I always run Corran Horn, so I often end up building lists where my flanker is around half of my total points. This inevitably leads to my "flanker" drawing the full 100 points onto them in the first few moves. Obviously, this is less than ideal.

How many points do you usually spend on a flanker?

How many points does a flanker need to be before you usually just go for them early?

What other requirements do your flankers have? Cost? PS? Certain actions?

I used to use Vader as a flanker....but **** he's pricey. Now, if I'm going to flank at all I'm using someone cheap like Backstabber, a BSP+Outmaneuver. Mauler with Outman is nice but getting pricey at 20 points and then there's Lorir who's a great flanker but clocks in at 23 points.

I'll say you only want to spend 30-40 points on a flanker at most and this depends a little on what the primary body is going to be. Less is better but you still need it to be seen as some kind of threat.

When it comes to flankers I'll say the higher the PS the better. The biggest reason for this is simply so that you can set up after your opponent which can really help you avoid running into your opponent's full squadron. If you have movement actions moving later is even more important when you can use those actions to adjust your position because there is nothing else there to help.

I can't think of anytime I have built a list with a dedicated flanker. I have flanked with ships before, but that largely depends on the situation at hand. If I see a great opportunity to sneak a ship up the side I will take it. But I don't go into games with that as the plan (or any plan really). Using my Wedge/Wes/Jan list, I have flanked with all 3 ships solo, as well as had Jan+x-wing as the flankers.

Sorry if this is a sh*tty reply, but it just depends on the situation.

Build a list with the capability of flanking in mind, but don't build around that tactic, would be my advice.

An interceptor, backstabber, pair of ties... That's about it. After ~30pts it's not really a flanker anymore. BS or an alpha is going to bring some hurt, and if your opponent takes the bait to pounce you better be able to capitalize.

Depends.

My flankers are usually

Echo

Whisper

Tycho

Jake

Fel

Backstabber

So anywhere from 16-40

I tend to flank with brath using the HLC at range three is devastating and i use four ties to dive in and block buying another turn or two before the other guy can try and close.

I use chardaan refit A-wings as a flanker. Jake or a green squad pilot, green with ptl & outman or jake with outman 23 or 25 points. I would never spend more than that

100!

100!

If you place a ship, separate from the rest of your list, and I think that ship will hurt if it gets behind me or in my flank, then I am throwing my 100 points at it quickly, and trying to kill it before the rest of your fleet arrives.

Interesting that most flanking replies have been Imperial?

Due to the nature of ships, or the type of player that tends toward Imp?

100!

Interesting that most flanking replies have been Imperial?

Due to the nature of ships, or the type of player that tends toward Imp?

Yea rebels have nothing like Backstabber.

100!

Big fan of Theorist's Boba/Echo list I see.

Ha, actually, not really. We talked about it little bit on NOVA, which should be posted in the next few days. I can't recall if the comments will make the cutting floor, we lost a section and had to re-record due to technical difficulties. A build like that does better in a 60 minute timed environment, as was the case in Canadian Nationals. I have been theory crafting different versions of 58 Dash, which means "flanking" with at least 58 points.

Not getting shot at is the best way to increase your durability. Been toying with:

58 Dash

2x Prototypes w/ Refit

Bandit

Use the pawns to muck up the battlefield, and keep your queen piece at range.

Looking forward to that. That list is tons of fun though.

Have you watched the Paul Heaver > Muon game? Interested in one of the podcasts discussing how well he shut down Dash.

Interesting that most flanking replies have been Imperial?

Due to the nature of ships, or the type of player that tends toward Imp?

You probably see "flanking" more with the Imperials than the Rebels because the Imps have traditionally had the ships with speed and firepower to be a threat while also lacking the durability that can say "just move in and engage." While you may set a ship up as a flanker the "dedicated flanker" will often be an interceptor like ship.

The E-Wing may cost too much to fill that role although it can be part of a pincer. For a long time the A-Wing is the only ship you'd think about in that role but it's firepower is lower than the Interceptor and it lacks some of the maneuverability options. The Imperial Boost + Roll (or decloak) options have really helped it 'get around the corner' when it comes to flanking.

60+ Maxed out Coran Horn!

Anyone that doesn't go after a flanking corran deserves all the pain that will result.

I do agree the imperial focus on self buffing units makes them natural flankers, rebels benefit too much from passing buffs back and forth.

Jake ferral has some interesting movement options that might see him fit the role we'll though if he takes a proket.

If you place a ship, separate from the rest of your list, and I think that ship will hurt if it gets behind me or in my flank, then I am throwing my 100 points at it quickly, and trying to kill it before the rest of your fleet arrives.

If I see someone flank out a pricey ship, I go after it immediately. That's why I keep em cheap with a dash of pepper on them.

Honestly I think flanking is actually obsolete thinking. I think the game has more to do with functional roles.

It's like when ender said: which way is down? Not the way you came up. You gotta reorient.

My ships trade flank and center roles very very often.

I'm with Blail.

When I split my fleet, it's to put the opponent in a Catch-22.
If they go for the one fist, then the other will ream them. And vice-versa.

If your opponent allows themselves to get flanked, that's their failure, rather than your strategy.

If it's a cheap flanker, it's a ruse. If it's a valuable flanker, it's bait. If it's a flanker worth more than 40 points it should be dead in three turns from concentrated fire.

Also, if it's more than a third of your list cost, it ceases to be a flanker...it's merely Left or Right wing.

Well I also think in terms of the forward vector from each side. So to me there is no flank in a way. It's just the way I think. I bet you could totally point at one section of my ships and say that that parts a flank though.

Depending on the cost of your flanker, as was said in the OP, he will often be a primary target. The key is giving them a bigger threat to shoot at. The flanker cannot be the biggest threat on the table, IE Soontir or a Phantom flanking for a TIE Swarm. Most often, not engaging the swarm would be folly. I like to fly XXZZ with Etahn flanking, Soontir or Whisper flanking for a Swarmlet, as I said above, and I really like to fly double HLC bounty Hunters with Backstabber flanking. All of these lists include a primary force that can tear through many targets if it is ignored.