Hey guys, I've recently received the feedback that I can only win with Imperial and Rebel swarms, so I thought I'd take my list building in the opposite direction just to prove a point.

Here it is:

Wes Janson w/ VI, R2-D2 34 pts

Ibtisam w/ Sensor Jammer, Opportunist 36 pts

Dutch Vander w/ Ion Cannon Turret, R2-D6, Draw Their Fire 30 pts

Any assistance you guys could offer would be greatly appreciated!

Ok, I see what you're trying to do with Dutch, but I think DTF is not helping your cause. While it may save Wes from a hit nasty roll, it just pulls the crit onto a very large crit magnet. If we were talking a Grey Squad Pilot, you have a fair argument, but Dutch is a bit more valuable with an ability that really can boost Ibti's attacks. Further, Wes is nice at PS10, but that really doesn't get you much. Usually you have VI on him to get him to shoot so Wedge with Opportunist can clean up. Here that's not an issue. If you drop it and R2D6 you can put Opportunist on Wes, making his attacks a bit more powerful and making him a serious offensive threat next to Ibti.

Okay, down grade Dutch to Gray and strip Wes of VI. That gives me a handful of points to play with, worried about Opportunist on Wes in that his ability only facilitates Opportunist... Computing...

Okay, down grade Dutch to Gray and strip Wes of VI. That gives me a handful of points to play with, worried about Opportunist on Wes in that his ability only facilitates Opportunist... Computing...

I would keep Dutch, but ditch the droid and the DTF instead. Sorry I wasn't clear.

I'm not sure Dutch is actually doing much: Ibtisam has Opportunist, which means she'll be stressed and picking up rerolls anyway. I wonder if you wouldn't do better with Kyle + Moldy Crow + Recon Specialist + Ion Cannon Turret; you could pay for the difference by dropping VI from Wes and replacing R2-D2 with R5-P9 (since you may end up with extra focus tokens floating around anyway).

PTL is more consistent than Opp for Ibtisam.

Wedge is more consistent than Wes simply because his ability is non conditional.

R2-D2 is a trap on a high PS ship and is better on a low PS blocker. R5-P9 is more consistent particularly if you give the high PS ship PTL.

Dutch with DTF is a waste of points. You are better off using a Goldie w/ blaster turret/ion + R2-D2 for a wonder blocker than forcing a target lock trick.

Hey guys, I've recently received the feedback that I can only win with Imperial and Rebel swarms, so I thought I'd take my list building in the opposite direction just to prove a point.

Who, can only win with a swarm?

I too am looking to run a different build. I'm not sure if it'll be a 3 or 4 ship build, but I do know it'll be Rebels. I'll compare notes with you when I figure out what I think I may try.

The reason you win with swarms is because they are brutal. Winning with a 3 small ship build takes a dose of skill and a HEAVY dose of luck. I run mostly imperials but I NEVER go below 5 ships not because I can't but because that's what the imperials are designed for. Rebels get tougher ships that can take some hits while dishing it out. I would also not go below 4 small ships for rebels because they are much tougher builds then 3 smalls. Don't let your opponents sway you, make them better by whipping them.

I run mostly imperials but I NEVER go below 5 ships not because I can't but because that's what the imperials are designed for.

Firesprays, Lambdas, unique Interceptors, TIE Defenders, and TIE Phantoms are all very curious how you came by this nugget of wisdom.

Wedge is more consistent than Wes simply because his ability is non conditional.

What condition does Wes face that Wedge does not? Both have to shoot at a target to trigger their abilities.

A three ship rebel build can indeed win. I would only cation you to evaluate your local meta befor going on the adventure. If Swarms are heavily played you will have a ruff go of it.

Swarms are not that prevalent at my FLGS. A lot of 4 Rebel builds, some elite imperial builds, firespray/lambda combos, two hawks one Chewbacca; lots of other creative builds.

Back to the list...

