First off we don't play competitively, we play for fun.

I built the 3 XW list with R2 D2 ect.

I can't even come close to winning against my own build.

First try so far I used.

Krasis HLC, Jonus and Vader.

I could not score any kills, he widdled down Jonus, then worked on Krasis till he was dead then we called it over with 3 X wings still in the game.

I will admit that neither of us are good at flying in this game so I can't depend on experienced flying to put me it a safe place but I figured with the jonus boost for my HLC I should have been able to take out Biggs but he would not die.

What can I build to keep this competitive, the game was just so one sided it pitiful.

I know I am not good at competitive lists so perhaps I should not have tried to play against it.

I could always use a good sized swarm,I am sure the multitude of firing arcs will take out biggs but that is what I did for first 3/4s of the we have played so far.

Swarm or Phantom w/mini swarm should do the trick(you'll need Whisper with Veteren Instincts at a minimum to fly against Luke and Wedge). I feel your pain. Even with all the scary and annoying pilots in this game, Biggs is the one name that makes me cringe everytime I hear it.

Jonus isn't really worth taking if the only thing in your list that gets his reroll is Krassis. The points on the HLC are a bit of a waste if you end up firing from your rear arc much. Recon Specialist is nice to have as crew on a Firespray.

Maybe give this list a shot:

Bounty Hunter w/Recon Specialist

Soontir Fel w/PTL and Targeting Computer

Backstabber

Dark Curse

If you really want Vader:

Bounty Hunter w/Recon Specialist

Vader w/Outmanuever, Engine Upgrade, Proton Rockets

2 x Academy Pilots

If by Vader you mean a Tie advanced...theres your first problem

Instead of a head-on joust, try flying the Firespray past the formation and use the rear arc to fire while using the Cow to block K-turns and actions. K-Turn after that and get exchange some R-3 shots. Keep Vader on a flank and let him go to work, hes an easy target if hes in all 3 arcs. You will likely lose the Cow quickly, but Krasis should have no problem mopping up if you can block even 1 K-turn with it.

My first ever build was what I called Vader and Friends - Subtitled "how often can I crash". I built it to learn how to fly a swarm which no-one in my group flew. It was also because I liked Vader and it matched what I had in ships. It also matches your list of goodies in your sig.

Vader + Engine upgrade

Howlrunner + adrenaline rush

4 x academy pilots.

When I first built the list I used missiles not eu on Vader but very soon the effects of boost were very clearly more useful to the way I fly. If you do swap them for missiles then proton rockets are your friend.

I fly with Vader well away from the 5 ties giving my opponent the choice as to who he wants to go after. Both are bad choices for him. If Vader is left alone he needs to lurk on the fringe until you can zoom him into the rear of your opponents and boost allows range 1 for him - usually with a focus. If you have been hovering you will often have a target lock as well so you can make things hurt.

I presume Luke has R2D2, making him very much a tank so you have to either kill him last or first. Personally I would take out Wedge as he kills the big advantage of the ties - their agility.

The list is designed to be elusive. I often use evades rather than focus on the first pass so as to survive as long as possible. Remember the longer the fight goes the more the balance will swing to the rebel player.

I get the impression that you are playing very friendly and that suits the above list - I certainly don't believe it to be tournament worthy (and therefore friendly, not stupidly good like a fat Han list or Echo swarm) but it is a lot of fun. This list is all about frustrating the opponent by boosting and barrel rolling out of his arcs. For this you will need to try and predict your opponents movements and use your seriously good dials to best effect.

It also looks really good on the table having Vader and a bunch of ties trying to hunt down the trench runners.

If by Vader you mean a Tie advanced...theres your first problem

Instead of a head-on joust, try flying the Firespray past the formation and use the rear arc to fire while using the Cow to block K-turns and actions. K-Turn after that and get exchange some R-3 shots. Keep Vader on a flank and let him go to work, hes an easy target if hes in all 3 arcs. You will likely lose the Cow quickly, but Krasis should have no problem mopping up if you can block even 1 K-turn with it.

By "cow" do you mean "shuttle"? The list he mentioned used a Firespray, Bomber, and Advanced.

If by Vader you mean a Tie advanced...theres your first problem

Instead of a head-on joust, try flying the Firespray past the formation and use the rear arc to fire while using the Cow to block K-turns and actions. K-Turn after that and get exchange some R-3 shots. Keep Vader on a flank and let him go to work, hes an easy target if hes in all 3 arcs. You will likely lose the Cow quickly, but Krasis should have no problem mopping up if you can block even 1 K-turn with it.

