Dogfight: E-Wing vs. Firespray-31

Dogfight: E-Wing vs. Firespray-31

This time I wanted to try the new E-Wing ship. The ship looks tough and is very maneuverable, but it also has a high cost, so I was unsure about its potential. I decided to go wild and try Corran Horn, the top E-Wing pilot. Its ability (being able to attack twice from the same position), would go very well with an Upgrade I also wanted to try: Outmaneuver. I decided to give it even more maneuverability with Advanced Sensors and an Engine Upgrade, and to increase its toughness with R2-D2 (being so expensive, I think it makes sense to make the E-Wing as tough as you can). As wingmen, I chose two Y-Wings with Ion Cannon Turrets to try and fix enemy positions to help Corran. I had some extra points left and decided to also test some Astromechs, the R5-K6 and the R7-T1.

Rebels (100 points) (played by JL)
- Corran Horn, E-Wing, with R2-D2, Advanced Sensors, Outmaneuver and Engine Upgrade (49 points)
- Gold Squadron Y-Wing with R7-T1 and Ion Cannon Turret (26 points)
- Gold Squadron Y-Wing with R5-K6 and Ion Cannon Turret (25 points)

Beni wanted to test the Firespray-31. I think the Tactician Upgrade combines very well with the Firespray-21, thanks to its double firing arc. The Ion Cannon is a good addition for Krassis Trelix. I'm not so convinced about the missiles, though; my experience with large ships is that you have so many things to do that you hardly ever use them... As wingmen, he chose two TIE Advanced with Engine Upgrades. They are always nice, but I don't see any combo with Krassis, so maybe one could have chosen something more powerful as wingmen.

Imperials (100 points) (played by Beni)
- Krassis Trelix, Firespray-31, with Cluster Missiles, Ion Cannon, Tactician and Munitions Failsafe (46 points)
- 2x Storm Squadron TIE Advanced with Engine Upgrade (2x27 = 54 points)

Setup and first maneuvers

I won the initiative and decided to populate the center of the map with asteroids. Beni added his asteroids in my side, which suited me well, because my intention was to maneuver with the Y-Wings around the asteroids while annoying him with my Ion Cannons and Corran's maneuverability.

The asteroids protect my initial movement

I advanced slowly and Beni had plenty of space for the Firespray-31

Beni's squadron goes full throttle and the E-Wing sees his first prey

First Blood

With the maneuverability of the E-Wing I was able to position myself behind the asteroid with an Evade action... I had more chances than Beni to cause some damage, and on top of that I was very lucky to score two hits in my first attack!

Behold Corran's marksmanship!

Dogfight in the Asteroid Field

After the approach phase, the battle turned into a duel of guessing, maneuvering and positioning... Beni gained the advantage in the first part of the engagement, but quickly lost one of his TIE Advanced when it was ionized and left the battle.

Corran is unable to use his Outmaneuver advantage against Krassis, who decides to focus fire on the closest Y-Wing to try and ionize it

The Y-Wing is ionized and will crush into the closest asteroid!
Meanwhile, both Y-Wings focus fire on the TIE Advanced at the top to try and force him to abandon the battlefield

I was surprised both by the maneuverability of the Firespray-31 and its great capability to deal out fire using his double firing arc... In the first rounds of combat I did not maneuver with Corran properly and even ended on one asteroid!

One Y-Wing crushes into the asteroid while the other positions itself in front of Krassis, who dodges the whole mess and uses his back firing arc to his advantage...
Corran uses Outmaneuver for the first time but scores no hits on the second TIE Advanced, that starts pursuing the damaged Y-Wing.
Luckily for me, the ionized Y-Wing survived the crush into the asteroids and the shots from Krassis and his wingman

Meanwhile, the first TIE-Advanced cannot avoid going out of the battle.

Back in the Open

Out of the asteroid field I started having more chances, as I was able to use the R7-T1 astromech and Corran's maneuverability much easier.

And I maneuver Corran onto an asteroid! The position of Krassis and his second wingman was also not too good and they could not focus fire on the damaged Y-Wing

Here I used the R7-T1 to get my Y-Wing in a good position to avoid being shot at by Krassis. The TIE Advanced maneuvered nimbly behind my Y-Wing...

... but the Y-Wing pilot saved the day with an amazing Evade!

The Y-Wing then ionized the TIE Advanced and left it as a clear target for Corran

Corran easily maneuvers into position behind the TIE Advanced...

... and shoots him twice to assure its demise!

In the final round after the 1 hour mark, Krassis finally manages to blow up the first Y-Wing with a 3-hit shot!

And victory was for the Rebels with a 54-26 point count... Corran was also in a perfect position to keep harassing Krassis, so the Bounty Hunter will have to wait for another occasion to capture the nimble E-Wing pilot!

Conclussion

This was a very interesting dogfight in which correct planning of the maneuvers was much more important than in other fights... I think we both have now enough experience to appreciate more and more the subtleties of this great game!

I won the encounter thanks to the early ionization of one of Beni's TIE Advanced and a bit of luck for one of my Y-Wings (he threw everything at that ship and he still survived until the last turn). In the second part of the encounter I was able to use Corran's maneuverability to its fullest extent.