X-wing: Trondheim Hyperspace Trials 2019

Me on the right, Arild (winner) on left.

This weekend I went to my third big X-wing 2.0 tournament (the first was a Regionals just days after 2.0 hit, the second was Nordics 2018 in October). For once there was no travel involved, as it took place in Trondheim.

For the record I was 4th in Swiss and 2nd in tournament.

There was 30-something players. Some local, some from other parts of Norway (Oslo and Bergen), but also from Sweden, including some really good players who had traveled a long way.

Technically it was a Hyperspace Trial. Unofficially also the Norwegian Championship (under the old structure the Nordic countries share a nationals - not sure what nationals are called now).

Trondheim Hyperspace Trials (199)

Wedge Antilles — T-65 X-Wing 52

Proton Torpedoes 12

R2 Astromech 4

Servomotor S-Foils 0

Ship Total: 68

Half Points: 34 Threshold: 3

 

Luke Skywalker — T-65 X-Wing 62

Instinctive Aim 2

Proton Torpedoes 12

R2 Astromech 4

Servomotor S-Foils 0

Ship Total: 80

Half Points: 40 Threshold: 3

 

Cassian Andor — UT-60D U-Wing 47

Leia Organa 2

Tactical Officer 2

Pivot Wing 0

Ship Total: 51

Half Points: 26 Threshold: 4

I've been playing a bit of different things on Vassal since the new year started, including a good deal of Resistance and more recently Separatists. But I don't have any IRL Resistance ships, and my droids had not yet arrived, so I went with Rebels again. I really like Rebels, esp X-wings, and I think they are in a good place ATM.

So after som testing I went back to my staple Wedge + Luke. I saw a LOT of Wedges (but met only 1), but not a lot of Lukes this time around. Wedge is super-good, but he tends to draw a LOT of fire and die quick. But if you also have Luke, Luke can more effectively "tank" than Wedge, especially at long range. So I feel they pair very well. 

Both with torpedoes. Yes, protons are 12 points, which is expensive. Actually, I think they are overcosted a good bit now. 9 was about right. Except not on Luke and Wedge. A double mod Wedge (Cassian coordinate) with protons at r3 is just murder. And Luke can double-mod himself. I know he's "only" I5 and my bid is low, but not every lists is hi-bid 5+6 aces. Quite the contrary. Lots of stuff for Luke to torp.

Torps are also nice bc you can fly with wings closed more, and not worry about the -1 red. This can be really important sometimes, especially in the opening engagement, where you might want to coordinate-boost/barrel with Cassian to effectively make Luke or Wedge have supernatural reflexes for 2 points. Several of my opponents overlooked this option and paid for it.

Finally torps means you have 4 reds at all ranges. R1 you just shoot normal guns. R2-3 its torpedoes. And you get to deny the range 3 bonus a LOT.

Basically: Tops are now overpriced, don't take them on anyone except Wedge or Luke (well, Redline too, but he's not Rebel). Also, just 1 torps feels... a little weak. Two can kill most things.

I put R2 on both. I've come to love this 4-point card. It give you so many options. No shot? Get a shield back, live longer. Endgame? Deny half points by regen. But also because it makes opponent less sure what you will do. If he sees R2, he cannot know if a wounded ship will try to get a money shot - or evade arcs and regen. Add Cassian/Coordinate + Leia for even more mind games.

Luke got Instinctive Aim. I'm probably the only one who ever uses this card. But the reasoning is my bid is so low anyway, so going from 197 to 199 doesn't matter. Well, not much anyway. Actually I was going to put crack on Wedge, but this got left out for some reason.

The point is that shooting a torp for 1 Force without lock rerolls isn't super good. But you do this when Luke has focus. Or maybe he took a Focus-boost to get into r3 of something. His foils are closed, but he still gets 4 reds and denies the r3 bonus, and he has the focus - and 1 force remaining too. That's not half bad against an unprepared opponent.

I got some use out of it. Not a lot, but it did some work, and I think it was an OK addition. I also managed to forget it on a few occasions where it might have been useful. When it came to the final, I would have had the bid on Arild 197 to 198 if I hadn't taken Instinctive Aim. 

Arild claims that helped him, like a LOT... that it let his Soontir survive a good while and do good damage but I'm not entirely convinced. That Soontir has HYPERAGGRO and flew right into my 3 ships ALONE, because I was 1st player. Which eventually let me trap and kill him. If HE had been 1st player, his Fel would have run, then come late to the party, and never been shot at while finishing my wounded ships. 

But OK, having the bid would probably not have HURT. I'm just thinking my opponent undervalues his own skills and fails to see how the game would have proceeded very differently if he was 1st player and not me. This was the case the last time I played vs that exact list. Then I had the bid, he was 1st, caused me to bump a lot, and made me generally feel like a fool, winning 200-30. I think Arild may have forgotten that :-)

If you look at my posts from Nordics, you can see my list looks a lot like it did back then. But that was extended, and Norra isn't allowed to bring her ARC in Hyperspace. I've tried Norra in the Y-wing, but it's just not my cup of tea. I want her in the ARC with Intimidation and Zeb. With that out of question I picked up the U-wing.

