Hello all,

I'm currently taking a break from 40k and decided to get into X-wing because of all the great things I've heard about it.

Anyway, I've played a few games so far and own a limited selection of models. I wanted to get some advice on some of the lists I've cooked up.

List 1:

Carnor Jax with PTL, Targeting Comp, Royal Guard Tie, Hull Upgrade

Royal Guard Interceptor with Royal Guard Tie, Targeting Comp, PTL, Hull Upgrade

Omicron Pilot with Weapons Engineer, ST 321, FCS, Engine Upgrade, Rebel Captive

Total: 100

My worry here is the I've over-upgraded the ships. However, adding a single Academy Pilot at the expense of some of the upgrades seems like a mediocre trade-off.

List 2:

Royal Guard Interceptor with PTL, Target Lock

Royal Guard Interceptor with PTL, Target Lock

Howlrunner with Swarm Tactics

Obsidian Squad Pilot

Obsidian Squad Pilot

Total: 100

I suppose the list is a bit "swarmy", but I didn't want the blandness of all Tie Fighters (I'm also new enough that too many ships is cumbersome). I'm not sure about the synergy here though.

I was curious as to how important it is to be a few points under 100 for the initiative bid. Any and all advice for a noob is welcome! Thanks in advance!

First off welcome to the game

My worry here is the I've over-upgraded the ships.

As a general rule of thumb in X-Wing Plastic > Cardboard. Or in other words, more ships is typically better then fewer ships with more upgrades.

Why the targeting computer on the Interceptors? Especially when you have a shuttle that can hand out TL's on it's own. A ship doesn't need the TL action to have a TL token passed to it.

Also Weapons Engineer, FCS and ST-321 is a bit of overkill IMO.

Look up the Doom Cow as a shuttle build, then use those 2 interceptors with PtL as flankers, I think you may find that works better. Here's a link to one of the threads you might want to check out for using the Shuttle.

http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/95508-not-feeling-the-shuttle/

I was curious as to how important it is to be a few points under 100 for the initiative bid.

First off welcome to the game

My worry here is the I've over-upgraded the ships.

As a general rule of thumb in X-Wing Plastic > Cardboard. Or in other words, more ships is typically better then fewer ships with more upgrades.

Why the targeting computer on the Interceptors? Especially when you have a shuttle that can hand out TL's on it's own. A ship doesn't need the TL action to have a TL token passed to it.

Also Weapons Engineer, FCS and ST-321 is a bit of overkill IMO.

Look up the Doom Cow as a shuttle build, then use those 2 interceptors with PtL as flankers, I think you may find that works better. Here's a link to one of the threads you might want to check out for using the Shuttle.

http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/95508-not-feeling-the-shuttle/

I was curious as to how important it is to be a few points under 100 for the initiative bid.

that depends completely on your list. If you want to always move first, then you want it, if you don't care or want to move last then I'd build for 100 points. The typical PS you have also matters. Having imitative, but your ships are all PS6+ doesn't really do much. You're still likely to move last with our without it.

OGP cannot pass TLs out. Only Jendon can and at range 1. Not really good when running Interceptors. If they have to stay at range 1 of a shuttle, they won't last long. Honestly the 2nd list is probably an easier list to run. I would even go so far as to drop one of the RGP and add two more Ties if you have them. I know they don't look sexy, but your standard Tie can be quite good. Especially when you have 4 or 5 of them blasting the enemy.

Shuttles even with EU can be hard to fly. They require you to plan 2 or 3 turns in advance. Otherwise you'll be having the rear of your shuttle looking at the enemy instead of the business end. Like the previous post ST-321 and Weapon Engineer are a little overkill. You'll have FCS so keep TLs should be an issue. If anything I would drop Wpn. Engi. You won't need to have two TLs.

My worry here is the I've over-upgraded the ships. However, adding a single Academy Pilot at the expense of some of the upgrades seems like a mediocre trade-off.

I find that one of my big issues in list building is that I occasionally end up with somewhere around 16 points left over. At that point, you are usually grabbing a very weak ship that might not fit your intended style of play for that exact list or you are maxing out on upgrades. The only way around this is to either cull some choices or to figure out a way to make that list piece fit into your puzzle. I usually have a much easier time of this with the rebels as a lone A-wing is just capable enough to dodge around and cause some damage. I never take a lone Tie Fighter. I find that it just becomes the first thing to die and the only thing that it accomplishes is a very brief distraction.

Regarding your first list, I recommend dropping the targeting computers. PTL is almost always used to get off some combination of boost, barrel roll, and focus. Staying out of arc is infinitely better that re-rolling attack dice. There will be a few occasions where you wish that you could take a target lock instead, but it is a decent place to shave off a few points. ST 321 is expensive. You will be vomiting target locks all over the place with that ship. Is it worth 3 points to get the initial TL + focus? After that, you should be in the thick of it with your engine upgrade.

So, if you drop the targeting computers (4), ST 321 (3), and the hull upgrades (6), then that would be 13 points freed up. Whether you want to invest then into turning the OGP into Jendon or buying a Tie Fighter is a matter of preference.

Edit:

If you do go the Jendon route, hold onto ST 321 as you will be able to take your first pass with all three ships benefiting from the out of range target lock rather than just the one, which makes a much bigger difference.