By "cow" do you mean "shuttle"? The list he mentioned used a Firespray, Bomber, and Advanced.

Mixed up Jonus with Jendon, whoops.

well, you could just go full ham and take two phantoms.

or one phantom, one soontir, one space cow (or two ties).

Heck, you could even throw a defender in there or two. Rexler or Vessery. Vessery is great. So much damage.

This should completely kill him. Even if he takes VI on Wedge and Luke.

Some BS to laugh at people with:

This should completely kill him. Even if he takes VI on Wedge and Luke. "Whisper" (32)Veteran Instincts (1)Rebel Captive (3)Advanced Cloaking Device (4) "Echo" (30)Veteran Instincts (1)Recon Specialist (3)Advanced Cloaking Device (4) Omicron Group Pilot (21) Total: 99 View in Yet Another Squad Builder 1 point for Intel Agent if you need it. "Whisper" (32)Veteran Instincts (1)Fire-Control System (2)Gunner (5)Advanced Cloaking Device (4) "Echo" (30)Veteran Instincts (1)Fire-Control System (2)Recon Specialist (3)Advanced Cloaking Device (4) "Backstabber" (16) Total: 100 View in Yet Another Squad Builder These aren't really meta lists by any means. --- Some BS to laugh at people with: "Whisper" (32)Veteran Instincts (1)Fire-Control System (2)Rebel Captive (3)Advanced Cloaking Device (4) Omicron Group Pilot (21)Fire-Control System (2) Colonel Vessery (35) Total: 100 View in Yet Another Squad Builder An un BROKEN AND OP list when he starts complaining that Phantoms take no skill and are overpowered Soontir Fel (27)Push the Limit (3)Hull Upgrade (3)Targeting Computer (2)Royal Guard TIE (0) Omicron Group Pilot (21)Fire-Control System (2) Colonel Vessery (35)Heavy Laser Cannon (7) Total: 100 View in Yet Another Squad Builder After he complains that Interceptors are overpowered (they're not at all, very low tournament results), and that Shuttles are undercosted (hahaha dial) and Defenders are too good for their point value (hahaha no), you can go and buy 7 tie fighters and swarm him.

I love the lists but I have not had a chance to buy a Phantom and don't own the shuttle.

If you own all the ships the Biggs card could go mysteriously missing...

4 Academy ties

1 Howlrunner with determination

1 Bounty hunter.

You should be able to make that list.

Just focus 1 x-wing at a time and you should be able to come out on top. Also take a look on youtube on flying in formation.

If you're going for wave 2 stuff, I really liked flying this:

Krassis + HLC

Howlrunner + Stealth/Hull

Academy Pilot x 3

Krasis HLC, Jonus and Vader.

Low firepower except for Krassis, who often needs his Focus token to survive, lower average PS and no tricks.

I suggest changing your list or if you are keen on fielding those three ships, trying out something like:

Krassis Trelix — Firespray-31 36

Heavy Laser Cannon 7

Recon Specialist 3

Darth Vader — TIE Advanced 29

Squad Leader 2

Scimitar Squadron Pilot — TIE Bomber 16

Flechette Torpedoes 2

Assault Missiles 5

You can also drop the assault missile and give Vader a Conc. Missile. That is straight up nasty.

The best advice I got for playing 100 pts Imperial was:

1. Field at least 5 ships. No less.

2. Use at most 10 points for upgrade cards. No more.

3. Start with using TIE fighters and grow from there to craft you like. TIE´s are used at the academy for a reason

If you are not that experienced yet (as you mentioned), you can start from there and then find the ships, pilots, and combinations you like flying.

And then you can take your deserved place among Imperial commanders!

I've been playing with a 3X list lately, it is beatable.

Stress and ions are great against it. (That astrometch, tactitian, flechette torpedoes...) It hurts their ability to stay in formation and they are kinda easy to hit with ions, just walk them off the board if you don't kill them first.

Intelligence agent is great for keeping lower ps imperial ships out of arc too.

When you get a decimation(with engine upgrade and gunner) or dash (hlc, title, predator) they should also be good.

Well, if you are not good at flying yet then don't use Vader! You need to get close with him and still stay out of arcs as much as possible, and you need to have some flying skills for that here. Same, even worse, goes for interceptors.

Bring numbers. The Firespray is a good start, it can soak hits and deals out some. Have a few TIEs on it's side, don't make the Firespray too expensive; leave the HLC out! Take that one bomber with an assault missile - Biggs squads hate assault missiles :-) it's the natural counter to it. If you can squeeze another assault missile in (for the firespray) you will utterly disrupt his squad!

