ricope
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Posts posted by ricope
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13 hours ago, R5D8 said:You would probably be better off attempting to build against meta, however, "the meta" is pretty diverse right now. Jabba is strong, and you'll see him in a lot of lists, but his surrounding crew will vary wildly between Vinto, Rancor, Gamorreans, Shyla, etc. Jedi Luke is strong, and yes he'll likely have Obi-Wan at his side, but what else? Leia? eSabs for short range bombing? eAlliance Rangers for long range attacks? Alliance Smugglers for extra activations and interactions? Who knows?
Please do not take offense to this, but this makes you appear ... petulant? I know that was not your intent, but the way I read this is, "I'm not good enough to defeat that build, so you can't play it." Perhaps there is more going on. Perhaps your opponent is playing a build that you simply don't have the figures to go up against. Perhaps you're both limited in what figures you currently own (could always proxy I suppose at your home games).
No, I do not take offense to it. The way I noticed was that I specifically told my opponent to simply have fun and not lookup skirmish strategies online (nor do I). What I'm worried about is eventually we'll reach the equilibrium where we'd both be playing competitive tournament lists in order to beat each other, which is the main problem that I want to fix! I do not want to play competitive tournament lists at home
So the problem now is:
phase 1 - my opponent doesn't look up strategy & tournament meta lists online, I don't play killer lists (ex. Han + Chewie/Vader...)
phase 2 - my opponent starts picking up the game and notices "Hey these units are good!", I step up my game and no longer plays silly lists
(right now) phase 3 - my opponent is well-versed in all the rules, unit abilities, command card selections...well he's trying to beat me so he starts picking up meta lists (ex. Jedi Luke + eRangers) even without looking up lists online (I assume he's not lying to me). So now we're trying to beat each other and if he's playing competitive tournament lists, then I must also start playing competitive lists
I'm trying to move the "home meta" from phase 3 back to phase 1 or phase 2
TL;DR: I don't want to turn casual at-home skirmish into competitive tournament scene, will this bound to happen if I don't do anything? If yes, any suggestions on what can I do?
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Normally we talk about "the meta list(s)" when we're referring to competitive tournament scenes, as in those lists will do very well in those 3 skirmish map (and 6 skirmish mission) currently in rotation
BUT, is this also the case for any skirmish map? I'm not sure but my guts says no: the meta lists are well-suited for combat in those 3 skirmish maps, but might not do so well if we pick, say, Darth Vader's map or Wookiee Warrior's map. Yes the missions & deployment zones in those might not be exactly balanced, the point is they might be crushed by some other not-well-known lists in those mapsMy questions:
1. Would those "meta lists" perform equally well if we randomly pick a non-tournament map?
2. For those that never play competitive tournaments, should we care about tournament meta?
3. If given the choice, which one offers more randomization: construct list after map is chosen, or construct map after list is chosen? Which one would you prefer? I know in the tournament scene it's the latter case
The reason is because I never play tournaments, but I want to punish/discourage a specific build when we're playing at home. I want to make it such that understanding the current tournament meta lists will NOT help either of us -
1 hour ago, aRandomBoardGamingDude said:lol try it on Legendary with Gideon and Fenn you'll change your tune real quick
Which is why I (with my group's permission) told my group that choosing 3/4 heroes as Diala + Fenn + Gideon warrants me to either play cutthroat Subversive Tactics or go down REAL hard & adjust missions as I see fit (ex. mission says to bring out rProbe, I bring out eProbe)
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I'm not exactly sure if you meant what you said: are you playing as Rebel or Imperial? Heroes, allies, villains all have different meanings
1. I'm assuming you're Rebel: No, you choose the ally in the beginning of the mission, and they can never be redeployed (only Imp deploy/reinforce troops)
2. I'm assuming you're Imp: You spend influence to buy agenda cards, which you draw 4 in each upgrade stage. It's generally deemed to be unsportsmanlike and frowned upon for Imp to smack down a bazillion agenda cards in the finale
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9 minutes ago, Inquisitorsz said:OMG that's so annoying. We really didn't need extra book keeping.
What is the point of this rule? It makes zero sense.
And why bother making specific rules about going below zero if it's impossible to spend the VPs that can cause you to go below zero....
