Here's a list I plan on running in a few weeks for an upcoming local tournament. I'd appreciate any and all critique/suggestions.

Rebel Operative (16)

Gunner (5)

Ion Cannon Turret (5)

(26)

Rebel Operative (16)

Gunner (5)

Ion Cannon Turret (5)

(26)

Rebel Operative (16)

Gunner (5)

Ion Cannon Turret (5)

(26)

Rebel Operative (16)

Ion Cannon Turret (5)

(21)

The main goal is to just ion everything just for the sake of ion'ing everything, I figured it would hurt swarms, large ships and named pilots well. I know I can't K-Turn, but I figured two hard turns in the same direction is basically the same thing.

I also put gunners on everything I could fit them in because with 1 primary attack I'm probably gonna miss, so I might as well spend another 15 points on gunners to throw one more dice (unless I'm at range one), which also works out well if they are lucky enough to dodge the Ion Turrets and I happen to have them in my firing arc.

Unfortunately I couldn't fit gunners and turrets into everything, but luckily at 99 points I'll have the initiative on fully-optimized lists that fill out the whole 100 points. The two pilot skill already beats out all those pesky Academy TIES and ORSs and having initiative will let me shoot down Rebel swarms first.

What do you guys think?

I think a max of 4 damage a turn makes it automatically not a competitive list, unfortunately. Good control, but no teeth.

No. Just no. Trying to ion everyone and their dog is fun but not the most competitive. And gunners on the HWK? Hard to think of a worse waste of points. Better to have tactician instead so you can stress and ion at the same time. I'm pretty sure however that four Gold Y wings with ion turret and an R2 would be far superior. You would have better manouvers and some basic firepower.

Where's this local tournament going to be?

What's the point in Gunner? You're forking out a lot of points for it and on the HWK all it'll let you do is make a 1 dice primary weapon attack in forward arc only.

I love the hwk and I love ion BUT the two don't make a competitive list. As has been said before the damage output is way, way too low. I would reconsider. Would be a good laugh the mess with though

If you really want to just ion things off the board, take four Blues with Ion Cannon.

I've done 4 Blues with Ion before and it's just extremely boring winning with it all the time. If I could, I would drop the gunners for an A-Wing Prototype Pilot with the Refit, but that's not out yet. I guess I could drop gunners for an Z-95, but then it wouldn't go with my HWK theme...

Where's this local tournament going to be?

Labyrinth Games in Rancho Cucamonga, July 5th around 4PM. Ill post the rest of the deets in the Riverside forum and ill see you this weekend at GMI for that Tantive.

Drop all the gunners and take RecSpecs. That'll leave you with 3 points to spare. Or try named crew.

I've done 4 Blues with Ion before and it's just extremely boring winning with it all the time. If I could, I would drop the gunners for an A-Wing Prototype Pilot with the Refit, but that's not out yet. I guess I could drop gunners for an Z-95, but then it wouldn't go with my HWK theme...

Where's this local tournament going to be?

Labyrinth Games in Rancho Cucamonga, July 5th around 4PM. Ill post the rest of the deets in the Riverside forum and ill see you this weekend at GMI for that Tantive.

I'll be there tomorrow too. Come on by and we can test some HWK builds for you.

Drop all the gunners and take RecSpecs. That'll leave you with 3 points to spare. Or try named crew.

I actually like that idea, Kyle with Moldy and RecSpec to boost other HWKs.

I'll be there tomorrow too. Come on by and we can test some HWK builds for you.

As much as I'd love to, right now I'm vacationing down the road in Palm Desert and won't be home until the escalation tournament. GMI is my first FLGS when I started playing MtG there in 2012, but my play group has moved outward to Rancho when FNMs dried up.

If you want to do ion control you can go with the Shaw-y build

Gold with ion turret and R3-A2

Gold with flechette torpedo and ion turret x3

or

Blue with ion cannon x 4

or

Gold with ion turret and R3-A2

Blue with ion cannon x 3

Has the same ion control as your list but is tankier and if you go with blues, gives you the option of primary attacks that do some real damage.

Gunner on a hawk just is not worth the points value.

Gunner is wasted on hwk, loose one or few gunners and change to named version, at least Roark.

No. Just no. Trying to ion everyone and their dog is fun but not the most competitive. And gunners on the HWK? Hard to think of a worse waste of points. Better to have tactician instead so you can stress and ion at the same time. I'm pretty sure however that four Gold Y wings with ion turret and an R2 would be far superior. You would have better manouvers and some basic firepower.

I totally agree with changing Gunner for Tactician. You may consider something like this:

Rebel Operative + Tactician + Ion Cannon Turret (23)

Rebel Operative + Ion Cannon Turret + Tactician (23)

Rebel Operative + Ion Cannon Turret + Tactician (23)

Kyle Katarn + Blaster Turret + Recon Specialist + Moldy Crow (31)

This gives you lots of control and a hard hitting Kyle to take down those stressed, Ioned ships.

How about two HWKs with Blaster and Rec Spec, along with two Ys with Ion. I think that leaves 8 points for upgrades wherever you see fit.

Rebel Operative + Blaster Turret + Recon Specialist (23)

Rebel Operative + Blaster Turret + Recon Specialist (23)

Rebel Operative + Blaster Turret + Recon Specialist (23)

Jan Ors + Ion Cannon Turret (30)

Now you've got respectable firepower, 360 degree shooting, and only 99 points

A guy ran this at a local match not long ago, minus the gunners, but I forget what he replaced those points with.

This list is annoying to deal with if your attacking dice are playing nicely.

If you lose a few Ions at the wrong time, or if anyone gets behind you and breaks free, buckle in, because HWK's are literally cardboard-backed paper bullseye targets.

Rebel Operative + Blaster Turret + Recon Specialist (23)

Rebel Operative + Blaster Turret + Recon Specialist (23)

Rebel Operative + Blaster Turret + Recon Specialist (23)

Jan Ors + Ion Cannon Turret (30)

Now you've got respectable firepower, 360 degree shooting, and only 99 points

But you are screwed when

a ship cant focus. I like it better with Kyle+Blaster+Recon+Crow instead of Jan.

If you lose a few Ions at the wrong time, or if anyone gets behind you and breaks free, buckle in, because HWK's are literally cardboard-backed paper bullseye targets.

They are just as 'tough' as Xwings, tougher IF you're using both focus from Recon specialist.

If you want a four ion turret list, take 4 ywings. More durable, comparable dial, 2 primary attack. Do I think this is competitive? Only against squints, but if you want four ion turrets, this is better in every way.

I gotta' say no to ions. Trade at least two out for blasters.

Then you're talkin'.

All it takes is one Carnor Jax to make this list cry.

On a simpler note and to not completely overhaul your list you could drop the gunners and put an engine upgrade on each ship. That would go a long way to dealing with the maneuvering issue as well as make you a little harder to pin down. If you are all about the four hawks, go for it.

Personally I run two hawks with ion and two outer rim smugglers with anti pursuit lasers and have been getting plenty of mileage out of that list, I use ion and large bases to lock people down. Plenty of fun to be had.