Tawnos
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Posts posted by Tawnos
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I think my favorite part of these responses are how thoroughly they show the death of the fun casual atmosphere I loved here.
Thanks for the reference to page 19 Beard.
We were laughing all night at the silliness of the idea, didn't know about page 19 though, I figured it would be a FAQ.
I don't know why a casual attitude and rules knowledge are mutually exclusive. You can play very relaxed and fun and still follow the rules of the game properly.
Amen.
MegaSilver and Hobojebus reacted to this -
(aside for gifts of "Planet of Twilight" and "Rogue Planet")
I'm sorry these had to be your introduction to the EU. Rogue Planet was "meh" at best, and Planet of Twilight was.....well, let's keep things civil, shall we?
I usually suggest that people start with Shadows of the Empire. It's closely related to episodes V and VI while filling in a lot of the EU background of the major characters. The Thrawn trilogy would be next, but you've got that under your belt.
After that, it really depends on what you're looking for. A lot of people ask me for suggestions for books that don't center around Jedi and the Force. I point them towards the X-wing series and the Han Solo books. The Han Solo trilogy (The Paradise Snare, The Hutt Gambit, and Rebel Dawn) are some of my favorites.
The Truce at Bakura is a good starting place for getting your bearings in the post-Empire era, as is Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor.
If you want lots of the Force and Jedi related stuff, start with the Jedi Academy trilogy (Jedi Search, Dark Apprentice, and Champions of the Force). Most of the characters introduced in these books represent the new generation of Jedi. Then go for some of the supplementary books around that era, like I, Jedi. If you want to go a little further to the 2nd generation of the New Jedi Order, the Young Jedi Knights series of children's books are actually pretty good, believe it or not. And of course there's the New Jedi Order series, but that's a hell of an undertaking, and there's a lot of mixed opinions about it.
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Can we ban questioning the intelligence of the designers?
Yes and no. Having met the current designers, I can tell you they're intelligent folk, and no one should be questioning that.
On the flip side, they aren't infallible. Just look at how the cost of PS has changed over the waves, not to mention the not-so-subtle "whoopsie" of Chardaan Refit. We should evaluate the mechanics of the game and give feedback.
Now, just trolling and screaming "ERMAGHERD <insert new thing here> OP" all the time usually just gets you ignored. But a well thought out argument, with supporting evidence, usually gets people's attention.
Spaceman91 reacted to this -
I'll admit I was surprised they optioned the TIE Phantom, since it's possibly the most obscure ship source-wise they've used thus far.
What I don't understand is why it matters where a ship/pilot originated. Who cares? Does it add new and interesting options to the game? If so, why should anyone care if it's well-known in the Star Wars universe?
The majority of pilot cards in X-wing are from the EU, as the movies give very few actual squadron or pilot names. Anyone who disregards the EU is limiting themselves thusly:
Empire:
- No TIE Fighters. The movies give no names to TIE Fighter squadrons nor to any individual pilot. All squad names and notable pilots originate purely from the EU or were retcon'd into the movies via the EU.
- Only Darth Vader is allowed for the TIE Advanced, and probably shouldn't be allowed at all since the TIE Advanced isn't identified as such until the EU.
- No TIE Interceptors. See #1.
- No TIE Bombers. See #1.
- No TIE Defenders.
- Only Captain Kagi is allowed for the Lambda-class Shuttle, though he's only mentioned in passing at the end of Episode III, and his use of the Lambda-class shuttle is never technically confirmed.
- No VT-49 Decimator.
- Only Boba Feet is allowed for the Firespray; again, technically shouldn't be allowed since the Firespray designation isn't identified until the EU.
Rebels:
- For X-wings, only the following are allowed: Red Squadron Pilot, Biggs Darklighter, Jek Porkins, Luke Skywalker, Wedge Antilles.
- Only the Gold Squadron Pilot and Grey Squadron Pilot are allowed for Y-wings.
- Only the Green Squadron Pilot is allowed for A-wings.
