2 Firepower didn't seem to stop players from using the TIE Fighter. or the Z-95 for that matter.

That's because they are 12 points and are the most efficient fighters for their respective factions, your investing alot more into an a-wing.

When your paying 25-30 points you want more than two attack, x-wings and b-wings come in cheaper with better firepower as do shuttles tie defenders and interceptors.

It's fast and agile but not very killy and will pop fairly quickly when the inevitable green betrayal happens.

Ain't that the f*ckin' truth... I think a rear firing arc and a barrel roll would make it incredibly deadly though, even with 2 firepower. It'd have something the Interceptor didn't as to where the Interceptor would have extra firepower.

That way they could actually be rivals, as they are in the established canon.

This touches on what I'm actually worried about with Auto thrusters, the death of the 2 attack die ships.

It was why the Falcon was such a tough end game opponent, reliably avoiding 2 points of damage a turn. If you have to get into range 1 and be lucky on the attack roll and be lucky on the defense roll and assuming that you do 1 point of damage, it just means that there's no real incentive to take upgraded 2 attack die ships. Your only choices are lots or as meat shields for something with more punch.

Maybe that was the design philosophy from the start, so we'll see how it goes.

Autothrusters brutalises turrets, not two-dicers. In a close-up dogfight Authothrusters don't even trigger: if they arcdodge you you can't shoot them anyway.

TIEs also have a focus+target lock thing going for about the first two passes with a Howlrunner with a bit of skill or luck and can barrel roll once they break up which is about a thousand times better than being able to boost. And I think the only reason we see the Z-95's out so much lately is how they fit into the meta. I'm not sold on them being any real good other than being a cheap body.

A rear arc is a interesting idea. Was that something they could really do though? I thought the cannons could angle a little but I didn't think they could swing all the way around.

Think of how useful Autothrusters will be on an A-wing vs the Decimator. Those 2 attack dice are going through as other than Kenkirk the Decimator has no defense against them and the likelihood of the Decimator getting hits back is greatly reduced with Autothrusters.

In this instance, Predator or Outmaneuver is useful, maybe even both. The A-wing doesn't really need PtL as much as the Int does.

You can also put the good old Proton Rocket in there just to really mess with them.

The A-wing is a very tactical ship and needs finesse to fly, but they are far from useless, even against ships other than the Decimator.

I still think Jake is where it's at.

Jake w/ CR + AT = 24pts

You can add more stuff to him if you want, I'd probably slap VI on for good measure to make him 25 pts and PS9, but you have two actions (even if they are restricted to Focus + movement), you have the full dial (including the K turns that Tycho doesn't have), you have a high PS to make use of the arc dodging, and you have 75 points left over for other threats, meaning that you're likely to be left until end game, where A wings really shine.

Now, you could always add a 3 point upgrade to this to make him 27/28 points, good choices would be predator, outmaneuver, and PTL (really only want that for turtling up, I still haven't decided if that's worth the 3 points or not), but I'm not of the opinion that these are necessary upgrades for Jake, but rather just bloat him and take points away from the rest of your squad.

I love this on Jake. He has the built in Barrel roll so you don't have to use an EPT for Expert Handling. Makes him a little more cost effective at 27pts.

24 + Chardaan + Outmaneuver + AT

Fat Han is useless if he isn't rolling greens. You can sit at R3 of a Decimator and it still rolls no defense dice, And the HLC Outrider is going to have better targets to shoot at.

Most of the pilots on this thread will never be satisfied.

Prototype w/ Chardaan vs Academy:

+3 points for +1 health, Target Lock, and a better dial. Why we haven't seen A-Wing swarms is beyond me. If you REALLY can't get good mileage out of the A-Wing, I suggest you not be so bad at the game.

Tycho + PtL + CR + EI, EH or Outmaneuver/predator + ATP

Best A-wing ever.

