A little advice needed.

Going into a game against a YT with 2 ship escorts.

What do you recommend to kill first.

I'm flying

Interceptor

3x bombers, proton torp

Biggs .

A little advice needed.

Going into a game against a YT with 2 ship escorts.

What do you recommend to kill first.

I'm flying

Interceptor

3x bombers, proton torp

Assuming it's a Named YT-1300 with Gunner (Han Shoots First is the name of the archetype, abbr. as HSF), send all of your Proton Torps at the YT-1300, preferably in the same round.

You've got an Alpha-Strike fleet. It's around 1/2 his fleet's points, and only has 1 agility.

If you left it for last, your Interceptor would die too quickly to be useful, and your Bombers would go down shortly thereafter.

The more concentrated firepower you put on large ships, the worse their survivability gets. After the thrust or second attack they're stripped of all focus and evade tokens, so it's just raw dice outcomes your 3-4 to their 1.

Typically the answer will be the YT.

The escorts have more firepower,so it makes some sense to take them out quickly to reduce your opponent's offense. But if you wait to start shooting at Chewie (or whoever) until the escorts are dead, you may find that you just don't have enough firepower left of your own to take down a massive pile of hit points before that pile kills you--particularly since the impact of upgrades like the Falcon title and C-3PO grows as the number of people shooting at the Falcon shrinks.

Maybe switching 1 Torpedo for a concussion missile may be helpful, its the same cost and I believe it is better suited for stripping shields than the Torpedo is (if you can get a focus token) of course homing missiles would be even better but that is 1pt more. Also I don't know if it is a possibility but shoot your interceptor before the Bombers (if they are the same PS) once again strip the shields before the Proton Torpedoes start getting their crits on the Falcon

If you know it's a falcon switch your ordnance to clusters. 3x6 dice + interceptor should make short work of the YT.

Pilots make a difference here as well.

If the YT is an ORS with two named fighters, ignore everything that was said above.

With your build shooting at the Falcon first is probably the best bet. Good luck getting a TL though on a named falcon with generic bombers. If your opponent was smart he would fly at you fast and get into range 1. Cluster missiles might be a safer bet.

I like shooting the escorts off a Falcon first, but its build dependent. I can kill an X-wing usually in one round of combat and knock 1/3 of his attack dice out of the match. You usually can't kill a YT in one round unless its an ORS.

A little advice needed.

Going into a game against a YT with 2 ship escorts.

What do you recommend to kill first.

I'm flying

Interceptor

3x bombers, proton torp

Assuming it's a Named YT-1300 with Gunner (Han Shoots First is the name of the archetype, abbr. as HSF), send all of your Proton Torps at the YT-1300, preferably in the same round.

You've got an Alpha-Strike fleet. It's around 1/2 his fleet's points, and only has 1 agility.

If you left it for last, your Interceptor would die too quickly to be useful, and your Bombers would go down shortly thereafter.

I respectfully disagree with going after Han first. Yes the YT will pose a threat to your interceptor and Gunner on said YT makes it even worse. However the quickest kill you can get is always best. If you have an Alpha strike capable of killing one of his side kicks take it. Lets says it's Han with 2 X's, each shoot with 3 dice and he has 3. Yes the most potent of these three is Han with Gunner. If you have the chance on the first exchange to eliminate one you have cut the attack power by nearly a 3rd. being attacked by 2 shots and 6 dice on the second exchange sounds a whole lot better then 3 shots and 9 dice!

Probably a hybrid approach from above. Take out one of the escorts quickly. That will cut down on his offense greatly. They focus your bombers on the YT. Keep the interceptor alive and at R3 from the YT if possible. If you get to the end with your interceptor against his last escort, you should win. I'm assuming your interceptor is Fel or Turr of some other high PS PTL interceptor.

It would help to have more details on your squad. Which interceptor and what bombers.

A little advice needed.

Going into a game against a YT with 2 ship escorts.

What do you recommend to kill first.

I'm flying

Interceptor

3x bombers, proton torp

Assuming it's a Named YT-1300 with Gunner (Han Shoots First is the name of the archetype, abbr. as HSF), send all of your Proton Torps at the YT-1300, preferably in the same round.

You've got an Alpha-Strike fleet. It's around 1/2 his fleet's points, and only has 1 agility.

If you left it for last, your Interceptor would die too quickly to be useful, and your Bombers would go down shortly thereafter.

I respectfully disagree with going after Han first. Yes the YT will pose a threat to your interceptor and Gunner on said YT makes it even worse. However the quickest kill you can get is always best. If you have an Alpha strike capable of killing one of his side kicks take it. Lets says it's Han with 2 X's, each shoot with 3 dice and he has 3. Yes the most potent of these three is Han with Gunner. If you have the chance on the first exchange to eliminate one you have cut the attack power by nearly a 3rd. being attacked by 2 shots and 6 dice on the second exchange sounds a whole lot better then 3 shots and 9 dice!

