Is the general strategy against Defenders to just go for the joust and hope for the best? Triple defenders are very popular in Europe. I've seen Wes/Norra/Biggs destroy defenders, but without removing the evade, can you reasonably expect to burn down a defender before Biggs eats it?

Also, I imagine this question has been asked many times before. Specifically, are you looking for a close range initial joust to try and smash damage in? Or do you keep Biggs back at range 3 and embrace the grind?

5 minutes ago, Bonza said:

Is the general strategy against Defenders to just go for the joust and hope for the best? Triple defenders are very popular in Europe. I've seen Wes/Norra/Biggs destroy defenders, but without removing the evade, can you reasonably expect to burn down a defender before Biggs eats it?

Initially

Once youre behind them you can usunconventional flying with aux arcs and obstacles to outmanuever them

But biggs skewing things has a remarkable effect on your ability to joust as the Arcs can fly like reckless idiots to maximize damage potential without worry

Plus, with gunner double stress (single if you hit but defender greens suck apart from ryad) you remove their ability to focus qhich is often as significant as the x7 evade

Gunner overall is just great v defenders

Obstacle placement is also huge with ARCS. You can pull off many trivks using them and your aux arcs to get shots and deny your opponent's

Meanwhile x7s like them a lot less due to GOTTA GO FAST

1 hour ago, Bonza said:

Is the general strategy against Defenders to just go for the joust and hope for the best? Triple defenders are very popular in Europe. I've seen Wes/Norra/Biggs destroy defenders, but without removing the evade, can you reasonably expect to burn down a defender before Biggs eats it?

Also, I imagine this question has been asked many times before. Specifically, are you looking for a close range initial joust to try and smash damage in? Or do you keep Biggs back at range 3 and embrace the grind?

I generally go for the joust. Knowing they'll put a 3 or 4 move, I try to keep Biggs at range 3 (better if obstructed) and arcs at range 2, or if it's possibile arc at range 3 of just one defender (It'll shoot Braylen, won't kill him, eat some stress and hopefully some damage too, then will have to shoot Biggs the next turn so are obliged to split fire).

If they have some unconventional build, or lack the focus for some reason I aim for Range 1 with Arcs, 2 for Biggs and hope my dice won't fail :-D

Thanks for the feedback guys. The more I play this list, the more I see how many little intricacies are involved. It's going to take some time to master, but it's a very fun list to fly. And people are always happy and surprised to see Arcs on the table.

36 minutes ago, Bonza said:

And people are always happy and surprised to see Arcs on the table.

They're a little less happy when they see one of their ships nuked on the first round of combat, sometimes... :-)

Won a store tournament with Braylen/Biggs/Norra today. Mostly played X7 Defenders but i had a game against ARCs and a U-Wing.

In case anyone was wondering if ARCs were good or not.

They are.

I'm just back from Barcelona (Spain) regionals, finishing 27th of 100 with a 4-2 and 77 MOV points shy of the top. Quite happy at the end, as I started 0-2 because I'm and idiot that forgot to use Finn for a good 50 minutes in the first game , and an *amazing* opponent's hand in the second.

And yes, Finn. Latelly I've been using Thane with title, Finn, R2D6 and Lone Wolf instead Braylen, and while there are times I miss Braylen's stress, I'm having a blast with it. The extra dice is priceless, either when attacking in formation (using his ability to get full mods) or at their own once Biggs dies (focus action + lone wolf, including defense), especially once Norra has crushed all the tokens of the target.

And some pics because why not.

My goodness, those ARCs look absolutely phenomenal. Did you paint those yourself? I love them!

I think I'll try Norra with:

Expert Handling (giving access to barrel roll, with Vectored Thrusters missing for Engine Upgr.).

R2-D2,

Engine Upgrade, for the boost in straight speed after doing a green manoeuvre for R2, she can still show her ass to the enemy then hopefully.

+ Tail Gunner/ Alliance Overhaul.

Thoughts?

