Made a last minute decision to go to regionals.

I have a list I like,eon a small tournament with it, it's good against dengaroo and I have an ok idea how to drive it.

But...

That was right before the defender explosion.and there were no such things as protectorate ships.

So the old rule of " fly what you know" plus" don't take an untested list to regionals" is flashing in my head like a giant neon sign.

But...but...

A triple defender list feels a lot more forgiving in theory and I've messed with X7 enough to know how they work as well.

I'm not exactly looking for advice but more of a ...what would you do?

Take the list you can expect 3-3 pretty much for sure...or try a more meta list that FEELS like it should be better in general.

Last time I took what I knew and it was a hard scissors to all the paper I expected. But everyone brought giant rocks shaped like toilet seats and I got smooched hard.

Short version..

Would you bring a "not very meta toolbox" or a "meta hotness with tanky goodness"

I'd fly what I know.

Decimators are not considered great in general, although they're also not considered terrible, but they're the ship I know. It's a ship you would say is a huge underdog to a TIE Swarm for example, but my record against TIE Swarms is a winning one because I know my ship, know what to do in that match, and my opponents don't see enough Decimators to know what I've got in store for them.

Having a good list is important. If you think you can make a better list, do it, but then take the time to practice it and get to know those ships. Any mathematical advantage that should be there by virtue of "better list" can easily be negated if you don't know how to utilize your new tools effectively.

I'm with you brother. I'm just a little jittery because the last time I brought what I knew I ended up 63/64.

I realise of course these sorts of questions are hard to generalise and so much rides on individual players,skills, etc.

Just an interesting sort of puzzle I have going on.

1. How close is it to what you do have experience playing?

2. Are you even likely to make the cut even if you bring a list that predicts the tournament meta perfectly? Be honest with yourself here. If you aren't likely to make the cut bring whatever you think will be fun to play 5-8 rounds with. Don't stress too much over how much table time you have with it.

List Quality + Player Skill = Winning Potential

..but...

An important component of player skill is experience, which is comprised of general X-Wing experience, and then more specifically to individual ships and strategies. Swapping to a "better list" does no good if you the gain in "List Quality" is a lesser value than the experience component of "Player Skill" that's being given up.

Thing like this are nearly impossible to quantify, so we simplified it to "fly what you know". That doesn't necessarily mean always fly the ship that you have the most experience with, and never get experience with other ships, but at the same time, if your instincts are screaming at you that you're not "comfortable" with a ship yet, there's probably a good reason you're hearing that voice.

Just had a wierd idea...I think today I'll play them both against each other.niether of thrm are really geared toward repositioning to a huge extent. So I'll put on some soft music make a pot of coffee and play them both a few times.

I wont know what I think is " better" but I will know wich I think i enjoy better.

In my experience going with what you are comfortable with is the better option. You already know how to run it and you will make fewer mistakes than if you took a list that you haven't practiced.

Flip a coin and assign heads to one list and tails to the other. If it comes up heads and you are disappointed, you probably wanted to play the other list.

Flip a coin and assign heads to one list and tails to the other. If it comes up heads and you are disappointed, you probably wanted to play the other list.

I'm a big fan of this method for all decisions. I told this to a lot of customers when I worked in retail.

As far as results go at the regional.If I can improve on 63rd place out of 64 players I think I can call it a victory Ha!

Short version..

Would you bring a "not very meta toolbox" or a "meta hotness with tanky goodness"

Meta hotness w/ tanky goodness all day. I always say, popular for a reason. Because it works. Plus tanky-ness always comes in handy.

On the flipside, people expect the meta and build to counter it. Sure, triple defenders is forgiving, but do you want to go up against lots of anti-defender stuff from people a lot more practiced?

Either way, you're probably not going to win so fly what you think you'll have more fun with.

For me it all comes down to enjoyment. If I enjoy the list then I'll fly it even if I'm not very well versed in how to fly it...... But this is coming from a guy who hasn't placed higher then 12th in a store tournament so make of that what you will haha

I was gonna say, you should fly them against each other. I'd also recommend the 3 Defenders. esp since you've flown some already.

