First of all, this is a cool sounding squad. Wild Fringers and Bandits. Highwaymen.

38: Fringer, Heavy Laser Cannon, Intelligence Agent

38: Fringer, HLC, IA

12: Bandit

12: Bandit

I've played dash and corran a bit, but want to try something else. So I tried the above tonight.

I played against 2x Gamma Bombers w/ seismics and concussion missiles; oicunn w/ Dauntless, Fleet Officer, proton bombs, and determination.

My asteroids and deployment were really sloppy. I'm not confident with maneuvering big ships--much less two of them! I went for a tight cluster of asteroids center-table and so did my opponent... which is never good. In hindsight, a loose cluster towards my opponent's half would be best.

I deployed with my Zs in mid-table as my left flank and the two 2400s on the right, against the edge. I figured I'd barrel roll my HLC fringers through the asteroids if my opponent deployed to my left, or joust head-on if they deployed on the right.

My error became clear on the first engagement where I had one fringer land on an asteroid and take both focused concussions and a decimator shot. He survived with 2 hull.

After that I cleaned up my play and managed to never hit an asteroid again, despite coming within a fraction of an inch on many occasions.

Regardless, the severely wounded YT limped a path through the asteroids tossing turret shots at bombers while the other YT and Zs focused on the Dauntless.

I offered up one bump for damage for a lot of range 1 shots. The decimator kept pouring range 1 focus fire into the healthy YT but 2 agility and 10 HPs last longer than 0 agility and 16 HPs.

The decimator was destroyed on the same turn as a bomber, and that left me with two wounded YTs and two almost healthy Zs (one got head-butted by the Dauntless) to finish off a half-dead bomber...

Result: 100-0

Impressions:

-Heavy laser fringers are cool! Their dial and threat radius is intimadating. The safest place to hide from an HLC is in range 1, where their "paltry" 3 red dice take over.

-Intelligence Agent should be cool. With the amazing dial of the 2400, and barrel roll, and foresight, you should be able to set up amazing blocks. I set up a few, but I forgot about IAs 100% of the time. Not in a after-the-battle-oops-I-forgot, sort of a way...more of a turn-by-turn "dammit I forgot that!" cycle of foolishness.

-2 Zs fit in great! These cute little guys are hard to be disappointed by, especially in this list. The combined firepower of the bandits did more damage to the Dauntless than either disc, yet the YTs were the ones getting shot at.

-Very consistent firepower. In a straight joust my list offers 4+4+2+2=12 red dice at range 2-3 and 3+3+3+3=12 at range 1. Consistent dice every turn offers a reliable rate of attrition.

Needs to improve:

-asteroid placement. I should be creating a tight cluster on one side of my opponents deployment to encourage them to joust on the clear side.

-Deployment. I shold deploy the YTs in the center of my deployment since their maneuverability allows them to better react to my opponent

-Large base movement. I had a number of skin-of-my-teeth asteroid dodges which tells me I'm doing something wrong. It should've never been that close to begin with. That dial(without PTL) is so liberating. As close as those calls were, I'm just glad I had 1-3 turns to choose from or I would've been on asteroids all night.

Critiques on the list and tactics welcome, as well a constructive criticism. Thanks for reading!

If you're not planning on using the Outrider title then your YT-2400s aren't using the turret they paid a lot for. Advanced Sensor B-wings might be a better option if you need a durable HLC carrier.

But then you lose two hp, the dial, and the large base

If you're not planning on using the Outrider title then your YT-2400s aren't using the turret they paid a lot for. Advanced Sensor B-wings might be a better option if you need a durable HLC carrier.

The counter points to that being

1) 2 Defense Die vs 1

2) More HP, Same shields

3) Can fire on targets out of arc

4) Larger base better for blocking

I'd also argue against the idea that cannons without the Outrider are somehow less valueable than cannons on their own. All the other cannon ships use them just fine without the Outrider title. YT2400 has a great dial and can barrel roll. You can position that thing any direction you want. It's not *that* hard to keep your target in your arc and if you do manage to fail, you can still shoot it, just a weaker shot.

If you're not planning on using the Outrider title then your YT-2400s aren't using the turret they paid a lot for. Advanced Sensor B-wings might be a better option if you need a durable HLC carrier.

This is a problem with the community here, in that we harp so hard on competitive builds for tournaments settings.

The game isn't just that. Dude had fun using all the tools his YT came with, instead of sacrificing a third of its firing ability.

If you're not planning on using the Outrider title then your YT-2400s aren't using the turret they paid a lot for. Advanced Sensor B-wings might be a better option if you need a durable HLC carrier.

This is a problem with the community here, in that we harp so hard on competitive builds for tournaments settings.

The game isn't just that. Dude had fun using all the tools his YT came with, instead of sacrificing a third of its firing ability.

The op asked for others opinions and critiques. Most people when they critique need something to compare it to and the competitive setting and meta is used.

If you're not planning on using the Outrider title then your YT-2400s aren't using the turret they paid a lot for. Advanced Sensor B-wings might be a better option if you need a durable HLC carrier.

