The List:
Hera Syndulla (VCX) + Saw + Cassian + Dorsal Turret + Ghost
Zeb (Attack Shuttle) + Phantom
Cavern Angel X-Wing + S-Foils (x2)
200 points
Let’s break down the upgrades:
Saw allows Hera to hit extremely hard. Passive modification is always good, especially on a large base ship like the VCX. There are many instances where I found myself using one of my other ships to slow the VCX down via blocking. Without Saw, the four attack value of the VCX is not nearly as potent.
Cassian is the MVP of this list. Not only does he allow the dial change ability for Hera in the system phase, but he is crucial to set up blocks or assist with the correct action choice especially against higher initiative pilots. There were several instances where the information provided allowed me to rotate the dorsal turret instead of taking a reinforce based on the maneuver my opponent chose. Typically, I would guess the maneuver that was the worst case scenario based on my selected maneuver.
Dorsal Turret is primarily here to set up the double tap out of the rear arc with the VCX. The rear arc becomes potent with a 2-die dorsal turret shot followed by a 3-die primary shot let alone the times you are able to end at range 1 for a 3-die then 4-die shot. The turret also gave me options instead of k-turns for the VCX - I rotated the arc in every game I played to keep time on target.
Ghost + Phantom is primarily there for the rear arc VCX attack and I usually only docked Zeb once I knew I would be flying past my opponent. If my opponent is taking shots at Zeb, that is a win for me. He’s the cheapest ship in the squad and has the ability to dock once he takes damage or if he has multiple locks on him. He provides an easy screen to slow the VCX down when needed.
Let’s talk about the VCX:
Hera is my favorite character so it is an easy choice for me to put her on the table. However, her ability is so good especially in combination with Cassian and her initiative 5. The ability to range control when needed by taking a 1 vs. 2 straight allows her to enter positive engagements where often there is only 1 ship returning fire on her. Her ability also allows her to avoid blocks following the first engagement as well as giving her the ability to adjust her arc slightly by changing to one of the bank maneuvers. Her ability is completely undervalued in my opinion.
Obstacle placement:
During the tournament over the weekend, I chose 3 of the medium sized asteroids to give me an idea of how well I could maneuver the VCX. I’ve been flying this ship for a long time but found that the smallest asteroids would probably be the better call in this build. I want to avoid debris clouds to keep Hera’s dial open and I’ve found that gas clouds tend to help my opponents more than me. The benefit of the larger asteroids is the ability to cut off attack lanes and attempt to funnel my opponent into a certain location. The benefit of the smaller asteroids is that I just generally have more space to maneuver the VCX. Without post maneuver repositioning, the VCX relies on obstacle placement to be correct to avoid situations in which I have to make a suboptimal maneuver to avoid them. Typically, I set up the asteroids much in the way a player flying a Tie Defender would. I wanted to create 2-3 lanes that I could use for k-turns or to hard turn around the asteroids to get the rear arc shot. I usually place the obstacles on my side of the board so that I know how fast I need to go to get past them.
Set-Up:
Typically I would set the X-Wings in the middle of the board spaced between a 1–2 maneuver template length apart. This gave me the ability to overlap their firing arcs but slow roll, using the 1 straight or banks followed by barrel rolls, until my opponent committed to a lane or at least to a general area of the board. I would set up the Attack Shuttle towards the middle as well, close to the VCX that I would set up at an angle in a position to fly straight through an asteroid lane. I would usually set up the Attack Shuttle to barrel roll in front of the VCX, slowing it down and allowing me to have a better grasp on the area of the board that the initial engagement would occur.
Overall, the tournament went well for me as I went 3-1 losing to my buddy that I came to the store with. In that game, he caught one of my x-wings out of position and was able to destroy it before I could get the rest of my squad into position. I told him once we started the game that something did not feel quite right, that I had made mistakes in the asteroid placement/set-up phase. This was also the only game in which Hera died. I got her jammed into a space where I could not get out of between an asteroid and a debris cloud with no turn options as well as no k-turn option. Long story short, the VCX is a solid ship that people need to be looking more into especially with the recent point reductions. Let me know if there are any tweaks you would make to the squad, etc.
Thanks for reading!
