I had the silly idea to run a very janky squad just for funsies last night on Vassal.

Very Jank Squad

I had one run with it against a player who was training for regionals. I lost as expected, but there was a game. It was fun. I got to dial maneuvers, some of my jank worked, most of it didn’t (looking at you elusiveness!) but over the course of several rounds we had fun.

Not ready to go to bed, I found another match against the still very potent stage IV cancer NymMiranda. We played three rounds, and in the second round of combat, one of my ships was eliminated without ever getting a chance to do a thing.

Now this result had a lot to do with my engagement, a lot to do with my list, but mostly down to the total imbalance between squads. I had to laugh after my first ship was destroyed from a combo proton bomb and harpoon missile. Nein’s measly 6 health didn’t stand a chance. But there was really no reason to go on so I conceded. (Is it rage quit if you aren’t enraged?)

Apologies to my opponent, but there was absolutely no point in going on and truth be told I should have just gone to bed.

My take away is to try to discuss what list I’m bringing and see what my opponent wants to fly and try to get some understanding about what we want to get out of the game. I think a simple “I’m flying some silly jank, looking for a casual match”... “oh I’m flying NymMiranda looking for a competitive match” would have saved me and my second opponent a bunch of time.

This approach would work just as well at the game store or on Vassal/ TTS.

What's jank? Is it Imperial?

Particularly during tournament season this is a good practice. I like to have a couple squads ready to go on game night and I'll toss out the question before I set up, "are you practicing for an upcoming event?"

Depending on the answer, I'll select my squad. Sometimes my opponent is practicing and has something specific from the meta they want to test against, these make for good games (fun and evenly matched) as well since they are usually requesting what they think is a counter to their own list.

I think there are at least 2 kinds of jank: (1)SynerJank, where you've probably gone a bit overboard but at least it's with supporting effects that really do play well together even if they're not OP; and (2) Pile o' Upgrades Jank, where maybe each ship in itself has some interesting combos going on, but the whole thing in toto doesn't really synergize.

In this case, I feel like you're running #2--both ships in and of themselves are cool/fun/interesting, but I don't feel like they make a ton of sense together. Nien here is built as the king of R1, and he's got M9 to... force higher PS dudes shooting him to reroll? And then suddenly a raging Wookie appears? There's a lot going on but no obvious inter-ship combo to my eyes.

Fixing that could be as easy as swapping for TFA Chewie, though. That would make Nien a bit less desirable as a target. Also just slimming down anything that didn't work super well in the last game would be good.

I loves me some jank and I hope you keep going. ^^

At least you have the right idea: Jank is for entertainment.

Seems like you took it in stride.

I took some tie FOs out to play. Well... actually, they did much better than expected. But nowhere near as good as Gunboats.

Um... What is jank?

41 minutes ago, Blail Blerg said:

At least you have the right idea: Jank is for entertainment.

Seems like you took it in stride.

I took some tie FOs out to play. Well... actually, they did much better than expected. But nowhere near as good as Gunboats.

Well, GUNBOAT. You know. It’s just better. But at least you are flying Imps!

jank is all I fly, but then I’m no tourney player at all, just a guy who loves the game and loves to have fun.

Just now, GrimmyV said:

Well, GUNBOAT. You know. It’s just better. But at least you are flying Imps!

jank is all I fly, but then I’m no tourney player at all, just a guy who loves the game and loves to have fun.

Anyone still remember that poor ship called the Tie Bomber?

Yeah, sure, I'm glad people love their Gunboats, but holy dang, the Tie Bomber is so utterly neglected.

34 minutes ago, Celestial Lizards said:

Um... What is jank?

Jank could be defined as a metagame approach of investing heavily in combos that produce noticeable game effects but that aren't truly optimized for competitiveness as a first-class concern. So for instance, you could take any number of the B-Wing pilots and build a list around maximizing their stress-reroll, 360 degree torp launch, or unblockable crit shenanigans, firm in the knowledge that what you're building will influence the game but not in a way that necessarily gives pure competitive advantage.

Building a list that is kinda crap intentionally.

Don't be surprised when you get the results you expected. lol.

Just now, Blail Blerg said:

Anyone still remember that poor ship called the Tie Bomber?

Yeah, sure, I'm glad people love their Gunboats, but holy dang, the Tie Bomber is so utterly neglected.

Hey, that’s my favorite TIE you’re talking bout!

Gamma Vets rule!

Gamma vet, Deadeye, Plasma, EM, Chimps, still a solid 25 pts.

also Tomax crack (or any of the one shot EPTs) and Rhymer snap technician are just fun.

1 minute ago, Blail Blerg said:

Building a list that is kinda crap intentionally.

Don't be surprised when you get the results you expected. lol.

Hey, Dutch and Dave are classic!

4 minutes ago, Blail Blerg said:

Building a list that is kinda crap intentionally.

Don't be surprised when you get the results you expected. lol.

In the second instance the result was far more lopsided than expected- the ultimate result was never in doubt, more like the speed in which it happened and the complete “lack of agency.”

3 minutes ago, GrimmyV said:

Hey, that’s my favorite TIE you’re talking bout!

Gamma Vets rule!

Gamma vet, Deadeye, Plasma, EM, Chimps, still a solid 25 pts.

also Tomax crack (or any of the one shot EPTs) and Rhymer snap technician are just fun.

... Plasmas??? Have you not heard of Cruise missiles?? Or heck, harpoons?

