I love the mental image of VCXs or Lambdas dragging mines across the board like Galaxy Quest.

Flew the list last night using the Valen Rudor and Strom. My opponent was flying an Imperial list with a similar package like mine, except he was running the ISD-II, Kallus on a Raider-I with full flak package, the new Arquintens, and Motti on a floater. I ended up taking the game 7-4 but after the game, we sat and talked about how ISD-IIs are great in the current meta.

I liked the Rudor/Strom combo, but he had 3-4 generic Defenders that I think Vader could have benefitted against. However, when Strom did hit with his red dice, it hit pretty nicely. I will say though, the H9s + ISD-II flak made my aces really sad.

The new dust cloud things was an interesting addition to the game that added another strategic layer to how the game was played.

Flew the list last night using the Valen Rudor and Strom. My opponent was flying an Imperial list with a similar package like mine, except he was running the ISD-II, Kallus on a Raider-I with full flak package, the new Arquintens, and Motti on a floater. I ended up taking the game 7-4 but after the game, we sat and talked about how ISD-IIs are great in the current meta.

I liked the Rudor/Strom combo, but he had 3-4 generic Defenders that I think Vader could have benefitted against. However, when Strom did hit with his red dice, it hit pretty nicely. I will say though, the H9s + ISD-II flak made my aces really sad.

Good stuff. How long did strom last against those defenders?

Still loving the push for the ISD. Love to see that ship get the love it deserves.

Flew the list last night using the Valen Rudor and Strom. My opponent was flying an Imperial list with a similar package like mine, except he was running the ISD-II, Kallus on a Raider-I with full flak package, the new Arquintens, and Motti on a floater. I ended up taking the game 7-4 but after the game, we sat and talked about how ISD-IIs are great in the current meta.

I liked the Rudor/Strom combo, but he had 3-4 generic Defenders that I think Vader could have benefitted against. However, when Strom did hit with his red dice, it hit pretty nicely. I will say though, the H9s + ISD-II flak made my aces really sad.

Good stuff. How long did strom last against those defenders?

Still loving the push for the ISD. Love to see that ship get the love it deserves.

He lasted decently well actually because my opponent was using his speed-5 Defenders to just get around him to hit other targets. That is still something I need to get used to.. speed-5 Defenders + Boosted Coms that can threaten both squadron and ships.

The mission we ended up playing was Close-Range Intel Scan. That's why the dust clouds were up there.

I've been thinking: How much benefit would another Goznati for the +1 activation benefit me if I cut my squadrons to just Howl + Strom + 5x generic TIEs. I'll still be running 385 bid.

I'm confused.... Shara isn't survivable enough but Ketsu is? They have the same hull and the same d tokens. Excel Shara has the added defense of her special being a deterrent. Imo Shara is more survivable than Ketsu.

Flew the list last night using the Valen Rudor and Strom. My opponent was flying an Imperial list with a similar package like mine, except he was running the ISD-II, Kallus on a Raider-I with full flak package, the new Arquintens, and Motti on a floater. I ended up taking the game 7-4 but after the game, we sat and talked about how ISD-IIs are great in the current meta.

I liked the Rudor/Strom combo, but he had 3-4 generic Defenders that I think Vader could have benefitted against. However, when Strom did hit with his red dice, it hit pretty nicely. I will say though, the H9s + ISD-II flak made my aces really sad.

Good stuff. How long did strom last against those defenders?

Still loving the push for the ISD. Love to see that ship get the love it deserves.

He lasted decently well actually because my opponent was using his speed-5 Defenders to just get around him to hit other targets. That is still something I need to get used to.. speed-5 Defenders + Boosted Coms that can threaten both squadron and ships.

As the poor goober who was playing against HERO last night, let me first apologize to all of you for having to witness the aftermath of my horrible deployment. That was my first game in about a month (holidays and all that), and I was definitely a rust bucket. HERO, of course, is an outstanding player, and he was totally able to punish me on every mistake I made!

Re: Strom vs. Vader -- it's interesting how it worked out in this game, and I don't know if there was a right or wrong in this particular match-up.

