Wingman

By Khyros, in X-Wing

So, zooming in on Wingman, it appears so say something along the lines of:

At the start [of the] combat phase, [receive] 1 stress token _____ friendly ship as ___.

Before I read the 'stress' on the card, I was thinking it was something along the lines of "at the start of combat phase, you may trade a token with a friendly ship." Which would be awesome! Just think, put that on a GSP and you can take evade, while Biggs takes a TL. Then you switch the evade for the TL, and you shoot your missile, while he gets an evade token. If you did this with someone who had an EPT, he could get 2 evade tokens. Not bad =P. But alas, I crossed my eyes enough to see that it said 1 stress token, so that means that it likely gives you a stress.

What are some thoughts as to what it might actually do?

We already have a make friendly the same PS. We already have give friendly 1 free action. I'm trying to find a way to make that card text work with something that allows you to add attack dice to the ship next to you. So something that gives a friendly ship an extra die or two (like Jan ors but requiring range 1 or something)

Edit: "Receive 1 stress token to add 1 to the primary weapon value of a friendly ship at Range 1."

Edited by jedi moose

I suspect its either +1 attack or +1 defense. I suspect the as is as long as the ship is in range X (on your wing).

We already have a make friendly the same PS. We already have give friendly 1 free action. I'm trying to find a way to make that card text work with something that allows you to add attack dice to the ship next to you. So something that gives a friendly ship an extra die or two (like Jan ors but requiring range 1 or something)

Edit: "Receive 1 stress token to add 1 to the primary weapon value of a friendly ship at Range 1."

So it basically steals Jans Ors Ability. I guess the HWK-290 just got a little less cool.

We already have a make friendly the same PS. We already have give friendly 1 free action. I'm trying to find a way to make that card text work with something that allows you to add attack dice to the ship next to you. So something that gives a friendly ship an extra die or two (like Jan ors but requiring range 1 or something)

Edit: "Receive 1 stress token to add 1 to the primary weapon value of a friendly ship at Range 1."

So it basically steals Jans Ors Ability. I guess the HWK-290 just got a little less cool.

But you could stack it!

We already have a make friendly the same PS. We already have give friendly 1 free action. I'm trying to find a way to make that card text work with something that allows you to add attack dice to the ship next to you. So something that gives a friendly ship an extra die or two (like Jan ors but requiring range 1 or something)

Edit: "Receive 1 stress token to add 1 to the primary weapon value of a friendly ship at Range 1."

So it basically steals Jans Ors Ability. I guess the HWK-290 just got a little less cool.

But you could stack it!

:o Okay, you have my attention.

Jan's ability also has a longer range and can boost secondary weapons.

I would have thought adding an extra def die would be more in keeping with it being a wingman. Wingman protects leader!

We developed a

We already have a make friendly the same PS. We already have give friendly 1 free action. I'm trying to find a way to make that card text work with something that allows you to add attack dice to the ship next to you. So something that gives a friendly ship an extra die or two (like Jan ors but requiring range 1 or something)

Edit: "Receive 1 stress token to add 1 to the primary weapon value of a friendly ship at Range 1."

So it basically steals Jans Ors Ability. I guess the HWK-290 just got a little less cool.

But you could stack it!

We play tested this and it is powerful yet risky. You can throw all of your dice at once and one shot an enemy or completely miss on a bad roll, esentially not inflicting any damage that turn.

Sounds like what Fel's Wrath's inherit ability should have been.

I would have thought adding an extra def die would be more in keeping with it being a wingman. Wingman protects leader!

This sounds more reasonable. It would play into context with what a Wingman does, and it wouldn't continue the power creep that one could argue is happening. Wave 1 there was 1 3 attack ship, the other 3 were all 2 attack. Wave 2 added 3 more 3 attack ships, making it the new "standard" with 2 attack becoming slightly "gimped" - and it introduced the HLC (one 1 ship), Wave 3 introduced 2 more 3 attack, both of which could take the HLC - and it introduced Jan, adding a die to anyone, and APT, the first 5 attack weapon, wave 4 introduces the first 4 attack ship, and from what we can tell from the upgrades, several offensive based upgrades - predator, R7-T1, Abaht...