Prototype w/ Chardaan vs Academy:

+3 points for +1 health, Target Lock, and a better dial. Why we haven't seen A-Wing swarms is beyond me. If you REALLY can't get good mileage out of the A-Wing, I suggest you not be so bad at the game.

Howlrunner.

Prototype w/ Chardaan vs Academy:

+3 points for +1 health, Target Lock, and a better dial. Why we haven't seen A-Wing swarms is beyond me. If you REALLY can't get good mileage out of the A-Wing, I suggest you not be so bad at the game.

Want to tell a top tier player that? Cause I've yet to see one run anywhere. Because +3 points to lose barrel roll is not an upside sadly.

Fat Han is useless if he isn't rolling greens. You can sit at R3 of a Decimator and it still rolls no defense dice, And the HLC Outrider is going to have better targets to shoot at.

Range three Decimator still rolls a green. Outmaneuver doesn't stop that. The Extra die doesn't count as agility so outmaneuver can't take it away. :/

Prototype w/ Chardaan vs Academy:

+3 points for +1 health, Target Lock, and a better dial. Why we haven't seen A-Wing swarms is beyond me. If you REALLY can't get good mileage out of the A-Wing, I suggest you not be so bad at the game.

Yeah, no it has nothing to do with player skill and more to do with the fact that it's 3 extra points (at the very least)

3 points is an immediately obvious and significant points increase that limits what you can take, and it mounts for each A-wing you take over a Z-95. This already makes it quite difficult to use them as a mini-swarm because a handful of Zs will run you 6 to 9 points less, which are obviously incredibly valuable.

For full swarms, Howlrunner was already covered, but over-all the A-wing just doesn't have very inspiring characters since none of them compensate for the 2 dice attack (ala Backstabber) especially lacking are the force multipliers that help elevate cheaper ships to greater levels (such as Airen).

Note, I don't think you can swarm Zs as well as Ties either, but they make an amazing back-up crew of 3-4 ships.

Fat Han is useless if he isn't rolling greens. You can sit at R3 of a Decimator and it still rolls no defense dice, And the HLC Outrider is going to have better targets to shoot at.

Range three Decimator still rolls a green. Outmaneuver doesn't stop that. The Extra die doesn't count as agility so outmaneuver can't take it away. :/

Interesting. I would never have thought about it that way, but I've also never played against a 0 agi ship before. You're technically correct (unless a FAQ says otherwise).

Gemmer is even more of a gnat you can't swat. Fun.

He is going to be a pain with Autothruster. I think they make him a viable pilot now. Before he was kind of meh.

Prototype w/ Chardaan vs Academy:

+3 points for +1 health, Target Lock, and a better dial. Why we haven't seen A-Wing swarms is beyond me. If you REALLY can't get good mileage out of the A-Wing, I suggest you not be so bad at the game.

Want to tell a top tier player that? Cause I've yet to see one run anywhere. Because +3 points to lose barrel roll is not an upside sadly.

Would you like I record a few matches for you? Ever since wave 2 I've ran three A-wings. Normally placing in the upper half of the tournaments I attend.

Before wave 4 the list was:

Tycho

- PtL

- Homing Missiles

- SD

Arvel

- Homing Missiles

- SD

Green sqdr

- PtL

- Homing Missiles

- SD

When wave 4 hit I took a break in wait for rebel aces, and now I have incredibly many options to test, and I honestly believe that it is possible for me to even start winning tournaments now.

To all who think the A-wing is underpowered or unusable, don't be afraid to put some ordnance on them. A simple Green with PtL and PR or similar can be devastating. Once the rocket is spent you can just fly around and use Focus+Evade. It will be tough to shoot down as long as you avoid focused fire.

OnT: Autothrusters will be wonderful to have. I'll be able to change my current lists so I can fit Jake and Tycho with Outmaneuver or Predator on top of their PtLs. :3

The 2 attack is the clincher, that is really the thing that keeps A-wings from being the awesome craft they should be.

