I have been practising with a list I call "critical mass" for upcoming SC. So far it is 3-0 in casual play. As usual, I am looking for any critiques. I think the only real problem for this list would be a phantom, so any changes (or tactic hints) to help deal with phantoms would be appreciated.

Other than that, I have been thinking of a few versions with a high PS ion turret to help deal with the phantoms. I don't think they would be as good against large ships or swarms but I haven't tried either out yet though. Would either of the following be a better option?

Alternate 1:

maybe swap out the gold for a gray and the EPT droid to get swarm tactics...then youd have 2 ships at PS12?

I played a similar list (Etahn, Biggs, Tala x3) last year in a Regional Tournament and lost 5 out of 7 games. Phantoms will be a problem if you don't stay back to maximize your firing arcs against them. Also, most Imperial ships gave me fits with their three or more agility dice. Two attack dice vs. three evade dice does not work out too well, let me assure you. I do like Etahn's ability and my list tried to maximize crits. If you really want to stick with the crit machine, I suggest the following:

Etahn

Rookie X-Wing Pilot x3

I call this list "Too Legit to Crit." It leaves you with five points for upgrades as you see fit. Phantoms can be a problem, but this list just wrecks stuff once you get through shields (i. e. decimators).

As for your alternate lists, I like Alternate 1. This list seems a little more durable to me. Chewie does wonders for Hawks and the double ion cannon means you can ion "Fat" ships right off the board, which is great against the current meta.