"I am Grand Admiral Thrawn. I have been away, but now I have returned. I know some of what has occurred. You will fill in the details when I come aboard. Rejoice, Captain, for the Empire will rise again."

It has been too long, but now I am back. My local gaming scene has died, and with it so did my activity here. But the plastic addiction never ends. Good to see some familiar faces. Seems so much has changed in the game since last I was around (around when the K-Wing/Oppressor were released). Anyone care to catch me up?

Ah, same old. Everything's broken, needs a nerf, or a fix.

TIE Defenders are now a thing, as is the Fang. The Scyk might even be getting a little love these days.

No one is yet happy about the state of the T-65.

Ah, same old. Everything's broken, needs a nerf, or a fix.

TIE Defenders are now a thing, as is the Fang. The Scyk might even be getting a little love these days.

No one is yet happy about the state of the T-65.

List of releases:

Wave Eight:

Rebels:

T-70 X wing(episode 7)

Ghost(from the show rebels)

Imps:

TIE/fo(episode 7)

TIE Adv. Prototype(from rebels)

Scum:

Punishing One

Mist Hunter

Wave Nine:

Rebels:

Arc-170

Imps:

TIE/sf(episode 7)

Scum:

Shadowcaster(from rebels)

Protectorate Fighter

Wave Ten(not out yet):

Rebels:

Sabine TIE(from Rebels)

U Wing (Rogue One)

Imps:

Upsoilon Shuttle(episode 7)

TIE Striker(Rogue One)

Scum:

Shadowcaster(from rebels)

Protectorate Fighter(from Rebels)

Yeah I figured the more things changed the more they stayed the same. And I have caught back up on all the waves I've missed. Still a salty old curmudgeon who hates the whole Disneyverse so it's a shame the releases have been exclusively from that recently. And still no Gunboat. But I am glad Defenders are a thing. Just picked up Imperial Veterans and Most Wanted yesterday, going to start saving again to catch up where I left off.

List of releases:

Wave Eight:

Rebels:

T-70 X wing(episode 7)

Ghost(from the show rebels)

Imps:

TIE/fo(episode 7)

TIE Adv. Prototype(from rebels)

Scum:

Punishing One

Mist Hunter

Wave Nine:

Rebels:

Arc-170

Imps:

TIE/sf(episode 7)

Scum:

Shadowcaster(from rebels)

Protectorate Fighter

Wave Ten(not out yet):

Rebels:

Sabine TIE(from Rebels)

U Wing (Rogue One)

Imps:

Upsoilon Shuttle(episode 7)

TIE Striker(Rogue One)

Scum:

Shadowcaster(from rebels)

Protectorate Fighter(from Rebels)

Quadjumper

fixed for ya!

also

so

*******

pretty

Yeah ARCs are a welcome sight. Now we just need Imperial V-wings to finish off the late Clone Wars Era ships.

Glad your back. Now I can go back to wondering when I had typed my response and then realizing we just had the same thoughts and avatar.

I find some of my own old X-Wing sentiments reawakening...maybe because of the Rogue One fighters. However, I doubt I'll be abandoning the safety of my capital ship armor and defense tokens to permanently return to the place of green dice fighter protection.

I'm also disappointed the Gunboat and TIE Avenger haven't made an appearance. Ten waves by and some EU craft and they still haven't picked up on those popular fighters? I know Rebels and Rogue One are defining the new vessels, but c'mon. We didn't need the TIE Punisher. And as far as I know, nobody flies it.

What I'd like to know is how valid some of the older equipment is in the face of new waves. My last purchases were the VT Decimator and Outrider. I took one of my ancient Wave 1 TIE Swarms to victory against a bomber list some months ago, but TIE Swarms always seem to work. Do some of the old wave fighter still have prominence, or is the game all about ARC-170s, TIE Prototypes, and whatever Scum lists these days?

An BBBBZ list just finished either first or second at a regional on the east coast. Meta is as open as you make it be.

How about TIE Advanced? I always liked that fighter because of how rare it is... have the X1 titles made it worthy?

Welcome back Norsehound, good to see you. The TIE Advanced is good post-Raider (X1, Palp, new pilots like Juno and Colzet), but it's not as goid as the TIE Defender.

