Developing List: Biggs + R2-F2 + Experimental Interface

By Osoroshii, in X-Wing

I feel like there could be a list here using Biggs Darklighter + R2-F2 + Experimental Interface (31). You could toss in a ship with Wingman to clear that stress Biggs picks up from EI. We can call this step Super Biggs. We could pair him up with a Fat Chewy for something like this:

Chewbacca + Wingman + Gunner + C-3PO + Millennium Falcon (53)

Chewy lives forever as it is and can keep the heat off of Biggs by tossing on a Tactical Jammer and that leaves us just enough room for a Prototype Pilot with refit.

Biggs Darklighter + R2-F2 + Experimental Interface (31)

Chewbacca + Wingman + Gunner + C-3PO + Millennium Falcon + Tactical Jammer (54)

Prototype Pilot + Chardaan Refit (15)

What other ways can we build the Super Biggs?

I think you need to ask yourself if all that extra effort is going to keep him alive for two more turns than he usually would be, because if not you've spent 6 points on upgrades (arguably more with Wingman) for what you could have accomplished with 3 (Hull Upgrade). Even then I have to question the value of putting any upgrades on a sinking ship.

Edited by WonderWAAAGH

I absolutely love that Biggs combo.

For the longest time I have been trying to make a solid list involving R2-F2 and Biggs but it never comes together. Rolling 3 green dice without focus is just meh. Focus factory Kyle Katarn isn't viable enough for a competitive list. Trying to fly Garven is ok, but if your opponents have high pilot skill he is just toast before Garven can pass a focus to Biggs.

But this!!! Man this is a solid start! I would be inclined to build a super Biggs list moving in this direction:

Biggs Darklighter — X-Wing (25) + R2-F2 (3) + Experimental Interface (3)

Airen Cracken — Z-95 Headhunter (19) + Swarm Tactics (2)

Bandit Squadron Pilot — Z-95 Headhunter (12)

Bandit Squadron Pilot — Z-95 Headhunter (12)

Bandit Squadron Pilot — Z-95 Headhunter (12)

Bandit Squadron Pilot — Z-95 Headhunter (12)

100 points!

Or you could try an elite crew!

Biggs Darklighter — X-Wing (25) + R2-F2 (3) + Experimental Interface (3)

Luke Skywalker — X-Wing (28) + Draw Their Fire (1) + R2-D2 (4) + Shield Upgrade (4)

Wedge Antilles — X-Wing (29) + Wingman (2)

99 points!

The potential for Biggs, is only unlimited by our dreams (and ship/upgrade costing by FFG).

Edited by Tharlias

Umm, Biggs, Cracken, and 4 bandits? I don't get it, who exactly are you trying to protect? Biggs has the biggest gun and is worth the most points. You don't want them to shoot him.

Typically the less points you spend protecting Biggs the better. I think there is 2 points worth spending, Tactical Jammer and Draw their Fire possibly on a Chewie Falcon.

Though I have often wondered if R7 is not a good phantom counter for Biggs, though it doesn't help versus buzzsaw phantoms and most named phantoms have focus to shoot with so it's a gamble. I used R7's on Y-wings and loved them.

Umm, Biggs, Cracken, and 4 bandits? I don't get it, who exactly are you trying to protect? Biggs has the biggest gun and is worth the most points. You don't want them to shoot him.

Typically the less points you spend protecting Biggs the better. I think there is 2 points worth spending, Tactical Jammer and Draw their Fire possibly on a Chewie Falcon.

Though I have often wondered if R7 is not a good phantom counter for Biggs, though it doesn't help versus buzzsaw phantoms and most named phantoms have focus to shoot with so it's a gamble. I used R7's on Y-wings and loved them.

I really think you're missing the point of Biggs altogether. Though it may seem like it on the surface, Biggs is not a protector. His role is to throw a spanner in the works of your opponents shots. The "dream" first pass you could hope for would be Biggs @ range 3 of 80% of the opponents ships while 20% have him out of range, meaning the opponent spreads fire. Playing Biggs to draw the first + second (and hopefully third (if this sustain build works)) rounds of fire while your 10 dice from the Z-95s do their thing seems like a pretty good strategy.

Edited by Tharlias

Or you could try an elite crew!

Biggs Darklighter — X-Wing (25) + R2-F2 (3) + Experimental Interface (3)

Luke Skywalker — X-Wing (28) + Draw Their Fire (1) + R2-D2 (4) + Shield Upgrade (4)

Wedge Antilles — X-Wing (29) + Wingman (2)

99 points!

