I've never really played epic before but I signed up for an epic tournament.

I own a Transport and plenty of rebels and Imperial small and large ships.

What are some general tips for squad building? I'm feeling like I should keep it very simple, play Imperial with just a bunch of defenders a few firreprays and bombers. Just to keep things easy for myself, fewer dials, simpler flying strategies and stuff.

Jonus flying with three hlc strapped defenders, 3 Bounty Hunters with rec spec and a tie fighter swarm. Sound like a basic plan, or do I need some kind of a plan for interceptors and such?

That sounds fine. I LOVE TIE interceptors, but your list sounds good without them. Make sure you send your TIE swarm after the fighters because they can have a hard time breaking through a Huge ship that has Reinforced. If you're lucky, your opponent will come at you staggered, so not all of them have shots. Make sure you don't head straight at their formation or you'll have a parking lot situation. It's even more important to come at an angle against huge ships so you don't get run over. Man, I'd love to participate in an epic tournament!

Brath can one shot a huge ship quite easily really. Nearly all the aft crit cards are immensely damaging.

For imperials, I have never liked flying high mobility ships in epic..... just too many arcs to dodge, especially in the initial joust.

For imperials, I have never liked flying high mobility ships in epic..... just too many arcs to dodge, especially in the initial joust.

You have a point, but TIE interceptors with Push the Limit are not just arc-dodgers - they're tough to kill with 3 Agility, a Focus and Evade. And 3 Attack dice are better than 2, so I still think they pull their weight quite nicely. Okay, maybe not the unique pilots, but the generics are definitely deadly. And holding Soontir back until there are some casualties on the opposing side is a pretty sound tactic.

Aye the generics would be worth it, as there are typically more important and easier things to shoot first

For imperials, I have never liked flying high mobility ships in epic..... just too many arcs to dodge, especially in the initial joust.

You have a point, but TIE interceptors with Push the Limit are not just arc-dodgers - they're tough to kill with 3 Agility, a Focus and Evade. And 3 Attack dice are better than 2, so I still think they pull their weight quite nicely. Okay, maybe not the unique pilots, but the generics are definitely deadly. And holding Soontir back until there are some casualties on the opposing side is a pretty sound tactic.

Exactly, in Epic I like to include 4 Royal Guards with Push the Limit. Being PS6 is generally very good in Epic, since people tend to take more generic pilots.

I tend to lurk at first with them until the board get cleared a little and then begin ''dancing'' around my opponents when they try to reorganise.

Having a big board and more targets, you can exploit their speed even more. You choose the prey, make a pass while dodging his arc, then continue on your way and choose another prey.

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Three Delta with HLC and Jonus is also very deadly in Epic for 133pts, although Jonus is really optional, they are good on their own. I also like to take a Decimator as the Admiral ship, a turret is always nice and with 16 hit point, it's still hard to destroy. Fill the rest with some Tie Fighter.

4x Royal Guard + PtL (100pts)

3x Defender + HLC (111pts)

1x Patrol Leader with Tactical Jammer (41pts)

4x Academy Pilot (48pts)