I am going to phrase the question in the title a couple different ways in the hopes that people are willing to reply to a thread that isn't about a nerf or the next expansion or a podcast:

• Are there any ships or lists or upgrades that other players have had success with that you have hesitated to use because you think they would need practice to be consistent?
• If you are a Jedi Master and have been playing a very long time ( multiple years ) are there any ships or lists you had to practice with over the long haul before they really started to get the job done?
• Are there any ships or upgrades you know have a high floor and high ceiling that you have specifically dropped from a list because they appear to "risky" or "unforgiving" in a tournament setting?

Stuff that I needed to practice a ton before it was at least average:

• Whisper
• Darth Vader
• Pure Sabacc
• Upsilon Shuttle
• Cruise Missiles
• Inquisitor

Stuff that I have been avoiding because I don't get it yet:

• Bossk - For some reason I have a harder time with this than the Upsilon Shuttle....oh wait I know why...it can't take advanced sensors!
• Torani Kolda - Things with Reload are good and you are all wrong...just need to figure out how to slam with this stupid thing...
• Arc-170 - Rebel Tie SF...seems good...not for me...not yet at least...
• Soontir Fel - 3 Hull. 75 Minutes. Your Move. Oh wait crap its my move...wait hold on...and its gone...gg no re...
• Flight Assist Astromech - Some day I will be the best Wedge player, today is absolutely not that day...
• Scum Aggressor - I am convinced its extremely good and I am just extra bad at the game
• Scum Fenn Rau - I need to unlearn so many things with with this for some reason...its opposite world.

Stuff that people generally seem impressed with when it wins that very few people then turn around pick up and play because I assume they think its difficult?

• Corran Horn - FFG apparently only gives people who can see the matrix the keys to this ship...
• Z-95 Missile Swarms - Blair basically wrote an entire article on how this type of thing works and still no one uses it...
• Palp Aces "Without Missiles" - Is your name Duncan or Joel? No? Ok don't try it...they have the higher ground...
• Norra Wexley - If its in a list and wins a thing the entire internet turns into an Ewok Victory Celebration Party...
• Hwk-290s - Only true Jedi Knights would dare to use this at a tournament...
• Kylo Silencer - I know for sure I don't have enough practice or Australian grit to take this to a tournament yet...soon though.

No need to spend to much time on how some ships or lists or weapons might seem uncivilized to you etc.

Whats bad until you use it a bunch and then gets good?

For me it was the TIE Phantom. The cloak/uncloak mechanism was more than I wanted to deal with. In truth, I'm the same was about the Striker. While I realize the repositioning is exactly what makes the ships great, my little lizard brain just doesn't wanna grapple with it.

Strikers, Phantoms and Interceptors are the bane of my existence! I never mastered the decloak action on the Phantom or the Striker' s pre-maneuver movement. When it comes to the Interceptor just forget it. I'm flying an International Orange target rather than a deadly space ship.

Double fat falcons.

(something something smearing your face with ice cream)

I don't usually avoid playing ships because they look difficult but mostly because they look mighty ugly!

Take the Attack Shuttle, Alpha-class star wing or G-1A for example, clearly ugly M******.

3 hours ago, Boom Owl said:

Are there any ships or lists or upgrades that other players have had success with that you have hesitated to use because you think they would need practice to be consistent?

• Corran. He's too expensive, too flimsy, needs mods for offense AND defense, and lacks autothrusters. I can't make him work.
• Lockdown. She just dies so fast in my hands
• Palpshuttle. I can get a shot, but good players really use the ship, not just a 29pt Palp.
• Edit: how could I forget! The Gunboat! I never got off more than 2 missiles so far. Often it shoots once, then looms around as threat, or blocks and tanks damage. Which is great, but then I might as well take something cheaper

3 hours ago, Boom Owl said:

If you are a Jedi Master and have been playing a very long time ( multiple years ) are there any ships or lists you had to practice with over the long haul before they really started to get the job done?

• Jake Farrell. Was my most-frequently played list for a long time before I started playing imperial alpha a lot. At first he died a lot, like Lockdown. Then it clicked at some point and he became by late game ship - because he just. did. not. die!
• Vader
• Quickdraw
• Inquisitor

3 hours ago, Boom Owl said:

Are there any ships or upgrades you know have a high floor and high ceiling that you have specifically dropped from a list because they appear to "risky" or "unforgiving" in a tournament setting?

BTL title! I needed the option to shoot 360° on my Y-Wing, even if it meant not to double stress. Maybe it would work better by now, but back when I tried I just failed too often to keep ships in arc. Maybe the floor is not that high, but it was too high for me.

