How do you plan to use R2-D6? I plan to put him on Horton or Dutch. With those Flechette Torps, my favorite starfighter just got more awesome.

R2D6 + that guy who removes stress when spending TL + Opportunist

What EPT do you plan to use, that's the main question.

Predator makes Proton Torpedoes a bit nastier, so I can see trying Gray Squadron + Predator + 2x Proton Torpedoes. Along the same lines would be Horton + Deadeye + 2x PT, which has the advantage of being legal right now but probably sit ll won't be very good. And Gray + Draw Their Fire is a cheap way to make your list a bit more durable, so that's on the list.

I'd say Red + PTL + Engine Upgrade is on the list of stuff to do with X-wings, but R7-T1 will be a better and far cheaper way to accomplish the same goal. I think Garven + Veteran Instincts is worth picking up, though, and I'm interested in running Red + Squad Leader in a list with 3x Blue + Fire Control for buckets and buckets of extra actions. Oh, and as Duraham noted, Other than that, Hobbie + PTL/Opportunist is potentially a nasty customer.

PTL for Hobbie, Marksmanship for Horton (Although I like the Deadeye idea) Elusiveness for Biggs (probably not quite as good as a R2-F2 but it frees up an action)

R2D6 + that guy who removes stress when spending TL + Opportunist

Pretty overrated IMO. You're paying 30 points for a conditional bonus attack die, while Wedge gives you PS 9 and effectively an unconditional bonus attack die for 29 points. And since Wedge's bonus doesn't involve committing to a target lock you're free to take a focus action instead.

The same is true for PTL, of course. Let Hobbie do his unique thing with the stress droid, don't try to turn him into an improvised Wedge.

Marksmanship for Horton

Also not a good idea. You're paying +4 points and your droid slot to let your focus action give crits instead of working on defense. That's not even close to efficient, especially on a torpedo ship that already turns your first eye into a crit. Deadeye is the only EPT I'd consider on Salm, he costs enough that you're committed to a 3-ship list and deadeye makes sure that even when your other PS 8-9 ships kill the guy you wanted to shoot you can still torpedo the next target in line.

-1 defense is quite different than +1 attack. The latter increases your max damage, while the former doesn't. Plus, Wedge's ability is useless against zero-agility ships (Transport, Corvette, or 1-agility and the right crit), while Opportunist will always add dice. That being said, I agree that Hobbie + Opportunist isn't quite worth the cost, especially with a PS of just 5. But Hobbie and PtL...that means a TL and focus each round, and no stress at the end. That's straight-out fantastic; even if you're on the defensive, you STILL have an offensive action to spend, and, on the offensive, you have the best action combo in the game. That's Tycho + PtL on steroids; two actions a round, but you can K-Turn afterwards.

R2D6 + that guy who removes stress when spending TL + Opportunist

Pretty overrated IMO. You're paying 30 points for a conditional bonus attack die, while Wedge gives you PS 9 and effectively an unconditional bonus attack die for 29 points. And since Wedge's bonus doesn't involve committing to a target lock you're free to take a focus action instead.

The same is true for PTL, of course. Let Hobbie do his unique thing with the stress droid, don't try to turn him into an improvised Wedge.

-1 defense is quite different than +1 attack. The latter increases your max damage, while the former doesn't. Plus, Wedge's ability is useless against zero-agility ships (Transport, Corvette, or 1-agility and the right crit), while Opportunist will always add dice. That being said, I agree that Hobbie + Opportunist isn't quite worth the cost, especially with a PS of just 5. But Hobbie and PtL...that means a TL and focus each round, and no stress at the end. That's straight-out fantastic; even if you're on the defensive, you STILL have an offensive action to spend, and, on the offensive, you have the best action combo in the game. That's Tycho + PtL on steroids; two actions a round, but you can K-Turn afterwards.

Completely agree running Hobbie with PTL; free action no stress, THANK YOU!! On a side note I also like Hobbie with R3-A2 and Flechette torps. Giving a ship 2 stress in one turn and clearing yours, Fantastic. This is how I ran him 2 nights ago, also had dutch w/ ion, r2d6, determination, hull upgrade and Wes w/ r2 astro, PTL, Flechette torps, hull hull upgrade. Went 2-1 and almost won my third game mono e mono, Mauler Mithel got lucky with a range 3 shot against Wes in the back.

