Alright, to begin let me say this: I believe that Lone Wolf is one of the best EPTs out there. For one point less than Predator, you have the same basic effect, plus one of the only defensive re-rolls in the game so far. There's only two catches: it's unique, and you have to be Range 2 or farther from your allies. So what does that mean for us:

1) The ship it is placed on will most likely be a key part of your strategy, either on a flanking unit or an "anchor" that is used in a list with flankers.

2) The more ships you have in play, the worse this card becomes as it is harder to stay away from your own ships. I think 5 ship lists, with proper maneuvering, would be the upper boundaries of this card; 4 ships or less will be ideal. This means Swarms and lists based on tight formation flying are right out.

3) a ship with a TL or pseudo-TL (Horton, Dutch, Vessery) based ability won't get the best use out of LW.

Now that we have that out of the way, let's get to what we all came here for:

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Imperials

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Rexler Brath + LW (39)

This one is pretty self-explanatory; he is more likely to keep his focus to flip those beautiful crits on targets, and gets a boost for the endgame. Plus, even if he has to pull a red maneuver (aka those much hated red 1-turns) he doesn't completely lose out on defensive mods.

Mauler Mithel + LW (19)

The problem with Mithel is that he can easily get vap'd on his way to the R1 shot with four reds. This can increase his survivability. I wouldn't mind putting a HU or even EU on him as well; for 22-23 points he'd still be a pretty solid ship.

Tetran Cowall + LW + any combo of HU/SU/SD

Cowall is the black sheep of the Interceptor family, because his ability runs rather counter to the traditional Interceptor logic of multiple actions and RED MANEUVERS ARE THE DEVIL!!! The answer? Don't fly him like an Interceptor, fly him like a Defender. Once again, those stressful moves won't hurt quite as much because you're EPT isn't action dependent, so you'll always have that bonus available to you.

Kath + LW + EU + crew of your choice

If Kath is used in a 3–4 ship build, this can prove quite nasty. The Firespray is already one of the most survivable ships out there, and this only increases that ability. Add RebCap, Tactician, or MJ for some control abilities; or Isard for a near unkillable endgame piece (focus, free evade, reroll a green).

Kenkirk + LW + Isard + Jerjerrod + MJ + EU(59)

Kenkirk and Isard we already know have quite the synergy, but add LW and things get better once 5 damage has been dealt. Throw in Jerjerrod to cancel a Direct Hit, MJ to keep opponents at bay, and Engine Upgrade for added maneuverability.

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Rebels

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Before I begin, I'm going to talk briefly about perhaps one of the most hated upgrades in the game: C-3PO. Threepio is often used on 1 evade ships, letting the player guess 0 evades and always get at least one that way. But what if you're tired of that. What if you want to play bold, risk it by saying 1 evade? Well up until now you just had to pray to the dice gods and hope for the best. But not anymore. Today I release a synergy of potentially unmatched power: But is there a way to potentially squeeze more evades out of that roll? Yes there is, and today I give that to you:

Lone Wolf + C-3PO (5)

On 1-agility ships, this could be huge. Now you can potentially double your evades on one attack with relative reliability. Just guess 0, if you roll a blank or focus you get an evade, and then reroll that dice. That could be a huge survivability buff right there: but only really useful (on 1300s anyway) on Chewbacca, as it is halfway anti-synergistic on Han and completely counter to Lando's ability. Perhaps B/E2s could get some use out of it, or if there is ever another crew capable 1-agility ship.

Luke Skywalker + LW + R2-D2

This one is a given. We take an endgame nightmare and add the ability to reliably trigger his pilot ability on top of that.

Keyan Farlander + LW (31)

We all know how good Ibtisam can be; however, in order to make a good build with her requires a lot of work. For 31 points we get the same ability plus the stress-shedding of Keyan. Add AdvS for BR before the stress move.

Kyle Katarn + LW + BT + RecSpec + Moldy Crow (33)

This is an interesting combo. Kyle is now a threat that shouldn't be ignored (though he is a HWK, so some people will make that mistake). Now here's the deal: Kyle can work his magic at Range 1–3, so he can still work with a team AND get the benefits of LW! It will take some advanced maneuvering and forethought, but in certain 3-4 ship builds it could be most effective. This same principle can work for any of the HWK pilots.

