Which is the Better Norra?

[j_man_04 944]

I'm trying to decide which one of these Norra builds will work best alongside my Ghost/Shuttle:

Norra Wexley (41) - ARC-170
Expertise (4), Tail Gunner (2), R2-D2 (4), Alliance Overhaul (0), Vectored Thrusters (2)

OR:

Norra Wexley (41) - ARC-170
Push The Limit (3), Ezra Bridger (3), R2-D2 (4), Alliance Overhaul (0), Vectored Thrusters (2)

 

Norra1 Pros: I don't have to stress myself to trigger the focus/target lock combo. I get better use out of the rear arc. Cons: I don't get two actions.

Norra2 Pros: Since I'll PTL focus/target lock often, Ezra gets me a crit most turns. I can PTL to focus or target lock and then barrel roll if needed, to better position myself without losing a dice-modifying action. Cons: I'll be stressed a lot which makes flying more predictable. Won't get full use out of the auxiliary arc compared to Norra1.

Any thoughts/suggestions are appreciated!

 

 

 

[jmswood 2,706]

Expertise Norra is interesting, but lacking. Norra needs a TL, and with only one action she doesn't get the TL on any round you Barrel Roll or Focus. Expertise Norra can work, but you have to fly conservatively.

You can be a lot more agressive with PtL. For three points, I like Kyle Katarn better than Ezra.

 

[j_man_04 944]

11 minutes ago, jmswood said:

Expertise Norra is interesting, but lacking. Norra needs a TL, and with only one action she doesn't get the TL on any round you Barrel Roll or Focus. Expertise Norra can work, but you have to fly conservatively.

You can be a lot more agressive with PtL. For three points, I like Kyle Katarn better than Ezra.

 

2

Ah, I get it. With Kyle, I can do a green maneuver, shred the stress, get a focus token, regen a shield, do a TL action, then PTL barrel roll if needed. Maximize all three actions in one turn. I like it.

I would start the game conservative with Norra since the Ghost is the big hitter until it goes down, but I may need the agessiveness of a PTL Norra for the end-game.

[Cgriffith 886]

Personally my go to Norra Build is:

Alliance Overhaul, Push the Limit, Vectored Thrusters, C-3PO, R2D2

But of the choices your considering I would choose option #2 PtL allows you as @jmswood has already said be more aggressive with the ship and the action economy; Also Kyle giving you the focus after removing the stress from the green (which also would trigger R2D2) it has more synergy. Ezra is situational and I think the title already is good enough to deliver the needed crit in those special instances.

[j_man_04 944]

6 minutes ago, Cgriffith said:

Personally my go to Norra Build is:

Alliance Overhaul, Push the Limit, Vectored Thrusters, C-3PO, R2D2

But of the choices your considering I would choose option #2 PtL allows you as @jmswood has already said be more aggressive with the ship and the action economy; Also Kyle giving you the focus after removing the stress from the green (which also would trigger R2D2) it has more synergy. Ezra is situational and I think the title already is good enough to deliver the needed crit in those special instances.

 

Thanks, yall. I think Kyle makes most sense. I like the idea of C3PO, but don't have the card and I'm not sure if I'll be able to borrow it (maybe could). Here's the full list I'm prepping for a tournament: 

Lothal Rebel (41) - VCX-100
Fire Control System (2), Dorsal Turret (3), Hera Syndulla (1), "Chopper" (0), Ghost (0)

"Zeb" Orrelios (18) - Attack Shuttle

Norra Wexley (41) - ARC-170
Push The Limit (3), Kyle Katarn (3), R2-D2 (4), Alliance Overhaul (0), Vectored Thrusters (2)

[gennataos 5,873]

I like the aggressive PtL Norra for a Ghost wingman.  I was just going to ask what your list looked like, and that's the exact list I was thinking it'd be.  

