Predator vs. PTL vs. Expertise

By Mackaywarrior, in X-Wing

17 hours ago, SabineKey said:

Yeah, but Dengar is a much more limited card. He's faction locked and must have a crew slot to use.

Indeed. Plus, more importantly, taking Dengar (the crew) stops you taking Dengar (the pilot), who's possibly the best ship Scum & Villainy have, combining a brutally good pilot ability and PS9 and ....well.... jumpmaster .

Which just further concretes that dengar crew isnt really a problem. Literally the only "balanced" thing to come out of that stupid jm5k package.
(technically i dont even really have an issue with dengar pilot either... least now that manaroo + zuckuss arent with him)

On 8/10/2017 at 6:03 AM, Vineheart01 said:

Which just further concretes that dengar crew isnt really a problem. Literally the only "balanced" thing to come out of that stupid jm5k package.
(technically i dont even really have an issue with dengar pilot either... least now that manaroo + zuckuss arent with him)

Tel would like a word with you

On 8/9/2017 at 5:21 AM, Elavion said:

This is simple, really.

ept.thumb.png.e87f1f12a1614324fdb53b391fae3ec8.png

???????

58 minutes ago, DeathstarII said:

Tel would like a word with you

Fat Tel FTW!

Gonk/Hull Upgrade. Pred or Expertise are great for him, just go whichever for taste. PTL? Eh, maybe, but I tend to sloop a lot.

On 9.8.2017 at 0:21 PM, Elavion said:

This is simple, really.

ept.thumb.png.e87f1f12a1614324fdb53b391fae3ec8.png

Corran might be an exception here strictly because he wants to do greens for R2-D2 and he benefits greatly from the double action from PtL when running away.

Do note however that Predator is a little underwhelming if you're not expecting to be facing ps1-2s in multiple games. (I really wish they FAQd it to ps1-3 or even all generics :( ). So other options like Lone Wolf or Intensity might be better.

Corran is not an exception of the rule, he is a indicator the the rule is flawed.

Do you need double reposition?
Yes > PTL

if NO> Can you roll attack dice at least twice per turn > yes > expertise
if NO> Can you run with a mindlink partner reasonable well? Yes, Mindlink away.
if No>Do you have green hard or green k-turns and more than 2 attack dice? > Yes > PTL
if NO>Do you get free barrel rolls / boost actions and have a reasonable expectation to pay an evade/focus at the end of the turn? Yes, Intensity.
if No> Can you get a free evade or store an evade token > Yes > Juke
if No> Are 3 points not more expensive than you can reasonable expect to get back with a single re-roll. >Predator

else crackshot.

It not 100% correct either juke and vi are hard to judge and vi is especially meta depended, etc

Edited by SEApocalypse

This thread is why I play Asajj. Shuts down Expertise and causes a lot of problems to PTL users (: Forced a Fenn Rau out of the fight (with a blinded pilot right off the bat and double stress) and he only shot twice the entire game. That one PTL use in Asajj's Mobile Arc does not forgive (: And one guy on Vassal who played Expertise Rey multiple times, definitely noticed my lists having Asajj often and so he went for VI instead~

I really rarely see Expertise though, due to the PS10-11 game hehe.

7 hours ago, SEApocalypse said:

Corran is not an exception of the rule, he is a indicator the the rule is flawed.

Do you need double reposition?
Yes > PTL

if NO> Can you roll attack dice at least twice per turn > yes > expertise
if NO> Can you run with a mindlink partner reasonable well? Yes, Mindlink away.
if No>Do you have green hard or green k-turns and more than 2 attack dice? > Yes > PTL
if NO>Do you get free barrel rolls / boost actions and have a reasonable expectation to pay an evade/focus at the end of the turn? Yes, Intensity.
if No> Can you get a free evade or store an evade token > Yes > Juke
if No> Are 3 points not more expensive than you can reasonable expect to get back with a single re-roll. >Predator

else crackshot.

It not 100% correct either juke and vi are hard to judge and vi is especially meta depended, etc

Double reposition *or double tokens*. Corran needs focus/evade just as much as he needs BR/boost.

31 minutes ago, thespaceinvader said:

Double reposition *or double tokens*. Corran needs focus/evade just as much as he needs BR/boost.

Indeed, and so do all squishy arc dodgers.

So how about Tie D defenders...

would you use predator or expertise?

im really on the fence with this one

Probably Expertise, given that the only TIE/D that's even close to worth running is Vessery and he should be getting rerolls anyway.

Just now, thespaceinvader said:

Probably Expertise, given that the only TIE/D that's even close to worth running is Vessery and he should be getting rerolls anyway.

I don’t know about Vessery being the only one worth running.

ive had success with Ryad, Vessery, Maarek and Brath all with Tie D title

it all down to which ability you like the best.

Vessery at ps6 can be an issue

19 minutes ago, Iksentrik said:

So how about Tie D defenders...

would you use predator or expertise?

im really on the fence with this one

I have been running Ryad w/ Flechette, Predator, and Tie/D and Glaive w/ Ion, Expertise, and Tie/D. Using a mix of both has worked well for me.

