When it comes to helping the mediocre achieve greatness. It is sometimes best to get some help and lean on a crutch. People have prefered factions for various reasons, and each comes with a really nice crutch to limp along with.

PALP

BIGGS

ZUCKUSS

the second tier crutch cards are,

X7

LOTHAL REBEL ( well really any ghost)

MANAROO

What do you lean on to help make an x-wing match have some sort of chance at success?

But Biggs isn't a crutch. He takes skill to utilize effectively. You have to take in to account range bands with your own ships, as well as range bands of your opponents ships (to force your opponent to shoot him at range 3 while you have range 2 shots with the rest of your squad). Palp and Manaroo can fly wherever they want to and still provide their benefits. They are essentially Biggs without any range restrictions because, unless a squad is built to specifically handle these lists, you cannot beat them unless you destroy those ships first.

I would like to see rebels get a range-less "super card"

I believe you're confusing the word "crutch" with "extremely competitive." Feel free to take sub-optimal builds to competitive events; clearly your immense ego will carry you well enough.

More on topic, I'm 100% addicted to Palp. To the point where it is actively a poison and I feel worse not being able to adjust dice at will...

What's with everyone calling these things a crutch? It's weird. Palp, I sorta get--but none of them are really crutches. They're just competitive.

A crutch is something bad players need to perform well. These are all cards skilled players use to get ahead.

I never use them, but you forgot two.

R2-D2

R5-P9

What's with everyone calling these things a crutch? It's weird. Palp, I sorta get--but none of them are really crutches. They're just competitive.

A crutch is something bad players need to perform well. These are all cards skilled players use to get ahead.

This, 110%.

I'm all for pushing yourself to move beyond the list building mental blocks that we all put up, or forcing yourself to move away from a pilot, ship, or upgrade that you've grown so dependent on that it stifles personal growth. However, saying that Biggs is a crutch is as untrue as it is insulting to those who win highly competitive tournaments with it.

The person who wins Worlds won't do so because they brought Palp or some /x7 Defenders; they'll win it because they play better than anyone else over the most competitive two days in X-Wing.

Since when is flying in a loose formation the hallmark of a skilled player, or turning a card sideways for that matter?

The biggest crutch that bad players lean on?

Whining.

X-wing is a game. Play what you enjoy, and let others do the same.

I would like to see rebels get a range-less "super card"

They already do, it's Sabine crew.

I'll admit it, TIE Bombers are my crutch.

Biggs is NOT a crutch for the player. He IS a crutch to the ships. Wes Janson and the ARCs would not work as well without their best friend Biggs, I think many can agree with that. But the several turns of near invulnerablity from Biggs seems to be considered a necessity for the ships he is protecting to have a prayer. Or so I am told. Fel on the other hand can hold his own with or without Palp, in many ways, making Palp less of a crutch of a ship. Again though this is to say nothing of player skil, simply that the rest of the ships on the list would not work as well without the influence of these ships. Now does that mean you should be ashamed to play them competitively? Not at all, competitive lists must be good, no matter what the game, and these cards are objectively good. What I think many people (especially Rebel players) are feeling is the push to take them. You take Biggs because you feel it is your only hope, and unlike Fel, his wingmates tend not to last long. That is a crutch, a crutch to the Rebel Faction, not a skill level commentary.

I've never used Biggs. In fact, before reading about him in blogs and this forum, i thought it was a "useless" pilot abilty...

So, i'm a bad player, but i don't use Biggs. Not much of a crutch, i guess.

Probably because i'm not able to fly in formation (or i don't have the time/energy to try) i can't relay on Biggs, or more important to me, fly a TIE Swarm.

Biggs usally flies with 2 ships now, thats not much formation flying to be done.

2 ships flying close is formation for me

Dear OP,

You forgot C3PO, Engine Upgrade, PTL, Predator, Dengar (Crew), Guidance Chips, DeadEye on a Generic, R4, TLT,

............

Taking actions is a crutch for those who don't roll natural hits or evades.

I think Biggs is a crutch, the other two not at all.

Biggs is a crutch in that if you took him away most of the squad he's in would collapse because they NEED to have that fire drawn away from the other ships - replace Biggs with pretty much anything else and the list is finished. Palpatine, on the other hand, is not the same because triple aces are still a strong list without him in. There's also plenty of working Imperial lists that don't use Palpatine.

Manaroo is... why is she even in this discussion? She's mainly supports one specific upgrade (Zuckuss) on one specific ship (Dengar) in one specific list (Dengaroo) that isn't even a good list any more because the meta has rapidly adjusted to remove it from competition.

Biggs, though, is definitely a crutch. Biggs and PTL are probably the two biggest crutches in X-Wing.

A crutch is something that someone who's debilitated in some fashion can lean on so they can walk but it's actually going to impede someone at full strength.

It'd have to be something that gives weak players a boost but ultimately holds them back from their potential if they rely on it too much.