Build List:

Han Solo

-->Gunner

-->Chewbacca

-->Marksmanship

2x Rookie Pilot

The idea behind this build is simple. Han Solo uses his offensive prowess and his two rerolls (one from Han Solo and one from Gunner) to ensure that he does damage turn after turn to enemy ships. The Rookie Pilots are primarily used as flankers to deal the extra damage that is necessary to destroy enemy ships.

I have thought about adding the Millennium Falcon title, as I do understand that Han Solo's agility isn't good. However, I just can't get it to work points wise. I use Chewbacca to give Han Solo longevity. Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Chewbacca allow you to ignore a damage card as well as give Han Solo a shield? If so, that in effect gives Han Solo +2 shields (one used up immediately when you ignore the damage card and one to be used later). That makes Han Solo insanely hard to kill.

Not sure if it matters, but it appears that there are at least some TIE Swarm or modified TIE Swarm (e.g. Soontir Fel + mini-Swarm) builds in the metagame near where I live.

As a final note, I have at least one copy of all ships except for the Rebel Transport, the Tantive IV, and the special stuff from Imperial Aces. So, I have flexibility to change the build list above.

There are plenty of ways to run HSF, and this is a pretty standard build. No criticism necessary.

Now it's time to go play it and have fun!

Not a bad list. Not an uncommon build either for HSF. It's good, but been around long enough that it doesn't surprise many. Where possible, the defender against Han should just let one damage go through, not burning focus tokens so you don't trigger gunner and they have the chance to fire back with focus on a low agility ship

Yeah. Should I leave Gunner in, considering that Han already gives me a reroll? If I drop it, I can add the Millennium Falcon title and bump up one of the X-Wings to perhaps Biggs Darklighter.

Play it first, then you can make changes based on your own experience rather than taking our word for it.

Personally I'd keep gunner until you see how well it works.

Play it first, then you can make changes based on your own experience rather than taking our word for it.

I have already played it, and I have shared my thoughts on my build in my original post (e.g. the possible need for Falcon title, etc.). I am interested in hearing feedback from others on this forum.

You may want to consider C 3PO instead of Chewie. Chewie basically give you 2 extra HP for 4 points. C 3PO guarantees you an attack die canceled once every round. I'm not saying it gives him an evade, but rather the guarantee. I've seen a number of people say 3PO is a waste if you roll an evade and while this is true, odds are against this happening as there are only 3 evades on a green die. If you are using marksmanship, you can't modify your defense roll. Guess 0 and you have for sure one hit cancelled. This frees up the 1 point you are looking for to add the MF title, so if you do an evade action, you can cancel two hits.

Sorry, after I posted this I saw you don't have the Tantive. If they are friendly games, just proxy 3PO in

Sorry, I didn't get that impression from your original post. Like I said, your build looks solid. You can tinker with it if you want - and I certainly do encourage experimentation - but there's nothing wrong with Gunner, especially with the Defender, E-Wing, and Phantom all in ascendance.

If you really have your heart set on the MF title, Gunner is probably the most immediately expendable of your upgrades, but only because of Han's pilot ability. Don't use Biggs in a list this small, though.

Just don't take the title and marksmanship in the same build. Both require an action so one of the 2 will be useless. So, instead of Marksmanship, I would take Predator; it doesn't take your action, and complete surprisingly well Han ability.

But for that, you first need to free one point. With Predator, I don't think Gunner would be that useful, so maybe drop it for another crew. 3PO is perfect but since you don't have the Tantive, I would maybe go with Flight Instructor, that would help your defense. But I never used it, so I don't know how much of an impact it really have, but since you'll evade instead of focusing, I could see it work.

Or just drop one of your two crew and upgrade your wingmans. Maybe 2 Blue instead of Rookie.