Vorpal's idea of subbing Kyle for Dutch is interesting. I'd be yielding 3 hp and I have some difficulties even at 21 hp, don't know if I'd be down to go with 18 hp; less margin of error. I am interested in what I could do with the points if I did downgrade Dutch for a Gray, same load out as a crit shield/control ship.

I really like Opportunist on Ibtisam, it seems like a no brainier when paired with Wes Janson's ability.

Insofar as Wedge over Wes; Wedge does not facilitate the use of Opportunist as well as Wes. Wes has to be in.

Wedge is more consistent than Wes simply because his ability is non conditional.

What condition does Wes face that Wedge does not? Both have to shoot at a target to trigger their abilities.

A three ship rebel build can indeed win. I would only cation you to evaluate your local meta befor going on the adventure. If Swarms are heavily played you will have a ruff go of it.

Wedge will almost always deprive your opponent of a green dice roll if he is shooting and will likely force a spend of an evade/focus token. Wes may or may not create value for you particularly if the only reason he is there is to turn on opportunist. Wedge is also the stronger of the two if the late game comes down to him.

TBH if swarms are a non issue then it really doesn't matter between the two of them. If swarms are a thing I'd actually go with Biggs over both.

In a three ship build without Biggs, opportunist is a bit of an iffy proposition. It's easy to take out one piece and the whole thing starts to fall apart. Wedge is strictly better for killing and costs the same as Wes. Wes is one of my favorite characters from the Star Wars universe but I always feel like his ability is underwhelming, especially because he costs the same as Wedge and since when Wedge shoots someone they tend to use any tokens they have anyway.

OP, specifically for your lists, if you are looking for Ion cannon support and the ability to roll an extra red dice, have you thought about Jan Ors? Switching Dutch for Jan (maybe with Nien Numb) should give you more firepower without having to jump through any hoops while still supporting the list. You can also stack it on top of the opportunist buff is you really like it.

Also, be aware that VI isn't mandatory for Wes in your list. Most people I know take VI on Wes because they want him to shoot before Wedge. Since you are trying to buff the lower PS Ibi, you may jst want to spend a few points buffing Wedge's firepower with something like Predator or PTL.

edit- In the last sentence I meant to refer to Wes instead of Wedge.

Wes and Ibti+Opp can work really well. I was devastated by a similar list with HLC on Ibti. Her rolling 5 dice with a reroll is nasty. iirc, Garven was also there to add to token stripping and passing focus to Ibti for her brutal shots. I'd say give that a try.

Wedge is more consistent than Wes simply because his ability is non conditional.

What condition does Wes face that Wedge does not? Both have to shoot at a target to trigger their abilities.

A three ship rebel build can indeed win. I would only cation you to evaluate your local meta befor going on the adventure. If Swarms are heavily played you will have a ruff go of it.

Wedge will almost always deprive your opponent of a green dice roll if he is shooting and will likely force a spend of an evade/focus token. Wes may or may not create value for you particularly if the only reason he is there is to turn on opportunist. Wedge is also the stronger of the two if the late game comes down to him.

TBH if swarms are a non issue then it really doesn't matter between the two of them. If swarms are a thing I'd actually go with Biggs over both.

Ok, so your having Opportunist counted into Wes's ability for his condition. I believe Wes and Wedge are very comparable in their abilities, and that is why they cost the same points. Wes's ability is pure action denial, while Wedge is an offensive power house. I would agree that if I only had one ship left I would prefer Wedge as Wes is better with ships firing behind him. Don't be to hasty to dismiss Wes even if Opportunist is not in the list. He reduces the ability of his target to effectively evade and fire back by stripping those tokens. I've been flying Wes for well over a month now and I couldn't tell you how many times he's kept missiles from ever being used by stripping that target lock. He is a nightmare for Tie Bombers as they have a very difficult time using the secondary weapons they so often carry. Lets look at some numbers and see how Wes + another X-wing and Wedge stack up.

