T-65 X-Wing: Luke Skywalker
Luke is fun to and deserves his own thread.
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Pilot Ability
- Seems to always have Force charges thanks to his ridiculously useful pilot ability.
- These charges consistently make up for mistakes.
- Kylo's 2 force charges can be incredibly forgiving...Luke though is on another level in terms of Casual Resource Management
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Durability
- For a small base 2 agility ship, he feels capable of playing directly even though he doesn't have to.
- I think of Luke as a 9 HP Firespray.
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S-Foil Config
- This is actually surprisingly interesting, incredibly cheap at 0 pts, and a mechanic that I think adds alot to gameplay/theme overall.
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Regen
- Primarily an Imperial, First Order, and occasional Fang Fighter player Regen is not a mechanic I am used to working with in X-Wing.
- When I run highly mobile Aces of any kind I tend to spend a few turns per game disengaging from combat.
- Regen is a really significant bonus during these moments and a luxury im still getting used to.
- I like the fact that shield regen requires a disarm token and that hull regen spends an action ( less of an issue for Luke ).
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Han vs Luke
- R2D2/Trickshot/Leia/Engine Han = 101 pts
- Supernatural/Regen/Torp or Burner Luke = 96-102 pts
- I don't say this with confidence...but I think there are some lists where I actually prefer 100 pt Luke to 100 pt Han.
- Han is cheaper without Engine upgrade, more durable by a couple turns, higher initiative, and able to boost and fire from out of arc while regenerating a shield.
- Don't get me wrong Han is ridiculously strong, possibly the best ship in Hyperspace.
- Luke though is considerably more mobile and as a small base is able to avoid arcs in ways Han simply cant.
- I find that Super Regen Luke can serve a similar end game role in a list, fits in many of the same lists, and is more interesting turn to turn.
Dial:
Force Upgrade:
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Supernatural Reflexes
- Unlike Kylo, I have never run Luke without Supernatural, primarily because he is 14 pts cheaper and less mobile to begin with.
- Clear Favorite, the combination of Closed Wings to pre movement boost or roll makes Luke incredibly mobile.
- As dumb and easy as Supernatural is in general, it feels genuinely fun to finally have a mobile T65 Ace X-Wing in this game and in this faction.
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Instinctive Aim
- Helpful in that it allows you to more reliably fire against I5+ moving after you
- Also useful when K-Turning or Talon Rolling but Leia Crew makes this much less relevant
- Not an upgrade that I have tested with Luke yet.
Torpedo Upgrade:
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Proton Torpedo
- Lock + 2 Force Charges that recharge when Defending is a great combination.
- Combining Supernatural with Proton torps gets full value as it allows you to close foils boost move and lock, without sacrificing any dice
- With 3 banks and 4 forwards this becomes a really effective way to get a solid early game 4 dice shot engaging with only part of your opponents list.
Astromech Upgrade:
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R2D2
& R2
- I find both of these to be effective.
- It frees you up to be aggressive early to find a spot on the board that creates mismatches in the mid game for your opponent.
- Dramatically improves Luke's ability to close out games.
- Luke is unique among the X-Wings in his ability to play like a "real" ace, approaching from safe angles or ranges.
- With Supernatural he is capable of dis-engaging for a turn or two when needed so the opportunity to Regen some shields becomes natural.
- It doesn't necessarily mean you are sacrificing a turn of damage output either.
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R5-D8 & R5
- These might be under used on Luke, and possibly underused by Rebel Players in general.
- R2/R2D2 are "better" regen for players who understand that disengaging from combat is a fundamental and interesting part of the game.
- The rules and the ship do not require you to 1 forward 1 forward K Turn every game.
- With regenerating Force Charges, 4 Hull, and "free" Boosts/Rolls from Supernatural...spending an action to Repair a Face Down damage card twice per game seems ok.
- All that said I haven't tried this much and cant tell if opportunities to Regen are more frequent than 1 Hull.
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R4
- I don't see much use for this on Luke other than the potential threat of Death Troopers or Phasma.
- Either way with Leia around it seems unnecessary to use instead of a Bid.
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R3
- This seems like 3 pts better saved for a bid.
- Might be useful against higher ship count easily Init killed lists though.
Modification Upgrade:
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Afterburners
- This is useful for sure, boost is the best action in the game and this is my favorite upgrade in the game.
- That said the boost action is available just by closing foils.
- I still see this as a valuable upgrade for Luke and seem to regularly end games having spent both charges.
- I think you get the most value from Afterburners on Luke by combining it with a Regen Astromech.
- Regen & Afterburners mechanically fit together well and investing pts in one without the other feels incomplete to me.
- This and Proton Torps is also worth mentioning as it allows a cheaper way to boost lock without necessarily investing in Supernatural and keeps full force charges.
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Hull/Shield Upgrade
- Poe is 68 pts base, Luke with a Shield is also 68 pts.
- Its nice but I am much more inclined to take a 6 pt bid or a card like Afterburners that keeps me out of arcs entirely.
- I haven't run Luke enough to know whether or not regen opportunities are common enough to make a raw HP increase more useful or not.
- From the games I have played so far I think Hull/Shield are better suited for other less mobile T-65 pilots.
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Spare Parts Canisters
- 1 Charge to Break Locks and Drop an Obstacle, along with Force Charges to make up for the lost action seems ok.
- Looking forward to testing this when its released but the cost might make for some difficult choices.
Builds:
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Offense Focused Luke: Supernatural + Proton Torps = 98 pts
- This is aggressive, but still very dodgey Luke.
- Find a weakness in your opponents approach early, carve out some damage in a good trade and figure it out from there with Supernatural.
- Capable of a huge amount of damage in a short period of time, and an absolute menace in the end game with Torp charges remaining.
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Defense Focused Luke: Supernatural + Regen Astromech + Afterburners = 96-98 pts
- Trading Torps to get the most out of Regen mechanics this is Full Arc Dodge Regen Luke.
- Offense is still solid as Burners allow for slightly more flexibility to Flank or close to R1 from out of Arc and Lock.
- Added mobility improves chances to get more than 1 Hull or 1 Shield from the Regen mechs.
- I often regret not having the white K-Turn torp Leia turns or the Super Boost 4 forward throw 4 dice anyway option.
- Able to recover from early game trades more reliably.
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Overall I enjoy both of these builds and play them both.
- The first is very flexible, slightly more aggressive, and gives you the spike offense that you want from an expensive ship.
- It protects those points through mobility and by removing your opponents ships from the table a little faster.
- The other protects its points, is more mobile and more durable from start to finish while still presenting an offensive threat.
- There other variations on builds here but I think both Luke "archetypes" have merit and have a place within Hyperspace.
- Its really cool that Supernatural and Proton Torps are just expensive enough that its difficult to maximize both Defense & Offense. Thats how pt costs should feel.
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Without Supernatural
- Recent pt reductions to Rebel Upgrades and YT1300s lots of reasonable/interesting list options open up without Supernatural.
- 24 pt Supernatural is still cheap enough though that I have not personally tested many superless builds. Doesnt mean Luke needs Super to be solid, might need an extra ship to get past Tripsilon and 5 ship rebels.
Edited by Boom Owl
