So I've been Mainly flying 2 bounty hunters and an interceptor, but felt like a change.

I wanna try out rebels, but flying a 4 ship build (kyle focus factory, Biggs and 2b's), I feel the need for speed.

Howl, swarm

Mauler, Swarm

Alpha squadron interceptor x 2

Royal guard, ptl.

Now I can take or leave the royal guard, but I want a 3rd interceptor.I could swap ptl for stealth or hull upgrade on howl.

What exactly, pray tell, is your question?

Now I can take or leave the royal guard, but I want a 3rd interceptor.I could swap ptl for stealth or hull upgrade on howl.

There's not much point taking a royal guard if you drop PtL off it. The 2 alphas may in fact be higher priority targets than howl anyway, especially if they are flying in front of her.

So I've been Mainly flying 2 bounty hunters and an interceptor, but felt like a change.

I wanna try out rebels, but flying a 4 ship build (kyle focus factory, Biggs and 2b's), I feel the need for speed.

Howl, swarm

Mauler, Swarm

Alpha squadron interceptor x 2

Royal guard, ptl.

Now I can take or leave the royal guard, but I want a 3rd interceptor.I could swap ptl for stealth or hull upgrade on howl.

I'd drop the Swarm Tacticses and demote Mauler before taking the Royal Guard's PTL away, particularly if demoting him to a Saber was an option.. Possibly turn the Alpha Interceptors into 3 Academies as well.

That leaves us with :

Howlrunner

Royal Guard + PTL

4x Academy

9 points for seasoning

I feel that Howlrunner needs at least 3 TIE fighters nearby for her ability to work well. Limiting ourselves to that, we've got 3x academy, and 21 points for an extra ship and seasoning.

Howlrunner

Royal Guard + PTL

4x Academy

9 points for seasoning

I feel that Howlrunner needs at least 3 TIE fighters nearby for her ability to work well. Limiting ourselves to that, we've got 3x academy, and 21 points for an extra ship and seasoning.

Mauler and Swarm Tactics x2 costs 21 points, which is what's in the OP, so the only difference is 2x Alpha vs 3x Academy.

I just ran a list last weekend that was similar - Howlrunner, Carnor Jax /ptl/HU, and 2 RGP interceptors w/ptl. It was loads of fun to fly..

I like this kind of list a lot and it's similar to my own favorite list type, which has a lot of variation:

Howl w/ swarm, Backstabber, 2x Alphas, Turr with PTL.

What Alex said^^^

Backstabber is an alpha with higher PS for all purposes in this list. Better dial and Boost mean nothing if you're chaining them to howlrunner.

Ok, my buddy only has 3 xwing sand a falcon, so he always runs this

Solo, Luke, 3po, determination

Rookie pilot x2

And I can't beat this. Will any of these lists do that?

I ran Fel, carnor, and a royal. Doesn't touch the falcon. Need help, thanks.

Ok, my buddy only has 3 xwing sand a falcon, so he always runs this

Solo, Luke, 3po, determination

Rookie pilot x2

And I can't beat this. Will any of these lists do that?

I ran Fel, carnor, and a royal. Doesn't touch the falcon. Need help, thanks.

You need to kill the falcon first with full attention to it. A list I ran similar to the one I mentioned above used Jax and Mithel instead of Turr and one of the Alphas. I basically took Chewie down in one round (except for one shield). Hit it at range 3 initially then go in close for the kill. You may lose a ship. But once it's down, you should have no trouble with the rookies as they will struggle to get good shots if you are flying well. Also, remember 3po is once per round only, so you should be able to get him, but I could see it being tough with just three ships.

Actually I would ignore Han and kill the escorts. If you can take an x-wing down before one gets to fire, you have taken 1/3 of his offensive power out. Take the other one out and he'll be down to rolling only 3 or 4 attack dice against one target only. Han isn't so scary once he's by himself.

The Falcon will go down quickly once 3 or so ties focus fire on it at close range. Of course i'd run more than 3 INTs.

Conventional wisdom says kill the rookies first... You maximize your firepower while dwindling theirs faster. You will lose a ship before you take down Han but you should kill and dent one rookie in the engagement round and probably kill 2 xwings before they fire 2 shots between them if you're a high PS swarm.

Conventional wisdom says kill the rookies first... You maximize your firepower while dwindling theirs faster. You will lose a ship before you take down Han but you should kill and dent one rookie in the engagement round and probably kill 2 xwings before they fire 2 shots between them if you're a high PS swarm.

That said, no plan should be inflexible and if you can isolate a rookie without taking shots from Han, you do it, but that's not the plan to enter this game with.

Actually I would ignore Han and kill the escorts. If you can take an x-wing down before one gets to fire, you have taken 1/3 of his offensive power out. Take the other one out and he'll be down to rolling only 3 or 4 attack dice against one target only. Han isn't so scary once he's by himself.