Rule 1 with defenders x7: 99% of the time a 3 4 5 move is the right choice. If in doubt, roll a 100 sided die. If it comes up 1, then you can do a NOT 345 move.

I'm at round 4 of my self-scrimmage ,and this is the right call for me.

I have reminded myself that the tricky toolbox is quite strong AND a treat to fly.

And the potential trip defenders DOES feel solid but...I don't know...lacking something.

If I had a "what would Elvis do?" Meter...the needle is drifting towards ' peanut butter and banana sandwich's

But i shall keep playing it out and see if it moves closer to "all songs only need three chords'

Shakin' hips and rollin' hits baby!

So what is your toolbox-list?

meta hotness usually means its the easiest list to pick up and do well with while spending little to no time practicing it.

Ive smashed dengaroos with my bomber list, because i know how to fly them proper. Mind games are big for me.

Ive beaten palpaces with 3 T70s

Heck the first victory i had against one of my friends thats way better than me was with FOUR XWINGS, and he had a "meta list" that game.

Being easy to pickup doesnt mean its the best list out there. Ive learned the hard way from many, many games in the past that the obvious picks are usually not the best.

Toolbox list is credited to a nice fella in Italy I met on vassal,i don't think it has a name or anything.

Trandoshan slaver -zuckuss,4lom,dengar

Guri-virago,predator,autothrusters,sensor jammer

Palob-TLT,adaptability

If I change anything at all I would swap...eh...nothing.i still like it as is .Although palob could be any number of other tools I suppose.

Palob and the Party Bus are solid and both have utility in beating out Defenders or Dengaroo. What is Guri doing?

I like Guri, but I'm not convinced it's an efficient use of points. It looks like you're paying a huge premium to stack defensive mods on the ship I'd be worried about the least, if I were facing you. That may make Guri harder to kill in an endgame scenario, but does she contribute anything other than 3 dice per turn?

Just wondering out loud for the benefit of group think.

I actually quite like palob vs. x7defenders...quite often I found myself questioning if I should even take the free x7 evade...because...well...palob thinks they taste good.

Palob and the Party Bus are solid and both have utility in beating out Defenders or Dengaroo. What is Guri doing?

I like Guri, but I'm not convinced it's an efficient use of points. It looks like you're paying a huge premium to stack defensive mods on the ship I'd be worried about the least, if I were facing you. That may make Guri harder to kill in an endgame scenario, but does she contribute anything other than 3 dice per turn?

Just wondering out loud for the benefit of group think.

No she doesn't do much beyond that.

You could always swap Guri out for a PtL Old Teroch, in order to triple down on your ability to wreck token stackers.

Otherwise you can do PtL Fenn Rau for another heavy hitter / end game ace.

Slightly off topic, I plan to get to know each and every ship. There's currently eight that I feel rather uncomfortable with, and three of them I've actually never flown yet.

I know exactly which ones because I've made a spreadsheet https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ReS3IUlic6F6fPnx_lSBxcep2QU2Mk06yuTFnazqdnY/edit?usp=sharing

Toolbox list is credited to a nice fella in Italy I met on vassal,i don't think it has a name or anything.

Trandoshan slaver -zuckuss,4lom,dengar

Guri-virago,predator,autothrusters,sensor jammer

Palob-TLT,adaptability

If I change anything at all I would swap...eh...nothing.i still like it as is .Although palob could be any number of other tools I suppose.

Ya as much as I wish it wasn't so, I think you are going to need to drop Guri if this list is going to have any chance to be truly competitive. Something as simple as 2 autoblaster Ys might even prove more valuable.

Trandoshan Slaver (29)

Dengar (3)

4-LOM (1)

Zuckuss (1)

Palob Godalhi (20)

Trick Shot (0)

Twin Laser Turret (6)

Syndicate Thug (18)

Autoblaster Turret (2)

Syndicate Thug (18)

Autoblaster Turret (2)

Total: 100

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But if I'm being TOTALLY honest, I think you are simply better off with the X7 Defenders. They are extremely forgiving, and under costed. Even if you haven't had a ton of table time with them, they will still prove a better option over 98% of your build options.