https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2017/5/1/x-wing-101-mission-briefing-part-two/

I knew the TIE Punisher would be in on this! Nice follow up, sir!

Nice article. And TIE egg-carton included

Nitpicking: The Punisher comes with only 1 copy of Extra Munition, doesn't it? Should still not really play a role, as the EM card itself is only needed at setup, and the EM tokens on the ordnance cards are the thing that matters (and there should be enough in the pack)

7 minutes ago, Managarmr said:

Nice article. And TIE egg-carton included

Nitpicking: The Punisher comes with only 1 copy of Extra Munition, doesn't it? Should still not really play a role, as the EM card itself is only needed at setup, and the EM tokens on the ordnance cards are the thing that matters (and there should be enough in the pack)

Its sad there's no guidance chips in there

Umm... Didn't you have a chance after the last article to correct your mistake about Esege being able to allow the shuttle to use his focus tokens defensively? It was pointed out within about 10 minutes of it going up...

Aslo, implying to new players that a Punisher is tougher than a Bomber is at best inaccurate. +3 shields in exchange for -1 defence is a wash, at best.

8 minutes ago, thespaceinvader said:

Umm... Didn't you have a chance after the last article to correct your mistake about Esege being able to allow the shuttle to use his focus tokens defensively? It was pointed out within about 10 minutes of it going up...

Aslo, implying to new players that a Punisher is tougher than a Bomber is at best inaccurate. +3 shields in exchange for -1 defence is a wash, at best.

I did not have a chance to do anything to either article. No.

I know the math is there, but I find the Shields for the Punisher to keep the crits off that the Bomber tends to collect pretty easily. Also, many of the Rebel ships only have 2 red dice, so I think it makes a significant impact.

Even for a casual match that's a terrible build. You can do a random on Fabs and get a better load out.

Why you didn't go for deathrain is beyond me.

4 minutes ago, HipHoplite said:

Even for a casual match that's a terrible build. You can do a random on Fabs and get a better load out.

Why you didn't go for deathrain is beyond me.

Without Guidance Chips to add the ordnance carriers, Redline is a pretty solid choice. Frankly, I'd love to hear why you think Deathrain is a superior pilot in this scenario. I'm not seeing. (And random generators have a tough time making squads for less than $101 USD.)

Remember, any destroyed ship can spawn as an Academy Pilot during the end phase as reinforcements. This gives the Imperials a bit of an edge by front-loading damage, and then following up with a swarm. This is made a bit more challenging because the Imperial player only has three TIE fighters in his collection. Because of the reinforcement rule, I would have gone with Backstabber instead of Dark Curse, but that's just personal preference.

Deathrain is superior out of the box making it easier to do a cheap build because most of what you need comes in the Pack - bombs extra munitions and Plasma torps. With the Redline/FCS timing change the ability is pretty subpar. Both suffer with out systems but redline more so.

Deathrain would be a fun introduction to bombs and positioning. Redline is just an exercise in frustration, especially the way this list is built.

Not bad at all ! Redline will help to shoot down this pesky senator shuttle (6 armor/6 shield), Deathrain could be fun too.

My version :

Given two people are needed for the mission, seems like it could be kosher for each side to use unused cards from the other ... I haven't actually looked to see if that makes better lists or not. Just sayin'.

32 minutes ago, Jeff Wilder said:

Given two people are needed for the mission, seems like it could be kosher for each side to use unused cards from the other ... I haven't actually looked to see if that makes better lists or not. Just sayin'.

I had this same thought when I mentioned reinforcements. It does seem like a pretty obvious choice to borrow one another's ships.

I certainly appreciate the thought behind this article, but I just think it's poor advice to suggest the Punisher as one of the first ships to fill out an Imperial collection on a tight budget. Even in a casual environment. There are a lot more fun and iconic ships a new player could be spending their money on.

12 minutes ago, defkhan1 said:

I certainly appreciate the thought behind this article, but I just think it's poor advice to suggest the Punisher as one of the first ships to fill out an Imperial collection on a tight budget. Even in a casual environment. There are a lot more fun and iconic ships a new player could be spending their money on.

It's a matter of opinion really. I've met a couple of guys who said they loved the appearance of the Punisher and wanted one as they stepped into the game. Take a step back and enjoy the scenario for what it is. The point of this particular 101 was not for competition or BEST stuff... it was for a fun beer and pretzels style game and the Punisher is a heavy strike platform... It's not what most of us would want, but this game accepts all comers.

Heychadwick! I enjoyed the article! Do you think you'll get the opportunity to write another one for FFG?

2 hours ago, HipHoplite said:

Deathrain is superior out of the box making it easier to do a cheap build because most of what you need comes in the Pack - bombs extra munitions and Plasma torps. With the Redline/FCS timing change the ability is pretty subpar. Both suffer with out systems but redline more so.

Deathrain would be a fun introduction to bombs and positioning. Redline is just an exercise in frustration, especially the way this list is built.

I disagree that Redline needs FCS. It's not necessary that you need to target the same target next turn. With the Assault Missiles, you can spread the shots around to the best target. Most of the enemy will not be using a Focus action as they will try to protect the Shuttle. Redline with the free TL is just fine.

14 minutes ago, defkhan1 said:

I certainly appreciate the thought behind this article, but I just think it's poor advice to suggest the Punisher as one of the first ships to fill out an Imperial collection on a tight budget. Even in a casual environment. There are a lot more fun and iconic ships a new player could be spending their money on.

