/arc-dodgers/regenerators, they do offer some interesting new dimensions of play
"Backdraft" offers an aux arc beyond even Alliance Overhaul and any of the ARCs ( short of tail-gunner Norra, but he is a lot cheaper); beyond even the firespray! (again, except for tail-gunner but at PS 9 and with FCS he's still 5 points cheaper than a bounty hunter w/tail gunner!)
"Quickdraw" is just hilarious in how eager she is to embody both sides of the "Glass Cannon" archetype, and she's sure to be the focal point to any game you bring her to (both in a "holy **** that was awesome" and "imperial Biggs" way)
Edited by ficklegreendice
