Some of you have spent time looking over the lists I put together bent on making use of Horton and his awesome ability. That list is still a work in progress, but it is one of the front runners for a tournament coming up this weekend.

The other squad vying for my attention features the much maligned Xwing as the ONLY ship in the list.

I know, I know, the mainstream would have us believe that this ship just can’t work on its own anymore against the terrifying threats out there. It’s a jack of all trades that just doesn’t do anything quite well enough. I’ve heard it all. However, it's the sum total of its parts, not the lack of specialization that makes it a great fighter!

An Xwing comes equipped with several advantages over other fighters: Firepower 3, shields, and a decent dial. Even though the Xwing doesn’t have a laundry list of actions, this can actually be a boon since it makes decision making easier for the player! You know what you will be going for each turn. If you’re going to take it on the chin, you focus. If you’re going to destroy something, target lock. Pretty simple.

Taking all that into account, if we mix in a couple of pilots with stellar abilities then suddenly we have a squad that offers flexibility, resilience and damage output.

Jek Porkins Saves the Galaxy:

Porkins (PtL, R5D8, could be replaced by R3A2 for control)

Biggs (R4D6, the Phantom protector)

Rookie

Rookie

I know that many will say, “But, Red Winter, a Phantom will run circles around this! It’s hopelessly encumbered by the lack of a barrel roll. The Bwing is the best knife fighter! Formation flying? What is this Wave 3?!” And I understand all that, but there’s a secret weapon available that can cover all these weaknesses: the player flying the ships. The thing is, depending on the fight your up against, a player can decide if he wants to stay in the box, or break right out of it.

Even a Phantom will struggle to survive four firepower three attacks. It’s up to me to line that shot up. But honestly, I haven’t found it too difficult to achieve, and Biggs provides the added chance to get the job done by his ability to absorb a couple High Power attacks.

If I can get the Phantom out of the way, large ships will crumple under this amount of firepower.

As always, engage the list! Maybe I’m off my rocker, but I like my chances.

I've been really enjoying Porkins with R5-D8. There is only a 3/8 chances that you take a damage. Let's say that you do a red maneuver, but you take that damage. Use R5-D8 and you have a 5/8 chance of removing that damage! Overall, if you use Porkin's ability to remove stress and then use his droid to remove that damage (if you get it) means that there is only an 11% chance that you will use his ability and have a damage at the end of the movement.

Remember that the damage goes straight to the ship, so if you happen to have your shields up, you can still remove that damage. Also, if you take real damage through combat, you can peel away for a turn and try to remove that damage with a 5/8 chance of removing it. I've had Porkins stay in the combat a lot longer than a normal X-wing should.

Personally, I think Stay On Target is the best option with Porkins. Yes, PTL is good for that one turn you want to TL and Focus, but I think SoT gives you the maneuverability that X-wings need. I mean, you can K-turn and still get your action. I only wish his PS was a little higher to be able to tail a Phantom.

I also agree with your thoughts about X-wings and Phantoms. Just watch the approach and keep firing. If I weren't hung up on Tie Bombers at the moment, I would be flying all X-wings.

I wish there were points to give Porkins a double-wide with an extra Hull Upgrade.

Hah! I couldn't agree more. The reason for PtL is twofold. One the one hand, I want to be able to maximize the damage output with shooting, but on the other I want to repair is necessary without sacrificing all of my offensive potential. Stay on Target is a great card as well, but with the current Meta and PS7, I don't know if it is worth taking over the general flexibility of PtL. Personal preference here.

I think if Porkins can make it to the end game, he gets monstrously powerful.

Watch out for crits on him, though. You can't get rid of them. The one time I tried Stay On Target with him....I got a crit that removed pilot ability in the first salvo! *grumble grumble*

The list I want to try out right now is:

Porkins w/ R5-D8 and Stay On Target

Hobbie w/ stressbot

2 x Rookies

I'm not sure on how it will go, but I usually play pretty casual.

I like it. The ONLY reason why I want Biggs is to take decisions away from the enemy so my Rookies and Jek can have some extra time to do work. Biggs with R4D6 has a pretty good chance to survive the Phantom. But, even if you take Biggs, it doesn't mean you have to fly all your ships together!

Store Championship is right around the corner and I may be looking at this list as potential. HOWEVER, I have a Three Amigos list with a lot of similarities to the one above, namely, it's all X's!

Wedge (R2D2, Predator)

Wes (VI, R3A2)

Porkins (PtL, R5D8)

Regeneration, Firepower, Pilot Skill, Pilot Abilities.