Hey guys

I'm still relatively inexperienced as I don't play as much as I'd like, but I was thinking about the X-Wings in general, and how I always found the TIE's frustratingly maneuverable.

Has anyone tried any of the X-Wing pilots with Expert Handling and R2 Astromech, to give them better arc dodging capabilities and ways to clear the stress? Was it worth while?

My current ever-evolving list is:

Wedge w Expert Handling and R2

Etahn w PtL and Advanced Sensors

2x Z95 Bandits

It also leaves me with 6 points to play with, and I'm considering ion missiles on the bandits.

I visualise Wedge flanking and Etahn advancing with the Bandits, then breaking off to come at the enemy from a different direction. Bandits with Etahn's boost will make them dangerous, and Wedge is dangerous pretty much any capacity.

I think that in general, the problem with Expert Handling is its opportunity cost, you lose an EPT slot, where you could put in something better. You also lose an action to barrel roll, so suddenly your Wedge is always firing naked dice, which is usually bad.

In your exact example, Tycho with Outmaneuver and PTL would do almost the same amount of damage (2 dice focus + barrel roll vs 3 naked dice and barrel roll) and costs just as much. Outmaneuver acts as Wedge's ability, but you get Tycho's ability, a better dial and the ability to boost every once in a while. The A-Wing is also arguably more survivable due to its 3 green dice. Oh and I forgot about Chardaan Refit, so Tycho would actually be cheaper by 2pts, coming in at 30 with this setup.

The best X-Wing to have Expert Handling is Hobbie(via R2-D6) when paired with Dutch.

1-Move Hobbie at PS5, do a barrel roll and get stress

2-Move Dutch at PS6 and do a TL action

3-Give a TL to Hobbie, clearing his stress in the process

4-Shoot with Hobbie, in a better position thanks to the barrel roll and with good odds thanks to TL

Repeat when needed

Also, A-Wing doesn't have the Barrel Roll action so, Tycho would need to take Expert Handling instead of Outmaneuver.

The best X-Wing to have Expert Handling is Hobbie(via R2-D6) when paired with Dutch.

1-Move Hobbie at PS5, do a barrel roll and get stress

2-Move Dutch at PS6 and do a TL action

3-Give a TL to Hobbie, clearing his stress in the process

4-Shoot with Hobbie, in a better position thanks to the barrel roll and with good odds thanks to TL

Repeat when needed

Also, A-Wing doesn't have the Barrel Roll action so, Tycho would need to take Expert Handling instead of Outmaneuver.

Ouch! How did I miss that? It's been too long since I played A-Wings...

The best X-Wing to have Expert Handling is Hobbie(via R2-D6) when paired with Dutch.

1-Move Hobbie at PS5, do a barrel roll and get stress

2-Move Dutch at PS6 and do a TL action

3-Give a TL to Hobbie, clearing his stress in the process

4-Shoot with Hobbie, in a better position thanks to the barrel roll and with good odds thanks to TL

Repeat when needed

Also, A-Wing doesn't have the Barrel Roll action so, Tycho would need to take Expert Handling instead of Outmaneuver.

Ouch! How did I miss that? It's been too long since I played A-Wings...

Then what are you waiting for!... Or at least change your avatar...

The best X-Wing to have Expert Handling is Hobbie(via R2-D6) when paired with Dutch.

1-Move Hobbie at PS5, do a barrel roll and get stress

2-Move Dutch at PS6 and do a TL action

3-Give a TL to Hobbie, clearing his stress in the process

4-Shoot with Hobbie, in a better position thanks to the barrel roll and with good odds thanks to TL

Repeat when needed

Also, A-Wing doesn't have the Barrel Roll action so, Tycho would need to take Expert Handling instead of Outmaneuver.

Ouch! How did I miss that? It's been too long since I played A-Wings...

Then what are you waiting for!... Or at least change your avatar...

Rebel Aces .... duh!

Here's a picture of a repaint of an A-wing I did to redeem myself. Hope I can keep my avatar

It's already forgotten!

Nice miniature... or is it manicure?

In your exact example, Tycho with Outmaneuver and PTL would do almost the same amount of damage (2 dice focus + barrel roll vs 3 naked dice and barrel roll) and costs just as much. Outmaneuver acts as Wedge's ability, but you get Tycho's ability, a better dial and the ability to boost every once in a while. The A-Wing is also arguably more survivable due to its 3 green dice. Oh and I forgot about Chardaan Refit, so Tycho would actually be cheaper by 2pts, coming in at 30 with this setup.

So assuming we swap Outmaneuver for Expert Handling, Tycho is 29pts with 1 less attack, 1 more defense, 1 less hull, 1 less pilot skill, no penalty to enemy defense, has the ability to use 2 actions every turn even while stressed and has a few extra actions he can take.

While they're comparable, I still like the raw power of the Wedge X-Wing. At least on paper. I agree that the EPT opportunity cost is a significant one, but I also think that if it allows me to take shots I wouldn't otherwise be able to take, or avoid enemy attacks I would otherwise be able to avoid, that's a pretty significant boost.

I appreciate the responses so far, but is there anyone who has tried it on the table?

Yes I have flown Wedge with EH for that little extra manouevre , but while it helped on some occasions mainly avoid an arc I did not find it as useful in doing what Wedge does best - blast ships. The loss of the target lock (or if you must focus) made a big difference so in the end I have come to prefer Wedge with predator as even when stressed you can get a re-roll or two and always combine it with a focus action.

I have a similar list to yours but fly Corran instead of Etahn , and fly Wedge with the Z95 s and Corran is the flanker, while the z95s fly block for Wedge.