this is my first real try at putting together a squad looking for something forgiving with a trick or two,

[ REBEL SQUADRON (100 points)

1 • Kyle Katarn - Blaster Turret - Chewbacca - Moldy Crow (32)

2 • Dutch Vander - R2-D2 - Proton Torpedoes - Ion Cannon Turret (36)

3 • Gray Squadron Pilot - R5-P9 - Proton Torpedoes - Ion Cannon Turret (32)

I love the idea of the Y wings and Transport flying in formation,

I plan on taking this up to my FLGS this weekend, for my first run at orginized play, and looking for something fun and versital, that even if I can't win a lot I shouldn't get over run to easy, turrets are forgiving and a few options for repairing damage.

You're taking Kyle and a Blaster Turret and Moldy Crow.

Kyle allows you to pass a focus token to someone.

The Moldy Crow title allows you to store them.

The Blaster requires them to function.

And then you take Chewbacca.

First things first, drop Chewie for Recon Specialist. That allows you to gain two focus token for every focus action you take, which in turn allows you to pass one to someone through Kyle or keep it for defense while still being able to fire the Blaster Turret.

Otherwise, you're just going to have a few abilities you pay for without being able to use them and you don't want that.

Alright, first off, Kyle + Dutch is a great and well beloved Combo.

To complete the trio, though, I'd use Garven Dreis (X-Wing) rather than your Gray Squadron Pilot.

Now, with Kyle, you really need to use a Recon Specialist with that Blaster Turret, even if you've got the Moldy Crow title.

You're going to be spending 2.5 focus tokens per turn (one thrown to an ally, one to fire, one to improve dice when needed), so an early-game build-up ain't gonna cut it.

Garven Dreis helps here: If you pass Garven Kyle's original Focus, then Garven can pass it back to Kyle in the middle of combat, pulling that 2.5 down to 1.5.

With Dutch, the Proton Torpedoes are going to feel like wasted points. You can do better, particularly as you'll be getting a free Focus Token when you launch them, thus negating their ability.

And, once again, replace the Grey with a Garven build of some sort.
Garven is also a PS 6, alongside Kyle and Dutch, and like them has action-synergies. This means that your entire fleet moves and fires simultaneously, or more accuratlely, you pick the order in which they move/fire.

With Kyle / Garven / Dutch, your action roll-out goes thusly:

"Dutch" target locks, and so does Kyle.

Kyle Focuses (Twice), and will be passing one to Garven

Garven Target Locks, and will be passing the focus in-combat to either "Dutch" or Kyle, depending on who needs it more.

If Kyle or Garven has maintained a Target Lock from the previous round, "Dutch" will pass a TL to the other, with focuses from both.

The sum of this is that EVERYONE's shots are both Target Locked AND Focused, which means massively consistent damage.

Concentrate your fire, and you'll be able to blow up even large ships very quickly.

First trick, on Kyle, ditch Chewy. As Dagonet implies, it's a good card, but you really need Recon Specialist there. Kyle eats an incredible number of Focus tokens, from using the blaster turret to modifying it's attack, to handing it to others. You simply can't avoid Recon Specialist here.

Further, Proton Torpedoes aren't really helping you. Yeah, they are a bit of damage, but not enough to reliably take out serious threats. They are a lot of points for little return in the long run, though they do add a bit of punch the list that it otherwise lacks.

Finally, the Grey Squadron. It does give you another ion chance, but you're now critically low on damage, especially if you lose Kyle. If you want to keep the Grey, consider giving it Advanced Proton Torpedoes and switching the Astromech for R7-T1 (when you get it). That way you can boost into range 1, get a focus from Kyle, and seriously wreck something.

You have 3 turreted ships that do 3, 1, and 1 for damage. You need to work in some more offence.

Kyle needs an R.S. in his build.

Choose Dutch or Grey but not both. If you are looking just for some ion control a Gold with Ion turret can work (compared to the higher costed Dutch and Grey)

Torpedoes are not worth the points they cost.

Add an x-wing and/or a B-wing or two.

Kyle, Blaster, R.S., M.C.

Gold, Ion Turret

Leaves 46 points left.