This is generally how I have success vs. HSF as well. It is more build dependent and really depends on the quality of player fielding the YT, and if you're going death match or timed.

It is possible you won't get to Target Lock the high PS YT, not to mention your bombers will just generally not know the final position of the YT, making TL on it a risky choice in general. The support is likely to be lower PS and more predictable for your bombers. If there is a chance your missiles can kill the escorts before shooting a first or second time, you will have an easier time.

My bet is that 3 bombers even without ordnance could take out the YT, and who knows, your interceptor might stay alive with your opponent's firepower reduced.

I did some of my own practice with an XXB squad rocking opportunist. It seemed like everytime I killed the named YT first, I had a much easier game.

Did anyone else experience this?

I feel as though the community could give a more definite answer if the list was a bit more precise (pilot, upgrade, etc). Currently, the verdict is up in the air depending on how big a threat the YT really is and the synergy it has with its escort (EDIT: which Interceptor and the pilot rating of the bombers count as well).

A little advice needed.

Going into a game against a YT with 2 ship escorts.

What do you recommend to kill first.

I'm flying

Interceptor

3x bombers, proton torp

Assuming it's a Named YT-1300 with Gunner (Han Shoots First is the name of the archetype, abbr. as HSF), send all of your Proton Torps at the YT-1300, preferably in the same round.

You've got an Alpha-Strike fleet. It's around 1/2 his fleet's points, and only has 1 agility.

If you left it for last, your Interceptor would die too quickly to be useful, and your Bombers would go down shortly thereafter.

I respectfully disagree with going after Han first. Yes the YT will pose a threat to your interceptor and Gunner on said YT makes it even worse. However the quickest kill you can get is always best. If you have an Alpha strike capable of killing one of his side kicks take it. Lets says it's Han with 2 X's, each shoot with 3 dice and he has 3. Yes the most potent of these three is Han with Gunner. If you have the chance on the first exchange to eliminate one you have cut the attack power by nearly a 3rd. being attacked by 2 shots and 6 dice on the second exchange sounds a whole lot better then 3 shots and 9 dice!

This is generally how I have success vs. HSF as well. It is more build dependent and really depends on the quality of player fielding the YT, and if you're going death match or timed.

Before the change from 33 point Full Win to 12 points, in a tournament, I had seen most people win by destroying the escorts and then running the time out while staying away from the Falcon, getting a modified win. Much more risky, now, in that the points difference is much less, so if you also lose a ship or two you risk giving away a full victory unless you have a TIE swarm, which actually gives you a good chance to destroy the Falcon outright.

There is no single answer because it depends greatly on the situation. For example, if they lead with the escorts and you get an opportunity to kill them immediately and avoid taking a round of range-1 fire then you take the opportunity you're give instead of throwing less-effective shots at the Falcon. If you get a better shot on the Falcon while the escorts hang back at range 3 you do the opposite. The most important thing is that once you've committed to a target you finish it off unless doing so is obviously suicidal, the worst possible outcome is that you split fire between all three targets, damage them all but fail to kill anything, and keep taking a full 100 points worth of firepower for another turn or two.

I'll agree that there is no one solution. It depends on the escort to a large extent but also on how they play. If the escort are a pair of A-Wings then I'll say go for the Falcon unless there is no way to avoid hitting the A-Wings first; read a thread where someone wondered why HSF with A-Wings ate them up but that's because they were trying to shoot down the A-Wings first, and without any luck, why Han destroyed them. On the other hand if the escort is a pair of B-Wings I say take down the easiest ship you can. The Falcon's turret will make life harder on the Interceptor for sure but B-Wings also hit hard but have a low agility and take lots of hits.

Actually, the bombers can do quite well against the YT. Assuming you get some good damage in with the ordnance, if you can keep dogging the falcon then they've got the HP to slug it out over the long term. The best part is that, assuming you've got multiple ships firing per round, there's actually no optimum range for the YT to be at. You can shell out much more damage than the YT can. And unlike regular TIEs, the bombers can take hits for a few rounds and keep firing.

We had this discussion recently in another topic and I agree with VorpalSword.

I'll add to his thoughts that even though it sounds nice to cut down any attack dice mathematically as some have said, the YT is getting shots every round and usually with an upgrade like Gunner. Other ships won't be getting that kind of firepower consistently, especially if you take a good approach on the YT.

Of course if it works out that you can isolate a ship somehow and Han is out of the picture a bit, you do it.

This all assumes it's a named YT and basic escorts. If the escorts are xwings you will find your torpedoes hit harder against the YT.

I also assume you're flying gammas?

