First off, if this topic got your attention, good! That was the intention. For all you rebel scum out there, don't get excited...I didn't mean the mighty and powerful Emperor should do the walk of atonement, I am talking about the wizard "behind the curtain", Mr. Frank Brooks (love you Frank, just a joke!).

To start, I am a maybe slightly above average tournament caliber of player. Started playing this game before the release of the imperial aces expansion and that was my favorite release...still is. So if that dilutes the points I am about to make I will do you a favor and let you get out now! lol.

I think the competitive game would be better if the Palp nerf was removed and we atone ourselves for disrespecting the Emperor this way.

First, I will talk about this from a thematic standpoint. The Emperor is the most powerful figure from the films that is in the game of x-wing currently. He should be a tough nut to crack. But many that still dare to use him in the competitive scene he is slightly more useful than C-3PO. Can you close your eyes and envision a duel between Darth Sidious and Goldie in Episode 3 that ends in a stalemate?

What is selfishly most important to me, and maybe to some of you is the impact it has had on the lack of tie fighters and tie interceptors in the competitive landscape. I'm a mostly imperial player that loves loves loves the tie interceptor. I am used to getting owned by top players, but loved to shut a ship down with my favorite pilot, Carnor Jax. Autothrusters isn't enough anymore. You really needed Palp to keep these guys in a top level competitive event. A Soontir sighting is heard about, but rarely seen. Yesterday I was walking thru my neighborhood at dusk, and thru the woods I saw something. I was pumped! I thought it was a Sasquatch, but it was a super tall neighbor that braids his back hair...no joke. well...

Crunching the Numbers...

Palpatine is 8 points, 2 crew slots, and can only go on 2 imperial ships....one of those with no agility, the other with 1 agility that tends to float away aimlessly. Palpatine affected 1 die a round. But for the points, and keep me honest peeps...you are no longer going to use him for obstacle damage since you might waste him...unless you have 1 hull remaining. With having so many ways to modify attack dice, you are only going to use him for attacking when you know with certain that your ship(s) are safe from getting hit hard with an attack. So for the majority of cases you will use him for an evade. So C-3PO is 3 points (I think?) and guarantees 1 evade per round. The mightly 8 point, 2 crew slot Emperor of the galaxy is mostly a 1 evade per round. I think the original rules for Palpatine were spot on.

So to conclude, I am going to bring my religious cult followers and surround Mr. Brooks and take him away. Don't worry...he will be feed and have a cold floor to sleep on. But after he has been broken, I'm sure he will elect to start his walk of atonement and bring the mighty Emperor back to where he should be...where he was...and that will bring out his faithful followers, Soontir and Carnor! (kidding Frank!)

Thanks for your time reading thru my attempt to be funny rant!

Jason Ferguson (indyXwinger)

First.. this is a rules forum. I don't see you asking about any rules.

Second.. Palp is WAY more useful than C3P0. C3P0 does not guarantee an evade unless he is used on a 1 agil ship. And even then, he is useful only on that ship. Palp can be used across the board with no limit on range or arc. He can assist in offense providing crits, and defense. Why would you never use him for preventing damage from an asteroid, but say you would always use him for evades? Damage is damage. And a ship with a high agility and a focus token has a much better chance to avoid damage from an attack than an asteroid roll which cannot be defended against.

Third.. wow, even if you were just trying to be funny, that is a long winded post to complain that you think Palp needs a buff .

I thought a rules forum would be the appropriate place for a light hearted, attempt at humor post about how I feel that the Palpatine nerf should be changed and how it has affected the use of other ships disappearing (in my opinion) from competitive events.

Like I said in my post, I feel it would be a waste to use Palp ability on an obstacle (mainly rock or debris) since you have 1 die. If I roll a natural blank or focus, I wasted it. At least if I use it when rolling multiple evade dice the percentages tell me 1 will be a blank. So I am using it efficiently.

As with attack dice, there are many ways in the game to modify those already...alot more than modifying defense dice....TL, focus, predator, marksmanship, expertise, etc.

Its okay you didn't appreciate my post but it was meant to get my point across and why changing it back would be an easy fix for a lot of problems. Anytime you take a ship like an interceptor, especially Soontir and Carnor off the table (IMO) it is not good for the game as a whole.

15 hours ago, indyXwinger said:

As with attack dice, there are many ways in the game to modify those already...alot more than modifying defense dice....TL, focus, predator, marksmanship, expertise, etc.

True, but not to guarantee a critical, not just a hit. He can interact fairly brutally with Kylo Ren or Wampa, for example, for this reason, and landing a critical with the normally terrified-to-even-spend-a-focus-attacking interceptor crowd is nice.

15 hours ago, indyXwinger said:

I feel it would be a waste to use Palp ability on an obstacle (mainly rock or debris) since you have 1 die. If I roll a natural blank or focus, I wasted it. At least if I use it when rolling multiple evade dice the percentages tell me 1 will be a blank. So I am using it efficiently.

Depends on the situation; which is why Palpatine is so good; the skill with using him is figuring out which is the roll that matters this turn - be it a bomblet you've been hit by, a range 1 attack you need help avoiding, or a really good shot you're worried you might screw up.

Is he as good as he was - no. Is he still good? Yes (he's definitely better than C-3PO and should cost more). Is he good enough for his points......that I'd be prepared to entertain a debate on.

Essentially, my issue with him (from the other side of the board) and a lot of people's was that you could use him retroactively to 'fix' whichever roll went wrong; he was never 'wasted'. Now I can see a degree of rage at the potential to waste his modification, but my response is that if what you decided was the roll of the turn came up triple hit, or triple evade, or whatever, you aren't really in a position to be annoyed about it. Figuring out which roll matters most means he requires some skill (which is good as it promotes a better player doing better with him) but he still provides garuanteed results (which is something TIE Interceptor aces with their reliance on dice desperately need).

I'd rather not, therefore, see the nerf removed, but I wouldn't mind seeing him come down in points (I'd look to those who actually use him to articulate how much). Look at it this way:

Palpatine + Omicron Group Pilot + 2 Aces (kitted out) + Initiative bid = 100 points is deemed "not good enough".

Logically, there should be a cost level for palpatine (translating to more kit on the shuttle) which would make this 'better' - say, for the sake of argument, that a Palp & Aces list was the same as it was today but you could afford Captain Yorr instead of the basic Omicron Group Pilot - suddenly the Push The Limit aces get a massive kick up the proverbial - able to diverge from their green dials, or even koiogran turn! That would be the effect of a 5 point Emperor Palpatine, all other things being the same. I've seen this used (by fielding a 'pocket ace' like Omega Leader instead of one ship to fit in under the current rules) and it works well - winning a store championship locally.