Seeing a few wins from lists using six A-wings ... does anyone else find it odd that you can build a list with 6 A-wings but can't build one with 5 X-wings?

While I think the mechanical balance of ability between X- and A-wing is actually about right, I find the list mix odd because canonically the Rebellion couldn't use many A-wings because they were far more complex, expensive, and difficult to operate compared to the X-wing. The ship pricing seems to invert that assumption.

Well. This game isn't canon.

That wraps that up.

Or it is the game that is canon and not the other thing.

I don't remember the scene where Leia and General Dordonna discuss rebellion acquisition expenses.

This kind of thing comes up with war games a lot, too. There are people who don't like when a war game isn't historical.

I'm of the opinion that you can either have a fun, balanced game or you can have a historically (or canonically) accurate game. I prefer the former. If I want a recounting of history/canon, I can read an encyclopedia or something.

The canon is correct. However, the canon also has the vast majority of the dogfights happening outside of an asteroid field.

The games on the table are the exceptions.

Mechanical balance is 184% more important than fluff.

Well X-Wings seem to be becoming more rarely used, so clearly the alliance has shifted production at this point in the game to prioritise their A-Wing over the older, more default-starfighter X-Wing. Though where they;re finding all these pilots who can fly the thing without crashing, who can say?

A-wing? Complex?

It's a cockpit and guns strapped to two massive engines.

Six a-wings is twelve attack and four x-wings is twelve attack, if you go to five x-wings that jumps to fifteen.

Given the average list goes from nine to twelve perhaps you can see why that could be an issue.

You could take five interceptors but the are far more prone to being one shot.

Clearly we have better requisitions officers and supply lines than the Rebellion.

Clearly we have better requisitions officers and supply lines than the Rebellion.

United Planetary Shipping, for it it absolutely positively has to be in the engagement over a parsec.

I think if you are building both on an assembly line new, the Xwing would easily cost a lot more than an awing would. a lot more material, 4 engines, 4 cannons, S-foils, astromech socket, it more than twice the length of an awing, etc.

In the rebellion's case, the are not manufacturing xwings as far as I know, they are using existing ones, so building any new ship is costly, but the a-wing is simplicity itself compared to an Xwing.

Also, you cannot just compare numbers of attack dice per squad. a 3 dice attack is quite a bit more powerful than a 2 dice attack. so one would expect 2 xwings to punch harder than 3 awings, and I think this is borne out in the game.

Well allegedly the A-Wing has better sensors, so that probably adds to the cost. Those swiveling guns (that we don't have in this game) can't be cheap, either.

I sure hope A-wings didn't cost more than X-wings. Just watch Jedi. Those A-wings die left and right. I think if an A-wing comes on screen it has like a 50% chance of dying before the shot is over. Y-wings fare better than that.

All this time X-wings fly around killing stuff. I think we only see one X-wing die in Jedi.

Granted this isn't cannon oh wait it is the movie I don't really need the pope to rule on if it really is Star Wars.

Six a-wings is twelve attack and four x-wings is twelve attack, if you go to five x-wings that jumps to fifteen.

Given the average list goes from nine to twelve perhaps you can see why that could be an issue.

You could take five interceptors but the are far more prone to being one shot.

I actually think 5 Alpha's with Autothrusters will be a viable squad. Unfortunately, you have to buy 5 interceptor expansions to run it. I wish Imperial Aces came with 2 alphas instead of the near useless Saber Squadrons.

Back to the topic, I don't think you can compare these two ships. They fill entirely different roles in the fluff and in the game. The X-wing is more of a multi-role fighter while the A-wing is more of a specialized high speed scout/interceptor. They didn't out-right replace X-wings in the fluff because they were regarded as being harder to fly and couldn't carry the munitions load the X-wing could. Unfortunately, for the poor X-wing torps and ordnance in general suck in this game.

I'm one of those that likes the canonic accuracy etc and I find it frustrating that: The rebels have YT1300s and 2400 as main line ships, they were freighters with a notable exception or two.

Impies have Defenders, Phantoms in serious numbers.

Rebels have E-wings, at all.

Impies have the firespray, in my game i'm getting shapeways escort shuttles to use as replacement models for imp sprays.

Given that Tie fighters require a home base to operate, there isn't some kind of off board turbolaser artillery mechanic. (yes, there is but still). - This one is less of a big deal as they could be flying out of range or maybe the impy commander doesn't have the ruthless card. Still though.

I'm one of those that likes the canonic accuracy etc and I find it frustrating that: The rebels have YT1300s and 2400 as main line ships, they were freighters with a notable exception or two.

Impies have Defenders, Phantoms in serious numbers.

Rebels have E-wings, at all.

Impies have the firespray, in my game i'm getting shapeways escort shuttles to use as replacement models for imp sprays.

Given that Tie fighters require a home base to operate, there isn't some kind of off board turbolaser artillery mechanic. (yes, there is but still). - This one is less of a big deal as they could be flying out of range or maybe the impy commander doesn't have the ruthless card. Still though.

I, sort of, on the same page here. Freighters where the exception and if they appeared at all there was one of them. They were not fighters but somehow they are the rebels main line fighter.