As some one that has flown against dual YTs, multiple bluebacca, and HSF builds with interceptor lists and usually win with only losing one ship (41-4 with this list), DO. NOT. GO. FOR. THE. YT. FIRST. Unless they are completely separated, or the escorts are to far to be of use (even then I would take the escorts first), taking out the escorts will ALWAYS be in your favor. People tend to fear the YT for some unknown reason. Yes it has a 360 firing arc, yes it can take gunner, yes it will most likely fire at you every round, BUT will those 3 boosted attack dice be enough to drop a ship a turn? No(unless you are completely unlucky with dice or didn't take some sort of evade/focus action and they roll well). Your ships how you have them are either agile or tanky, both working in your favor. 3 attack dice from 3 ships on the other hand is enough to drop a ship a turn. Most likely you will out PS the escorts, and if they die before they get to attack, not much use to the other player if they are dead are they?

What you need to do is start playing the odds game. Will that shot that does two/one damage be worth it to not take the evade token to cancel it for him to get another shot that might be 3-4(range one) hits with crits, or do you minimize the damage he does to 1 (don't use that focus or evade to make it a complete dodge), then rotate that ship out to range three or further to help spread the damage? People have this full steam ahead approach to fighting this list, but honestly I would tell you, if you make it a war of attrition, you will win. Also if you can help it, dont every give the opponent the opportunity to exceed the amount of damage you can dodge unmodified with interceptors (this case works for minimizing damage to bombers as well) and keep out of range 1 of the YT. Sure you can do more damage against its 1 agility but in this case, your agility is your friend, make sure to use it to its fullest.

Also, if the YT out bids you in PS, you can use the most damaged craft in your list for blocking purposes, this usually catches the YT pilot of guard, nets you an actionless YT, and keeps your ships alive.

We had this discussion recently in another topic and I agree with VorpalSword.

I'll add to his thoughts that even though it sounds nice to cut down any attack dice mathematically as some have said, the YT is getting shots every round and usually with an upgrade like Gunner. Other ships won't be getting that kind of firepower consistently, especially if you take a good approach on the YT.

Of course if it works out that you can isolate a ship somehow and Han is out of the picture a bit, you do it.

This all assumes it's a named YT and basic escorts. If the escorts are xwings you will find your torpedoes hit harder against the YT.

I also assume you're flying gammas?

Kill the escorts first. They are easier to bring down and take a lot of weight off your shoulders. The Falcon can only kill one ship a turn at most. A Falcon and two escorts can kill three. At the very least, the escorts can help make sure whatever the Falcon is shooting at ends up dead.

Let's say you have a focus or an evade that will save you one point of damage from the Falcon's first volley. Keep that focus or evade, save it for one of the escorts which may be shooting at you. You want to eat that damage from the first volley. It's delicious. MMMMmmmm..... tasty damage. You love that one or two points of damage because it's going to taste a lot better than that second volley that does just as much damage and your defense roll isn't as hot or you've already used up your focus/evade to defend against the first volley. The Gunner upgrade only comes into play when you dodge his entire first volley. If you just soak that one or two points of damage, the Gunner upgrade doesn't kick in to kick you right in the face.

I like to "feed" the Falcon a cheap academy TIE (with a Focus action or no action or having taken a barrel roll) at range 1 and keep more valuable ships further away with evades. An experienced player would have to choose between ignoring the throwaway TIE and shoot at a more valuable target shooting the focused TIE that will have a range one shot in return. Of course, once again, you're only shooting at the Falcon once you take down the escorts or if it's your only target.

Try and alternate your ships into and out of range 1. If your ships survive being shot at by the falcon, try to slow it down and more another fresh ship closer. This is to try to force your opponent to spread his damage on a more attractive target. Again, this really only works against less experience players as a more experience player will try to concentrate his fire until a target is dead but leave the other ship at range 1 to return fire.

Kill the escorts first. They are easier to bring down

Depends on the situation. If you've got a swarm of TIEs at range 1 on the Falcon while the escorts are at range 3 then you're better off taking the opportunity and killing or crippling the Falcon. Range 3 shots (with a danger of having to split fire between the two escorts because of range issues) might not even kill an entire ship, while your range 1 shots on the Falcon are almost guaranteed to put heavy damage on it and leave it an easy target for next turn.

If you just soak that one or two points of damage, the Gunner upgrade doesn't kick in to kick you right in the face.

Just note that this is only an option for another week or two (or not at all anymore), until Blount arrives and his auto-splash assault missile turns taking 1-2 damage into losing an entire ship.

Thanks everyone.

My full list is

Soontir, PTL, Stealth

Jonus, homing missiles

2x Scimitar, proton torps

I'm taking it to a small event to defend my last victory. So wont be changing load out. I would say I'm a good flyer but have never faced the YT in any of its load outs. normally at tournaments I always try to take out the most expensive ship first then either the next expensive or whichever is causing most grief for me.

For example in the usual scum build of Wedge, Luke, Biggs. I'll leave Luke till last. Against the high intercepter list I'll go for highest PS.

But with a Han Shoots First or Chewie/Lando list I was thinking that escorts X/B wings are more of a dealable threat.

As some of you have pointed out the target lock on a well flown YT could be a problem, that's why I'm thinking Escorts