I've been looking at running

Etahn +outmaneuver+advanced sensors+ r7-t1

Airen Cracken + squad leader + hull upgrade

Wedge + marksmanship + r5 - d8

Let Airen hand out actions to make sure etahn can support everyone's shots/ let wedge focus and heal if need be. It's likely to be too squishy but you've got decent chances if keeping etahn mobile to stay out of arcs and making sure you're getting crits on every shot.

I don't particularly like SL on Airen in that list. He can only hand out actions to Etahn with it, and he can only hand out a F to Wedge to use on Defense after Wedge shoots. I think you'd probably be better off with VI on Airen so he can hand out a free action to Wedge to double up on the Marksmanship+TL. But I suppose without VI, Wedge could still use R5-D8 after his shot. *shrug.

I just flew Etahn today in a 70 points match (against a newbie; I built both lists and randomly chose one before the game). I gave Etahn an R2 Astromech (for lots of greens) and Advanced Sensors (for more versatile Barrel Rolls), and paired him with Ten Numb with Advanced Sensors.

The effect was devastating. They dished out lots of damage, with one guaranteed crit per round uncancellable by dice. A lovely, albeit very expensive, combo.

Her are some squads I'm playing around with:

1)

Rookie Pilot (21)

Rookie Pilot (21)

Biggs Darklighter + R5 Astromech (26)

Etahn A'baht (32)

Simple straight forward. Get as many 3 attack dice to get the full effect of Etahn, while Biggs does what Biggs does.

2)

Etahn A'baht + R2-D2 + Predator + Fire-Control System (41)

Biggs Darklighter (25)

Rookie Pilot (21)

Bandit Squadron Pilot (12)

Down grad a rookie to a bandit to give some toys for Etahn. This loses a little punch by having 1 less dice roll.

3)

Etahn A'baht + R2-D2 + Predator (39)

Biggs Darklighter (25)

Bandit Squadron Pilot (12)

Bandit Squadron Pilot (12)

Bandit Squadron Pilot (12)

You can enter the Swarm arena with 5 ships. Etahn has good survivability as Biggs Protects him and once Biggs is gone R2-D2 should keep him around long enough to finish the fight. The defender is going to roll more defense dice with this build and it will struggle against the 3+ evade dice ships.

In my testing number 1 has shown to be very effective even against most list.

Her are some squads I'm playing around with:

1)

Rookie Pilot (21)

Rookie Pilot (21)

Biggs Darklighter + R5 Astromech (26)

Etahn A'baht (32)

Simple straight forward. Get as many 3 attack dice to get the full effect of Etahn, while Biggs does what Biggs does.

2)

Etahn A'baht + R2-D2 + Predator + Fire-Control System (41)

Biggs Darklighter (25)

Rookie Pilot (21)

Bandit Squadron Pilot (12)

Down grad a rookie to a bandit to give some toys for Etahn. This loses a little punch by having 1 less dice roll.

3)

Etahn A'baht + R2-D2 + Predator (39)

Biggs Darklighter (25)

Bandit Squadron Pilot (12)

Bandit Squadron Pilot (12)

Bandit Squadron Pilot (12)

You can enter the Swarm arena with 5 ships. Etahn has good survivability as Biggs Protects him and once Biggs is gone R2-D2 should keep him around long enough to finish the fight. The defender is going to roll more defense dice with this build and it will struggle against the 3+ evade dice ships.

In my testing number 1 has shown to be very effective even against most list.

My experiments in this area are also very effective. Biggs + Etahn may be as natural of a pairing as Garven + Dutch.

My experiments in this area are also very effective. Biggs + Etahn may be as natural of a pairing as Garven + Dutch.

Garven and Dutch work well together because they're both action enhancers and they cover the two potential offensive boosts - focus and target lock.

I don't see any special synergy with Biggs and Etahn. If they work well together, it's only because Biggs works well with ANYTHING. I know a lot of people tend to pick on Howlrunner, but Biggs is easily my choice for most broken pilot in the game.

My experiments in this area are also very effective. Biggs + Etahn may be as natural of a pairing as Garven + Dutch.

Garven and Dutch work well together because they're both action enhancers and they cover the two potential offensive boosts - focus and target lock.

I don't see any special synergy with Biggs and Etahn. If they work well together, it's only because Biggs works well with ANYTHING. I know a lot of people tend to pick on Howlrunner, but Biggs is easily my choice for most broken pilot in the game.

The same PS and similarity in dial make flying Biggs to protect Etahn such a natural fit. Biggs is ridiculously powerful, I just feel that this combo (or Hobie) make him even easier to use for players that haven't done so previously.

Im plaiyng the following list:

Etahn

2x Blue sq. Pilot

2x Bandit sq. Pilot

Keeping them all in good formation I managed to get 1° place in our small Regional in Chile.

