Still working on that title....

In another thread, I posted a a list I'm working with, which I'm sure isn't original, includes the following:

Howlrunner with Swarm Tactics.

Turr with PTL

Dark Curse (or other named TIE)

Alphax2

The list is designed to deal with what will likely be a large number of B-Wings at our local store championship.

Turr sets on on the flank. If targeted by one ship, he dogfights. If by more than one, he attempts to avoid arcs and keep the multiple ships busy. The other four fly together and usually approach the bulk of the enemy slowly while Turr is moving into position quickly.

Observation in my first couple of games (and many thanks to theorist for some of the tactics which are either exact copies or modified from his list):

1) Turr works great as a flanker, especially since he can often get shots before ducking out of arcs. He was challenging -- even for multiple ships-- to try and pin down. I didn't use PTL often, but it can save my bacon after firing at range and then boost+barrel roll.

2) Swarm is very effective and important when able to be paired with the Alpha, but if they go down or get out of range, it's not nearly as useful since other pilots are PS 6.

3) The Alphas' guns are often more important than their mobility. They go early and so I put my evade on them more often than not as they are the front line. It's a good amount of firepower, too, when paired with Howl's reroll.

4) The larger group is important to keep at long range on the initial pass when facing a relatively equal force. After that, depending on the damage inflicted (both by them and by Turr), I either go in close to try and finish off another ship, or slip the entire formation out of the majority of arcs. Ideally I set up the approach around asteroids so I can effectively maneuver and try to get my opponent to split his force.

5) Backstabber (or someone else) may be a more effective choice than Dark Curse, who gets ignored but doesn't add anything except being around for the end game.

Anyway, I'll keep updating these as I play more games...

GREAT SQUAD NAME!

Looks very good. I bet it plays a lot like my Black Ops list if you put BS in there and we're post aces.Post Aces legal would you use Blacksquads with Opportunist? Swarm would not longer be REQUIRED but still might be nice on Howlrunner.

That would ruin your cool squad name.

I like BS + Turr as counter flankers. Turr sets up opposite, BS "away" but not too far from the main group. He can arrive on engagement round but could just as easily draw some fire. Then your opponent has a REALLY hard choice: Howl + 2 alphas, let Stabber get 4 dice, or allow Turr to flank and have to deal with him late. Any of those choices can lead to a loss.

Based on the reports from my other thread there are a ton of Xwings and still a bunch of Bwings, not as balanced as I would have thought; you know your own meta however and interceptors are just about as good vs. x's as b's.

Be sure to report back.

GREAT SQUAD NAME!

Looks very good. I bet it plays a lot like my Black Ops list if you put BS in there and we're post aces.Post Aces legal would you use Blacksquads with Opportunist? Swarm would not longer be REQUIRED but still might be nice on Howlrunner.

That would ruin your cool squad name.

I like BS + Turr as counter flankers. Turr sets up opposite, BS "away" but not too far from the main group. He can arrive on engagement round but could just as easily draw some fire. Then your opponent has a REALLY hard choice: Howl + 2 alphas, let Stabber get 4 dice, or allow Turr to flank and have to deal with him late. Any of those choices can lead to a loss.

Based on the reports from my other thread there are a ton of Xwings and still a bunch of Bwings, not as balanced as I would have thought; you know your own meta however and interceptors are just about as good vs. x's as b's.

Be sure to report back.

One thing I might do post Aces is try to fit Kir in there over Turr. I'm not sure about the Black TIE as you pay for Opportnist, but get the pilot skill. Interesting trade off at the least.

Great point about BS and how to use him. I actually wondered (and this is what I would test out) if I could "hide" him in the pack, so to speak and then get him in a good position after that initial pass, On the other hand, breaking up the opponent's forces and giving him more choices as you suggest may be the better play.

I'll definitely be adding more to this.

Black squad + opportunist vs an alpha? Alpha may be a better 18 point buy

If you can position your asteroids right you can start him in at an angle, move 5, barrelroll "forward" and you have covered quite the distance. Bank 3 next turn and you're facing center, and should be beside/behind the enemy at range 1-2. You can of course barrel roll that round to adjust too! Might not get the howlrunner re-roll but you should be getting 4 dice and a focus half the time. If they turn on him, great! they just turned their force to take out the lowest point cost ship you have and left Turr on your backside.

Black squad + opportunist vs an alpha? Alpha may be a better 18 point buy

I see that point, but I also see the benefits Raaky points out. A higher PS allows for better placement overall, which can certainly make up some of the loss of firepower and when couple with. OPP is an interesting second option.

