I played against a pair of double-arc biggs lists and a Ketsu shadowcaster is extremely good against them.

I am a little behind the curve on ARC glory here, still only having one.

But I had some decent showings using Braylen Stressbot Tactician (with a filler Flechette Torpedo for good measure) recently.

I had not considered Gunner with Stressbot. My question is, does Stressbot trigger both times with a Gunner shot? I haven't fully absorbed all the timing chart nuances.

You get to declare targets with gunner since it is another attack (unlike TLT where you declare a target and shoot it twice)

You dont even have to attack the same target. Faced ptl rau and terry one time and spent all game pingponging the two to keep em double stressed until norra got em

You dont even have to attack the same target. Faced ptl rau and terry one time and spent all game pingponging the two to keep em double stressed until norra got em

Why... Why would they let that happen? I realize not getting to use ptl sucks but the r3a2 thing is not some surprise out of nowhere. I guess occasionally gunner gets a free trigger from good/bad rolls but it seems like without a stealth device to protect you just take a damage when possible to dodge double stress.

You dont even have to attack the same target. Faced ptl rau and terry one time and spent all game pingponging the two to keep em double stressed until norra got em

Why... Why would they let that happen? I realize not getting to use ptl sucks but the r3a2 thing is not some surprise out of nowhere. I guess occasionally gunner gets a free trigger from good/bad rolls but it seems like without a stealth device to protect you just take a damage when possible to dodge double stress.

Sounds like the two protectorate pilots were ptl builds, in which case one stress each is enough to seriously mess them up.

It also sounds like fickle was using the rear arc for at least some of the shots... Given that stressmule braylen has no tailgunner crew, not landing any hits out of the rear arc is not surprising at all (especially if you're not really trying to land the hit).

And i guess you also have to consider the opponents mindset; some don't look far enough ahead to make the decision that one damage is less important than the second stress: It's not as clear cut as the vader/gunner situation used to be.

Although to be fair, that incidental damage does pile up pretty quickly if you're in a position to take a hit in order to deny the 2nd shot, it's not surprising when people opt to take stress (which has no permanent) effect over damage.

You dont even have to attack the same target. Faced ptl rau and terry one time and spent all game pingponging the two to keep em double stressed until norra got em

Why... Why would they let that happen? I realize not getting to use ptl sucks but the r3a2 thing is not some surprise out of nowhere. I guess occasionally gunner gets a free trigger from good/bad rolls but it seems like without a stealth device to protect you just take a damage when possible to dodge double stress.

Granted that was the first time both for the opponent running fangs and myself running braylen

Also, you dont know about fickle green dice it seems

Not thst i would mind (at all) slapping a crit on a 4 hull ship instead of stressing both of em

Not thst i would mind (at all) slapping a crit on a 4 hull ship instead of stressing both of em

Honestly after playing fangs a bunch I would rather take the crits than the double stress... Maybe I'm crazy but I never expect fenn rau to live the full game anyway, just punch enough stuff hard enough for Asajj to clean up the spare

Not thst i would mind (at all) slapping a crit on a 4 hull ship instead of stressing both of em

Honestly after playing fangs a bunch I would rather take the crits than the double stress... Maybe I'm crazy but I never expect fenn rau to live the full game anyway, just punch enough stuff hard enough for Asajj to clean up the spare

Ehhhh. Never take the crit. It's always the most awful one you can imagine at the time (my damage cards aren't fickle, they're gorram cruel).

Double stress on a Protectorate should really just mean it's trying to get outta dodge until it can clear stress, not try and force another engagement. Better than eating a crit and winding up with Blinded Pilot/other nasty crits, of which there are MANY the Protectorate does NOT want.

I feel the need to say this here. Someone just raised the very good point in the rules forum that per the timing chart faq r3a2 doesn't actually work anymore. When you declare a target there is no defender yet, hence why dead eye and r4 aggro don't work anymore. Until they fix it I wouldn't keep playing that droid because it technically does nothing currently.

I feel the need to say this here. Someone just raised the very good point in the rules forum that per the timing chart faq r3a2 doesn't actually work anymore. When you declare a target there is no defender yet, hence why dead eye and r4 aggro don't work anymore. Until they fix it I wouldn't keep playing that droid because it technically does nothing currently.

R3-A2 happens at end of "Declare Target Step." It still works.

I feel the need to say this here. Someone just raised the very good point in the rules forum that per the timing chart faq r3a2 doesn't actually work anymore. When you declare a target there is no defender yet, hence why dead eye and r4 aggro don't work anymore. Until they fix it I wouldn't keep playing that droid because it technically does nothing currently.