Go with 2 Red Squadron X-wings for 23 each

In a tournament play, Kyle is so much of your point total that he would be the first to be targeted down. If you want to protect Kyle you can do Biggs and a rookie for 46 points

[ REBEL SQUADRON (100 points)

1 • Kyle Katarn - Blaster Turret - Chewbacca - Moldy Crow (32)

2 • Dutch Vander - R2-D2 - Proton Torpedoes - Ion Cannon Turret (36)

3 • Gray Squadron Pilot - R5-P9 - Proton Torpedoes - Ion Cannon Turret (32)

You're already hearing about Kyle and it's all true. Kyle want Focus tokens and Moldy Crow alone isn't going to get enough to keep up especially when the Blaster Turret also begs for them just to fire.

One thing that hasn't be touched on are your Astromech selections: I'd say that the ones you picked are great mechs but not going to do so much good. R2D2 is great BUT he needs GREEN maneuvers to function and the Y-Wing is notoriously short on green maneuvers; if it needs to recharge shields the Y is in trouble because the enemy already knows where it will be. R5P9 is nice because it can take that Focus token that survives to the end of the round and convert it into a shield; the problem here may be keeping the Focus token around to do that because as shown Kyle really isn't going to be handing them out like you think he should.

As already mentioned a common way of flying three ships including Kyle and Dutch is in combination with Garven. Ok, Garven doesn't have a turret BUT he does have 3 primary attack dice and synergies very well with the other two.

I think Kyle is actually the only pilot I would consistently run in the same configuration. Everyone else I'm willing to experiment with but Kyle just needs the Recon Specialist (for now at least, let's see what Jan Ors (Crew) brings).

Ok refined my list based on all your thoughts and duggestions, added a xwing tricked out for fire power and dropped poor Chewie,

Also what set is Garven

in?

Opps here's my new listREBEL SQUADRON (100 points)

1 • Kyle Katarn - Squad Leader - Blaster Turret - Recon Specialist - Shield Upgrade - Moldy Crow (37)

2 • Dutch Vander - R5-P9 - Ion Cannon Turret (31)

3 • Tarn Mison - R2-D6 - Deadeye - Proton Torpedoes - Stealth Device (32)

Squad leader negates recon spec and moldey crow. Nope. 3x ship rebel builds are pretty unforgiving. Putting a HWK which has low offensive output to begin with is asking for trouble.

Ok refined my list based on all your thoughts and duggestions, added a xwing tricked out for fire power and dropped poor Chewie,

Also what set is Garven

in?

X-Wing Expansion, home of Wedge Antilles as well.

Ok refined my list based on all your thoughts and duggestions, added a xwing tricked out for fire power and dropped poor Chewie,

Also what set is Garven

in?

X-Wing Expansion, home of Wedge Antilles as well.

Lol that and the single Tie Fighter the only 2 small sets I havnt bought sigh......guess I know where my petty cash is going this week

Lol that and the single Tie Fighter the only 2 small sets I havnt bought sigh......guess I know where my petty cash is going this week

TIE Fighter Expansion is home to the most game-breaking pilot in the game: Howlrunner.

She's a Level 8 for 18 with an EPT, but the real trick is that every allied ship in Range 1 of her gets to re-roll 1 die when firing its primary weapon.

No action, no stress, no nothin.

She singlehandedly doubles the offensive power of a TIE Swarm.

Oh, and there's also Winged Gundark (Meh) and Backstabber (Gets a bonus attack die when not in the firing arc of his victim. Level 6 at 16 points for basically a boostless Interceptor. Niiiice).

Opps here's my new listREBEL SQUADRON (100 points)

1 • Kyle Katarn - Squad Leader - Blaster Turret - Recon Specialist - Shield Upgrade - Moldy Crow (37)

2 • Dutch Vander - R5-P9 - Ion Cannon Turret (31)

3 • Tarn Mison - R2-D6 - Deadeye - Proton Torpedoes - Stealth Device (32)

Novice list builders believe that the points system is balanced enough to put as many upgrades on a ship and it will increase in durability/power/threat level. That is normally not the case.

A general rule of thumb is 1-2 upgrades on a ship works but 4-5 is too many (with 3 being debatable), except for a Falcon/Firespray (which functionally count as two ships). Too many points on one ship and it becomes target numero-uno, regardless of threat level.

HWKs are in that weird spot for list building in that they need a turret to be effective for attacking, and yet they need a little bit more in upgrades to function/support over normal ship builds so they tend towards more upgrades.

