I started playing XWing at Xmas time and was mainly flying three High PS XWings until just about a month ago. It worked well for me through league. I flew Imperials at an escalation tournament and didn't run into any Rebels with multiple XWings.

After Wave 4 came out, my son took over the Rebels and I got the Imperials back he had claimed!

As a rebel he seems to be running Zs and turrets, ie Ys, HWKs, mainly.

So basically, I'm wondering how three XWings are holding up against the new meta after Wave 4?

Thanks!

I'm wondering this myself, because Wedge in an X-Wing with a droid is pretty narly by himself. My buddy plays X-Wings a lot and I usually counter with basic TIEs and Interceptors, and the X-Wing seems to struggle a bit against the highly maneuverable ships. Or maybe thats just because him and I are still relatively new to the game lol.

I never have seen three x-wings be terribly dominant. They always seemed to be totally based on dice rolls. They are not hard to hit and with only 3 ships they all have to hit pretty accurately to be effective.

Most of the three x wing builds i see i am not a fan of. I run Wedge a ton as he is my favorite Star Wars character, but loading ships with upgrades doesn't make sense to me. I am looking at 2 named x wings once stay on target hits though, give them other ships with wingman to take advantage of their high ps and let them stay on target nearly every turn seems potent.

They are somewhat less effective now, even though the actual builds are better thanks to new pilots like Wes.

Between Phantoms, Super Falcons, and both sides able to run swarms, they have their hands full. Not a bad squad by any means, just not as effective as during earlier waves.

Well these are not all x-wings but im looking forward to playing this 3 pilot squad post Rebel Aces.

Wes Janson

Outmaneuver

R7-T1

Biggs Darklighter

R7 Astromech

Keyan Farlander

Oppertunist

Advanced Sensors

B-wing/E2

Nien Numb

Hits hard and can afford to lose a ship or (eventualy) two and still be effective.

I kind of enjoy a 4 X-Wing list of mid-PS pilots, but I haven't taken it in the road or anything.

I suspect that you have to think of it in terms of the current state of the meta-shifting cycle. Last week anything that anyone could talk about is the height on the HSF with 3P0 list, which is an over-reaction to the Phantom. Maybe we'll see a resurgence of the swarm in response to the HSF3. So, how well does a 3X list perform against the swarm? That's not a new question, I imagine.

Most of the three x wing builds i see i am not a fan of. I run Wedge a ton as he is my favorite Star Wars character, but loading ships with upgrades doesn't make sense to me. I am looking at 2 named x wings once stay on target hits though, give them other ships with wingman to take advantage of their high ps and let them stay on target nearly every turn seems potent.

Wedge as your favorite Star Wars character... Can you explain that? He seems like a bit of a wall-flower to me; even in the X-Wing books, there's not much that makes him particularly interesting. Or, do I need to keep reading?

Not incredibly, but in an optimized meta they never have been. There are some lists that make tthem work, but they have poor durability, poor firepower without opportunist builds (which bump them to average), and suffer against phantoms and ytzzz lists. That said I can see two high PS xwings and three zs being pretty effective.

While two- and three- ship builds in general are becoming a lot more powerful, three-X-Wing builds aren't quite on par. They just don't have the durability that they need to stand up to the focused fire they will inevitably receive on the first turn, which means that they just about have to take down at least one and ideally two ships on that first exchange of fire. If you vary the ships by throwing in an E-Wing or a B-Wing, you'll probably be better off by virtue of the added survivability.

if you can get their PS to 9 and above, they are very powerful against phantom builds.

Yes, I ran a phantom list for the first time this week, and I was utterly destroyed by Wedge, Luke, Wes (all with verteran instincts). This was partly due to flying mistakes on my part, but high PS pilots with solid abilities like the named X-wing pilots are definitely a strong counter to phantoms. On the other hand, as others have said above, the 3X list struggles against double falcons, swarms, etc. It's very challenging to put together a list that is strong against all others these days!

Wedge Luke Wes is pretty good against phantoms, and decent against falcon... if you don't roll horribly the first turns. It is mostly go big or go home with them, but they are not bad, just less reliable (even if you have the same average winrate than with a phantom build, the times you lose you will feel helpless, while if you win, it can be mindshattering).

What about adding Corran to up the firepower a little (on critical turns)?

Corran Horn VI FCS

Wedge Predator

Wes VI

The firepower is fairly reliable here, just perhaps not the defensive side. Its two bare X-wings as far as green dice is concerned. I haven't tried this list, seems a bit lackluster despite the shiny high PS.

A list I really enjoy running that features XXE is:

Corran w/ VI FCS and R7

Luke w/ VI R7

Tarn Mison w/ R7 and shield upgrade

It seems a little silly, but corran gets a free TL from his FCS. Tarn does his thing. Luke is high Pilot Skill and is free to TL at the end of activation, not needing focus for defense. I think I might be better off with R2-D2 on Luke instead, so for tournament play I would probably swap that out. It lacks firepower abilities but the R7's can lock down the attacks of critical enemy ships.

What about adding Corran to up the firepower a little (on critical turns)?

Corran Horn VI FCS

Wedge Predator

Wes VI

The firepower is fairly reliable here, just perhaps not the defensive side. Its two bare X-wings as far as green dice is concerned. I haven't tried this list, seems a bit lackluster despite the shiny high PS.

A list I really enjoy running that features XXE is:

Corran w/ VI FCS and R7

Luke w/ VI R7

Tarn Mison w/ R7 and shield upgrade

It seems a little silly, but corran gets a free TL from his FCS. Tarn does his thing. Luke is high Pilot Skill and is free to TL at the end of activation, not needing focus for defense. I think I might be better off with R2-D2 on Luke instead, so for tournament play I would probably swap that out. It lacks firepower abilities but the R7's can lock down the attacks of critical enemy ships.

I play the first list regularly and have had great success with it. It can be unforgiving if you make a mistake, but I win far more than I lose, even against Falcons/Phantoms. Obviously its weakness is rebel swarms, But luckily enough, the Phantoms have driven most of those away...

Xwings are a meh ship. The stats are okay, the dial is okay, etc. As a result, an all Xwing list leaves a lot of gaps to be filled and would require kitting out each ship accordingly.

I might try:

Tarn + R7 + Shield Upgrade (An extremely durable ship, with good accuracy if you want it)

Biggs + R2D2 + Shield (Traditional Biggs build)

Wedge + R2 + Outmaneuver + Engine Upgrade (Agile fighter)

But you're still only throwing 9-12 dice a round, with 17 hp, and 6 green dice, and dials that leave a lot to be desired against more agile ships.