Hi hive mind, just been watching the Stele Open vids and it's amazing, but I think I must be missing something with his combos. I can't see why he doesn't just take C-3PO and save two points over Kyle and Jan... thoughts?

Jonarc (99)

Norra Wexley (37) - ARC-170
Push The Limit (3), Kyle Katarn (3), BB-8 (2), Alliance Overhaul (0)

Shara Bey (34) - ARC-170
Adaptability (0), Jan Ors (2), R2-D2 (4), Alliance Overhaul (0)

Jess Pava (29) - T-70 X-Wing
R3-A2 (2), Primed Thrusters (1), Integrated Astromech (0)

because other people can use Jan if they need to.

Well, I didn't watch the match, but how did he apply Kyle? My thought is to keep Jess mobile in the event of a stress bot firing. Certainly doesn't need Kyle for the ARCs, they have so much green it's insulting to modern fighters.

Sorry - my brain went Kanan.

1 minute ago, LagJanson said:

Well, I didn't watch the match, but how did he apply Kyle? My thought is to keep Jess mobile in the event of a stress bot firing. Certainly doesn't need Kyle for the ARCs, they have so much green it's insulting to modern fighters.

You push the limit off of the BB8 barrel roll action, most likely a target lock. Clear stress with your green maneuver and get a Kyle focus token. Then you perform your "Perform action step", mostly like a focus action as Norra doesn't have any more actions to do. Shara with Jan could change any of those two focuses to evades. BR, Focus, TL, Evade, and no stress.

As I see it (and I haven't watched said video) Having Jan gives more flexibility. Both Jan and C-3P0 give a once per turn guaranteed damage mitigation, but Jan allows you to put that on any of the three ships. Add that to the Kyle,PTL,BB-8 combo (reveal green move, BB-8 BR, PTL for focus -> convert to evade with Jan, get stress, make green move, remove stress, get focus from kyle, take standard action TL)

I guess it gives the chance of getting two evades rather than a guaranteed one, I hadn't thought of it in those terms. I was playing with it a bit by giving Jess a pattern analyser, putting DTF on Shara and Inspiring Recruit instead of Jan. My logic was that no one wants to shoot Shara out of the three so she can do the regen thing, IR keeps Jess action-worthy when she's playing with R3A2 and 3PO helps keep Norra alive. I'm not convinced it's any better or worse, just a different spin on the same thing.

I'm definitely not convinced it needs the 1 point bid.

1 minute ago, Estarriol said:

I guess it gives the chance of getting two evades rather than a guaranteed one, I hadn't thought of it in those terms. I was playing with it a bit by giving Jess a pattern analyser, putting DTF on Shara and Inspiring Recruit instead of Jan. My logic was that no one wants to shoot Shara out of the three so she can do the regen thing, IR keeps Jess action-worthy when she's playing with R3A2 and 3PO helps keep Norra alive. I'm not convinced it's any better or worse, just a different spin on the same thing.

I'm definitely not convinced it needs the 1 point bid.

It doesn't IMO either. You could get pattern analyzer or auto thrusters in there. or drop r3-a2 and go up to m9-g8 to mod shara's shots

I'm just looking forward to having a go. Congrats to John for taking a non-meta list to a big tourney and kicking ass with it

I loved the crazy action economy of the Nora Sharra combo.

I'm not sure that particular combo could work on any other set of ships. The key is the Astromech and crew slots.

He figured out a cool build for sure.

2 hours ago, Timathius said:

It doesn't IMO either. You could get pattern analyzer or auto thrusters in there. or drop r3-a2 and go up to m9-g8 to mod shara's shots

It doesn't NEED the bid, but it can definitely help against scout and Bossk alpha strikes, and against Ol' Terry as well. Certainly a matter of preference though.

I've taken to calling the list "Steel Ladies" since they proved their 'mettle' at the 'Stele' Open.

The list evolved over time with a switch to Jess Pava only two weeks before the event. The idea with Kyle Katarn was that Norra could take evades early in the game, but Shara could take them in the end game. Shara usually didn't take damage early since she could regenerate, and people usually prioritized the stress-bot or Norra's damage output. If Shara is the last ship, she was surprisingly effective with dual firing arcs, shield regen, and an evade each round.

I agree the list doesn't need a bid. I just prefer primed thrusters to pattern analyzer on Jess. As for Shara, I could have put on a one point EPT, but having both ARCs at the same pilot skill level gave me flexibility. I could move either first depending on which order gave the best tactical payoff.

I got great advice on the list from last year's Stele Open champion and lots of great practice at Curio Cavern.

Side note: your Jess is only 28 points, not 29, correct? 25 + 2 + 1

22 hours ago, Poli-Sci_Guy said:

I've taken to calling the list "Steel Ladies" since they proved their 'mettle' at the 'Stele' Open.

The list evolved over time with a switch to Jess Pava only two weeks before the event. The idea with Kyle Katarn was that Norra could take evades early in the game, but Shara could take them in the end game. Shara usually didn't take damage early since she could regenerate, and people usually prioritized the stress-bot or Norra's damage output. If Shara is the last ship, she was surprisingly effective with dual firing arcs, shield regen, and an evade each round.

I agree the list doesn't need a bid. I just prefer primed thrusters to pattern analyzer on Jess. As for Shara, I could have put on a one point EPT, but having both ARCs at the same pilot skill level gave me flexibility. I could move either first depending on which order gave the best tactical payoff.

I got great advice on the list from last year's Stele Open champion and lots of great practice at Curio Cavern.

Thanks for taking the time to comment and congrats on your win! I'm looking forward to taking them for a spin on Thursday if my second ARC arrives on time