I'm going to a tournament this weekend and have a robust build with 3 points left. The question I have for the community is, you give your advice / two cents on what to do with the remaining 3 points.

First, here's my list:

TIE Advanced x1 - •Darth Vader - 75
•Darth Vader - Black Leader (67)
Fire-Control System (2)
Afterburners (6)

Lambda -class T-4a Shuttle - •Colonel Jendon - 57
•Colonel Jendon - Darth Vader’s Shuttle Pilot (46)
•Emperor Palpatine (11)

Alpha -class Star Wing - •Major Vynder - 65
•Major Vynder - Pragmatic Survivor (41)
Fire-Control System (2)
Adv. Proton Torpedoes (6)
Advanced SLAM (3)
Os-1 Arsenal Loadout (0)
Proton Torpedoes (13)

Total: 197/200

View in the X-Wing Squad Builder

Second, here are some options I thought of:

1) Do nothing and have a 3 point bid

2) Crack shot on Vynder (but imo if I am shooting Primary weapons on Vynder...I have failed already)

3) Hate on Vader

What do you guys think? Any other suggestions? Is the bid really worth it? Any advice / input would be much appreciated.

You’re running an i6, so the three point bid is probably more important than any 3-point upgrade. It’s still a small bid, but at least it gives you a chance.

1 hour ago, kempokid said:

You’re running an i6, so the three point bid is probably more important than any 3-point upgrade. It’s still a small bid, but at least it gives you a chance.

That,s what I thought, but the guys I play with were saying a 2-3 point bid is not worth it, and to try and maximize the points instead.

I just thought of it... I can also add Marksmanship on Vynder... but again is a 2 point bid worth anything? Hence my indecisiveness....

Alternatively, if you're worried about initiative, you can take passive sensors on Vader instead of FCS and avoid the issue entirely, andthat leaves you with 2 points, which you could use on predator on vynder? ifhe's disarmed, that's an extra reroll!

Also, not entirely regarding this issue, but have you considered taking diamond-boron missiles on vynder instead of protorps? it has the same damage potential and can kill swarms by itself, which might be your toughest matchup anyways

12 minutes ago, LeMightyASP said:

Also, not entirely regarding this issue, but have you considered taking diamond-boron missiles on vynder instead of protorps? it has the same damage potential and can kill swarms by itself, which might be your toughest matchup anyways

Wait...wait....I was unfamiliar with DB Missles. Does this mean I get to (at a minimum) fire this 3 times, with LESS cost, (PRot Torps is 13 pts) in exchange for not changing a hit to a crit.... AND have the option of potentially dealing damage to other ships in R1 with agility equal to or lower than the target? Am I reading this right...3 attacks if I don,t spend the energy on R1 re-rolls? Am I missing something here?

You're not missing anything inthetext, but it is a downgrade from protorps if you're not spending 2 charges.

The best part of diamond boron missiles on alphasis that the reload is not really a problem

This is my take on the Hatchetman archetype

Darth Vader (67)
Hate (3)
Passive Sensors (3)
Afterburners (6)

Ship total: 79 Half Points: 40 Threshold: 3

Major Vynder (41)
Outmaneuver (6)
Fire-Control System (2)
Adv. Proton Torpedoes (6)
Diamond-Boron Missiles (6)
Advanced SLAM (3)
Os-1 Arsenal Loadout (0)

Ship total: 64 Half Points: 32 Threshold: 4

Colonel Jendon (46)
Emperor Palpatine (11)

Ship total: 57 Half Points: 29 Threshold: 5


Total: 200

View in Yet Another Squad Builder 2.0: https://raithos.github.io/?f=Galactic Empire&d=v8ZsZ200Z173X204W240WW105Y161X126W113W134W238W104W139WWY167XWW29WWW&sn=Unnamed Squadron&obs=

33 minutes ago, trillclick said:

That,s what I thought, but the guys I play with were saying a 2-3 point bid is not worth it, and to try and maximize the points instead.

I just thought of it... I can also add Marksmanship on Vynder... but again is a 2 point bid worth anything? Hence my indecisiveness....

Yeah you have to play within the context of your meta. If ace lists run with a 5-10 bid in your area, go ahead and fill out those points. But if you’re walking into a tourney where you don’t know the players, it can be helpful if for no other reason than having first rock.

37 minutes ago, trillclick said:

That,s what I thought, but the guys I play with were saying a 2-3 point bid is not worth it, and to try and maximize the points instead.