So to introduce a defensive upgrade along with all of that would make more sense than another offensive upgrade. Herm... Wedge w/ SL + R2D2, Luke w/ Wingman + R7T1, Biggs w/ R2F2 + Stealth... Gives Biggs 5 base dice, and a focus. Though Wedge and Biggs don't have offensive actions (at least until Biggs dies). You could put SL on Luke so Wedge gets an action, but I figure that Wingman on Luke would help keep Wedge alive after Biggs is dead.

We already have a make friendly the same PS. We already have give friendly 1 free action. I'm trying to find a way to make that card text work with something that allows you to add attack dice to the ship next to you. So something that gives a friendly ship an extra die or two (like Jan ors but requiring range 1 or something)

Edit: "Receive 1 stress token to add 1 to the primary weapon value of a friendly ship at Range 1."

So it basically steals Jans Ors Ability. I guess the HWK-290 just got a little less cool.

I didn't know it could get less cool.

So it basically steals Jans Ors Ability. I guess the HWK-290 just got a little less cool.

I didn't know it could get less cool.

Wait, what? HWK-290 is an awesome ship, Jan especially - combine her with Garven and PTL/HLC Ibtisam and you'll see what I'm talking about ;)

However, back to the Wingman - I also think that +1 Defense for Stress would be grat trade :) Guess that would be extremely popular on Black Squadron Pilots and a possible new role to the Green Squadron Pilots, and I'd like to see more of my beloved A-wings :)

Edited by Shanturin

If Wingman adds a def die, and you can stack this, then Biggs got a lot tougher.

If Wingman adds a def die, and you can stack this, then Biggs got a lot tougher.

Herm, this is a good point. Potentially the defender gets a stress to keep it from having 3 GSP wingmen stack on Biggs... That would be broken. Biggs w/ R2D2 protecting 3 GSPs w/ Wingman. Biggs rolling 5 dice every turn and regenerating a shield in case a hit gets through... meanwhile you can't target the GSPs to reduce Bigg's defense (and even if you could, they could just use their wingman on each other to give them 5 dice as well). There has to be something regarding stress... either a wingman himself will get a stress for it, or the defender will get a stress.

If Wingman adds a def die, and you can stack this, then Biggs got a lot tougher.

That is really going to suck.

Surely wingman gets the stress.

I'm going to guess it's not this awesome or stackable. This would be obvious power creep and FFG has been really good about that not happening. I'm also guessing that if it did do this it would cost a lot.

Whatever it does as plus to defense or offense, I don't see it stacking. At most I'd imagine it'll be one wingman per other ship. If for nothing else then the feel of a wingman, which is just one other support ship. Probably why its on the Z 95 which is I believe the wave 4 ship its in, so they grant extra buffs to a nearby ship perhaps drawing fire to them, which I imagine is their point being a chaff unit to swarm and protect other, more potent craft.

Which could be a nice upgrade for black squad pilots as well anything useful but good for covering other more important targets. Though as I said, I doubt it you can effect a ship more then once with a wingman boost, same as their is only one squad leader just wouldn't make sense otherwise.

Edited by AngryAngel

Do you think the upgrade goes on the "leader" ship or does the upgrade go on the "wingman" ship? One ways gives the lead a wingman, the other just marks the peon as a wingman.

I'd imagine it would be the peon marked as the wing man. Though wingmen weren't always peons they just weren't the squad leader, the wingman just keeps the enemy off the leader and keeps him from being targeted out before he's ready to engage. It really makes a lot of sense, theme wise. You have squad leader keeping people in actions doing what they need to do, and he has a wingman to make him a bit tougher to take down, or hit harder depending.

Wingman probably adds a stress token to the ship with Wingman on it to remove a stress token from a friendly ship within range. It would be pretty lame, but at least it wouldn't be broken.

Do you think the upgrade goes on the "leader" ship or does the upgrade go on the "wingman" ship? One ways gives the lead a wingman, the other just marks the peon as a wingman.

I'm guessing that the card goes on the supporting wingman, not the squad leader.