FFG need to lay off the LSD
I look it as the same ruling as Lando's map: you wouldn't be able to spend VPs from the "count as" pool, they're here only for the final scoring (40 VP)
Although I have to say unlike Lando, you can't actually lose VPs from Obi's map (in Lando you no longer have those "count as" if you no longer control it)
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47 minutes ago, Clutterbuck said:Thanks for your replies, everybody. I appreciate the advice on where to find "must have" commands like Negation (I hear Tough Luck is really good too). It is kind of a bummer that they put some of these in big box expansions. For that matter, it is a bummer that one might buy a 10 dollar Lando for a single card - but X-wing has you do the same thing. Are there any places online that sell single Command cards?
What I am gathering, though, is that competitive skirmish requires you to have the skirmish maps and tiles for a series of maps (is it three per rotation?). So the current three are in Bantha Rider, Agent Blaise, and Obi-Wan? Are the tiles for all three maps in the Bespin Gambit box, or do some of the tiles get found elsewhere? There are other maps available also, right, but they are not the current "Competitive" maps? And sooner or later the map selection will switch again? I've seen rumbling that Anchorhead will be coming in - where is that map found? Does it use Jabba's Realm tiles?
Unrelated question: are there any websites that compile squad lists from tournaments, kind of like how X-Wing has List Juggler?
Another unrelated question: Why is it that most players, if they post their list, tend to only post the figures they use? is it that command decks are obvious, super private, very personal, or some combination thereof? Or is it just a habit, like how X-Wing players often don't list their obstacles with their lists, even though obstacles are an important part of the game.
Apologies if my questions seem obvious or idiotic; I really am ignorant and am trying to figure things out. Thanks all!
Blaise skirmish map requires Bespin. Bantha & Obi-Wan only require tiles from Core
Anchorhead is from Obi-wan pack
Correct, they rotate out the oldest map so (I think) it's the Bantha one
People usually don't post command cards because they're either 1) private info or 2) fairly obvious. For example if you have a Rebel Ranger list you'd start off with Negation, Element of surprise, Grenadier or Reinforcement, probably those 2 that gives you extra MP, maybe throw in Squad swarm, assassinate...that's like 7/15 cards right there
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1 hour ago, Clutterbuck said:So, I have a core set. If I want to play Skirmish in a tournament, what else would I need to purchase? I recognize my Core Set squad won't win against anyone, but what do I actually HAVE TO have in addition to the Core Set?
Well, how competitive is your local scene, and what faction do you intend to play with? I'm assuming you want to sign up for FFG official tournaments (store/regional/national/world) and not just a casual game with some random stranger in your FLGS and they do not allow proxy figures/cards
You'll need Bantha, Obi-wan, Agent Blaise (pack) + Bespin (expansion) as the bare minimum for the instruction & map tiles to actually construct the 3 official skirmish maps in rotation
The rest depends on which faction do you actually want to play. Roughly speaking Rebels = big individual hitters, good synergy among figures. Imperial = raw firepower (ex. multi-figure eStorm), spies, flexible with movement (Imp Officer is still good even after nerf). Mercenary = dirty tricks, heavy melee/medium/long range shooters
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On 1/27/2017 at 9:04 PM, Warren1986 said:not played the game much, but from what I've played its very fun and I grasp most of the stuff but there are a few bits I'm not sure on.
1. How many elite deployment cards can I deploy/ have on the map as the imperial player, and if its more than one can it be more than one of the same figure/s, e.g. two deployments of elite stormtroopers. I understand how the rebels version work, that they can only have one ally active and that they can only use elites if they earned the same ally twice through rewards from missions.
2. When playing a campaign am I allowed to use ally/villain packs that came out with other expansions, e.g. can I use Agent Blaise and his agenda cards in the core campaign and other campaigns or is he restricted to the Bespin mini campaign.
3. I keep seeing in the rules about the imperial players hand and the cards that are in his hand, is there a limit to the amount of deployment cards the imperial player can hold including deployment cards earned through out the game.