Opps here's my new listREBEL SQUADRON (100 points)

1 • Kyle Katarn - Squad Leader - Blaster Turret - Recon Specialist - Shield Upgrade - Moldy Crow (37)

2 • Dutch Vander - R5-P9 - Ion Cannon Turret (31)

3 • Tarn Mison - R2-D6 - Deadeye - Proton Torpedoes - Stealth Device (32)

Okay, let's take a look at it again.

Kyle is all about the focus, he takes the action, gives a token away, stores what he doesn't need and uses it to power his offense through the blaster turret and sometimes defensively to modify dice. Pretty much the only action you want to take with him is Focus, boring but true.

The same goes a bit for Dutch. Dutch gives a Target Lock action away, every time he acquires one for himself, so basically you always want him to TL. R5-P9 requires focus to be able to do something.

And then there's the only recipient for the Squad Leader bestowed action: Tarn. You've given Tarn the ability to spend focus whenever he needs a Target Lock to attack but that's really only going to happen while firing the torpedoes. Otherwise Deadeye and R2-D6 are useless.

Looking at this list and I would go after Kyle first, he's the wobbly engine is this build and without him most of the synergy falls through, Tarn wouldn't get a free action, nor would Dutch get a focus.

You are looking for something fun and versatile that won't get run over and is a little bit forgiving. I'm assuming you have one of everything but the X-Wing and TIE Fighter expansions, and possibly the CR-90.

How would you like to play:

Wes Janson

Veteran Instincts

R2

Luke Skywalker

Draw Their Fire

R2-D2

Ibtisam

Opportunist

Sensor Jammer

PS 10/8/6

Flying, you keep everything green if possible, with the usual focuses or barrel rolls if needed. Wes shoots first, over anybody but a VI'd PS9 and they ahould be rare. Even if his attack doesn't hit, you get to strip a token, which benefits the rest, including Ibtisam who will seize the opportunity to stress himself so he can get rerolls. His Sensor Jammer makes him even more of a difficult target. Luke's Draw Their Fire helps keep Wes alive a bit longer, especially since R2-D2 will repair shields.

Wes will be targeted first, so keep that in mind, but by the time he goes down you should've put some serious hurt on the other side.

Ok refined my list based on all your thoughts and duggestions, added a xwing tricked out for fire power and dropped poor Chewie,

Also what set is Garven

in?

X-wing Expansion Pack, along with Wedge Antilles (PS9, When attacking reduce defender's agility by 1) , Marksmanship (Action: When attacking this turn, change one focus result into a crit result and the rest to hit results) , Expert Handling (Barrel Roll, remove an enemy target lock from yourself, then if you don't have Barrel Roll take a stress token) , R5-K6 ( After spending a target lock, roll one evade dice. On an evade result, immediately relock) and R5 Astromech (at the end of the turn flip a faceup damage card facedown).

And another X-wing, of course.

Anyway, my recommendations: (Would help to know which expansions you've got btw so we don't suggest stuff you don't have).

Dutch is flying a Y-wing, a craft not famed for maneuverability. Remember that whenever he fires the Proton Torpedoes he isn't firing the Ion Cannon, and the Proton Torp is frontal arc only. If you want a Y-wing missile boat you might want to consider R2 Astromech, which makes the Y-wing much more maneuverable, and much less predictable when stressed.

My recommendation would be to focus on the Ion Turret. You said you added an X-wing to the flight group, I'd move his torpedo over to the X-wing, or forego it altogether and install an mod like Engine Upgrade on any of your craft.

The healing astromechs look great at first glance, but they each come with an achilles heel: unreliability and action cost for R5-P9, predictability for R2-D2, and action cost + delay for the one in Rebel Transport (it eats focus tokens at end of turn). Remember to take this into account: healing up doesn't help when you've got a TIE interceptor on your tail flown by a pilot that know the Y-wing's green moves and know you're going to take them.

One helpful thing you can do is think about what you're likely to encounter. Here's a few squads that tend to be quite popular, if these forums are to be believed.

XXBB:

"I'll cut across the axis and try to draw their fire!"

