Upcoming Store Championships: What to watch out for.

By Coshuda, in X-Wing

Hello Community,

I, like many of you at this point, am preparing for a volley of store championships. The list is decided, the dates are saved, and the game face is ready and waiting. What I would like to hear is what the current state of the meta is looking like. What have you all seen getting some play lately and what are the lists/ships to look out for. I am sure the decimator/outrider will see plenty of action, along with the ever present phantom. But beyond those what's happening?

I am sure I can't be the only one wondering, so let's get this thread going with what your eyes have seen across the table and what has worked to deal with them.

While your at it, drop any tips/tricks for general tournament play that people might find useful. :)

For one, Fat Han is still a thing. And a quite powerful one at that.

I'm doing the same. For me, I've boiled the archetypes down to these:

- Decimator + Phantom

- Decimator + Miniswarm

- Phantom + Miniswarm

- YT + friends (ZZZ or AAA)

- YT + Corran

- YT + YT

- Rebel Swarm (eg BBBBZ)

It's important to note that local metas can vary massively though. Last store championship I went to I took Boba + Whisper, and almost everyone else brought 4-5 ship rebels. Not a single Dash, one Decimator and only one Han on the tables.

Edited by floof

TIE Swarms baby!

I can't speak for the global meta (or to the idea that the global meta matters for your store-level scene), but in my meta, it's all VT-49s and YT-2400s.Phantoms are quite rare. I fly in with my bombers, but I'm the outlier, and I won't pretend that I'm favored to win. I'm also the only guy in my scene to really fly a TIE Swarm, but I don't think I'll bring it to the Store Tournament(s).

Of course, what I see is not necessarily what people are bringing for tournament play. It's mostly Monday/Tuesday-night-at-the-FLGS play. So, I may have an errant notion of my own meta, and absolutely no idea about yours.

Swarms did very well at my SC.

I am torn between bringing 2 interceptors, 2 tie fighters(elites all)

or 3 elite tie interceptors.

Why? Because I really don't want to netlist.

You shouldn't netlist, but be prepared for those that do.

Turrets! Everywhere...turrets.

You shouldn't netlist, but be prepared for those that do.

Aye, I just wanna have fun and hopefully get that sweet sweet soontir card.

turrets_zpse1f7cb58.jpg

Everything close to Atlanta has been won via 4-5 rebel or swarms.

Big ships are getting eaten up, and turrets have mostly held phantoms from even showing up.

Though a friend of mine made top 8 with double sigmas and Carnor jax.

I am thinking an Emerson Lake and Palmer list. (Soontir, Carnor, Furguson).

You shouldn't netlist, but be prepared for those that do.

So... what's "netlist?"

turrets_zpse1f7cb58.jpg

*hats off

******* beat me to it

So... what's "netlist?"

It's a term used to describe a list or deck that someone goes finds out on the internet and uses. It's opposed to list you came up with on your own.

Sometimes it's used as a derogatory term, as in the person doesn't have enough skill to come up with a list on their own that can win.

Netdecks can also be a good sign (game's popular enough to have a list of established army/squad configurations) or a bad sign (it is perceived that only these configurations are competitive, and it is possible that said perception is true)

I don't personally believe that X-wing has reached a point where there's anything so overwhelming powerful that it must be taken, or that the netlists are limited or skewed enough in number to imply a horrible oversight in balance.

They will, however, offer good insight as to what's popular at the moment (by extension, what you are most likely to run into)

Check the squadrons that participated at large scale X-wing events, especially the ones in the Top 8 or so. Those lists will more than likely become popularized and spread like bacteria because, hey, someone has proven it could place high at a high-profile event.

Yep....lots of big ships with turrets. They are everywhere. That's what I've seen at some of the smaller events.

There is one local guy who's really good that does B-wings with a Y-wing (or sometimes HWK) and usually comes in first with everything.

Personally, I'm going with 4 Tie Bombers. Technically, I'm netlisting from Darkhorse. I was thinking of using Tie Bombers to blow up big ships when he wrote his article. I'm taking a modified list idea from him and having fun with it. It's great killing big ships, but has a hard time with regular ships.

I've seen quite a bit of yt1300+2400 running around my local meta seems to have fallen in love with recon specialist

I've seen quite a bit of yt1300+2400 running around my local meta seems to have fallen in love with recon specialist

oh boy

Auto-thursters Carnor Jax is going to have the biggest "what up, *******?" comeback over there

Good old Super Dash

Dash Rendar w/ Push the Limit, Engine Upgrade, Kyle Katarn, Outrider title, Heavy Laser Cannon

Corran Horn w/ Fire Control System, R2-D2, Veteran Instincts

Struggles against swarms, unless those swarms get terrible dice rolls. Does well against ... lots of things.

When playing against a Super Dash, you've gotta do your best to spread out the asteroids to negate Dash's advantage. Kill Corran quickly (not hard to do), then use your ships to cover anywhere Dash might land so you always have a shot. Bumping Dash and denying him actions really messes him up, too.

Personally, I'm going with 4 Tie Bombers. Technically, I'm netlisting from Darkhorse. I was thinking of using Tie Bombers to blow up big ships when he wrote his article. I'm taking a modified list idea from him and having fun with it. It's great killing big ships, but has a hard time with regular ships.

I'm running Deci and 2x Prox/Cluster Bombers, large ships have not been a problem for me so far while playtesting

I am split between 2 lists

Howlrunner + ruthlessness

Black squad + ruthlessness (x3)

Turr Phennir + ruthlessness

or

Captain Oicunn + determination + rebel captive + dauntless

Rear admiral Chiraneau + determination + Ysanne Isard

I am split between 2 lists

Howlrunner + ruthlessness

Black squad + ruthlessness (x3)

Turr Phennir + ruthlessness

or

Captain Oicunn + determination + rebel captive + dauntless

Rear admiral Chiraneau + determination + Ysanne Isard

I initially liked Ruthlessness but quickly found that enemies can quite easily just stay at R2+ from each other, and thereby nullify 15pts of your list.