(NOTE: This will probably take you 10-15 mins. to read through this post.)

Whenever I'm thinking of competitive 100 pt. lists for Rebels, I always want to throw in Wedge Antilles along with Ace pilots that will give him support. However, I either come up with lists that have better combos or have more skilled pilots that fit closer to my playing style. It seems nearly impossible to have Wedge in any effective list. There are two reasons for this:

1.) He's ridiculously expensive because he's less effective without upgrades. Wedge's ability is, in itself, utterly amazing! To out duel a tie fighter's agility by 1 and one shot it at range 1 is essential to success against Imperial builds. But, Wedge is only one X-Wing in the build. With the amount of tie fighters in most Imperial builds, it's only a matter of time before Wedge needs to pull the parachute before getting knocked out. Even with other Rebel builds, Wedge falls short against high attack power. To be more effective, Wedge needs an Astromech unit, shield upgrade, or an elite pilot skill upgrade to make him more survivable. Without it, Wedge can pretty much take a seat in most matches. Why? Because he's the main threat to ANY X-Wing player! Therefore, most players will go after his weak agility value early in the game to avoid late game damage.

2.) He taxes the amount of flexibility in the squad build. Let's face it, it's hard to find Wedge in an effective 4 ship build that will enhance and shine his effectiveness within the squad. Sure, it's nice to have -1 agility and PS 9 against your opponent (seeing that Darth Vader and Soontir Fel are the most notable pilots that come equal to that amount of PS). But, if you're not within range 1-2 or if you don't have a focus/TL on an enemy ship (primarily after doing a K-turn), Wedge is really an overrated Rookie Pilot. I've seen Wedge become more effective in a 3 ship build with Luke and Biggs (primarily with a top 4 X-Wing player at a Gencon-2013 X-Wing tournament. Google it if you'd like). With that being said, it's hard to find him useful in a 4 ship build. And if Wedge is found in a 4 ship build, many of the other ships in the squad are low point pilots (so that Wedge can be beefed up in points) or Wedge takes no upgrades and allows the rest to suck up the remaining squad points.

While these two arguments for kicking Wedge Antilles out of a squad build are fairly accurate and not out of proportion, I feel that there are some ways in which will make Wedge much more effective in a 4 ship build. Here's a couple of ideas:

List #1:

Wedge Antillies-29

-Outmaneuver-3

-R7-T1-3

Jan Ores-25

-Nien Numb-1

-Ion Cannon Turret-5

Blue Squadron Pilot-22

Bandit Squadron Pilot-12

The idea behind this list is to use Wedge as the ultimate sludge hammer against any build. With his elite talent upgrade (Outmaneuver), Wedge can strive to get outside of someone's firing arc and deliver a payload of punch to a ship. Not only can he deliver a falcon punch to a ship's hull, but he can get within range 1-2 almost all the time. R7-T1's ability allows a pilot to acquire a target lock onto someone within range 1-2 AND perform a free boost action, which gives Wedge every reason to have a 4 dice attack against a ship for the majority of the time. On the other hand, Jan Ores brings an essential role to this build because she sets up Wedge's attacks. Since she has the ability to give a friendly ship at range 1-3 an extra attack dice, she can allow Wedge a 5 dice attack, while he is at range 1. In other words, you can pretty much say good-bye to Biggs Darklighter, Slave-1 ships, Lambada Shuttles, other X-Wings, and pretty much anything that you can set-up for Wedge to swing at. Not only does Jan put the ball on the tee for Wedge to crush, but she can EASILY set into motion (with careful planning) a Two-Turn-Knockout for Wedge at least every turn. With her Ion Cannon upgrade, she has a 360 stopper for any enemy ship that sets up attacks for any friendly ships to capitalize on. For the rest of this list, Blue Squadron Pilot would be an easy choice primarily because of it's hit point count and Bandit Squadron Pilot is an easy filler for 12pts. All in all, Jan has the power to give everyone the ability to +1 their attack dice once per round, which makes BSP and Bandit pilots look good in this list. With Nien Numb as her crew member, she can be unpredictable in her green maneuvers after becoming stressed (which is pretty helpful in the long run).