[Cgriffith 886]

4 minutes ago, jwilliamson12 said:

Thanks, yall. I think Kyle makes most sense. I like the idea of C3PO, but don't have the card and I'm not sure if I'll be able to borrow it (maybe could). Here's the full list I'm prepping for a tournament: 

Lothal Rebel (41) - VCX-100
Fire Control System (2), Dorsal Turret (3), Hera Syndulla (1), "Chopper" (0), Ghost (0)

"Zeb" Orrelios (18) - Attack Shuttle

Norra Wexley (41) - ARC-170
Push The Limit (3), Kyle Katarn (3), R2-D2 (4), Alliance Overhaul (0), Vectored Thrusters (2)

Are you able to proxy C-3PO ? is this going to be used at a tournament, or for casual to start. If you want to borrow C-3PO/or even proxy him I'm sure the gaming community wouldn't mind. As or the list I like it. I assume the Phantom is docked with Zeb correct?

[j_man_04 944]

Just now, gennataos said:

I like the aggressive PtL Norra for a Ghost wingman.  I was just going to ask what your list looked like, and that's the exact list I was thinking it'd be.  

I'm not surprised, considering you and I seem to have the same approaches to this game (like our Snap Shot A-Wing discussion).  I may have shared this list once, as well.

I tested putting the autoblaster turret on the Ghost. It did keep ships out of range 1, but it vastly reduced my ability to make use out of the docked shuttle. May have used it once per game.

[j_man_04 944]

Just now, Cgriffith said:

Are you able to proxy C-3PO ? is this going to be used at a tournament, or for casual to start. If you want to borrow C-3PO/or even proxy him I'm sure the gaming community wouldn't mind. As or the list I like it. I assume the Phantom is docked with Zeb correct?

 

Yeah, I'm sure I could proxy it. There is an upcoming tournament, so I would have to know I would be able to borrow it.

Yes, Zeb will be docked to the Ghost for the better part of the game, until the Ghost goes bye-bye. Love having the rear arc + end of combat turret + FCS. Deadly if you're caught Range 1.

[gennataos 5,873]

2 minutes ago, jwilliamson12 said:

I'm not surprised, considering you and I seem to have the same approaches to this game (like our Snap Shot A-Wing discussion).  I may have shared this list once, as well.

I tested putting the autoblaster turret on the Ghost. It did keep ships out of range 1, but it vastly reduced my ability to make use out of the docked shuttle. May have used it once per game.

I'm going down that dark Snap Shot path again.  My Shara list was an attempt to reduce the variance with Snap Shot, so I don't know why I think no variance reduction will do any good, lol!  I think it'll play out like JaceDK said...if the dice are rolling well, it'll do well.  If they're rolling crap, it'll burst into flames quickly.

I like the Dorsal Turret.  People will probably try to avoid it just as much at the AB turret...it's certainly not a safe place to be.  Norra can bring the thunder and I'd be surprised if any opponent tried to focus her before the Ghost.  I'm trying to figure out if I like this Ghost over Expertise Rey I usually run with Rey.

[j_man_04 944]

1 minute ago, gennataos said:

I'm going down that dark Snap Shot path again.  My Shara list was an attempt to reduce the variance with Snap Shot, so I don't know why I think no variance reduction will do any good, lol!  I think it'll play out like JaceDK said...if the dice are rolling well, it'll do well.  If they're rolling crap, it'll burst into flames quickly.

I like the Dorsal Turret.  People will probably try to avoid it just as much at the AB turret...it's certainly not a safe place to be.  Norra can bring the thunder and I'd be surprised if any opponent tried to focus her before the Ghost.  I'm trying to figure out if I like this Ghost over Expertise Rey I usually run with Rey.

 

I've had a ton of success with it. It's costly, (59 points if you count the shuttle) but you open up a wide range of attack possibilities, and you get a nice little maneuverable ship to chase down wounded opponents at the end of the game. With Hera, I can do any move I want to, and I rarely care about stress because of the FCS. I've learned to not even bother with the evade, unless I'm at range 3 and don't have a good return shot.

So far, everyone has gone for the Ghost instead of Norra. If that changes, I'll have some fun lining up the rear arcs on both ships. Fly them in different directions away from another and I'll be sure to get ships caught in-between them.

The biggest problem this list has is going up aginst two other heavy-hitters that can take down the Ghost quickly, or probably an Interceptor Swarm that pick it apart at Range 3 while dodging almost everything it throws at them.

[StriderZessei 948]

7 hours ago, Cgriffith said:

Personally my go to Norra Build is:

Alliance Overhaul, Push the Limit, Vectored Thrusters, C-3PO, R2D2

But of the choices your considering I would choose option #2 PtL allows you as @jmswood has already said be more aggressive with the ship and the action economy; Also Kyle giving you the focus after removing the stress from the green (which also would trigger R2D2) it has more synergy. Ezra is situational and I think the title already is good enough to deliver the needed crit in those special instances.

