So I've been toying with novel builds with the B-Wing and there's a number that I was pondering of late. With the release of Rebel Aces and everyone finally getting their grubby little hands/hooves/paws/tentacles on them, there are lots of new options to play with. However, when I see Aces B-Wing builds, they are generally pretty obvious, and solid, builds. I wanted to explore some more esoteric builds I haven't seen much talk consideration done for. Not sure all, or any, of these will work.

Ten Numb (31)
Marksmanship (3)
Sensor Jammer (4)
Experimental Interface (3)

First up, we have Ten Numb. The problem with him has always been that Marksmanship is often not the action you want to take. It's usually better to be more flexible, either with the option to barrel roll or to focus for possible defense. The tradeoff for Marksmanship has always been questionable. Now, however, you can put Experimental Interface on him. This means you can either Barrel Roll OR Target Lock, then get your Marksmanship. You get a stress, which could be bad for a B-Wing. I recommend having a support ship with Wingman for Ten. Still, could be quite vicious, especially against highly mobile and lightly shielded ships. He clocks in at 41 points, but Sensor Jammer should help keep him alive, especially if you keep him back at Range 3 early on. Give other, range 1 targets and he should last a bit.

Keyan Farlander (29)
Opportunist (4)
Fire-Control System (2)
Gunner (5)
B-Wing/E2 (1)

So, one of the problems with Keyan is that he can only clear one Stress with an attack, so if he becomes double stressed, it could be difficult to clear them all. Here, though, is something a bit different. The idea is that, if Keyan is stressed, he shoots with 3 dice. This clears his stress. If he misses, he then gets Target Lock. Then, if the enemy doesn't have focus, you can opportunist to get another stress, an extra attack dice, and attack again. It's a buzzsaw Keyan, but gets ever more dangerous with each shot. Also 41 points, so it's an expensive gamble.

Nera Dantels (26)
Deadeye (1)
Fire-Control System (2)
Proton Torpedoes (4)
Ion Torpedoes (5)
Han Solo (2)
B-Wing/E2 (1)

Nera here is interesting. Normally, the tradeoff for Deadeye is questionable. One action is much like another. Here though, Nera adds something special to Deadeye. See, the first round she attacks. She gets a target lock. Then she maneuvers away and focuses. She can then use either torpedo to attack. Now, she spends the focus to trigger the torpedo instead of the Target Lock. Then she rolls dice. Now, she gets to choose whether to spend the TL to reroll dice as a standard TL, or can spend it to turn eyes to hits. Suddenly, you can do some serious damage. The Ion Torpedo could potentially ion an entire swarm, allowing her to follow up with a proton torp next round too. Again, 41 points. Pricey, but not to be underestimated.

Ibtisam (28)
Elusiveness (2)
Sensor Jammer (4)
C-3PO (3)
B-Wing/E2 (1)

Ibtisam is the cheapest of this spread and doesn't do anything particularly new, but she is the ultimate tank. First, she has sensor jammer. This can either force your opponent to spend their focus, or lose a hit. The importance of this cannot be overstated. It's an excellent ability. Then, Ibti can gain a stress to reroll one attack die against her. This can save you from two hits combined with Sensor Jammer. Great, so far, tanky as normal. Then you roll her single evade die. And guess zero. If you roll 1, you've evaded up to 3 hits from a single attack. If you roll a blank or focus, C-3P0 gives you an extra evade and you get to reroll the die again. If you roll an evade now, that's a fourth hit from a single roll you evaded with a single agility die. Think about that. She clocks in at 38 points here.

What do you think? What crazy B-Wing configurations have you come up with?

Ten Numb (31)

Marksmanship (3)

Sensor Jammer (4)

Experimental Interface (3)

Way too expensive, and way too limited by stress (unless you make him even more expensive by giving him a dedicated wingman). You're paying enough points to buy Farlander with everything, which is a lot more powerful than a bit of damage that can only be canceled by evade tokens. Remember that for the cost of marksmanship + EI you can just get a HLC instead and have "uncancelable" damage with the brute force approach of putting 3-4 hits on your target.

And sensor jammer is just bad without action denial. Most people are willing to spend focus on offense, so you're paying 4 points and giving up AS/FCS for a blank card.

Keyan Farlander (29)

Opportunist (4)

Fire-Control System (2)

Gunner (5)

B-Wing/E2 (1)

Also too expensive. Gunner is pointless on a ship that wants to be attacking with 4+ dice since you're likely to hit and waste your 5 points. And with no defense you've got a 41 point ship that is almost guaranteed to die in 1-2 turns. Keep Farlander cheap IMO. VI + advanced sensors, with maybe Jan or C-3P0 in the back seat. Red maneuvers are more than enough to give you stress every turn, you don't need expensive EPTs.