It is a consistent theme. Any 2 attack ship that costs more than 12 or 13 points simply is not used very much.

Having played 36 pt Vaders, I do think people are over exaggerating the 2 Atk. But, it is more of a squad building issue than game play issue. You can't load up your squad with 20+ pt worth of just 2 Atk ships. But, having one big point sink for one 2 Atk ship won't hurt too bad if you offset it with other firepower.

Still, U-turn Tycho is going to enjoy Autothrusters. He is going to be a very annoying gnat to some of the big turrets.

What SithBorg said.

If you are relying on 2 attack ships to be your main offensive punch (swarm excluded) you are doing it wrong!

The A-wing is the ultimate interdiction ship in this game. Its fast as anything and can screw up your enemies plan when deployed on the flank. Its not meant to be a close in brawler or a nimble arc-dodger. Its meant to either block and jam up a formation or to harass one on the flanks and cause them to make a potential mistake.

3 Test pilots with Refit and AT + a semi-fat Chewie is definitely a list I want to try. Should be very hard to whittle down.

Some people are just never happy. The A-wing has gotten a quite frankly awesome fix and yet 'it's not competitive enough'. When is it good enough I ask? When it costs two points and has a special rule that let's you win automatically? Seriously, people get off your high meta horses and smell the air. It's far sweeter than the doom and gloom you preach.

I am looking forward to practicing for this coming season. The Awing, while two attack, is a formidable flier. She's capable of outlasting the competition and whittling away opposition. There are several list options that pair the ship with heavy firepower to maximize and mitigate strengths and weaknesses.

Task Force Aces High and Tycho's Raiders are examples of this:

Tycho's Raiders

Tycho Celchu — A-Wing 26 Push the Limit 3 Chardaan Refit -2 Daredevil 3 A-Wing Test Pilot

Green Squadron Pilot — A-Wing 19 Predator 3 Chardaan Refit

Green Squadron Pilot — A-Wing 19 Predator 3 Chardaan Refit

Blue Squadron Pilot — B-Wing 22 Heavy Laser Cannon

TF Aces High

Tycho Celchu — A-Wing 26 Push the Limit 3 Chardaan Refit -2 Veteran Instincts 1 A-Wing Test Pilot 0

Jake Farrell — A-Wing 24 Push the Limit 3 Chardaan Refit -2 Outmaneuver 3 A-Wing Test Pilot 0

Prototype Pilot — A-Wing 17 Chardaan Refit -2

Blue Squadron Pilot — B-Wing 22 Heavy Laser Cannon

Both lists provide accurate 2 attack fire, supplemented by a strong assault from a HLC laden Bwing. They feature elements for survivability that will carry many of these ships to the end game.

Some people are just never happy. The A-wing has gotten a quite frankly awesome fix and yet 'it's not competitive enough'. When is it good enough I ask? When it costs two points and has a special rule that let's you win automatically? Seriously, people get off your high meta horses and smell the air. It's far sweeter than the doom and gloom you preach.

I still won't fly it. Not when I could do a swarm of 50 Autothrusters!

Fat Han is useless if he isn't rolling greens. You can sit at R3 of a Decimator and it still rolls no defense dice, And the HLC Outrider is going to have better targets to shoot at.

Range three Decimator still rolls a green. Outmaneuver doesn't stop that. The Extra die doesn't count as agility so outmaneuver can't take it away. :/

Interesting. I would never have thought about it that way, but I've also never played against a 0 agi ship before. You're technically correct (unless a FAQ says otherwise).

I really like the Awing. Sure it's super unforgiving and doesn't punch as hard as other rebel ships, but i can live with that as cannon; it's fun to play. Shame there was no -suicide run into the bridge of larger ships- update in r.a. tho.

Howlrunner.

This. Swarms rely heavily on the Howlrunner mechanic to make up the difference of only rolling 2 to 3 dice.