My advice (for a "friendly" game):

Bounty Hunter with Assault missile, 38 points

Scimitar Bomber with Assault missile, 21 points

2 Tie Fighter, 24 points

Backstabber, 16 points

You will not win the PS race, so don't even try! This list gives you some ships to learn flying and blocking, as well as 2 quite sturdy beasts that can take some beating. As bonus you get backstabber here, learning how to flank is essential for imperial cadets :-)

This list is not nice, it's really there to disrupt that Biggs fortress. It wouldn't work very well against many other lists, but this Biggs squad is vulnerable to it. If you get both missiles off he will have no shields anymore, a lot of damage done to the entire squad.

First off we don't play competitively, we play for fun.
I built the 3 XW list with R2 D2 ect.
I can't even come close to winning against my own build.
First try so far I used.
Krasis HLC, Jonus and Vader.
I could not score any kills, he widdled down Jonus, then worked on Krasis till he was dead then we called it over with 3 X wings still in the game.

I will admit that neither of us are good at flying in this game so I can't depend on experienced flying to put me it a safe place but I figured with the jonus boost for my HLC I should have been able to take out Biggs but he would not die.

Krasis HLC, Jonus and Vader.

Low firepower except for Krassis, who often needs his Focus token to survive, lower average PS and no tricks.

I suggest changing your list or if you are keen on fielding those three ships, trying out something like:

Krassis Trelix — Firespray-31 36

Heavy Laser Cannon 7

Recon Specialist 3

Darth Vader — TIE Advanced 29

Squad Leader 2

Scimitar Squadron Pilot — TIE Bomber 16

Flechette Torpedoes 2

Assault Missiles 5

You can also drop the assault missile and give Vader a Conc. Missile. That is straight up nasty.

Now we have Wave 5, Lambda Shuttle with Fleet Officer is a far more effective support piece than Squad Leader Vader and much cheaper too: 24 points for the basic setup and 25 for the unblockable Enhanced Scopes version. It's a Lambda, so you're getting a lot of heath and offensive punch. If you've got 31 points to work with, you can start customising it into the various archetypes on top of its Fleet Officer abilities. All can be made more threatening if a nearby ship (like a Black Squadron Pilot) has Wingman as it means the Lambda no longer has to deal with the stress from Fleet Officer.

I've fixed myself to ~31 points on all of these, obviously a few would benefit from a few more upgrades to mitigate their weaknesses and there are builds that run at significantly less than 31 points too.

ISB Command Shuttle (31)

Omicron Group Pilot (21)

Fleet Officer (3)

Rebel Captive (3)

Advanced Sensors (3)

Tactical Jammer (1)

Keeps its action most of the thanks to Advanced Sensors and the Rebel Captive disuades attacks on it, keeping it in the fight for as long as possible. The jammer turns the shuttle into your own mobile asteroid, useful for providing cover for your other ships. Advanced Sensors is especially useful for Fleet Officer not only in terms of keeping actions but also for increasing its range: you can Fleet Officer at both the start and end of your move, and if you Fleet Officer then take a green maneuver you won't end up stressed, making your next move less predictable.

Ysanne Isard is also an interesing option for keeping your Lambda alive, although you may wish to consider a Hull Upgrade to go with her to get the most out of her ability.

Buzzsaw Command Shuttle (31)

Omicron Group Pilot (21)

Fleet Officer (3)

Gunner (5)

Fire Control System (2)

Take a support Lambda and stick a Buzzsaw setup on it and suddenly spending your action supporting your allies isn't as much of a problem any more. Main concern here is lining up your shots: you need to be in the fray to hand out actions but the Lambda dial and the stress makes you want to hang back.

Jendon's CIC Shuttle (31)

Colonel Jendon (26)

Fleet Officer (3)

Fire Control System (2)

Action passing everywhere! So much in fact that you'd think Jendon was a Rebel. Thanks to Fire Control System Jendon's action is free for Fleet Officer and he can still pass out target locks. Lining up shots while stressed and keeping ships at Range 1 may be a nightmare though, so it's certainly not for every squad.

Tactical Ionisation Shuttle (30)

Omicron Group Pilot (21)

Fleet Officer (3)

Tactician (2)

Ion Cannon (3)

Advanced Sensors (3)

This shuttle has all the command staff on board! Fleet Officer means the shuttle isn't going to be focusing or locking much itself and without Fire Control System it won't be getting free target locks either. But that's okay because Tactician doesn't care if you hit and Ion Cannon only needs to deal one damage anyway. Stressing and ioning enemy ships makes them easier targets for the ships your Lambda is supporting.