Nera Dantels (26)

Deadeye (1)

Fire-Control System (2)

Proton Torpedoes (4)

Ion Torpedoes (5)

Han Solo (2)

B-Wing/E2 (1)

If you're going to use deadeye take a recon specialist instead. One focus action gives you a focus to fire the torpedo, and a focus to modify dice. APTs become a 360* ring of death, and ion/flechette torps are still a serious threat.

Ibtisam (28)

Elusiveness (2)

Sensor Jammer (4)

C-3PO (3)

B-Wing/E2 (1)

I think this setup is incredibly overrated. Unless you have a lot of action denial elusiveness and sensor jammer are pretty weak but cost a lot of points, leaving C-3P0 as your only defense. The re-roll trick is interesting, but it only works once per turn so 2+ ships are going to kill Ibtisam very quickly. Meanwhile you don't have all that much offense, so your 38 point investment isn't going to accomplish much before dying. Just take Farlander instead.

Does anyone know of a list of [Action] header cards for EI? I like that Keyan in principle but I think it won't go off often. People will just eat the damage, right?

Does anyone know of a list of [Action] header cards for EI? I like that Keyan in principle but I think it won't go off often. People will just eat the damage, right?

I don't know a list of 'Action' cards, but I could probably put one together.

I've found with my Buzzsaw shuttles that they often miss. 3 unmodified attack dice aren't particularly good at hitting things. The moment you add the FCS/Gunner combo, it becomes quite a bit more painful. Further, you have Whisper at Range 2 with a focus token. I roll 2 hits. You roll 4 eyes. You can spend that focus, but you know that I'm going to have 4 dice with TL and Focus against your 4 unmodified dice. If you choose to take the damage, you just lost half your health. If you choose to spend, you may easily just lose Whisper on the next shot. If you choose to take the damage, that's 2 damage I would have had otherwise. Principle holds for even 1 hit. It's a hit I wouldn't have landed otherwise. And those add up.

So I've been toying with novel builds with the B-Wing and there's a number that I was pondering of late.

What do you think? What crazy B-Wing configurations have you come up with?

Way too expensive

And sensor jammer is just bad

Also too expensive.

Gunner is pointless

I think this setup is incredibly overrated.

Meanwhile you don't have all that much offense,

I think they're all intriguing ideas, Sable. Out-of-the-box as usual. Don't listen to the meta-gaming sticks-in-the-mud who didn't read the OP.

I love the out of the box thinking on these, especially the Han/Deadeye combo. I'm interested to hear how these turn out for you.

Does anyone know of a list of [Action] header cards for EI? I like that Keyan in principle but I think it won't go off often. People will just eat the damage, right?

I don't know a list of 'Action' cards, but I could probably put one together.

I've found with my Buzzsaw shuttles that they often miss. 3 unmodified attack dice aren't particularly good at hitting things. The moment you add the FCS/Gunner combo, it becomes quite a bit more painful. Further, you have Whisper at Range 2 with a focus token. I roll 2 hits. You roll 4 eyes. You can spend that focus, but you know that I'm going to have 4 dice with TL and Focus against your 4 unmodified dice. If you choose to take the damage, you just lost half your health. If you choose to spend, you may easily just lose Whisper on the next shot. If you choose to take the damage, that's 2 damage I would have had otherwise. Principle holds for even 1 hit. It's a hit I wouldn't have landed otherwise. And those add up.

I completely agree that this sounds like a dream. But why is whisper decloak of in front of this monster you created. That's what the mini-swarm is for!

You can make a tactician B wing for the price of Advanced Sensors. I think that's worth looking into.

I also like Nera with deadeye, flechette and APT, and munitions failsafe. Just recycle the flechette with rerolls.

Also:

Nera 2x flechette's, deadeye, failsafe.

And the kicker: Gunner

Use tl to reroll the flechette's into missing. Toss your stress onto the flanker, then gunner to attack their main force.

I love the Nera Dantels build. Ibtisam looks like a beast. She'd almost be demoralizing to play against with all those hit-canceling abilities.

I think Ten Numb will still struggle to be worthwhile compared to the other B-wings, but getting a sure critical on any of the high-PS pilots in this meta is valuable. It is certainly nice to be able to barrel roll with him and still have Marksmanship.

Tricks I've run just messing around with Aces, presented without commentary:

Blue Squadron + Intelligence Agent + Advanced Sensors + E2

Dagger Squadron + Han Solo + FCS + HLC + E2

Any B-Wing + Sensor Jammer + Flight Instructor + E2

Nera Dantels? + Determination + Chewbacca + E2

Ibtisam/Keyan + Opportunist + Han Solo + FCS + E2

...and it's not just Aces, but:

Keyan + Stay On Target + Navigator + Advanced Sensors + E2

Now I love, love I say, this build:

Blue:

-Ion Cannon

-E2 upgrade

-Tactician

-flechette torpedeo

30 points total, and scary.

Been toying with it:

Upgrading it to dagger and dropping the torps for higher PS.

Adding a FCS but brings the points up to 33.