List #2:

Wedge Antilles-29

-R7-T1-3

Kyle Katarn-21

-Outmaneuver-3

-Blaster Turret-4

-Recon Specialist-3

-Moldy Crow-3

Blue Squadron Pilot-22

Bandit Squadron Pilot-12

The difference with this list compared to the first one is taking out Jan for Kyle Katarn and giving him Outmaneuver instead of Wedge gaining the ability. You may be asking yourself, "Why Kyle?" Well, basically, Jan and Kyle share the same type of abilities-they support! They're meant to give friendly pilots an edge over enemy pilots. Kyle becomes the center piece within this list because he can not only have the ability to share focuses within range 1-3, but he can be an excellent shot, as well. By stealing the Outmaneuver ability from Wedge, now Kyle can share the same ability as Wedge while outside of people's firing archs (which is pretty much what HWK-290's are made for). In the early game, Kyle takes slow maneuvers (like 1-2 greens) and stocks up on focuses with the Recon Specialist's ability to take 2 focuses a turn (while using the Moldy Crows' ability as well). At about turn 3, Kyle has the ability to give a focus, spend a focus to fire, and take a TL with a focus, while having one focus left over. Even though you won't be able to do this immediately after every turn, the slow building of focuses can be quite effective with Kyle. With Outmaneuver, Kyle has the ability to be a serious threat to any build! To add to this even further, Wedge is an enhanced pilot with 3 ACTIONS! When he uses the R7-T1 action, he is able to acquire a TL, boost immediately to get into range 1, then gain a focus at range 1-3 from Kyle at the beginning of the combat phase. This means that Wedge will have 3 actions WITHOUT A STRESS! (Take that Soontir Fel!!!!). Also, Kyle will escalate the rest of the squad by giving the B-Wing or Z-95 Headhunter a focus once per turn, which allows them to shoot better.

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling like these lists have some major potential to make splashes in ANY 100pt. tournament list, and get people more interested in using Wedge again.

So, what do you think? Are these lists "meta-worthy" in Gencon tourney scenarios or are they easier to play in standard play? Let me know some of your ideas and comments about these two lists. Thanks!

Question - Does Outmaneuver stack with Wedge's ability?

Question - Does Outmaneuver stack with Wedge's ability?

It can.

I think you're just looking at it wrong. Wedge isn't going to win the game all by himself, but he doesn't need to. He has two major roles:

1) Biggs with a better gun. Most people will agree that Biggs is a pretty effective choice, and Wedge effectively has the same "you must shoot at me" ability. The difference is that you pay an additional four points, but get PS 9 and a massive firepower increase. So while Biggs draws fire but doesn't do much else Wedge ensures that your bait ship does some serious damage before going down.

2) Creating no-win situations, especially in a list with multiple elite pilots. Consider a list with predator Wedge and PTL + proton rocket Tycho. If you go for Tycho first you leave Wedge free to remove ships from the table. If you go for Wedge first you waste your best chance to get focused fire on Tycho, probably lose a ship to the proton rockets, and risk entering endgame without enough ships to pin down such an elusive target.

And the important thing in both situations is that Wedge is awesome even without any support. You can stick him off all by himself on a flank and force your opponent to make difficult maneuvering choices without having to worry about keeping a formation together or getting buff abilities on the right ship.

So do you yell "Objection!" When you sucessfully defend with wedge?

Cuase I always see him as an "Attorney at Law" type of person.

I figured someone would say something like that with the title of my post. When I first wrote this, it seemed to have an awesome ring to it. Then I figured that Wedge was pretty much that boss character, and can basically walk into a room and say, "It's okay guys. I got this!", so it made sense to have a cliché name to the title. LOL! Good catch!

As far as your thoughts, iPeregrine, I'm not trying to say that Wedge is going to soley win the game with these lists. All I'm trying to say is that Wedge can fit really well in these builds because it can escalate his maximum potential. I actually have a tourney list with Tycho and 3 other X-Wings, but neither of them are Wedge Antilles! Tycho was a major fit in this build without Wedge, but that's not the point I'm trying to make. The point I'm trying to make is that it can take a lot of points to make Wedge effective. While I like the skill of Predator, I think having R7-T1 on Wedge is just as effective, seeing that I can acquire a TL and boost into range 1. With these two lists above, Wedge is not the only one that shines in the build. Jan and Kyle are also very good as squad support ships. They not only effect Wedge, but they effect EVERYONE in the list. Just by crunching numbers and fixing strategies, I found that these lists have some potential in making a build with Wedge pretty effective.