Wes shooting at another X-Wing both focused will average 1.07 damage Wes takes the Focus.

Second X-wing firing with a focus behind Wes at that same X-wing will average 1.53 damage.

That X-wing stripped of its focus returning fire can only average .55 damage if the defender is focused or .89 if neither have the focus.

Wedge will almost always be firing at a focused X-Wing and average 1.63 damage. Winner Wedge!

Wes shooting at a Tie Fighter both focused will average .63 damage Wes takes the Focus.

Second X-wing firing with a focus behind Wes at that same Tie Fighter will average 1.21 damage.

That Tie Fighter stripped of its focus returning fire can only average .25 damage if the defender is focused or .50 if neither have the focus.

Wedge will almost always be firing at a focused Tie Fighter and average 1.07 damage. Winner Wes!

So lets not forget that if Wedge fails to get the focus token off of his target the return fire from the other X is **** close to the same damage output.

Wes shooting at a Tie Fighter both focused will average .63 damage Wes takes the Focus.

Second X-wing firing with a focus behind Wes at that same Tie Fighter will average 1.21 damage.

That Tie Fighter stripped of its focus returning fire can only average .25 damage if the defender is focused or .50 if neither have the focus.

Wedge will almost always be firing at a focused Tie Fighter and average 1.07 damage. Winner Wes!

So lets not forget that if Wedge fails to get the focus token off of his target the return fire from the other X is **** close to the same damage output.

It kind of looks like the math get s a little wonky here, but please correct me if I'm worn (numbers tend to make me go cross eyed). Doesn't Wes do .63 damage because the Tie fighter uses its focus so Wes's ability is superfluous? By the same token, doesn't Wedge do 1.07 damage firing at a focused Tie Fighter because the tie uses Focus for defense? Wouldn't you have to quantify the numbers by showing how much damage Wedge would do to a Tie fighter without benefiting from focus and the follow up shot from another X-Wing shooting at a Tie using a focus token (or vice versa), then compare it to the damage potential of Wes shooting at a focused Tie followed by up by an X-Wing shooting at the same unfocused Tie?

From my experience Wes is ABSOLUTELY a great support ship. I just actually find it hard to quantify what he actually does sometimes just because his ability only clearly shows with target locks (bane of the Tie Bomber) and if someone forgets to use their focus token when Wes shoots at them, and then I have to ask myself if they would of done it anyway.

You guys are starting to convince me that a HWK support ship, either Jan or Kyle, might be better than a Gray crit shield or a Dutch control/offense facilitator. Also, Jan kind of turns into a Biggs in this list...

I'm also coming around on no VI on Wes, thanks for helping me to reason that one out. No need to have it there if there is no Opportunist enabled Wedge to shoot in front of.

Also, more on the Wes over Wedge debate. Wedge asks a question in this list whereas Wes forces the issue with a guaranteed token strip. There is just a chance that your opponent will use a token on Wedge's attack. I like as much certainty as possible when it comes to making Johnny combos like Opportunist work.

You guys are starting to convince me that a HWK support ship, either Jan or Kyle, might be better than a Gray crit shield or a Dutch control/offense facilitator. Also, Jan kind of turns into a Biggs in this list...

As someone who tried to replace Biggs in my list with Wedge... be warned, no one actually replaces Biggs. I was running Hobbie + Biggs, and had a few points left over, so I decided to replace Biggs with Wedge, thinking that people would still be shooting at Wedge, but now I had a higher PS and a better ability...

Well, go figure, when Hobbie is @R1, and Wedge is back @R3, people shoot at Hobbie instead of Wedge. And Hobbie gets dead. While that leaves me with Wedge, I'd rather have had Hobbie.

Lesson: Providing a bad shot on a high priority target doesn't ensure said shot will be taken instead of good shot on a medium priority target.

You guys are starting to convince me that a HWK support ship, either Jan or Kyle, might be better than a Gray crit shield or a Dutch control/offense facilitator. Also, Jan kind of turns into a Biggs in this list...

