X-Wing: Rage of the Rebels
Let’s check out some new cards that are all the “Rage” for the right Rebel Pilots.
Hey again BoLS Readers & X-Wing Aces! AdamHarry here and I wanted to talk chat with you about a card that hasn’t gotten a lot of attention…yet. It’s one of the cards from Wave 8 that I think has a good place in other lists besides Scum & Villainy, specifically the Rebels. Time to give in to the hate and talk about Rage:
Ahhh yes…Rage. Let’s break this one down. For 1 action you get a Focus token and 2 stress tokens. You may also re-roll 3 dice when attacking – until the end of the round! There are few Rebel pilots that can really take advantage of this ability (or at least mitigate that downside). So let’s take a look at my picks for the Rebel Ragers out there.
Tycho Celchu’s ability means he does NOT care about stress (mostly). Pile it on! He can still preform actions but he will have to avoid using any red maneuvers. Thankfully he’s got lots of hard turns and, with that boost option, he’ll be back to swing back into the fight. Now, he’s only got 2 red dice base, but if you can get into range 1 (and he’s fast enough it should be an issue) you’ll get your 3 dice. Tycho is an A-Wing so I personally don’t want to invest in a ton of points but here’s how I’d probably load him up:
Tycho Celchu – A-Wing – 31 points
- A-Wing Test Pilot
- Chardaan Refit
- Push the Limit
- Experimental Interface
- Rage
Tycho will not have any problems getting his action economy up. You’ll probably end up with a focus, evade and a target lock most of the game. That’s not too shabby and makes him one tough hombre to pin down.
I’ve talked about Keyan Farlander + Hera Syndulla before. I think they make a great pair. A fast moving B-Wing is like the Spanish Inquisition of Star Wars: No one expects it! And with the stress you’re generating from Rage you’ll be not only be able to fuel your ability, Keyan will be able to get a ton of re-rolls too. Here’s my example load-out for this B-Wing Ace:
Keyan Farlander – B-Wing – 41 Points
- Rage
- B-Wing/E2
- Hera Syndulla
- Fire-Control System
- Heavy Laser Cannon
I really like the HLC on a B-Wing. You’re rolling 4 dice every attack. When you’re in range 1 you just use the primary and now you can crit, too. Because of the Fire Control System you’ll get Target Locks all day long so you can Barrel-Roll to get into position. Ideally, once you get into range 3 you TL, open fire and get another TL. Depending on how close you are the following turn you may pop your Rage action to get the free re-rolls and a focus. Between all the re-rolls and Keyan’s ability you should get some hits. And you can use the focus defensively. At that point you’ll probably want to get out of dodge so that’s when a Red 4 comes into play. In theory, I like this combo – but for the same amount of points you could just drop the FCS and Rage to get PTL – but do we really want that on every ship in every list? …Yes. Moving on!
An E-Wing? What nonsense is this?! I know, right – But stick with me. One of the cool things about Rage is that it doesn’t stop after your attack – it goes until the end of the round. That’s what makes it a natural fit with Dengar over on the Scum & Villainy side of things. Well Mr.Horn has a similar function – he gets to shoot twice! If you toss an FCS on him he’s going to have a Target Lock and 3 more dice to re-roll for that 2nd attack. Not too shabby! Here’s my example load out for this E-Wing:
Corran Horn – E-Wing – 39 Points
- Rage
- R2 Astromech
- Fire-Control System
Notice this build still leaves the Mod Slot open. I’ll let you fine folks decide what you’d like to have in that slot for yourself. He’s got options which is nice. The R2 is there so you can ditch that stress and still make a hard turn to get back around if you need it. One of the nice things about Corran Horn in an E-Wing is that after his “Attack Run” turn you bail out for a turn or two pretty quick which should buy you some time to get setup to do it again.
What I like about these 3 example ships is that they are able to produce consistent, reliable damage. They also all have a great Pilot Skill so should be attacking towards the top of the round. Rage is a card that can really tip your damage over when you need it – but you’ll have to allow your pilots some time to cool off. Otherwise they may get overwhelmed and blown out of the sky.
Take 1 Ghost and call me in the morning for your Rage Problem.
These ships are a little pricey for 1-trick ponies so I don’t advise flying them kamikaze style. You’re going to have to get them some support ships to help carry the load. I think they would pair nicely with one of the Large Ships as a good wing-man in a 2-ship list. You could also run them as part of a more diverse 3 ship list depending on your mood (and collection). When I was playing around with these ships, I also considered running them with a Z-95 swarm… nothing like a bunch of cheap Z’s flying around causing mayhem and blocking for your big hitters to hulk-out and smash.
I want to give Rage a chance. Perhaps it’s a side effect of my Glitterstim addiction but I think Rage has some potential. So give it a shot and try something outside the box. Who knows, you might like it when you’re very upset.
Dang-it Hulk! No more X-Wing for you! Rage-quitting is SO not cool.