As it should be.

List of releases:

Wave Eight:

Rebels:

T-70 X wing(episode 7)

Ghost(from the show rebels)

Phantom Shuttle (from the show rebels)

Imps:

TIE/fo(episode 7)

TIE Adv. Prototype(from rebels)

Scum:

Punishing One

Mist Hunter

Wave Nine:

Rebels:

Arc-170

Imps:

TIE/sf(episode 7)

Scum:

Shadowcaster(from rebels)

Protectorate Fighter

Wave Ten(not out yet):

Rebels:

Sabine TIE(from Rebels)

U Wing (Rogue One)

Imps:

Upsoilon Shuttle(episode 7)

TIE Striker(Rogue One)

Scum:

Shadowcaster(from rebels)

Protectorate Fighter(from Rebels)

Quadjumper

fixed for ya!

Fixed the fix.

The TIE/x1 is an option, specifically as Vader, but he's typically overshadowed by other Imperial Aces such as Ryad or Fel. The original build you saw was Vader w/ Pred, x1, ATC, EU. But that comes in at 37 points and while it's quite good, there are better options that are cheaper.

For example, Soontir Fel is often run with PTL, SD, AT, which comes in at 35 points, and I'm pretty sure most people would agree that he is a better use of points. The Inquisitor, while only PS8, can do essentially the same thing for even less, for 31 points, he is equipped with PTL, v1, AT, and then gets a TL, E, and another action most rounds, shooting with 3 dice because he considers every shot R1. Then you have the Defenders, Ryad is often equipped with PTL, x7, (optional MKII engine) which comes in at 35 (36) points. Yes, she is PS5, but she has a green K turn. Plus then she gets a F, TL, and free evade. Vessery often replaces PTL for Juke, increasing his offense by getting that free evade.

And all of these guys have something Vader doesn't - automatic dice modification. Not only is Vader the most expensive, but if he get's blocked (or double stressed), then he ends up with nothing . Whereas Fel and Inq will always have AT (assuming they activate), and Ryad and Vess will always have their evade token.

So Vader has fallen out of favor. You do still see him sometimes, but typically now it is only with ATC and Adaptability or a 1pt EPT to keep him at 30 points, where he is cheaper than these other Aces. It's sad when the Dark Lord of the Sith is relegated to being a budget ace.

...or you cab run Vader, the title and Advanced Targeting Computer for a pretty efficient use of 30 points. Boost and a reroll from Predator are nice to have, but are by no means necessary ir even optimal

List of releases:

Wave Eight:

Rebels:

T-70 X wing(episode 7)

Ghost(from the show rebels)

Imps:

TIE/fo(episode 7)

TIE Adv. Prototype(from rebels)

Scum:

Punishing One

Mist Hunter

Wave Nine:

Rebels:

Arc-170

Imps:

TIE/sf(episode 7)

Scum:

Shadowcaster(from rebels)

Protectorate Fighter

Wave Ten(not out yet):

Rebels:

Sabine TIE(from Rebels)

U Wing (Rogue One)

Imps:

Upsoilon Shuttle(episode 7)

TIE Striker(Rogue One)

Scum:

Shadowcaster(from rebels)

Protectorate Fighter(from Rebels)

Quadjumper

fixed for ya!

opps! guess that what happens when you're lazy like me and copy-paste

...or you cab run Vader, the title and Advanced Targeting Computer for a pretty efficient use of 30 points. Boost and a reroll from Predator are nice to have, but are by no means necessary ir even optimal

An interesting build I saw was Vader with Squad Leader flying with loaded bombers (Gamma, Deathfire), enabling them to get off TL+Focus ordnance in the same round, while Vader keeps his inherent action economy.

Well I have been poring over all the articles and releases I've missed, and things have gotten very interesting I must say. It's really a shame that the T-65 is still in a hard spot unless you're Biggs, aka Human Target. Also, did the T-70 fail so badly they needed an almost immediate "Aces" pack, or was it just a marketing thing? It's good to see that Ordnance is at least a little better off, but do Oppressors and K-wings (by far my favorite Rebel ship) see competitive play?