As someone who tried to replace Biggs in my list with Wedge... be warned, no one actually replaces Biggs. I was running Hobbie + Biggs, and had a few points left over, so I decided to replace Biggs with Wedge, thinking that people would still be shooting at Wedge, but now I had a higher PS and a better ability...

Well, go figure, when Hobbie is @R1, and Wedge is back @R3, people shoot at Hobbie instead of Wedge. And Hobbie gets dead. While that leaves me with Wedge, I'd rather have had Hobbie.

Lesson: Providing a bad shot on a high priority target doesn't ensure said shot will be taken instead of good shot on a medium priority target.

Certainly not trying to argue the point, but in your Hobbie list I am assuming Hobbie was kitted to an extent that he seemed the true threat. You throw in Wedge to act as a Biggs surrogate and offense generator, but did adding Wedge pose a significant threat assessment question to your opponent? Or did it look like, ah, he sprinkled Wedge so I wouldn't shoot at Hobbie?

I guess the real question about my list is providing another offense generator better than a crit shield. I don't know yet.

You guys are starting to convince me that a HWK support ship, either Jan or Kyle, might be better than a Gray crit shield or a Dutch control/offense facilitator. Also, Jan kind of turns into a Biggs in this list...

As someone who tried to replace Biggs in my list with Wedge... be warned, no one actually replaces Biggs. I was running Hobbie + Biggs, and had a few points left over, so I decided to replace Biggs with Wedge, thinking that people would still be shooting at Wedge, but now I had a higher PS and a better ability...

Well, go figure, when Hobbie is @R1, and Wedge is back @R3, people shoot at Hobbie instead of Wedge. And Hobbie gets dead. While that leaves me with Wedge, I'd rather have had Hobbie.

Lesson: Providing a bad shot on a high priority target doesn't ensure said shot will be taken instead of good shot on a medium priority target.

Certainly not trying to argue the point, but in your Hobbie list I am assuming Hobbie was kitted to an extent that he seemed the true threat. You throw in Wedge to act as a Biggs surrogate and offense generator, but did adding Wedge pose a significant threat assessment question to your opponent? Or did it look like, ah, he sprinkled Wedge so I wouldn't shoot at Hobbie?

I guess the real question about my list is providing another offense generator better than a crit shield. I don't know yet.

I agree, I wanted them to shoot at Wedge because Hobbie was the bigger threat, thus why I was originally protecting him with Biggs. But to the point that Jan acts like Biggs... She's far from the more dangerous part of the list... And with a B wing and X wing as the other two ships, they're easy enough to take out, making her useless. So I don't think she'll act at all like a "Biggs"

Wes shooting at a Tie Fighter both focused will average .63 damage Wes takes the Focus.

Second X-wing firing with a focus behind Wes at that same Tie Fighter will average 1.21 damage.

That Tie Fighter stripped of its focus returning fire can only average .25 damage if the defender is focused or .50 if neither have the focus.

Wedge will almost always be firing at a focused Tie Fighter and average 1.07 damage. Winner Wes!

So lets not forget that if Wedge fails to get the focus token off of his target the return fire from the other X is **** close to the same damage output.

It kind of looks like the math get s a little wonky here, but please correct me if I'm worn (numbers tend to make me go cross eyed). Doesn't Wes do .63 damage because the Tie fighter uses its focus so Wes's ability is superfluous? By the same token, doesn't Wedge do 1.07 damage firing at a focused Tie Fighter because the tie uses Focus for defense? Wouldn't you have to quantify the numbers by showing how much damage Wedge would do to a Tie fighter without benefiting from focus and the follow up shot from another X-Wing shooting at a Tie using a focus token (or vice versa), then compare it to the damage potential of Wes shooting at a focused Tie followed by up by an X-Wing shooting at the same unfocused Tie?

