Hey has anyone used this guy yet? Is taking away 1 dice a big enough advantage to spend the points on?

... It makes you immune to the Ackbar Corvette Fleet's main advantage. Forcing it to rely on its front arcs only.

I think he's pretty great, and the cost is right. Only Jaina's Light and Tractor Beams kind of ruin his day somewhat, but small, speedy ships (and AF mK IIs) love this guy. The whole max Gozanti with Tarkin thing some people have discussed is completely ruined by him.

He's decent. I've run a fleet with him vs. Konstantine's slow-down madness, and it was still doable. He's also a straightforward - you know what you get and you know how to use it. On the other hand he is kind of boring, and does so little for you when Rhymer or the angry Bees come for you. So I've played him, and linked him, but I didn't love him.

Sorry Cracky.

It also helps against that crit that does not allow they to attack obstructed targets.

Hey has anyone used this guy yet? Is taking away 1 dice a big enough advantage to spend the points on?

Yeah, I do think he'll be worth the points. Played against him yesterday and he proved a real annoyance, I think with a bit of planning he could prove shockingly resilient (at least against the right lists).

I ran him in a proxy Wave 3 game with 2 Mc30T, 2 TRC90 and 2 transports + 3 Xwings +Jan vs 2 ISD's, 1 Gozanti and some mixed ties. Worked extremely well. I abused the maneuverability of my ships to arc dodge to such an extent that he got 1 front arc shot off all game (double arc'd a transport - couldn't save everything). Side arcs of ISD's are even less scary when they are always obstructed. It was particularly nice when 1 ISD got the crit where it couldn't shoot obstructed targets! However, as mentioned, he does nothing vs bombers.

It is Phillip Al McCracken.

Anyway. First game night with wave 3/4 is tonight. I will see if anyone brings Cracken. I personally am going to try Konstantine or Madine first.

Cracken is the Motti of the rebels, in a way.

Assuming you build your list correctly (e.g. don't take a bunch of large ships that don't benefit), you're doing something you want to do anyways (flying quickly) and you are more durable because of it.

If you are shot at 3-4 times over a game, that's 3-4 dice that are gone, meaning somewhere between an expected value of 2.25-4.00 damage, depending on the dice involved. This is slightly better than Motti, on average, though there is the condition of speed.

They are very equivalent. If you like Motti, you like Cracken. If you don't like Motti, you don't like Cracken.

Also, again, keep in mind the range effect (1 die = no shot) of being obstructed, as well.

Edit: He also comes with the intangible benefit of allowing you to scream RELEASE THE CRACKEN! when you deploy him.

Cracken is the Motti of the rebels, in a way.

Assuming you build your list correctly (e.g. don't take a bunch of large ships that don't benefit), you're doing something you want to do anyways (flying quickly) and you are more durable because of it.

If you are shot at 3-4 times over a game, that's 3-4 dice that are gone, meaning somewhere between an expected value of 2.25-4.00 damage, depending on the dice involved. This is slightly better than Motti, on average, though there is the condition of speed.

They are very equivalent. If you like Motti, you like Cracken. If you don't like Motti, you don't like Cracken.

Also, again, keep in mind the range effect (1 die = no shot) of being obstructed, as well.

Edit: He also comes with the intangible benefit of allowing you to scream RELEASE THE CRACKEN! when you deploy him.

He is definitely the alternative for Rebel swarm players that want to try something that isn't Mothma or Rieekan. And he works better against other rebel swarms due to attacks not triggering if arcs only have 1 die.

And the benefit of screaming that before deploying cannot be understated.

It is Phillip Al McCracken.

Anyway. First game night with wave 3/4 is tonight. I will see if anyone brings Cracken. I personally am going to try Konstantine or Madine first.

At this point I hope we just start calling Cracken by the name Phil. It would be one of the inside jokes that newcomers to the forum have to wrap their heads around.

As has already been noted, he's great against Ackbar CR90s because he shuts down the side arcs entirely. He's also great vs. red dice Gozantis for the same reason.

In general he seems like he has some real synergy with faster Rebel ships that boast 1+ Evade tokens, particularly when taking fire from long range where you're removing a larger percentage of the dice pool due to obstruction and where your Evades work the best. The constant obstruction vs. ships both reduces your incoming damage (which is always helpful) and also diminishes the chances of Accuracy results coming up to stop you from Evading.