So a tad hubristic, but now that we've seen a bit more of the Phantom who else is thinking about finals lists for Imdaar? The Rebels seem to synergize pretty well, but here's my Imperial idea.

Defender: Rexler (37)

Phantom: Echo (30) + Stygium generator (2)

Shuttle: Yorr (24) + Engine (4) + Darth (3)

http://geordanr.github.io/xwing/?f=Galactic%20Empire&d=v3!s!55:-1,-1,45,-1:-1:3:;78:-1,-1,-1:-1:8:;71:-1,-1,-1:-1:-1:

Basically the Ties I could put in feel like they're too few to be effective, so going for the criticals with Rexler and hopefully using Darth to finish off a Z-95 or E-wing, since they've both got only 2 hull points. Yorr also lets the Defender turn with impunity if I fly well. What are others coming up with?

I'm thinking more in terms of countering my opponent's ships, since I know what two of them will be. Blount with Ion Pulse Missiles seems like a legit choice, as does Cracken with Wingman paired with any ship equipped with R3-A2.

R2-F2 and Stealth Device also sounds like a hilarious way for the E-Wing to upstage the Phantom, but I'd probably go with FCS and R7 if I wanted to be defensive. I can also think of few better opportunities to use Corran's ability than when facing down an uncloaked Phantom.

I've got

Colonel Vessiry w/ Push the Limit & Stealth (41)

Shadow Squadron Pilot w/ Fire Control System & Advanced Cloaking Device (33)

2x Obsidian Squadron pilot (26)

100 Pts

Here are three ideas,

List 1

Brath (37) ion can (3) out man (3) Engi up (4)

phantom (25) shield (4)

Ap (24)

List 2

1-OGP (21) with ion (3)

1- Tie Pha (25) with adv Sen (3)

1- Tie Def (30) with ion can (3) ion pulse (2)

1- Ap (12)

List 3

2- Scm Bomber (32) with ion (6)

1- Phantom (25)

1- Defender (30) Ion Cannon (3)

There might be better synergy with the bombers, also the phantom should be able to take out just about anything after the ion attack. You also have 3 points for an upgrade.

I am thinking:

Vessery + VI

Echo + VI + AdvC + FCS + WE

2x Academy TIE

Is anybody else going to exclaim 'release the Craken!' When he comes into play? I know I will .

I have one other thought

3- Black squad with vet (45)

1- Phantom (25)

1- Defender (30)

I'm thinking more in terms of countering my opponent's ships, since I know what two of them will be. Blount with Ion Pulse Missiles seems like a legit choice, as does Cracken with Wingman paired with any ship equipped with R3-A2.

R2-F2 and Stealth Device also sounds like a hilarious way for the E-Wing to upstage the Phantom, but I'd probably go with FCS and R7 if I wanted to be defensive. I can also think of few better opportunities to use Corran's ability than when facing down an uncloaked Phantom.

I'm not sure R3-A2 and Wingman don't work all that well together. The timing is wrong: Wingman pulls stress at the start of the Combat phase, and R3-A2's stress doesn't come around until the ship's attack. So R3-A2 attacks and gets stressed, which sticks around until the Activation phase of the following round. If R3-A2 does a green maneuver, the stress token goes away and there's nothing for Wingman to do; if R3-A2 does a white maneuver, it loses an action anyway.

Cracken's free action fixes that, sort of. But in order for it to be useful, R3-A2 has to be activated, then R3-A2 has to execute a white maneuver, then it has to be at Range 1 from Cracken. That's a lot of work to go through to get one measly stress token added to an opponent's ship.

***

As to the post topic, I have a couple of ideas but I think they need to cook a little bit longer. I'll definitely be running Echo, probably with a PS1 Defender + Ion Cannon and either an Interceptor (PTL Royal Guard?) or a Bomber (Gamma with Flechettes and Homing?). On the Rebel side, I think something like Cracken/PS1 E-wing with R7 and Fire Control/2x something else. Not sure what the "something" will be, though.

Good observation. Push the Limit and, if necessary, R2-D6 would be a viable alternative, though less stress inducing for the opponent.

To finish your list, consider 2x Blue Squadron Pilot with either Ion Cannon or Advanced Sensors. You could also swap one of those Blues for Tarn + R7.

---

Here's something I quickly brainstormed, just for fun:

42 Chewbacca

5 Gunner

2 Anti-Pursuit Lasers

1 Intelligence Agent

35 Corran Horn

2 Fire-Control System

13 Tala Sauadron Pilot

You can swap the Tala for Bandit if you're bidding for initiative, or throw VI on Corran.