I like the idea of giving Garvin predator (when it comes out). Since he is almost always focusing a free reroll could really boost his offence.

Dutch + Ion + R7-T1. Move, TL, pass free TL, boost out of arc, ionize!

...I agree that Hobbie + Opportunist isn't quite worth the cost, especially with a PS of just 5.

I completely disagree. PS5 makes Opportunist fairly easy to trigger, while still shooting ahead of almost every generic pilot in the game, and 4 dice with TL against stock Agility is more effective (i.e., higher average damage) than 3 dice with TL against reduced Agility.

It's also worth noting that even if 30-point Hobbie + Opportunist is only about as good as 29-point Wedge is, that means you can run Wedge and another X-wing that's just as effective as Wedge. It pushes you into a 3-ship build or into using A-wings or (eventually) Headhunters, but it could definitely be viable.

It's also worth noting that even if 30-point Hobbie + Opportunist is only about as good as 29-point Wedge is, that means you can run Wedge and another X-wing that's just as effective as Wedge. It pushes you into a 3-ship build or into using A-wings or (eventually) Headhunters, but it could definitely be viable.

The problem with this plan is that it's not just Wedge he's competing with. You've got Salm, HLC B-wings, Luke (more damage by staying alive longer), etc. Trying to turn Hobbie into a high-end damage pilot just isn't very efficient. What you want to do is look at what he can actually do that's unique, and not just an inferior clone of Wedge. And the answer is the stress droid: Hobbie is by far the best pilot for the stress droid, since he can keep using it turn after turn while clearing his own stress with a TL.

And of course there's another problem that will appear in this case: if you kill the ship Hobbie gets a TL on (as is likely to happen with two other elite aces in your list that presumably shoot first) then Hobbie is left with a stress token he can't clear without a green maneuver next turn, and no benefit from using PTL.

-1 defense is quite different than +1 attack. The latter increases your max damage, while the former doesn't. Plus, Wedge's ability is useless against zero-agility ships (Transport, Corvette, or 1-agility and the right crit), while Opportunist will always add dice.

No, it's not exactly the same, but it's pretty close. Opportunist, assuming you have the TL available, adds 0.75 average damage, while Wedge's ability adds 0.375 average damage (no defensive focus available) or 0.625 average damage (defensive focus available, which it should be at PS 9). So even in the best-case scenario, where Wedge's target never has defensive focus, you're getting about a 15% increase in average damage, at the cost of having to set up the right conditions to make it work instead of just pointing Wedge at a target and killing it. And of course you lose all of the benefits of PS 9, while paying more points.

And yes, you can have zero-agility ships in certain very rare situations. That's a much less relevant restriction than having to catch a target without any kind of defensive token available, and never kill the target you had a TL on with one of your other ships before Hobbie shoots.

That's straight-out fantastic; even if you're on the defensive, you STILL have an offensive action to spend, and, on the offensive, you have the best action combo in the game.

Except it's really not that impressive because it costs so many points. PTL is already weak enough on x-wings because of their limited action bar, spending 29 points for PTL on an x-wing is just insane.

That's Tycho + PtL on steroids; two actions a round, but you can K-Turn afterwards.

No, it's not even close. Tycho's ability is powerful because he has so many different actions available. You can make reactive moves with boost + focus, go into full turtle mode with focus + evade, or go full offense with focus + target lock. If all Tycho had was focus and target lock then it would be a pathetic ability, and you'd just pay the points to upgrade to an x-wing instead.

I think a 29 point no stress PTL X-Wing is pretty handy!

Sure Hobbie and the R3-A2 might be a better but Hobbie with PTL is still a stong combo.

Side question about the sequencing of Hobbie's ability with PTL: If he focuses then Tgt Locks does PTL trigger for stress then he loses it for his pilot ability?

I think a 29 point no stress PTL X-Wing is pretty handy!

