So I'm still fairly new to x wing and was looking for some help on how to optimize a 100 point squad for a tourney that I'm planning on attending.

Here's what I got so far:

3 level 1 academy tie fighters

Mauler mithel with swarm tactics

Whisperer with advanced cloaking, veteran instincts, fire control system, and gunner.

My plan is to run a mini tie swarm using mithel in the middle of the pack just to buff some ties and put out that extra shot at range one. Then whisper is there to flank and harass units all around the table. With him being upgraded to level 9 I'm hoping most of the time I'll get to shoot first and cloak up. Then if I fail my first round of firing I can use gunner to shoot again with the bonus of the fire control system.

Thoughts?

Ps: someone on another page mentioned that whisperer gets an additional shot (5) at range 1? I don't know where it came from and can't find any rules that say he does, so I'd appreciate if anyone can let me know one way or another.

Thanks,

Itsatrap

Also my list comes one point shy of 100 in order to have a higher chance of getting the initiative. Think that's a good idea?

Whisper's normal attack is 4, so if you are at range 1, you would roll 5 dice.

As for the list, it looks decent, though, if I may make a suggestion - drop gunner on Whisper. It's 5 points that could be used to upgrade something else. You said your list came in at 99 points, so you already have 1 point free. With the 5 points freed up from Gunner, you could upgrade one of your TIE's to Howlrunner. Throw Swarm on her, and then you can use it to boost one of your other 2 academy pilots to a 9. (Take it off Mauler)

Gunner is great on a 3 attack ship, but if you're rolling 4 dice (or 5 at range 1), you'll likely never have a need for gunner.

Ok sounds good, I'll have to try that out next time. Howl runner is in the single tie blister right? I haven't picked one of those up yet. I'm such a noob that I just realized I haven't played with the bonuses to attack and defence dice based on range... Wow there goes the last ten games lol

What ships do you have? I assumed because you said you had 4 Ties (Mauler and 3 Academy Pilots) that you had a TIE expansion. You must have 2 Starter sets then. What else do you have?

For my imperials I currently have 2 starter sets (4 ties), imperial aces with the 2 interceptors, tie phantom, and the tie advanced. Later this week I'm planning on picking up the fire spray and the tie fighter expansion

Ps: someone on another page mentioned that whisperer gets an additional shot (5) at range 1? I don't know where it came from and can't find any rules that say he does, so I'd appreciate if anyone can let me know one way or another.

Check pages 10, 11, and 12 of the core rulebook ( https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/ffg_content/x-wing/support/SWX01_XwingCoreRulebook_lowres.pdf )

Yep I noticed that now,. Hopefully I have all the rules down now...lol