FFG: New X-Wing FAQ & Errata Update
X-Wing just got some pretty big changes to the meta thanks to a new FAQ & Errata. Say your good-byes to Dengaroo lists now…
Fantasy Flight Games always tries to tweak X-Wing to keep it fine-tuned and running smooth. But at some point, sometimes tweaks can only get you so far and you simply have to errata cards for the health of the overall game. Fans of those combos certainly won’t like these changes as a few very popular cards just got hit hard with the nerf-bat. That said, let’s take a look at exactly what changed along with why.
Biggs Darklighter
Biggs Darklighter has long been a feature of the the competitive X-Wingscene thanks to his ability to force your opponent to fire at an undesirable target. The combination of the effect being so impactful and active at all times allows lists that make full use of Biggs Darklighter to maximize survivability without major tradeoffs, even late into the game.
Now Biggs Darklighter’s signature ability only works ONCE per game. That means the player will have to use this ability on a pivotal turn to help protect/setup their play. Conversely, opponents can attempt to counter-play it by trying to bait out the ability early. This makes the card much more dynamic for gameplay. He’s still a great ship to have, but he’s no longer the ultimate sacrificial lamb ship that he used to be.
JumpMaster 5000
Errata is not undertaken lightly, even more so when it comes to Ship cards. However, the JumpMaster 5000 has remained at the top of competitive X-Wing tournaments for more than a year. Its ability to launch ordnance and its potent dial—made even more flexible by the numerous and powerful salvaged astromechs it can equip—have made it a very difficult ship to contend with.
AdvertisementWith this errata, all JumpMaster 5000 ships ( Contracted Scout , Dengar ,Manaroo , and Tel Travura ) lose both torpedo upgrade icons and the Salvaged Astromech upgrade icon.
OUCH! This one is going to sting quite a bit. The JumpMaster 5000 just got BOTH torpedoes taken away from it along with the Salvaged Astromech slot. I guess these changes might get other ships a chance to shine in the Scum & Villainy fleet. This was probably one of the biggest changes we’ve seen in the game to a specific card. As the designed did point out, the ship is still rocking a 2 die primary turret and it didn’t lose any of it’s maneuverability. However this ship was really seen as a crutch and thanks to it’s ability to put out a ton of damage and fly with little issues. If you were relying on the firepower of this ship’s Torpedoes, you’re now going to have to find another way to win.
“Genius”
The new text for “Genius” is: “After you reveal and execute a maneuver, if you did not overlap a ship, you may discard 1 of your equipped [Bomb] Upgrade cards without the “Action:” header to drop the corresponding bomb token.”
You can no longer Overlap an enemy ship and bomb it. It’s still a powerful card, it’s just not as “automatic” as it used to be. And speaking of automatic…
Advanced SLAM
Advanced SLAM has allowed K-wings to reliably hit any ship in striking range with Conner Nets or other mines, inflicting unavoidable, guaranteed damage in many board states. Player interactivity and the chance to respond to most effects are extremely important parts of X-Wing, and K-wings with Advanced SLAM for the purpose of unavoidable bombs proved to be a successful combination that revolves around limiting or eliminating interaction.
Advanced SLAM now reads: “After performing a SLAM action, if you did not overlap an obstacle or another ship, you may perform a free action on your action bar.“
Again, the Developers want to encourage player interaction and counter-play, not “auto damage” situations where the opponent can’t do anything. Unavoidable bombs certainly leads to a frustrating play experience and that was a problem that was addressed by limited the effectiveness of the Advanced SLAM.
Attanni Mindlink
Attanni Mindlink has been the most defining Upgrade card of the Scum faction in the last year of X-Wing, and for good reason. The fact that stress and focus are both shared was designed as a balancing act for players. The problem is that if even a single ship with Attanni Mindlink can stay clear of stress, all linked ships essentially reap the full benefit.
Attanni Mindlink now begins with the restriction: “Limit 2 per squad.“
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The Attanni Mindlink builds had a built in weakness of sharing stress. However, if you could clear a single ship of the stress then they would get the all of the benefits. This wasn’t terribly difficult to do when you could run this on 3 ships. Now with the change to limiting the card to 2 Per Squad, opponents can more easily deal with those ships. It certainly is a nerf, but now both players will have to be more strategic about their Mind Linked ships.
You can read the full FAQ HERE. If you’re playing in an Organized Play event you should also be aware these changes take effect on November 6th, 2017!
What do you think of these changes to X-Wing? Was the removal of the JumpMaster 5000’s Torpedoes appreciate?
