In my previous blog I discussed my thoughts on Nymranda, and my preparation (ha,ha) for the UK Regional season. I’ve been trying to keep up with the changes the last wave of ships brought upon us, and the general feeling was not great. So when the new FAQ (found here) dropped it was pleasing to see that FFG had reacted to one of the moaned about actions (the interaction between “Genius” and “Trajectory Simulator) by disallowing it. They also clarified the “does TLT trigger the Harpooned condition” to say that a naturally rolled “Crit” with a TLT does trigger the Condition. This still makes the Combo of TLT and Harpoons in a list quite intimidating.
So Wednesday night means X-wing night at ibuywargames in Woking. I have been planning my Nymranda counter lists, based on the premise of either Alpha-Striking at PS11 or action denial, or even better a combination of the two!
“33” 98 points
Poe Dameron (PS9 Version) [Black One, BB-8, Advanced Optics, Veteran Instincts, Autothrusters] (41)
Wedge Antilles [Flight-Assist Astromech, Veteran Instincts, Integrated Astromech] (31)
Fenn Rau [Veteran Instincts, Hotshot Co-pilot, R2 Astromech] (26)
Everyone at PS11, Poe removing Target Locks, Fenn removing Focus, locking other tokens, and Wedge hitting like a brick.
I’ve toyed with other versions, with Fenn with the stress bot, and gunner, or R2-D2 on Poe for regen, but this I think gives an all round depth.
“GHOST & 2 PHANTOMS” 100 points
Kanan Jarrus [Ghost, Sensor Jammer, Twin Laser Turret, Jyn Erso, Rey, Engine Upgrade] (56)
Fenn Rau [Veteran Instincts, Hotshot Co-pilot, Flight-Assist Astromech] (26)
“Zeb” Orrelios [“Chopper”, Phantom] (18)
Again there are options – I think the R2 droid on Fenn may get better usage, but the ability for a cheeky boost after moving to get a target is great. The ability to co-ordinate the Ghost to allow it to take a second action is great, either to take a cheeky evade or to boost into range one for a brutal attack. Also the power of the 2nd TLT allowed by the docked Phantom is not to be underestimated with the number of low agility ships out there.
So I unpacked my first list and realised I had not got a T-70 dial with me, so ended up using the 2nd list for 3 games.
I apologise now to my opponents – I am lousy with names, but remembered to take a copy of their lists. So in no particular order …..
Opponent 1
Norra Wexley (Title, Engine Upgrade, PTL, R2-D2, Rey, Seismic Torp)
Captain Nym (Title, Eng Upgrade, VI, TLT, Bomblet, Homing Missile, Extra Munitions, Accuracy Corrector)
Not the usual Nym build, but quite effective, and Norra with Rey gives the Arc quite a kick. Nym was outmanoeuvred and my opponent forgot to drop bombs a couple of times, which was unfortunate. The Ghost was able to boost into range 1 for the kill shot and then Norra was next. The Seismic torpedo was effective in taking out an obstacle and splashing damage onto Fenn, but the Ghost proved too much for the low agility Rebels.
Opponent 2
Vader (Predator, Eng Up, ATComp,TieX1, Cruise Missile)
Chirenau (Gunner, VI, EngUp, RebCap)
The Rear Admiral is the weak link in this list, to my mind. The lack of green dice means that the Ghost can poke away with the TLT and do pretty much guaranteed 4 damage a turn, and with the Evade and Kanans ability mitigate a couple of hits a turn in defence. The RebCap is an irritation but the stress is going to be on Fenn and he has about enough green to be able to shake it. Once the Decimator had been deflated, Vader, who was slippery, couldn’t keep a bead on my ships long enough to avoid the return fire.
Opponent 3
Norra (Title, Chopper(Crew), R2D2(Astromech), Vectored Thrusters, PTL)
Miranda Doni (Sabine, Bomblet, LRS, TLT)
Ezra (Sheathipede) (Snap Shot, Hera, R3-A2)
Here the PS advantage on Fenn gave a huge advantage against this list. Allowing Fenn to have a shot and remove the focus token, and then to restrict the use of any other tokens caused problems, and unfortunately for my opponent his ships arrived pretty much one at a time into combat, which allowed the TLT to wreak much damage on the low agility ships.
Overall it was a good evening for my list. However I didn’t play an Aces list, and I didn’t play against Nymranda, which was the point of the exercise!
So I am back to ibuywargames tomorrow. I have packed a T70 dial, and I have some list ‘tweaks’. First is swapping an R2 unit in for the flight assist droid on Fenn, and then changing the Ghost down to a Lothal Rebel and swapping the Crew for Ezra and Maul. This gives a massive 1 point initiative bid. Not convinced of the value of that, but we shall see.
The other option is putting the stress bot on Fenn and putting gunner as crew, as I think stress loading the enemy could be fun too!
I’ll keep you posted !
TTFN
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