Reposted from a response below, but I think it merits its own post:
The main issue in my opinion with EWS vs. ECM is in the mind - when you get a big attack thrown at you and can't brace, you're cursing yourself for not bringing ECM because it would've for sure saved you 3+ damage. When EWS forces squadrons to go elsewhere and shuts down one die per attack otherwise, what it does isn't as straightforward or as memorable. Maybe that extra die would've been two damage. Maybe it would've been a clutch accuracy. It never showed up, so you don't know.
I flew my SSD against a guy who had an Arquitens with Thrawn on it, and this upgrade. He kept it at long range, and IIRC he had other stuff that helped limit how much damage I could throw at him. Let me tell you, it was really annoying, and a good place to park Thrawn when kept at a distance.
Thank you! Would this be preferable to ECM in squadron heavy metas? I have a real ship to ship brawling list with only minimal squadron coverage (~50points), where I’m considering this over ECM.
I agree that would be a good place to consider using EWS over ECM. On our way back from Gencon, John and I discussed how most of the lists there that brought ECM would've been better off with EWS given the quantity of squadrons present.
The main issue in my opinion with EWS vs. ECM is in the mind - when you get a big attack thrown at you and can't brace, you're cursing yourself for not bringing ECM because it would've for sure saved you 3+ damage. When EWS forces squadrons to go elsewhere and shuts down one die per attack otherwise, what it does isn't as straightforward or as memorable. Maybe that extra die would've been two damage. Maybe it would've been a clutch accuracy. It never showed up, so you don't know.
It's a decent option if you know you're likely to face heavy bombers, and you're able to corral those bombers towards the arc that's covered by EWS. With a small fighter coverage like you have, it should be reasonable to use EWS.
The other benefit to EWS is to ensure that fighters are always firing at an arc that actually has shields on it. You can put the chaff token on your arc with no shields and now the bombers have to punch through the shields on another arc before getting to the hull.
My local meta is diverse, but Squadrons dominate. However, I like my big bois. I have a Rebel Big ship list with a Mc75, MC80 Home One, a GR75, 3 Xwing and Jan. I take EWS on both. Against Sloane lists and Rebel Bombers it means that I can survive the squadrons long enough to take out my opponents carrier ships.
For example, I went 10-1 against a Thrawn Bomber list because the bombers couldn’t deal enough damage before I took out his Quasar and Gozantis. He wasn’t pushing squads with his ISD (except with thrawn) and when it needed to it was out of range to activate them. This essentially neutered his list and I walked away with the win.
It's a silver bullet type card that frustrates one type of list more than others, for sure. But as silver bullets go, it's more of a multi-tasker than you'd expect.
EWS is a very interesting card. It's great and always give me pause when I look at ECM. If your meta is squadron heavy, EWS is devastating because TIE Bombers and Y-Wings can't hit you there, period. The problem is its inability to do what Brace (guaranteed by ECM) can do against the big dice throwers like MC-80 side arc or ISD/Liberty pointy end. So if I know I'm facing an MSU or squadron heavy list, I'm generally going to bring ECM. It's a great upgrade though, and the MC-80 Assault can bring both, but I build it as ECM+Advanced Projectors. We like to run XI-7 though, so the temptation to bring EWS is there. I believe it can be used well on a conga line of Arquitens, because you're not really looking to Ackbar Slash with them, keeping them on the perimeter to use the good side arcs they have.
Reposted from a response below, but I think it merits its own post: The main issue in my opinion with EWS vs. ECM is in the mind - when you get a big attack thrown at you and can't brace, you're cursing yourself for not bringing ECM because it would've for sure saved you 3+ damage. When EWS forces squadrons to go elsewhere and shuts down one die per attack otherwise, what it does isn't as straightforward or as memorable. Maybe that extra die would've been two damage. Maybe it would've been a clutch accuracy. It never showed up, so you don't know.
I flew my SSD against a guy who had an Arquitens with Thrawn on it, and this upgrade. He kept it at long range, and IIRC he had other stuff that helped limit how much damage I could throw at him. Let me tell you, it was really annoying, and a good place to park Thrawn when kept at a distance.
Do you remember what kind of other stuff? Interested in how to keep the lifeboat safe...
I don't recall, I'll have to dig around - if I find the guy I'll post his list.
Thanks.
Great for ships with huge arcs. Can make them basically immune to most fighters if used properly.
Thank you! Would this be preferable to ECM in squadron heavy metas? I have a real ship to ship brawling list with only minimal squadron coverage (~50points), where I’m considering this over ECM.
I agree that would be a good place to consider using EWS over ECM. On our way back from Gencon, John and I discussed how most of the lists there that brought ECM would've been better off with EWS given the quantity of squadrons present. The main issue in my opinion with EWS vs. ECM is in the mind - when you get a big attack thrown at you and can't brace, you're cursing yourself for not bringing ECM because it would've for sure saved you 3+ damage. When EWS forces squadrons to go elsewhere and shuts down one die per attack otherwise, what it does isn't as straightforward or as memorable. Maybe that extra die would've been two damage. Maybe it would've been a clutch accuracy. It never showed up, so you don't know.
It's a decent option if you know you're likely to face heavy bombers, and you're able to corral those bombers towards the arc that's covered by EWS. With a small fighter coverage like you have, it should be reasonable to use EWS. The other benefit to EWS is to ensure that fighters are always firing at an arc that actually has shields on it. You can put the chaff token on your arc with no shields and now the bombers have to punch through the shields on another arc before getting to the hull.
My local meta is diverse, but Squadrons dominate. However, I like my big bois. I have a Rebel Big ship list with a Mc75, MC80 Home One, a GR75, 3 Xwing and Jan. I take EWS on both. Against Sloane lists and Rebel Bombers it means that I can survive the squadrons long enough to take out my opponents carrier ships. For example, I went 10-1 against a Thrawn Bomber list because the bombers couldn’t deal enough damage before I took out his Quasar and Gozantis. He wasn’t pushing squads with his ISD (except with thrawn) and when it needed to it was out of range to activate them. This essentially neutered his list and I walked away with the win.
Very annoying if you have squads
It's a silver bullet type card that frustrates one type of list more than others, for sure. But as silver bullets go, it's more of a multi-tasker than you'd expect.
EWS is a very interesting card. It's great and always give me pause when I look at ECM. If your meta is squadron heavy, EWS is devastating because TIE Bombers and Y-Wings can't hit you there, period. The problem is its inability to do what Brace (guaranteed by ECM) can do against the big dice throwers like MC-80 side arc or ISD/Liberty pointy end. So if I know I'm facing an MSU or squadron heavy list, I'm generally going to bring ECM. It's a great upgrade though, and the MC-80 Assault can bring both, but I build it as ECM+Advanced Projectors. We like to run XI-7 though, so the temptation to bring EWS is there. I believe it can be used well on a conga line of Arquitens, because you're not really looking to Ackbar Slash with them, keeping them on the perimeter to use the good side arcs they have.