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I come to you fine folks in order to pick apart the concept of the use of evade tokens on a T-70.

The genesis of my point of contention is thus: A local gamer has been harping on the survivability of Red Ace. It has become a bit of a legend in our group, but I keep arguing that his standard build is too costly, which shows in his win/loss ratio (Red Ace survives for a long while, but he doesn't win his games) Here is the standard build he uses:

Red Ace (29)
Comms Relay (3)
R2-D2 (4)
Autothrusters (2)
Total 38 points

Now with the ARC-170 being released, we have the R3 Astromech that gives T-70s another way of gathering and keeping evade tokens from turn to turn. This would be a skimpy version of said build, without the regen, though:

T-70 pilot of choice (24 to 26)
R3 Astromech (2)
Comms Relay (3)
Integrated Astromech (0)
Total 29 to 31 points

Now, is saving up to 9 points worth foregoing regeneration capability? Would a Blue Squad Novice with Autothrusters and R3 give good enough returns compared to Red Ace's 38 points?

Should I just forget about it before even spending some evenings getting walloped for no good reason? If I want those tokens so bad, should I play Imperial? *shudders*

I'm not a rebels player but honestly i think that your second build is probably better. especially in close where you're not getting autothrusters.

The drop in point cost does not at all make up for the drop in power. R2-D2 is one of the most powerful upgrades in the game, and the only real reason for a rebel ship (other than a stresshog) not to take R2-D2 is that you're Poe and taking R5-P9 instead. And then there's the significant drop in the power of the evade token itself. Red Ace gets one just for being shot at, so the only time you won't have one is when you aren't taking damage and don't need one. The R3 method, on the other hand, only gives you an evade when you give up an eye result on your attack dice. If you don't get a shot or want to turn that eye into a hit you aren't getting an evade token. And, unlike Red Ace, you can only get one token per turn. If you're going to do the evade token gimmick you should at least do it on the one pilot where it makes sense.

And of course if you drop the comm relay (as suggested by "blue squad novice with autothrusters and R3) it's even worse. At PS 2 you won't get to shoot and get your evade token before you get shot at, and then you lose it at the end of the turn.

If I want those tokens so bad, should I play Imperial? *shudders*

As with most problems, the solution is Corran Horn.

He seems a really tricky lilot to learn to use.

 Mathieu Raymond wrote:
He seems a really tricky lilot to learn to use.

Who, Red Ace or Corran?

Corran. Every time I have gone up against him, he died rather horribly. Maybe it's just because I used concetrated fire and green dice can be fickle, but he rarely lasts two turns of sustained fire.

And I did amend my original post to include a comms relay in order for the token to carry over, obviously.

I'd generally stick to regen, as it is kind the Alliance version of evading, albeit slightly slower and won't save you from burst damage, using actions and upgrades to try and fix something the X-Wing isn't very good at to start with means you'll just end up with a sub-par Fel or Quiz at more points

I also still think Corran is playable its just he's much like the Phantom in the you have to be patient and get him into a decent place before unleashing the red dice, then running away for a spot of regen before doing it all again

I definitely wouldn't take the R3 on a generic unless they had some way to play off the evade token. As peregrine noted; spawning an evade token at PS2 is largely pointless as you've probably already been shot that turn.

On a Red Veteran, there might be some mileage in pairing up the build you have listed with Juke.

~ Red Squadron Veteran, Juke, R3 Astromech, Comms Relay, Integrated Astromech

That way, as you noted, you can hang onto your evade until next turn, and still get some use out of it offensively as a trade-in deal for cashing in one of your potential damage results, which is (sadly) the one thing Red Ace can't do - if it was possible to give him Juke he'd amazing.

It's an unreliable approach - because you only have an 60% ish chance of getting a [focus] on naked dice, and a 10% of a [focus] on target locked dice, but whatever evades you get come down with the rations - you're not doing anything specific to get them.

Sadly you can't fit in two of them AND red ace.


The Blue Novice....no. I'm not ragging on the blue squadron novice - it's a good ship - but its single most important "power" is the fact that it's sub 25 points...meaning if you only spend a single point on them (R2 or R5 astromech, probably R2) you can pack 4 ships into a list rather than 3.

An extra ship is a big deal when the ship is as tough as an Integrated Astromech T-70.

 Mathieu Raymond wrote:
Corran. Every time I have gone up against him, he died rather horribly. Maybe it's just because I used concetrated fire and green dice can be fickle, but he rarely lasts two turns of sustained fire.

Corran has a learning curve. He can be really good in the hands of a good player. He has one of the scariest attacks in the game with the double tap, enough green dice and tokens (especially as the PTL version) to stay alive through a turn of shooting, and HP regen that punishes you if you let him escape for even a turn or two. But you have to be good at positioning and have enough experience with Corran to have a sense of when to go for the kill. If you're too aggressive you lose a 40-50 point ship for minimal gain, if you're too cautious you turn a 40-50 point ship into dead weight while the rest of your list dies unsupported. And it helps to have a list where you can punish your opponent no matter what they do with Corran*. So if you're a random newbie and just throw Corran into a random list you're probably going to lose. If you have the skill and practice to use him right he can easily be a top-tier ship, especially if the meta is light on u-boats.

*This is why Dash/Corran was so good. Corran protects the donut hole if you go for Dash first, Dash murders you with focus + TL HLC shots into your back if you chase Corran.

I'll admit, my opponent wasn't too hot when he decided to joust Dengar with his Corran.

So, evade tokens on T-70s, definitely a no-go, eh? I mean, Red Ace might get it natively, but he's still a point sink that's not as powerful on the offensive as other T-70s.

So, evade tokens on T-70s, definitely a no-go, eh?

Juke/Comms Relay/R3 maybe, but I'd have to actually try some games to see how often in practice it helps enough to justify the heavy laser cannon-equivalent price tag; you're taking this kit instead of fielding one of the named T-70 Aces - and most of the named aces probably wouldn't take it, because they want their signature astromechs, and because they want primed thrusters/pattern analyser in that tech slot.

I'll give it a try, but with that loadout, you only get three, and that is their only trick. And if you have to bail out your astromech, then they are carrying 5 points of remaining upgrade for no reason.

If you have to ditch your astromech, you should only have one turn of the game left with that ship. The second build (in the first post) shows exactly what FFG is doing to bring the X-Wing back in line with the meta.

I'm not sure it's going to be enough, though. You still can only fit 3 in a list, and you have enough points for a Bandit or a Tala. And your first pass will see you shooting last so not only will it be anemic if you take away a focus result to get an evade, but you'll get shot at with no evade.