I pretty much run wedge in all my rebel lists. I'm working on a list of him a z95 a blue and either an elite named B (keyan or ten) or x (Wes or Luke) haven't quite nailed it down yet.

Question - Does Outmaneuver stack with Wedge's ability?

It can.

It only does on ships with 2 agility of more to elaborate on StevenO's answer and it does NOT cancel the bonus die from obstructed shots/range 3

You could also drop the blue squadron on both of those lists to get another Z, upgrade both to tala's or one named, and take ordinance for both.

The point I'm trying to make is that it can take a lot of points to make Wedge effective.

And that isn't true. Wedge is awesome even with no upgrades at all. He's Biggs with a much better gun and PS 9, for a mere +4 points. It's nice when you can afford to give him upgrades, but not necessary.

While I like the skill of Predator, I think having R7-T1 on Wedge is just as effective, seeing that I can acquire a TL and boost into range 1.

No, for multiple reasons:

1) Predator effectively stacks TL and focus, R7-T1 gives you TL + boost.

2) Predator works from any direction, R7-T1 requires you to be within your target's arc. If you flank with Wedge and get out of arc (where you really want to be) R7-T1 is a blank card.

3) Predator doesn't care who you shoot at, R7-T1 requires you to set up your maneuver against a specific ship. If you want to use your boost action you might be stuck with a TL on a ship that you didn't really want to shoot at.

4) Predator works at any range, R7-T1 only works at range 1-2.

5) Predator lets you hold position and still get an offensive boost, R7-T1 requires you to boost in closer which may or may not be good for your chances of surviving.

6) Predator lets you have focus for defense, R7-T1 doesn't.

With these two lists above, Wedge is not the only one that shines in the build.

But he's clearly the biggest threat. The problem with those lists is that you've invested a lot of points into making Wedge awesome, but he's still the clear priority target. None of your other ships are worth shooting at until Wedge is dead, and once Wedge dies you have a pretty weak list. To make Wedge work effectively you either need to bring at least one other elite pilot (no, a support HWK doesn't count) to divide your opponent's attention and force no-win situations or keep him as a cheap "Biggs with a bigger gun" and make sure all of your other ships are effective threats as well.

I see what you're saying about Wedge being a "Biggs+4". Through these lists, he still is a priority to kill, but you have a lot of support to kind of back you up against the fire. In a sense, when you have other ships to help out next to Wedge, the supporting ships become the meat shield because no one wants to get hammered at range 1 or 2 (which is ideal for killing any ship). I agree with your thoughts about Predator. Honestly, the reason why I don't have it on my list is because I haven't bought it However, it doesn't say that you HAVE to do a boost with R7-T1, it says that you MAY boost. It just gives more diversity in the maneuverability for Wedge. While Wedge is pretty good by himself, he's BETTER with upgrades like Outmaneuver and R7-T1. While having a legitimate support ship like the HWK-290, he really becomes the "Ace Attorney" on the board. LOL! My lists are just trying to give ideas of how to put him into effective 4 ship builds instead of 3. I try my best to not short hand everyone else in the list by bringing someone in like Kyle or Jan, simply because they have better range for their abilities and they have more flexibility with their options (such as having a turret and crew member on the ship).

Catachanninja-

I always like the idea of having Wedge in a list. I think Ten would be way too much for a wingman, but would be HIGHLY effective. He would go well with Ethan A'Baht, since he allows the crits if he's in his firing arch and at range 3 of the defender you're attacking. I think by allowing yourself to have 2 aces and have the rest be supporting ships for the whole build is a great place to start. My goal is to sometimes build with everyone having at least 1 kind of upgrade that makes them more effective than before. While I don't believe in playing stock characters, I believe there's a time a place for everything. Hope that helps!

Through these lists, he still is a priority to kill, but you have a lot of support to kind of back you up against the fire.

But you really don't. You have a support HWK that isn't much threat on its own, and a naked b-wing and z-95. Take Wedge out of that and what's left isn't all that scary, even "conventional" BBXX lists at least have higher PS, advanced sensors, etc.

In a sense, when you have other ships to help out next to Wedge, the supporting ships become the meat shield because no one wants to get hammered at range 1 or 2 (which is ideal for killing any ship).

Actually it's the exact opposite. Wedge is by far the priority target because the support is unlikely to win the game without Wedge if he dies quickly. Remember that Wedge dies faster than a b-wing, so from a perspecitve of taking damage off the table ASAP he's the clear choice.

