So we've all gotten to fly our new toys and the thing I've noticed is that a-wings are popping up and beating traditionally powerful lists, and the dreaded phantom menace.

Personally, Gemmer is always my last ship on the table. I haven't used him yet, but jake the snake absolutely dominated my Etahn, 1v1.

The real kicker though, last week I watched a triple green squad (all with swarm tactics) and Roark completely tear apart a whisper/echo/interceptor list.

The a-wings incredible speed, new pilots and upgrades have made it a true competitor. And I like it that way.

The A-wing should always have been a good ship, I'm glad it's finally coming into its own.

As for it dominating the metagame, not so sure about that. We'll certainly be seeing more A-wings and across the full range too, from cheap Chaardan prototypes to double EPT greens to the new named pilots, but the A-wing is a two dicer without being a swarmer. It's on par with the TIE interceptor now, and the interceptor isn't dominant.

Are they the new meta or just what's new. Of course people are playing with their new toys.

My finest moments have come in an interceptor. Biggest win streaks too.

Are they the new meta or just what's new. Of course people are playing with their new toys.

I offered a little empirical evidence of their ability to take on the almighty falcon. I've run Gemmer up against Chewie and did well but eventually lost the fight.

There simply is a vast amount of options for the ships now, both with two more very good named pilots, tons of missile options, and most important to me, the ability to take two EPTs at once. The final thing really sets them into their own category for tricking them out, from simply adding cheap 1 point upgrades (VI and Adrenaline Rush) to giving them offensive boosts (Predator, Outmaneuver, Opportunist, dare I say Expose?), to some crazy fighting and movement combos with PtL and later the Experimental Interface. While the A-Wing does lack another secondary feature to really make them shine (Systems would be amazing, and to their canon) having the space for extra elite talents is nothing short of outstanding given that they already start with a very good action economy and have a strong, flexible and very tricky movement dial to work with. People are already in love with Tycho and Jake, and it won't take long for Gemmer to really be considered. Arvel still has problems, but I feel he's somewhat more workable now.

The point is that there are almost endless possibilities for the ship since the list of EPT's and missiles seems to constantly grow with every wave, and I feel that they'll probably never go away completely from Rebel lists. Even Prototype Pilots and particularly Green Squadron Pilots are beds for many different flavours for fighting.

Amazing what a 2 point cost reduction will do, putting them right where they belong! I don't think they are the new "meta". They are just a well-rounded good ship now. Considering that the A-wings were consistently the 2nd least used ship after the TIE Advanced, this is a welcome change.

The named pilots are all on the edge of being 1 point overcosted across the board for a ship that has a base cost of 15 (and an additional point for Tycho, likely). We will have to wait and see how often the names ships get taken, all decked out. I guess you could scan the Team Covenant Open to see how many named A-wings people are bringing these days. Having only 2 attack and only marginally better durability than a TIE Fighter does not really merit dumping 25-30 points into the ship.

The new shiny will eventually wear off, and then you will likely see Prototypes most commonly, with the occasional named pilot getting sprinkled in. They are fun to fly, that's for sure. but for now bask in the glory.

I had a lot of fun playing Jake tonight. And, a Proto with a refit was amazing at blocking Falcon actions. I can't wait to try out Tycho, and others. I am really excited for where A-Wings are now.

I definitely think this is a "new toy" effect more than anything. Tonight was the first time I took my a wings out of the box since the first week I started playing (about a month before wave 4) ran two prototypes to be annoying flankers and they definitely achieved that goal. I want to love the combos of greens with two epts but I don't think I've got it in me to run em over b wings. Jake will definitely find his way into lists with PTL and Vi.

They are decent, but nowhere crazy good. 2 attack is a heavy burden, since you are paying all those EPT points to make up for it.

I found it rather odd as i was building a list with A's that i can make Jake with Test Pilot, Proton Rocks, PTL and VI come out at 31 points and he can rip out 3 actions a turn. Tycho on the other hand, can get 3 actions, but with Test Pilot, PR Rocks, PTL, Expert Handling, and Experimental Interface, and that puts him at 37. Im not sure if i even want to keep Tycho in the list anymore since hes paying 6 points for shedding 1 target lock and his pilot special, and at -1 PS to boot. Oh, btw i wanted to give them the same actions so they can fly in tandem, hence the Expert Handling.

They were my favourite ship to fly before the Aces came out, I just seem to play better with the more manoeuvrable Rebel ships over the power players like the B and Y wing, which I never have any luck with.

Playing a tournament tomorrow and my plan was to use Horn-Celchu-Rookie Pilot, but now I am thinking of swapping out the rookie for Gemmer. Both A wings would have PTL, the refit and test pilot. I was thinking of giving Tycho outmanoeuvre as his second elite talent.

I still want to test out U-turn Tycho. I think that Experimental Interface build is a bit excessive. Fun, but excessive.

I wonder what effect Prototype Pilot will have on the ol' Z-95 Headhunter?

I'm enjoying Jake w/ VI + Refit. He comes in at 23 points and PS9, and flies very similar to the PTL green that I used to play during regionals (and loved) for only 1 point more... Except he's PS9, can barrel roll, and is stress free. The only thing that he can't really do is F+E and F+TL, with the latter being a rare occasion. I have missed the F+E though, we'll see if it ends up pushing me into the 26 point range so I can tack PTL on him for those specific instances, I doubt it.

I wonder what effect Prototype Pilot will have on the ol' Z-95 Headhunter?

I'm assuming you mean Prototype with Refit, correct? While I doubt it will full replace the Z-95 as the go to filler ship for the Rebels you are getting a lot more out of those extra three points if you ask me. It's a substantially better blocker, moves much faster and has the white 1 turn, and has two more actions and the extra evade die. Depends on the taste of the player and whether they have those three points to work with.

The new shiny will eventually wear off, and then you will likely see Prototypes most commonly, with the occasional named pilot getting sprinkled in. They are fun to fly, that's for sure. but for now bask in the glory.

Watch me. I will probably not play anything but A-wings and maaaaybe E-wings from now on. Lists like Tycho, Jake, Gemmer or Tycho, Jake, Green. Perhaps even 4x Green. My loved ones are back in the game again. <3

Those extra 3 points, means they cost a 25% more than a Z. It is not that small as you may think, for example, as a swarm, you are gaining 2 extra ships with the Z's.

I wonder what effect Prototype Pilot will have on the ol' Z-95 Headhunter?

I would say none directly until you hit the 60pts mark. With 45pts left over you are going with 3 A's IMO, between that and 36pts you are going with 3 Z's. Same with lower points value.