Echo, everything else is pretty natural to me.

Kylo silencer. I'm impressed by the people that play it well, and it's such a cool looking ship, but I'm just not a cagey enough player to pull it off.

7 hours ago, Boom Owl said:

• If you are a Jedi Master and have been playing a very long time ( multiple years ) are there any ships or lists you had to practice with over the long haul before they really started to get the job done?

Snap Shot A-wing squad. I really love to play them, but I suffered a handful of defeats before I got the hang of it.

I never fly Corran. Just can't justify him. By the time I finish a list with him in it I get panic sweats and take him out. Can't believe he costs that many points. Really got the knack for the Auzituck though. It's so easy to get an efficient mix of crew in there and let one ship do many things in a turn.

I don't know if I am just clearly insanely better than you guys, or I suck so bad I don't realize. Probably the latter.

Anyway, I play everything and after a few games I feel like I got the gist of it. I always fly in a way that emphasizes movement, and I like upgrades that allow me to do that (threat tracker, adv sensors, TIE mk. II, etc)

I also often fly in a way that my opponents describe as "reckless and unpredictable" which boils down to: if the dial has a 5 straight, you should probably use it as often as you can.

That being said, I've yet to play any turret ship, or PWT aside from RAC (whom I use as an overgrown arc dodger), but I can't imagine these ships being hard.

I prefer very simple combinations of upgrades, I'm finding it hard to get into a new faction for that reason. I want to try scum but I can't face having to get hundreds of new cards.

The E-wing and K-wing are difficult to look at.. it is why I avoid them.

9 hours ago, Boom Owl said:

• Scum Aggressor - I am convinced its extremely good and I am just extra bad at the game

At first you get your head kicked in.

Then you get whooped on even harder.

Then you learn to fly.

Finally, you accept the superiority of the machine.

Which allows you to save Mabase from Medical Mechanica crush your opposition with inorganic precision!

(For reference, I'm in a late stage 2.)

I am not confortable with Duchess, but the one in my faction I suck at is the inquisitor. Not his fault, I can't manage to dodge arc And stay at his range 3 sweetspot. He always die alone somwhere far from the action, from a suddent 5 dice cruise missil. I should practice with him

Was never really keen on the Protectorate fighter for the simple reason I struggle to wrap my head around a 4 hull, shieldless ship with no natural evade that *WANTS* to be directly jousting another ship at range one to get an evade.

It just wasn't a play style I ever got comfortable with.

Large base ships.... I can't fly them. I try but I fail and I tend to avoid them if at all possible. Only exception is the Shadow caster, for some reason I can avoid hitting rocks with it, it fly's the same ish as others but I ram rocks with all other large base ships.

Edit: how could I forget, tlt ships for some reason I tend to put them in range 1 of everything so I just don't fly them.

Anything large base. Or anything with 3 agility that isn’t a scyk... Okay, basically anything that isn’t a Scyk, Scum Hwk, or Scum Y-wing...

28 minutes ago, E Chu Ta said:

At first you get your head kicked in.

Then you get whooped on even harder.

Then you learn to fly.

Finally, you accept the superiority of the machine.

Which allows you to save Mabase from Medical Mechanica crush your opposition with inorganic precision!

(For reference, I'm in a late stage 2.)

I'll take your word on the process, but your visual aids are feckin' awesome!

Relationship

Echo with Decoy and anything Rebel is too risky.

Anything with four or less total health behind any number of green dice

Playing for years and simply can't master the art of rolling evades

Probably Palpatine. I just never figured out how to make him useful for me. Not sure why. I fly a lot of bad stuff (my two most-flown ships at tournaments are A-Wings and non-shuttle TIE Bombers). And I've been able to make all of it work at least reasonably well. But I've never figured out why Palp is useful. Important to note that I got frequently destroyed by pre-nerf Palp Aces. But I could never figure out how to fly it.

The Gozanti. Try as I might, whenever I make an epic list, I just can't seem to find something that I cannot do infinitely better with another epic ship.

3 hours ago, That Blasted Samophlange said:

The E-wing and K-wing are difficult to look at.. it is why I avoid them.

Ok I agree with the E-Wing but I love my K-Wings.....and ARC-170's as well. I tend to stay away from the B-Wings (don't like the looks of them and never have had good games with them, and that's probably because I'm not the greatest player around :D) X-Wings I love along with the Z-95's. haven't played Scum ships but I do love the Ghost.