This. I can't upvote any more today, but R2-3PO is great for lategame Norra.

[Karhedron 1,865]

15 hours ago, Cgriffith said:

Alliance Overhaul, Push the Limit, Vectored Thrusters, C-3PO, R2D2

A good choice. Personally I like adding a more aggressive crew such as Tailgunner but that is because I run Biggs to keep some of the heat off Norra early on. If you don't have Biggs then your build is great.

I am not a fan of Ezra because quite often I find I roll a Focus naturally meaning that I want a Focus token to flip multiple Focus results to hits more than I want to flip a single one to a Crit. For this reason, I would choose Kyle over Ezra (although I still prefer Tailgunner generally I think).

[shakaumruk 19]

this is my favourit:

Alliance Overhaul, expertise, Vectored Thrusters, C-3PO, R2D2

dont need to make stress to activate the TL + focus combo.  barrell is not primary and you can dont take it if necessary

 

[dada 0]

My standard Norra is:

Norra Wexley (38) - ARC-170
Push The Limit (3), Ezra Bridger (3), R2-Astromech(1), Alliance Overhaul (0), Vectored Thrusters (2)

3points cheaper than you and greens are very useful for using the rear arc . Use BR to avoid being shooted

[j_man_04 944]

39 minutes ago, dada said:

My standard Norra is:

Norra Wexley (38) - ARC-170
Push The Limit (3), Ezra Bridger (3), R2-Astromech(1), Alliance Overhaul (0), Vectored Thrusters (2)

3points cheaper than you and greens are very useful for using the rear arc . Use BR to avoid being shooted

I like this Norra fine, but it's lacking regen/defensive abilities that I will need with the particular combo I'm running. The Ghost will only last 3-5 rounds, then all the focus goes to Norra.

With the particular list I'm running, I'm not sure those three points help me much. I could throw a Dorsal on the Attack Shuttle maybe.

[j_man_04 944]

12 hours ago, StriderZessei said:

This. I can't upvote any more today, but R2-3PO is great for lategame Norra.

Let me make sure I understand 3PO right: Norra has one agility, so naturally I'll guess I roll no evade results (which is  the most likely result). If I roll a blank or eyeball, I can add an evade. If I roll an evade, I don't add any more dice. It's just ensuring at least once per round, I roll an evade? 

 

[Karhedron 1,865]

3 minutes ago, jwilliamson12 said:

Let me make sure I understand 3PO right: Norra has one agility, so naturally I'll guess I roll no evade results (which is  the most likely result). If I roll a blank or eyeball, I can add an evade. If I roll an evade, I don't add any more dice. It's just ensuring at least once per round, I roll an evade? 

That's right. Combine it with R2-D2 and you can effectively negate a guaranteed 2 points of damage per turn. Now factor in Norra's ability to turn a TL into a Focus and then an Evade on the defense and you can now ignore 3 points of damage per turn.

That means if you can Norra keep alive early on and reach a point in the game where it is just her vs an enemy ship, there is no way for the enemy to win unless they are rolling 4+ red dice. This is what makes Norra such a potent end-game-piece. She is virtually impossible to kill 1-on-1 in this configuration.

Even if you opponent gets up close and manages to push through all that, you have the option of breaking off an using R2-D2 to regenerate for a turn or two (although admittedly this is tricky with the ARC's slow dial).

Edited March 8, 2017 by Karhedron

[Cgriffith 886]

7 minutes ago, jwilliamson12 said:

Let me make sure I understand 3PO right: Norra has one agility, so naturally I'll guess I roll no evade results (which is  the most likely result). If I roll a blank or eyeball, I can add an evade. If I roll an evade, I don't add any more dice. It's just ensuring at least once per round, I roll an evade? 

 

You also need to consider Norra's pilot ability into the situation.

So let's start by Pushing the Limit:

You have Focus, Target Lock and C-3PO

1. You guess no evades with C3PO (roll an <eyeball> is ideal) 1 evade

2. Get the second evade because C3PO blanked persay 2 evades

3. Spend the Target Lock to get the 3rd evade, after changing the focuses to evades.

And the best part is R2D2 regens the shields you don't regain and while regening you can fire out the aux firning arc. 

