This is what I came up with...

--What's Left of a Reserves Squad--
61 Pong Krell
33 Captain Rex
25 Elite Republic Commando - Scorch
25 Elite Republic Commando - Sev
18 Unkar Plutt
15 Lobot, Computer Liaison Officer
9 R2-D2, Astromech Droid
8 Mas Amedda
5 Spaarti Clone Trooper Demolitionist

(199pts. 9 activations)
http://www.bloomilk.com/Squad/184714/whats-left-of-a-reserves-squad

If you don't face a Reserves counter, it's really strong. 76% chance of Reserves once Recon kicks in. Only 30pts of Reserves at a time, but two of the top Reserves choices (the 2 ERCs) are already in the base squad. If you do face a Reserves counter, Unkar vs Unkar makes it a 25% chance of Reserves. If you face an MTB, you're down to 15% chance.

You could build a squad going a couple other directions instead... drop CLobot and use regular Lobot, and then add a Rodian BSV for Fringe Reserves 20 and a clone that has Recon. You'd lose an ERC or 2 to make room for that, though. Lobot would let you choose to add either an MTB or Unkar (or something else if neither is needed). Going that route gives you 76% if face either no init counters or an MTB. Unkar vs Unkar puts you at 25%. So that route would keep you away from the low 15% Reserves, but you'd have a weaker base squad that way and only 20pts Reserves on the Fringe Reserves. I think I like what's above better.

I don't think that's Tier 1, but I do think it is something you could take to a tournament and go .500 with because not every squad has Lobot or any init counters. This squad could do well against those squads... I think it's "Tier 1" if there's no counter. Then it has tough match-ups if there's Unkar or an MTB (and NTMtO also slows it down). Those are tough match-ups, but not quite auto-losses. With lucky Reserves rolls there's still a chance. You always need lucky rolls with Reserves.

Pong Krell is an issue, everyone agrees. He is the ONLY issue with reserves, and that was a design mishap, nothing else. Is there a reason your just ignoring our points altogether?

Unkarr counters the MTB, but at a cost of subtracting 9 from your own initiative roll. That means it's impossible to get Reserves on a 15 or 20 so you only have 3 chances remaining for Reserves (20-9 = 11, 19-9 = 10, 14-9 = 5). And your own Unkar also prevents from using your own Recon, Anticipation, or Sense the Future.

The issue isn't Pong. The issue is being able to bring in 60 pts of reserves (ie multiple "doses") at a time. Same would be true if it were a yoda, kazdan squad, or Dooku/Wat or any squad that doubles up on multiple reserve numbers.

No one really played these types of squads (or if they did, they didn't publicize it), thus it stayed under the radar. It wasn't an issue during WOTC days, because there weren't multiple characters who granted reserves on the same multiple numbers. Kaz and Wat were the only two if I recall correctly and you couldn't play them together.

Kaz, Mon Mothma, and Palpatine can triple up on a 20, even in WotC days.

but not on multiple numbers. The issue is being able to "get extra doses" of reserves on multiple different numbers.

Does that mean Reserves squads are still alive? Are we all good here?

He can eat 4 Porgs at once.

And whoever you are... are you new or did you go create a sockpuppet account just to make that bad pun?

http://www.bloomilk.com/Squad/184719/f-u-floor-rules

Just a reference point. I am not on the balance committee. In this instance, as well as all the other decisions the balance committee decides upon, I am just a voice in the crowd. I don't always agree with the balance committee.




Because as a group we don't play 1000 games a week like the old days, we tend to not explore all the interactions and stuff available. This leads to problem pieces/squads/issues come up that might not be discovered until well after the fact.

A perfect example: Krayt transferring into force ghosts was an issue ever since krayt came out but it was never a known issue because no one used it (or if they did, it wasn't well publicized) until I won a regional with it in 2015. Then the BC couldn't act fast enough, and not for a power level issue, but for an interaction/NPE issue (ie the squad was a non-engagement squad)

Same is true with reserves. When Dooku separatist leader and 100pt yoda came out at the same time allowing both factions access to multiple guys who hit reserves on the same number, it went unnoticed. I even played a squad similar to the one I played in OH that same year in WI. It wasn't quite as optimized and I didn't win, so it went under the radar. It was a horrible NPE for all the players that played against me, and I shelved it even though I thought it was probably one of the best squads around (even though others dismissed it and probably hoped I never played it again) because there were other squads I wanted to play that were more fun for my opps to play against. Fast forward to OH, and I decided to update the squad and figure out how to make it better. I did that (took out regular lobot, added clobot and added the MTB) and we all know the results.

The power of reserves is that with multiple numbers (and more importantly multiple characters with multiple numbers) and the other init controlling aspects, you can get a really high probability to actually get them. In the old WOTC days of the RBSV, it was one number the squad was pretty bad. Also, there were way fewer pieces to pick from if you actually hit. If the designers had done this when set 2 came out, no one would be talking about this now. They didn't, and now a long time later the issue rears it's head, and here we are.

So in my mind, this is an issue that should have been address 13 sets ago, but wasn't addressed until now.


Unkar is a different issue entirely.
Unkar doesn't say you don't get reserves (like the MTB does), he just says your odds of getting them are less. I think reserves squads can still beat unkar squads (not every game every time), but will still win some games. And if your opp doesn't have unkar (or access to him), then he hasn't done anything.

As Daniel pointed out, Unkar was designed and completed well before I did well with reserves. His main design purpose was to give people other ways to work around master tactician/MTB to try and keep those abilities in check and be able to do so in a lower act squad. With unkar, you have a better chance against init control that isn't just bring your own MTB which in a low act squad, might not work out so well.