Haven't been able to play strikers all that much in 2.0 but I'm wondering something. They are a unique kind of 'skill ship' (being that they can be quite dangerous for the same reason they are difficult to fly for many).

Could the non-sentinel ships get reduced in price without having an adverse effect on balance?

Sentinels are 34 so that you can't get 18 attack dice on the board, makes sense.

But were sabacc and countdown a bit cautiously priced? And as for the black squadron scout, I'm a bit confused as to the price increase vs sentinels when compared to say nu's and rho's for the star wing.

My main point is: If these things ended up being priced a bit cheaper (even to the point of being under-costed) would that be so bad if the meta was dominated by something that legitimately takes skill to fly? Of course, strive for balance wherever possible, but I wanna know if you guys agree that the striker or something like it would be sort of 'welcome' at the top?

Strikers are at a very appropriate price right now. I could see Countdown going down a point, but Duchess and Sabaac should stay put. Both are absolutely worth flying and they are already pretty cheap.

50 minutes ago, Prosk_019 said:

Sentinels are 34 so that you can't get 18 attack dice on the board, makes sense.

Oh, but you can!

5x Sentinels/ Alpha Squadron Interceptors.

and Wampa

Hilarity ensues.

or, for one less die but probably better list

3x Sentinel

2x Alpha

Del Meeko

200 points even, and Dels ability is good with them.

The trouble is keeping everything together, but the secret is you don’t need to.

Thank you for your feedback! I've tried the 5 sentinels with one tie fighter list but I'm curious and especially apprehensive about the alphas. I feel like the saber will be able to make full use of the repositioning as far as generics go but even then they'd often be out In'd by the popular I5s and I6s.

Hm. Perhaps it's finally time to...

Get good

...and also learn how to actually out-fly people with low Init ships.

So the nice thing about the i1 strikers is you can see the entire board and just go. They are cheap 34 and they have the “advantage” of moving before everything. Only issue is that without some control or support piece they struggle even in large numbers. When, not if, Sloane sees a points increase I could see Strikers receiving a slight point reduction at the I3 and maybe the I1 level. A 1 point decrease to the I1s put 6 on the table. It would be solid but not meta defining, 1 because people avoid using swarms at all costs even if they are good, and two because dice need mods like crackshot or rerolls to truly threaten. Though 4 range 1 focus dice does cause even Boba to panic.

What I would really prefer to see is a generic I4 Striker priced at 38-40 pts with the I3 at 36-38 pts.

I4 is a significant init level as it deals with all kinds of support stuff and filler pretty well. I3 is kinda fish out of water territory in general at the moment.

Also dont sleep on Sabacc, Countdown, or Duchess. They all are incredibly valuable tools and can put in work in a variety of lists that mostly havent been found yet.

One other thing to add they really arent all that hard to use. You just plan a boost and plan a dial. The hardest part is sometimes getting tired of physically moving the ships semi accurately without knocking stuff over through 6 games.

33 minutes ago, Boom Owl said:

The hardest part is sometimes getting tired of physically moving the ships semi accurately without knocking stuff over through 6 games.

Amen

Sabacc is amazing and perfect costed for the price. Great upside and clear downside with relatively low PS at 4, and quite weak defensively.

Countdown is the one that could go down from 44 to 42 for me. But he has always been the most uninspiring of the 3 named Strikers for me.

Duchess seems well costed at 42. Would be surprised to see that change, as plenty on facebook have talked her up as a good option at the beginning of 2.0.

Much appreciated everyone. I like the thought of using sabacc as a flanker that doubles as a pseudo-biggs. Does he generate the amount of threat needed for that kind of role in your experience?

RE: Generics:

A lot of the ships where the difference is 2 points only have a single step in initiative, 2 up to 3, like with Starwings or X-Wings or TIE Advanced. A decent number of ships do a 4-point jump from regular to talented generic. A-Wings and M3-A Scyks do, and TIE Interceptors, Defenders, and Fang Fighters have a 6 point jump. The biggest thing these all have in common is that the initiative step-up is from 1 to 3 or 4. These ships tend to be highly mobile, too. Some ships (TIE Fighter, Scum Z-95) have a 3-point step between their talent generics and their initiative 1 generics, and that's probably mostly due to the overall cheapness of the platform.

It doesn't seem strange to me for a Black Squadron Scout to be 38 points compared to the Sentinel's 34. I could see it working maybe at 37, but 36 might worry me. Strikers have the tools to take advantage of being a slightly higher init generic.

12 minutes ago, theBitterFig said:

Some ships (TIE Fighter, Scum Z-95) have a 3-point step between their talent generics and their initiative 1 generics, and that's probably mostly due to the overall cheapness of the platform.

Rebel Z-95:

Bandit = no Talent, Init 1

Tala = Talent, Init 2

Difference 2 pts

Scum Z-95:

Binayre = no talent, Init 1

Black Sun Soldier = Talent, Init 3

Difference 3 pts.

On the Z95 Generics it looks like the talent slot and each point of Initiative = 1 point in cost increase.

On ‎11‎/‎6‎/‎2018 at 10:24 PM, Boom Owl said:

So the nice thing about the i1 strikers is you can see the entire board and just go. They are cheap 34 and they have the “advantage” of moving before everything. Only issue is that without some control or support piece they struggle even in large numbers. When, not if, Sloane sees a points increase I could see Strikers receiving a slight point reduction at the I3 and maybe the I1 level. A 1 point decrease to the I1s put 6 on the table. It would be solid but not meta defining, 1 because people avoid using swarms at all costs even if they are good, and two because dice need mods like crackshot or rerolls to truly threaten. Though 4 range 1 focus dice does cause even Boba to panic.

I think 6 might be pushing it. 34 is a 'tipover' points cost, like the X-wing's 41, for precisely this reason. Getting 5 with your choice of shields, stealth or proximity mines is nasty enough, given that most heavy swarms took a battering - 5 x alphas no longer have a useful mod they can equip, whilst 5 x X-wings and 5 x Fangs no longer exist as a thing at all.

The Black Squadron Scout, on the other hand, I can see being a touch cheaper. I3 isn't bad, but you're really buying them for the talent slot; 36 points would give you a much wider choice of elite upgrades you could give them - in fact each one could pack seismic charges and ruthlessness for fratricidal giggles.