Because all cards enter the game ready, Gideon would go first in the first round so that the other heroes get one free use of their abilities and items that exhaust.

22 minutes ago, subtrendy2 said:

On the other hand, if there are just a few enemies within firing range of the Entrance, I'd suggest to at least run and gun.

Makes sense.

22 minutes ago, subtrendy2 said:

Now, maybe during those two turns you managed to defeat all imperial units on the board. That's good, aside from the fact that you've burned two turns without making much progress on the mission...And, of course, you still have no idea what's in reserve- could be some scary stuff! You don't want to be pressed for time while having to face down and E-WEB or AT-ST.

Encountering Darth Vader in such a scenario made us collectively soil ourselves.

22 minutes ago, subtrendy2 said:

Dice aren't always gonna be your friend...let's say Gaarkhan hits a trooper for two damage, but doesn't quite kill it. Now, he can definitely spend another action to attack it... but that's an entire activation just to remove one health from an enemy.

The classic gamblers fallacy. I've already lost so much money so I *can't* quit now...

22 minutes ago, subtrendy2 said:

If an officer rolls three Dodges in a row (not totally impossible, given the Cower ability), you have to try to suppress your rage at that undoubtedly smug Imperial.

?

22 minutes ago, subtrendy2 said:

I can't claim credit for this, but I've seen this clip describe how ideal Rebel gameplay should go- run and gun, but make sure you're running to the objective. Maybe showing it to your Rebels could help.

Ha Ha

This is essential briefing material!

10 minutes ago, a1bert said:

Because all cards enter the game ready, Gideon would go first in the first round so that the other heroes get one free use of their abilities and items that exhaust.

Nice!

On 11/29/2017 at 1:09 PM, domiuk said:

So when you attack something you want to have an idea how much damage you are likely to do and know if you have a good chance of a kill.

Can't stress this enough. Knowing the likely damage output is important in determining which figures you can reliably remove as well as what the biggest threats are . This comes from experience, although running numbers though a damage simulator/calculator (such as http://mattyellen.github.io/imperial-assault-calculator/ ) can be somewhat of a replacement for experience. However, I would advise against using the damage calculator while playing (barring PBF where everyone seems to love to run the numbers) since it slows the game down and I feel like it takes some of the fun out of it.

Early rounds of a mission are often focused on killing Imperial figures that pose the biggest threat and also trying to gain the activation advantage. It is still important to be aware of the objective and be making some progress toward it. However, at some point you have to switch from mostly killing to mostly going for the objective. Determining the correct point to do this is key in winning many missions. Start going for the objective too late and you may run out of time; start going for the objective too early and you run the risk of everyone getting wounded.

On 30/11/2017 at 7:48 PM, thestag said:

If Gideon gets "Air of Command" and "Mobile Tactician"

Air of command is the worst way to spend 3xp in this game.

On 30/11/2017 at 5:59 PM, KotasMilitia said:

I think using Gideon first allows for the most flexibility.

Ok if you need mobility, instead if you only need additional attack you can't avoid to use him later in the round once other heroes are already in the right place.

6 hours ago, Golan Trevize said:

Air of command is the worst way to spend 3xp in this game.

I couldn't agree more.

Fortunately "Air of Command" is only 2xp.

1 hour ago, thestag said:

I couldn't agree more.

Fortunately "Air of Command" is only 2xp.

?

Won our last mission! Applied the run and gun approach mostly, Gideon often going last unless we needed movement for a hero to get to an objective quickly and still be able to interact on his turn. Diala often went 2nd or 3rd, making liberal use of force throw (although she failed the insight test twice, wasting precious strain, ugh), force adept and battle meditation. The imperial kept his units clustered to take advantage of rerolls, combat medic, and synergy with Kayn Somos, for which Fenn punished them with blast. Hard. Gaarkhan ended up winning us the game, using his strain movement, plus charge, to close the gap on an injured Somos and wipe out the imperial threat.

You folks rock. Your advice was gold. Pure gold Jerry!

8 hours ago, thestag said:

I couldn't agree more.

Fortunately "Air of Command" is only 2xp.

Yep, fat fingers

22 hours ago, Golan Trevize said:

Ok if you need mobility, instead if you only need additional attack you can't avoid to use him later in the round once other heroes are already in the right place.

I disagree. Using Gideon to command to attack first in a round could allow for multiple uses of hero abilities that require exhaust, as they would ready at the start of their next activation. Additionally, commanding to move early allows for more potential moves when that character activates next. Remember, Gideon can only command others to move or attack. If they are strategically placed early in the round, when they next activate they could interact, use a special action, or use an action to use an item in addition to moving again or attacking. There is more to the game than just moving and attacking.

Also, using Gideon first keeps the imperial player guessing, as it is a great stall tactic. If I command Onar to move close to the group of storm troopers, the imp player still doesn't know if I'm going to attack them or continue to run straight towards the objective. I'm not saying you should never use Gideon last, as there are definately times that call for that, but in my opinion it makes sense to have more options available to you when you activate and keep your real plan hidden from the imperial player. Gideon is the best at misdirection.

^ Kinda going with that, different attacks are often better against different defense die.

For instance, for the Empire, it's better to use swarm units against White die and heavy hitters against Black die. This is mainly due to two factors- damage deals, and the dodge roll.

For instance, let's say you have Vader and he attacks Jyn. Jyn rolls a dodge. Vader basically just wasted his entire turn.

Then, you activate stormtroopers and attack Gaarkhan. He rolls two two 2blocks and one 3block on the various attacks, and only a damage or two gets through in total.

That's not a great turn. If we switch it up, though...

Stormtroopers attack Jyn. She rolls one dodge, but the rest are mediocre rolls, and the other two troopers manage to get 3-4 damage on her.

Then Vader attacks Gaarkhan, and his strong attack gets past Gaar's defense die. Even though Gaarkhan rolled a 3block, Vader surges for Pierce 3, and the entirety of Vader's attack goes through on the wookie.

That kind of reasoning can be applied to the heroes, too, I think. If you're going to take strain or tap a class card to buff an attack, maybe make sure it's a unit that you're actually going to hit. Consider (especially with Fenn) that with correct positioning it's entirely possible to eliminate an entire stormtrooper group without attacking any of them directly. If you absolutely have to attack a smaller unit directly (like a stormtrooper) maybe use an attack from someone like Saska instead of Mak.

9 hours ago, KotasMilitia said:

I disagree. Using Gideon to command to attack first in a round could allow for multiple uses of hero abilities that require exhaust, as they would ready at the start of their next activation. Additionally, commanding to move early allows for more potential moves when that character activates next. Remember, Gideon can only command others to move or attack. If they are strategically placed early in the round, when they next activate they could interact, use a special action, or use an action to use an item in addition to moving again or attacking. There is more to the game than just moving and attacking.

True!