I don't think enough people have really tried the Tie Punisher. There is a local here who uses it in most lists. He is often beating people's tournament lists with it. I think last game night was against all tournament lists and he won 3/4 games. He doesn't bother with tournaments, himself, though.

1 minute ago, rubberduck said:

Heychadwick! I enjoyed the article! Do you think you'll get the opportunity to write another one for FFG?

We shall see.... (I don't know!)

26 minutes ago, defkhan1 said:

I certainly appreciate the thought behind this article, but I just think it's poor advice to suggest the Punisher as one of the first ships to fill out an Imperial collection on a tight budget. Even in a casual environment. There are a lot more fun and iconic ships a new player could be spending their money on.

These days, I could say that about all my TIE Interceptors. And I have lots, since it was also featured as a twin pack of aces. Heck, you could even argue against the entire Imperial faction at this point.

Some of it has to do with the cards that are available in the bubble with the ship.

11 minutes ago, LagJanson said:

It's a matter of opinion really. I've met a couple of guys who said they loved the appearance of the Punisher and wanted one as they stepped into the game. Take a step back and enjoy the scenario for what it is. The point of this particular 101 was not for competition or BEST stuff... it was for a fun beer and pretzels style game and the Punisher is a heavy strike platform... It's not what most of us would want, but this game accepts all comers.

Exactly. Seeing the Punisher in the article was cool, since the ship really doesn't get any love. And not too surprising, since Heychadwick likes Punishers and Bombers almost as much as he hates the Phantom.

16 minutes ago, LagJanson said:

It's a matter of opinion really. I've met a couple of guys who said they loved the appearance of the Punisher and wanted one as they stepped into the game. Take a step back and enjoy the scenario for what it is. The point of this particular 101 was not for competition or BEST stuff... it was for a fun beer and pretzels style game and the Punisher is a heavy strike platform... It's not what most of us would want, but this game accepts all comers.

I didn't say anything about being competitive or best. I'm just looking at this from the point of view of getting somebody into the game. That's what X-wing 101 is all about. If I wanted to recommend some Imperial ships to a new player on a budget, I wouldn't start with the Punisher. If said player loves the look of the Punisher and wants to buy it, great! They should absolutely do that! But these articles are meant to be guides for new players. As a guide, I think I would rather recommend some tried and true ships instead of a really niche ship like the Punisher.

7 minutes ago, defkhan1 said:

I didn't say anything about being competitive or best. I'm just looking at this from the point of view of getting somebody into the game. That's what X-wing 101 is all about. If I wanted to recommend some Imperial ships to a new player on a budget, I wouldn't start with the Punisher. If said player loves the look of the Punisher and wants to buy it, great! They should absolutely do that! But these articles are meant to be guides for new players. As a guide, I think I would rather recommend some tried and true ships instead of a really niche ship like the Punisher.

The article was about someone getting into the game that wants to play primarily missions, such as the Senator's Shuttle. There are people that only play missions of one type or another. The Punisher is a fine ship to do that with.

I suppose that's fair. I've only played a handful of missions. I'm still skeptical on the Punisher's usefulness as a general mission ship, but you're the more experienced one in that field.

I think the TIE Punisher should be able to take the TIE shuttle title. It would lose half of every slot unless it only has one and be able to carry two crew members. FFG could even do an errata for this and I'm sure we would start seeing these ships more often.

27 minutes ago, Chief Hugh said:

I think the TIE Punisher should be able to take the TIE shuttle title. It would lose half of every slot unless it only has one and be able to carry two crew members. FFG could even do an errata for this and I'm sure we would start seeing these ships more often.

A. I can't believe you are advocating for another Imperial shuttle.

B. It is not in the lore for this thing to be one; the TIE/sh is based on the Bomber chassis.

C. I would far rather have a Sentinel class shuttle added to the game.

2 minutes ago, Darth Meanie said:

A. I can't believe you are advocating for another Imperial shuttle.

I am though. I think it would be cool to see Punishers with those kind of abilities.

B. It is not in the lore for this thing to be one; the TIE/sh is based on the Bomber chassis.

There are lots of things in this game that do not concur with the lore.

C. I would far rather have a Sentinel class shuttle added to the game.

There are lots of things I would rather have as well but I was talking about the Punisher and not all of those other items.

3 hours ago, heychadwick said:

I disagree that Redline needs FCS. It's not necessary that you need to target the same target next turn. With the Assault Missiles, you can spread the shots around to the best target. Most of the enemy will not be using a Focus action as they will try to protect the Shuttle. Redline with the free TL is just fine.

I don't think enough people have really tried the Tie Punisher. There is a local here who uses it in most lists. He is often beating people's tournament lists with it. I think last game night was against all tournament lists and he won 3/4 games. He doesn't bother with tournaments, himself, though.

We shall see.... (I don't know!)

Your articles are bad and you should feel bad.

7 minutes ago, HipHoplite said:

Your articles are bad and you should feel bad.

I hope you are joking. If so you should make it more obvious. If not explain how you have had more positive impact on the X-wing community than heychadwick.

I don't much like the punisher at all, or as one of the first purchases for a new player, but hey, it's better than recommending a new player buy a K-Wing they can't find anywhere

Seriously though it's really cool to see articles like this about mission play. 100/6 is fun but it's great to mix things up with missions and it's nice to see stuff published by FFG in support of that style of play!