The ships isn't that impressive. Pretty standard 3/2, decent 5/3, but with a Medium base (fat target) and with a maneuver dial from hell. The red stop + Leia is the reason it's worth even considering. That and the 2 crew slots + red coordinate, which lets you take both Leia AND Tac officer.

With Leia at 2 points you almost HAVE to bring her. I do think it's easy to fall into a tactical trap where you plan to overly rely on her, like setting up all ships for a red maneuver on the same round, which can be good, but also very predictable. But just having her there, for 2 points, to make the U-wing stand still AND get an action? Or make only 1 X-wing flip around with a red and get an action? Just having a Leia with charges active... or becoming active THE NEXT ROUND... it requires extra planning for opponent. Mind games lol.

She's so useful for those 2 points. I actually did consider her back when I first started playing, but she was just too expensive. Now she feels really good. She'll probably go up a bit in price, and no one will use her anymore, which will be a great shame. She's just good, but not mandatory or overpowered.

The only other upgrade on the U-wing is Tac Officer. That's not an auto-include IMO. It's only included if you plan to fly the ship in support early on, where it will need to coordinate repeatedly. And my U-wing does, so tac officer it is.

I've opted to run Cassian instead of the cheaper Blue or Partisan Renegade. I do this because I like his 3 skill. That means he gets to shoot at generics and can I-kill them, or even get returns shots on the I3 ones. I3 is still pretty good for blocking, esp for a ship that can stop and spin. But most of all because Cassian's ability is AMAZING. Range 3 is HUGE (and bc of coordinate needs you will almost always be in range to begin with). 

During engegement he can shed a stress from a focus-boost, for example. Later on he can also get rid of a stress for an X-wing flipping around. Especially in an endgame with Luke this is just too good to pass over. Leia is only every 3 rounds, but Cass can quickly pass a lock to Luke, who can then effectively take a red maneuver every round, and still have double mods.

Since he triggers start of activation and is I3, he can remove a stress, then coordinate boost/barrel to resposition. I've mentioned this combo already, but it's worth mentioning again because of the excellent timing. You opponent has already set his dials, maybe accounting for Cassian, maybe not.

The list aims to pack the maximum firepower into two X-wings, and make sure they survive long enough to maim and kill the bulk of the enemy fleet during the opening engagement. It uses torpedoes to control the opening engagement. By the time the dust has settled, Wedge might be gone, but so is most of your fleet, and what remains can't handle Cassian + Luke (or Wedge if Luke bought the farm).

But it's not THAT simple. It's a list that can deploy on the back edge in almost any position, then quickly reposition to another part of the table. Where Cassain deploys means NOTHING to the U-wing. It can spin. Or stay in place for 2 rounds in a row (with Leia). I also mentioned the coordinate respositioning, esp with foils closed. SUPERNATURAL REFLEXES on either X-wing, for 2 points lol. And the threat of an active Leia is always there. And even when she's not Cassian can remove stress, making the X-wings much more agile.

In addition, it uses torpedoes to stop enemies hanging back in "middle" range. If I can shoot at long, that's SUPER GOOD for me. If you rush in closer, that's also great, because I still get max firepower either from torps or guns at r1, and next round I can flip white behind you and you can't easily block that.

For all this the list isn't perfect. It has only 3 ships for 1. And that means its vulnerable to dice. The final proved this. I made some aggro choices, a calculated risk if you will, and then dice happened. Both my X-wing were badly hurt by the time Fel went out, and despite some really good play on my part during the end of that final, it was simply not possible to come back.

Also, without Cassian/Leia, the list struggles in the endgame against certain opponents. The X-wing just ins't THAT GOOD a dogfighter. But then again, who doesn't struggle in the endgame vs Fel or Fenn or Guri when they are 1st player?

List is solid. But what about the player?

I went 4-1 in the Swiss, losing by 9 to a very exiting Separatist list. I had the honor of meeting it again in the semi-final, where Luke got his revenge over Maul... he tractored me onto a rock in the first game... it was very embarrassing since I was like "you ever get to use that tractor beam" before the match... and it proved to be match-winning... lol

My Armada-bro Rolf on the left, me on the right. He got me in Swiss, then I burned down his squad in the semi. We are both members of Handsome Devils squadron.

I still feel like I'm only dabbling in X-wing. I really do. But I guess I do understand something of both listbuilding and actual play. So Nordics may not have been entirely a fluke (but it helped a lot that 2.0 was brand new, I think). I keep comparing my X-wing skill to my Armada skills... and then I feel like a complete and utter noob still.

Anyway, matchups to come in a separate post. This has dragged on long enough.