However, it doesn't say that you HAVE to do a boost with R7-T1, it says that you MAY boost.

Yes, but if you don't boost then all you have is a target lock action that can only be used at range 1-2 and within the locked ship's arc. If you aren't going to boost then just take a normal target lock.

My lists are just trying to give ideas of how to put him into effective 4 ship builds instead of 3.

But you're looking at it the wrong way. The strenght of a 4-ship list is that all four ships are viable threats. You don't have a true 4-ship list, you have a mediocre 3-ship list with a z-95 attached. You're better off either ditching the support HWK to make your three non-Wedge ships viable threats on their own, or using the 12 points you spent on the z-95 to get a 3-ship list with three awesome ships.

While all of these statements are in proportion and are mostly true, I feel like you're missing one element in the discussion-Outmaneuver on Kyle! While giving focuses, he also becomes a second Wedge by getting behind enemy ships and has better efficiency with TL and focuses stored up. Although he only gets range 1-2 and has 3 attack dice even at range 1, he still becomes more effective than he was before. Even if Wedge was gone, Katarn is still a threat because he can give focuses to the B-Wing and make him more effective by having two actions with no stress, and he has -1 agility against enemy ships. Will they survive in the end, who knows? But I feel that counting out Katarn as a cruddy support ship doesn't change the fact that he can be a game changer when put with Wedge and the B-Wing (since it is a tank to begin with). He really has the same hit points as an X-Wing, just with a different shield-hull ratio. As far as the Z-95 Headhunter, while I like the idea of getting rid of it, I won't simply because it adds more attack dice.

I feel like you're missing one element in the discussion-Outmaneuver on Kyle!

I'm not missing it, I'm ignoring it because it sucks. Remember that outmaneuver requires the target to be in your arc, you can't use it with an out-of-arc turret shot. A HWK has terrible maneuverability that is only offset by the 360* turret allowing you to fly lazy curves around the edge of the battle while handing out buffs. It's easilly the worst possible rebel ship to put arc-dependent upgrades on.

While giving focuses, he also becomes a second Wedge by getting behind enemy ships and has better efficiency with TL and focuses stored up.

Remember how you have no k-turn and no boost/barrel roll? A HWK gets behind enemies by flying past them and shooting backwards with the turret, not by getting them into arc.

As far as the Z-95 Headhunter, while I like the idea of getting rid of it, I won't simply because it adds more attack dice.

But not many of them. The z-95 contribues less offensively than spending 7 of its 12 points on a HLC for your b-wing, and the other 5 points on FCS/advanced sensors and upgrading it to PS 4.

I understand about the reality of not putting Kyle with Outmaneuver (seeing that I missed a small detail about the specific arc-to-arc position needed to be effective for the -1 agility to take place). What would you put in his place if you could choose someone who would work well with Outmaneuver? I do like your strategy with putting a HLC on the B-wing, however I don't have that card yet. FCS is what I would try to give the B-Wing if I got rid of Outmaneuver for Kyle. I do realize that this list is not as effective as my Jan+Wedge combo I had in list #1, but I do think it can still work in the long wrong with some readjustments.

What would you put in his place if you could choose someone who would work well with Outmaneuver?

Why do you need outmaneuver at all?

I do realize that this list is not as effective as my Jan+Wedge combo I had in list #1, but I do think it can still work in the long wrong with some readjustments.

That depends on what you mean by "work". It can probably win sometimes in casual games, but when you start off by saying "it's not as good as my other list" it's a sign that you should give up and move on if you're trying to play more competitively.

First off, when I say that my second list was not as good as the first one doesn't necessarily mean that I should just "give up". I think that the greatest thing about X-Wing is that you can use different factors from different pilots/ships and use them in a competitive setting. You just have to find how to use them to their maximum potential. Putting OM on Wedge is really good seeing that he can strip all of the agility off of an enemy ship (when used properly). That's the only reason why I'm putting this in the list. Also, just to say that this list is garbage doesn't really help in understanding how to make these ships work together competitively. What would you recommend if I were to use a HWK in this list? If not a HWK, then what would you use to replace it?

General, FYI, George C. Scott has been reading all of your posts in my head.

The point I'm trying to make is that it can take a lot of points to make Wedge effective.

And that isn't true. Wedge is awesome even with no upgrades at all. He's Biggs with a much better gun and PS 9, for a mere +4 points. It's nice when you can afford to give him upgrades, but not necessary.