The Falcon will go down quickly once 3 or so ties focus fire on it at close range. Of course i'd run more than 3 INTs.

It might depend on what you fly and how Han flys but would you rather face attacks of up to 12 dice, 12 dice, 8 dice, 8 dice or 8, 8, 4, 4?

Yep, it's an end game matter. If the Han pilot can outfly you, you probably were going to lose anyway. This way at least you're not losing to dice too. Kill the rookies first and you have a chance to see if they are the better pilot.

It might depend on what you fly and how Han flys but would you rather face attacks of up to 12 dice, 12 dice, 8 dice, 8 dice or 8, 8, 4, 4?

Yep, it's an end game matter. If the Han pilot can outfly you, you probably were going to lose anyway. This way at least you're not losing to dice too. Kill the rookies first and you have a chance to see if they are the better pilot.

Sorry, but with this approach you do lose the game if your opponent is a decent pilot. Your dice are assuming everyone gets a shot at close range. Why would that be the case? Also, it's avoiding the key point that interceptors should be able to outmaneuver two rookies easily in the endgame when they won't be able to do that with Han. So, in total, you should face fewer shots over an entire game by killing Han first.

It seems we have a fundamental difference of strategy, but I'm far more confident going after Han first, since I'd have more assets to deal with him a that time and he's a hard counter to my list, rather than later.

It might depend on what you fly and how Han flys but would you rather face attacks of up to 12 dice, 12 dice, 8 dice, 8 dice or 8, 8, 4, 4?

Yep, it's an end game matter. If the Han pilot can outfly you, you probably were going to lose anyway. This way at least you're not losing to dice too. Kill the rookies first and you have a chance to see if they are the better pilot.

Sorry, but with this approach you do lose the game if your opponent is a decent pilot. Your dice are assuming everyone gets a shot at close range. Why would that be the case? Also, it's avoiding the key point that interceptors should be able to outmaneuver two rookies easily in the endgame when they won't be able to do that with Han. So, in total, you should face fewer shots over an entire game by killing Han first.

It seems we have a fundamental difference of strategy, but I'm far more confident going after Han first, since I'd have more assets to deal with him a that time and he's a hard counter to my list, rather than later.

Agreed. When talking about a predominantly interceptor list, you absolutely have to kill the falcon first. Its the only real threat to you. The rookies should not pose a problem at all as long as you have one PtL interceptor left with at least one hull

It might depend on what you fly and how Han flys but would you rather face attacks of up to 12 dice, 12 dice, 8 dice, 8 dice or 8, 8, 4, 4?

Yep, it's an end game matter. If the Han pilot can outfly you, you probably were going to lose anyway. This way at least you're not losing to dice too. Kill the rookies first and you have a chance to see if they are the better pilot.

Sorry, but with this approach you do lose the game if your opponent is a decent pilot. Your dice are assuming everyone gets a shot at close range. Why would that be the case? Also, it's avoiding the key point that interceptors should be able to outmaneuver two rookies easily in the endgame when they won't be able to do that with Han. So, in total, you should face fewer shots over an entire game by killing Han first.

It seems we have a fundamental difference of strategy, but I'm far more confident going after Han first, since I'd have more assets to deal with him a that time and he's a hard counter to my list, rather than later.

My successes, with or without interceptors, vs. Han has always been kill the xwings first. If you don't roll max vs. Han on the engagement round you are mostly guaranteed to eat 6 shots over the first 2 rounds and the rookies know exactly what direction to face... If you roll average vs. the rookies you might only take 3 shots because you should kill one every round with 3-4 ships and you shoot before they do... you can go ahead and reduce those dice #'s: 9,9,3,3 or 6,6,3 over 4 rounds. One is still preferable to the other. I prefer close range with interceptors because that is the range where I do the most damage and arc dodging is easiest. At long range firing arcs get larger and larger and you must boost and BR to arc dodge where at close range you can do one or the other and focus.

That is how I have been successful vs. Han (casual and deathmatch only). Your mileage may vary but those are the reasons why I take out rookies first: I'm more likely to have more ships left with more board space to move and have taken less shots and dice REGARDLESS of my ability to outfly my opponent.

It might depend on what you fly and how Han flys but would you rather face attacks of up to 12 dice, 12 dice, 8 dice, 8 dice or 8, 8, 4, 4?

Yep, it's an end game matter. If the Han pilot can outfly you, you probably were going to lose anyway. This way at least you're not losing to dice too. Kill the rookies first and you have a chance to see if they are the better pilot.

Sorry, but with this approach you do lose the game if your opponent is a decent pilot. Your dice are assuming everyone gets a shot at close range. Why would that be the case? Also, it's avoiding the key point that interceptors should be able to outmaneuver two rookies easily in the endgame when they won't be able to do that with Han. So, in total, you should face fewer shots over an entire game by killing Han first.

