List critique

By hecabomb, in X-Wing

Hi guys, I'm looking at these three lists, which would you guys recommend?

I'm also worried that the list is squishy, I'm trying to move away from my regular Firespray list.

What would you guys improve? What are their weaknesses?

List 1:

Carnor Jax — TIE Interceptor 26

Push the Limit 3

"Howlrunner" — TIE Fighter 18

Black Squadron Pilot — TIE Fighter 14

Draw Their Fire 1

Black Squadron Pilot — TIE Fighter 14

Academy Pilot — TIE Fighter 12

Academy Pilot — TIE Fighter 12

List 2:

Soontir Fel — TIE Interceptor 27

Push the Limit 3

"Howlrunner" — TIE Fighter 18

Black Squadron Pilot — TIE Fighter 14

Black Squadron Pilot — TIE Fighter 14

Academy Pilot — TIE Fighter 12

Academy Pilot — TIE Fighter

List 3:

Turr Phennir — TIE Interceptor 25

Push the Limit 3

"Howlrunner" — TIE Fighter 18

Black Squadron Pilot — TIE Fighter 14

Veteran Instincts 1

Black Squadron Pilot — TIE Fighter 14

Veteran Instincts 1

Academy Pilot — TIE Fighter 12

Academy Pilot — TIE Fighter 12

Thanks guys!

Edited by hecabomb

Of the three, the Second one makes the most sense to me. Question, why run Black but no EPT? I would understand if it was to match PS with other ships in the fleet, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Are you just looking to spread our your movements? I find this causes more problems than solutions.

I'm guessing the idea here is a little swarm with the Interceptor playing the roll of the flanker. If that's the case, Fel is your guy. PtL give him THREE actions and when the TC mod becomes tournament legal THAT is going to be deadly!

For a friendly game, I would replace the Blacks with Academies, and use the 4 extra points to put a TC mod on Fel and give Howlrunner an EPT.

Are you flanking your lone interceptor, or flying it in howl's bubble? If flanking, then list 3 is best. Turr can get away without having a stealth device in this case. My only suggestion would be to trade veteran instincts for draw their fire on both BSPs (or at least one). It really helps keep howlrunner alive a little longer.

If you're running everything in one blob, then list 1 is best imo because carnor wants to get into the thick of the enemy, not on the flank.

List 2 doesn't work as well because you don't put your BSPs to any good use, and Soontir really works best with a stealth device to maximize effective use of his 'tank mode' (ie evade + double focus).

For the record, I don't think 6 TIEs constitutes 'squishy', but you do have to fly carefully and really focus your fire to start removing enemy ships asap.

Great points!

Yup I do run BSP for the PS bid - there are more Daggers and Blues than there are players! The idea is that most of my TIEs benefit from the Howl re roll before she goes up in flames.

One thing I do see is that Howlrunner gets taken to the cleaners early, and my experience suggests, it's fate. She got one shotted twice in the previous store championship - but it was good enough bait that Kath PTL could sweep in, flank and tidy up the mess. I'm not a big believer in green dice.

Howlrunner is my Biggs - the card text really should add, "Enemy ships attacking friendly ships at Range 1-2 must attack Howlrunner instead"

I must be flying wrong, because more often than not, she gets bumped due to her proximity to the TIE fighter formations. This creates a bit of an issue because B wings with advanced sensors are immune to R1 anti-action bumping, and also puts me off from using PTL on her. Any tips?

Stone - you're right. Either they go after the swarm and get an interceptor at R1 in the side, or they go after the interceptor, which does its magical boost + barrel roll and tactical retreat, leaving enemy ships with inferior positioning.

Blade - flank all the way! I've seen blank green dice from TIE interceptors one too many times.

Why not put DTF on a Black? This could help keep Howlrunner around longer. I also find Determination is a great (and cheap) way to keep a ship around. Roughly 40% of the damage cards have the "pilot" heading. It's a gamble, but it's a cheap gamble.

So:

Soontir+PtL

Howlrunner+Determination

Black+DTF

Academy x3

I'm seeing three variations on Interceptor Ace + Howlrunner mini-swarm. Each will have their advantages and drawbacks:

List 1: Jax is neat and all but to be the force you want him to be he'll need to be mixing up in close quarters with the enemy. He may be able to use PtL to Focus/Evade and avoid some damage but even if he messes up opponent's Focus/Evade tokens he is still vulnerable to blocking and is likely to be taking a number of R1 shots. If there is an Interceptor that is going to take fire in close quarters it is Jax so I would either admit I'm going to lose him earlier or put more points into defense. Although the rest of the squad can't support it Jax is a guy I'd want to give a Stealth Device and Shield Upgrade to because I think he may need both.

List 2: Pretty typical Soontir and min-swarm. I'd maybe change all the generic TIEs over to Obsidians which may hurt a little against PS 4 ships but gives you an edge over all the PS2 ships. Not really all that much to say about this as you have Fel who can be a terrifying flanker and the mini-swarm.

List 3: Turr and PtL can be crazy but can also be complicated. He is also a bit more vulnerable to higher PS aces. If you were going to run an Interceptor without upgrades Turr would be the one I'd try. When it comes to the TIE Fighters I'd see DtF on the BSP and perhap have Determination and/or other survivability mod on Howlrunner. The changes I'd look at for that squadron are VI to Turr, lose the PtL and give Howlrunner a Stealth Device, Give Howlrunner Determination and a BSP DtF. Need to check points on that.

Cool thanks for all the feedback guys - gonna play test this as soon as I can. Let you know how it goes.

I'm leaning towards Fel at the moment due to his action stack.

I was also thinking of:

1x Cowall + PTL

1X RGP + PTL

4X Academy Pilots

Cool thanks for all the feedback guys - gonna play test this as soon as I can. Let you know how it goes.

I'm leaning towards Fel at the moment due to his action stack.

I was also thinking of:

1x Cowall + PTL

1X RGP + PTL

4X Academy Pilots

I like this one. Cowall is vastly underrated. He paid nothing for his ability. Basically he's a PS 7 RGP...who occasionally flips out. I liked this until I realized the extra 2 pts gets you this:

RGP + PTL x2

Obsidian x2

AP x2

PS 6,6,3,3,1,1 is great... but they you can always go down to:

Saber+PTL x2

Backstabber

APx3

See how even with how awesome the RGP pilot is those extra 2pts could matter pretty big time. Stabber is no joke here.

I still stand by your first list though. Nothing wrong with it at all and depending on your meta, it might even be the strongest.

I went with this last night:

Soontir Fel — TIE Interceptor 27

Push the Limit 3

Targeting Computer 2

"Howlrunner" — TIE Fighter 18

Obsidian Squadron Pilot — TIE Fighter 13

Obsidian Squadron Pilot — TIE Fighter 13

Academy Pilot — TIE Fighter 12

Academy Pilot — TIE Fighter 12

It worked well - not a soft list and it hits almost as hard as a regular 7 swarm.

Only thing is to get the set up right and read your opponent well. If you read him right I.e. You know if he's going for the swarm or Fel, the game becomes easier.

I tried running a 3 ship list

Kath + PTL + Recon Specialist + Seismic 50

RGP + PTL x2 50

I think the Internet calls this one Lady In Red.

Fantastically fun list and hyper maneuverable. Only thing is that you have pretty much no room for error. I lost a recent game night cause I misjudged positions. Often only one mistake was made but that killed everything.

Edited by hecabomb