Thank you
I'll assume you're talking about the Campaign mode:
1. However many physical cards the game/pack comes with it, unless explicitly specified. So you can field 2 rProbe + 1eProbe (have 3 probe droids) at the same time, but you cannot have 2 eStorm at the same time because Stormtrooper pack specifically said no. Follow this logic you can field: 1 Bantha, 1 rHeavy trooper + 1 eHeavy trooper, 1 rRoyal Guard + 1 eRoyal Guard.... Jabba is another special one, I don't have rulebook in front of me but something about 2 groups at once (so "1 rJet + 1eJet", or "2 rJet" but not "2rJet + 1eJet")
2. Yes as long as you win his respective mission. Note not all packs come with an agenda mission though (ex. ISB, Hired Gun, Bantha pack). In those packs you may field those figures as open groups without having to win any prereq missions
3. Deployment cards? No. Every mission will have initial + reserved + open groups & those deployment cards goes back into your hand once entire card/group is defeated, with the exception of unique figures (ex. Vader)
You might be thinking of Agenda cards: Jabba came with a new rule that says "Imp may only have 4 agenda cards, both secret and public, in place at the same time" to prevent Imp smacking down like 8 one-shot 1-influence nasty-surprise agenda cards in the finale, but I never play like that so ymmv
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4 hours ago, Le Jedi Fou said:I think it's not that obvious for me a1bert. Your logic is "You can push a mobile figure to a blocking space. If there's a figure in that blocking space then it's adjacent to you, problem solved".
The way I see it is the other way : I have to push that figure to an adjacent space. If that space is adjacent, THEN I can move that figure there. If that space is not adjacent (empty blocking terrain), then I can't move it there.
I think the confusion here is simply because "Blocking terrain blocks counting space and is only adj for the purpose of attacking"
Even though it's not officially said in the rulebook, I'm 99% confident the correct ruling should be along the lines of "can the target figure be legally placed there? Yes = you can move it, No = choose another space then". So you may place a eProbe on that tree since it's a legal spot for it to be, but you cannot whip a Stormie up to that tree
I agree with a1bert's logic, but feel free to send an inquiry for an official response
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22 minutes ago, Rimpy said:I'm not sure how to interpret "Merciless". The skill states: "Exhaust this card while attacking a figure who has suffered [damage]. Apply +3 [damage] to the attack results."
At first, I thought this meant that if your attack causes at least 1 damage, then you can add on +3. But then I saw Norgrath's comment in another thread about Merciless where he states: "The fact that anything Vinto can shoot probably already has a single point of damage on it makes it good." So I'm taking that to mean that the +3 damage is applied in any case when the figure already has at least one damage before the attack is declared.
So my question is: in the following two scenarios, which ones will trigger Merciless?
(1) A figure that has no damage when the attack is declared but is damaged during the attack
(2) A figure that already has damage when the attack is declared but is not damaged during the attack
Also, as a side comment to this thread, I'm surprised to see that Rapid Fire is favored over Merciless. They both seem really good, but Rapid Fire seems more situational. Merciless can almost always be used for 3 damage, whereas Rapid Fire requires you to have at least 3 hostile figures within 3 spaces to get 3 damage. (But of course the rerolls also add a lot of value to Rapid Fire too.) We're playing against an IM using the Mercenaries deck, so we're expecting a lot of high HP targets, which makes me lean towards Merciless over Rapid Fire as the first 4 XP choice.
If you look closely to the 7-steps of attack (found in RRG pg. 5), you'll see "apply modifiers" happen in step 4 but "apply damage" is resolved at the very end. So the figure must have already suffered at least 1 damage for you to trigger Merciless
Merciless is good against a "big bad wolf", and "Rapid Fire" is good against "many small minions". I can't count how many times my rHeavy survived and managed to shoot once because Rebels only did 5 damage, or having 2/3 of my rStorm at 2 damage (they only have 3HP each)
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Master Wang reacted to this -
5 hours ago, NathanBeitler said:Good call, there! I forgot about that new card. I doubt I'd spend the two influence to gain the opening shot, but that's definitely a strategy worth noting.
Note that card says "Imperial Group", so you can disrupt Rebel's plan if they have a badly damaged hero from previous round (planning to go first & double rest), and you slam that card down to give 3 attacks from nearby Stormies (basically you get a free activation from one of your deploy card, 3 Stormies each gets to move + shoot)
Very situational yes, but it's a pretty harsh surprise
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6 hours ago, DTDanix said:A Rebel activation would include allies too.
If they have 4 heroes and an ally, you could potentially use the card 4 times (maybe 5 if you can somehow shoot during the first Rebel activation like if they kill a hired gun).
or you know...you can shoot first
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The agenda missions are simply too expensive to be justifiable
Maybe if they cost 2 influence, but you still have to win them to get the reward I'd be tempted.
I'm not going to pay 3 or 4 influence for something I might just lose anyway.