Shuttle of the Hand (30)

Omicron Group Pilot (21)

Fleet Officer (3)

Mara Jade (3)

Advanced Sensors (3)

Anti-Pursuit Lasers (3)

If you instead choose to embrace that your Lambda's going to have a hard time staying in support range, shedding stress and lining up good shots for the combos above you can take an approach that expects you to get stuck in a furball and allows you to harm the enemy indirectly. Send it flying into the melee and let Mara Jade stress your opponent's ships and Anti-Pursuit Lasers keep your opponent maneuvering carefully. You could swap out APL for Tactical Jammer to improve the agility of allied ships in the furball by obstructing the attacks of the ships you're mercilessly slamming into. This shuttle may draw a fair bit more fire than the others, but fire going into your Lambda isn't going into the rest of your squad.

Command Shuttle MkII (30)

Omicron Group Pilot (21)

Fleet Officer (3)

Advanced Sensors (3)

Engine Upgrade (4)

Kit the shuttle out with the classic "dogfighter" Lambda's hard turning equipment. This combination gives the Lambda a significant maneuverability boost if it's willing to forgo Fleet Officer for a turn or two (but if it's got to turn around it may have to do that anyway) allowing it to rapidly turn around and get back into the fight.

Fleet Officer, You Have Failed Me For the Last TIme (27)

Omicron Group Pilot (21)

Fleet Officer (3)

Darth Vader (3)

Because it ain't a list of Lambdas if it ain't got a Doomshuttle in it.

Krasis HLC, Jonus and Vader.

Low firepower except for Krassis, who often needs his Focus token to survive, lower average PS and no tricks.

I suggest changing your list or if you are keen on fielding those three ships, trying out something like:

Krassis Trelix — Firespray-31 36

Heavy Laser Cannon 7

Recon Specialist 3

Darth Vader — TIE Advanced 29

Squad Leader 2

Scimitar Squadron Pilot — TIE Bomber 16

Flechette Torpedoes 2

Assault Missiles 5

You can also drop the assault missile and give Vader a Conc. Missile. That is straight up nasty.

Now we have Wave 5, Lambda Shuttle with Fleet Officer is a far more effective support piece than Squad Leader Vader and much cheaper too: ...

[Lots of cool shuttle stuff removed]

OP has a list of the ships he owns in his signature. He doesn't have a shuttle or a VT-49.

:'(

:'(

It was a nice list of shuttles with fleet officer though.

Ok, so you used

Krassis

HLC

Jonus

Vader

That gives 6 unused points.

First off, engine upgrade on Vader. The maneuverability this gives suddenly makes him a lot scarier. We're also going to give him Predator.

Krassis is going to lose her HLC and trade it for an Ion, her goal is disruption, isolate an X-Wing or two and break up the formation giving you targets. we'll also give her some company in the form of the Intelligence Agent, just to get a glimpse of who is going where.

Next up, say goodbye to Jonus, we're going to trade him out for an underused pilot in one of the fastest engines with wings, the Interceptor. Enter Kir Kanos. [cue stunned silence and muffled snorts]

Krassis is the big fat target, she is useful but ultimately expendable, but your opponent mustn't know that while Vader and Kanos swoop round, once you're behind them be careful not to overshoot them!

Frequent use of barrel rolls and boosts should allow you to keep them in sight and they will have a big problem. Anticipate K-turns. You also have no one straights so keep your distance and frequently loop back to reposition. Shout "I have you now!" at times.

If you own all the ships the Biggs card could go mysteriously missing...

I love this, its a great and funny solution, but no the only one in the list that is only owned by me is wedge

If by Vader you mean a Tie advanced...theres your first problem

Instead of a head-on joust, try flying the Firespray past the formation and use the rear arc to fire while using the Cow to block K-turns and actions. K-Turn after that and get exchange some R-3 shots. Keep Vader on a flank and let him go to work, hes an easy target if hes in all 3 arcs. You will likely lose the Cow quickly, but Krasis should have no problem mopping up if you can block even 1 K-turn with it.

I am not hooked on anything on this list, I just wanted to use something other than the tie swarm.

Tie swarm is all I used for first half of the games I have played so far.

Krasis HLC, Jonus and Vader.

Low firepower except for Krassis, who often needs his Focus token to survive, lower average PS and no tricks.

I suggest changing your list or if you are keen on fielding those three ships, trying out something like:

Krassis Trelix — Firespray-31 36

Heavy Laser Cannon 7

Recon Specialist 3

Darth Vader — TIE Advanced 29

Squad Leader 2

Scimitar Squadron Pilot — TIE Bomber 16

Flechette Torpedoes 2

Assault Missiles 5

You can also drop the assault missile and give Vader a Conc. Missile. That is straight up nasty.