Rejoice K lover, for the K is a now a beast!

In fact Miranda Doni is, for my tastes, the best small-based ship in the game now. (She just placed 2nd at worlds in a 2 ship list with Corran.) Wardens are also immense ships. All this is because Sabine crew has made Rebels the dominant bomber faction...

TBH I never really played rebels much before sabine, and now I play little else. That's because bombs are now legit (as are arcs, but that's another story) - conner nets, ion bombs, seismics, all taste better with a +1 damage effect.

Miranda plays well along these lines:

Twin lasers, extra munitions, homing missiles, long range scanners ...

then either sabine & your choice of bomb loadouts or 3po & seismics, depending on her role.

Wardens really need advanced slam to make their conner nets shine. Miranda loves them too, but she needs to be able to threaten with her 5-dice homing missiles imo, and that means LRS for me:

The K wing is one of only a few ships that can actually take this free upgrade, and they are by far the best suited, due to their slam repositioning capability, which tends to duck them in and out of range frequently.

Welcome back to a wide open meta!

This makes me happy and sad. Happy because K-wings are cool. Sad because Rebels have these awesome bombers and Imps are still kinda bomb stagnant it seems.

That was my immediate reaction too. But then I learned how to stop worrying and love the (rebel) bomb.

The imperials did get Deathfire in Imperial Veterans recently: a decent ship and cheap as hell (28pts with Homing missiles, Conners, Extra Muni & longrange scanners). He's well behind the Warden as a conner net monster (sabine and advanced slam) but is normally about 10 pts cheaper, so...

It has been too long, but now I am back. My local gaming scene has died, and with it so did my activity here.

Welcome back. I'm curious...how did your local scene die? Did they just quit X-wing, or all games? Or was it people moved or a store closed? I'm just curious.

If you are looking to try to build up a local scene, I've got experience. My local X-wing scene dried up and myself with one other guy revived it. We now have 150 people on Facebook group and there is X-wing night every night of the week in local stores.

I'd recommend trying a bunch of fun and casual events to draw in the new players. Doing fun events really can make people want to try the game out. When they see how simple it is, they usually get stuck in. I have a podcast for Casual X-wing and I did an episode on building your casual scene in your area. The idea is the same for just regular X-wing, too.

http://shuttletydirium.podbean.com/e/building-the-casual-scene/

Welcome back. I'm curious...how did your local scene die? Did they just quit X-wing, or all games? Or was it people moved or a store closed? I'm just curious.

The gaming scene was relying too much on me to organize things. When life got in the way for me, everything else died too. Currently going to talk to one of our LGS and see what the demand for X-wing is like locally ATM and if a weekly game night there would be feasible. Otherwise it's back to trying to scrounge up interest again first.

If you are looking to try to build up a local scene, I've got experience. My local X-wing scene dried up and myself with one other guy revived it. We now have 150 people on Facebook group and there is X-wing night every night of the week in local stores.

I'd recommend trying a bunch of fun and casual events to draw in the new players. Doing fun events really can make people want to try the game out. When they see how simple it is, they usually get stuck in. I have a podcast for Casual X-wing and I did an episode on building your casual scene in your area. The idea is the same for just regular X-wing, too.

http://shuttletydirium.podbean.com/e/building-the-casual-scene/

I will definitely take a oook at that episode when I get the chance, thanks!

Well I have been poring over all the articles and releases I've missed, and things have gotten very interesting I must say. It's really a shame that the T-65 is still in a hard spot unless you're Biggs, aka Human Target. Also, did the T-70 fail so badly they needed an almost immediate "Aces" pack, or was it just a marketing thing? It's good to see that Ordnance is at least a little better off, but do Oppressors and K-wings (by far my favorite Rebel ship) see competitive play

As for the T-70... Heroes of the Resistance was largely marketing, but the T-70 was deliberately designed to be at a comparable power level to the old x-wing, because any x-wing fix will apply to the T-70 as well due to how the game language works unless the developers jump through a lot of hoops with the wording.

One of the biggest change since you split: Missiles and Torpedos are actually becoming a force to reckon with.