Really like the idea of having 2 of these stunning and crippling their forces. Ion at range 3, move into range two and stress, then close to range one for the kill. You don't need to use the ion cannon all the time.

But anyways, I vier this as a more effective Goldie with Ion Turret + r3d2

You can make a tactician B wing for the price of Advanced Sensors. I think that's worth looking into.

I also like Nera with deadeye, flechette and APT, and munitions failsafe. Just recycle the flechette with rerolls.

Also:

Nera 2x flechette's, deadeye, failsafe.

And the kicker: Gunner

Use tl to reroll the flechette's into missing. Toss your stress onto the flanker, then gunner to attack their main force.

And the kicker? You have 2 mods on the same ship, sorry. You will just need to actually cause damage with your torpedoes, sorry.

Aww. For some reason I was convinced E2 was a title. Well it'll still work twice anyways. Then once the torpa are gone you still have a high ps b wing with gunner.

Aww. For some reason I was convinced E2 was a title. Well it'll still work twice anyways. Then once the torpa are gone you still have a high ps b wing with gunner.

Yup, unfortunately smacking a new name on there doesn't automaticly make the seat into a couch.

Also, still prefer the deadeye+recon spec that I have been telling people about.

What do you think of the Ion cannon+tactician build I put out there?

Keyan farlander、Kyle Katarn, e2, daredevil , advanced sensors.

(Or Kyle in support and run engine to be safer, but yay to outside the Box)

Nera + weapons engineer + e2 + apt + fcs

Who is she gonna hit... Area denial for two ships....

Nera + opportunist.

Cheapest bwing ept

Wave 5. Keyan + expose + ei.

Tl + focus + expose for no stress and -1 agi on an already low agi ship... Could be good.... As expensive as hlc, but now you get a 5 die attack at r1 and are immune to munitions failure...

I've been doing Nera with deadeye and two APTs and Han with FCS. I wouldn't say its good, but its fun.

I adore your Ibi build, and I believe I will steal it. I have any unnaturally large affection for her, and I love the idea of her being unkillable. Or at least close.

I don't think I like recon spec on the B-Wing, not unless a Jan crew is floating around. Once the Ordnance has gone out, that second focus is of questionable value.

Aww. For some reason I was convinced E2 was a title. Well it'll still work twice anyways. Then once the torpa are gone you still have a high ps b wing with gunner.

Yup, unfortunately smacking a new name on there doesn't automaticly make the seat into a couch.

Also, still prefer the deadeye+recon spec that I have been telling people about.

What do you think of the Ion cannon+tactician build I put out there?

Hi

I've been running a nice B-wing list with good results

Etahn a'Baht + R2 Astromech + Push the Limit + Advanced Sensors 39 Pts

2 x Blue Squad B-Wing + B-wing/E2 mod + Gunner + Fire Control System 60 Pts

99 Pts in total

but i'm not sure about the advanced sensors

I'm open to suggestions

Ten Numb + Mercenary Copilot (+ HLC)

For those times when all you have is a pot shot at Range 3, and the defender hasn't got an evade token, it might be hard to deny its usefulness.

After all, shuttle users will do 2 damage to themselves as payment for a guaranteed crit.

Once again, Wes Janson wants to be on his team to strip an evade token from a viable target.

Asteroid? Cloaked? Range 3? 6 evade dice can't cancel this critical hit!

Also another nail in the coffin of the stealth device.

Now I love, love I say, this build:

Blue:

-Ion Cannon

-E2 upgrade

-Tactician

-flechette torpedeo

30 points total, and scary.

Been toying with it:

Upgrading it to dagger and dropping the torps for higher PS.

Adding a FCS but brings the points up to 33.

Really like the idea of having 2 of these stunning and crippling their forces. Ion at range 3, move into range two and stress, then close to range one for the kill. You don't need to use the ion cannon all the time.

I came up with this config (minus the torp) and was also planning to fly a pair in my next game. Wasnt sure what else to fly with them though - nothing felt right...

I've had a bit of fun running Farlander with AS + PTL + Engine Upgrade, as he can suddenly arc dodge spectacularly well for a B-Wing, though I did have some trouble against Ions.

As for Nera, I think Deadeye + E/2 + Recon Spec + Any Two Torps, is super solid, especially against higher PS builds.

My Rebel Aces didn't come with Experimental Interface or Ion Torpedoes.

That said, seeing a B-wing thread by Sable got me a little giddy.

Sorry to hear that. Try getting the Yt-2400 and decimator when they come out next, they will have what you need.

I've become a big fan of simply throwing a Tactician in my crew slot. Bs hit like a truck and give stress now!

I've become a big fan of simply throwing a Tactician in my crew slot. Bs hit like a truck and give stress now!

I like these also. One of my recent favorite lists were 3b's with tactician and Roark with Ion. It hits solid, and has a lot of good anti-phantom tools without being just anti-phantom focused.