This is a squad focused on firepower, packing four three dice ships. Biggs Darklighter, hanging back at Range 3, is quite common. Biggs works by splitting your fire: he positions himself so half your squad is forced to take Range 3 shots at him and half your squad is out of range, spreading your damage over two ships rather than letting them be focused down. The B-wings occasionally come packing Advanced Sensors, which means their stressful dials aren't going to bother them.

Fel PTL

"I can't see 'im!"

Soontir Fel meets Push The Limit. This guy will be taking three actions a turn. Soontir Fel gets around the Interceptor's lack of durability by never getting hit at all. Fel's weakness? Price. Blow Fel out of the sky and you've taken out a third of their squad points. Plus, you have the one thing Fel fears: turrets. Don't underestimate him though, you want to take Fel down quickly.

Fel PTL has a much more dangerous cousin, Royal Guard Pilot PTL. At first glance, PS6 PTL Interceptor lacking Fel's "free" focus seems easier, but the strength of RGPTL is that one of these costs 25, and that that means you're up against four of them. Once again, it's a good thing you've got turrets, low maneuverability ships without 360 fire have trouble against four bloodshot squints.

Dual Falcon:

"This baby's got a few surprises left in her!"

Except she doesn't: this squad often just flies around the edge of the board, its R3 turrets meaning it doesn't have to worry about being arc dodged. The way you take this down is to keep up the fire: Falcons only have one agility. Don't let them split up your squadron: few ships can take a Falcon alone. Dual Falcon works on divide and conquer, stick together and shoot together and you'll take 'em down.

The Big Bad TIE Swarm:

"There's too many of them!"

Two attack each, but there's six to seven of them. Howlrunner gives them what amounts to almost a free target lock every turn.

Kill Howlrunner.

After wave 4 releases. I would consider something like this:

Kyle, recon specialist, ion turret

Garven

Dutch, R7-T1

Airen Cracken

100pts

Kyle and Dutch pass out focus, Dutch can trigger his ability twice, once for his target TL, and once for gaining a target lock from the droid (I think this works, but could be wrong, it's not a free action) that can be triggered by Airen attacking at 8 (or vice versa).

No one piece is integral to the action economy. I admit it is lighter on guns than I typically like, but the action economy hopefully makes up for that, and 8, 6, 6, 6 is pretty decent PS.

this is my first real try at putting together a squad looking for something forgiving with a trick or two,

[ REBEL SQUADRON (100 points)

1 • Kyle Katarn - Blaster Turret - Chewbacca - Moldy Crow (32)

2 • Dutch Vander - R2-D2 - Proton Torpedoes - Ion Cannon Turret (36)

3 • Gray Squadron Pilot - R5-P9 - Proton Torpedoes - Ion Cannon Turret (32)

I love the idea of the Y wings and Transport flying in formation,

I plan on taking this up to my FLGS this weekend, for my first run at orginized play, and looking for something fun and versital, that even if I can't win a lot I shouldn't get over run to easy, turrets are forgiving and a few options for repairing damage.

Hey jaeket, we met last night at the store in Warren. I'm a big fan of HWKs, especially Kyle.

My recommendation for a Kyle build though is to ditch Chewie and go with Recon specialist, take your time engaging your opponent, and stack a ton of focus on Kyle.

I wouldn't advocate a 2 Y-wing and an HWK build because of your lack of maneuverability. Maybe put a Biggs in there to protect Kyle, and then some serious damage dealers.

Some successful Kyle lists I've seen are:

HWK Kyle - Moldy Crow, Recon Specialist, Blaster Turret

X-wing Biggs - R2-D2, Hull upgrade

X-wing Wedge - R2 unit, Engine upgrade, push the limit

You might also consider:

HWK Kyle - Moldy Crow, Recon Specialist, Blaster Turret

X-wing Biggs

X-wing Rookie Pilot

A-wing Green Squadron

I was doing well with the following list until Imdaar Alpha when I got thrashed by squads with heavy laser cannons (B-wings in some and Firesprays in others):

HWK Kyle - Moldy Crow, Recon Specialist, Blaster Turret

HWK Jan - Ion Turret

X-wing Wedge - Push the Limit, engine upgrade, R2-F2

At the lmdaar Alpha tournament I played in most of the builds were 3 or 4 ships. The winner was a 2 bomber 1 Firespray list and 2nd place was a 3 elite X-wing build, so if you want to run 3 ships you can be successful, it just takes practice.