The potential for Biggs, is only unlimited by our dreams (and ship/upgrade costing by FFG).

I really like this list. I also like how the trio keeps get reinvented with each wave.

I am wondering if it might be better if you replace Shield Upgrade with Hull Upgrade and Flechettes on Luke to give it some stress dealing versatility. I often question how important the SU & R2 combo really is.

I don't want it on Wedge because I want Wedge to kill stuff and I like the idea of saving the Flechette for a late game surprise.

I don't like naked Biggs and I'm always looking for a way to maximize his survivability. This looks like a good way. I don't think I would take the wingman points, but being able to turtle up without assistance is a sweet deal.

Biggs Darklighter + R2-F2 + Flechette Torpedo + Experimental Interface (33)
Garven Dreis + R2-D6 + Flechette Torpedo + Wingman (31)
Kyle Katarn + Ion Cannon Turret + Recon Specialist + Moldy Crow + Shield Upgrade (36)

This could be funny, It's only a 3 ship build and one of those attacks is from an Ion Turret. Just imagine trying to get Biggs with 3 focus tokens and 3 evade dice each turn, lol.

I think it's a good (albeit annoying) combo, try it out. I wonder if the defensive trade-off is worth the decline in attack power though.

I like the idea of Wingman on Chew. Draw their Fire might be worth consideration.

Biggs should remain cheap. R2-F2+Exp Interface is pricey, as is R2-F2+Stealth Device+Support. If you want to buff Biggs, there is one new card I would use if you're protecting a Falcon: Tactical Jammer. Keep Biggs behind Chewy, preferably at Range 3 of your opponents. It takes practice, but it IS possible to keep Chewbacca at Range 1 of your opponents for the offensive buff while also keeping Biggs at Range 1 of Chewbacca AND Range 3 of the enemy. At any rate, 1 point to give Biggs and extra die is certainly worth it. I can't see spending six extra points on a ship that is designed to be destroyed that is already moderately expensive.

Edited by Engine25

I hate using Biggs, but this could be a real annoyance for your opponent:

Biggs w/R2F2 and Experimental Interface

Garven

Wild Space Fringer w/HLC + Outrider + Tactical Jammer

Fly the WSF in front of Biggs and Garv. Garv passes his focus to Biggs. Biggs then has +1 agi from R2F2, +1 agi from the WSF obstruction, and 2 focus tokens (from his action and Garv). That should make him very difficult to hit.

The only real issue is that if the WSF is in front has a blocker, the HLC R1 hole is a problem. Dare I say an autoblaster for him instead? The HLC + Outrider combo could be dropped in favor of a bandit, but the HLC turret may do more damage than a bandit.

I don't understand the opposition to a non-naked Biggles. You are forcing your opponent to shoot at him, so why not make those shots wasted as much as possible. Ask a phantom player how nice 5 defense dice and a focus is.

I don't understand the opposition to a non-naked Biggles. You are forcing your opponent to shoot at him, so why not make those shots wasted as much as possible. Ask a phantom player how nice 5 defense dice and a focus is.

Because the game favors offense. And when you try to make a super defensive ship with 5 hit points, you generally fail. Points put spent on Biggs will be the first points destroyed (unless something strange happens). So, the thought is don't spend a lot of points on the first ship that will usually be killed. That's why.

Biggs + R5-D8 + Hull Upgrade (31)

Tarn + R7 Astro + Hull Upgrade + Proton Torps (32)

Garven + R7-T1 + Hull Upgrade + Proton Torps (36)

Don't usually fly X's, so not sure how viable that list is. Looks like fun, though!

I don't understand the opposition to a non-naked Biggles. You are forcing your opponent to shoot at him, so why not make those shots wasted as much as possible. Ask a phantom player how nice 5 defense dice and a focus is.

Because the game favors offense. And when you try to make a super defensive ship with 5 hit points, you generally fail. Points put spent on Biggs will be the first points destroyed (unless something strange happens). So, the thought is don't spend a lot of points on the first ship that will usually be killed. That's why.

Defensive builds can work and have worked. Double Falcons, Fat Falcons, Fat Falcons + Mr. Horn or fat B-wings. If you cram Biggles down your opponent's throat, then yes don't waste the points on upgrades. If you make use of his ability and he survives at least 1/2 way through the game, you can then have a near full-health Chewie who can take 2-3+ evades a turn to deal with for the latter half of the game.

