X Wing: The Problem with Poe
What do we load out Poe Dameron with? It’s a problem but a good one to have with his great Pilot Ability.
Hi. BBQwithStannis here to chat about our favourite T-70 X wing pilot, not red leader of the same name from the hit show Teletubbies. Sorry to disappoint all those hoping for that article.
Back in October I was toying with what to equip Poe with and who to fly him with. I came up with two Y wings with TLT and a Z 95. I tried a variety of things then I moved house, didn’t play for a month, put on the FFG Worlds live feed whilst decorating the new abode and watched Paul Heaver run a merry dance with Poe, two gold squadron Y wings and a bandit Z 95. Sad times, as I will become a net lister for running anything similar.
Here are my thoughts on flying Poe so far.
Auto Thrusters
Are they an auto take? They synergise really nicely with his pilot ability and in this age of TLT it does make him good at limiting incoming damage but in certain match ups they won’t do much.
You probably should find the two points for them but depending on your list and play style you may get away without it. If you go without auto thrusters integrated astromech at 0 points is worth putting on. R2 D2 is not any good at regenerating shields if the ship gets blown up first.
“Gold Leader starting attack run.”
Push the Limit and BB8
This was the first darling of the internet when the new core set dropped. It does give Poe a pre nerf phantom esque ability to reposition with the barrel roll plus an action from PTL such as a boost then clearing the stress with the resulting green move. This is followed by taking an action normally for an effective three action manoeuvre without taking any stress.
What I feel limits this combo is the amount of green manoeuvres available on the dial.
“How much Green is on the Dial?”
Push the Limit and R2 Astromech
If you are going for a more joust like approach, this will give you more movement options with all your 2 speed moves becoming green. My only reservation about this combination is that for 1 point more BB8 gives more options although R2 allows a hard 2 green followed by a 1 bank boost.
Predator
A more offensive Poe allowing you to get reliable damage output, especially when focused. The down side is that I often find that I want to boost with Poe. Predator does help open up the really useful Talon roll to chuck out more damage.
Lone Wolf
I like Lone Wolf and have had some success with it in certain lists. Cheaper than predator and also helps defensively, especially when combined with auto thrusters but Poe is probably going to get stuck in the thick of it and then lose the utility of the EPT.
Veteran Instincts
PS 10 Poe, Paul Heaver won the World championship with it and it is definitely worth considering with the amount of arc dodging PS 9 out there. My only critique of going VI on Poe is in the case of coming up against another PS10 ship or higher, and there will probably be an influx of PS 10 Poes now, can you deal with losing the initiative bid or roll off and then get lumbered with the initiative so that you move first? It’s a common issue for PS8 pilots with a good pilot ability like Poe or Carnor Jax, do you VI to beat the PS9 arc dodgers or use another EPT that will compliment nicely.
R5-P9 or R2D2?
R5-P9 on first glance looks the better choice given Poe’s pilot ability. One of the things that I find when I fly Poe is that the Boost action is used a similar amount of time as to focusing. Not such a problem at the beginning of the game but when you want to regen shields you are looking at reducing your movement options by focusing instead of boosting. This is also combined with the drawback of having to keep the focus token which means if you roll double or triple eyeballs you have to consider whether to spend it and forgo the shield regeneration.
R2D2 only kicks in on a green manoeuvre which given the limited amount of green on the dial means that you are likely to be boosting afterwards and rolling unmodified dice. The big plus is that the shield comes back before the combat phase. The flip side is that R5-P9 allows you to do a larger move like a hard 3 and focus whereas with R2D2 the most you can do is a 1 bank followed by a boost.
“Tinky Winky to the Darki side, has gone.”
Conclusion
So what is the optimal loadout? The Worlds final suggests VI on Poe is best, (as both competitors had a VI Poe), but in a mirror match or against another PS10 pilot you could be moving first and losing the intended benefit. Could picking something else as an elite pilot trait be better in this case as if you face a VI Poe you are already prepared to move first? I certainly felt Paul Heaver had one hand on the trophy by just winning the choice of initiative. If running VI, I would certainly consider plans on how to deal with moving first against PS 10 or PS11 opponents.
As always in X Wing a lot depends on how you like to fly. Personally, at the moment, I like predator and R5-P9 although I’m being swayed over to R2D2.
~What’s your favourite build?
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