I've said it before, and I'll say it again. The Aggressor is incredibly easy to block, and also has a very difficult time of setting where the battle will actually occur, to boot.

It cannot slow-play, due to its size, and a moderately-skilled opponent can ensure that you are forced to fight in a dense asteroid formation.

That is true of all large-base ships, to be fair, but the Aggressor and the Shuttle are the only ones who intend to attack head-on. The others can avoid this issue by never actually needing to steer towards combat, and using their turrets or auxiliary firing arc to take care of the issue, and in fact, should.

However, there are a few upgrades that can be used to avoid this (and therefore avoid death by exposed siding).

Advanced Sensors.

This upgrade is the most commonly touted savior and preventor of the perils of blocking, on its own. You get to keep your actions, and can even Boost before you move, avoiding the block in the first place! Sadly, this logic holds two significant flaws.

1. Your opponent should be blocking your 1 Banks and Forwards anyway, meaning that you cannot boost out of a block. Barrel-Rolling works much better for avoidance.
2. The problem isn't the action denial: it's the movement denial. The Aggressor is best when approaching the scrim, but can get taken apart quite swiftly if forced to remain overlong. That is what your blocker is trying to do, and that is what we must avoid.

Enhanced Scopes.

Say what you will about moving first, it definitely prevents the blocking problem. Unlike Advanced Sensors or FCS, it does nothing to aid your action economy (particularly on a Red Maneuver), but it does ensure that you can always escape and rejoin the combat scrim, which is what the Aggressor likes to do best.

Also, it only costs 1 point, making it that much easier to squeeze HLCs or a 3rd Ship into a list.

Inertial Dampeners.

Well, instead of getting blocked, you are going to remain stationary for one single turn, and become stressed.

The good news is that you can probably fire upon the guy the enemy intends to block you, and may have avoided some firing arcs by parking by surprise.

The bad news is that they wanted you not to execute your full move, and so you decided instead to execute none of it.

Still, that quick tempo-change can give you the leeway the following turn to escape as you wish, so its worth considering for 1 point.

Expert Handling

Yes, it costs a stress and an action, but that Barrel-Roll is the best option in the game for avoiding blockers (even after the Outrider nerfed it.), particularly if you already have Advanced Sensors on board.

Also, it removes an enemy Target Lock, and so wastes their Fire-Control System or Action for the turn. Not the primary reason for taking the upgrade, but it's still bloody useful in a 2-3 ship fleet.

Also, it's one of only two options here that make you more maneuverable, and one of only two options that let you slow down, making it a great pair with a Heavy Laser Cannon. Huzzah!

Stay On Target

Well, you're not actually solving the problem here, but you're giving yourself a guaranteed exit if the enemy leaves you a hole through which to escape. A 1-2 speed maneuver will give you access to both turns, and a 3 gives you both Segnors' Loops as well as the regular Banks.

Like Expert Handling, it will be stressful, but it doesn't require an action, giving it both bonuses and detriments with Advanced Sensors.

Intimidation

Doesn't actually keep you from getting blocked, but it does help your other ship(s) prevent you from staying that way. Ram me at your own peril, scrub!

Adrenaline Rush

If part of the block is enforced by keeping you stressed, you can pop this bad-boy off to turn your red Koiogran white and actually keep your maneuver.

Moreover, you can use it elsewhere to de-stress a Koiogran or Segnor's Loop, giving you added action economy and maneuverability (for the turn after).

Aggressor with EH, AS, and HLC costs 48 points, giving you 2 more points per ship with which to play. Autothrusters, Seismic Charges, Feedback Array...

Also, Aggressors with only ES cost 37 points. I would probably pair with either Adrenaline Rush (ironic, as droids don't typically have adrenal glands), or with Predator, so you don't lose out completely on actions after performing a Red maneuver.

Come to think of it, ES also combos surprisingly well with EH. Moving first should give you ample room to barrel-roll...

Being blocked has not really been an issue for me. Advanced Sensors guarantees me an action. Plus, the ship bumping me will probably not have a shot at the other Aggressor. That being said, this is the main reason I run Inertial Dampeners. Staying put for one turn can really mess up your opponent for the next few turns. I used them at my Store Championship despite being stressed. So instead of having three ships right behind me. I had two ships that couldn't shoot at anything for the turn. I was then behind them and easily tore them apart.