30 minutes ago, Rhaivaen said:

I think I'll try Norra with:

Expert Handling (giving access to barrel roll, with Vectored Thrusters missing for Engine Upgr.).

R2-D2,

Engine Upgrade, for the boost in straight speed after doing a green manoeuvre for R2, she can still show her ass to the enemy then hopefully.

+ Tail Gunner/ Alliance Overhaul.

Thoughts?

You are missing a way to use her ability, which is key for her being good. It allows her to be a better than 4 dice gun while not pressured and to tank 2 hits guaranteed each turn with R"-D2, winning pretty much every one on one matchup on points. These are the strengths of Norra and if you don't utilize them she may not be the optimal choice.

She has access to her target lock to activate her ability, so I am unsure what your hinting at..

8 minutes ago, Rhaivaen said:

She has access to her target lock to activate her ability, so I am unsure what your hinting at..

But without PtL/Expertise/other ship to give her 2nd action she needs to prepare it turn before.

I can use Ahsoka Tano for that, give her an action at the start of the combat phase..

Ahsoka would be:

PTL, Stygium Part. Acc, Sabine's Masterpiece, Recon Spec., Cloaking Device.

21 minutes ago, Rhaivaen said:

I can use Ahsoka Tano for that, give her an action at the start of the combat phase..

Good plan.

21 minutes ago, Rhaivaen said:

Ahsoka would be:

PTL, Stygium Part. Acc, Sabine's Masterpiece, Recon Spec., Cloaking Device.

Bad plan.

No part of 2 dice attack (is she will even shoot with that cloak...) for 28 points sounds like good plan.

22 minutes ago, Rhaivaen said:

I can use Ahsoka Tano for that, give her an action at the start of the combat phase..

Ahsoka would be:

PTL, Stygium Part. Acc, Sabine's Masterpiece, Recon Spec., Cloaking Device.

How is stressed Norra perform that free action, though? If you go this route I'd recommend VI on Norra, which is a viable build (though usually with Rey, to be able to use Norras ability on your own). And for Ahsoka I'd keep her very cheap with VI and Captured TIE.

Intership synergy is something you have to be carefull with, especially when you only need to slightly alter your builds to make the ship self-sufficient. It can be very frustrating losing one combo piece and then having the rest of your list crippeled.

The boost action doesn't stress Norra, And I don't have Rey. (Also, cant stand the characters (or even the copy/pasted whole movie) from TFA, so unlikely i'll ever get her, lol)

Btw, I fail to see what Rey's focus ability has to do with a Target Lock action that is needed for Norra

But the entire point of not running PTL was because you wanted Expert Handeling...if you don't plan on using it, why jump through all these hoops in the first place?

I plan on not using it the first go probably, that doesn't mean I never use it... Handling btw, not handeling , crickey

Its not an upgrade that you have to spell often, might be for a reason...

Here is a little guide on how to build Norra:

1. Modification: Does your list contain Biggs? Then use Vectored Thrusters. Else consider EU to cover more distance when you are the primary target, but maybe equip Thrusters anyways because they are cheaper. Can also not be equipped, but yields a lot of effectiveness.
2. Now you have two routes: Flexible crew or flexible Elite upgrade.
3. Flexible crew dictates PTL, although you can possibly get away with Expertise when running Biggs. Wouldn't recommend it, though. The most prominent crew choice is Tail Gunner to make the aux-arc effective. It is probably the most fun, too. other possibilities are C-3PO to tank three hits per turn, Kyle Kartan for triple actions, Kanan for faster flight, Nien Nunb if you really can't afford anything else.
4. Flexible Elite slot dictates Rey crew. The primary use here is VI to beat out Inquisitors and their likes and tie Fenn Raus. Other options would be Crackshot for a massive first strike attack, Lone Wolf for more defense and maybe Predator for consistent stressless offense in the front arc. You could also use any unused EPTs here, but for most of them there is a reason they don't see widespread play.

