So as the subject states, Wes is a great ship at PS10 and his token strip ability. I am curious on your thoughts and how you think handling him will be easiest. He can strip your FCS Tl the following round, strip your evade/focus/tl off of soontir, or make your alpha strike less effective by taking out needed tokens.

He opens the door for opportunist, creating deadly combos with missiles or Wedge.

Focus fire is first thought but when it comes down to biggs, you might not get the chance.

So my thought is to run decoy ships (not the new ability). Run 2 high threat ships into his firing arc for one turn. Forcing your opponent to make 1 of 2 bad choices.

Bid at PS1 with a bunch of Academy Pilots, so his token removal isn't that big of a deal?

So as the subject states, Wes is a great ship at PS10 and his token strip ability. I am curious on your thoughts and how you think handling him will be easiest. He can strip your FCS Tl the following round, strip your evade/focus/tl off of soontir, or make your alpha strike less effective by taking out needed tokens.

He opens the door for opportunist, creating deadly combos with missiles or Wedge.

Focus fire is first thought but when it comes down to biggs, you might not get the chance.

So my thought is to run decoy ships (not the new ability). Run 2 high threat ships into his firing arc for one turn. Forcing your opponent to make 1 of 2 bad choices.

Wes has a natural PS of 8, 10 if you include VI.

So as the subject states, Wes is a great ship at PS10 and his token strip ability. I am curious on your thoughts and how you think handling him will be easiest. He can strip your FCS Tl the following round, strip your evade/focus/tl off of soontir, or make your alpha strike less effective by taking out needed tokens.

He opens the door for opportunist, creating deadly combos with missiles or Wedge.

Focus fire is first thought but when it comes down to biggs, you might not get the chance.

So my thought is to run decoy ships (not the new ability). Run 2 high threat ships into his firing arc for one turn. Forcing your opponent to make 1 of 2 bad choices.

Wes has a natural PS of 8, 10 if you include VI.

For his ability it seems only natural to have him shooting before anyone else @ PS 10. I have also only seen him effective at this PS. At PS 8 I don't fret as much because either a) you are running PS 9 ships or b) you are running a squad used to firing second.

Kill him. Kill him fast. Unless they aren't running Opportunist. In Which case Focus, or evade, use it while defending against his attacks, and wonder how they missed the synergy...(Stupid Golden Sun making me want to spell it psynergy...)

For his ability it seems only natural to have him shooting before anyone else @ PS 10. I have also only seen him effective at this PS. At PS 8 I don't fret as much because either a) you are running PS 9 ships or b) you are running a squad used to firing second.

There is no PS3-7?

I'd be surprised if i'd see competent squad containing only PS8+.

He's still an X-wing. Five hits and he's splat.

So as the subject states, Wes is a great ship at PS10 and his token strip ability. I am curious on your thoughts and how you think handling him will be easiest. He can strip your FCS Tl the following round, strip your evade/focus/tl off of soontir, or make your alpha strike less effective by taking out needed tokens.

He opens the door for opportunist, creating deadly combos with missiles or Wedge.

Focus fire is first thought but when it comes down to biggs, you might not get the chance.

So my thought is to run decoy ships (not the new ability). Run 2 high threat ships into his firing arc for one turn. Forcing your opponent to make 1 of 2 bad choices.

The biggest issue with his ability is that he can only strip one token. Ships that have multiple tokens will be relatively unaffected compared to ships with a single token. AND he can only make one attack per round. I think we will see an even bigger number of ships equipping Push the Limit or Crew Members that give multiple tokens, at least as first, until we see how much he is actually played. For instance, you mentioned Soontir. I don't think he will bother Soontir all that much. Assuming Wes has VI, then he may have a placement advantage most ships don't have against the baron. However, Soontir often has two tokens, sometimes three. Wes's player gets to choose which token he strips, but Soontir will likely still have an offensive or defensive token. New de-stressing mechanics like Porkins and Hobbie will see more ships with dual actions due to Push the Limit. PtL on Wedge with R2 Astromech may see a resurgence in response to Wes. His ability is good, but is hardly game-breaking. I think, if we see a change, it will be that we will simply see an already powerful list building tactic become more prevalent.