 

@Karhedron ninja'd

Edited March 8, 2017 by Cgriffith

[gennataos 5,873]

6 minutes ago, Cgriffith said:

You also need to consider Norra's pilot ability into the situation.

So let's start by Pushing the Limit:

You have Focus, Target Lock and C-3PO

1. You guess no evades with C3PO (roll an <eyeball> is ideal) 1 evade

2. Get the second evade because C3PO blanked persay 2 evades

3. Spend the Target Lock to get the 3rd evade, after changing the focuses to evades.

And the best part is R2D2 regens the shields you don't regain and while regening you can fire out the aux firning arc. 

I got a little lost between step 1 and 2.  How would Norran get that second evade?  If you roll one, you keep it and C-3PO does nothing.  If you roll blank or focus, C-3PO triggers and you get one evade.  Any other evade results would come from using a focus token, right?

[Cgriffith 886]

1 minute ago, gennataos said:

I got a little lost between step 1 and 2.  How would Norran get that second evade?  If you roll one, you keep it and C-3PO does nothing.  If you roll blank or focus, C-3PO triggers and you get one evade.  Any other evade results would come from using a focus token, right?

It would come from the focus rolled from C3PO perferrably.

So you would roll (C3PO guess) a <focus>, TL for <focus> then spend the focus to add two evades to the evade gained by C3PO 

[gennataos 5,873]

Just now, Cgriffith said:

It would come from the focus rolled from C3PO perferrably.

So you would roll (C3PO guess) a <focus>, TL for <focus> then spend the focus to add two evades to the evade gained by C3PO 

Ah, okay...I was thinking that was what you meant, just wondered if there was a natural Evade I was missing.

[Karhedron 1,865]

Just personally I don't favour Ezra that much on Norra because of his interaction with the AO title. You can already flip a Focus from the rear arc when rolling less dice so you don't tend to need the extra help. From the Front, I often have 2+ dice I want to flip so I need to spend a token as using Ezra would only flip one dice.

Kyle is only marginally better because it can be a struggle to spend a second Focus token. With just one Green dice, Norra will only be able to spend a Focus defensively on one in four attacks. KK is handy if you want to TL, BR and Focus all in the same turn but I am not convinced.

Tailgunner provides a solid bonus against anything except the Ghost or Decimator when shooting out of your rear arc (which I find is more often than my front arc with Norra). C-3PO makes her very hard to kill, particularly in the end game. For me, the choice of crew comes down to Biggs. If I have Biggs on my list, Norra gets a tailgunner. If the Stache is not flying, she gets Goldenrod instead.

Edited March 8, 2017 by Karhedron

[Cgriffith 886]

3 hours ago, gennataos said:

Ah, okay...I was thinking that was what you meant, just wondered if there was a natural Evade I was missing.

No natural evade. That's why the ideal C3PO roll is an eyeball <focus> so that it can be flipped. This is another reason PTL is so important because you can Focus + Target Lock 

Edited March 8, 2017 by Cgriffith

[j_man_04 944]

1 hour ago, Karhedron said:

Just personally I don't favour Ezra that much on Norra because of his interaction with the AO title. You can already flip a Focus from the rear arc when rolling less dice so you don't tend to need the extra help. From the Front, I often have 2+ dice I want to flip so I need to spend a token as using Ezra would only flip one dice.

Kyle is only marginally better because it can be a struggle to spend a second Focus token. With just one Green dice, Norra will only be able to spend a Focus defensively on one in four attacks. KK is handy if you want to TL, BR and Focus all in the same turn but I am not convinced.

Tailgunner provides a solid bonus against anything except the Ghost or Decimator when shooting out of your rear arc (which I find is more often than my front arc with Norra). C-3PO makes her very hard to kill, particularly in the end game. For me, the choice of crew comes down to Biggs. If I have Biggs on my list, Norra gets a tailgunner. If the Stache is not flying, she gets Goldenrod instead.

 

Yeah, you guys have convinced me I need to get my hands on a C3PO, especially with it being a tournament, and I will definitely need Norra for the end-game.

Plus, there's a nostalgia factor of piloting a ship with C3PO and R2D2 at the same time...