Now we have Wave 5, Lambda Shuttle with Fleet Officer is a far more effective support piece than Squad Leader Vader and much cheaper too: 24 points for the basic setup and 25 for the unblockable Enhanced Scopes version. It's a Lambda, so you're getting a lot of heath and offensive punch. If you've got 31 points to work with, you can start customising it into the various archetypes on top of its Fleet Officer abilities. All can be made more threatening if a nearby ship (like a Black Squadron Pilot) has Wingman as it means the Lambda no longer has to deal with the stress from Fleet Officer.

I've fixed myself to ~31 points on all of these, obviously a few would benefit from a few more upgrades to mitigate their weaknesses and there are builds that run at significantly less than 31 points too.

ISB Command Shuttle (31)

Omicron Group Pilot (21)

Fleet Officer (3)

Rebel Captive (3)

Advanced Sensors (3)

Tactical Jammer (1)

Keeps its action most of the thanks to Advanced Sensors and the Rebel Captive disuades attacks on it, keeping it in the fight for as long as possible. The jammer turns the shuttle into your own mobile asteroid, useful for providing cover for your other ships. Advanced Sensors is especially useful for Fleet Officer not only in terms of keeping actions but also for increasing its range: you can Fleet Officer at both the start and end of your move, and if you Fleet Officer then take a green maneuver you won't end up stressed, making your next move less predictable.

Ysanne Isard is also an interesing option for keeping your Lambda alive, although you may wish to consider a Hull Upgrade to go with her to get the most out of her ability.

Buzzsaw Command Shuttle (31)

Omicron Group Pilot (21)

Fleet Officer (3)

Gunner (5)

Fire Control System (2)

Take a support Lambda and stick a Buzzsaw setup on it and suddenly spending your action supporting your allies isn't as much of a problem any more. Main concern here is lining up your shots: you need to be in the fray to hand out actions but the Lambda dial and the stress makes you want to hang back.

Jendon's CIC Shuttle (31)

Colonel Jendon (26)

Fleet Officer (3)

Fire Control System (2)

Action passing everywhere! So much in fact that you'd think Jendon was a Rebel. Thanks to Fire Control System Jendon's action is free for Fleet Officer and he can still pass out target locks. Lining up shots while stressed and keeping ships at Range 1 may be a nightmare though, so it's certainly not for every squad.

Tactical Ionisation Shuttle (30)

Omicron Group Pilot (21)

Fleet Officer (3)

Tactician (2)

Ion Cannon (3)

Advanced Sensors (3)

This shuttle has all the command staff on board! Fleet Officer means the shuttle isn't going to be focusing or locking much itself and without Fire Control System it won't be getting free target locks either. But that's okay because Tactician doesn't care if you hit and Ion Cannon only needs to deal one damage anyway. Stressing and ioning enemy ships makes them easier targets for the ships your Lambda is supporting.

Shuttle of the Hand (30)

Omicron Group Pilot (21)

Fleet Officer (3)

Mara Jade (3)

Advanced Sensors (3)

Anti-Pursuit Lasers (3)

If you instead choose to embrace that your Lambda's going to have a hard time staying in support range, shedding stress and lining up good shots for the combos above you can take an approach that expects you to get stuck in a furball and allows you to harm the enemy indirectly. Send it flying into the melee and let Mara Jade stress your opponent's ships and Anti-Pursuit Lasers keep your opponent maneuvering carefully. You could swap out APL for Tactical Jammer to improve the agility of allied ships in the furball by obstructing the attacks of the ships you're mercilessly slamming into. This shuttle may draw a fair bit more fire than the others, but fire going into your Lambda isn't going into the rest of your squad.

Command Shuttle MkII (30)

Omicron Group Pilot (21)

Fleet Officer (3)

Advanced Sensors (3)

Engine Upgrade (4)

Kit the shuttle out with the classic "dogfighter" Lambda's hard turning equipment. This combination gives the Lambda a significant maneuverability boost if it's willing to forgo Fleet Officer for a turn or two (but if it's got to turn around it may have to do that anyway) allowing it to rapidly turn around and get back into the fight.

Fleet Officer, You Have Failed Me For the Last TIme (27)

Omicron Group Pilot (21)

Fleet Officer (3)

Darth Vader (3)

Because it ain't a list of Lambdas if it ain't got a Doomshuttle in it.

WOW! thanks for the extensive number of lists, I don't own the shuttle but I do appreciate your help.