From my experience Wes is ABSOLUTELY a great support ship. I just actually find it hard to quantify what he actually does sometimes just because his ability only clearly shows with target locks (bane of the Tie Bomber) and if someone forgets to use their focus token when Wes shoots at them, and then I have to ask myself if they would of done it anyway.

I'm calculating the numbers based on averages. In fact Wedge effectively reduces the chance the target spends the focus token by reducing the chance one is rolled. Yes, Wes is shooting at a focused target for an average damage of .63. The real danger for any ship is when Wes gets the token ahead of Wedge. Wedge at that point can really hammer ships with hits especially with Opportunist. Lets have a look:

We know Wes will average 1.07 damage on the initial attack vs a focused X-Wing. Now we look at the value we get out of Wedge. Wedge firing at the same target with out Opportunist will average 1.88 damage an increase of .25. Add in Opportunist to the mix and he jumps up to 2.62 average damage. That is a full point of damage jump because of Wes+Wedge+Opportunist combo. Now if we add in another X behind wedge he will get 1.53 average damage without Opportunist or 2.25 with. If you add the three X's with Wes leading the way and wedge and any other X both with Opportunist will average 5.94 damage and a dead X-wing. Lets look at a 4 X-wing squad assuming the first gets the focus during defense. The first will get 1.07 and the other 3 get 1.53 each for a total of 5.66 and yet again a dead X-wing. If the defender carries his focus to the second attacker that average will sink to 5.2 and should still kill at least one X-Wing but we are starting to cut it close.

The Power of a Wes+ Two Opportunist firing behind him is this. At a High Pilot Skill they can focus down one Target on Average per attack.Here is the expected Damage you get From a Wes+Wedge+Luke combo w/ Wedge and Luke using Opportunist.

At Range 3:

1 Agility : 5.94

2 Agility : 4.78

3 Agility : 3.83

At Range 2:

1 Agility : 7.24

2 Agility : 5.94

3 Agility : 4.78

At Range 1:

1 Agility : 9.48

2 Agility : 8.14

3 Agility : 6.87

From here we can start to look at our target priority based on our expected damage out put. At range 3 we are hard pressed to kill anything and we should operate as such. Range 2 is where we want to be. So practice the Rule Of 11 to ensure we get our desired range. None of the calculations take into account the possibility of critical hits. The safe bet is to Kill an X-wing reducing their return fire. Be mindful you are picking up stress from your awesome attack and be weary of Ion weapons. These guys although not a threat damage wise can lock down one of your few offensive weapons and should be targeted first. Y-Wings are more susceptible to taking critical hits and should be eliminated at range 2 with little problems. At range 1 choose your use of Opportunist carefully as the use of it impacts the next movement phase cutting out the option to K-Turn. Otherwise kill what ever you like.

So back to our duel to the 4 X-wing squad or 12/4 attack dice squad (meaning Biggs walks the Dogs)

we've looked at the numbers and know they can indeed kill one of our X-Wings on the return fire. Here is why the Triple X-Wing squad wins these matches. We Fire at 10,9 and 8 long before Biggs at 5. Dealing 5.94 damage sends Biggs on his way without ever firing a shot. So the damage they had expected was 5.66 if they get all four ships to fire. Now with biggs out of the way it's cut down to 4.59 as the 3 use a focus attack vs an unfocused defender. We took the ability to effectively eliminate one of our ships. Next round as we fire first yet again the possibility to eliminate another attacker from their ranks. At this point the return fire will certainly kills one of the X's they chose to focus on.

Now at 2 vs 2 here is where your style of build shines or fails. You've done the work to get to the show down of equal status. We all assume Wes and Wedge are in our Opportunist builds and debate that 3rd slot. Picking a Ship that further increases our offensive power will make the eliminating of targets more of a sure thing in the early game but that benefit lessens as ships are removed from the table. Yes you will do well when you reach that 2 vs 2 point as you'll still be pouring on hits but so will they. This is why Luke the forgotten Hero Shines in that late game 2 vs 2. In the early rounds he's a bad choice to focus on as they reduce the chance to eliminate him as he has that natural defense. In the late game He's a nightmare if he is carrying R2-D2 with him as you need much more then 5 hits to kill him. Since he will be flying green to clear that Opportunist stress and reneging shields along the way. This is why I recommend this squad above the others.

