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Just had a nasty thought with regard to Rhymer and Proton bombs, if his pilot ability extends their range to 2, that could be a very unpleasant thing to gak out before you fly off!

Bombs are not secondary weapons and do not have a range attribute.

I think you're right because of the lack of range attribute, but I can't for the life of me find where it is specified that bombs aren't secondary weapons?

The only qualification in the rulebook is "such as proton torpedoes" under the Secondary Weapons section, is it elsewhere or in the FAQ and I've missed it?

It's how secondary weapons are defined: they have a range and a number of attack dice to roll (and potentially special rules text), and they are used as an attack in the combat phase just like firing a primary weapon. Bombs have none of that. They're a special upgrade/action that can potentially do damage to a ship, not a weapon.

And Rhymer's ability can't even attempt to work if they were secondary weapons because bombs have no range to modify. Doing damage within range 1 is not the same thing as having range 1.

 Peregrine wrote:


And Rhymer's ability can't even attempt to work if they were secondary weapons because bombs have no range to modify. Doing damage within range 1 is not the same thing as having range 1

Yes, I said I agreed with you on that point.

It's how secondary weapons are defined: they have a range and a number of attack dice to roll (and potentially special rules text), and they are used as an attack in the combat phase just like firing a primary weapon. Bombs have none of that. They're a special upgrade/action that can potentially do damage to a ship, not a weapon.

I'm not seeing a lot of rules in that, more your take on the situation. I'd argue that bombs and mines are secondary weapons that simply have a mechanic that works differently to missiles or torpedoes. But I guess it isn't relevant unless some new pilot or bomb option is released that makes it so, and then I'm sure it will be clarified in good time.

 azreal13 wrote:
I'm not seeing a lot of rules in that, more your take on the situation. I'd argue that bombs and mines are secondary weapons that simply have a mechanic that works differently to missiles or torpedoes. But I guess it isn't relevant unless some new pilot or bomb option is released that makes it so, and then I'm sure it will be clarified in good time.

Page 19, under "secondary weapon", clearly states that secondary weapons have ranges and attack values, fire as normal in the combat phase instead of taking a primary weapon shot, etc. X-Wing isn't like a GW game where anything that causes damage fluff-wise is FAQed to be a "weapon", RAW is all that matters. So since bombs lack any of the properties of a secondary weapon and do not have any rule stating "this counts as a secondary weapon" they are not secondary weapons. They are just upgrades which can potentially cause damage to ships.

And it does matter in other ways. For example, taking damage from a bomb will not cancel a stealth device since it is not an attack, the gunner upgrade will not trigger if your bomb fails to do damage, etc.

The Slave 1 insert states " Bomb upgrade cards are not secondary weapons" under the Bombs heading. So no range 2 Proton Bombs.

Which also means you can't lose your bombs if you draw that lose secondary weapons damage card!

 Evil_Toast wrote:
The Slave 1 insert states " Bomb upgrade cards are not secondary weapons" under the Bombs heading. So no range 2 Proton Bombs.

Which also means you can't lose your bombs if you draw that lose secondary weapons damage card!

Ah, that's cool. I pretty much wrote the idea off before I posted it, but just thought I'd throw it out there as I couldn't find anything the specifically ruled it out (suspected the bomb card might have something, but all my stuff was in its box in the car, and it was raining!)

Good to have a citation to where they are specifically excluded though, thanks!

It would be cool to see some pilot or upgrade that boosts bombs somehow, like in an "Imperial Bomber Aces" pack or something.

"When rolling for damage with a bomb you deployed, you may change any <eyeball> results to <hit> results."

"When deploying a bomb token, you may choose to use a <forward 2> template instead of a <forward 1> template."

"When deploying a bomb token, you may place the <forward 1> template against the side of your base instead of the back."

Anyone getting great use out of bombs in general?

Strangely, I tried Proton bombs for the first time last night.

Just picked up a couple of bombers, so built a list around them to try them out.

Gave them to Capt Jonus, who I gave veteran instincts to in order to have him move as late as possible.

My mate brought an elite X Wing list (Luke, Wedge, Biggs) which instantly limited the mileage I was going to get (only three possible targets, one moving after Jonus as he had initiative)

Even then, by deploying on one side, drawing him over and using the shuttle I ran to block, I managed to hit Luke with the two damage and Wedge as well.

Not as spectacular as near-one shotting Biggs with Rhymer and Adv P Ts (he had shield upgrade, or I would have!) but they probably did as much as could be expected.

This is the issue though, they're a weapon of opportunity that requires real concentration on your part to use effectively, and even then the optimum result can still be underwhelming. That is assuming you opponent is cooperative enough to give you the chance to use them, which won't always be the case.

Were there a generic, EPT available bomber, or one that was naturally a decent PS (at least 4) meaning you could afford multiples with bombs in a list, they would be a great hard counter to TIE swarm, but as it stands, you can't get more than the two named pilots and a Firespray at high enough PS to stand a chance of deploying them well, meaning they're probably just for fun lists only.