X-Wing: Autothrusters are an A-Wing’s Best Friend
Fly like a leaf on the wind with Autothrusters! Lets look at an X-Wing game changer.
Hey BoLS Readers! AdamHarry back with more Star Wars: X-Wing thoughts. Today I wanted to look at a card from Scum & Villainy that has really shaken up the meta – The humble Autothrusters card. Those pesky turrets have been running amok lately and this card is a perfect counter to that. I’ve experienced it first hand with my Dash Rendar 58 Special getting run down by a Star Viper with this mod. It’s actually quite fitting if you’re familiar with the history of the Outrider.
Anyhow, I wanted to take a look at other ships that could potentially abuse benefit from the use of Autothrusters. Looking at the Rebel ships the A-wing shot out at me like a test pilot pushing it to the limit! With 3 agility dice and the prerequisite boost action it’s a perfect fit. So that’s exactly what I started with.
Well that’s not exactly true – I actually started with one of the greatest A-Wing Pilots of all time: Tycho Brahe Celchu. The reason I start with Tycho is because his ability to act under pressure is second-to-none. He can fly with all the stress in the world. Late mortgage payments, bad traffic, high cholesterol and an annoying office worker have no effect on him! Joking aside, it’s an amazing ability and it pairs extremely well with Autothrusters. How? Let me show you the build I threw together:
Clocking in at 31 points, he’s as slippery as a logical fallacy. Clearly he’s going to be impossible to pin down because of his ability to move, Barrel Roll with Expert Handling and then Boost with Push the Limit. And now when you’re closing in on those pesky turrets, you can maneuver out of their primary firing arc and get a guaranteed* evade on one of those dice. Tycho’s high Pilot Skill only makes taking Autothrusters better because of being able to move after your opponent so you can barrel roll/boost to the ideal position. And the best part – the stress doesn’t matter one bit. Slippery! Wet-noodle-on-a-wax-floor type of slippery.
Even if you’re not using Tycho, other A-Wings can still use the Autothrusters. it’s only 2 points! It’s like the Chardian Rift was actually replacing the missile bays with those Autothrusters. Considering most turret weapons are rolling 2-3 dice and the A-Wing has 3 defense dice, the odds* are in your favor that you’ll be able to avoid serious damage. The Focus action is an amazing pair defensively with Autothrusters vs Turrets or shots over range 2. It’s really just means “don’t bother rolling those dice” and less dice rolling means a faster game. (I’m kidding. Always roll the dice! You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take ~Luke Skywalker.)
I do have one problem with this idea: What do I run with Tycho?! Help me out BoLS Readers. I’ve got 69 points to spend in my 100 point list – any suggestions? I was also looking at Basic A-Wings with Autothrusters. Cheap and dodgey. AdamHarry, OUT!
*Math: The odds of NOT getting at least 1 evade with Autothrusters outside of the primary arc or over range 2 are 1.5%. That’s with 3 agility dice. If it’s a primary weapon firing at range 3, then you get the extra die then the odds become 0.3% – the same risk of … Well you know.