Edited by Gather

I have to agree Biggs is there to protect your big gun like wedge or coran it's not worth spending all your points on him either shield or hull upgrade and maybe r2d2 but when my friends tried that Biggs dies before getting a chance to regenerate the shield.

Biggs + R5-D8 + Hull Upgrade (31)

Tarn + R7 Astro + Hull Upgrade + Proton Torps (32)

Garven + R7-T1 + Hull Upgrade + Proton Torps (36)

Don't usually fly X's, so not sure how viable that list is. Looks like fun, though!

Drop the Hull on one of the X's and all of the Torpedoes and you can squeeze in a Bandit Z-95

drop Experimental Interface - give Stealth Device, and then toss on Airen Cracken for the free action?

I would probably try something like this though:

MUSTACHE REVENGE

-------------------------------------------------------------

Biggles Darklighter + Stealth Device (28)
Chewbacca (Biggs' Mustache) + PTL + Jan(crew) + C-3PO + Millennium Falcon + Tactical Jammer (52)
Green A-Wing + Chardaan Refit + Outmaneuver (20) - or any other flanker or Cracken for added defense

Edited by Gather

Extra defense is completely meaningless if your ship doesn't survive an additional round. The average life expectancy of Biggs is what, two turns of combat? Hull Upgrade will rarely push Biggs beyond that, in my experience. R2-F2 will save you at most one HP per turn, and that's not even guaranteed. So, you need Biggs to survive at least two turns (two R2 activations = two HP) for this combo to be more worthwhile than a single Hull Upgrade. When you factor in Biggs' starting price, it doesn't look like a very good proposition.

Edited by WonderWAAAGH

I don't understand the opposition to a non-naked Biggles. You are forcing your opponent to shoot at him, so why not make those shots wasted as much as possible. Ask a phantom player how nice 5 defense dice and a focus is.

The issue is the survival has to be both meaningful (survive more shots) and cost efficient. Usually, that means that the ship has to have some defensive mechanism built in already. 3PO is useful on the falcon because it already has so many hit points that he's going to be used multiple rounds (not to mention he has no negative effect) and can stack an evade on top of it. Horn is a base 3 agility ship that hits hard in one round and can then escape and also has an evade option. Double falcons are tons of hit points, but I'm not convinced it's a dominating list. Hull+Shield helps ints because with PTL they grab a focus and evade and the value of each extra hull and shield is magnified.

In the case of Biggs and an X-wing, it's just not a defensive ship so you're paying points to slightly improve an area of weakness that probably doesn't extend its life much (and certainly not nearly as much as defensive upgrades on the ships above).

Edited by AlexW

I don't understand the opposition to a non-naked Biggles. You are forcing your opponent to shoot at him, so why not make those shots wasted as much as possible. Ask a phantom player how nice 5 defense dice and a focus is.

The issue is the survival has to be both meaningful (survive more shots) and cost efficient. Usually, that means that the ship has to have some defensive mechanism built in already. 3PO is useful on the falcon because it already has so many hit points that he's going to be used multiple rounds (not to mention he has no negative effect) and can stack an evade on top of it. Horn is a base 3 agility ship that hits hard in one round and can then escape and also has an evade option. Double falcons are tons of hit points, but I'm not convinced it's a dominating list. Hull+Shield helps ints because with PTL they grab a focus and evade and the value of each extra hull and shield is magnified.

In the case of Biggs and an X-wing, it's just not a defensive ship so you're paying points to slightly improve an area of weakness that probably doesn't extend its life much (and certainly not nearly as much as defensive upgrades on the ships above).

So 4-5 dice plus a focus or evade isn't good defensively? Granted some of that can be mitigated, depending on what's taken, but we're only talking 28-31 points for Biggs, and 1 pt extra on Chewie (which can be used on other ships. That's not even the price of a naked Horn.

That's 4-5 dice for a single turn, if you're lucky. Depending on green dice is always a bad idea. Always.

I've also never been a fan of running the YT in formation with smaller ships. Even Dutch + Lando isn't exactly a walk in the park, and they're both turreted.

Edited by WonderWAAAGH

That's 4-5 dice for a single turn, if you're lucky. Depending on green dice is always a bad idea. Always.

I've also never been a fan of running the YT in formation with smaller ships. Even Dutch + Lando isn't exactly a walk in the park, and they're both turreted.

Why would it be a single turn?

Being at range 3 and staying behind Chewie. I'm a good player, but even I don't think I could manage that for very long.