Sure, focus fire and the usual anti-X tricks work, but Wes can still do a number before he goes. As far as countering his ability in particular, I think MajorJuggler hit the nail on the head: bring swarms or other squads that have other means of non-token damage. I think a space whale or Firespray with a gunner could be a pretty solid counter. Also bomber lists with lots seismics or protons; Doom shuttle could be fantastic.

Going forward, I think Colonel Rex will be a good option as well with his sneaky target lock.

So as the subject states, Wes is a great ship at PS10 and his token strip ability. I am curious on your thoughts and how you think handling him will be easiest. He can strip your FCS Tl the following round, strip your evade/focus/tl off of soontir, or make your alpha strike less effective by taking out needed tokens.

He opens the door for opportunist, creating deadly combos with missiles or Wedge.

Focus fire is first thought but when it comes down to biggs, you might not get the chance.

So my thought is to run decoy ships (not the new ability). Run 2 high threat ships into his firing arc for one turn. Forcing your opponent to make 1 of 2 bad choices.

The biggest issue with his ability is that he can only strip one token. Ships that have multiple tokens will be relatively unaffected compared to ships with a single token. AND he can only make one attack per round. I think we will see an even bigger number of ships equipping Push the Limit or Crew Members that give multiple tokens, at least as first, until we see how much he is actually played. For instance, you mentioned Soontir. I don't think he will bother Soontir all that much. Assuming Wes has VI, then he may have a placement advantage most ships don't have against the baron. However, Soontir often has two tokens, sometimes three. Wes's player gets to choose which token he strips, but Soontir will likely still have an offensive or defensive token. New de-stressing mechanics like Porkins and Hobbie will see more ships with dual actions due to Push the Limit. PtL on Wedge with R2 Astromech may see a resurgence in response to Wes. His ability is good, but is hardly game-breaking. I think, if we see a change, it will be that we will simply see an already powerful list building tactic become more prevalent.

The problem is he can shoot at soontir with a TL, (say get enough hits) Soontir has to burn a token or two, then get the third one stripped away. Naked interceptors are dead interceptors. With the rest of the squad firing (if they have arc) it can be a bad day for them.

The biggest issue with his ability is that he can only strip one token. Ships that have multiple tokens will be relatively unaffected compared to ships with a single token. AND he can only make one attack per round. I think we will see an even bigger number of ships equipping Push the Limit or Crew Members that give multiple tokens, at least as first, until we see how much he is actually played. For instance, you mentioned Soontir. I don't think he will bother Soontir all that much. Assuming Wes has VI, then he may have a placement advantage most ships don't have against the baron. However, Soontir often has two tokens, sometimes three. Wes's player gets to choose which token he strips, but Soontir will likely still have an offensive or defensive token. New de-stressing mechanics like Porkins and Hobbie will see more ships with dual actions due to Push the Limit. PtL on Wedge with R2 Astromech may see a resurgence in response to Wes. His ability is good, but is hardly game-breaking. I think, if we see a change, it will be that we will simply see an already powerful list building tactic become more prevalent.

Ninjaed by Macar!

Wes' text states that he automatically strips one token after he attacks.

But this is taken into account AFTER you see if the attack hits. So chances are you will spend a focus or evade dodging the incoming fire from Wes, and then loose the second token to his ability.

The only way to get around it is if you can PTL for Focus and Evade with a Recon Specialist on board. The only ships that can do that are:

Yt-1300 with Milenium Falcon Title

Firesprays

TIE-Phantom

Anything else will be completely stripped, thus setting it up for an Opportunist Wedge to brutalize.

The problem is he can shoot at soontir with a TL, (say get enough hits) Soontir has to burn a token or two, then get the third one stripped away. Naked interceptors are dead interceptors. With the rest of the squad firing (if they have arc) it can be a bad day for them.

What is Soontir Fel doing in Wes' firing arc??? Sounds like the baron needs to stop texting while flying

Anything else will be completely stripped, thus setting it up for an Opportunist Wedge to brutalize.

Don't forget token re-acquiring through PS6 named pilots, specifically Dutch and Garven. Opportunist on PS6 or below in those (limited) cases could potentially still be limited, but this is a corner case scenario.

Don't forget token re-acquiring through PS6 named pilots, specifically Dutch and Garven. Opportunist on PS6 or below in those (limited) cases could potentially still be limited, but this is a corner case scenario.

Right. Except that stuff happens at PS6 order, and Wedge/Luke will be firing at PS9/8 respectively.