One of the pros in the Strom column is the points to add in Valen Rudor; however, in this game (as HERO pointed out), I was able to use my 5-speed squads to get into position and pick off Rudor after his alpha, so he didn't add too much over Vader. Strom was never really a priority for me after that (compared to Howl, Mauler, and Dengar), where as Vader wouldn't have popped like Rudor did, and I would have needed to pump more lasers into him, drawing shots away from other squads.

Luckily, HERO rolled really well with Strom the whole game, and he never needed to use his ability. On the flip side, we discussed how Strom's ability doesn't really fit this list, because he's got low-health squads all around him. Plinking Mauler for 1 to get a Strom reroll no es bueno. The generic TIEs are probably the best plinking targets since they tend to get one-shot anyway (so it often doesn't matter if they have 3 health or 1, they still eat a whole squad shot), but it still feels bad man to plink a 3 healther. Another pro for the Vader column that hasn't been discussed is he makes great use of his Dengar counter because of the crits. In this match-up, however, that wouldn't have been as impactful because I was running Ciena, and she would have been on Vader duty, fo sho.

Like I said, it was kind of a toss-up for this match-up as to which load out would have been better in this particular game. As I think about it in the cold light of day, if it was my list, I'd probably opt for Strom/Rudor over Vader just because it spreads things out a bit more. Actually, I might swap Rudor for Saber. You lose Scatter, but you gain snipe (which with Howl and Swarm is nasty). I think Strom/Saber vs Vader is a more interesting decision over Strom/Rudor vs Vader because Strom/Rudor probably averages out to be about the same damage as Vader, but Strom/Saber brings a different kind of damage (a la snipe).

I'm confused.... Shara isn't survivable enough but Ketsu is? They have the same hull and the same d tokens. Excel Shara has the added defense of her special being a deterrent. Imo Shara is more survivable than Ketsu.

Shara is just as survivable from raw stats, but Ketsu benefits from Escort more. Shara needs to actually be hit for her ability to work, so if she's under Escort protection she might as well be a blank card. Furthermore, Ketsu hampers the opponent's ability to displace, even under the benefit of Intel. Soft control in movement means less dice where the opponent needs them.

Saber is a pretty interesting point. Snipe has real value, and Howlrunner is handing you snipe Five.

Saber is a pretty interesting point. Snipe has real value, and Howlrunner is handing you snipe Five.

And can also activate from effective range 7 off a Gozanti!

I'm confused.... Shara isn't survivable enough but Ketsu is? They have the same hull and the same d tokens. Excel Shara has the added defense of her special being a deterrent. Imo Shara is more survivable than Ketsu.

Shara is just as survivable from raw stats, but Ketsu benefits from Escort more. Shara needs to actually be hit for her ability to work, so if she's under Escort protection she might as well be a blank card. Furthermore, Ketsu hampers the opponent's ability to displace, even under the benefit of Intel. Soft control in movement means less dice where the opponent needs them.

I'm confused.... Shara isn't survivable enough but Ketsu is? They have the same hull and the same d tokens. Excel Shara has the added defense of her special being a deterrent. Imo Shara is more survivable than Ketsu.

Shara is just as survivable from raw stats, but Ketsu benefits from Escort more. Shara needs to actually be hit for her ability to work, so if she's under Escort protection she might as well be a blank card. Furthermore, Ketsu hampers the opponent's ability to displace, even under the benefit of Intel. Soft control in movement means less dice where the opponent needs them.

Ketsu's special does nothing to keep her alive. In fact if her special is affecting a squadron then they can attack her so it has zero bearing on her defensive abilities other than she keeps enemies close to her..... So the opposite actually.

Yes, it keeps them closer to her escorts like Biggs, Wedge and Dutch who are excellent at killing enemy squadrons while escorting Ketsu. And it limits bombing runs by reducing the impact of Intel-given movement. So Y-Wing balls around her at now moving 1 regardless of Intel. Sounds good to me!

I agree she is good, but imo shara is more survivable than ketsu that's all. Give shara a try she is amazing.