32 minutes ago, Iksentrik said:

So how about Tie D defenders...

would you use predator or expertise?

im really on the fence with this one

Depends on the pilot:

  • Colonel Vessery: Expertise all the way. He should be getting rerolls via free target locks from his ability, so predator is pointless, and with free focus-and-reroll across both attacks, his focus token is free for defence.
  • Countess Ryad: Probably Push The Limit, to be honest. That option of a green 'k-turn' plus the 1-point option of Twin Ion Engines MkII gives her enough of a green dial to support push the limit. I'd probably consider sticking with TIE/x7 for her, though; getting the full set of three tokens (focus, evade, target lock) every turn just makes her such good value, even at low pilot skill.
  • Maarek Stele: Erm. Probably Veteran Instincts. If you're taking Maarek rather than Vessery, you're probably buying him for the PS, in which case you might as well double down on the idea.
  • Rexler Brath: Expertise. If you take this guy, you are either throwing multiple 3-dice attacks or 1 4-dice attack per turn, in either case, you've got cost-is-no-object and bought a massively expensive pilot. Trying to skinflint a point by sticking with predator at this juncture is a bit inconsistent....
  • Glaive Squadron Pilot: Why are you taking Glaive Squadron Pilots? They're not so cheap as to allow you to fit in extra ships, their PS isn't so high as to justify buying them for that, and Vessery and Ryad have brutally good pilot abilities.
1 minute ago, Magnus Grendel said:

Depends on the pilot:

  • Colonel Vessery: Expertise all the way. He should be getting rerolls via free target locks from his ability, so predator is pointless, and with free focus-and-reroll across both attacks, his focus token is free for defence.
  • Countess Ryad: Probably Push The Limit, to be honest. That option of a green 'k-turn' plus the 1-point option of Twin Ion Engines MkII gives her enough of a green dial to support push the limit. I'd probably consider sticking with TIE/x7 for her, though; getting the full set of three tokens (focus, evade, target lock) every turn just makes her such good value, even at low pilot skill.
  • Maarek Stele: Erm. Probably Veteran Instincts. If you're taking Maarek rather than Vessery, you're probably buying him for the PS, in which case you might as well double down on the idea.
  • Rexler Brath: Expertise. If you take this guy, you are either throwing multiple 3-dice attacks or 1 4-dice attack per turn, in either case, you've got cost-is-no-object and bought a massively expensive pilot. Trying to skinflint a point by sticking with predator at this juncture is a bit inconsistent....
  • Glaive Squadron Pilot: Why are you taking Glaive Squadron Pilots? They're not so cheap as to allow you to fit in extra ships, their PS isn't so high as to justify buying them for that, and Vessery and Ryad have brutally good pilot abilities.

Thanks for breaking that down, it’s pretty much where I was with the pilots. Nice to have some confirmation that what I was think is about right

It's very list specific as well. Raclo builds can do very well with Rac running with Predator. If you PS0 someone in the first exchange, then you are getting double re-rolls the entire game on them. Predator is one of the best for Rac unless you absolutely positively need him to be higher than PS8.

In two ship lists, lonewolf is a huge card since you are getting a built in predator on offense and also a defense mod. Dash, Dengar, Rey, ect are good candidates for lonewolf which ultimately can have higher utility throughout the game.

I was at Mandalore and Asajj was everywhere. She pretty much shuts down expertise at the start of combat if she has you in arc. In a one or two ship list running expertise she can really screw you up. But if you don't match up to her or other heavy panic inducing lists then expertise is a very powerful EPT. I think stress is going to make a comeback with the release of the new attackshuttle and Predator is going to end up being more useful.

10 minutes ago, viedit said:

Predator is one of the best for Rac unless you absolutely positively need him to be higher than PS8.

You do.

If you don't have green turns, but you have a turret or second arc then PTL will work.

What about a 180* arc? I had some success running a EI Auzituck Defender in a tournament. Anyone tried PTL on a Wookie?

14 minutes ago, Boba Rick said:

If you don't have green turns, but you have a turret or second arc then PTL will work.

What about a 180* arc? I had some success running a EI Auzituck Defender in a tournament. Anyone tried PTL on a Wookie?

I have, though Kanan is on board too. Wullf with PTL, Kanan, Kyle, and either EU or VT is pretty fun.

Rage/Recruit/Kanan is a solid build as well. Just ignore Reinforce and smash stuff.

4 minutes ago, thespaceinvader said:

Rage/Recruit/Kanan is a solid build as well. Just ignore Reinforce and smash stuff.

While the "just ignore Reinforce" advice seems like a tall order, that does sound fun. After taking some damage, Wullf will be ready to hit like a truck.

What about just relying on greens?

4 minutes ago, Boba Rick said:

What about just relying on greens?

Bad greens. Even with the big arc being limited to just straights and banks is asking to get someone behind you and then you die.

Well, ships with great green dials usually have repositioning actions and often enough want to use them- this is why the squirrely ships work so well with PtL.

PtL-ships are pretty much restricting their movement options to their green maneuvres, which is never the greatest array of options. Being then able to alter your end position as well as modifying shots or defence gives PtL the edge over pure dice manipulation.

It of course loses a lot of it's luster if you just can't have this multitude of options- or else we would see a lot more R2-Wedges out there. If he had BR and Boost natively that would sound a lot more viable, wouldn't it?