This thread doesn't make sense, a meta is a living thing that dictates that there will always be the top dog and and then the builds that evolve to counter it that are weak to something else which eventually will take the usurpers place...leaving the original thing meta'd against to eventually cycle back into the limelight.

so phantom/e-wing/headhunter/defender all will have an opportunity to be ranked. Differently in every meta, and differently every few months or weeks or however fast you can see the shift.

This thread doesn't make sense, a meta is a living thing that dictates that there will always be the top dog and and then the builds that evolve to counter it that are weak to something else which eventually will take the usurpers place...leaving the original thing meta'd against to eventually cycle back into the limelight.

so phantom/e-wing/headhunter/defender all will have an opportunity to be ranked. Differently in every meta, and differently every few months or weeks or however fast you can see the shift.

Best Ship: E-Wing

Runner-Up: TIE Defender

Worst Ship: Z95 Headhunter

I know a few will be disagreeing on my assesment; Rebel players in my group sure are.

However I see that from an Imperial perspective the E-Wing is most dangerous new addition and the one most likely to stay the longest; it is an expensive ship but since it comes with both system and astromech slots (two slots of which we are sure to see more) it can be put in a good variety of roles to supplement other combatants. The catch of course is that every new system or droid also keeps the X- or B-Wing in the meta, which are cheaper to have. I'd be remiss not to mention that E'Than is also right up there with rest of the Rebel force multipliers, maybe the best yet.

Cheap Defenders with Ion Cannons are surely here to stay too; they are good flankers (good speed, good maneuvers, good durability) and lend the Imperials another option to control enemy squads without the problems of the Ion Shuttle or the Ion Spray have being big ships. More expensive Defenders can also work in specialized lists (e.g. Vessery with Bombers) but if those will be good as against all-comers opitions we will just have to see.

The Phantom has some openings that can easily exploited with enough practice and readily avalible tools; turrets and blockers are sure to minimize the Phantom threat, so is Action Denial via Stress. And since the Cloak-token is neither focus nor evade Opportunist will have its time to shine. Echo might mittigate some of it (esspeically the blockers) but it is still one ship with lowest durability of all Imperial craft.

The Z-95 however will leave no lasting marks except perhaps for Cracken; the need for cheap assault missile carrier will go away as soon as Imperial players adjust their list and move away from formation flying (the tools are already there; the TIE swarm will surive but it will be transformed) - and as for the Z-95 Swarm, I'm not so sure the Z-95 will be as effective as swarmer as the TIE Fighter is, it's action bar is more limited (even the "Holy Church of Focus" cannot deny that Barrel Roll and Evade have been integral to the T/F's success) as is it's choice of pilots. Another thing that is sure to bury the Z-95 long-term is the upcoming refit to the A-Wing which will get a faster, more maneuverable ship with better actions (and only rebel option for generic EPTs) back on the scene.

But don't you see.... that is EXACTLY why the z-95 is the best! (At least one of the biggest reasons).

for me it's like this:

Z-95 Best - fills a huge need for rebels. Fills out lists that focus on one super ship - allowing you to still get 3-4 ships where before you might only be able to afford 2. TOTALLY changed the meta. TIE Swarms are nearly gone. Might see some bomber swarms now - which could easily survive the alpha strike from a few assault missiles, but I'm interested to see what the new tournaments builds are gonna look like.

Worst: TIE Defender

Named pilots don't have good enough synergy YET - though with some future upgrades they are likely to improve - Rexlar Brath for example is going to get better soon. but for now you have a ship that costs so much, but has pretty much the worst turning ability in the game. You almost HAVE to give it a ton of expensive upgrades to make it playable - effectively making it the most expensive ship in the game.... and worst yet - it offers you nothing that a bounty hunter doesn't already give you - and a bounty hunter will end up being cheaper, tougher, wider firing arc, takes 2 ion tokens to ion, and higher pilot skill for the base model.

I don't have a pick for the best but I think the worst is easily the Phantom. It is good in many circumstances but as the most easily hard-countered ship in the game I question its long-term viability

Worst Ship: Z95 Headhunter

The Z-95 however will leave no lasting marks except perhaps for Cracken; the need for cheap assault missile carrier will go away as soon as Imperial players adjust their list and move away from formation flying (the tools are already there; the TIE swarm will surive but it will be transformed) - and as for the Z-95 Swarm, I'm not so sure the Z-95 will be as effective as swarmer as the TIE Fighter is, it's action bar is more limited (even the "Holy Church of Focus" cannot deny that Barrel Roll and Evade have been integral to the T/F's success) as is it's choice of pilots. Another thing that is sure to bury the Z-95 long-term is the upcoming refit to the A-Wing which will get a faster, more maneuverable ship with better actions (and only rebel option for generic EPTs) back on the scene.