They're easily justified if you think them as "denying a slot for Rebel side missions"
Also slash all wave 1's costing more than 10 by 4 (ATST = 10, Vader = 14, Han = 8, Chewie = 11...) to make it actually worthwhile, unless you're playing the new JR's Nemeses deck
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You have 0. There's a rule explicitly for that in the Jabba rulebook.
So I don't think you can use that reasoning to say you can't spend them.
I disagree with that logic, iirc JR's rulebook simply says you may not go below 0. Otherwise now we're talking about "yay! free VP" from Lando/Obi map even the wording specifically said "count as having X VP" rather than "gain X VP". I'm certain that's not how it's intended to play out
Try to pretend "count as having" as one single English word rather than "having" vs. "gain"
Might be a good idea to send an inquiry to FFG though, I'm happy to be corrected but I for now I'd stand with my original interpretation
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If you "count as having 2 points", doesn't that mean you have 2 points?
Was there something that said you can't spend those points?
I don't remember reading anything about there being a difference between "have" and "gain".
well, (using same example as before) say we're playing on Lando's map
I control the relic with a rStorm, I "count as having 6VP" now
I spend 2VP for Jabba
You killed my rStorm, I no longer "count as having 6VP"
how much VP do I have? 0? -2?
Hence I conclude you cannot spend VPs from those "count as have" pool, they're used for score-counting purposes only
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No, I don't have official rulings, I arrived at that conclusion simply by its wordings in which you may not spend VPs from "count as having"
Otherwise, how would you deal with this case?
Mission rule: A player that controls the patron count as having an additional 5VP
I control it with a rStormie
I spend 2VP with Jabba
You then killed my rStormie, I no longer control it
The explanation that makes the most sense to me is you flat out may not spend them
That is not how this mission works. There is no mechanism for you to lose the patron VPs. You only need control of the Patron to be able to interact with them - doing so places the token on the Patron. From that point forward that token will remain on the Patron until end of game.
The reason they state the rule the way they do is because the amount of VPs you get scales as you gain more Patrons. This is needed because there isn't anything that prevents you from putting multiple tokens on a single patron, but they only want you to gain points for each patron that has at least 1 token (there is no point in putting a 2nd token on a patron).
I can see why you would argue that, since there's no way to lose those "count as having" VPs
But still there's difference between the two, say Darth Vader's map - Leave no evidence ("to gain 6 VP") vs. Lando's map - Priceless relics ("count as having an additional 6 VP")
For this map though I'd rule it as "You may not use Jabba to spend 2VP from your "count as having VP" pool". So you cannot use Order Hit just because you got 1 patron, but of course once you killed some dudes you can just say "I'll spend the 2VP from my "gained VP" pool"
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Okay, so I still don't understand the phrasing "count as having VP." If you count as having that VP, can you spend it with Jabba for an ordered hit?
I'm helping to run a local tournament tomorrow and we wanted to use this map, so it would help if they put out the FAQ already.
-ryanjamal
From what I understand, "count as having VP" is simply a way of saying "temporarily, pretend it counts towards your score". Remember the game ends immediately once any player's got 40VP? That's what it's used for
But "pretend it counts towards your score" is not the same as "you actually have it and cannot lose it". So no you cannot spend it with Jabba since you do not actually have the VP
Where did you get this from? Any official ruling?
I don't see anything in the rules that suggest you cannot spend those VPs.
No, I don't have official rulings, I arrived at that conclusion simply by its wordings in which you may not spend VPs from "count as having"
Otherwise, how would you deal with this case?
Mission rule: A player that controls the patron count as having an additional 5VP
I control it with a rStormie
I spend 2VP with Jabba
You then killed my rStormie, I no longer control it
The explanation that makes the most sense to me is you flat out may not spend them
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Okay, so I still don't understand the phrasing "count as having VP." If you count as having that VP, can you spend it with Jabba for an ordered hit?
I'm helping to run a local tournament tomorrow and we wanted to use this map, so it would help if they put out the FAQ already.