Well, if we go with the base ships, the imps only have 41 points to play with... The rebels on the other hand have 61 points to fill out.

I also think there'll be much less of a learning curve on flying the rebels than the imps. The defender provides a new style to flying, and the phantom has the tricky decloak maneuver that'll take a bit to get down. The Z95 is basically a weaker X wing, and the E wing is basically a stronger X/A wing (with a dial between the X and A).

For the imps, I would consider bringing a proton bomb, since you know 2 of the rebels will only have 2 hull. Maybe couple that ship (either a BH or a Scimitar/Gamma) with an APT to draw the fire away from the new shinys.

But for the rebels, I would start with Corran w/ VI + Flechettes + FCS. I would expect to see Whisper/Echo w/ VI... As such, I'll shoot before him, stressing you with the Flechettes so you can't cloak after your shot. I would then attempt to have the rest of my squad be able to kill you... So let's put a Cracken w/ HM + VI in there. Those two attacks should be good enough to kill a Phantom, even at R3... But just in case it's not, Cracken can give Corran another focus token for the end phase attack to kill it.

Herm... that only leaves me with 35 points... time to trim 7 points somewhere... Okay... modified list:

Corran w/ VI + Flechette

Airen

Rookie

Rookie

Corran at PS10 can shoot at the phantom and stress it, so it can't cloak with ACD. Then Airen can give Corran a free focus, which would ideally be used for the second attack during the end range... but could also be used for defense on your most expensive ship. The rookies get to shoot last, but can still shoot at the now vunerable phantom. And if they can't kill it, then Corran can take a second shot to attempt to blow it up.

Then, you just have to deal with the Defender K turning all over the place, which is okay with Corran since he can double shoot, run away, and then re-engage the following turn, pseudo negating the benefit that the defender has. And the rest of the squad will either be 1 pseudo expensive ship (naked BH, Fel, etc) or 2-3 TIEs... none of which is that scary alone. Go Go Rebels!

Imperial:

Sigma Squadron Phantom w/ Engine Upgrade,Intelligence Agent, and Advanced Sensors

Delta Squadron Defender

Academy TIE x3

Allows the Phantom to basically pull a 5-Straight on a Decloak before moving.

Rebel:

Knave Squadron w/ FCS

Bandit Squadron

Han Solo w/ Marksmanship, Gunner, Chewie

With such high costs for the Imperials ensuring a smaller team and the emphasis on high PS pilots, Han seems like he should be a really strong pilot who would basically negate a lot of the Phantom's trickery. You could probably even drop Marksmanship for VI to neuter the threat of a VI Whysper with an Advanced Cloak, which would also give you up to 3 points to spend on an Astromech for the E-Wing.

Han really shoots first.

Imperial:

Sigma Squadron Phantom w/ Engine Upgrade,Intelligence Agent, and Advanced Sensors

Delta Squadron Defender

Academy TIE x3

I really think Engine Upgrade on a Phantom is bad idea, both because you'll rarely have an action available to use it and because the "native" modifications for the Phantom are so good.

Then, you just have to deal with the Defender K turning all over the place, which is okay with Corran since he can double shoot, run away, and then re-engage the following turn, pseudo negating the benefit that the defender has. And the rest of the squad will either be 1 pseudo expensive ship (naked BH, Fel, etc) or 2-3 TIEs... none of which is that scary alone. Go Go Rebels!

I like your write up, though I think ion pulse missiles are going to be the star of both lists. Everything you explained is good but if one side can pulse then get behind pilot skills and upgrades will not make a difference. Also your last point about 3 ties are to scary might be true but then again I have seen 3 ties do amazing things :-p 9 shots are range 1 can beat just about any ship.

Imperial:Sigma Squadron Phantom w/ Engine Upgrade,Intelligence Agent, and Advanced SensorsDelta Squadron DefenderAcademy TIE x3

I really think Engine Upgrade on a Phantom is bad idea, both because you'll rarely have an action available to use it and because the "native" modifications for the Phantom are so good.

I agree with you, I would give the phantom an extra hull instead.

Then, you just have to deal with the Defender K turning all over the place, which is okay with Corran since he can double shoot, run away, and then re-engage the following turn, pseudo negating the benefit that the defender has. And the rest of the squad will either be 1 pseudo expensive ship (naked BH, Fel, etc) or 2-3 TIEs... none of which is that scary alone. Go Go Rebels!