I mistook backstabber for black squad, that seems good

If you can position your asteroids right you can start him in at an angle, move 5, barrelroll "forward" and you have covered quite the distance. Bank 3 next turn and you're facing center, and should be beside/behind the enemy at range 1-2. You can of course barrel roll that round to adjust too! Might not get the howlrunner re-roll but you should be getting 4 dice and a focus half the time. If they turn on him, great! they just turned their force to take out the lowest point cost ship you have and left Turr on your backside.

One of the reasons I am using this list is finding hearing about tactics like this, so thanks for suggesting it. I had built a bomber list that stays in formation mostly, but that was a bit more straightforward.

Yay another Imperial list!!!

Lookin' good.

Had a chance to play this one again(against Luke, Dutch, a Rookie, and Green). I swapped Backstabber for Dark Curse and I have to say it worked well,

Backstabber and Turr on opposite flanks with the other three (Howl, 2xAlpha) up the middle. My opponent made a nice feint as if he were going after both flankers and then circled back to point all guns at my central group. I had prepared for that with evade tokens on all. We exchanged a shoot out at range three that wasn't effective for either side, though Turr was tearing up the rookie on the flank.

I decided with my overall pilot skill (and swarm), including the damage to the rookie that I had inflicted I could move into close range for a joust type shootout, especially since Turr would continue to hold the flank and Backstabber would join the party as well. It worked, especially as I managed to take limited damage, took out the Rookie out and crippled the Awing. At that point I had a big advantage in firepower and maneuver and cleaned things up pretty quickly.

More thoughts:

1: Turr isn't making a lot of use of PTL. Wonder if an upgrade somewhere else might be more effective.

2. Howlrunner's Reroll was cold early but in the end it allowed me to take down Luke quickly, so while I wavered on her usefulness with a ver small group, she ended up being worthwhile.

3. Swarm is key to this list with the two Alphas. It almost guarantees them both two rounds of shots, even in the thick of things, assuming I correctly determine the tougher Alpha to hit.

The trick to using PTL on Turr is to have it trigger off of his free action, not during the normal action round.

Boost + Barrel Roll leads to a greater chance of getting out of a firing arc when he's done shooting, or if either would suffice, consider grabbing an Evade (or Target Lock if you're a fancy).

When your opponent decides Turr is going down then you'll really like PTL. Make sure you're triggering it off his second action.

Sounds fun! Sounds fun to play against as well!

Took on a three ship rebel list with Ibit, Luke with R2D2 and Garven tonight. I thought this would be a tough fight and it was, but part of that was because I parked Turr on an asteroid early and made another similar mistake with Howl.

My opponent went with a cautious strategy and had tried to cover space with his arcs rather than concentrate fire in one direction. It actually provided a challenge in that I could to simply swing around with a flanking forces, especially since I played Turr like he was chasing the Falcon in Empire....

This allowed me to target his Bwing and finish it off in two rounds, despite my ships taking some damage. I did trade an Alpha for it but I'll take that trade and it was because the Alpha had swarm that it managed to help finish off the Bwing. That has been key in this list. I then finished of Garvin to focus in Luke and all my ships were hurting but I made it to the end game just losing the two Alphas.

I think I had some luck this game and learned a few more things:

1. Turr requires a lot of finesse when facing higher PS enemies. A single mistake and he doesn't get a shot which means he can't change position when hoped.

2. My Alphas often take evade because they go so darn early there are just too many possibilities. Of course, swarm and a Reroll from Howl on the attack means they are effective on both sides.

3. I am really enjoying the list. It hits an opponent at different angles and has some confusing target priority,

This weekend will be an interesting test as they get their first run in a store tourney. After that, I make some changes and Turr becomes Jax,,,

It's been awhile, but this list continues to be my most successful to date. My only loss was a recent one and coupled with bad mistakes after being up 5 ships to 2 I lost three in a row to one shot kills. It was painful. The next two went down similarly both due to some bad mistakes and continued poor green dice.

My newest version is going to be Howlrunner (Swarm), Carnor Jax (PTL), Mauler Mithel, Backstabber, and an Alpha.

If one was willing to forgo the double flank to make the alpha's shots count, you could fly this in a box

Howlrunner w/ swarm tactics

Black Squadron TIE w/ swarm tactics

2x Alpha Squadron INT

Shooting on 8,8,4,4 until an alpha dies, then 8,8,8. You still have 28pts for your flank force, like turr w/ push the limit, or an omicron lambda w/ advanced sensors & engine upgrade, or Gamma Bomber w/ some ordnance, or Maarek Stele if your feeling baller ;P