-ryanjamal
From what I understand, "count as having VP" is simply a way of saying "temporarily, pretend it counts towards your score". Remember the game ends immediately once any player's got 40VP? That's what it's used for
But "pretend it counts towards your score" is not the same as "you actually have it and cannot lose it". So no you cannot spend it with Jabba since you do not actually have the VP
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I'm confused, are you saying you cheat to punish min-maxers?Campaign is much more fun imo if you don't always play by the book, it allows me to heavily punish min-maxers + adjust mission difficulty + potentially make up my own stories on the fly
Well it's not cheating if it's accepted by the group. That's why I said to make sure your Rebel players are fine with it, otherwise yeah it's cheating
I'd much prefer to play with a dynamic difficulty (both as Rebel and Imperial player) than playing unbalanced missions and getting stomped (as Rebel and Imperial). Some examples includes A New Threat, Fly Solo, High Moon, Target of opportunity, Desperate Hour. I'd consider these as borderline broken/unwinnable
Mission spoilers for High Moon to show what I'm talking about:
Jyn activate, strain-move twice. First action activate comlink to call out Szark
Jyn tests insight/eyeball, pass. Shoots Szark (attack #1)
Jyn use 2nd action to shoot Szark (attack #2)
Szark is now heavily damaged. As Imperial I can
- activate Szark, Jyn quickdraws (attack #3)
- activate someone else. Another Rebel moves up, ex. Gaarkhan move + charge, or Fenn with Superior Positioning (attack #3)
Game over in round 1, 2nd activation
What I changed: upgrade all troops to elite, remove the free shot #2, apply 3x bonus HP (vs. original's 2x threat level), plus I happened to have Restorative Supplies, only then it came down to last dice roll
Besides, if I notice you're going for min-max build (ex. Gideon Diala Fenn Gaark are all going for optimal build), then there's really no point of me playing because I know I'll get stomped, and we'd be playing as "who can come up with the most optimal strategy" rather than "let's have a good time playing as Star Wars heroes". Each one to their own taste (maybe all of you like to play competitively) but I don't find that fun: leave the competitive/cutthroat play to skirmish mode, campaign is about story-telling
FrogTrigger reacted to this -
What would I do if I were you:
play "A New Threat" by the book and go really cutthroat, just to punch the Rebels in the face and let them know the might of Galactic Empire
After that, ask if your Rebels wants to play "thematically" or "not always play by book". Unless it's your first campaign as Imperial you'll usually have a pretty good sense of how to balance it out/which mission to change, but make sure to run it through your Rebel players & everyone agrees
Campaign is much more fun imo if you don't always play by the book, it allows me to heavily punish min-maxers + adjust mission difficulty + potentially make up my own stories on the fly
bottom line: it's much easier to be powerful then go easy on Rebels, than being stomped by Rebels then trying to come back
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"playing strictly by the books" means that you guys are doing exactly what the campaign guide says (ex. book says to bring out eStorm once this door opens, you bring out eStorm once it opens). Some missions are ridiculously hard/borderline impossible to win as Imperial/Rebel if you play by the book, and your next mission "A New Threat" is one of them
it sounds like you're going the droid route (the other route would be trooper). I'd say don't worry about it, try to win "A New Threat" (you shouldn't have too much trouble). Right now you have 3xp (2 mission = 2, houserule +1) - 1 = 2xp left. Win it and you'll have 4xp then get one of those 3/4xp ones
As a side note: iirc the houserule xp bonus is supposed to be "lose 3 mission in a row" or "lose 2 story mission in a row", not just any "lose 2 mission in a row", because the winner gets an extra +1 xp for winning Story missions (except Aftermath)
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I'm not too familiar with TechSup deck, have you bought anything yet? I've heard some good stuff about TS's 3xp and 4xp cards
Don't worry about losing too much, if you guys are playing strictly by the books, they'll most likely be crushed next mission
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Well, as the Rebels you probably shouldn't have any insider info about the mission. Play smart- user your abilities to achieve your objectives while taking down some Imperials along the way.
Try to stay alive.
I'd say Desperate Hour is the most imbalanced mission I've ever played, he needs some insider information to even have a chance to put up a fight (even that I didn't say "chance to win", I said "to put up a fight")
Normally we would consider "wound all 4 on last dice roll" as "balanced". Desperate Hour I've killed off (i.e. withdraw) 3/4 heroes without even thinking
Question about Hoth- The Last Line - Spoilers
in Imperial Assault Rules Questions
Posted
Didn't play Hoth yet so I'm not sure, why did he screw up the reinforcement wave? Where did the "10 the first time and 8 the second" come from?
Wave 1: 10pts, 2 cards
Wave 2: 10pts, 1 card
Wave 3: 3pts, 1 card
Total deployment cost of all 3 wave = 23