Gemmer Sojan + Test Pilot + Refit + LW (22)

This guy is designed to fly into the heat of battle, to be a knifer in a world of broadswords. You'll either want him at R3 or R1 for his survival bonus. LW will make those 4 dice go a little farther. Alternatively the Refit could be dropped for Proton Rockets. Is this more effective than putting PtL on him? I'm not sure really, but I will say this: keeping your movement options open would be a boon for Sojan because he could more easily kite @ R1.

What of the YT-2400 line? This would definitely help them, but I think that there are other options out there that are better upgrades. However, LW would be nice on a hyper-mobile Dash Rendar.

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Scum & Villainy

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We don't know much about them, and TBH so far most of what I've seen of them works counter to Lone Wolf; however, there is one pilot that has been mentioned already as the prime Scum candidate for Lone Wolf. I'll just discuss that briefly.

N'Dru Suhlak + LW + HU

For one point more than a Rookie pilot, you get a PS 7 Z-95 with X-wing survivability, X-wing attack dice, and an upgrade card that PERFECTLY synergizes with his pilot ability. He will probably find his way into a lot of lists as a good solid mid-ground fighter.

So that is all I have to say about this amazingly epic card. I'm sure I've missed some potentially awesome combos out there, so feel free to add your thoughts/favorite ideas on how to best use this card. If everyone likes this series, my next one will be on Intimidation.

Surprised you left out the E-Wing pilots. Corran seems like he'd be particularly strong, as it would work on both attacks when he uses his ability.

Not 100% sure but I have a feeling C3PO only works on the original roll not any subsequent rerolls would need to check that one I think

I quite appreciate the write-up.

I should point out that Lone Wolf can only reroll blanks. So for Rexler, he's not more likely to keep his focus. A good card, don't get me wrong, but not quite doing what you are hoping for.

As for C-3P0, C-3P0 works before any rerolls or modifications. So you should guess zero, then reroll and hope you get 1 evade. Same end result, but getting there is different.

Lone Wolf is ideal for Luke. <3

Still, good write-up and keep thinking!

Lone wolf will be brilliant on any flanker. I like the examples you have given. Is there a risk of your flaker becoming more dangerous than your main force?!

I really like Lonewolf as a card but there are just going to be times when you caught with your pants down and don't get any benefit. That being said in the end game it is an amazing card.

I am still tempted to run Leebo with Lonewolf and C-3PO, even though it doesn't combo all that well.

I'm glad you mentioned my favourite, Kyle in the HWK. I'm really looking forward to it since it will make him a lot more resilient. Like Luke, he has the potential to always have focus available for every incoming shot which I think makes a big difference to the the strength of the card. I don't even care about using his ability to be fair. The only thing is that you kinda want Engine Upgrade on Kyle too, because he can boost all the time once he has accumulated a stack of foci. I call this him Lonestar.

I have always wanted to run rexler with predator and hlc with a mini swarm of howlrunner and 3 academy pilots but that's 101 points. With lone wolf rexler can be in the squad with the laser cannon and 4 other ships.

Not 100% sure but I have a feeling C3PO only works on the original roll not any subsequent rerolls would need to check that one I think

True, but his meaning is that it works on the first roll, before modification. He rolls, declares zero, and if he rolls zero, he gets to add one. Then, he gets to roll again with a fair chance of adding another. Same ruling as Flight Instructor in the FAQ.

Not 100% sure but I have a feeling C3PO only works on the original roll not any subsequent rerolls would need to check that one I think

Ya, I posted this as I was going to bed, then I was all "OH NOES, I forgot to edit that section . . . Oh well, I'll fix it in the morning."

True, but his meaning is that it works on the first roll, before modification. He rolls, declares zero, and if he rolls zero, he gets to add one. Then, he gets to roll again with a fair chance of adding another. Same ruling as Flight Instructor in the FAQ.

Actually this isn't what I initially meant, but I was going to modify that section to reflect this before I posted, but forgot to.

I quite appreciate the write-up.

I should point out that Lone Wolf can only reroll blanks. So for Rexler, he's not more likely to keep his focus. A good card, don't get me wrong, but not quite doing what you are hoping for.

Rerolling blanks isn't quite as good as being able to reroll anything, but it still will increase your chances of getting a hit (besides, if I had a decent amount of focuses, I wouldn't bother saving my focus token anyway).