Now I replaced the B wings for X wing just because they have similar dials, but in casual games i use Etahn + Ten Numb... and strike a lot of critical hits!.

I was thinking also to use Wes Janson + Etahn, but still dont know how to complete this list.

Hmmm....maybe?

Etahn A'baht — E-Wing 32

Push the Limit 3

Advanced Sensors 3

Engine Upgrade 4

Blue Squadron Pilot — B-Wing 22

Heavy Laser Cannon 7

Blue Squadron Pilot — B-Wing 22

Heavy Laser Cannon 7

Maybe drop the EU to make both B's Daggers?

I like Etahn too. I wouldn't say he was "nigh unstoppable", but the ability to generate Crits is really great, as you say.

I usually fly him with some sort of defensive upgrade, typically PTL so that I can focus+evade if he's in a bind.

And while I like the E-wing, I doubt it is objectively a good ship, given its cost. The named pilots have fantastic abilities but you pay a premium for every E-wing on the table.

Do you really though? Lets take a cursory look at a Rookie vs. Knave... First, lets discount the Rookie to PS1 and 20 pts. Now the Knave is 7 points more expensive. For those points, we get a shield vs. hull, which according to the mod cards is worth 1 point. Then we get barrel roll, which, again according to EH would be 2 points. For the remaining 4 points, we get a 3rd agility (worth more than 3 from Stealth), and a slightly better dial (2 K turns, and faster greens, and faster 5 straight). Oh yeah, and we get the evade action, worth at least 1 point (MF title).

So, it doesn't seem to me that you pay a premium for the E wing over the X wing at all... If anything, you're getting a discount, which would make sense because all the mod cards are probably overpriced to add to the ship vs. innately having it.

Why did you do this?!

A certain Wookie would big to differ about who's the better PS 5 pilot.

"Never argue with a Wookie"

A certain Wookie would big to differ about who's the better PS 5 pilot.

This is a good point.

And then there's Biggs...

Ethan honestly doesn't even make it into the cage with those two.

I came here to say this. Biggs is easily still the best Rebel in the game, PS5 or not.

I've never flown Biggs. Is it because he's cheap? Or because he absorbs fire?

I don't particularly like SL on Airen in that list. He can only hand out actions to Etahn with it, and he can only hand out a F to Wedge to use on Defense after Wedge shoots. I think you'd probably be better off with VI on Airen so he can hand out a free action to Wedge to double up on the Marksmanship+TL. But I suppose without VI, Wedge could still use R5-D8 after his shot. *shrug.

I both love and hate Biggs.

I love Biggs because he absorbs the fire that would normally go on a more important piece, like say Wedge.

I hate Biggs because no matter how well I fly him, putting him at RB3 with an asteroid between him and then enemies, rocking R2A3 and 2 focus, he still finds a way to die WAY TOO EFFING FAST.

Thats probably because my green dice roll even worse than my red dice. On that note, I think I might have lopsided dice. People in my gaming group are starting to notice it and commenting on it. The regional dice are full of air bubbles which probably throws off their randomness, and I am pretty sure the basic set dice were made to that awesome Chinese sweat shop standard.

I wonder if I can order precision dice with Xwing crits/hits/focus and evades/focus on them? I would totally order a bunch.

I've never flown Biggs. Is it because he's cheap? Or because he absorbs fire?

He keeps the MVP alive longer.

I both love and hate Biggs.

I love Biggs because he absorbs the fire that would normally go on a more important piece, like say Wedge.

I hate Biggs because no matter how well I fly him, putting him at RB3 with an asteroid between him and then enemies, rocking R2A3 and 2 focus, he still finds a way to die WAY TOO EFFING FAST.

Thats probably because my green dice roll even worse than my red dice. On that note, I think I might have lopsided dice. People in my gaming group are starting to notice it and commenting on it. The regional dice are full of air bubbles which probably throws off their randomness, and I am pretty sure the basic set dice were made to that awesome Chinese sweat shop standard.

I wonder if I can order precision dice with Xwing crits/hits/focus and evades/focus on them? I would totally order a bunch.

Please god not this again

My experiments in this area are also very effective. Biggs + Etahn may be as natural of a pairing as Garven + Dutch.

Garven and Dutch work well together because they're both action enhancers and they cover the two potential offensive boosts - focus and target lock.

I don't see any special synergy with Biggs and Etahn. If they work well together, it's only because Biggs works well with ANYTHING. I know a lot of people tend to pick on Howlrunner, but Biggs is easily my choice for most broken pilot in the game.

The tournament results and data would disagree with the Biggs over Howlrunner.

I don't particularly like SL on Airen in that list. He can only hand out actions to Etahn with it, and he can only hand out a F to Wedge to use on Defense after Wedge shoots. I think you'd probably be better off with VI on Airen so he can hand out a free action to Wedge to double up on the Marksmanship+TL. But I suppose without VI, Wedge could still use R5-D8 after his shot. *shrug.