Stress Rhymer imo is a waste of time. I prefer APT VI Rhymer. =D That's the noly 3 times I've used one of my 6 Tie bombers this year. Ugh. They're so bad.

they're mainly worse than the gunboat because of 6 hull and lack of shields: You take a Blinded Pilot or something else incredibly often. Or an extra direct hit.

Just now, BlodVargarna said:

In the second instance the result was far more lopsided than expected- the ultimate result was never in doubt, more like the speed in which it happened and the complete “lack of agency.”

Pat pat. There there. I know the feeling all too well.

Sometimes jank can be lethal and surprising. For example for days of yore:

• Kyle Katarn (rebel Hawk pilot)
• Jake Farrell with PTL and Proton Rockets

Ja(n)ke recipe: 1) Run Jake into his target. 2) Start of combat, pass a focus to Jake from Kyle 3) use the focus to barrel Jake back so you are no longer touching the other ship 4) Push off the barrel role to take a target lock on the opponent 5) blast away with 5 dice, TL and focus

An sibling example of modern jank is rebel Fenn, where you coordinate an action at PS11 to a buddy (for ex an arc dodger who can reposition using it at PS11, or a VCX who can boost off the coordinate to get out of or into arc).

Under the landfill that is current Rebel design (bombs, TLT, regen) there are some really awesome janky combinations. Folks who played wave 2-6 leveraged a bunch of fun and quirky Rebel jank (like the Rebel combo provided above). Sadly modern rebel jank is less jank and more ... jacked, I guess? Bonkers?

5 minutes ago, Blail Blerg said:

... Plasmas??? Have you not heard of Cruise missiles?? Or heck, harpoons?

Stress Rhymer imo is a waste of time. I prefer APT VI Rhymer. =D That's the noly 3 times I've used one of my 6 Tie bombers this year. Ugh. They're so bad.

they're mainly worse than the gunboat because of 6 hull and lack of shields: You take a Blinded Pilot or something else incredibly often. Or an extra direct hit.

I thought this was the jank thread. My old-as-the-hills bomber builds surely qualify.

12 minutes ago, Blail Blerg said:

Building a list that is kinda crap intentionally.

Don't be surprised when you get the results you expected. lol.

So... Double Decimators?

I kid... I kid... maybe something like 4 TIE Punishers (I ran that last night).

1 minute ago, GrimmyV said:

I thought this was the jank thread. My old-as-the-hills bomber builds surely qualify.

But that's just intentionally bad. =P Cruise missiles are so much better.

5 minutes ago, Celestial Lizards said:

So... Double Decimators?

I kid... I kid... maybe something like 4 TIE Punishers (I ran that last night).

Sadly, Punishers are really only worth it for raw output with LWF and Unguided Rockets...

Double Deci, yes. Falls under jank. Itll occasionally kill something. But in a tournament? I'd never bring it. Not enough dice modification to down something.

You could possibly consider VI EU Rac. + Oicunn with Boshek, maybe Rebel Captive or Mara Jade.

Rear Admiral Chiraneau (46)
Veteran Instincts (1)
Agent Kallus (2)
Engine Upgrade (4)

Captain Oicunn (42)
Trick Shot (0)
BoShek (2)
Darth Vader (3)

Total: 100

View in Yet Another Squad Builder

45 minutes ago, CoffeeMinion said:

So for instance, you could take any number of the B-Wing pilots and build a list around...unblockable crit shenanigans, firm in the knowledge that what you're building will influence the game but not in a way that necessarily gives pure competitive advantage.

I have long feared a Nien Nym squad:

Nym with bombs and harpoons, Nien with mangler to trigger it right away. It's kind of a scary concept to me.

3 hours ago, nitrobenz said:

Particularly during tournament season this is a good practice. I like to have a couple squads ready to go on game night and I'll toss out the question before I set up, "are you practicing for an upcoming event?"

Depending on the answer, I'll select my squad. Sometimes my opponent is practicing and has something specific from the meta they want to test against, these make for good games (fun and evenly matched) as well since they are usually requesting what they think is a counter to their own list.

I definitely do this too. I have a Dash/Poe, a Rey/Poe, and planning on having a Nymranda build ready for whenever a friend wants to benchmark a tourney list. Of course, when tourney season comes around, I'll probably be flying either quadruple GUNBOATs or Corran/Leebo...

One of my favorite squads is Dutch, Esege (the PS 6 K-wing), and Shara. Everyone is sharing target locks and focuses. Just holding hands and having a good time together.

I even took it to the Endor Open last year. I didn't do terribly well but my losses were all close games.

Best of all, the list has a total of 10 shields--the exact number of acrylics that I own!

2 hours ago, Blail Blerg said:

Anyone still remember that poor ship called the Tie Bomber?

Yeah, sure, I'm glad people love their Gunboats, but holy dang, the Tie Bomber is so utterly neglected.

I use it religiously. A scimitar with Vader and Quickdraw fully kitted out can put in a ton of work.

All it needs is the ability to take the 2 crew and 1 ordinance upgrade at the same time and it would be perfect. Basically the title with the option to keep 1 torp or 1 missile or 1 bomb slot.

7 hours ago, BlodVargarna said:

I think a simple “I’m flying some silly jank, looking for a casual match”... “oh I’m flying NymMiranda looking for a competitive match” would have saved me and my second opponent a bunch of time

I feel ya. I love flying jank, but you have to confirm before the match what the plan is and if both players agree.

But even then, sometimes the jank is actually good. May get both ways, so you're list might perform better than you think or the other guys "casual list" might be more competitive than expected.