Talk:Han Solo (HOR)/@comment-31119284-20170219231123/@comment-454133-20170220002510

TL;DR: It's not so bad. ;)

To be honest, I've seen the new Han Solo fielded only once, and for all his tricks, he wasn't devastating. Actually by placing himself isolated from his friends and so close to the enemy (me), he died very quickly. There are some fun and even potent tricks you can pull by starting nearly anywhere on the table, but it's not as OP as it may initially seem. In reality he's been not especially popular.

I assume the same applies to Biggs + Rex + Kanan Jarrus... it's worth a try before panicking (I'm actually looking forward to fighting this team sometime, but haven't seen it fielded yet). I've both flown the Upsilon and gone against it, and while it's a beautiful and potent ship, it's got real weaknesses that glare menacingly at you once you try to field one. TIE Strikers are a delight to fly, and an interestig opponent, but far from OP.

We saw the same thing with Wave 9: people were really excited or up in arms about the Protectorate Starfighter. And while powerful, they haven't been show stoppers. They're more powerful than the new ships, IMO. Actually the Lancer turned out to be the more powerful, meta-shifting force, far more so than predicted.

Remember:


 * First impressions are insubstantial


 * Theory-crafting can be a trap.  You have to give a ship or list some table time to really figure out the ins & outs that will determine its effectiveness.


 * Flying a ship and fighting against it teaches you a lot about its real potential.  Stuff you didn't realize at first will become apparent, and that will change a lot of how you think of the ship in future list building.


 * No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy.  What's amazing on paper can be a mess on the table; what's comparatively lame on paper can end up being very solid once actually played.  This goes for ships, lists, and whole strategies.  And the right opponent can rip holes through a "perfect" list.


 * Actually the old meta hasn't changed that much with these new ships, at least not yet -- TIE Defenders, Parataninni, and Dengaroo are still the big dogs.

And don't worry, I'm not saying the mistake is yours alone. I'm a software engineer, and I deal with the difference between speculation and reality all the time, but I still fall for the trap of theory-crafting and have to be repeatedly humbled by reality, both at work and at play. ;)  Stuff just doesn't always work as I predicted, for reasons that I may or may not have been able to know at the time.

Actual table time with tease out those hidden bits and teach you more, and I suspect you'll grow to like or at least not fear the new ships. As potent as Protectorate Stafighters are, they're not unstoppable like people predicted. Same goes for the Upsilon and friends.



The game comes down to what's survived testing. The best lists out there are really well-tested against a variety of players and lists, and we have a pretty good idea of where their strengths and weaknesses lie, and when to be afraid of them. The new ships are still being tried, and have yet to upset that really solid top meta, but it could still happen. If it does, it'll come from a well-traveled list, not something someone thought up without testing.

;)

In other words, the new ships are fun to fight and to fly, and you don't need to be afraid. Find a buddy who has the ships, or just proxy the new rebel TIE Fighter pilots (their dial and stats are the same) and try fighting with or against them. They may even be hard at first, but once you know their tricks, they're not all that menacing. You can also read up on the FFG forums and here about people's experience using them, and get some ideas for counters to powerful lists.