(Long but hopefully interesting post)
This is a story of my journey with the famed assassin droids IG-88 through the waves from the day of its glory when it was first released to its current state where its use in the meta has become somewhat uncertain. The following will be heavily influenced by my local meta, experiences and build preferences, so it may (and probably will) not reflect what other IG-88 players have experienced. Still, I hope you enjoy the read.
Wave 6: intial release
When wave 6 was originally released, my meta was divided between 2 main types of lists: turrets and the Imperial aces that flew against them. I was amongst the latter, preferring high PS aces and struggling as best as I could (but winning more than my fare share). Wave 6 introduced autothrusters (to the joy of aces everywhere) and while my meta jumped on the opportunity to heavily punish turrets, my gaze instead settled on IG-88.
I think I first fell in love the day that I placed the first building blocks on IG-88 B and C: advanced sensors, autothrusters, the title and predator. The ability to advanced sensor / boost combined with s-loops and k-turns was amazing. Many balked at the notion of a large base ship with no turrets and (relatively) low PS, but I jumped on the challenge. While it had a relatively low amount of hit points compared to other large base ships, the fact that it had 3 agility and the ability to equip autothrusters more than made up for that. While my struggles were based on mastering this new craft, my meta fully embraced high PS aces, mostly Soontir, which in time colored and cemented my choice of cannons: the ion cannon.
Those who piloted imperial aces against me soon learned to fear the sight of those ion cannons, for a single hit could leave a pilot like Soontir stranded and unable to shed his stress on the following turn. In my views, heavy laser cannons were an unpredictable source of damage which could be partially controlled by my opponent (by spending the right amount of tokens to only receive 1 damage). Ion cannons, however, were far more dangerous; a single hit, a single point of damage, could spell doom for an ace.
When it came to large base turret ships, well those I could easily escort out of the map or on an asteroid. Rebel ships with regeneration capabilities were also not a real factor since in most cases, once control started, it could be just as dangerous.
Most aces, like Soontir, were also easier to predict because of their green manoeuvers. Hard 2 and bank 2 could be easily predicted, blocked and taken advantage of. I quickly developed the ability to self-bump with IGs in order to be where I was the least expected.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself during that time and I believe that it is safe to say that this was the golden age of dual IGs (of various builds). At every tournament that you went to, IGs were present in large numbers and practically defined the scum faction.
Wave 7: the arrival of the TLT
It seems weird to look at it this way, but when wave 7 was initially released, the biggest impact on our Meta was not any one ship, but rather only the TLT upgrade. Ace pilots, who had gotten overconfident against turret ships, suddenly fell under the pressure of streams of unending attacks. A stack of tokens could only last so long and the meta had to adapt accordingly.
While I flew different lists during wave 7, my competition build remained mostly unchanged. The dreaded 4 Y-Wings with TLT was a threat, but the IG-88’s 4 hull and shields, combined with autothrusters, made them hard to remove from the game. Careful piloting and positioning allowed me to break formations and while it was a tough matchup, it was still an interesting puzzle to crack.
Uncannily enough, piloting 4 TLTs did not appeal to our meta. Most of us did not enjoy the thought of losing a sizable chunk of MOV during each match during competitions and many experienced players simply found the list boring to fly.
The Raider: rise of the Emperor
Prior to the introduction of the Raider (and the arrival of the Emperor in 100 point games), I can safely say that I could win 65% of my matches against veteran players that chose to fly ace lists. Few players piloted Scums and fewer still took dual IGs because of the steep learning curve. When the Emperor was introduced, he was a galaxy level meta shaking event (as he should be).
The combination of focus, predator and IG-88s ability made it possible to melt through stack of tokens with ion cannons. Sometimes it would require me to set up a block or combine firepower, but I only needed 1 hit to get through. Melting through tokens, autothrusters and the Emperor, however, turned the statistics against me.
Suddenly, even a less experienced player could weather the ion storm, which transformed every match against aces into a cutthroat match. If I could land an ion hit then the odds were in my favor, but if I missed then odds of being outmaneuvered by a higher PS opponent increased with each round.
While my IGs were more enduring than 3 of 4 hull/shield aces, they could be chewed down slowly and time could play against me, especially with the change of rules where large ships suddenly could lose half of their MOV.
My problem was twofold: my ion cannons could not cause enough damage to quickly remove Palpatine from the field (not without taking a severe punishment from accompanying aces) and targeting an ace was not an easy task.
My win rate dropped to around 50% against experienced ace players, but while I could feel the temptation to grumble, in another way, I was ok with it. Matches were not meant to be easy after all.
Wave 8: the abilities to break through defenses
The appearance of wave 8 is where things started going downhill, fast. The first ship that appeared on the local meta was the inquisitor and when the FAQ cleared up his ability, I somewhat cringed. There was a ship that could reliably arc dodge, output 3 hits and neutralize my autothrusters. It also had a high defense and the annoying ability to be able to remain almost stationary thanks to its green hard 1 and bank 1.
Omega Leader soon followed, which was even worse; he was a pilot that could neutralize my defense modifiers, my offense modifiers, remove one of my evade results (through juke) and still be a decent arc dodger. Palpatine was also still in the picture.
Back then, the thought that ran through my mind was that these 2 ships had been intended to fight high PS aces with high defense, but using a lower PS (PS 8), which had kind of been the spot that my IGs had been holding up to that point. However, by putting them at PS8 instead of PS6, these pilots’ incredible abilities could tear through my defenses with ease while arc dodging, which nullified my build.
Scouts with torpedoes appeared later in our meta and while the match was hard, careful asteroid placement combined with tactical strikes could win the match. Finding the right asteroid placement was hard, but eventually, my odds of victory climbed back to 50% against them.
Dengaroo (or more to the point, Zuckuss as a crew member) appeared only during the regionals, but I did not have to face them in a competitive setting. Imperial Veterans appeared during the second regional that I attended, but I did not face them there either. I placed in the top 16 in both regionals, but out of 115 + players (if you combine both tournaments), only 1 other player had dual IGs, a drastic drop since they were first introduced.
My current use of IGs as wave 9 approaches
Right now, I only bring my IGs out occasionally during casual nights, as if I was summoning a specter from the past. The truth to the matter is that they are no longer as competitive as they used to be. Many abilities to break through defenses were introduced, many of which can be used by pilots with a PS rating of 8 and above. The key element that gave IG-88 their tenacity, their combination of high hull, shields, agility, maneuverability combined with an evade token or focus, is no longer enough to outlast an opponent. Their offensive potential has also remained stagnant through the last few waves.
I do not want to complain or think of new upgrades that FFG could implement. Many other ships have waited far longer and are in dire need. I find that I would lose interest in the game if I started thinking along the line of “the game should change to accommodate what I want to play”. Instead, I focus on other scum elements and cool ways to combine them. At this moment, Fenn, Zuckuss and Manaroo are holding my attention.
Part of me simply needed to write my journey down, almost as way to move on. My IG-88 with ion cannons had been part of my competition experience for over a year after all (yes, I loved them that much and rarely got bored with them). Right now, my beloved IGs will simply rest for a while and this post if a form of farewell.
One day, like a classic horror movie (Friday the 13th?), they will rise up again to ionize ships, capture their pilots and turn in the bounty! That day is simply not today or with wave 9 (I think the IG-88 crew will be interesting in epic play, but not for 100 point games).
If you made it this far then thanks for reading!
