At the end of your wicked life the Devil comes to collect your soul. But you're prepared. You whip out your X-Wing case and challenge him to a game. He's come prepared himself, however. He even has Wave 5 ships from GenCon. With your current collection, what will you play?

(You don't know the Devil's list in advance and he doesn't know yours, but being the Devil he will probably use C3P0.)

I'm so screwed. My current collection is only up to wave 3 and a half.

Stop trying to make eternal damnation not happen. It's going to happen.

TIE/ln

It means I'm suicidal. If I die, I go to Purgatory.

TIE Swarm!

Howlunner (18)
Backstabber (16)
5X Obsidian Squadron Pilots (13X5)

It is the list I am most comfortable with, it will burn down a Fat Falcon list, and in a pinch, if I fly well, I can use it it to block decloack lanes from the Phantom builds.

Definitely some combination of Wedge and Han. A one shot game means I want to take as much luck out of the equation as possible, so of course Han Solo, probably with 3P0. And Wedge will auto-strip that 1 agility, reducing more of my bad luck. I'm assuming since he's the devil he always rolls hits, so I'll give that Falcon an EU. If I have any points left I'll take a Z-95, because that's what all the cool kids are doing.

Against the Devil, I believe a fiddle contest is more traditional; it's Death against whom you play board games. (We know it's not God, who doesn't throw dice.)

The answer to the question, though, is probably a TIE swarm for me. It's still an excellent all-comers list, and it doesn't have any terrible matchups. (A list with Echo is probably the worst, but even there I've got options.) The only wrinkle is that I actually only own 5 TIE fighters (two core sets and one expansion), so for me it has to be a mini-swarm.

Like so:

"Howlrunner" (18)

Academy Pilot (12)

Academy Pilot (12)

Academy Pilot (12)

Academy Pilot (12)

Soontir Fel (27)

Push the Limit (3)

Hull Upgrade (3)

Total: 99

I always choose "fiddling contests" instead of X-Wing.

Against the Devil, I believe a fiddle contest is more traditional; it's Death against whom you play board games. (We know it's not God, who doesn't throw dice.)

Ninja'd in fiddling contests...

If my soul were on the line, the list I play the best is probably:

Bounty Hunter + Rec Spec

Bounty Hunter + Rec Spec

Omicron Group Pilot + Gunner + FCS

I'd love to bring my beloved Phantoms and Interceptors, but big ships FTW.

Finns.

Han MF Luke Determination Nien Nunb

Corran ptl r2d2 FCS

There are very few lists that I can't have a shot at beating.

I can't lose something I don't have though.

I can't lose something I don't have though.

Well, if you're a soulless hobo, maybe you can wager your bandana on a stick or the one wooden spoon you carry to eat your cans of beans.

"Oh, you want my soul? SWEET! Take it, I've been trying to get rid of it for years!"

But, if he still wants to play, he's got to chew through my Y-Wings.

I can't lose something I don't have though.

Well, if you're a soulless hobo, maybe you can wager your bandana on a stick or the one wooden spoon you carry to eat your cans of beans.

Nah I'd just play him for fun, and after ward's we'd go out on the town pick up some succubi and take them to dinner then go dancing.

I am quite comfortable with my soul, thank you very much, and would rather place it in the hands of the big guy upstairs, than the guy below.

I would a have a hard time taking a swarm when the Phantom counters it so well. 4/4/2/2 statline + decloak does horrible things to a 6-7 TIE Swarm.

So "best squad" challenge, I would have to go with 58 Dash! The only real weakness is getting blocked in, so you build / fly around it. Hint: debris fields are your friend. The jousting efficiency numbers are not everything, but they are outright disgusting. It's on par or higher than the TIE Advanced, TIE Defender, and E-wing. Except you have a turret.

58 Dash = Dash + Outrider + HLC + PtL + Kyle Katarn + Engine Upgrade. 3x actions per round, in case you have been living under a rock. I came to the above numbers by giving "3x" action Dash a free TL, and increasing his defensive focus chance from 50% to 67%. That accounts for something between 1-2 more actions than single-action Dash. Assuming he always gets a shot, having a "free" TL (stacked with focus 67% of the time) gives him an expected damage output of twice that of a 3 attack ship. Efficiency is calculated based on equivalent PS1 cost. Engine Upgrade is not included, which would only make 58 Dash look better compared to the others.