- No B-wings. The movies give no names to B-wing squadrons nor to any individual pilot. All squad names and notable pilots originate purely from the EU or were retcon'd into the movies via the EU. Technically speaking, the term "B-wing" doesn't even appear in the RotJ script at all.
- No E-wings.
- No Z-95s.
- No HKW-290s.
- Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian, and Han Solo are allowed for the YT-1300, although the ship designation doesn't appear until the EU.
- No YT-2400. This ship is the ultimate in movie retcon technology; it's only seen once, briefly, at the beginning of Episode IV, and only the EU gives it any kind of definition.
- No GR-75 Medium Transport. Again, you technically see it in Episode V, but only the EU gives it a classification.
- No CR-90 Corvette. Technically seen in Episode IV, but isn't given a classification until the EU.
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Experimental Interface also allows you to free up Soontir's EPT, which until now has been effectively ocked into PtL. The Interceptor is a great ship for EI, since you can get two mods with Royal Guard TIE.
I almost cringe to think it, but Marksmanship or even (gasp) Expose on Soontir with EI doesn't look half bad.
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The entry for Unsportmanlike Conduct in the official Tournament Rules is written in such a way that a TO would be well within their rights to declare a "fortress" strategy to be abuse of game mechanics and rule it unsportsmanlike. And I know several TOs who would rule in that fashion.
Now unless I'm reading that wrong here we have someone saying that if the TO happens to not like the way I'm playing my 100% LEGAL tactic can be considered "unsportsmanlike" with all of the consequence that could come from that.
Well, let me clarify that the TO's likes or dislikes have nothing to do with making a judgment call. Posing it that way seems like you're just trying to vilify the TO in question.
Expert Handling once went through a situation very similar to this one. As written upon release, nothing prevented a ship with multiple actions (such as Vader) from performing two Barrel Rolls per turn. And though there was eventually an official ruling made and the card errata'd, in the interim it was decided by TOs (FFG's TOs included, at the Inaugural tourney) that Expert Handling did not allow two barrel rolls per turn. Are you saying that the TOs were wrong to make a judgment call in that regard?
How about the theoretical scenario where I decide I'm going to play with my squad and maneuver dials behind a screen where you can't see them? Nothing in the rules says I ever have to show my opponent my squad cards, and nothing says my maneuver dials ever have to be visible to you before their maneuvers are revealed. The only requirement is that they're placed near the ship they represent or, as per the Tournament Rules, on the ship card itself; again, no rule says that card (or the maneuver dial on it) has to be visible to the opponent. Would you likewise say that this is sportmanlike play? It is, after all, perfectly within the definition of "legal".
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(the Phantom is the only fighter in the game without a PS8 pilot).The TIE Bomber disagrees.
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Also, remember that is is actually called "Overlapping" and no actual bumping is happening (unless it's the decimator!)
I had an evil grin worthy of the Grinch when they announced Captain Ramming Speed. I'm prepared to be disappointed by the Decimator's maneuver dial, though.
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By my reckoning, the only reason why FFG hasn't felt the need to rule on "abusive nature" the Fortress strategy is because it's not that good, so no one uses it. If it were prevalent, I'd bet we'd see an official ruling.
Either way, this is a discussion for another thread; we're kinda getting away from the original topic. And I hear what you're saying; I just don't agree with it.
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Any time a ship comes into base contact with another ship, it is considered to have spent its action avoiding a collision.
Any time someone refers to a ship "collision", the term is a misnomer. There are no physical ship "collisions" in X-wing unless a special rule says otherwise (such as the "Stunned Pilot" crit result, or the upcoming named Decimator pilot).
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I stopped reading about 2 pages in.
Why does X-wing use a 2D abstraction of 3D space by design? Because it's simpler to manage during the game. End of story. You don't have to like it, and there are plenty of other games that have more complex mechanics to represent 3D space. Those games tend to take a lot longer to play, but if that's your thing, more power to you.