Here's one you left out: Adrenaline Rush

A lot of players will assume that you are boxed in once they have you stressed. Adrenaline Rush works like the backwards cousin of Inertial Dampeners. Instead of staying on one place, you can surprise them with a K-Turn or Segnor's Loop that they thought was blocked off. It only works once, but it will always be awesome.

I had a game yesterday where my opponent thought he had my 88C blocked, which would have forced me onto an asteroid. Instead, I caught him off guard by triggering Dampeners. Next turn, I had ended up with three stress tokens, so he thought for sure I would have to do a green move or at least put myself facing away from his squad, so he set up to put me on the rock again. I burned Adrenaline Rush to S-Loop through the rock and landed behind his squad. He didn't even care, because we were both too busy geeking out about that sequence of Scummy tricks.

I am going to disagree with you somewhat. I do agree that blocking with scrubs presents a significant problem to a dual aggressor list, but there are a variety of ways to mitigate that danger. Let's say, for this argument that I am running B & C, with AdvS and mangler cannon. Let's also assume that you spread out the asteroids as much as possible. In order to successfully block one of these bots, you have to block both 1 banks and both 3 banks. This is not easy, and in my experience, only one is blocked by an asteroid if you place them well. This requires carefully flying more than 3 ships. I say more, because your opponent will need additional ships to fire, as blockers typically are in poor position to fire, and can't fire if they did block. This means a large number of ships, such as A-, B-, X- and Y-wings, Z95s, TIE/ln or TIE/sa. Each of these, with the exception of the B- and Y-wings, can be killed by two IG-88 shots each turn. This means that you can reduce the number of blockers each turn. Y-wings aren't great blockers due to a limited dial, but pose little risk to 3-agility with autothrusters. That leaves the B-wings. I had the opportunity to face a BBBBZ list on Saturday. I was able to focus down 1 B before the scrum started, but by focusing on staying outside the furball, I limited the risk of blocking significantly.

In conclusion, i don't think that it is as easy to block IG-88 as it may seem. Stay at long range as much as possible and disengage before jousting

Here's one you left out: Adrenaline Rush

And I didn't forget it exists. as I paired it with Enhanced Scopes in my follow-up post! ^{_{(Forehead smack)}}

Well, I've edited it in now, so we're good

Expert Handling + AdS is the sweet spot. Use the barrel roll to move back a bit, then reposition using a green bank manoeuver - clearing stress. If you get too close, just sloop out of the engagement.

Normally, I use the B-Variant and an HLC to have enough firepower. That's 48 pts so there is plenty of room for three M3As on steroids...

Let's also assume that you spread out the asteroids as much as possible.

Why the bloody hell would I do that? I want a tight cluster, and will force you to fight me at it, as that cuts of far more of your options.

Against Aggressors, I always want them to have initiative to set this up. First, Third, and Fifth asteroids establish the location of the asteroid cluster, but Second, Forth, and 6th determine its shape.

And extremely few double Aggressor lists run fewer than 100 points, so I'm willing to bet that the choice is mine.

In order to successfully block one of these bots, you have to block both 1 banks and both 3 banks. This is not easy, and in my experience, only one is blocked by an asteroid if you place them well.

It is possible to block the 1 bank and the 3 bank with the same small-based ship.

Also substantially more than just one maneuver will be blocked by asteroids if you place them well.

However, if the Aggressor's player puts one asteroid in 3 of the 4 corners of the board, it does become significantly harder to block, thus revalidating your point.

Expert Handling + AdS is the sweet spot. Use the barrel roll to move back a bit, then reposition using a green bank manoeuver - clearing stress. If you get too close, just sloop out of the engagement.

Normally, I use the B-Variant and an HLC to have enough firepower. That's 48 pts so there is plenty of room for three M3As on steroids...

Or add a second Aggressor, and give them both Autothrusters, Seismic Charges, or Feedback Arrays to close it out.

Or heck, go with the Inertial Dampeners and 2 points of initiative, to ensure that the Asteroids won't be an issue :-3