[BLOG] Begun, the Clone Wars Have

By Eruletho, in X-Wing Battle Reports

Anakin Skywalker. Ahsoka Tano. Chancellor Palpatine. With such important Republic names at my back, how could I go wrong? I tried out Anakin and Ahsoka, both with just the D7b upgrade, and Palpatine riding shotgun in an otherwise bare 104th Squadron Pilot, and took them out against the best that the Separatists and their allies (Rebel and Republic alike) could bring to the table. The list felt very different than others that I've played, and Anakin is absolutely a beast.

For the full report, check out my blog post.

Nice list! I expect more crew-carriers will appears in time to improve the concept. I think ARCs are vastly superior to Torrents and that three of those and a Jedi are probably the way forward.

I was thinking the same things. My next idea is 3x ARC and a Jedi of some flavor.

Nice report! Cheers!

Did you use palps stress mechanic often?

I have the exactly list in my mind but I’m not sure what to expect of an I2 palp Arc...

1) Imo the alternative looks better on paper. Wollfe in the Arc is I4 with a decent ability and can carry Cody, who could help Ashoka.

2) The other thing I would include is R2 astromech for Anakin because he disengages here and there and has therefore the ability to recharge a shield. His late game potential is even higher that way.

3) what do you think about Ashoka? She looks awesome on paper with a build in PTL. What was your experience?

I used the stress side of Palpatine maybe 3 times total, and only 1 of them did I not regret it the following turn, as ships changed around and I now didn’t want to do a blue maneuver to clear the stress. The 3rd time was when I managed to clear it with Anakin. As such, I kinda hate it. I ended up using Palpatine more as a single-die mod on the ARC than for any of his abilities, and that just isn’t worth 14 points.

1) My next post is going to feature 3 I2 ARCs, and they outperform the crap out of this list. I haven’t flown Wolffe yet, my impression of EVERY non-baseline ARC and V-19 is that they are overcosted for what they do. I fought a Wolffe, and he used his ability a total of 3 times: Initial engagement, flying out of the initial engagement, and after he had slowly swung around, the turn before he died.

2) Anakin without R2 Astro is over a third of your list, no matter how you build him. SuperAnakin is at least half of it. On the one hand, R2 Astro could help preserve that investment. On the other, using the droid not only makes him cost even more, but keeps that investment from using it’s attack. Anakin should have next to zero downtime, as his ability helps keep him on target. An R4 Astromech, in my opinion, is a better deal, since it’s cheaper and increases his up-time by making all the hard maneuvers on the dial blue.

3) Ahsoka has, by far, the best ability on the chassis. Her ability is a nasty combination of Push the Limit, Coordinate, and Pattern Analyzer. After she moves, she can spend 1 force to have any friendly ship range 0-2 (including herself) to take an action, even while stressed. This seems like like it’s a great support ability, but it actually makes Ahsoka one of the most consistent pilots in the game. Just flew through a scrap, flipped around, or both? Spend a force, be focused! Anakin needs to boost or roll before he moves? Scoot Ahsoka over there and toss him that maneuver, it doesn’t even cost Ahsoka her action!

Some abilities on the D7 are situational but strong, some will be able to be forced to occur, and others will likely never be used outside of very specific builds (looking at you Plo.) Ahsoka’s, however, can and probably should be used almost every single turn. It makes your list so much more effective, even if all it’s doing is giving Ahsoka a double-modded attack (Lock and Focus) or dual-repositioning against generics and still locking them.