Wes w/ Veteran Instincts

Wedge w/R2 Astromech and Opportunist

Luke w/R2-D2 and Opportunist

Wes shooting at a Tie Fighter both focused will average .63 damage Wes takes the Focus.

Second X-wing firing with a focus behind Wes at that same Tie Fighter will average 1.21 damage.

That Tie Fighter stripped of its focus returning fire can only average .25 damage if the defender is focused or .50 if neither have the focus.

Wedge will almost always be firing at a focused Tie Fighter and average 1.07 damage. Winner Wes!

So lets not forget that if Wedge fails to get the focus token off of his target the return fire from the other X is **** close to the same damage output.

It kind of looks like the math get s a little wonky here, but please correct me if I'm worn (numbers tend to make me go cross eyed). Doesn't Wes do .63 damage because the Tie fighter uses its focus so Wes's ability is superfluous? By the same token, doesn't Wedge do 1.07 damage firing at a focused Tie Fighter because the tie uses Focus for defense? Wouldn't you have to quantify the numbers by showing how much damage Wedge would do to a Tie fighter without benefiting from focus and the follow up shot from another X-Wing shooting at a Tie using a focus token (or vice versa), then compare it to the damage potential of Wes shooting at a focused Tie followed by up by an X-Wing shooting at the same unfocused Tie?

From my experience Wes is ABSOLUTELY a great support ship. I just actually find it hard to quantify what he actually does sometimes just because his ability only clearly shows with target locks (bane of the Tie Bomber) and if someone forgets to use their focus token when Wes shoots at them, and then I have to ask myself if they would of done it anyway.

I'm calculating the numbers based on averages. In fact Wedge effectively reduces the chance the target spends the focus token by reducing the chance one is rolled. Yes, Wes is shooting at a focused target for an average damage of .63. The real danger for any ship is when Wes gets the token ahead of Wedge. Wedge at that point can really hammer ships with hits especially with Opportunist. Lets have a look:

We know Wes will average 1.07 damage on the initial attack vs a focused X-Wing. Now we look at the value we get out of Wedge. Wedge firing at the same target with out Opportunist will average 1.88 damage an increase of .25. Add in Opportunist to the mix and he jumps up to 2.62 average damage. That is a full point of damage jump because of Wes+Wedge+Opportunist combo. Now if we add in another X behind wedge he will get 1.53 average damage without Opportunist or 2.25 with. If you add the three X's with Wes leading the way and wedge and any other X both with Opportunist will average 5.94 damage and a dead X-wing. Lets look at a 4 X-wing squad assuming the first gets the focus during defense. The first will get 1.07 and the other 3 get 1.53 each for a total of 5.66 and yet again a dead X-wing. If the defender carries his focus to the second attacker that average will sink to 5.2 and should still kill at least one X-Wing but we are starting to cut it close.

The Power of a Wes+ Two Opportunist firing behind him is this. At a High Pilot Skill they can focus down one Target on Average per attack.Here is the expected Damage you get From a Wes+Wedge+Luke combo w/ Wedge and Luke using Opportunist.

At Range 3:

1 Agility : 5.94

2 Agility : 4.78

3 Agility : 3.83

At Range 2:

1 Agility : 7.24

2 Agility : 5.94

3 Agility : 4.78

At Range 1:

1 Agility : 9.48

2 Agility : 8.14

3 Agility : 6.87

From here we can start to look at our target priority based on our expected damage out put. At range 3 we are hard pressed to kill anything and we should operate as such. Range 2 is where we want to be. So practice the Rule Of 11 to ensure we get our desired range. None of the calculations take into account the possibility of critical hits. The safe bet is to Kill an X-wing reducing their return fire. Be mindful you are picking up stress from your awesome attack and be weary of Ion weapons. These guys although not a threat damage wise can lock down one of your few offensive weapons and should be targeted first. Y-Wings are more susceptible to taking critical hits and should be eliminated at range 2 with little problems. At range 1 choose your use of Opportunist carefully as the use of it impacts the next movement phase cutting out the option to K-Turn. Otherwise kill what ever you like.