Surprised you left out the E-Wing pilots. Corran seems like he'd be particularly strong, as it would work on both attacks when he uses his ability.

Etahn works counter in many ways to Lone Wolf. I like the Corran combo, but I still think there are better combos for him. That being said, off the top of my head I might run something like this:

Corran + LW + AdvS + R2-F2 + EI

This would give us a very defensive oriented Corran.

Thanks for the write up!

I have tried lone wolf on Rexler Brath now twice and it was amazing both times! The Tie Defender actually had something special going for it.

Tie Defenders should be a good ship for lone wolf as they can fight in the corners (point towards a corner and 4k flip). This gives the T/D more play area to move away from the rest of your list.

Turr Phenir might also be a good candidate for Lone Wolf.

Etahn works counter in many ways to Lone Wolf.

Would you mind explaining your reasoning behind this statement? Admittedly, I'm new to the game, but it seems like Lone Wolf would be awesome on Etahn A'baht, because that gives you another chance with him to roll a hit that may get modified into a crit. Also, Etahn's ability works for enemy ships within his firing arc, not within a certain range of his ship. Something like Etahn A'Baht + Fire Control System + Lone Wolf would cause a lot of havoc, I believe. You get to maintain the target lock, and have Lone Wolf for primarily defensive purposes, which you can couple with his Evade action.

If I'm wrong, please set me straight so I don't spend too much time fantasizing about this combination.

Etahn works counter in many ways to Lone Wolf.

Would you mind explaining your reasoning behind this statement? Admittedly, I'm new to the game, but it seems like Lone Wolf would be awesome on Etahn A'baht, because that gives you another chance with him to roll a hit that may get modified into a crit. Also, Etahn's ability works for enemy ships within his firing arc, not within a certain range of his ship. Something like Etahn A'Baht + Fire Control System + Lone Wolf would cause a lot of havoc, I believe. You get to maintain the target lock, and have Lone Wolf for primarily defensive purposes, which you can couple with his Evade action.

If I'm wrong, please set me straight so I don't spend too much time fantasizing about this combination.

Etahn benefits from having a lot of allies and the more ships you have on the board, the more likely it is you'll be inside of range 2 of at least one of them. I think to make Lone Wolf work on Etahn you'll want to fly him as a flanker instead of in formation with your other ships.

Ah, yes, I did miss the bit about wanting to have fewer ships around. Still, as a flanker, Etahn would be able to benefit from Lone Wolf as well as being able to let his allies use his pilot ability. It would take some careful flying, but it could work.

Thanks for the explanation!

Thanks for shedding some light on Lone Wolf. It does seem like a hard card to really make shine, but you have brought up some great ways.

What about Vader with Engine Upgrade? He gets 2 actions a turn without causing stress. While the Tie Advanced isn't the most manueverable, the Engine Upgrade helps out in that regard. Also, being able to boost and barrel roll in the same turn without causing stress is always nice. Or barrel roll, focus, and then get a re-roll.

Turr Phenir might also be a good candidate for Lone Wolf.

I considered Phennir, and I personally love the combo. I think when the current high-PS meta dies down a bit that it will shine, but with so many pilots shooting before him I prefer to have the option to turtle up if I'm in a jam. I'm going to try it out and see how well it works though.

What about Vader with Engine Upgrade? He gets 2 actions a turn without causing stress. While the Tie Advanced isn't the most manueverable, the Engine Upgrade helps out in that regard. Also, being able to boost and barrel roll in the same turn without causing stress is always nice. Or barrel roll, focus, and then get a re-roll.

That's a good one! Vader is still one of the best pilots out there for a flanker. People say he isn't very maneuverable, but actually with EU he is one of the most maneuverable in the game because he has all the mobility options of a PtL Interceptor without the movement restrictions of one. He's just got a wimpy 2-dice gun, though, so LW can increase his potential to hit. I still like OM on the Man in Black myself because it negates C-3PO, but I see a strong case for LW too.

Thanks for shedding some light on Lone Wolf. It does seem like a hard card to really make shine, but you have brought up some great ways.

Don't thank me, thank SableGryphon. He's the one that gave me the inspiration to start this up.

There's some good food for thought here. Nice write up.

Dash + LW + recon specialist + hcl + outrider

I could also see LW as a second ept on green squadron, Tycho or Jake when flanking

On Turr maybe?

Maybe a named phantom after the meta changes?