Also, for tournament play, abusing movement mechanics to infinitely stall a ship (such as the Millennium Fortress, mentioned earlier in this thread) would be in violation of the Unsportsmanlike Conduct clause of the Tournament Rules.
No, it wouldn't.
FFG has specifically come out and said that nothing about the Falcon Fortress is illegal in anyway, but that they may address it a later date if they feel it is problematic. We've had multiple FAQ updates since that point.
Yes, it in fact, absolutely can be.
The only correspondence from FFG on this matter is from this thread in which they say that they're aware of the "fortress" strategy and will add specific rules for it if they feel it necessary. This is not an official stance on the strategy's tournament legality, because e-mail doesn't dictate legality.
The entry for Unsportmanlike Conduct in the official Tournament Rules is written in such a way that a TO would be well within their rights to declare a "fortress" strategy to be abuse of game mechanics and rule it unsportsmanlike. And I know several TOs who would rule in that fashion.
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I stopped reading about 2 pages in.
Why does X-wing use a 2D abstraction of 3D space by design? Because it's simpler to manage during the game. End of story. You don't have to like it, and there are plenty of other games that have more complex mechanics to represent 3D space. Those games tend to take a lot longer to play, but if that's your thing, more power to you.
Also, for tournament play, abusing movement mechanics to infinitely stall a ship (such as the Millennium Fortress, mentioned earlier in this thread) would be in violation of the Unsportsmanlike Conduct clause of the Tournament Rules.
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I think the objective here is to find a squad that's both effective against Superfalcon AND generally competitive.
Phantoms aren't automatically bad against YTs. They require careful flying, choice of initiative, and the support of other ships that can present a threat to the YT. Which is why I think Phantom + mini swarm might be the best all-around competitive Imperial squad.
EvilEd209 and Introverdant reacted to this -
The Indianapolis crowd is also exploring counters to Super-Han, without a great deal of success thus far.
My current thoughts are along the lines of a high PS assassin (Soontir, or Whisper) plus a mini Swarm. But not just any mini Swarm. It need durability. 5 APs will almost always shoot last, and my experience thus far has been that you're likely to lose one of them before it ever gets to shoot. So, I'm working on the following list:
Whisper + VI + ACD
Night Beast
Dark Curse
2x Scimitar Squadron Pilot
I think the mini-Swarm of two durable named TIEs plus two Bombers could pretty consistently withstand the opening beating of a Falcon. The idea at that point is to pour as much damage into the YT as possible while you've still got your full force.
The other key is to make sure that your Phantom is positioned in such a way that it a) threatens the YT, and b) also has a shot (if not a good shot) on a support ship. That way, if the YT dances away, you can still pop a Z and get your Cloak back.
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Margin of victory should be a tie breaker AFTER SOS!
It was. And no one liked SoS.
Bob, Jim, and Ron all have 10 points and are heading into the final round.
Bob gets paired with Jim.
Ron gets paired with a scrub player that has 5 points He got paired down because there are no more 10 point players.
Is the assumption here that players with fewer points are scrubs? Because even good players lose games. It happens all the time. I got paired up twice in the Louisville Regional in 2013, and I went on to the championship round after the cut to Top 4. In this example, I am your "scrub". And I can say with confidence that I am no scrub.
Bob and Jim have a great game and Bob wins. Bob destroys all 100 points of Jim and Jim destroys 88 points, so Bob's MOV is a whopping 112.
Now Ron whips on the scrub player and totally destroys him, and the scrub player destroyed nothing. So Ron has 200 MOV.
Why is Bob and Jim's game so "great"? A close game isn't always great. And a game where someone gets whooped on isn't always a bad game. Calling the first game arbitrarily "great" is just a thinly veiled attempt to lend validity to it's outcome.
According to the new rules Ron will beat Bob, which is total CRAP!
Just pray that you always get paired down to lesser players!
Why? The most you will ever get paired down is 5 points. A 5 point difference does not mean a great player is getting paired against a scrub. It means they're getting paired against the closest player in points as is possible. If that player gets destroyed 100-0, then Ron deserves his 200 MoV, as much as if Bob had won his game 100-0.
