I'm not much of a fan of the card ability for Han and this just came to me. "Regardless of Pilot Skill or Initiative, Han ALWAYS shoots first."

This also applies to Episode IV

He almost does that anyway. With a PS of 9, Wedge, Vader and Soontir are the only other pilots that would in theory shoot before him.

But I get the idea, and agree. If you watch the Table Top episode for X-Wing, Wil makes the same comment a couple times.

If that was the case, lowering his pilot skill, allowing him to move earlier would also be beneficial. then still getting to shoot first

I like his skill where it is. As Will Wheaton says "Han shoots. FIRST!"

If that was the case, lowering his pilot skill, allowing him to move earlier would also be beneficial. then still getting to shoot first

Very good point, that'd make it even better.

Also people shouldn't ignore veteran instincts, level 8's and 7's (with initiative) using VI can also shoot first. This would allow Han to take a better pilot upgrade and not worry about who shoots first!

Veteran Instincts is great, but with wave three isn't there a HWK pilot that can make someone's pilot skill 12 for purposes of shooting? At least he's a Rebel, so Han Might Shoot First...

If that was the case, lowering his pilot skill, allowing him to move earlier would also be beneficial. then still getting to shoot first

Huh? How is moving earlier beneficial?

Huh? How is moving earlier beneficial?

So he's less likely to bump

So play smart and don't bump. If you move last, you can be more reactive to what your opponent is doing. This is especially true of ships with barrel roll or boost, which could mean the difference between being in or being out of your opponent's firing arcs.

It's almost universally better to move last.

So play smart and don't bump.

So read your opponents mind so you know exactly where all of his 8 Tie Pilots are going to be. Brilliant. I wish i had your skills

Stop being so snarky. Trying to figure out what your opponent is going to do and playing accordingly is part of this game, and many others besides - like chess. It's called strategy. If he sacrifices a decent PS in the off chance that you're going to cost yourself actions, then you're letting yourself be outplayed.

It's still almost universally better to move last. I think my point stands.

And Han is in a unique position of not giving two...y'know, where he lands his ship, unlike most ships that have to set up their firing arc in a good position as well. So Han's "strategy" is just to fly past his opponent, in which case it Is good he moves last. Your roll/boost point is absolutely true as well. But, moving last in my experience gives you at least a 50-60% chance more likely to bump, because your opponent is happy to put 1 crap tie in the likely route of the falcon and it's gigantic base. It is better for your actions (by far) to move last, but not often for your movement.

Context is everything. There are certainly a lot of different scenarios where your opponent can or will want to try to jam you up. Preventing yourself from being in that position in the first place is probably the best way to go, and, failing that, you can probably guess when and how he's going to try and force a bump, and set your own maneuver accordingly.

Like I said, chess. Plan your move two steps ahead, and read your oppoment's moves before he makes them.

Or, just move first and be where you want to be.

In all honesty, I thought the PS system was more or less self-explanatory. If a higher PS wasn't a good thing, there wouldn't be cards like Veteran Instincts to increase it.

At any rate, it wasn't my intention to come in here and beat everyone over the head with pedantry. If you're more comfortable playing with a lower PS then hey, knock yourself out.

Well if you really want to be technical. Only Han shot. There was never a second shot.

I will check later but I seem to remember a shot hitting the wall by Han's head.

That's what was added - Greedo's shot that Han "reacted to". It wasn't in the original. Han just blasted him, and you knew right away what type of character he was.

While it is always good to plan 2 moves ahead, keep in mind that you are also playing an opponent who will be trying to do the same. not to mention there are a limited amount of maneuvers on the dial and with obstacles already in the field a good opponent who moves first can get into a position to cause the large base of the falcon to hit a smaller ship, denying an action and removing a potential target the falcon can shoot at.

In most cases I would agree moving last is an advantage.

However in this case we are discussing Han Solo in the YT-1300. So your already talking about an expensive model. It's also a model that doesn't have an amazing dial. It is likely to be against a fleet which has far more models. In this case moving last is a huge detriment. As with a limited number of move options it can only be in a very limited amount of positions, and outnumbered by enemy fighters it is almost guaranteed to bump if the enemy plans to block it's routes.

Conversely, its handy to have the Rimming Smuggler in the YT, move him first and plonk him in the way of the oncoming swarm, X wings hanging around behind to blast away.

Han already shoots first. Even if another pilot with pilot skill 9 rollls dice first, the damage is simultaneous. Hans ability is bloody amazing as is. Han + Gunner = 4 possible chances to roll the dice until you get the result you wanted.

Gunner on Han is overkill and a waste of points. Engine upgrade and push the limits and Millenium Falcon. Now that's a combo. I think of the 15 or so games I have used Han I probably used gunner 3-4 times. Absolutely not worth the point expenditure. The ability to negate 1 damage a round makes Han so hard to kill it makes opponents very flustered. If I am going to get shot at this round by more than 1 ship or by a heavy weapon I always evade and focus. I miss so rarely that I can not even remember when I missed last. With that evade and possibly a focus you can negate damage that would surely lay him low. But as is, I have run this 15 or so times and have NEVER lost Han and I play some pretty damned good players. Just the other day Han in this setup with gold squadronm and rookie pilot with turret and both with R2's absolutely creamed two firesprays with HLC and I made a coup[le mistakes. The boosting really made my day as I avoided even getting shot at at least 4 times. That with my PTL and evading Han was unbeatable.

If you never use Gunner, then you are likely getting really lucky roll matchups, or you are playing against mostly (only?) low-agility targets, or your opponents aren't using focus/evade enough.

For example, if you are firing against an Interceptor with Push The Limit, they can often have both a focus and an evade. They are rolling a minimum of 3 green dice, sometimes 4, 5 or even 6. If you have to take a shot at one of these, you will likely miss the first one, but hopefully make them spend their focus/evade tokens, leaving you with an advantageous roll with the gunner.

Now, if you are playing a mirror match versus Rebel ships with only 1 or 2 agility, then yes, Gunner ends up being a waste of points that you could have put to better use most likely. Against TIE lists, or in a tournament, Gunner is one of the best cards in the game.

Would anyone think I was an arse if I corrected a few instances of 'amount' that should be 'number' in this thread? Yes? I'll go away then.