Sure Hobbie and the R3-A2 might be a better but Hobbie with PTL is still a stong combo.

Side question about the sequencing of Hobbie's ability with PTL: If he focuses then Tgt Locks does PTL trigger for stress then he loses it for his pilot ability?

No, with with PTL you take an action then receive a stress. So you'll have to spend the TL in the same turn to clear the stress through pilot ability.

Garven, R2D6, Deadeye, and a Torpedo. Very very awesome.

Probably overcosted and would be better to just give Deadeye to a B-wing. But Deadeye seems under-rated to me.

-1 defense is quite different than +1 attack. The latter increases your max damage, while the former doesn't. Plus, Wedge's ability is useless against zero-agility ships (Transport, Corvette, or 1-agility and the right crit), while Opportunist will always add dice.

No, it's not exactly the same, but it's pretty close. Opportunist, assuming you have the TL available, adds 0.75 average damage, while Wedge's ability adds 0.375 average damage (no defensive focus available) or 0.625 average damage (defensive focus available, which it should be at PS 9). So even in the best-case scenario, where Wedge's target never has defensive focus, you're getting about a 15% increase in average damage, at the cost of having to set up the right conditions to make it work instead of just pointing Wedge at a target and killing it. And of course you lose all of the benefits of PS 9, while paying more points.And yes, you can have zero-agility ships in certain very rare situations. That's a much less relevant restriction than having to catch a target without any kind of defensive token available, and never kill the target you had a TL on with one of your other ships before Hobbie shoots.

I stand corrected. Although zero agility ships are about to get a lot more common with more Epic ships.

That's straight-out fantastic; even if you're on the defensive, you STILL have an offensive action to spend, and, on the offensive, you have the best action combo in the game.

That's Tycho + PtL on steroids; two actions a round, but you can K-Turn afterwards.

An X-Wing has better offense in a game that favors offense. On full defense, at long range or against low-attack ships, Tycho is better, but he doesn't have nearly the same stopping power as an X-Wing, and he lacks in durability. You whiff a defense roll, and you're out a named pilot. The X-Wing has a bit more durability, and, with Hobbie, you can K-Turn, meaning that there are a lot fewer situations where you HAVE to go on the defensive.

PtL was pretty much built for Tycho, but that doesn't mean that it can't be useful on other pilots. A free action is a free action, and I, personally, think that the points cost is justified.

R2D6 + Swarm Tactics on a Grey or Red pilot. That's a PS boost for a rookie or gold. Of course you would want to chain that with an even higher PS pilot for maximum effectiveness.

Sure you're not putting a higher profile EPT on the pilot but as most pointed out those EPTs + R2D6 becomes a major point sink.

R2D6 + Swarm Tactics on a Grey or Red pilot. That's a PS boost for a rookie or gold.

This seems like a rather pointless option when you could just upgrade the rookie/gold to a red/gray instead of trying to make swarm tactics work. This would only make any sense if you had a swarm tactics chain, but I don't think you're going to find many appealing lists that have a high-PS ship to start the chain AND a mid-level relay AND enough low-level ships to make it worth it.

R2D6 + Swarm Tactics on a Grey or Red pilot. That's a PS boost for a rookie or gold.

Or you could spend 1 point less and just have another Grey/Red pilot which also gives you the benefit of moving after lower PS pilots as well....

If you look at the next line you cut out from the quote, it does mention to be most effective you would want a even higher PS Pilot also with Swarm Tactics.

The Grey/Red with Swarm is to be used as a PS bridge between a higher Pilot and the Gold/Rookie.

Sure, but if you're trying to build a swarm out of X-Wings? You'd be better of starting with Roark.

Roark

Jek Porkins

- Swarm Tactics

Red Squadron

- R2-D6

- Swarm Tactics

Rookie Squadron

And 6 for upgrades some of which should go to Roark to actually give him some teeth or defense.

Hmm, might be not too bad actually. Once Roark's gone you're still shooting at 6.

Though if you'd go Roark, Luke + ST, Jek + ST, Rookie and 2 pts left, you'd go from 12, to 8, to 6, without using R2-D6.