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Kath's ability will rarely get used, and even if it does taking a Stress is still better than taking a Crit. You may try dumping the Merc Pilot and changing Kath to Boba Fett. The ability to freely change your banking direction (with PS 8) could be huge in either setting up an attack or avoiding one should your opponent make an unexpected move.
The same with Soontir. Everyone loves him (high PS) but his ability is limited to those times he takes a Stress. For 2 points less you can take Turr and get the ability to boost/roll after shooting. Add VI and your PS is now up their. This gives you the ability to set yourself on another ships edge, shoot first, then roll out of his firing arc or roll to place an asteroid between you and him.
And now you have 2-3 points left over (letting Fett keep VI or not) that you can use for initiative or add Swarm Tactics to give your Academy a chance to shoot before getting toasted early.
I disagree with almost everything said here.
Stress is the name of the game these days, and it's possibly the best answer to some of the most popular builds right now. Kath's high PS combined with her stress-dealing ability makes her uniquely suited to dealing with Phantoms, especially if she has a Rebel Captive as well. And loading a YT up on stress makes them choose between taking actions or making their precious 1-turn.
Boba Fett's ability, in my experience, comes into play far less often than Kath's.
Soontir/PTL is just as good as it's ever been. Don't get me wrong, Turr's good. But Fel brings the same mobility without the need to burn his EPT for a PS bid. Also, Soontir brings turtle mode, whereas if Turr gets bracketed, he's in trouble.
catachanninja and AlexW reacted to this -
I'm confused by the premise of this post. Is this in reference to some specific event at a tourney, or just people being blowhards on the forum?
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I say good riddance.
We had 13 drops at Chicago this past weekend (out of 70), and there was a good deal of grumbling regarding SoS as a result.
I personally feel that dropping should be an option that's available to a player without them feeling bad about hosing their opponent's tiebreaker. Mostly because everyone I've met playing X-wing has proven to be a **** fine person, and I'd hate to think their day gets ruined when someone drops.
I mean, there's any number of good reasons to drop. Exhaustion being a prime example. Long road trips to 12-14 hour tourneys are taxing. If you're out of the prize running, I think you should have the option to gracefully withdraw. That wasn't possible with SoS.
Not to mention that there's this little convention coming up (I suspect some of you may have heard of it), and it's a blast to attend. I'd hate to be stuck playing a losing battle all day on Thursday/Saturday when I could be enjoying the rest of the con with my friends guilt-free. And now, that option is open to everyone. Hooray!
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Confession
in X-Wing
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I use the huge ship pegs/base for my Lambda and Firespray. Works great.
JeremyBarnhill and oneway reacted to this -
As an X-Wing newbie but avid book lover, is their a site or something that gives a rough order in which to read these books? Or which series are considered canon and which are just flights of fantasy?
Thanks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Wars_books
Find the Rebellion Era and start from there. Ignore any with a (Y) next to them (unless you're a kid).
That's not entirely a fair assessment. I found the Young Jedi Knights series to be really good reads. And it makes Jacen's story that much more tragic to know what he was like in his youth.
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Played a very successful Vader + Outmaneuver + EU. A strong combo, to be sure.
When they first announced Proton Rockets, the first thing I did was start eying those Tempest Squadron Pilots. I still don't think it's quite enough to make me want to play them, but it's a step in the right direction.
Crack Shot. Does this fix ordnance?
in X-Wing
Posted · Edited by Tawnos
I'm assuming Crack Shot follows the normal rules of dice modification, meaning that it can only get rid of natural Evades, and not Evades generated via dice modification, since the attacker does any modification of defense dice before the defender does. So, maybe slightly less useful than it seems at first glance. Still, the price is right.
Also, unless I'm missing something, the point the OP was trying to make is that if Crack Shot is the difference between hitting and not hitting for ordnance, than any effects that trigger only on a hit would apply. I would think that would make Crack Shot a bit better for those kinds of ordnance over just +1 damage on a primary attack.