In general deviating from the standard PTL/Tailgunner build needs a really good reason as that is extremely effective.

BTW, forgot to mention, but one of my games at the store tournament i played at was TIE/D Tractor Beam Defenders. That was the only game all day that i went 100-0 on. I was often in an interesting position with Biggs, where he couldnt be BR'd because of his positioning between Braylen and Norra, and it was actually disadvantageous to boost him into range 1, as that's also an extra red die for me, too, especially considering i don't care if Biggs dies or not. Seeing TIE/Ds on the table against me is honestly a relief; /X7 games suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck, cause they go forever and don't die as easily. FGD has already stated that /x7 games go to time, and he's not wrong. Luckily for me, the /x7 games i played, the last X7 on the table was usually Ryad, which i had PS advantage on, so i spent a lot of time arc dodging with vectored thrusters and shooting dice out the back at Ryad, so i usually managed to win by killing all ships.

Imagine that; an ARC-170 arc dodging a TIE Defender. Those were some of the best games i've ever played.

So, I have been looking at other Norra's, other than PTL/R2D2 Norras.

Stress "Don't Call Me Hog" Norra

Norra Wexley (29)
Veteran Instincts (1)
Kyle Katarn (3)
R3-A2 (2)
Vectored Thrusters (2)
Alliance Overhaul (0)

Total: 37

Attack, stress, clear stress get focus, TL or b-roll for action. Rinse and repeat. And, you dont have to use R3A2, so if you are up against Asajj or other stressing mechanics, you can just TL/Focus. But getting double stressed with Katarn aint so bad, and odds are Asajj uses a stress for evade anyways.

Red "Don't Call Me Riding Hood" Norra

Norra Wexley (29)
Push the Limit (3)
Inspiring Recruit (1)
R3-A2 (2)
Vectored Thrusters (2)
Alliance Overhaul (0)

Total: 37

Typical PTL Norra, but she can stress as well, then ditch both stress. Versus other stress mechanics, you can safely PTL and just not use R3A2. Let someone like Asajj stress you and then can ditch them both next turn.

Stress counters 90% of the lists out there. It locks ships into green maneuvers for the next round, because nobody wants to be tokenless in this high powered offense meta. Its a hard counter to PTL which is still one of the top EPTs played. It shuts down Expertise instantly which is becoming popular as well.

If the thought of playing Norra without R2D2 sickens you, well, swap Shara with above configurations, and you have a nice ship that can get a focus, stress, and share TLs.

I gave the arcs + Biggs a good shot, but alas it seems to be a little too prone to some bad dice ruining your day - Norra firing an anemic shot at a pivotal time, or Braylen's first attack getting through on multiple turns, preventing double stressing. Parattani was a very tough nut to crack as well. You can't kill Manaroo or Asaaj very quickly, and Fen can just sit back and strike when there's no chance he'll be caught in arc.

Really fun list though. I'm sure that it becomes better as you develop familiarity with it. Wish I'd had a little more time/games with it.

Biggs' (Arc)Angels are heading to north east Italian Regional in a few hours, so wish them good luck!

Tonight I had a test match vs my teammate flying 3 Attanni Jumpmasters and I just lost on a crazy move by Norra while I was well ahead in the game, despite f***ing Boba threw my beloved R2D2 out of his seat.

I told him I lost by purpose because I'll win tomorrow, Lol

On 2/8/2017 at 1:25 PM, Rhaivaen said:

Btw, I fail to see what Rey 's focus ability has to do with a Target Lock action that is needed for Norra

Norra spends her target lock on attack or defence to add a focus result - useless without a focus token.

On 8/2/2017 at 1:13 PM, Rhaivaen said:

I can use Ahsoka Tano for that, give her an action at the start of the combat phase..

Ahsoka would be:

PTL, Stygium Part. Acc, Sabine's Masterpiece, Recon Spec., Cloaking Device.

That's an awful lot of points on her, for what exactly??