I just thought of it... I can also add Marksmanship on Vynder... but again is a 2 point bid worth anything? Hence my indecisiveness....

Honestly, there’s a lot of Wedge builds that use all 200 points.

Also the bid is more for your I4. He wants to move after other I4s and rarely do I4s bid at all. A 3 point bid is still good honestly, it’s just not an Anakin/SNR Kylo bid. But that’s okay.

33 minutes ago, trillclick said:

That,s what I thought, but the guys I play with were saying a 2-3 point bid is not worth it, and to try and maximize the points instead.

I tend to think little bids can be nice. A lot of folks go for 199 and 200, so 198 or 197 can slip in. However, it's worth noting that a lot of folks building for 200 will put in tools to mitigate losing the bid and the first player choice. Sense on force users, Passive Sensors on Vader to leave open the option for a pre-engagement barrel roll. On top of this, just practicing blocking in ace-vs-ace battles.

//

As to Vynder, I don't really care for bullseye talents on Gunboats, or anything else that can't really barrel roll.

22 minutes ago, trillclick said:

Wait...wait....I was unfamiliar with DB Missles. Does this mean I get to (at a minimum) fire this 3 times, with LESS cost, (PRot Torps is 13 pts) in exchange for not changing a hit to a crit.... AND have the option of potentially dealing damage to other ships in R1 with agility equal to or lower than the target? Am I reading this right...3 attacks if I don,t spend the energy on R1 re-rolls? Am I missing something here?

The point of Diamond Boron Missiles is to save 7 points compared to a Proton Torpedo, but "kinda" get the 4th die from spending the charge to deal a damage to everyone at range 0-1 of the hit ship--including the hit ship. You can't modify your dice on this attack, so it's worse than a Proton Torpedo (where you'll have access to rerolls and focus), but it's a lot cheaper.

Also, it'll need to be reloaded to shoot twice with the splash. This is generally not too hard for Vynder, however.

//

As to what to do with points gained from taking DBM over Protons? I'd be interested in Sense. This would allow building out for higher points, as well as potentially giving a lot of information to Vynder for deciding on whether or how to SLAM. Initiative 4 isn't great, but Sense might let you know where your target is going, and help you decide. SLAM into an Advanced SLAM lock or reload to set up for next turn can be an OK play already, but it could be a GREAT play if it also blocks someone, and Sense would help that happen.

11 minutes ago, JBFancourt said:

Also the bid is more for your I4 . He wants to move after other I4s and rarely do I4s bid at all. A 3 point bid is still good honestly, it’s just not an Anakin/SNR Kylo bid. But that’s okay.

This. Moving Vynder last is pretty handy. I can also imagine a game against Separatists or whatever where you'd want to move the shuttle first against other Init 3s, to ensure that you can coordinate or reinforce, as well as potentially block droids, and droids without Calculate are the saddest roger-rogers.

14 minutes ago, theBitterFig said:

Passive Sensors on Vader to leave open the option for a pre-engagement barrel roll. On top of this, just practicing blocking in ace-vs-ace battles.

Is this because I can take a calculate or target lock, then do the Vader thing and barrel roll? Assuming I have not barrel rolled yet. If this is the case, as much as I like FCS, this card is very tempting...especially since it only costs me an extra point, thus leaving me with a 2 point bid that might come in handy. If that is the case I'm wondering if I should be making a last minute purchase before the tournament

1 minute ago, trillclick said:

Is this because I can take a calculate or target lock, then do the Vader thing and barrel roll? Assuming I have not barrel rolled yet. If this is the case, as much as I like FCS, this card is very tempting...especially since it only costs me an extra point, thus leaving me with a 2 point bid that might come in handy. If that is the case I'm wondering if I should be making a last minute purchase before the tournament

That's how the trick works. Use the Lock action to use Vader's ability to Barrel Roll.

It's kind of a neat trick when you lose the bid against other Initiative 6 ships, but I haven't tried it on table yet. Seems kinda like, if I'm flying an Initiative 6 flying second against a Passive Sensors Vader, I know where he is, and where he'd be after barrel rolling, so I probably can plan my position and actions accordingly. I can probably get a shot on Vader, but maybe not a bullseye shot or range 1 shot. That's an advantage for Vader, to be sure, but it's not a huge one. It's also possible to block the position of a barrel roll, so he'll be stuck where he is. Some folks have done well with the upgrade, but I wouldn't expect miracles.

It also does nothing against lower-initiative ships, so keep that in mind.