I'm prepping for a major tournament and had bought 3x Expertise on ebay to use a Wookiee list because I'm too lazy/busy to playtest anything and I'm a dirty netlisting can't-fly scumbag (no offense to the actually good wookiee players out there) but then I see that the list has evolved to replace the 3rd Liberator and 3 Breaches with Lowchuck and Predator + 3PO.

I understand that that there is a slight defensive boost in being able to get an extra evade per turn either through 3po or Loschmuck's ability, but is that the only advantage? Also which list is better against Poon missiles? One reason I liked trip Liberators is because they don't have to fly at range 1 of each other. Please help, I am noob.

First, although it seems clear you're joking about it, there's no need to be self-deprecating about netlisting. Lists belong to anyone with the cards to play them (or everyone on Vassal).

Regarding your actual question: Expertise + Tactician + Breach x3 is good. The Lowhhrick version sacrifices a few things: some offense, breach specialist (which, although some folks value it less highly, I find to be extremely good), and the subtle advantage of shared Pilot Skill (it allows some moves that would self-bump if activation order were set, and in the combat phase allows you to activate in the order which works best for you). What Lowhhrick adds in exchange is substantially better defense, especially in combination with C-3PO. The first ship your enemy fires on each round while this combo persists reduces the incoming damage by 2 (or 3 if you roll an evade, which feels like cheating when you fly wookiees!). Each shot on the same ship after that has its damage reduced by 1. That's an extra shield or hull you get to keep for each round of firing compared to Exp/Tac/Breach wookiees. That is enough of a difference to make a ship last an extra round, sometimes two or 3. That means more shots for you, and a reduced effectiveness per shot for your opponent. Most importantly, I think: this defensive boost plays into the strength of the list archetype. Outlast them drown them in stress tokens. It's very effective. If you're picking this list up cold without some practice, it will take some getting used to, but there is some good advice over in this thread: Have fun and may the force be with you.

"Slight"- One hit per turn is pretty **** good. Especially when your opponents need to hit you really hard to do damage, or if they only shoot 2x per round.

The lowhrick one does better against Harpoons, especially since you can actually potentially cause one to miss entirely with the 2 reinforce evades.

Remember, just because you are R1 of eachother, does not mean you are facing the same way.

Watch out though, flying triple wookiees *well* draws you to the cancer side of the force, and is incredibly boring.

You answered it yourself, no matter what wookiee you attack they get 2 evades. And versus "poons" you dont necessarily have to fly range 1 either as they have the same life expectancy as triple expertise liberators.

10 hours ago, wurms said:

You answered it yourself, no matter what wookiee you attack they get 2 evades. And versus "poons" you dont necessarily have to fly range 1 either as they have the same life expectancy as triple expertise liberators.

Don't they have less though without the Breach specialists?

Thanks for the responses folks, I was worried I was missing some additional combo about how the list worked but it sounds like I mostly had the right idea and that as I feared, Poon missiles largely negate the advantages of bringing Lowhrick. The tournament is hangar bay and I was looking for a list that would be strong against RAClo, Poon missiles and PS9+ Aces to supplement my Dash Miranda list. This will help me decided which version of Tactical Wookiees to go with.

LolRichard is OP. FFG; please nerf. After you LolRichard; receive one stress token.

I'd say this video pretty clearly shows why LilRichard is superior.

14 hours ago, Tvboy said:

Please help, I am noob.

1,600+ posts and a noob??

Less posting, more playing.

58 minutes ago, Darth Meanie said:

1,600+ posts and a noob??

Less posting, more playing.

It's possible Tvboy posts in the FFG Forums for games other than X-Wing. And even if that's not the case, don't noobshame!

16 hours ago, Tvboy said:

I'm prepping for a major tournament and had bought 3x Expertise on ebay to use a Wookiee list because I'm too lazy/busy to playtest anything and I'm a dirty netlisting can't-fly scumbag (no offense to the actually good wookiee players out there) but then I see that the list has evolved to replace the 3rd Liberator and 3 Breaches with Lowchuck and Predator + 3PO.

I understand that that there is a slight defensive boost in being able to get an extra evade per turn either through 3po or Loschmuck's ability, but is that the only advantage? Also which list is better against Poon missiles? One reason I liked trip Liberators is because they don't have to fly at range 1 of each other. Please help, I am noob.

The secret is we're all dirty netlisting can't fly scumbags!

