man, the ARC assessment is incorrect

you slap r3-a2 on the Braylen or Thane and they become perfectly worth with gunner/tactician or tailgunner respectively(with Biggs ofc)

only Shara sucks

also, a lot of other ships only have two named pilots (see K-wing and E-wing etc.) so that explains that. In the K's case, the generic Warden is seeing a very good amount of play but it's not a named pilot

also, for the SF, Backdraft is pretty good. Imo he's the only one super worth flying because he makes the entire gimmick of the ship, the aux arc, not suck

Just now, Darth Meanie said:

Not much hate at all. Just disagreement.

Disagreement is fine, it makes for a good discussion. I feel that comments such as " So in short, lern 2 fun better. " are uncalled for in discussions like this. So, with all the disagreements, I decided to go pull some data from ListJuggler to see if I'm way off base. From what I can tell, looking at the pilots who made the cut in meaningful event in the month of November, you have the following named pilots (I have bolded the duplicate ships):

Corran Horn 35

Chewbacca 27

Poe Dameron 26

Biggs Darklighter 23

Norra Wexley 22

Kanan Jarrus 20

Ezra Bridger 8

Thane Kyrell 6

Jess Pava 3

Wes Janson 2

Garven Dreis 1

Colonel Vessery 40

Countess Ryad 39

The Inquisitor 18

Quickdraw 14

Howlrunner 11

Echo 5

Backstabber 2

Dark Curse 1

Manaroo 60

Fenn Rau 33

Dengar 32

IG-88B 28

Asajj Ventress 22

Bossk 19

Palob Godalhi 13

IG-88D 7

So it does not align 100% with my initial list, but it's mighty close. Sure, not all tourneys are entered into list juggler, but presumably enough are that it's an accurate sample size of the overall meta. The only ones with notable usages of duplicate ships are Ryad/Vessery, Manaroo/Dengar, and IG-88B/D.

I'm glad the point of epic has been brought up, there are definitely pilots (and upgrade cards) designed more towards epic than 100/6. Et'ahn comes to mind, as does the Leia crew. But are the other pilots just restricted to casual play since there's always going to be a better alternative?

5 minutes ago, Khyros said:

Disagreement is fine, it makes for a good discussion. I feel that comments such as " So in short, lern 2 fun better. " are uncalled for in discussions like this.

Missed that one. Sorry.

My last thread featured "what does this thread even exist?"

There's always that one guy (but not necessarily That One Guy).

There are some pilot cards that are simply losers. (Fel's Wrath?) But if you are looking at making the cut at regionals? You might as well ask why is there only one pilot for each ship that is the best?

Imagine fantasy football where players could be drafted by any number of teams. How many different quarterbacks would be picked? Perfect balance is a practical implausibility. One pilot will naturally tend to be better than the other options.

The designers are probably doing a much better job now than they have at any other point in the game IMHO.

54 minutes ago, Khyros said:

Wow, lots of hate in here. So obviously people disagree with my assessment that there are typically only 1 viable pilot per ship. So I guess then I should ask what's wrong with Gemmer, Arvel, Tycho, Nera, Ibby, Ten, Et'ahn, etc that they see a much reduced representation at the top level competition than their counterparts? I mean, if you ask that question of Biggs, it's fairly obvious, he protects ships worth flying, and therefore makes the T65 viable. The rest of the T65 pilots are stuck in a T65 and thus are not competitive.

To whomever pointed out Tel as an example, I agree there's nothing wrong with her, but it seems that she's rarely flown over the other two choices.

Tycho has some great builds. Gemmer, Nera, Et'ahn are great examples of ships that can shine at higher point play or epic.

1 hour ago, Franch said:

After seeing Marcel from Gold Sqaudron make top 4 at Springfield with BOTH Backdraft and QuickDraw, I'm itching to try them out, especially now that we have lightweight frame.

Do you have a link to a a video or something? I'm experimenting with the two, too, and would be interested in what he did with the squad...

There's definitely more than 1 viable unique pilot per ship. The OP list left out a lot of good pilots. And it didn't even put the TIE Punisher on there! "Deathrain" and "Redline" have amazing abilities! They're just stuck on less-than-ideal ships.