This, I almost always use Cracken with VI, I'm usually also running wedge or horn so it really optimizes thuer output.

I've run the math, you will get better damage out put from Etahn than horn in the course of a game.

I've never flown Biggs. Is it because he's cheap? Or because he absorbs fire?

He keeps the MVP alive longer.

Even if you don't have an "MVP", his ability can be useful. It can make your enemy split their fire, reducing the overall efficiency of their shooting. Ideally, you should focus fire on one ship until it is dead. Having Biggs in a list can disrupt the key opening engagement for your enemy.

If you have Biggs in the back of a formation, some of his ships may be forced to take bad shots at him, while the rest of his squad is out of range of Biggs; forcing them to split their fire.

I both love and hate Biggs.

I love Biggs because he absorbs the fire that would normally go on a more important piece, like say Wedge.

I hate Biggs because no matter how well I fly him, putting him at RB3 with an asteroid between him and then enemies, rocking R2A3 and 2 focus, he still finds a way to die WAY TOO EFFING FAST.

Thats probably because my green dice roll even worse than my red dice. On that note, I think I might have lopsided dice. People in my gaming group are starting to notice it and commenting on it. The regional dice are full of air bubbles which probably throws off their randomness, and I am pretty sure the basic set dice were made to that awesome Chinese sweat shop standard.

I wonder if I can order precision dice with Xwing crits/hits/focus and evades/focus on them? I would totally order a bunch.

Please god not this again

My experiments in this area are also very effective. Biggs + Etahn may be as natural of a pairing as Garven + Dutch.

Garven and Dutch work well together because they're both action enhancers and they cover the two potential offensive boosts - focus and target lock.

I don't see any special synergy with Biggs and Etahn. If they work well together, it's only because Biggs works well with ANYTHING. I know a lot of people tend to pick on Howlrunner, but Biggs is easily my choice for most broken pilot in the game.

The tournament results and data would disagree with the Biggs over Howlrunner.

I don't particularly like SL on Airen in that list. He can only hand out actions to Etahn with it, and he can only hand out a F to Wedge to use on Defense after Wedge shoots. I think you'd probably be better off with VI on Airen so he can hand out a free action to Wedge to double up on the Marksmanship+TL. But I suppose without VI, Wedge could still use R5-D8 after his shot. *shrug.

This, I almost always use Cracken with VI, I'm usually also running wedge or horn so it really optimizes thuer output.

I've run the math, you will get better damage out put from Etahn than horn in the course of a game.

Well, obviously because Horn doesn't increase the # of attacks he can take or how well he attacks. What he does allow you to do is finish off an injured pilot that you wouldn't otherwise be able to do, maximize your R1 attacks to do more damage before you come out of a K turn stressed and at R3... And when arc dodging end game, allows you two shots to your opponents 1 shot.

Having flown Corran and Etahn a lot in casual games both 1v1 and 3v3 I can say:

Having Etahn boost every other ship you have if you know how to fly an E-Wing is huge. Corran + Etahn is nasty because Corran's double attack is boosted throughout by Etahn much like Marksmanship.

All of what I have read so far here makes sense and is correct. The only issue I have is that many of the posters detail out data like its in a vacuum. In games there are so many other factors that change outcome that simple data means very little in the end. No one cares if statistically something is better or more sound if it fails for them at that moment. So min/maxing in casual games drives me crazy. (Keep that in Tournament speak and even then I caution using it) :-)

E-Wings do well, (for me) because of how their design blends in with my play style, (This is something too many people ignore when playing). I roll really well with my Red dice and really poorly with my Green dice. I traded away both my Phantoms because rolling one or two Evades with 5 Green dice was a waste of the ship's abilities.

The E-Wing has enough Green dice to make my 1 or 2 Evades being rolled ok and I can select Evade as an Action. Add in 3 Shields and barrel rolls and suddenly I am living longer in games! Factor in R2D2 or my favorite combo = R7mech + Fire Control Systems and you have an all comers ship.

The tournament results and data would disagree with the Biggs over Howlrunner.

<sigh> Of all the many things I dislike about the recent number-crunching efforts, this fetishization for tournament appearance as the one true measure of a card's ability may be at the top of the list.

Yes, Howlrunner shows up more. That really shouldn't surprise anyone. She costs seven points less (10 if you account for the PS tax), and is a very popular part of what remains the most dominant build in the game. Beyond that she's in a faction that's normally choosing between 4 and 8 ships, vs. 3 or 4. So yes, she shows up more, but how much of that is because she's a better overall pilot, and how much is structural?

If we're voting for Prom Queen then Howlrunner certainly wins. But I wish we could stop thinking that actually makes them the best.

This treat use to be about Etahn...

Biggs or not to Biggs, that is another question!