I have a few variants I have been tossing around, although none fully playtested yet. All of these require very good piloting to really take advantage of them. Your action economy and durability are directly related to how often you need to burn actions on boosting / barrel rolling out of the way. The less Boost / Barrel Roll you need to do to stay out of arc, the closer you can get to the above efficiency numbers. Actually, if you stay at range 3 then you'll be even higher.

Plain Vanilla:

58 Dash

2x Prototypes

1x Bandit

Most dice / hit points of any 58 Dash variant. Send in the pawns first to clog up the lanes. Your Queen piece stays in the back tossing nukes. Weakness: Dash is vulnerable to Rebel Captive, it brings him from 3 actions down to 2.

Wingmen

58 Dash

Gemmer + VI + Wingman + Refit

Green Squadron Pilot + Wingman + Refit

Stress mechanics are no problem at all. You get a white move and 3 actions every turn. Gemmer is PS7 and can move after Dash to "chase" to make sure he can always shed a stress. Rebel Captive in the opposing squad will get Dash 4 actions per turn. Weakness: Less HP and firepower as above. No PtL on A's.

Wingman

58 Dash

Leebo + Wingman + Gunner + Tactical Jammer

This might be my favorite. Park Leebo between the enemy squad and Dash. +1 Agility on Dash to make him 4/3/5/5 with 3 actions. Or your opponent can attack Leebo instead while Dash destroys your squad. Weakness: bumping and swarm.

Theorist's TC Open Squad

Theorist's version that he is running in the TC Open is very nice:

58 Dash

Wild Space Fringer + Gunner + HLC

2 HLC on 2 durable ships. If you haven't watched his replays yet, go watch them. It shows why failing to pin down PS7 Dash is almost instant GG. Weakness: swarm blocking. Theorist is 3-0. He finally lost a ship in game 3, although game 2 he was 1 hull away from losing the Fringer. Looking forward to watching replay #3.

Aw, I dun have Dash yet. I'm so looking forward to the hyper-sniper builds with him. Between him and crazy fun A-Wings, I've basically swapped sides.

Back on topic! Dash seems like a great choice for this. Should have some game against most everything.

TIE/ln

It means I'm suicidal. If I die, I go to Purgatory.

The Devil plays Fat Han + Biggs, because better the list you know that the one you don't. You fail to scratch his paint and get sent straight to purgatory, for souls who play sub-optimal X-Wing lists.

TIE Swarm!

Howlunner (18)

Backstabber (16)

5X Obsidian Squadron Pilots (13X5)

It is the list I am most comfortable with, it will burn down a Fat Falcon list, and in a pinch, if I fly well, I can use it it to block decloack lanes from the Phantom builds.

The Devil plays Blount with Assault Missiles and Corran with R2D2. Everytime you shoot at Corran he always rolls evades, because he has the Devil's own luck. For playing a TIE Swarm, you get sent to the first level of hell.

Definitely some combination of Wedge and Han. A one shot game means I want to take as much luck out of the equation as possible, so of course Han Solo, probably with 3P0. And Wedge will auto-strip that 1 agility, reducing more of my bad luck. I'm assuming since he's the devil he always rolls hits, so I'll give that Falcon an EU. If I have any points left I'll take a Z-95, because that's what all the cool kids are doing.

The Devil plays Falcon Fortress, and you don't have enough dice to burn down Chewbacca and Lando. Every time you roll a crit, he DTF to Chewbaccas who discards it with Determination. Needs must when the Devil drives.

You're playing the devil for your soul.

I don't think it would matter what one takes, you'll face loaded dice illegal lists and dodgy rule interpretation.

Tycho, Jake and Gemmer. If the game isn't timed, it would have a good shot. Can't kill what you can't hit.

XXBB each B has HLC.

You're playing the devil for your soul.

I don't think it would matter what one takes, you'll face loaded dice illegal lists and dodgy rule interpretation.

Whoa do you even know how many people he's said to have killed in the bible 3-10, god kills 2,821,364 so ask yourself who's the one you should trust?

I would take a list without a Falcon, call him a cheap shot for using C3PO, start arguing and then, since we would not agree, I would redirect him to this forum to try and make his case. The forum members would eat him alive, I win