Most other people are already listing good pilots that were not mentioned in the original list. What unique pilots are "good" is dependent on the list, how the pilot is used, and the skill of the person flying those ships. Regardless of whether it's competitive or casual.

Wait, Howlrunner is the only viable named Tie-Fighter pilot? What about Mauler Mithel, Scourge, Wampa and Backstabber?

For the Deci, I see Oicunn used quite a lot in my area.

The ARCs were already covered.

12 minutes ago, haslo said:

Do you have a link to a a video or something? I'm experimenting with the two, too, and would be interested in what he did with the squad...

I believe he was recorded in his top 16 match against Nathan Eide by Raven Squadron and possibly my match with him in the top 4 by Rook Squad (Rook Gaming on YouTube). Neither of them have posted these videos yet.

3 minutes ago, Franch said:

I believe he was recorded in his top 16 match against Nathan Eide by Raven Squadron and possibly my match with him in the top 4 by Rook Squad (Rook Gaming on YouTube). Neither of them have posted these videos yet.

Thanks a lot! I found the list on ListJuggler meanwhile - it's similar to a list I flew with recently, with Omega Leader just like mine. I've switched to Lightweight Frame instead of Guidance Chips and added Sensor Cluster, and dropped the OL to Countdown. Needs a lot of testing still though...

I'm glad to see so many people suggesting the there are several good pilot across such a variety of ships; another suggested ignoring the meta as many are fun to use.

This is actually quite refreshing since there are so many other negative posts about this being broken, over powers, or worthless. Sometime before the expansion is released.

Thanks, positive posts like these about a variety of ships is what makes X-Wing fun.

Holy subjective analysis Batman!

3 hours ago, Khyros said:

So I’ve been thinking for awhile about pilots and why some get play and others don’t. So I started looking at it by ship, and came to the following conclusion – almost every ship has at most 1 named pilot “worth” flying. Let’s take a look at who those are:

Rebels:

A Wing – Jake Farrell

ARC-170 – Norra Wexley

Attack Shuttle – N/A (as a standalone option at least)

B Wing – N/A

E Wing – Corran Horn

HWK-290 – N/A

K Wing – Miranda Doni

T-70 X Wing – Poe Dameron

T-65 X Wing – Biggs Darklighter & Wes Janson

Y Wing – N/A

Z-95 Headhunter – N/A

VCX-100 – Kanan Jarrus

YT-1300 – Rey & W2 Han Solo

YT-2400 – Dash Rendar

Imperials:

TIE/sf – N/A

TIE/x1 – Darth Vader

TIE/v1 – The Inquisitor

TIE/sa – N/A

TIE/x7 – Countess Ryad & Colonel Vessery

TIE/ln – Howlrunner

TIE/in – Soontir Fel & Carnor Jax

TIE/p – Whisper

TIE/fo – Omega Leader

Firespray-31 – N/A

Lambda – N/A

VT-49 Decimator – Rear Admiral Chiraneau

Scum:

G-1A Starfighter – N/A

HWK-290 – Palob Godalhi

Kihraxz Fighter – N/A

M3-A Scyk – N/A

Protectorate Starfighter – Fenn Rau & Old Teroch

Starviper – N/A

Y wing – N/A

Z-95 Headhunter – N/A

Aggressor – IG-88B

Firespray-31 – N/A

JumpMaster 5000 – Manaroo & Dengar

Lancer – Asajj Ventress

YV-666 – Bossk

...

So is this a valid analysis of why we really only get 1 viable named pilot (if any) from most expansions? What are your thoughts on this topic?

I'm not sure about this list. I know quite a few lists that use Gold Squadron and Academy Pilots. Also remember Manaroo wasn't a well known pilot until they shot down Contracted Scout with the R3-Agromech nerf.

GO BAK-TO-HELS-PRIME... YOU MISERABLE TOPIC YOU!

I AM HERE FOR STAR WARS !!!

VERY VIABLE!!!

Because of two very good reasons:

a) Balance is harder than you think and the devs are smart for not incorporating too many very strong pilots/ships

b) "Viable" is a terrible word choice. The ships we view as viable are those that are mathematically and mechanically superior in the confines of the game. FOR INSTANCE, More or different ships would be "viable" if the game was played at 75 points or 200 points. The ships we deem viable are the most competitive at 100 points.