That's a solid list, and one of the most common HSF lists out there. I prefer to fit in Biggs somewhere (maybe dropping Chewbacca to upgrade a Rookie? But I like R2-D2 or R2-F2 on Biggs as well ...) to force my opponent to split his fire, but in my opinion your list will do very well as-is. There aren't a whole lot of tweaks you can make to a Han + 2X build, and most of the tweaks are dependent on your style of flying.

Build List:

Han Solo

-->Gunner

-->Chewbacca

-->Marksmanship

2x Rookie Pilot

This is, as others have said, not just any HSF build but the original and classic version.

If you want to shoehorn the MF title in, here is how I used to do it:

Han Solo (46)

Chewbacca (4)

Luke Skywalker (7)

Millennium Falcon (1)

Rookie Pilot (21)

Rookie Pilot (21)

Total: 100

It does just what you want: gives up some of the offensive punch of the Marksmanship version in order to become tankier. These days I'd be more likely to run something like Chewbacca + Predator + Gunner/Luke + Millennium Falcon with a pair of Blue Squadron + FCS, but of course that's a Bluebacca list rather than a Han Shot First list.

Aren't 3x naked Bandits better than 2x naked Rookies in pretty much every way? More total hit points, same attack dice (+1 if everything is in range 1), more blocking at the same PS, etc..

Unless you're really attached to the 1 bank, I don't see what the Rookies bring to the table.

Switching to the Bandits frees up 6 points for a missile, or the MF title and a shield upgrade to make Han even more durable.

Aren't 3x naked Bandits better than 2x naked Rookies in pretty much every way? More total hit points, same attack dice (+1 if everything is in range 1), more blocking at the same PS, etc..

Unless you're really attached to the 1 bank, I don't see what the Rookies bring to the table.

The Rookies are better on average against targets with 3+ Agility.

Played some games with this and found it to be very good. Han is very difficult to kill and the X-Wings provide good support.

One question I have, though, is: What are some counters to this build (aside from a mirror match with the same build)? This is a rather standard list, so I might face this list in the future and want to learn what to do against it.

Played some games with this and found it to be very good. Han is very difficult to kill and the X-Wings provide good support.

One question I have, though, is: What are some counters to this build (aside from a mirror match with the same build)? This is a rather standard list, so I might face this list in the future and want to learn what to do against it.

It's easy to block Han, and turning off Marksmanship is a pretty effective way to limit him. It's also vulnerable to being swarmed--by which I mean the YT-1300 is easy to hit even for cheap guns, and cheap guns in bulk can drop him in just a couple of rounds of concentrated fire. And it's also vulnerable to smart tactics: an early strike that drops or cripples Han is nearly an auto-win.

Expert Handling is mandatory on Han as far as I'm concerned. Luke is awesome too. I try to fit those two in everytime I fly him....but then I lavish Han with stuff.

Han Solo

-Expert Handling

-Luke Skywalker

-C3PO

-Hull Upgrade

-Falcon

Tala Squadron x 2

-Assault Missle

-Munition Failsafe

2-0 so far. I know it's prolly not the best build...but I'm having fun with it! Solo is a MONSTER!

Yeah. Should I leave Gunner in, considering that Han already gives me a reroll? If I drop it, I can add the Millennium Falcon title and bump up one of the X-Wings to perhaps Biggs Darklighter.

Keep the gunner, that lets you do so many re-rolls. Han + Gunner is soooo awesome. What you want to do is lose the marksmanship. Han + Gunner isn't going to have any trouble hitting things, what you need is a defensive boost. The Falcon Title upgrade is the best 1 point in the whole game. When you play your falcon, you want to spend almost every turn evading. Let's say you get shot at 3 different turns, if your smart you should be able to survive at least that long. Then you just gained basically 3 more shields for 1 point.

HSF is more about how you fly Han than it is about the build. Fly the falcon away from fights. Don't worry you will be chased, but hopefully they won't be able to get their whole force on you. Every turn you have only one TIE shooting at you is a supper win, if you have two, you are still pretty much coming out on top. But if that whole swarm shoots at you you are going to die really fast.

Step 1 fly away from combat

step 2 evade every round