(52) Patrol Leader

-Gunner

-Darth Vader

-Rebel Captive

(48) 4x Academy Pilot

Darth Vader + Gunner + turret poops on Autothruster Soontir and TIE Fighters, Rebel Captive makes it hard for Whisper to attack the Decimator while Vader works her over, 4 TIEs gives me decent firepower against Y-Wings, B-Wings, Decimators and Fat Han.

I guess I'm actually pretty soft to BBBBZ and dual Aggressors with Mangler Cannons. I also don't like that Vader shoots before the rest of the list.

Any thoughts no what I could replace the Academy Pilots with at 48 points?

I think your points are off for the Patrol as it clocks in at 51.. Having said that you can drop Reb Cap are roll 4 x Obsidians.

48 Patrol, Gunner, Vader

13 Obsidian

13 Obsidian

13 Obsidian

13 Obsidian

-100-

You lose Whisper/PTL insurance without Reb Cap but it's not an unwinnable fight with Gunner+Vader. The additional PS helps out with the Rebel/Scum low PS swarms as well as allowing the Obsidians to strip any shields for the Vader follow up.

You're right, I had a Tactical Jammer to fill in that last point and forgot.

I think that's a good improvement, with Gunner I do 2-shot Whisper so you're right that I don't really need rebel captive (although I just realized I lose half my health to do it!), and PS3 is actually a relevant bid because of Vader and the popularity of BBBBZ.

What about 2 Saber Squadron Pilots with PTL and Autothrusters instead of the 4 TIEs? Seems like that should help a lot against the BBBBZ matchup and has comparable firepower to 4 TIE Fighters.

I think the 4 Obsidians will serve you better than 2 x Sabers.

The reason I say that is if you are expecting BBBBZ type squads Deci+4 Ties gives you 11-16 Red Dice where Deci+2 Squints gives you 9-12. The former should give you a better chance of dropping a Blue before it can return fire.

Added to this PTL Sabers are shooting at PS4 so they will struggle to deal with opposing Reb Cap Decimators. You would need to look at Oicunn to protect their double stress. That leaves you on 98 points and perhaps Tactician to round it out.

You could consider upgrading to Kenkirk which may help you with Aggressors thanks to simultaneous fire but I think I'd still prefer Oicunn with Tactician over Kenkirk.

I suspect the Patrol with 4 Tie support is a better all rounder.

Thanks, that's a great point about rebel captive, I'll try it with obsidians.

My friend went 4-0 at our store championship (18 people) last weekend with Patrol + Vader + Captive, Howl + 3 Academies.