I am not sure this is a good conclusion to draw. I mean, you might possibly be right that there is some inefficiency in taking HLC without outrider title, but I think that the 'cost' built into the YT-2400 for its 2 attack turret is actually quite small. I think most of its cost is due to its incredible actions (barrel roll primarily), plus really good hull+shield and decent agility of 2. Not to mention it has a fantastic dial, better even than the YT-1300 (because it has all of the hard turns, and they are all white).

So taking all of that into consideration, it really makes a fantastic HLC platform. Better than a b-wing simply because its much faster/more manoeuverable thanks to its large base, 4 white straight (or even k-turn if needed) and hard 3 turns (which b-wing does not have). All of these advantages over the b-wing allow it to use its HLC @ range 3 more often (and to possibly minimize range 1, where it is weaker than the b-wing)

ha, i came up with this exact list today and was going to post it here! i also considered running a souped up A-wing or something annoying like Tarn instead of the bandits, but i'm unsure of the wisdom of that one. either way, i think it has the potential to be a very strong list.

I am curious, how did the bombers fare? did your opponent seem to utilize them well?

If you're not planning on using the Outrider title then your YT-2400s aren't using the turret they paid a lot for. Advanced Sensor B-wings might be a better option if you need a durable HLC carrier.

This is a problem with the community here, in that we harp so hard on competitive builds for tournaments settings.

The game isn't just that. Dude had fun using all the tools his YT came with, instead of sacrificing a third of its firing ability.

There is a lot to like about the OP's build. The Outrider title is completely unnecessary and personally, I wouldn't put it on a YT-2400 without an EPT. Simply, having the title doesn't make a list more competitive.

The advanced sensor B-Wing is a good HLC carrier, however, it isn't necessarily better. You can get a lot of mileage out of a 2400 using it as a HLC platform. In addition to having a wider front arc, one additionally green dice, and 3 more hull, the Finger can also cover more physical distance during the movement phase than a B-Wing.

Something to consider would be to drop the Intelligence agents and one bandit and put Gunner crew on both Fringers. This would up your damage output a bit and take advantage of the choice to NOT run the Outrider title.

Thanks for the replies so far!

@ TIE Pilot: I'm unsure of 2400s without Outrider title as well, that's why I'm trying it. It could absolutely prove to be a terrible, inefficient list, but it seems there's been less exploration with Wild Spacers and I mean to remedy that. I love HLC B-wings but 2400s offer much more. One traded blows with the decimator for 4 turns and lived to tell the tale.

I've got no illusions to the fact that I would've won that duel without a pair of Zs nibbling away at it too, but a B-wing wouldn't be able to stand up for nearly as long to soak that fire.

@ Darthfish: the bombers did reasonably well at first but thwir usefulness declined due to piloting errors mostly. Their PS 4 allowed them to both fire focused concussion missiles at one of the Fringers. I'm lucky it survived the turn.

But as much as the tight asteroid cluster was dangerous for my big ships piloting, navigating it allowed me to approach the bombers from an oblique angle, so he never had a good opportunity to drop the bombs. It also caused real problems for the bombers' more limited dial and corralled them into good HLC range. The final turn was a crippled bomber parked on an asteroid with both Zs and both HLCs staring at it.

Overall I'd say they're useful but there were just too many points spent on them to be consistently productive.

@ LordVogl: the gunners do sound interesting. As I said, I forgot to use agents all game, so they didn't do anything. The loss of a Z scares me. Trading raw firepower for reliable firepower...something I may have to experiment with.

gunners will make those wimpy 2 dice turret shots possibly more effective.

though, i too cringe at losing a Z.

gunners will make those wimpy 2 dice turret shots possibly more effective.

though, i too cringe at losing a Z.

I think I fired with the two attack dice only twice all game. That dial and barrel-roll give those ships an incredible range of motion. If you're not in range 1 of something, or looking at it, then you're piloting poorly.

I've really been considering 2 HLC Fringers for myself as well, and this list doesn't look bad at all. Personally, I was thinking no crew, but putting on Tactical Jammers while using the YT's as movable obstacles to cover each other and the Bandits. Rolling the extra defence die seems like a really sweet benefit that I can exploit a little.

I was thinking no crew, but putting on Tactical Jammers while using the YT's as movable obstacles to cover each other and the Bandits. Rolling the extra defence die seems like a really sweet benefit that I can exploit a little.

I thought of that as well, but I don't know. If they're in front of the bandits, your opponent will be shooting the Fringers anyway. If they're trying to block for each other, your opponent will just be targeting the closer one.

Let me know if you do try it though. It may work better than I anticipate.

I am curious, how did the bombers fare? did your opponent seem to utilize them well?

It's interesting that the websites have sold out of bombers recently. I wonder why they've dried up on the virtual markets.

This build seems as if it would be a blast to play.

Ironically, my gaming club did a White Elephant type gift exchange with underhanded thievery and whatnot. I ended up with a pair of bombers. Maybe I will play imperials someday....

I'm planning on running this exact squadron in a couple of store championships in February.

I'm glad to see that someone else has had the same idea.

There was a suggestion in the thread of dropping a z-95 for a couple of Gunners. I think this probably is a mistake. There are a lot of blocking options in the initial game with 2 z-95's which should increase the amount of HLC screaming death that can be unleashed.

If you're not planning on using the Outrider title then your YT-2400s aren't using the turret they paid a lot for. Advanced Sensor B-wings might be a better option if you need a durable HLC carrier.