It seems we have a fundamental difference of strategy, but I'm far more confident going after Han first, since I'd have more assets to deal with him a that time and he's a hard counter to my list, rather than later.

My successes, with or without interceptors, vs. Han has always been kill the xwings first. If you don't roll max vs. Han on the engagement round you are mostly guaranteed to eat 6 shots over the first 2 rounds and the rookies know exactly what direction to face... If you roll average vs. the rookies you might only take 3 shots because you should kill one every round with 3-4 ships and you shoot before they do... you can go ahead and reduce those dice #'s: 9,9,3,3 or 6,6,3 over 4 rounds. One is still preferable to the other. I prefer close range with interceptors because that is the range where I do the most damage and arc dodging is easiest. At long range firing arcs get larger and larger and you must boost and BR to arc dodge where at close range you can do one or the other and focus.

That is how I have been successful vs. Han (casual and deathmatch only). Your mileage may vary but those are the reasons why I take out rookies first: I'm more likely to have more ships left with more board space to move and have taken less shots and dice REGARDLESS of my ability to outfly my opponent.

I have actually had success with both methods and experience losing. It has always been the far tougher road, though, in my experience, to save the falcon for last. Whereas, when I eliminate a falcon early, the game becomes much easier.

Han doesn't even need actions to be effective with 3PO and gunner/luke and his own rerolls, he's a more potent and maneuverable force than two Rookies, including that he can strip tokens on his own. I note this because it's a basic point that simply identifying the number of attack dice you're facing p/round with each strategy doesn't address.

My initial approach is to maneuver so that the rookies have to hopefully split their fire (otherwise I am giving away a ship) and turtle up. Once I take the falcon out, the support ships aren't typically built to take on the rest of my force on their own.

I do respect that you've had a different experience, I just find that once the falcon goes down, I gain a huge maneuver advantage that is difficult for the opponent to recover from. Either way, we've given the OP some things to think about.

Exactly! 2 strategies and the same result: Death to Rebel SCUM! What's not to like?

This is one of the best aspects of this game: there is no "right" way when 2 evenly matches lists and players are on thier game, two completely different ways and as long as the dice don't swing the game, both ways can win.

Thanks for the discourse! This board could use a little more civil debate.

So I've been Mainly flying 2 bounty hunters and an interceptor, but felt like a change.

I wanna try out rebels, but flying a 4 ship build (kyle focus factory, Biggs and 2b's), I feel the need for speed.

Howl, swarm

Mauler, Swarm

Alpha squadron interceptor x 2

Royal guard, ptl.

Now I can take or leave the royal guard, but I want a 3rd interceptor.I could swap ptl for stealth or hull upgrade on howl.

Nurglez:

I really like this list. If you don't mind, I would appreciate it if you could come up with some catchy name for it. I am going to play it a couple times and see if it is as good as it looks at first glance, if it is I would like to credit you if/when I take it to a tourney. Hopefully it will win us a few games!

Crimson Fog?

Vampiric Mist?

That's a lot of red

Howl swarm Royal with cheese

Royal Howlpha strike

Fun list. A PS swarm that is essentially 3 RGP with VI and howlrunner and mauler for "cheap".

So I've been Mainly flying 2 bounty hunters and an interceptor, but felt like a change.

I wanna try out rebels, but flying a 4 ship build (kyle focus factory, Biggs and 2b's), I feel the need for speed.

Howl, swarm

Mauler, Swarm

Alpha squadron interceptor x 2

Royal guard, ptl.

Now I can take or leave the royal guard, but I want a 3rd interceptor.I could swap ptl for stealth or hull upgrade on howl.

Nurglez:

I really like this list. If you don't mind, I would appreciate it if you could come up with some catchy name for it. I am going to play it a couple times and see if it is as good as it looks at first glance, if it is I would like to credit you if/when I take it to a tourney. Hopefully it will win us a few games!

How about, "You've Got Red On You"

Double nerd points for two fandoms and genres.

So I've been Mainly flying 2 bounty hunters and an interceptor, but felt like a change.

I wanna try out rebels, but flying a 4 ship build (kyle focus factory, Biggs and 2b's), I feel the need for speed.

Howl, swarm

Mauler, Swarm

Alpha squadron interceptor x 2

Royal guard, ptl.

Now I can take or leave the royal guard, but I want a 3rd interceptor.I could swap ptl for stealth or hull upgrade on howl.

Beautiful, find a name for it so we can spread the love

So I've been Mainly flying 2 bounty hunters and an interceptor, but felt like a change.

I wanna try out rebels, but flying a 4 ship build (kyle focus factory, Biggs and 2b's), I feel the need for speed.

Howl, swarm

Mauler, Swarm

Alpha squadron interceptor x 2

Royal guard, ptl.

Now I can take or leave the royal guard, but I want a 3rd interceptor.I could swap ptl for stealth or hull upgrade on howl.

Beautiful, find a name for it so we can spread the love