What Wes does is open up the potential for elite Rebel trios. Wes, Wedge and Luke.

I love theory crafting! This is where the rubber hits the road. I put Wes, Wedge and Luke on the table at regionals. Wes with VI and Luke and Wedge with Opportunist. Without a doubt Wes is priced right for his ability at 29 points even with Wedge. In the 20+ matches I've played with that squad the hardest ones are where Wes dies first. The Gentlemen I played against at regionals still had the old mind set of "Kill Wedge first". That is a mistake! In one local Tournament I faced a bomber squad with no less than 5 missiles ready for firing. The high pilot skill and damage out put from the X's never let a single missile get fired. Two bombers would acquire a target lock, Wes would strip one and since target lock does not shut off Opportunist, Luke and Wedge would kill the other.

Wes is just an X-Wing, he's going to get his effect in once. After that toss everything at him, especially if the ships behind him have Opportunist. Shut off the upgrade buy removing the Key. Wes does not get to see the fruit of his labor. Use those focus and evade tokens( he's taking it anyway ) when he attacks.

Also in the case where he's leading the charge for Opportunist, avoid the argument of an action that does not give your ship a focus or evade. This is only playing into what your opponent wants anyway.

You find Luke to be more effective with the Wes/Wedge than Biggs?

You find Luke to be more effective with the Wes/Wedge than Biggs?

Biggs needs to pay an extra point to take the droid that gives him an EPT so he can have Opportunist. May as well just run Luke.

You find Luke to be more effective with the Wes/Wedge than Biggs?

Yes!.......I did a lot of testing of the 3 X-Wing squad on the mat instead of on paper. Biggs was in my earlier builds, and performed ok but not better then Luke. You have a fragile squad as it is and telling your opponent to focus down any one of the ships is bad for you. By making them take down Biggs you are doing exactly that. Sometimes giving your opponent a choice you open the door for them to make a mistake. In a four X squad I love Biggs in 3 he's no good. Again I say this from experience of putting it down in play not crafting in head.

You can get a nice 4 ship Rebel squad that can have 2 pilot's shoot at PS 12.

See how Wes likes them apples :-)

You find Luke to be more effective with the Wes/Wedge than Biggs?

Yes!.......I did a lot of testing of the 3 X-Wing squad on the mat instead of on paper. Biggs was in my earlier builds, and performed ok but not better then Luke. You have a fragile squad as it is and telling your opponent to focus down any one of the ships is bad for you. By making them take down Biggs you are doing exactly that. Sometimes giving your opponent a choice you open the door for them to make a mistake. In a four X squad I love Biggs in 3 he's no good. Again I say this from experience of putting it down in play not crafting in head.

I could also see where adding Biggs changes the nature of the third xwing to flying more defensively. Without him you simply focus on damage output with all three.

you simply focus on damage output with all three.

Hit the nail on the head! You win at X-Wing by rolling more red dice then your opponent.

Has anyone pondered not running opportunist on both Luke and Wedge? It seems like it gets tricky to use if they blow out Wes quick. I think I may take one, and try out Outmaneuver or Predator on the other. I get the reasoning of more dice, but I'd want more surety after Wes dies, since the remaining pilots will have high skill, which makes it tough to use Opportunist.

You don't have to take every single shot using Opportunist to get value out of it. I would average 3-4 shots with Opportunist in my many games playing with it. If I went over 4 uses of the upgrade it usually was a blowout.

So what about this Wes Opportunist build:

Wes Janson w/ Veteran Instincts

Wedge w/ Opportunist, R2 Astromech

Jek Porkins w/ Opportunist, Hull Upgrade, R5-P9*

TOTAL: 100 points

I ran the above list today at a league night, except with Ibtisam/Opportunist/Engine Upgrade instead of Porkins. It went OK, but I felt like I was losing opportunities to use, ahem, Opportunist, because I was taking stress from K-turns. Porkins' ability might help with that, while Hull Upgrade makes his ability's downside easier to take, and R5-P9 keeps him alive against external threats even if he's taken some direct damage from his ability.

*At the end of the Combat Phase, you may spend 1 of your Focus tokens to recover 1 shield (up to your shield value).

Interesting. I'll have to give it a try. I still think I like the idea of Predator and/or Outmaneuver, but I'll give Opportunist a shot.