I know ordnance is at best risky, but I've got seven points to play with in this list:

Etahn A'baht, FCS

Tala

Red x2

My initial idea was to arm the tala, but for 7 points I could arm anyone.

Suggestions?

Concussion is objectively the best, assault middle would also find a home in the list.

with concussion you'd have 3 points for droinds, or (imo preferably upgraded the red to Garvin)

Awesome, I just got the second x-wing, so I'm not used to thinking with all those pilots at my disposal.

I know ordnance is at best risky, but I've got seven points to play with in this list:

Etahn A'baht, FCS

Tala

Red x2

My initial idea was to arm the tala, but for 7 points I could arm anyone.

Suggestions?

For the list as given, I'd equip a Homing Missile on the Tala Squadron Pilot; without multiple actions, it's the most reliable piece of 4-Attack ordnance out there. With the other two points, I'd buy an R7 Astromech for Etahn.

Upgrade Ethan to Corran and put marksmanship on him, then upgrade a red to Biggs and skip the missile all together.

Edit: Or you could have Tarn Mison with an R7 Astromech.

Upgrade Ethan to Corran and put marksmanship on him, then upgrade a red to Biggs and skip the missile all together.

Edit: Or you could have Tarn Mison with an R7 Astromech.

True, if you got Tarn use him instead of a Red. There is no reason to take even a Red Squadron over Tarn, even if he doesn't have an R7.

Upgrade Tala to Blount & Ion Pulse Missile?

edit: Guarantee-ion the must-kill target and make sure the rest of your ships are in position to take advantage...

You know, I'd wonder about putting a Cluster Missile on the Tala as each of them would benefit from Etahn's ability assuming they could otherwise hit. You'd have the E and X Wings strip off shields and then the Z could come in and deliver a number of crits. With the three remaining points I'd consider a hull upgrade.

Proton rocket on Etahn could be fun.

Proton rocket on Etahn could be fun.

True! Too bad the E-wing only has a torpedo slot.

Awesome suggestions.

I've upgraded the list as follows

Etahn, FCS

Tarn, R7

Red squad

Tala, cluster missiles, munitions failsafe.

That's 100 even, and looks really fun. I wish Tarn had a higher PS, but oh well.

Any other suggestions?

I wouldn't bother with the failsafe...

You would need to shoot like me and Miss both attacks for it to kick in

Yep, I'd drop the failsafe and put an r2 on the red, or drop the red to a rookie and up the tala to Blount with ion pulse. (think the points work out that way)

I like Assault missiles though. Besides the benefit of splash damage, it really makes your opponent change the way he flies just for the fear factor.

You asked for the best missile... and then put Clusters on the poor Tala? What did he or she ever do to deserve that?

Cluster Missiles are, in many common contexts, the literally the least effective way to spend points on ordnance--and that's saying something. Your damage is split across two attacks, which makes it hard for a generic pilot to modify both. If you can get stack multiple tokens on each other, which is again hard for a generic pilot to do, you get slightly more damage than you would with a Concussion Missile--but only against ships with 1 Agility.

Seriously: in this list, Homing Missiles or Ion Pulse Missiles are far more effective choices.

If you get more Z-95s (and I strongly suggest you do ) you could run this simple list:

32 Etahn

13 Tala x4

4 Concussion Missile x4

Is bumping Ethan up to Corran and adding VI out of the question? That's only 4 points (still lets you play with missiles or possibly droids). Or maybe the Tala up to Cracken (to get the most bang out of your other pilots). Or, if you're willing to drop the Tala to a Bandito you can grab Corran (+3), VI (+1), and proton torpedoes (+4) and make use of the good 'ol Corran Torpedo Gambit.

I'm not going to lie, my initial thought when I saw your list was "R2-D2 would be perfect for keeping Ethan alive." Especially since your original list has Ethan as the main target if possible. Which still leaves you 3 points to play with (Ion Pulse or Flechettes are perfect here). Maybe R2-D2 on Ethan with Adv Sensors and Flechettes (on a red) or Ion Pulse (on the Tala).

Proton rocket on Etahn could be fun.

True! Too bad the E-wing only has a torpedo slot.

He could grip it by the husk...

Sexy.

Proton rocket on Etahn could be fun.

True! Too bad the E-wing only has a torpedo slot.

He could grip it by the husk...

How can a 3 ounce bird carry a one pound nut?

Ethan + FCS

Tala + Cluster Missiles (Ethan will modify both attacks)

Red + Flechette torpedoes x2 (to add stress to a ship that must get destroyed)

You asked for the best missile... and then put Clusters on the poor Tala? What did he or she ever do to deserve that?

....

Probably a little too optimistic about how accurate they are. I'll admit mentioning them and saying how they could work nicely with Etahn's crit granting ability but that was "assuming they could otherwise hit," which isn't a really good assumption against many targets.

A sad thing is that against the low/no agility targets Cluster Missiles may be one of the best missiles.

Proton Rockets will be @#$^ing frightening.

In the meantime, Rhymer + Cluster Missiles + Predator is my current favorite...

If you get more Z-95s (and I strongly suggest you do ) you could run this simple list:

32 Etahn

13 Tala x4

4 Concussion Missile x4

I have a list similar to this but I drop one of the tala's for one of new a-wing pilots. It's gonna be fun.

You asked for the best missile... and then put Clusters on the poor Tala? What did he or she ever do to deserve that?

Cluster Missiles are, in many common contexts, the literally the least effective way to spend points on ordnance--and that's saying something. Your damage is split across two attacks, which makes it hard for a generic pilot to modify both. If you can get stack multiple tokens on each other, which is again hard for a generic pilot to do, you get slightly more damage than you would with a Concussion Missile--but only against ships with 1 Agility.

Seriously: in this list, Homing Missiles or Ion Pulse Missiles are far more effective choices.

I GOT CONFUSED

I had a homing missle there to start, before I pulled back and posted the thread.

But now, I'd have to lose the tarn+r7 combo to get it back.

The goal here has been to build a good 4-ship list featuring Etahn. I made a 3 ship, but was told 3 wasn't quite enough for Etahn's ability to be effective. The core list is good, but that last 5 points is giving me some trouble.

Can you upgrade a Red to Wedge, give him adrenaline rush or R2 astromech?

I'm not a big fan of an R7. You only get to use it when you're getting shot at and only really works with Tarn, which makes it a 25 point limited use combo on a PS3 ship.

I'd look at something that would boost your chances of landing consistent hits, rather than a constricted defensive option.

Flying in a good formation, Etahn can help everyone, so he's a good choice.