I disagree with you. I think that people who love STAR WARS will always use TIE Swarms and now Headhunter Swarms because we love the ships.

Neither of these swarms are a fad...

In all honesty, I think they all fit into the system. I'm not sold on any of them as replacing my old squads. The new cards are awesome for combo's that weren't available before.

I do think the E and Defender will suffer on points cost, but they are priced correctly for ability and stats.

The Phantom is the near term game changer, but it's already seeing counters and wave 5 will bring even more.

I think the humble Z will see most long term use as it is a bit like the Swiss Army knife of fighters.

Worst: TIE Defender

Though I'm calling i the worst, I don't think the Defender is bad per se. My experiments so far haven't been disastrous, but neither have they been spectacular. The basic models have applications, but the named pilots are a bit awkward. Vessery needs a more capable cheap-ish TL provider than what the Empire currently offers (note to FFG: the ZG-1 would be just the ticket here), while Rexler needs a way to get extra Focus tokens. Once those things arrive, though, they will be two very nasty pilots.

Next time, try an academy TIE with the Target Lock upgrade.

I did this recently and it was incredibly useful.

I'm pretty happy with all of the ships available, but I enjoy using the Phantom, namely Echo, and Defender with mini-swarms of 4 TIE/Lns, I find that both of these ships are best used with outmaneuver and make for excellent flankers. Especially Vessery equipped with an Ion cannon and outmaneuver alongside TIEs with targeting computers, he can just stun lock one ship and then continue doing so while keeping out of its firing arc. Having a ship with wingman to de-stress it is also a great option. But its still pretty expensive but can be worth it at times!

But my overall favorite is the phantom, Echo is just amazing and can be positioned in so many ways after decloaking.

As far as I can tell they're as tough for the points as most anything in the game.

Yeah I don't get this "Z-95's die when you look at them harshly" ideas. MajorJuggler has proved they're at least as efficient point wise as the Tie Fighter.

At 2 shields, 2 hull, and 2 evade, they're 1 HP weaker then a X-Wing at 9 points cheaper. They may be missing an evade die vs Ties, but they have shields which make them crit resistant, plus they have a higher PS.

I've played a few games with the Z-95 and they are not weak ships that serve as nothing but filler. They can hold their own very well for the points.

Here is my Z-95 Swarm list. This thing went up against a TIE Swarm list during one game and against a triple BH list during a second. It took both out with ease. The TIE swarm was down to four Academy pilots with 1 Hull each after the first pass and the BH had a Firespray taken out by the first pass with half my ordnance not even expended.

Lieutenant Blount/Z-95 Headhunter

Bandit Squadron Pilot/Z-95 Headhunter + Assault Missiles + Munitions Failsafe (2)

Tala Squadron Pilot/Z-95 Headhunter

Bandit Squadron Pilot/Z-95 Headhunter + Cluster Missiles + Munitions Failsafe (2)

The first flight I will call Alpha and the second will be Beta. They begin on opposite corners of the play area facing inward at a 45 degree angle lined up with the flight lead in the middle. The key is to make the enemy come to you before you turn and burn them down. Don’t go head-to-head, that’s playing by their rules.

Alpha flight is specifically designed to take out the TIE swarms. The first shot is Lieutenant Blount against Howlrunner. This shot is guaranteed to hit, regardless of whether it damages or not, thus knocking out her Stealth Device. He should Focus so he can survive Howlrunner and her Swarm Tactic wingman’s attack.

Next, the Bandit’s launch their Assault Missiles. If Howlrunner is undamaged, then target her with one shot and target the TIE screening her with the other. This should spread the pain around enough to destroy her and the TIE in front of her, while also placing the other two down to a single Hull. If she is damaged, then fire for Maximum effect. Don’t waist the full punch of an Assault Missile on her when there is a potentially undamaged TIE within Range 1 of the rest of the Swarm.

Beta flight is your mop-up for the scattering TIES, or the main flight that you send to deal with the Ace. Whether it is Vader or Fel or even a Bounty Hunter, they are packing the heavy punch (Attack 3 missiles that are resolved twice, meaning 6 attack dice). This should be enough to severely damage any ship you’re attacking.

I'm of the "Defender mooks should be PS2 & PS4 instead" argument

I'm of the "Defender mooks should be PS2 & PS4 instead" argument

Which honestly is part of the reason why the Z's work so well, because they are PS2 and 4, beating the PS1 and 3 Tie Fighters.

Now, after almost a month has past, have your answers changed?