16 hours ago, Incard said:

First, although it seems clear you're joking about it, there's no need to be self-deprecating about netlisting. Lists belong to anyone with the cards to play them (or everyone on Vassal).

Regarding your actual question: Expertise + Tactician + Breach x3 is good. The Lowhhrick version sacrifices a few things: some offense, breach specialist (which, although some folks value it less highly, I find to be extremely good), and the subtle advantage of shared Pilot Skill (it allows some moves that would self-bump if activation order were set, and in the combat phase allows you to activate in the order which works best for you). What Lowhhrick adds in exchange is substantially better defense, especially in combination with C-3PO. The first ship your enemy fires on each round while this combo persists reduces the incoming damage by 2 (or 3 if you roll an evade, which feels like cheating when you fly wookiees!). Each shot on the same ship after that has its damage reduced by 1. That's an extra shield or hull you get to keep for each round of firing compared to Exp/Tac/Breach wookiees. That is enough of a difference to make a ship last an extra round, sometimes two or 3. That means more shots for you, and a reduced effectiveness per shot for your opponent. Most importantly, I think: this defensive boost plays into the strength of the list archetype. Outlast them drown them in stress tokens. It's very effective. If you're picking this list up cold without some practice, it will take some getting used to, but there is some good advice over in this thread: Have fun and may the force be with you.

Easily the most helpful post I've seen in a long time, wish I could super like or something. In addition to all that, Adding low creates a win condition - if you kill an opponent's ship before losing a wookie, and everything else is stressed to **** and back, they suddenly can't really hurt you outside of extreme variance through the double reinforce and you just win because of it.

Thanks for the excellent answers especially @Incard and @Brunas.

3 hours ago, Darth Meanie said:

1,600+ posts and a noob??

Less posting, more playing.

You guys found me out, I may perhaps have been playing since Wave 2 and may perhaps have a few store championship wins under my belt, but I felt like a noob having to ask the forums to explain how a tier 1 meta list works. I've been taking a break from competitive X-Wing to focus on other things like getting X-Wing Mario Kart to established at our league night and Imperial Assault. I was trying to humorously pre-empt the predicted "Wookiees are no-skill" and "netlisting is cancer" appetizer responses so we could get right to the nitty gritty!

So when flying against Harpoon Missile lists, do you separate the ships and give up Lowhrick's ability or still keep them at range 1 or do you keep 2 at range 1 of each other and the 3rd at range 2 to minimize collateral damage but keep the defensive bonus? I'm guessing it's the 3rd option. I'm also guessing I'm just going to have to find somebody to playtest a harpoon list against me before the tournament to figure it out.

I think it depends on exactly what else is going on with the other list, and the context of the board state. If you could have Lowhhrick in range 1 of the Harpoon target when it takes the shot, and then spread a bit in the next turn, that'd be ideal. That is, unless you're going to get more than 1 Harpoon Missile fired in the same round, which is often what those lists are trying to do. In that scenario, the opponent is probably trying to land those Harpoons on Lowhhrick anyway.

Spreading out more and avoiding the Harpoon splash is not a terrible answer. Your squad could always tighten back up after the danger has passed. You should have that kind of flexibility with the squad once you get used to flying them at different angles.

So if there are 2 or less Harpoon missiles then keep Lowrick paired and break off the third, but if there are 3 or more poons then best to separate all 3 and rejoin?

I've really been enjoying the flexibility of flying the triple Liberators and not having to put them in formation, I'm kind of worried about being locked into that with Lowrick. I normally hate flying FSR type lists and the only enjoyment I was getting from the Wookiees was how creative I could be with my opening approaches to make it impossible for opponents to ever get behind more than 2 of my ships. But I also don't want to ever use a weaker version of a list when a clearly stronger version is available, it goes against my nature. *sigh

Don't let Lowhhrick's sweet sweet pilot ability prevent you from flying how you need to fly in order to win. There will be many times when you want to get Lowhhrick into range one of whichever wookiee happens to be on fire or in front of dangerous guns, and that's great. But if it means compromising your overall position too badly, think carefully about the tradeoffs. You might be better off dialing in moves that will more likely catch an enemy in multiple Tactician shots, or setting up for better maneuver options the following turn. If you cannot accomplish all the good things you want with the One True Maneuver, then you must prioritize, and that comes down to context and experience. And math. And feelings. And stuff.