So, I've seen a lot of threads recently trying to figure out superb uses for under-used pilots, and a few names always come up, and occasionally start flame-wars.

So, I created this thread, where with surgical precision we can conclusively prove that Some of these under-used pilots are, simply, terrible. Feel free to comment with your own analyses!

====================================================

Let us start with Fel's Wrath.

Now, this one's a bit easy to prove, as he is directly comparable to other Interceptor pilots.

His ability is "When the number of Damage cards assigned to you equals or exceeds your hull value, you are not destroyed until the end of the Combat Phase".

Against most fleets, this becomes slightly worse than "The turn on which Fel's Wrath Dies, he may attack as though he were the pilot level of the ship that killed him, if it had a higher PS than 5", as there may yet be other ships in between Fel's Wrath and his destroyer.

(E.G. if Vader shoots down Fel's Wrath, then Wrath can't shoot down Howlrunner before the level 6 pilots get to use her ability. A marginal difference, but a difference nonetheless.)

He does have a free attack if he gets blown up by a mine or an asteroid before combat, but that is literally the only edge he has on other ships with higher Pilot Skills.

He does not have an Elite Pilot Talent slot, despite there being 2 generic Interceptors with it for cheaper than him.

Using Veteran's Instincts, you can get a Level 8 Interceptor for his same cost, which happens to shoot at a high Pilot Skill EVERY ROUND, rather than (approximately) just the round on which you die.

Moreover, using VI on a Saber, you can get an interceptor with +1 pilot ability for 1 point cheaper.

Those that say that Fel's Wrath is best used with special tactics forget that these generic pilots can be flown in the exact same manner, and yet are more useful in the long run.

====================================================

Summary: Excepting in the extraordinarily rare cases of needing a minesweeper, Fel's Wrath is strictly worse than a generic Royal Guard Interceptor (or a Saber, for that matter).

I should point out that Fel's Wrath is ever so slightly better if you have initiative.

If Fel's Wrath is destroyed by the last enemy craft, then managed to destroy that craft on his turn, that would kick in the almost entirely forgotten rule that, in case both players are destroyed at the same time, the player with initiative wins. So, if Fel's Wrath is the last craft destroyed and you do NOT have initiative, if it is still impossible to win.

Gotta say, Fel's Wrath is pretty much crap. Never flown it, never will.
I can't imagine Porkins will be particularly great, though

I swear to god if there's one more FW thread...

For him, against him, whatever. Everything that can possibly be said has already been said, 80 times, and with varying degrees of grammatical and verbal prowess. Can someone please pick something other than Wrathy and non-Vader Advances? Please?

Yes.

In low point games and single ship duels, Biggs ability is completely useless. You would be better off adding ordinance to a rookie or droids to a red. Quite simply if you only get one ship, Biggs sucks.

In low point games and single ship duels, Biggs ability is completely useless. You would be better off adding ordinance to a rookie or droids to a red. Quite simply if you only get one ship, Biggs sucks.

LMAO

I swear to god if there's one more FW thread...

For him, against him, whatever. Everything that can possibly be said has already been said, 80 times, and with varying degrees of grammatical and verbal prowess. Can someone please pick something other than Wrathy and non-Vader Advances? Please?

I will start doing this as soon as pilots as bad as the non-Vader advanced or Fel's Wrath are released..

though no-one has mentioned Arvel.

I swear to god if there's one more FW thread...

For him, against him, whatever. Everything that can possibly be said has already been said, 80 times, and with varying degrees of grammatical and verbal prowess. Can someone please pick something other than Wrathy and non-Vader Advances? Please?

I will start doing this as soon as pilots as bad as the non-Vader advanced or Fel's Wrath are released..

though no-one has mentioned Arvel.

Thank you.

Maarek Steel

bcuz reasons

Soontir Fel is the worst ship in this game, Put him on the table and BAM public enemy #1, on top of that he's only got 3 hull and he costs just shy of 30 points, that's like 10 points per hull, and with everyone shooting at him he's goin down. Say hello to my Rebel Turret - Blam! I'd much rather have winged gundark, no one pay's attention to him at all - 15 points, that's half the price of fel, for the SAME 3 HP. Fel has a 15 point target round his neck - Gundark doesn't, GOOO GOOO gadget gundark!

Personally i think Kagi sucks! When you could take a Omicron for 6 points less, it's should not even be a question. The only time he would be useful is against a squad with multiple Missile/Torpedoes even then i think Engine Upgrade FCS for the same price is much more worth it. Just my opinion though.

New to the game. But I though fels wrath lasted until the end of combat. Thus insuring he got one last attack before the next round?

Rhymer

A one-trick pony with a giant "kill me I am over here!" sign on top.

New to the game. But I though fels wrath lasted until the end of combat. Thus insuring he got one last attack before the next round?

That is true. But its not worth the points and he doesn't have an elite pilot talent slot.

His ability is only good for when he dies and its a once off. That is why all the hate.

Arvel "Ram something" Crynyd. Really hard to get him to hit someone and actually do something with his ability. If anyone takes A-Wings they're usually green squadron pilots or Tycho with Push the Limit.

I could paint with a wide brush and hit every TIE Advanced, but for named pilots it's usually Stele. Two actions is incredible in this game so Vader becomes worth it, but Stele? How often are you hitting two criticals?

Almost starting to feel sorry for Fel's Wrath and Arvel Crynyd with all the stick they get on here! However certainly seem to be the weakest of the named pilots, sure you can use their skills but they both have major draw backs that at best make them difficult to take advantage of.