So back to our duel to the 4 X-wing squad or 12/4 attack dice squad (meaning Biggs walks the Dogs)

we've looked at the numbers and know they can indeed kill one of our X-Wings on the return fire. Here is why the Triple X-Wing squad wins these matches. We Fire at 10,9 and 8 long before Biggs at 5. Dealing 5.94 damage sends Biggs on his way without ever firing a shot. So the damage they had expected was 5.66 if they get all four ships to fire. Now with biggs out of the way it's cut down to 4.59 as the 3 use a focus attack vs an unfocused defender. We took the ability to effectively eliminate one of our ships. Next round as we fire first yet again the possibility to eliminate another attacker from their ranks. At this point the return fire will certainly kills one of the X's they chose to focus on.

Now at 2 vs 2 here is where your style of build shines or fails. You've done the work to get to the show down of equal status. We all assume Wes and Wedge are in our Opportunist builds and debate that 3rd slot. Picking a Ship that further increases our offensive power will make the eliminating of targets more of a sure thing in the early game but that benefit lessens as ships are removed from the table. Yes you will do well when you reach that 2 vs 2 point as you'll still be pouring on hits but so will they. This is why Luke the forgotten Hero Shines in that late game 2 vs 2. In the early rounds he's a bad choice to focus on as they reduce the chance to eliminate him as he has that natural defense. In the late game He's a nightmare if he is carrying R2-D2 with him as you need much more then 5 hits to kill him. Since he will be flying green to clear that Opportunist stress and reneging shields along the way. This is why I recommend this squad above the others.

Wes w/ Veteran Instincts

Wedge w/R2 Astromech and Opportunist

Luke w/R2-D2 and Opportunist

I wasn't doubting that Wedge and Wes are a powerful combo. They're BBF's in the book and on the tabletop. Just that numbers comparing Wes and Wedge in your original math post didn't seem to be showing what you meant to show.

I'd be careful with that build (I like it though) because even in your example it looks like you got a 50/50 shot of losing Wes in the first exchange (especially considering that while Biggs tends to be in range 3, the ships he escorts tend to be in range 2), limiting opportunist from then on out.

Got to be honest, Osoroshii's build is the best use of Opportunist I've seen. It's a neat list.

Now I'm not so sure about why I'm trying to fit a B and a Y into the Wes chassis. Maybe I wanted a Swiss army approach for the list and a little more survivability.

I've done more than well with my build of the triple X-Wing at more then a 90% win rate in tournament play. There is a little more to the tactics involved in being successful with this build beyond the numbers. Part of the tactics I run make it difficult to run a B-Wing in the squad as it has a hard time keeping up with the X's and thus the Rule of 11 becomes harder to impose my desired range on the first exchange.

I actually agree with your analysis and conclusions. And I have no doubt that your math will hold up. The problem is that its difficult to model incoming fire or opponents play past the initial joust.

EDIT The main problem is that the X-wing itself is a bad ship because it is fragile and its dial is pretty horrible. You throw up a pretty good offense yes and 3-4 ship builds will fall like flies to your impressive dice on the joust and probably wont have the raw fire power to come back.

Where a 3 ship build without Biggs starts to fall down is vs the 7-8 Tie swarm. All a competent opponent needs to do is deploy in a pincer formation and its game in 4 ish moves unless you get really lucky with your dodge dice due to the fact that you will be killing 1-2 TIEs per turn at most and they will fly rings around you despite being PS1.

But yes if swarms are not a thing then carry on wayward son.