R3-A2 happens at end of "Declare Target Step." It still works.

R3-A2 happens at step 1iii. There's no defender for an attack until 1v. This is the same timing issue as r4 agromech and deadeye, which also no longer works.

Don't forget that you don't have to take that +1 attack! Chucking 2 dice in the first shot makes Gunner more likely to trigger.

Step 1 as a whole is "Declare Target" step. The trigger on R3-A2 clearly refers to the step as a whole, and you can infer from the rest that it occurs during step 1v.

Step 1 as a whole is "Declare Target" step. The trigger on R3-A2 clearly refers to the step as a whole, and you can infer from the rest that it occurs during step 1v.

I don't see anything to indicate that to be true. The steps are very clearly laid out in the flow chart:

i. Measure range to enemy ships and check attacker's firing arc

ii. Attacker chooses weapon

iii. Declare target of the attack

iv. Pay cost to perform the attack (if applicable)

v. Target of the attack becomes the defender

R3-A2: "When you declare the target of your attack, if the defender is inside your firing arc, you may receive 1 stress token to cause the defender to receive 1 stress token."

The card and the flow chart even use the same phrase of 'declare the target of the attack'. While I'm sure it's unintentional that R3-A2 does not work, it currently does not, clearly written out in the FAQ timing chart.

Not a single to on earth would accept that bit of weaseling, so is not going to matter. Though, sure, clarify it next time the faq is updated.

Not a single to on earth would accept that bit of weaseling, so is not going to matter. Though, sure, clarify it next time the faq is updated.

Please explain the weaseling? I have provided clear explanation of the rules. If a TO would like to go directly against the FAQ then I guess I cannot fight that.

Not a single to on earth would accept that bit of weaseling, so is not going to matter. Though, sure, clarify it next time the faq is updated.

Please explain the weaseling? I have provided clear explanation of the rules. If a TO would like to go directly against the FAQ then I guess I cannot fight that.

Good thing then that FFG has the following text in their tournament regulations "All card interpretations

during a tournament are a marshal’s responsibility, and he or she may

overrule the FAQ when a mistake or error is discovered."

I would like to hear a marshal trying to come up with any kind of rational explanation why an available upgrade is impossible to trigger..

I think the point is that both R4 Agromech and R3-A2 have to be allowed to work or disallowed since they use the same timing. Or if not then the FAQ section on R3-A2 has to be expanded to explain why one works when the other does not.

I think the point is that both R4 Agromech and R3-A2 have to be allowed to work or disallowed since they use the same timing. Or if not then the FAQ section on R3-A2 has to be expanded to explain why one works when the other does not.

R4 and Deadeye do not work because there is a cost to pay to make the target the defender, with the focus being the cost. So you have just paid the cost to start the attack (hence you are not attacking until after the focus has been spent).

R3A2 might work the way that has been stated, if you were using a weapon that had a cost (focus/TL). If there is no cost to pay, you resolve things that happen after step 1iii (either step 1v or trigger R3A2) at the same time, so the player owning the ship gets to resolve them in the order they like (obviously target becomes defender first, then use R3A2).

But with the new timing chart, it would certainly be clearer if R3A2 was to say "At the end of the Declare Target step" rather than "When you declare the target of your attack".

The crucial difference between r3-a2 and the agromech is that the agromech even in it's nerfed state still does something. (maybe not what you would like it to do... But hey, that's life.)

If you consider r3-a2 as a target of the revised timing then the card literally does nothing.

I'd take RAI over RAW on the stressbot every time in this particular example, and I think you'd be very hard pressed to find a tournament official that wouldn't.

Noise made about r3-a2 will result in precisely one thing if anything; an errata to the card text which brings it more clearly in line with the timing chart.

Noise made about r3-a2 will result in precisely one thing if anything; an errata to the card text which brings it more clearly in line with the timing chart.

That's kind of the point of making noise about it.

Noise made about r3-a2 will result in precisely one thing if anything; an errata to the card text which brings it more clearly in line with the timing chart.

That's kind of the point of making noise about it.

Yeah, it's not like I expect ffg to just shrug and keep r3a2 useless. I even sent them a rules ticket to try to bring it into the FAQ faster.

Noise made about r3-a2 will result in precisely one thing if anything; an errata to the card text which brings it more clearly in line with the timing chart.

That's kind of the point of making noise about it.

Yeah, it's not like I expect ffg to just shrug and keep r3a2 useless. I even sent them a rules ticket to try to bring it into the FAQ faster.

it is kinda funny that r3a2 now does what r3 astro does, though