As an aside, Is Arvel Welsh? Certainly sounds like he should be.

As mention above the Major Rhymer isnt great, marginal ability and huge point premium over Jendon.

None of the shuttle pilots really stand out as great, but then they aint awful either.

Maybe the answer should be Howlrunner. Way to good and therefore Awful.

Personally i think Kagi sucks! When you could take a Omicron for 6 points less, it's should not even be a question. The only time he would be useful is against a squad with multiple Missile/Torpedoes even then i think Engine Upgrade FCS for the same price is much more worth it. Plus your ship can only maintain 1 blue target lock at a time so only one of the Missile/Torpedo could be forced to you, which depending on the amount Missiles/Torpedoes and your ships, you could easily already be being targeted. Just my opinion though.

Not sure that I am understanding you properly but Kagi can be locked onto as many times as people try to look within range of him. This protects the rest of your ships around him from being targeted with torps and missiles. I'm not sure if you are mixing Kagi and Jendon, who can pass a blue target lock to a friendly?

Storm Squadron Pilot - Because if for some reason I wanted a non-Vader Advanced, - Why would ever chose this one?

And Captain Kagi - Has any shuttle owner ever used this guy? I'd guess not.

Gotta be a named TIE or two that aren't worth it...Maybe it's just that some are better than others, and I don't use them enough to know for sure, but most of them don't have Elite slots and it's a significant % increase over a normal TIE even for those who have a good ability.

Gotta be a named TIE or two that aren't worth it...Maybe it's just that some are better than others, and I don't use them enough to know for sure, but most of them don't have Elite slots and it's a significant % increase over a normal TIE even for those who have a good ability.

Howlrunner - no need to explain (10/10)

Mauler Mithel - range 1 slings as many dice as an X-wing/Interceptor, with an EPT (8/10)

Backstabber - Swings like an Int whenever he's behind you, and has PS6 (9/10)

Dark Curse - Really freaking hard to hit if you play him right, also PS6 (9/10)

Winged Gundark - Changing a hit to a crit at range 1 is barely ever going to come up, and PS5 is a rare number to swarm with for the Imps, but it can be good against bombers and Y's, but 15 points for a PS5 academy pilot is still a bargain (5/10)

Night Beast - Would be fantastic with a slightly more green dial, getting free actions is always a good thing. All the same PS/cost points as Gundark with a much better ability (7/10)

Gundark is pretty much the only one I leave out of most of my lists. The only time he shows up is when I want a 6-tie elite swarm. All the others have uses

Yes.

In low point games and single ship duels, Biggs ability is completely useless. You would be better off adding ordinance to a rookie or droids to a red. Quite simply if you only get one ship, Biggs sucks.

This would also be true about Dutch, Howlrunner or any other ship with a bonus that need other ships to function...

Storm Squadron Pilot - Because if for some reason I wanted a non-Vader Advanced, - Why would ever chose this one?

And Captain Kagi - Has any shuttle owner ever used this guy? I'd guess not.

I've played Kagi a number of times. His ability is pretty decent, especially when there are high threat targets on the field. Trust me, when Carnor Jax comes out, he and Kagi are going to be BFFs.

Soontir Fel is the worst ship in this game, Put him on the table and BAM public enemy #1, on top of that he's only got 3 hull and he costs just shy of 30 points, that's like 10 points per hull, and with everyone shooting at him he's goin down. Say hello to my Rebel Turret - Blam! I'd much rather have winged gundark, no one pay's attention to him at all - 15 points, that's half the price of fel, for the SAME 3 HP. Fel has a 15 point target round his neck - Gundark doesn't, GOOO GOOO gadget gundark!

This might actually be useful.

If you know that they are going after him, use this fact and make a plan.

(eg use him to flank and see if they go after him)

I agree that some pilots may seem overpriced or under powered. I also think it is a bit subjective as to which ones, as everyone's flying styles are a bit different. But, I don't think these pilots are all necessarily useless pilots. The crux of the matter here is that they aren't the BEST choices when building a squad. And since I want beat the other guy building a squad, why would I ever pick them? I still think many of these pilots would be fun to play if it weren't for the win at all cost theme of the game.

So, how about this. Let's build some scenarios. By this I mean let's take the whole squad building thing out of the players hands. Put some of these lesser competitive pilots into pre-made squads. Then all a player is responsible for is winning with them. Hey, it's not his fault he has these pilots, they were merely the resources handed to him. And just to be fair, make both players take a turn at each side and let the combination of games determine the winner.

That changes the task at hand from bashing these poor under powered pilots to creating interesting pairings of squads where maybe they can shine (or at least provide an interesting challenge to utilize them to their fullest). And it gives players a chance to prove that they have skill with the game no matter what they fly, not just because they play statistically superior squads.

You all have identified many reasons why these pilots aren't good overall solutions, put that knowledge to use finding the scenarios that minimize the weakness or at least lend themselves to creative applications of these black sheep pilots. For example, if Fel's Wrath only gets that extra shot when he is destroyed by a ship with a higher Pilot Skill than him, give the other side a bunch of PS6 pilots for that battle. Use Veteran Instinct if necessary. Put Kagi in a squad with high point value interceptors, then give the other side a bunch of ordnance the requires target locks... You get the idea.

I agree that some pilots may seem overpriced or under powered. I also think it is a bit subjective as to which ones, as everyone's flying styles are a bit different. But, I don't think these pilots are all necessarily useless pilots.

Pricing should be made from the optimal situation.

This gives that the pilot will be very expencive if used for the wrong function. So, if you use the a-wing as a head-on tank-fighter, it will be overpriced.