I like your write up, though I think ion pulse missiles are going to be the star of both lists. Everything you explained is good but if one side can pulse then get behind pilot skills and upgrades will not make a difference. Also your last point about 3 ties are to scary might be true but then again I have seen 3 ties do amazing things :-p 9 shots are range 1 can beat just about any ship.

Well, Ion Pulse Missiles only come in the Z-95 pack, so I don't have to worry about facing them at Imdaar Alpha. I thought about adding them instead of the Flechettes, but I decided the guarantee of the stress was better than the chance of the ion... and to make sure they're ionized, I'd have to bring Blount, which means I can't bring Cracken, who can give Corran a second action for his second attack (or F+TL stack for the rookies).

Then, you just have to deal with the Defender K turning all over the place, which is okay with Corran since he can double shoot, run away, and then re-engage the following turn, pseudo negating the benefit that the defender has. And the rest of the squad will either be 1 pseudo expensive ship (naked BH, Fel, etc) or 2-3 TIEs... none of which is that scary alone. Go Go Rebels!

I like your write up, though I think ion pulse missiles are going to be the star of both lists. Everything you explained is good but if one side can pulse then get behind pilot skills and upgrades will not make a difference. Also your last point about 3 ties are to scary might be true but then again I have seen 3 ties do amazing things :-p 9 shots are range 1 can beat just about any ship.

Well, Ion Pulse Missiles only come in the Z-95 pack, so I don't have to worry about facing them at Imdaar Alpha. I thought about adding them instead of the Flechettes, but I decided the guarantee of the stress was better than the chance of the ion... and to make sure they're ionized, I'd have to bring Blount, which means I can't bring Cracken, who can give Corran a second action for his second attack (or F+TL stack for the rookies).

Curse you Voidstate then for letting me down! Even still, I'm not overly concerned about a 1 time use ion against my list... It's not particularly vulnerable to them like the phantom is. Nor is the missile as big of a threat as the cannon/turret that can effectively take a B out of the game.

Huh, hadn't really thought about the Cracken/Coran synergy before. That could be pretty deadly, which is why I'm all the more in favor of using Echo just to stay the heck out of arcs and hopefully soak some stress with Yorr. Am I right in thinking he'll also work for the effect of flechette torpedoes and the new R2 unit? I guess I just think throwing in random academies not supported by Howlrunner or something is just asking for them to die. I don't feel good about what I'm getting from other ships too if I just add them in to get piggybacking target locks for Vessery. I'd like to find a way to use a proton bomb but can't come up with good ships to put it on that aren't just one-trick ponies. Does anyone see any particular problems with my list?

Probably would go Imperial, but for Rebels, maybe something like this to throw out a lot more stress?

http://geordanr.github.io/xwing/?f=Rebel%20Alliance&d=v3!s!67:-1,-1:-1:-1:;74:-1,-1,58,4:-1:-1:;4:-1,69:-1:-1:;32:-1:-1:-1:

Or make Garven into a healer with the new R2 unit from the transport:

http://geordanr.github.io/xwing/?f=Rebel%20Alliance&d=v3!s!67:-1,-1:-1:-1:;74:-1,-1,58,78:-1:-1:;1:-1,2:-1:-1:;32:-1:-1:-1:

I'm really struggling to come up with Imperial lists that can stand up to a loaded Falcon while remaining balanced. The Defender in particular is tricky. It's a ship that really needs to be built around (especially the named pilots) but the steep price of the Phantom oh leaves you with 30-40 points to play with. Most builds I come up with just end up sticking with the 30-point PS1 pilot.

Rebel list could be

Han-Gunner, Marksmanship

Etahn

Tala-Squadron

or

Biggs-Stealth+R2 F2

Cracken-Swarm Tactics, Hull Upgrade

Corran-R5 K6(essentially to be a FCS because *gasp* I don't own a B-wing), PTL and Stealth

Imperial would be

Rexlar Brath-Predator-40

Whisper-VI+ACD-37

That leaves 23 pts for using Lorrir, Fel's Wrath, Royal Guard Pilot with VI, or even dropping VI on Whisper or dropping him to Echo with VI+ACD and having 24-25 pts for the last 2 ships, I probably will need to get in some vassal practice games to test it out

You guys are forgetting you need to make top 4 cut to run those squads

You guys are forgetting you need to make top 4 cut to run those squads

delta pilot

Echo+ADC+AdvS+VI+Navigator

RGP+PTL+Stealth

You guys are forgetting you need to make top 4 cut to run those squads

No you don't. You play all the other rounds with a standard list and build a whole new list for Top 2.