For this weekend, I will be embarking on my 5th local X-Wing Tournament to take on the masses in a fight for door prizes, bragging rights, and the first place title! The tournament that I'm going to tomorrow requires for there to be one Wave-4 ship in the build, which I've gladly taken into consideration (seeing that Airen Cracken and all the E-wing aces are a favorite of mine). Through consecutive hours of strategy and number crunching, I've been trying to develop a vast majority of options in order to find a list that will compete in the tourney. As a result, I've made 5 Rebel lists that have major potential in delivering high firepower and essential quality to the playing field.
List #1:
Ethan A'Baht-32
-Veteran Instincts-1
Ten Numb-31
-FCS-2
Rookie Pilot-21
Tala Squadron Pilot-13
Although it's not my top rated list, I believe the effectiveness speaks for itself. With Ethan A'Baht, you're sure to get crits for everyone that is close by him (and has his firing arc on the defender at range 1-3). From the outside, it seems like these two guys will be doing most of the killing on the board (which is mostly true). However, the rest of the squadron can deal damage just as easily to tie-fighters because of the crit ability from Ethan A'Baht. Also, since Ten Numb allows there to be no defense dice thrown at his crits., it makes it even more difficult for ties to compete with this list (let alone the idea that everyone has the ability to deliver crits to Imperial ships). In essence, does this guarantee kills? No, but it sure is headed in the right direction!
List #2:
Roark Garnet-19
-Ion Cannon Turret-5
Knave Pilot-27
-Advanced Sensors-3
Blue Squadron Pilot-22
-FCS-2
Rookie Pilot-21
-R5 Astromech-1
I personally took this list into consideration from a member ("admat") who had a similar build with Wedge Antilles. However, I didn't feel Wedge was going to work with the build that I saw, so I made some modifications myself (uh-oh Star Wars reference!!!!). With Roark Garnet, you are able to do two things: 1.) You give Ion tokens to enemy ships and allow friendly ships to take advantage of the predictable 1-white maneuver, and 2.) he is able to give anyone PS 12. Garnet's main target, however, is to give the Knave Pilot the PS12, mainly because he is the lowest and more effective with its maneuver dial and with Advanced Sensors. But honestly, it could go to any one of these pilots for effective "first-shots".
List #3:
Blackmoon Squadron Pilot-29
-FCS-2
Rookie Pilot-21
-R5 Astromech-1
Rookie Pilot-21
-R5-K6-2
Rookie Pilot-21
-R7-T1-3
What I like about this list is that everyone has an upgrade and has 3 attack-dice to throw at the enemy. Normally, I wouldn't even consider throwing in a Blackmoon Squadron Pilot because it seems better to use one of the elites or just the Knave Pilot for cheap points. However, I found that for two points, I would rather have the BSP be the leading pilot skill of the squad (PS3) rather than the noob of the team. What I tried to do for the upgrades was add some diversity to the build by giving every pilot the ability to do different things. For instance, the Rookie Pilot with R5-K6 can choose the target lock throughout the game with a chance to require it and potentially have two actions throughout the game. Each Rookie Pilot has a different astromech for a different purpose (except the R5 Astromech, although it could be used just for surviving), which adds a level of flexibility to the build.
List #4:
Airen Cracken-19
-Wingman-2
Biggs Darklighter-25
-R2F2-3
Garven Dreis-26
Tarn Mison-23
-R7 Astromech-3
This list was of the first ones I drew up for the tournament with the idea of having defense and combos for the squad to build off of throughout the game. Cracken and Dreis are essential to this build because they give actions to the rest of the squad. Dreis is mostly going to hand off the focus to Tarn, since he is the lower pilot skill that would benefit most from this ability, and Cracken provides Biggs with the option of having the R2F2 action and a focus or TL. This gives Biggs the opportunity to go more slightly on offense with the TL or become better at defense with the focus. Overall, this is a very durable list that I'm considering more in this weekend's tourney.
List #5:
Wedge Antilles-29
-Outmaneuver-3
Jan Ores-25
-Ion Cannon Turret-5
-Nien Numb-1
Blue Squadron Pilot-22
-FCS-2
Tala Squadron Pilot
This build was from my other topic discussion post, Wedge Antilles-Ace Attorney, in which I expounded on two different lists to use for Wedge Antilles in a 4 squad build. What's changed in this list is that I gave up the R7-T1 Astromech for a FCS upgrade on the Blue Squadron Pilot and upgraded the Bandit Squdron Pilot to a Tala Squadron Pilot. In my opinion, this list makes a top 3 for all time tourney lists, seeing that I can give everyone a +1 to firepower and bring down the thunder for most of the game. A very good offensive list!
In the end, with so many great lists, I find myself asking, "which one should I take?" That's where you guys come in! Out of these 5 Rebel builds, which one would you recommend me taking to the tourney? Which ones would you not recommend in a tournament setting? Let me know your thoughts!
(NOTE: I know some of you are more bent on recommending a 3 squad build for tourneys, but I am honestly not looking for that. I couldn't even list the awesome amount of builds with only 3 ace pilots and loaded upgrades! However, I'm only looking for strong 4 ship builds that can compete in tourneys. Thanks!)