Here's a picture of the X-Wing meta, by the way...

4 minutes ago, Rinzler in a Tie said:

Because of two very good reasons:

a) Balance is harder than you think and the devs are smart for not incorporating too many very strong pilots/ships

b) "Viable" is a terrible word choice. The ships we view as viable are those that are mathematically and mechanically superior in the confines of the game. FOR INSTANCE, More or different ships would be "viable" if the game was played at 75 points or 200 points. The ships we deem viable are the most competitive at 100 points.

Here's a picture of the X-Wing meta, by the way...

DAM-DAT-META... DAM-DAT-META... MOST OF US ARE HERE TO HAVE FUN!!!

[EDIT]

I don't accept the premise.

I may be biased, but I believe Wedge can still be viable in the T-65. It's tricky to make it work but when he does work, he can change a game single handedly. I do see the flaws of the T-65 but I am not ready to give up on him just yet,

9 hours ago, Khyros said:

Wow, lots of hate in here. So obviously people disagree with my assessment that there are typically only 1 viable pilot per ship. So I guess then I should ask what's wrong with Gemmer, Arvel, Tycho, Nera, Ibby, Ten, Et'ahn, etc that they see a much reduced representation at the top level competition than their counterparts? I mean, if you ask that question of Biggs, it's fairly obvious, he protects ships worth flying, and therefore makes the T65 viable. The rest of the T65 pilots are stuck in a T65 and thus are not competitive.

To whomever pointed out Tel as an example, I agree there's nothing wrong with her, but it seems that she's rarely flown over the other two choices.

It's being pointed out that the high PS pilots usually have the best abilities. In competitive play why would you bring the second string? In casual games I will try just about anything. The last two nights I've played 4x T-70s with R2 and IA.

When you make broad statements like you did, you really should clarify if you're referring to competitive play or casual play. Potential players may get turned off from the game.

Only one "viable" named pilot per ship? As I see it there are two big reason:

1. How you are defining "viable" may automatically limit you. Besides many ship have been "viable" tournament ships and/or could become viable with the right upgrade or two that may not be out yet.

2. So many ships only have two named pilots so if one of them is somehow mispriced or messed up that doesn't leave much to save the rest.

There have been a LOT of Unique TIE Fighters used over the years but that is largely because that is the only place you often get to work with them.

15 hours ago, Rinzler in a Tie said:

Because of two very good reasons:

a) Balance is harder than you think and the devs are smart for not incorporating too many very strong pilots/ships

b) "Viable" is a terrible word choice. The ships we view as viable are those that are mathematically and mechanically superior in the confines of the game. FOR INSTANCE, More or different ships would be "viable" if the game was played at 75 points or 200 points. The ships we deem viable are the most competitive at 100 points.

Here's a picture of the X-Wing meta, by the way...

Also need to be aware that viable != high tier. To me anything that gives me a realistic shot at winning is viable. HWKs in general? Viable. Without turret? Hell naw!

My head still hurts so if this analogy makes no sense, don't blame me

why only 1 viable named pilot per expansion?

simple...

Top Gun

you can only have 1 Maverick

you may find an Iceman who can do the trick sometimes but not always

then you have Goose....we all love that pilot in the expansions but well he always dies on the table

as for the last pilot, that poor soul is the Mig pilot who was on the receiving end of an inverted middle finger

i sure hope this all made sense and remember to fly casual while inverted

The meta rules:

do as much damage as possible.

Take as little damage as possible.

So any pilot abilities that don't do either of those things directly just aren't worth it, no matter how 'fun' they may be. The exceptions are the killer combos like toilet seats that flush torps

Your list of 'viable' is very specific and ignores some good pilots.

Thane Kyrell, Jess Pava, Chopper, Backdraft, Quickdraw, Mauler Mithel, Scourge, Wampa, Backstabber, Echo, Zeta Leader, Ct Yorr, Captain Oicunn, Zuckuss, Guri, Kavil, IG-88C, Ketsu Onyo...

So apart from that you're talking ****, I agree with what you say.