This. I've run against Wedge a lot (possibly my usual opponents favorite pilot), and he's NASTY, even with out upgrades.

If you really want to keep the turret, I'd swap out the HWK for a Y-Wing. Add a generic R2 for extra greens (also a good option for Wedge).

Putting OM on Wedge is really good seeing that he can strip all of the agility off of an enemy ship (when used properly).

Actually it isn't very good. Wedge has an awesome gun, but only an average dial and no boost/barrel roll options (at least without upgrades). So he's nasty in a jousting fight, but isn't all that great at flanking. And since he's such a priority target he will often be destroyed in the intial head to head pass before you get into a turning fight where arc dodging is easier. Predator, on the other hand, always gives a good firepower bonus no matter what situation you're in. Even if outmaneuver has a very slight firepower advantage in ideal circumstances the fact that predator is so much more consistent makes it the obvious superior choice.

What would you recommend if I were to use a HWK in this list?

I wouldn't, because I think that most of the time HWKs are a luxury you can't afford in a 100 point game. Roark is the obvious exception in a low-PS list, but Wedge is already PS 9 and doesn't benefit much from PS 12.

If not a HWK, then what would you use to replace it?

That depends on your strategy with Wedge. Remember the two options I mentioned previously? Let's look at one of each:

3-ship Aces

Tycho + PTL + VI + proton rockets

Jake + PTL + VI + proton rockets

Wedge + predator + R2-D2

Each ship is a major threat that has to be dealt with ASAP. The a-wings can fly circles around pretty much anything that isn't a phantom or TIE interceptor, and have the firepower with proton rockets to just run up and gank a ship in one shot. Meanwhile Wedge is Wedge, consistent and lethal firepower every turn he shoots with R2-D2 to make you pay for not focusing everything you've got on him. You split your deployment with the a-wings on one side and Wedge on the other. If they go for Wedge you accept that you're only getting 1-2 shots with Wedge, kill what you can, and smash something with proton rockets. Now the shattered remains of your opponent's list has to deal with a pair of incredibly elusive targets that can slowly wear them down and win the game. If they go for the a-wings you turtle up, dodge arcs, and let Wedge pick off easy targets while they're trying to chase the a-wings. It's a lose-lose situation for your opponent, and there's no obvious easy target.

"Biggs with a better gun"

Wedge

Red squadron x-wing x3

+2 points of upgrades

This is really basic because I don't use Wedge in this kind of list and don't have a fine-tuned list, but it's enough to get the idea. Wedge effectively acts like Biggs and leaves your other three ships free to attack aggressively, except unlike Biggs he's also killing stuff in the 1-2 turns he has to live. And also unlike Biggs you aren't tied to a range-1 formation so you can spread out to dodge assault missiles, put Wedge off by himself so your opponent has to turn to face him and open up easy shots for the other three x-wings, etc.

That's a pretty good option there, Kyrios! Yeah, the only reason why I ran Kyle was just so that I could benefit the OM ability, but I forgot one of the factors had to be on a arc-to-arc basis. I'll put that one in my pocket.

Cool. Thanks, iPeregrine! I'll take this into account. I'll probably write another post sometime this week with previous lists vs. new ideas for other lists for my tourney this weekend.

I liked the fluff of Rogue Squadron

Wedge-Predator

Tycho-PTL, Chardaan Refit

Corran-PTL, FCS, R2

It is a hit or miss Squadron, a 3 ship build with an A-wing hurts but forcing your opponent to choose between Wedge or Corran neither of them can really be ignored (Except maybe Corran's down turn) Side benefit all of them move after a triple action Dash if you are concerned about him.

The OP's list is actually almost identical to the one I took to my first tournament last weekend (and got third place in). While testing I found that Wedge and Jan tend to be the main objectives, because a range 1 shot from a b-wing with 5 dice is nearly as nasty as one from Wedge, and 4 attack dice from a Z-95 is just wrong (according to one of my opponents). As the b-wing was usually the last surviving ship the list evolved to:

Wedge + VI + R7-T1

Jan Ors + Ion Turret

Blue + Advanced Sensors

Bandit

This setup has allowed me to one-shot phantoms and interceptors before they could fire on numerous occasion. Of course, it has a harder time against tankier builds but I have been fairly successful in using Wedge as bait to get free shots with the other ships. The trick is getting him out of the way before he pops, which is easier said than done.